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Training for a 10K Starts With a Single Step

running

Credit: lululemon athletica

So remember how I mentioned hell freezing over because I was thinking about running a half marathon? Well, it turns out that the race in question is actually a 10K. Which made me jump for joy and nearly weep with relief. A 10K seems so much more manageable to someone who prefers Zumba to hitting the pavement.

In fact, a 10K seems about the perfect distance. Long enough to be a challenge and an accomplishment, but the training is much more doable for me. Sometimes I have a hard enough time fitting a shower into my day, so lengthy runs plus a shower? I’m afraid I’d be really smelly all the time. With a 10K, the longest training run is 5 miles. Manageable!

As it is, I’ve got 10 weeks or so to train. I’ve done my first few short runs to ease in. It’s funny that now I’m thinking of my weeks and building in rest days, whereas for the last two years it was all that I had to build in the workout days. This goal stuff suits me. (And speaking of suits, I’ve been swimming, too. More on that another day!)

So, goals for race day? Goal 1? Be injury free. This is the most important to me because being in pain sucks and I want to be able to run on race day and not hurt myself training or on game day. Goal 2? I’d love to be able to run the whole thing without stopping to walk. Goal 3? The time is least important to me, but if I’m going to run the whole time I’d love to get it done in 62 minutes. Only time will tell as I log more training runs whether that goal is achievable, so I may adjust, but I think I’d feel pretty proud if I got in anywhere near that time.

I’m glad the summer is winding down and that my longer runs will be closer to October. I ran just a couple of miles over the weekend and the humidity was killer. So killer that I thought running was torture. Six miles in October should be a breeze in comparison!

What tips do you have for training for and running a 10K? Help a newbie runner out! —Erin

 

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