Signed up for a 10K

[mrqwest]

So a moment of madness happened earlier.

A guy I work with has been a running man for the last 20 odd years. He does ultra-marathons of around 50miles and can do 5k in around 20-22minutes.

He asked me this morning what sort of distance I'm up to and I told him 6k (ish). He put the thought in my head of signing up for a 10k to give myself a target and something to aim for...

So I have. It's in October so a good 3months away. I'm fairly confident I can do it but it's the speed that worries me. Never mind, I've still got a while to train. Tomorrows run will hopefully be a 7k run, I've been loooking forward to it all week so it better be a good one. I'm praying for a nice fresh & crisp morning but my weather app forecasts rain

Kinda hoping those B210k podcasts arrive soon otherwise I'll follow the Bupa plan as that seems decent.

Any tips, tricks or advice would be greatly appreciated

[AliB1 Graduate]

I'm toying with the idea of signing up for a 10k in October but worried about time (i am slow!) and whether I'll be able to run it all (my longest so far non stop is 5.6k). If I go for it I'll try the Petts Wood 10k. Which one you thinking off?

[mrqwest Graduate in reply to AliB1]

I'm slow too, but the way I see it; even if I come last, at least I would have completed a 10k. I'm not overly fussed with the time although it would be nice to come in the top 75%.

My longest run so far, non-stop is 5k but that was a long time ago and most of my 4k+ runs since have all involved walking breaks of 100m, but you know what? I don't think that matters.

I think you should sign up as like my work-mate said, it's something to aim for and a target to concentrate on.

I've signed up for the Croydon 10k (croydon10k.com/index.shtml) - but I've got a slight advantage. Half of the route for the 10k is my normal running route anyway so I can pretty much concentrate on the route and practice on the hills before the day.

[bonnie68 Graduate]

Are you doing the beginner 10k or intermediate? I have had a look at the BUPA 10k programme as starting to train for a 10k for mid September and the beginners looks the most do-able for me. Will be interested in hearing your progress, I may start week 2 of the bupa....

[mrqwest Graduate in reply to bonnie68]

Hey bonnie,

I'll probably attempt the beginner as it's aimed at those who've achieved 5k already. I think the intermediate is for people who've already done a 10k race or two.

Will make sure I keep the progress reports going

[sfb350 Graduate]

I've got my first ever race tomorrow and it's a 10k. I'm not at all ready for it and will almost certainly have to walk some of it, I'm hoping I'll learn from it more than anything.

Good luck with yours !

[Gridlet Graduate]

I haven't entered any races like I said I would and I think all of you are incredibly brave.

I have managed to run 10k though, I've just been running for a bit longer once a week and built it up. If you set your mind to it and start off steady, it's surprising. I felt like I could go forever and actually got a spurt on at the end, finishing in 59 minutes 15 secs!

[mrqwest Graduate in reply to Gridlet]

Wow, what a great time!

I actually went on a longer run today and done 8.5k which is a record for me (and amazing seeing as I couldn't run for more than a minute 3 months ago!) but that was completed in 55(ish) minutes with a fair old climb (141m or 460ft). I figured my 10k time would be around 1:05 although I want to beat an hour on the day, if not before!

The race route actually starts 5 minutes from my door so I plan to run the route (or at least most of it) next weekend and see how my time sits. The route is a lot flatter than today's run so I'm hoping it'll be easier.

[Gridlet Graduate in reply to mrqwest]

Thankyou! I'm sure it was just a fluke though you sound to be doing great!

Good luck with it!

[Greg_M Graduate in reply to mrqwest]

If you can do 8.5 you can definitely do 10. With 3 months to go I bet you are closer to 55 minutes with the efforts you put in. And a home tie

[mrqwest Graduate in reply to Greg_M]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Greg!

I ran the first 5k of the route this morning in just under 31 minutes which isn't too bad so if i can keep that pace, it'll be just over an hour. Not too shabby but yes, I've got 3 months to improve that