Ep #198: (Part 2) Are You Ready for Your First 5K?

Welcome to The Not Your Average Runner Podcast. If you’re a woman who has never felt athletic but you still dream about becoming a runner, you are in the right place. I’m Jill Angie, a certified running and life coach and I teach women how to start running, feel confident, and change their lives, and now I want to help you.

Hey Rebels. So before we jump into this week’s topic, I have some very exciting news to share. The Not Your Average Runner Podcast is almost to 200 episodes. I am just blown away by this fact because four years ago, I had the idea to start a podcast and I kind of hemmed and hawed and finally launched it in January 2018.

And here we are now, over three years and 200 episodes later, still going strong. And I’m just gobsmacked at what can happen when you set out on a path and just don’t give up. So why am I telling you this all two weeks early? That’s the question. Because I want you to help me celebrate.

So here’s what you’re going to need to do. The 200th episode comes out on June 10th and what I want is for you to run or walk a mile on that day, or even that weekend, take a picture of yourself with a sign saying you’re celebrating the 200th episode of the podcast, and then post it on Instagram and use the hashtag NYAR200.

And then here’s the fun part. I’m going to take all the pictures and make them into a video and put it on Instagram and send it out to everybody to celebrate you and all the other women that have become runners since we started the show.

So again, on June 10th you’re going to run a mile or more. Take a picture of yourself with a sign showing that you’re celebrating the 200th episode, post it on Instagram with hashtag NYAR200, and you’ve got to use the hashtag so I can find your picture. Then I’m going to put them all in a video and post it. It’s going to be amazing. Are you in? It’s going to be so fucking fun.

So let’s dive back into 5K training. And if you missed part one of this series, it’s episode 197 from last week and we talked all about getting yourself into the right mindset and then choosing your training plan. So once you’ve got your training plan, the next step is to block out all the time on your calendar that you’re going to be training.

So you’re going to look at your plan and then working backwards from race day, schedule all your runs into your calendar. And this is really important because you want to make sure that your training doesn’t fall by the wayside just because you forgot you’re going away almost every weekend between now and your race.

And I want you to make sure you know which days you’re going to be running so that you can modify them based on your family and your social and your work schedule so that there’s no surprises. And I can’t stress this enough. One of the most common reasons people don’t stick to their training plan is they’re like, “Oh well, something came up and I didn’t plan for it.”

So block out your calendar like it’s an appointment with yourself. There may be things here or there that happen, that’s totally normal. But if you have it all planned out ahead of time, there’s a lot less likelihood that you’re going to get caught by surprise and even if you do, you’ll say okay, well I know this is what I need to – I have all these appointments in my calendar, I can just move them around.

If you have a shared family calendar, put it on there too. Make sure that your family sees this as a priority for you. This is going to help them respect the time if you show them it’s important enough to schedule it in advance. And honestly, you guys, 5K training really doesn’t take that much time.

Most likely, you’ll need about 45 minutes on two weekdays and maybe an hour on one weekend day. And you probably spend more time than that watching Netflix each week, or on Facebook, or TikTok. So worst comes to worst, you can catch up on all that stuff after the race and use the time to train instead.

Now, there are going to be days where you have all the time in the world and you just don’t feel like following your plan. You’d rather sleep a little later, go out for happy hour after work, whatever. I want you to know that that is going to happen. It’s not a matter of it, it’s a matter of when.

And when it happens, you just say to yourself, “Oh yeah, I knew this was going to happen, but I’ve decided I’m just going to go anyway.” You’re going to have thoughts that you pull out that you’ve prepared in advance, you’ve decided ahead of time what you’re going to think when your 5am sleepy self says this is a terrible idea.

You’re going to listen instead to the version of you at 7:30am that just got her run done before work. And you can do a lot to prepare for that like putting your alarm clock on the other side of the room. I’ve legit used this method. Pack your gym bag the night before, lay your clothes out the night before, plan to meet a friend for your run so that you don’t want to show up or you don’t want her to show up and you’re not there. We don’t want to let them down.

So set up obstacles and enhancements and I don’t even know what the word is, incentives for yourself ahead of time so that you don’t pull a fast one on yourself. Okay, one more thing I want to cover about the training is that if this is your first 5K, your goal here is simply to finish. You don’t need a goal time.

You don’t need to say, “I have to finish in under 45 minutes or I didn’t do a good job.” You just want to finish and do your best. That’s it. So just plan to get yourself from the start line to the finish line. The time that it takes you is irrelevant. There will be plenty of other races to work on that. For right now, your goal is to finish feeling good and have fun.

So while you’re training, remember that. Remember there’s no judgment about how long it takes you to do your 5K. Making comments to yourself about your speed and how it’s not good enough, that’s not allowed. Stop it. If your inner mean girl starts her shenanigans, you tell her I said to shut the fuck up. She’s not your trainer, she’s not your coach. I am, and whatever pace you run is absolutely perfect. That’s what I say.

So there are a few things to consider during your last week or so of training, like last week or two of training. And those are some logistical things, like what are you going to wear on race day, what are you going to eat, how are you going to get your race packet, that’s the envelope that has your number and few other bits of information, how are you going to get to the race, where are you going to park.

So the last couple weeks before your race, I want you to start thinking about those things. One of the cardinal rules of running is never try anything new on race day. I have been bitten in the ass by this before and now I’m just like, nope, never ever ever anything new on race day.

Your training period is not just for building up strength and endurance. It’s also for trying out your race day strategy, such as what you’re going to wear, how you’re going to eat, and this week, that last week or two of your training, you’re going to do a dress rehearsal for the big day.

So you’re going to get out the clothes, the gadgets, the nutrition, the timing, everything as much as possible that you can simulate race day, that even the time of day that you’re going to be doing your race, you’re going to do a dress rehearsal. So that way, you’re going to try it all out, and if there’s any potential issues that come up, instead of having them crop up during your race, they’ll crop up during your dress rehearsal and you can fix it. You can address it.

So everything you’ve practiced for the past two months comes together at your dress rehearsal. Now, you have done enough running by this point to know which outfits are your favorites, which ones make you feel fabulous, the ones that don’t require you to constantly tug on the seams to keep them in place. This is what you’re going to wear on race day. It’s an outfit that will not distract you and frustrate you, an outfit that boosts your confidence, and an outfit that reminds you you’re a real runner.

And I also want you to prepare a good weather outfit and an inclement weather outfit, such as maybe longer tights if it’s colder, or a jacket and gloves if it’s cold. And also, you want to make sure that you’ve tried them out. So we’re not going to run with a jacket on race day if we’ve never run with a jacket during our training.

And by the way, I want you to make sure during your training – I probably should have said this earlier. Train in all weathers. We don’t do our training runs only on nice days. We don’t reschedule our training runs on rainy days so that we can run in nice weather because it might rain on race day. It might snow on race day depending on where you live.

So make sure you train in all kinds of weather and then you’ll have tried out all kinds of gear so that your race is – so that your training is accurate. Before your dress rehearsal, I recommend seeing if you can check the expected weather on race day.

So if you do your dress rehearsal more than 10 days out, you might not be able to get a prediction of race day weather. So maybe try to do it within that 10-day window. But look at the weather and say okay, it looks like it might rain, so I’m going to wear my rainy day outfit on my dress rehearsal.

So a 5K is a short race. And even though it might feel long to you in the moment, it really is in the grand scheme of things a short race. So what you eat the morning of the race is important but if you’re used to running on an empty stomach, that’s going to be your best bet on race day.

If you’ve trained on an empty stomach, I want you to race on an empty stomach. If you’ve trained by eating half a banana or a granola bar before your training runs, then that’s what you’re going to do on race day. So it’s really important that what you eat and drink on race day is the way you’ve trained.

And the other thing that’s really important is what you eat and drink in the days leading up to the event. So you’re going to be hydrating, maybe more than usual. I want you to be super hydrated for your race day and that means drinking plenty of water in the several days leading up to your race.

And you know, drinking a beer the night before a race might seem like a good idea, but I promise you, if you’ve ever had a beer or two and then the next morning your run has sucked, if you have a beer or two the night before your race, you’re probably going to have a sucky race.

So maybe skip the alcohol the night or even two nights before your big race, and then you can celebrate afterwards with a drink if you want to. Now, the night before your race, again, you’re going to fuel yourself with very high quality nutrition.

So alcohol is kind of not the greatest idea, but also I wouldn’t go out and eat half a pizza. I would pick some super, super healthy foods for you to eat the night before your race. Again, a 5K is a short race so there’s really no need to carb load with a huge plate of pasta, and really, there’s no need to do that before any race.

But definitely not before a 5K because you’re just going to end up feeling sluggish the next morning. What else? I did say if you’re used to eating before your run, you’re going to make sure you eat the same thing on race day, and also this is important, you’re going to allow the appropriate amount of time for your regular bathroom routine. You know what I mean.

So if you know you have to go 20 minutes after you eat or after you drink coffee, build that into your schedule. Either go before you leave home, or make sure you get to the race site in plenty of time to stand in line at the porta potties.

Okay, so to make sure you are able to run your best race, it is critical to know the rules and logistics for your particular race. So every event is different. I would hate to see you get disqualified for not following a rule that you didn’t even know about.

So I want you to review the race website in detail, read every single email that you’ve received, familiarize yourself with the information. If you have questions and they’re not answered in all of the stuff that you’ve got available to you, email the race organizer. Go on their Facebook page, reach out to other people that might be doing the race.

But make sure that you read and research everything so that there are no surprises. And here are some things that you might want to consider when you are doing your research. First, weather policy. What happens if the race is canceled due to rain or thunder or lightning or hail or tornadoes, depending on where you live.

Where are the start and finish lines, where can your family and friends cheer you on, where are you going to park, do you have to pay for parking, and if so, do you need to pay in cash? What time do you need to be there? Are headphones allowed on the race course? Where and when can you pick up your race bib and your t-shirt?

For many races, you can do this the morning of the event, but large races often require you to pick up your packet the day before. What information do you need to bring with you when you pick up your race packet? Is it ID, is it a registration receipt? Do you need to show the email? Can someone else pick it up for you if you’re not available?

Will there be any road closures for the race and does this affect the route you’ll be driving to get there? Where are the aid stations along the route of the race? Are they going to be at mile one and a half, are they going to be at miles one and two? Be aware of where the aid stations are.

Will you have a timing chip and will you need to return it after the race? Usually you don’t have to return it. Usually they’re attached to race bibs. But sometimes they’re not. I’ve done some triathlons where if you didn’t turn in your timing chip afterwards, there was a penalty.

So know the answer to that question. And again, if you don’t find the answers to any of these questions, email the race director, post the question on the race’s Facebook page, somebody will get back to you.

And here are a few miscellaneous tips to remember. So first of all, when you get your race packet, if there are safety pins inside it, do not throw them out. You will need them to pin your race number on your shirt. Also, plan to arrive early enough for at least two last minute porta potty visits. Just trust me on this.

You’ll almost always get a race shirt for a 5K. You may or may not get a finisher’s medal for a 5K. It will usually tell you on the website for the race. And pack your stuff and lay your outfit out the night before so that the next morning you can just get up, get dressed, eat your breakfast, use the bathroom and go.

Alright, during your dress rehearsal, I just realized I didn’t mention this. During your dress rehearsal, make sure you take note of what went well and what didn’t go well exactly as expected. And of course plan to make those adjustments on race day, but notice also what you are thinking about those events, about the circumstances of the things that didn’t go exactly the way you wanted them to. And do your self-coaching, your thought coaching on all of that.

Now, finally, we are ready for race day and this is the celebration and reward for all the hard work you put in over the past couple of months. The prep work is done, your gear is ready, you worked out all the logistics of getting to the start line, your family and friends are waiting at the finish line to cheer you on, and basically all that’s left to do is for you to run.

So the night before, it’s kind of normal to feel nervous. Again, you can use your thought coaching on this. Coaching yourself on your thinking so that you can calm down a little bit. But it is normal to feel nervous, and many people don’t sleep well the night before the race.

That’s okay. Get what sleep you can. I always say two nights before the race, you want to get a good long deep sleep. Then the night before, you might not sleep as well and that’s okay. But know that everybody else is in the same boat. They’re all going to be tossing and turning and that’s just fine. You’re going to be fine.

So your goal for this race, again, is to finish feeling amazing and proud. The time on the clock is irrelevant. I want you to burn that into your brain. Whether you come in first, last, or somewhere in the middle, it’s all perfect. And you’re going to use the intervals and the ratio of running to walking that worked for you during your training runs.

I don’t want you starting out this race thinking I’m so energetic, I’m just going to run the first mile and then I’ll do my intervals, because you know what? You’re going to suffer at the backend of your race. So I want you to start out just like it’s any other training run. Even hold yourself back a little bit pace wise.

Now, if you did your – for example, you did intervals of a minute run and a minute walk during your training runs, that’s the interval that you’re going to use on race day. It’s not the time to sprint out of the gate and run the first 10 minutes.

And it can be tempting because everybody else is running. A lot of people don’t know that they need to run the race the way they trained. And unless you trained running through the first 10 minutes of every training run, you’re not going to do your race that way. But it’s exciting and you’re nervous and amped up and there’s all these people cheering and so you can be tempted to go out too fast.

Do not give into this temptation because it’s going to tire you out quickly and you’re not going to have anything left to give in the last mile. So make sure you do your intervals from the moment you cross the starting line. It’s okay that everybody else is not doing it yet. They’re the ones that are going to suffer later. Not you. I cannot stress this enough.

I hear so many stories about people who felt so amazing and energetic in the beginning, ran the first mile, like two minutes faster than usual, and by the end of the race they had to walk the last half mile because they had nothing left in the tank. So really, take this to heart.

So start out slow, manage your energy, save something for that finish line sprint. When you start getting close to that finish line, that’s when you bust it out. That’s when you pull together everything you’ve got and give it all, give it your all. Because you want to look happy and energetic for the photographers. Not tired and defeated.

Okay, I created a race week checklist for you guys too. So if you want to print that and download it, and it’s going to have everything that we just talked about and then a few more things that we’re going to cover in a moment. If you want to print that out and download it, you can find it in the show notes at episode 198 of the podcast. Just go to notyouraveragerunner.com and look for episode 198 of the podcast and you can grab that download.

Alright, so a few more things. This is the nitty-gritty of things that you want to do, checklist items. The night before the race, I want you to lay out all of your clothes and gear, including your race number, your timing chip, your safety pins, your shoes, tights, top, jacket, gloves, socks, undies, sports bra, hat, headband. All the things.

If you didn’t pick up your race number yet, okay, well, you won’t lay that out. You’ll be picking that up in the morning. But very often your timing chip is attached to the back of your race bib. So make sure if it is, and you’ll see it, if you flip your race number, your race bib over, you’ll see this little thing stuck to it. Make sure you don’t fold that.

So be aware of that if you are laying everything out the night before. Next, prepare a go bag with lip balm, bobby pins, extra ponytail holder, Bodyglide, contact lens solution, extra water bottle, granola bar, sunscreen, socks, headphones, every possible thing you might think you need. You can leave that in the car at the last minute. You probably will.

But in the event, you need something, you can send someone back to the parking lot to grab it for you or what have you. I’d so much rather have you bring more stuff than you need and leave it in the car than find out you don’t have what you need because you left it at home.

So still, the night before, you’re going to pin your race bib onto your shirt, attach the timing chip if necessary, and have that – maybe try your shirt on and make sure that the race bib is exactly where you want it to be. You can also put your race bib on your tights if you want to. You can pin it to your thigh.

A lot of people do that as well in case – if you’re wearing a jacket and you’re thinking I want to have my jacket on for part of the run but I don’t want it to cover up my race bib, then maybe you put your race bib on your tights. Totally fine.

Next again, you’ve already figured this out but you’re going to set your alarm because you’re going to know your race morning schedule. Figure out exactly when you need to leave to get there on time or early, and then set three alarms, at least one of which is on the other side of the room so you can’t accidentally turn it off and set them for earlier than you think you need to be up.

You’re probably not going to sleep through them again, because you might be tossing and turning, but just in case, the more alarms the better. Make sure your morning meal is ready to go, make sure and double, triple check this, that your phone and other devices are charging.

Know how you’re going to carry your ID and any cash. Will it be a pocket, waistband, armband? I always stick a credit card or a $20 bill in with my ID in case of emergency. Check the weather one last time, check the race website and your email for any last minute announcements and then go to bed.

Now, the morning of the race you’re going to get up earlier than you think you need to. I can’t stress this enough. I’m going to say it over and over again. Even if you got everything ready the night before, something always comes up. The dog steals a shoe and hides it, your phone wasn’t fully plugged into the charger and it’s dead, just get up earlier. Just trust me.

And leave earlier than you think you need to. It’s better to be the first one there and wait around than still parking your car while everyone else is running. Ask me how I know. And again, if there’s no guidance given on the race site, aim to be at the location at least 60 minutes before the gun goes off.

Alright, let’s dive into race day etiquette real quick. When you are lining up to start, I want you to place yourself towards the back half of the starting pack and off to one side or the other. There’s two reasons for this. First, it’s good race etiquette to make sure you’re not in the way of faster runners.

There’s nothing wrong with being slow, but just like on a highway, the flow of traffic gets interrupted when slower cars are in the wrong lane, so stay off to the left or the right. After the race starts and the pack thins out, then you can run in the center. Just make sure there’s plenty of room around you to pass.

Now, when you pass people, let them know you’re on their right or their left if you’re coming close to them. Because nothing is more annoying than having somebody suddenly appear three inches away from you when you weren’t expecting it.

The preference, at least in the United States is to pass on the left, and then you just say on your left as you’re approaching. And if they have headphones, they might not hear you. If you can see that somebody’s got headphones, don’t be right in their personal space. Give them a little bit of room so that you don’t freak them out when you pass them.

Don’t follow others too closely because if they stop running you’re going to bump right into them. And it is your responsibility to avoid running into the people in front of you, just like in traffic where you shouldn’t follow too closely either.

If you’re running with friends, don’t run more than two abreast. Too many people running in a line makes it difficult for others to pass you. At the aid stations, take your water, keep moving so others can get what they need. You don’t take your water and then just stop and start drinking it. Get out of the way so others can keep moving through.

And selfies, again, if you’re going to take selfies when you’re running, which I love, take all the selfies, all the pictures, just get out of the way. Pull over to the side, get out of the way or out of the flow, and then take all the pictures. Unless you want a picture of somebody running into you.

Talk to people around you, encourage them, tell other people they’re doing great, be somebody’s cheerleader. I promise, it’s going to make you feel awesome. And it really might make the difference between a good and a bad run for someone.

Now, when you get close to the finish line, if you’re crossing over with other people, try to leave some space in between, otherwise you’re going to have strangers in your photos and so will they. And wearing the race shirt during the race, this is a very hotly debated topic.

There are those who staunchly believe that wearing the race shirt is bad karma until you’ve crossed the finish line, and it pretty much shouts to the world that you’re a newbie. Other people wear them with pride. It is really up to you but remember that wearing a new shirt on race day is not the best idea simply because you have not trained in it, which means you can end up not running your best race because your shirt is making you uncomfortable.

Alright now, after the race starts, if there are more than a few hundred people, you’re going to plan to shuffle for a little while. This is normal. Your chip will take this time into account. And remember, you’re going to follow your intervals from the very beginning.

Plan to walk through the aid stations so you do not spill water all over the place when you’re trying to drink. It’s not fun. Start a little slower than you think you can maintain for the entire race, and then slowly pick up the pace so you finish the second half faster than the first. I advise practicing this on your training runs as well.

People will pass you. This is normal. It does not mean you’re running too slowly. Everyone is running his or her own race. Comparing your pace to someone else’s is going to dial down your happiness a little bit, so stop it. The compare and despair, not fun. Don’t do it.

There will always be somebody older than you and heavier than you that will leave you in the dust. Look to that person as an example of what is possible, rather than evidence that you suck. Because remember, first place, last place, both run the same distance.

Alright, when you see a photographer, always smile and wave. This will give you the best chance for awesome race photos. And as soon as you see that finish line in the distance, kick it into high gear, give it your all. And do something fun when you cross the finish line. Like my friend Laura, who always kicks up her heels. She has the best pictures.

So after you finish, you’re going to keep moving your legs for at least 20 minutes and that might be just slow walking, that’s totally fine, maybe a little bit of a stretch, never hurts. Drink some water, have a snack if you want to, hang around at the finish line, cheer everybody else on. Again, take some time to stretch, and then take lots of pictures. Post them on social media to celebrate because you fucking did it.

Okay my friends, that’s it. That is my master checklist for 5K training. If you didn’t listen to episode one, make sure you go back and check that out, it’s all about mindset and how to pick a training plan. And head on over to the notyouraveragerunner.com website to grab your checklist download with episode 198.

I hope you enjoyed this series. That’s it for this week. I love you, stay safe, get your ass out there and run and I will talk to you next week.

Oh, and one last thing. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, you have to check out the Rebel Runner Roadmap. It’s a 30-day online program that will teach you exactly how to start running, stick with it, and become the runner you’ve always wanted to be. Head on over to rebelrunnerroadmap.com to join. I’d love to be a part of your journey.