Race for Life

[domesticgoddess]

So, I'm running the Race for Life this year.  All 5 kilometres of it.  Now, that's not a long way, I can hear you thinking.  And you would be right.  But it's bloody long enough for someone who hasn't run since they were forced to do cross-country at school over 10 years ago.  And for someone who spent most of last year working towards being unable even to walk anywhere close to 5k.

For those of you who don't know (or more likely, those of you who haven't got a fucking clue who I am because I've hardly posted in a year), at the start of last year I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  Basically, it's a really nasty illness that leaves you feeling permanently exhausted and constantly ill.  This time last year I could barely walk for more than about five minutes without collapsing, or landing myself in bed for three days to get over it.  So, I'm actually pretty proud that I've got  to a point where I can think about running a 5k race.

I've got my training programme all sorted out, and I'm 2 weeks in.  So far, so good.    I'm actually really enjoying it, something I never thought I would hear myself say!  So, do any of the regular runners have any tips for me?  I know there are some of you out there!

This is also a blatant and shameless plug for sponsorship (thanks, Neil for allowing me to post this link!).  If anyone would like to sponsor me you can do so on my personal fundraising page http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/mandycumberland
All the money raised goes directly to Cancer Research UK.  I'm running because I can, and because this time last year I never thought that would be possible.  And I'm running for all the people with CFS who would run if they could.  And of course, I'm running for the people in my life that I have loved and lost to cancer.

Feel free to mock the quintessentially girlie and uncompetitive nature of the race, or moan about how sexist it is (even though they run a men-only race too!).  I promise to post a suitably embarrassing photo of me looking all red-faced and sweaty crossing the finishing line.

[Emma Raducanu]

I have nothing to add, except well done! and good luck.

[rudi]

That's not a race I'd be keen on losing.

Best of British, old bean.

[buttgammon]

My cousin's doing it too and so are quite a lot of people I think.

I'm afraid I couldn't really advise you with anything exercise related because I'm as lazy as it gets but bon chance.

[Banana Woofwoof]

Good luck, bird.  When I get some spare cash I'll try to stick a tenner in.  My friend did it last year for her mum.

[Oscar]

Gadzooks, but that's some fine recovery, congratulations!
I hope it all goes well.
My friend who knows the way of the runners says that it's all down to breathing and trainers, get them right and you'll surprise yourself, get them wrong and you'll find it a struggle; but then if you're enjoying it already you've probably got them right.
Good luck

[Santa's Boyfriend]

Race for Life sounds very Battle Royale to me.

[domesticgoddess]

My friend who knows the way of the runners says that it's all down to breathing and trainers, get them right and you'll surprise yourself, get them wrong and you'll find it a struggle

Well, I am breathing, so I guess that's a good start.  Is there a specific breathing technique then?  At the moment I'm kind of going for the rasping oh-my-god-i-want-to-die type technique.

[Oscar]

That's not quite the technique I was thinking of, no.
From what I remember a big part of it is breathing very evenly and calmly, in through your nose and out through your mouth. The automatic thing is to breathe fast and shallow as you get tired, but you need to actually do the opposite, it helps if you have a steady pace and rhythm that synchronises your breathing and your feet.
Does that make any sense?
I'm not the best person to ask, I ran for a while and I did get the breathing thing right eventually, but proper runners are likely to know more. I'll e mail my runner friend later and see if she has more helpful advice.

[gazzyk1ns]

Unless you're having a specific problem, aside from a simple lack of fitness*, I don't think you should try to force any specific breathing technique or pattern. You should really let your "instinct" (for want of a better term) govern how you breathe, just as is the case with many things like arm movement and, generally, stride. Again though, things might be different if you've got identified issues, it doesn't sound as if that's the case though. You say your training programme is going well; generally, as you get fitter, you'll find that being out of breath becomes less and less of an issue, until it becomes irrelevant when running at a "steady pace", and it's then your legs which will begin to falter first.

As gnatt says, trainers which you're happy with are vital, and the fact that you're two weeks into your training and reporting no problems leads me to assume that you are happy with them? If so, don't even think about it, and obviously wear those for the race.

Aside from that, the best advice is to not make the mistake of doing anything out of the ordinary to your body on  and immediately before race day. No big pasta meal the night before (that's a terrible and common mistake to make... your guts will just be full up during the race...), no new gear, no getting up extra early or anything like that. The time of the race is something else to consider - if you've been training as and when you feel like, or can, then you might not be used to running at 11am or whenever the race starts [Fake pre-submit edit: I see from their website that some of them start at 19:30, I've no idea which one you're doing, and your sponsor page is down for me at the moment]. Obviously I've no idea to what degree your CFS affects that, though.

*That's not meant to be patronising, I'd say those exact words to a person of any experience/ability.

[domesticgoddess]

Unless you're having a specific problem, aside from a simple lack of fitness*

*That's not meant to be patronising, I'd say those exact words to a person of any experience/ability.

Heh, that's OK!  I am very unfit.

Thanks gazzykins and gnatt for the advice.  I generally run on my days off or working at home, and run at about 11:30 in the morning, which seems to be my preferred time for running.  And the race I'm running is at 11:00, so that's a happy coincidence.  I'm doing the one in Regents Park on 21st July.

How long do you think it will take to run the whole 5k continuously?

[gazzyk1ns]

Well that's not really something anyone else can tell you - ideally, well before race day, you'd try to run about 5K as fast as possible. If you have to jog it and/or take walking breaks then fine, you've still got your "marker", that's the only thing you're trying to achieve. Maybe work towards trying that in... I don't know, a month (I'm really wary of saying things like that, obviously you know what you feel capable of, what could very well be counter-productive, etc.), then you'll actually have time to try to improve on that same course/time well before race day. You've got your training schedule and it's going well, though, don't feel that you have to tinker with it too much.

One other thing which I didn't mention above - don't drink too much on race day just because EVERYONE is constantly going on about remaining hydrated. Obviously it's not a load of bollocks or anything like that, and I'm not talking about possibly doing a Leah Betts, but too much fluid sloshing around in your stomach doesn't equal good running. I mean, I'm sure you'll know from your training how much you need to drink, it's just that I think a lot of people get carried away with the occasion combined with the constant reminders to remain hydrated. It's all part of the same general advice really - when it comes to your running, make the race as "routine" as possible. There's no chance the adrenaline won't be pumping when you're lined up on the start line and I'm sure there's no chance you'll enjoy the occasion any less either. Well, you know, quite the opposite, hopefully!

Somebody else say something now, I feel like I'm dominating the thread a bit.

[Abbie]

I'm doing this too! Did it last year without any training. Came in at a reasonable 35 mins (sprint finish against an 11 year old girl - kicked her ass) BUT struggled to walk for about 3 days afterwards. This year my friend and I are planning to do a bit of training. So far all we've done is plan though. Last time we went over the park to run loads of sexy boys were playing footy sans t-shirts (ah, sunshine) so we just lay on the grass and watched them instead. Bloody perverts.

[domesticgoddess]

Good luck Abbie!

Which race are you doing?  I would be a freaky coincidence if it were the same one.  35 minutes, eh?  I'm gon' whoop yo ass, girlfriend.*  Heh, good luck anyway.  And yes, eye-candy in the park does make the running more fun.


*Er, not really!  I think I'll be lucky to run the whole way without any walking breaks, so I'm sure you'll pretty much hit my time out of the park.

[Abbie]

Cheers ears - you too! I'm running in Gloucester with a team of work colleagues. There are a couple of very fit, agile ladies in amongst them (20 something minute-ers) so i'll be taking them out Nina Williams style before we hit the first bend. Not that i'm at all competitive.

[MissInformed]

How long do you think it will take to run the whole 5k continuously?

My daughter and I usually do a 5k charity run (very slow walk/crawl in my case) every year. The last time, she ran all the way and clocked up just under 30 mins. It would have been quicker, but they separate you at the start into walkers and runners and obviously let the runners...well...run ahead.
She got stuck with the walkers, so we were all bunched up and very slow at starting.
Still, as I said, she ran the whole way in less than half an hour - not bad for a 9 year old.
Me, I dragged my sorry (and very large, hence the slowness) ass in at around 55 minutes. But hell, I walked and chatted with my gals all the way around. It was like a walk in the park.
Oh...

[domesticgoddess]

That's what I like about the Race for Life - it doesn't matter if you walk it, run it, or a bit of both.  Who cares if you don't finish in record-breaking time?  It's just good to take part and hopefully raise some money for cancer research.

Incidentally, whoever Richard is, thank you very much!  I've raised £90 so far, and I still have family to go yet, so I'm hoping it will be a lot more by the time I'm through.