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Am I fit enough to run a 5k?

Just wondering what you would consider fit enough to run a 5k because I want to run one in a few weeks, got out of training for a couple of weeks for some reason, ran 3.2k today and got an average pace of 6.54 mins/km but that's factoring in a 5min warm up walk. The race is in 11 days, I managed to run half of the warm up walk and the rest of the 3.2k and did the whole thing in 22 mins. I'm pretty small so my pace isn't that big but do you think I'll be okay to run it in 11 days?
I've never done a race before so I'm just starting out :smile:
Reply 1
Original post by liquity
Just wondering what you would consider fit enough to run a 5k because I want to run one in a few weeks, got out of training for a couple of weeks for some reason, ran 3.2k today and got an average pace of 6.54 mins/km but that's factoring in a 5min warm up walk. The race is in 11 days, I managed to run half of the warm up walk and the rest of the 3.2k and did the whole thing in 22 mins. I'm pretty small so my pace isn't that big but do you think I'll be okay to run it in 11 days?
I've never done a race before so I'm just starting out :smile:


Anyone can run a 5k.. just depends how fast you wanna go.
My grandfather goes on 10ks and he's 80 so... yes
Reply 3
Original post by Reue
Anyone can run a 5k.. just depends how fast you wanna go.

I wanna do it kind of fast, definitely under 45 mins :P
Original post by BloodandThunder
My grandfather goes on 10ks and he's 80 so... yes

Wow I feel like I will definitely be okay now
Reply 4
Original post by liquity
I wanna do it kind of fast, definitely under 45 mins :P


That's a pretty light job. If you can continue that for the whole time you'll manage it easily. The big slowdown is if you stop to walk any of it.
Reply 5
Original post by Reue
That's a pretty light job. If you can continue that for the whole time you'll manage it easily. The big slowdown is if you stop to walk any of it.

I suppose the big thing for me would be to run the whole thing without walking
Reply 6
Hey, i started by using the walking/jogging method about 6 weeks ago when i`d been doing strength training, but my cardio was non-existant - so i was really pretty unfit.

There`s no doubt you CAN do the 5k and be ready - when i started (i still can`t "run" because my right knee would collapse), i couldn`t "jog" for more than about 30 yards, and today i did my 2nd 10k in 2 weeks, and i`m still not that fit! (first one was 1 hour 45 (and only 9.7 k really,), 2nd one was 1 hour 34 and 10.1k!)

I`m gonna enter the 10k great Scottish run in October, and i still consider myself relatively unfit!!!

(as for walking, even some marathon runners resort to walking - i`m gonna for some of it!)
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by liquity
Just wondering what you would consider fit enough to run a 5k because I want to run one in a few weeks, got out of training for a couple of weeks for some reason, ran 3.2k today and got an average pace of 6.54 mins/km but that's factoring in a 5min warm up walk. The race is in 11 days, I managed to run half of the warm up walk and the rest of the 3.2k and did the whole thing in 22 mins. I'm pretty small so my pace isn't that big but do you think I'll be okay to run it in 11 days?
I've never done a race before so I'm just starting out :smile:


I used to run 5k everyday lol, it's not really that hard, go for a 5k run and take a break in between. You'll gradually start to notice that you don't need as many breaks
Original post by liquity
I wanna do it kind of fast, definitely under 45 mins :P

Wow I feel like I will definitely be okay now


Fast would be considered around 20 mins, if not less
Reply 9
Original post by liquity
Just wondering what you would consider fit enough to run a 5k because I want to run one in a few weeks, got out of training for a couple of weeks for some reason, ran 3.2k today and got an average pace of 6.54 mins/km but that's factoring in a 5min warm up walk. The race is in 11 days, I managed to run half of the warm up walk and the rest of the 3.2k and did the whole thing in 22 mins. I'm pretty small so my pace isn't that big but do you think I'll be okay to run it in 11 days?
I've never done a race before so I'm just starting out :smile:


Like someone said, anyone can run 5k lol - how fast you wanna go. Do you practise the 3.2k on bitumen track or that's a rough estimation of your route?

Words of advice, don't be afraid to walk just for awhile. For a short period of time that is, like 6/8 steps of walking before you continue back with the jog. It can really help you to feel like you have more energy and you'll go faster when you start back. Avoid downhill for practice - there's a risk for knee/hip injuries (speaking from experience)
Reply 10
Ive done the exact same thing as you yesterday after a year of not running at al.

Yes you can run 5K, that is if you think you're ready.
Reply 11
Original post by Reue
Anyone can run a 5k.. just depends how fast you wanna go.


This

Original post by liquity
I wanna do it kind of fast, definitely under 45 mins :P

Wow I feel like I will definitely be okay now


You will do under 45 minutes, I'm pretty sure
5 (km) /0.75 (45mins) = 7.7km p/hr which is about 0.7km faster than a brisk walk, you can do it! :smile:

edit: I can't shake the feeling that my math is bad..
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 13
Original post by Hasufel
Hey, i started by using the walking/jogging method about 6 weeks ago when i`d been doing strength training, but my cardio was non-existant - so i was really pretty unfit.

There`s no doubt you CAN do the 5k and be ready - when i started (i still can`t "run" because my right knee would collapse), i couldn`t "jog" for more than about 30 yards, and today i did my 2nd 10k in 2 weeks, and i`m still not that fit! (first one was 1 hour 45 (and only 9.7 k really,), 2nd one was 1 hour 34 and 10.1k!)

I`m gonna enter the 10k great Scottish run in October, and i still consider myself relatively unfit!!!

(as for walking, even some marathon runners resort to walking - i`m gonna for some of it!)

Wow congratulations to you :smile: and I've been following a training plan on an app I have called runkeeper which tells me what days to do a certain distance or what days to do intervals and it's really good, although school did prevent me from doing the runs on the correct days sometimes! Thanks for the encouragement :smile:

Original post by Incubator
I used to run 5k everyday lol, it's not really that hard, go for a 5k run and take a break in between. You'll gradually start to notice that you don't need as many breaks


Original post by Incubator
Fast would be considered around 20 mins, if not less

I thought that building it up to a 5k would probably be more beneficial for me in the long run as I don't really do much sport because I've never really been talented enough? Yeah 20 mins is not going to happen, maybe someday in the future!

Original post by HSafirah
Like someone said, anyone can run 5k lol - how fast you wanna go. Do you practise the 3.2k on bitumen track or that's a rough estimation of your route?

Words of advice, don't be afraid to walk just for awhile. For a short period of time that is, like 6/8 steps of walking before you continue back with the jog. It can really help you to feel like you have more energy and you'll go faster when you start back. Avoid downhill for practice - there's a risk for knee/hip injuries (speaking from experience)

Basically as I said above, I follow a training plan on RunKeeper which is an app I have and it tracks where I run so I know my distance and pace etc, and I do road running mostly because the roads around me are fairly quiet, but can be a bit steep at times! Okay yeah I may do that considering race day will probably be the first time that I properly do a 5k run! Luckily although my area has a lot of uphills, the downhills are pretty shallow so I don't tend to encounter them much anyway. Thank you for the advice!

Original post by kkboyk
Ive done the exact same thing as you yesterday after a year of not running at al.

Yes you can run 5K, that is if you think you're ready.

Oh okay, thanks :smile:

Original post by AdderLey
5 (km) /0.75 (45mins) = 7.7km p/hr which is about 0.7km faster than a brisk walk, you can do it! :smile:

edit: I can't shake the feeling that my math is bad..

No I think that works! Thanks, your maths has given me confidence :wink:
My first run was a few days ago.. 36:33 no training whatsoever.
Reply 15
You for sure can run a 5k. It's important to find a pace that you are comfortable with even if it's slower then what you used to run. I came across a great article on running tips- http://www.beachbody.com/beachbodyblog/fitness/8-tips-running-faster This helped refocus my training and hope it helps others
Reply 16
5K isn't much. In the Olympics they usually do up to 40K (26 miles).
I think I've run 5K before (or maybe it was in a dream) :tongue:

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