5K Tips to Know

You have been training for the 5K Training for weeks. Your all hyped up and ready for the challenge. You’re eager to see how you match up against the other runners.  Its easy to get carried away and imagine yourself standing on the winner’s podium at the end of the race, being showered with praise and glory. It you do, that’s where things start to go wrong. Remember who you are. What you may really find is that you can run at a pretty good clip and have a reasonable time at the end of the race. If you push yourself too hard and try to match the performance of the professional or semi pro runners who may be in the race, you will burn out, could hurt yourself and when you find them beating you, the fun may go out of running. Its great exercise to try to run a 5K race but don’t get caught up in trying to run like the pro’s do and just enjoy yourself.

The first thing you need to remember is that there is an etiquette to be observed at the starting line.  The pros will be in front, which is their rightful place. Why should they, who are the fastest runners, have to pick their way through a bunch of slower amateurs? It slows them down, will affect their race plan and does not benefit the slower runners in any way. Your place, as an amateur runner, it towards the back of the grid. You’re not going to come in first so what the professionals do does not concern you – let them speed off into the distance. Being in the back of the grid means there will be less of a crowd around you at the start of the 5k and you can run at your own pace.

Don’t worry about who overtakes you or whom you overtake during the race. That’s not important. Trying to keep up with people who don’t look like they should be faster than you and burning yourself out is not going to help you. Run at the pace you have been practicing at. What is important is not what happens during the race but being able to finish it and see where you stand amongst the other amateurs of your age group and fitness levels. This will give you a benchmark by which to measure your own performance.

During your 5K Running training you should count your paces per minute or, if that is difficult, find songs that match your pace and listen to them. If you like to let your mind wander as you run, get a heart beat monitor and a set pace to match your heart beat. Stick to this during your 5K Running training and also during the race . Let the others bolt off the starting line like the devils are after them. Do your own thing and soon you will find yourself passing the puffing and panting runners who got carried away with the excitement of the race and forgot the basics of running and what they are running for.

Jogging Tip is now the best place to visit to meet others who enjoy jogging. Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. Learn the best tips for training for a 5K and what to expect for your first 5K race. Come by Jogging Tip.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

 

5K and your Race Day Routine

If you are like most people who run for exercise and enjoyment, you will not be entering the 5k run to win. Or even to come among the top 25% of the runner. If you can achieve this, that’s fine, but it should not be your aim. If you do you will be pushing yourself too hard and could injure yourself and ruin the fun of the race. The winner are probably professional or semi pro runners and to try and outrun then is unrealistic. Their level of training and physical condition is greater than yours and is more than the average amateur runner needs. Run for the fun of it and to see how your stand among your equals, the other amateurs.

On the race day 5K Running stick to your normal routine. Trying something new in the race, such as a different stride or a different diet can cause problems that may affect your ability to run. If you want to experiment, do it a few weeks before the race so you have time to see if the new ideas suit you and if they do, have time to condition your body to them. The same applies to your running gear. You need to break in new sheos so don’t wear them in a race. New shorts or t-shirts could be too light or too loose, either way, the discomfort will affect you running.

Everyone will tell you to drink a lot of fluids before the race which is a good idea. During your 5K race its important that you remember to still remain hydrated. People often avoid this thinking it will slow them down. Make picking up a paper cup and drinking while 5K Running a par of your training. Drinking while running means a lot of the liquid will spill but a good runner consume more than he wastes.

What you eat before a race is important. Foods that have a good balance of everything, carbs, fiber, and low fat are good to eat before your race. Among the things you could try are  pastas, high carb and protein cereals mixed with bananas, oatmeal with raisins mixed in and bagels with jelly. There are a lot of books as well as internet sites devoted to food for runners. Many of these will be devoted to professional athletes but you will get some good ideas from them that you can adapt to your requirements and taste. Since an full stomach and running don’t mix, make sure you eat your last meal about 3 hours before the race begins. Try out various food options during your training, keeping this time gap and see what works best for you. Remember that you don’t have to stuff yourself with food to have energy for the race. More food on the day of the 5k does not mean more energy. On the contrary it will leave you feeling bloated and heavy and can slow you down. Stick to your normal intake amounts. It’s a good idea to start watching our diet a day before the race and cut out fats and diuretics like coffee and liquor that will reduce the water in your body.

Jogging Tip is now the best place to visit to meet others who enjoy jogging Jogging . Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. Learn about training for a 5k and running your first 5K race. Come by Jogging Tip.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

Your First 5k Run

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they want to know how good a physical condition they are in. The best way to do this is to enter a competitive 5K Training race. A lot of people begin with a 5K because its a middle of the road race that isn’t too short or too long and a great one to start jogging and training for. A non runner in his first 5k race should not be thinking of winning or even of getting anywhere near the podium. It is enough to see where you stand in relation to others who are running for the same reason as you are. Sometimes for a lot of people, its the race that starts them on running and then they decide to continue to jog out of habit after it is over.

Even if you are not a regular runner, the 5K Training is a good way to judge your physical standards and once you finish it, a great motivator to keep on running. It really is no fun to wake up one morning and then decide to run a 5K and you will probably end up not liking running if you do that. The first thing you need to do, especially if you are over 30, is get a doctor to certify that you are in good over health and that there is no medical reason why you should not run the 5k. The next thing is to begin your training program.

There is no fixed training schedule you have to follow. Its good to realize that no two people have exactly the same fitness levels. There are lots of books and internet site that can tell you how to prepare for the 5K Training race. Go through as many of them as you can and find the plan that suits you best. Do not be taken in by any plan that promises results in a few days – its not possible. The average training time required for a non runner to get in shape for the 5k is 6 to 8 weeks. If you feel that this is too short a time span for you, there are many programs designed a lower more measured progression that can extended to 10 or 12 weeks.

If you find the plan you have chosen does not suit you – it may be too easy and become boring or too hard and over stress your body – stop and try something else. It is important not to modify a training schedule yourself. Each schedule is designed on specific parameters and speeding it up or slowing it down may results in less than optimum results.

Most training programs will list warning signs that tell you that you are overdoing it or that the program does not suit you. Anything from muscle pain to soreness and diarrhea can be some of the results of some of these things. If you have any of these symptoms, stop, see if you are doing something wrong and if you are not, switch to an easier paced program. Don’t start out runing to try to be the best and fastest runner, remember you are doing this for enjoyment and fun as well.

 

Jogging History

Jogging, as an act of running over a distance at a measured pace, has been around since the beginning of man. The earliest cave dwellers who know it was not safe to be out in the wild after dark, knew from the position of the setting sun, when it was time for them to start moving back to safety at a brisk pace. The hunter, who often had to keep up with this prey over long distances before having a chance to strike, also learned the art of moving at a pace faster than walking over a long distance. These were the first joggers.

When the first human settlements sprang up in pre historic Africa and communities began to interact with ach other, the vast distances to be covered from one place to another made travelling at a walking pace unviable and so people jogged the distances. Perhaps that accounts for the success African nations have historically had in middle and long distance running.

But all this was just a way of covering distances in a shot time. Jogging as a form of exercise and physical training came into existence with the early Romans and Greeks who used slow distance 5K Training as a form of training their armies. Both cultures were very fit countries so the athelets started enduring the jogging to gain more endurance.

Some people say that the marathons in the Olympic games were some of the first forms of jogging but that may be a little bit of a stretch.

Jogging, in its modern form dates from Medieval Europe. It was at this time that that individual physical fitness became important. Track and field sports had spread all over Europe and since there were as yet no specialized training programs or equipment athletes had only the use of weights to build up their muscles and jogging over long distances to build up their stamina. Even the aristocracy took it up. Noblemen of that time placed a great deal of importance on their skill as swordsmen, both as a measure of social standing and well as at means of self defense in a lawless time when a solitary rich man was thought of a easy picking for a gang of thugs. Using a sword, either for the pleasure of fencing or as a means of self defense, requires far more stamina that most people understand. Really it was jogging that had to be done so one could gain endurance.

The first mention of 5K Training in print is a reference to it in Shakespeare’s 1593 play, “The Taming of the Shrew.” By the 17th century it had become a common form of exercise all over England since it involved no expensive equipment or special locations.

Jogging was first used in America in the 19th century as part of the training of boxers and football and baseball players. It was called roadwork then and remained a part of formal sports training until the 1960s when Bill Bowerman, the University of Oregon’s track coach saw it being used as a form of personal exercise and relaxation in New Zealand and brought the concept home with him. It took a little while to gain some traction as the sport started to get around and then it exploded.

Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. There are topics about 5K Training and running your first 5K Races. There is time to visit the new Jogging Tip.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

Don’t Underestimate The Importance of Stretching

If you want to reduce the chances of having an injury then you really need to make sure that you have a good warm up before you do any weight lifting or running etc.

Your overall goal is to attain good range of motion, while gradually extending that range to a degree appropriate to your fitness level and body type. There are several different ways to accomplish that goal, and you should use at least a few of them before every workout.  Exercising is very important for health and as a weight loss program, it’s just very important that you do things correctly.

Please make sure that you take the time to do a thorough warm-up routine. Cold muscles are much more likely to tear and lead to stretched or torn cartilage and other harmful results. Warm-ups and stretches help produce the fluid that lubricates the joints, and it helps the muscles become more elastic. Those both lead to safer, higher performance workouts.

Ten to fifteen minutes is the minimum for most people. This can be done by low-impact jogging in place, simple stretches and other techniques.

Static stretching, for example, is the old-fashioned stretch and hold for 30 seconds. This can be done with your neck, trunk, legs and arms. Dynamic stretching and ballistic stretching involve more active, bouncing-style or weight-assisted stretching, sometimes with extra force applied. Both types are helpful.

When you swing your ams back and forth in front of your body for 30 seconds this is a type of dynamic stretch. Another technique involves using a short bar across the neck, lying on the shoulders. Place your hands on the bar, then bend slowly left, then right, moving the head toward the outer edge of the foot.

Abdominal muscles can be prepared by lying backwards on a large rubber ball. Push back slowly and raise the arms above your head. You can repeat this 10 times. If you wish to loosen your hamstrings what you can do is lie on your back and then raise your leg with the help of a towel which you wrap around your foot. Take hold of the ends and then pull up gradually. Switch legs, then repeat for 10 reps.

A full back stretch is accomplished by lying on your back and bringing both knees to the chest, hands clasped behind the knees. Roll forward until your feet hit the floor, then roll back until the head touches. Do 10 rolls.

Groin stretches can be done safely by using a large rubber ball. Place one knee on the ball and slowly rotate the ball a few inches away from your body. Move the ball back toward your body, then switch legs. Do 10 movements.

Both the legs and back muscles can get a good warm-up stretch by doing toe taps. When standing up straigh, your feet should be about shoulder width apart. Lean forward, touching the big toe on one foot with the opposite hand – left hand to right foot, and vice-versa. Those with lower back problems should consult a trainer or physician before attempting these.

For maximum flexibility, stretching routines should be carried out at least a few times per week. This will help maximize the range of motion and decrease the potential for injury.