Get set for the Fitbloggin 5K!

This is a guest post from Up & Running. More specifics about the FitBloggin’ 5k Fun Run coming soon!

One of the highlights of Fitbloggin is always the Fitbloggin 5K. This year the race is set for Sunday September 23 at 7AM.

If you’re new to fitness and/or have never done a 5K race before, the Fitbloggin 5K is a perfect chance to take the plunge! Julia Jones, coach at Up & Running online running courses, is here to tell you why…

Some of us have an idyllic vision of how running should be. We spot runners floating down a park path or country road, effortlessly churning the miles out with a smile on their face. It looks so easy!

Or maybe we remember a younger version of ourselves – one that used to run. We want to recapture those moments of blissful running; that feeling of pure energy. So we put on a pair of shoes and hit the nearest park to run. I think you already know how this turns out… there’s a lot of grunting effort, occasional swearing and maybe a tear or two.

Getting into running requires patience (with ourselves) and consistency in movement. It also helps to have a goal. The 5km distance is an ideal goal and the Fitbloggin 5K makes for a fabulous first race! I know lots of people want to tackle the longer distances right away, but before investing huge amounts of time and energy into training, I recommend starting with a 5k.

I always invite my runners to start out slow. We want your first weeks of training and your first race to be a positive experience. Don’t be discouraged if at first the reality of running doesn’t quite match up to the fantasy. You may be red-faced, sweaty and slightly grumpy. You may need to take some walking breaks. Let me reassure you in my firmest coaching voice: it is totally okay to walk. Really. Even the entire 5km. We all need to start somewhere and your goal for your first 5K is simply to cover the distance.

If 5K sounds like a scary long way right now, plot out a one kilometre (0.6 mile) route. Go walk that distance without looking at a watch, then guess how long it took. This is where time and distance perception warp can kick in. It might have felt like anywhere from five to twenty minutes. The average pace for most kinda-out-of-shape folks is around 10 to 12 minutes. Now multiply that by five and you can get an idea of how long it will take to cover 5km. You could make coming into your first 5km under an hour your new goal. Then take it from there. You can do it!

Julia Jones lives in Italy and alongside Shauna “Dietgirl” Reid created Up & Running online running courses (@runningonline). They offer e-courses for super-new and seasoned runners tackling 5K, 10K and half-marathon runs with expert coaching, awesome training plans and vibrant community support. Their next e-courses begin on 3 September. Visit them at www.upandrunningonline.org.