How-to get ready for a virtual 5K run

Adam Marks graduated from BU’s College of Communication in 2003 with a B.S. in Magazine Journalism and a minor in Psychology. Since 2009, Adam has worked in the health and wellness industry in the greater Philadelphia and Boston areas as a personal trainer, health coach, group exercise instructor, and gym manager, and is currently doing virtual coaching and personal training from his home in Jamaica Plain, MA. Adam is a Master Trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine and is pursuing an M.S. in Health and Wellness Education from the American College of Education.

For the past two summers, I have been a running support coach for an organization in Boston that sponsors a free 5K community run every September. Over a period of 12 weeks, the coaches and I met local community members at Franklin Park in Jamaica Plain to help people of all ages, backgrounds, and fitness levels learn how to properly ramp up their exercise level to participate in the 5K, promote overall health and wellbeing and encourage individuals to work as a team to support each other as we worked towards race day. Each Saturday morning session lasted about an hour, and each week built upon the previous one to make sure that the participants learned proper running form and technique, and groups were separated into different pace times as we traversed the park and ramped up to 3.1 miles by the end of the summer. Before and after the sessions, coaches would chat with the group about nutrition, hydration, breathing, cramping, the importance of a good pair of shoes, and a positive attitude, and although this year we were not able to race together in person due to COVID-19 restrictions on large public gatherings, our virtual run was a huge success with hundreds of people participating from all over the city.

I recently signed up for the BU Alumni Weekend Virtual 5K Challenge, and although like many hundreds of thousands of runners all over the world I’m quite sad to not be running 5K races in person this fall, I wanted to share some of the tips we gave to our runners these past two summers for those that are looking to ramp up to a virtual 5K or any running race in the coming months. No need for any equipment or even a gym, and these are all things that you can do at home, outdoors at a park, on a sidewalk or driveway, at work at your desk, or in any open space in the city:

Keep those hips and ankles loose and flexible

If you are a runner of any kind, do you do a warm-up and/or cool down before and after your run? It doesn’t have to be anything fancy but in this day and age as we are all stuck in our chairs Zooming all day, our hips and ankles get tighter and tighter, and for me, personally, having just turned 40, I know that I have to give myself a good 5-10 minutes of “movement prep” before I can do any sort of exercise. Nothing fancy, but any combination of hip circles, leg swings, lunges, squats, calf raises, ankle circles, and torso twists can at the very least get the blood flowing and work out some of that daily stiffness.

Image source: runnersworld.com

Water is amazing, but you don’t need to drink as much as you think

Tom Brady loves to brag about the 100 + ounces of water he drinks every day and that’s great, but he’s Tom Brady and your not. Sorry. As much as I love TB12, he’s an elite athlete and most of us are casual exercisers, so we don’t need to hydrate as much as we think. So how much is enough? There is a lot of research to dig into here if you are interested, but you have to be able to answer a few questions about yourself first: “Am I a heavy sweater? Is it going to be hot and humid on my running day or cool and cloudy? Do I get thirsty easily? How do I feel when I drink a lot of or too little water?” It’s a hard balance and it’ll take some trial and error on your part but if you are thirsty, go ahead and drink. If you aren’t thirsty, no worries, your body will tell you when you need to take a sip.

It’s not just about running

For a lot of people, running is just boring. You start at a certain point, you run for a while, you stop, and then you are done. Not super entertaining and a slog for some, which is why 5K races are my favorite because you don’t really even have much time to think about it, you just run as hard as you can, and then you can go home! Well, sort of. But if you are looking for different and fun ways to ramp up to a 5K, how about sprints, fartlicks, or hill work? Anything you can do to make a “normal” run more interesting, including doing short sprints in the middle of the run, striding to an object or even a jog/run/sprint combo can ensure you get the most from your run and stay entertained along the way.

Come up with a long term plan

Nike has an awesome app called Nike Run Club, which BU is using for the Virtual 5K as well. They also have an excellent 5K training program online, and although it might be a little late in the game to use it for the Alumni 5K at the end of the month, their tips and ideas are easily replicable for future runs throughout the fall. It’s truly good stuff, and a lot of the ideas from this blog are compiled in their outline to make it easier to scale up and implement while tracking your run times, pacing, heart rate, and connecting with like-minded running friends at the same time.

And if you don’t have the time or inclination to get started on any of the things above prior to the 5K? No problem. Nothing wrong with a fast-paced walk or a combination of walking and jogging to get you started and moving. Either way I’m looking forward to participating in the alumni race and am excited to see some of you there, even if it is only in a virtual way.

Register to run

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