Ep. #399: Seven Reasons a 5K is the Perfect Summer Goal

Welcome to the Not Your Average Runner podcast. I’m Jill Angie, a certified running coach, and your running BFF here to help you start running. Feel confident and love the journey no matter your size. Now, if you’ve ever felt like you just weren’t meant to be a runner, think again. I believe that running is for all bodies, even yours.

This podcast is your warmup buddy, giving you tips, motivation, and the support you need to lace up and get moving. I’ve helped thousands of women become runners, and now I wanna help you. Let’s go.

Hey runner. Welcome back to the Not Your Average Runner podcast, where I help you take the drama out of running and replace it with confidence, consistency, and maybe even a little bit of fun. Now, this week we are talking about the seven reasons Why A 5K is the perfect summer goal, even if you’ve never run before.

All right, so first of all, let’s talk about summer. You either love it or you tolerate it. Maybe you live for the beach. Those long sunsets flip flops 24 7. Or maybe you’re like, yeah, hell no. I’m staying inside with the blinds closed. Uh, iced coffee in hand and central air cranked to 11. Honestly, that part is me.

I do not like the hot weather at all. Yuck. But. You know, we have to get through it every year. So whichever camp you fall into, I promise you that a 5K is the perfect summer goal. So stay with me here if you are not a hot weather person, because we’re gonna break it down. And this also applies even if you’re just getting started with running or getting back into it after a break.

This all applies now. Before you roll your eyes at me, you think, uh, Jill, I am definitely not running through a heat wave. Hear me out. Because this is not about punishing your body. It’s not about forcing yourself to suffer. It is about giving yourself a goal that makes you feel proud, a goal that builds momentum, one that makes you say.

Damn. Look what I just did. All right, so let’s get into it. The first thing is it gives you a simple, doable structure. All right, summer, we all know it can be a mess, right? The kids are home every weekend. There’s something going on. There’s a wedding or a barbecue, or your cousin’s last minute beach bonanza that you swore you weren’t going to, and now somehow you’re packing a cooler.

So having a 5K on your calendar. It gives you a little anchor, right? Something just for you. Something that says, Hey, I’m showing up for myself three times this week, and those three runs, by the way, do not need to be epic. I’m talking 20 to 30 minutes to to start with, right? You’re not training for the Olympics, you’re just building consistency.

You’re stacking wins, and you know what? If they are walks instead of runs, that is still a win. All right, so a 5K can give. Your crazy summer, just a little bit of structure that helps you kind of feel like maybe you’re in control of things. All right? Now number two is a 5K. It meets you exactly where you are.

You do not need to be. Air quotes fit to do a 5K. That is a lie the fitness industry has sold you. If you can walk for 20 minutes, you can train for a 5K seriously, and you can walk the whole thing. You can do run walk intervals. You can shuffle, jog, skip, disco, dance, whatever feels good in your body. And the magic is that you still get all the benefits.

Okay? So you get the physical, the mental emotional benefits no matter how you do it, because running isn’t about speed. It is about forward motion and how you talk to yourself while you’re doing it. Number three. You don’t need fancy gear. I mean, fancy gear is fun. I love it. But you might be sitting there thinking, uh, yeah, I don’t have the right clothes, I don’t have running shoes.

I don’t even know what I need. So let me stop you right there. You need a supportive sports bra, some comfortable shoes, and a get it done playlist, right? Just to power through your favorite songs playlist. That’s it. Now, yes, there are fancy gadgets out there. I get it. I have many of them, but you really don’t need a Garmin.

You can download a free running tracker app running, um, Runkeeper is my favorite. Uh, you don’t need leggings with 12 pockets. You don’t need a hydration belt. You don’t need any of it, right? Sports bra, shoes, playlist. Start with what you have. Add stuff later if you want. Do not let the gear become the reason that you don’t begin now.

Number four. Summer running actually has its perks. And I know, I know, I know. I get it. The heat and the humidity can be rough. Trust me, I live on the East coast. Humidity is like, oh my God, it’s the worst. But summer also gives you some unique advantages. As a runner, like longer days, that means you can run early or late and it’s still light out.

Right. This is something we don’t get in the winter. Um, there is something very deeply peaceful about being out on a quiet summer morning before the world wakes up, especially if you’re like out in the country and you just hear the birds and the insects buzzing and it’s just. You and the road and it’s, or you and the trail maybe, and it’s just quiet and peaceful.

Those are some of my favorite runs. The air smells so good, like out in the country in the summer. It’s amazing. You might even see a bunny or two in our last neighborhood before we move to Philly. I would get up and run early and it was just like a little, you know, a neighborhood with sidewalks and stuff.

But the bunnies were bananas. There was like a part of the summer where I saw a bunny on every single run. They were must have been breeding and they were just everywhere. Uh, ’cause it was early in the morning and it was quiet and it was just the best. So highly recommend the early morning runs during the summer.

And the bonus of that is after you run, you get to feel smug all day ’cause you already did the thing. And lest you think that I am ignoring the people where it’s, you know, 90 to a hundred degrees at six o’clock in the morning, if it’s extra hot and humid, just run indoor on a treadmill those days. That is totally fine.

And if you don’t have a treadmill, also, I get it. Plant fitness is like 10 bucks a month, my friend, super cheap. Join for the summer just to get the air conditioning and the treadmill, and then you can quit at the end of the summer when the weather is better. And by the way, summer five Ks are so fun.

There is music, there’s cheering, there’s colorful metals. Sometimes there’s popsicles at the finish line. Uh, sometimes there’s sprinklers. Uh, summer five Ks are a party, they’re a party. All right, number four. Sorry, that was number four. Summer running has its perks. Number five is you’re building more than just fitness.

When you’re training for a 5K, especially in the summer, it’s not just about running, it’s about who you become while you train. You become someone who keeps promises to herself, who prioritizes herself, right? Someone who gets out there, even when it is a little. Sweaty and inconvenient. Um, somebody who makes time for herself even when everyone else is pulling at her energy.

So every time you lace up to train, you’re saying, I matter. My goals matter. My joy and wellbeing matters. And you know, those little 30 minute runs start to shift how you see yourself. You start to think. Maybe I am on her like, what just happened? And of course you are. You always were. You just needed a reminder.

Now, number six, this is one of my favorites because it involves my favorite season. Summer five Ks set you up for fall success. So most people kind of fall off their health and fitness goals during the summer, and they try to start fresh in September, and I love a good September restart because it just has that feeling of back to school and just kind of new clothes and all the things.

But if you’re training for a 5K during the summer, you’re starting now, you’re building consistency now. So when fall hits, you’re not starting over. You are leveling. So imagine crossing that 5K finish line in August. You’re sweaty, maybe a little emotional, you’re holding your medal and you’re thinking, holy shit, I actually did that.

And then you ask yourself, Hmm, I wonder what I could do this fall. You’re leveling up. Alright, and number seven, this is. Arguably the most important for, at least for some of you, and that is that walking a 5K totally counts. Let’s bust this myth right now. Walking a 5K is not less than, it’s not cheating.

It’s not a consolation prize. 3.1 miles is 3.1 miles. No matter how fast you cover it, you still train. You still showed up. You still crossed that finish line. And for a lot of people, especially if you’re plus size and you’ve never exercised before or you’re coming back from injury or you’re, you know, kind of rebuilding your endurance.

Walking is exactly where you should be. Starting and walking can be joyful and peaceful and empowering. It is a great way to clear your head, reconnect with your body, and to build stamina. And you can walk a 5K with pride, wear your medal, post the finish line. Selfie, tell every damn person, you know. Yeah, I did that.

So if you have been thinking I can’t run, Jill, I, I’d love to, but I can’t. I’m here to tell you, you don’t have to. Walking is a hundred percent a win, especially in the heat, especially when you’re just starting out. And if you wanna add running later, great. But it is not required. Okay. Walking a 5K is a brave, valid way to reach the goal of finishing a 5K.

All right, so if you have been thinking, you know, I kind of wanna do a 5K, but I’m a little scared. This is your sign. A 5K is not just a race. It’s so much more than a race. It’s a transformation in three miles, and summer is the perfect time to begin. Not because you have to, but because you get to, you get to run in the sunshine, you get to build confidence, you get to surprise the hell out of yourself.

And of course, if you are ready to train for that summer 5K, but you don’t know where to start or you don’t wanna do it alone. I have got you covered as always, not your average. 5K is my 5K training program that I created specifically for plus-size women, and the next class starts on July 14th. So if you can run walk a mile right now.

You can train to run, walk a 5K with this program in just six weeks. If you can walk a mile right now, you can train to walk a 5K with this program in just six weeks. All of the details are at not your average runner.com/ 5K slash that’s not your average runner.com/ 5K class. Or just go to the link in the show notes.

That’s where it’ll be. All right. So my friend, go enjoy your summer. It is July now we’re almost halfway through. Well, all right. I take that back. We’re about two weeks through summer, um, if you go by the solstice, but to me, summer, I feel like summer starts at the end of May and it ends. At the end of August, so we are in, in my definition of summer, we are almost halfway through, so go enjoy it.

Set that 5K goal. Remember you’ve got this and I’ll talk to you next week.

Real quick before you go, I’ve got a fun challenge for you. Take my exerciser personality quiz to find out exactly what kind of exerciser you are and how to make running feel easier and more enjoyable.

Just head over to not your average runner.com/quiz to take it and get your results. That’s not your average runner.com/quiz.