Desk to 5k in 6 Weeks ~ My Color Run Story

I know you're prolly looking for a couch to 5k story but to be honest I spend more time at work sitting on my butt than I do in front of a tv.
If you want to skip my story the tips are at the bottom of the page.

I signed up for a 5k when I came across a color run on groupon. They motivate us non runners to join with these fantastic pictures of happy people covered in all these fun colors. I figured why not. It was half off the usual price, I'd get some fun pictures, and might even be able to finish the race. Only problem, I don't run... ever... and I only had 6 weeks to prepare.

Well I had just started going to a new gym. I've been doing pilates, yoga, and strength training about 3 days a week so I figured on my days off I could start training for my 5k... then I found out what a 5k was... 3.1 miles. ugh it no longer sounded like fun.

My sister-in-love, that is more fit than I, (even after a baby!) always kept me motivated with her encouraging words reminding me that something was better than nothing. Running means endurance, that is one thing I don't have. The most I could do on the treadmill at first was warm up walks or 15 second runs. I knew I needed to improve my breathing habits or I'd be a mess of exhaustion. I'd like to say no real progress had been made but any effort is better than nothing. We downloaded all the free apps about running or 5k daily training. We planned to stick to one that had us doing walk and run intervals. She took me to a nearby high school track and we tried our first outdoor run. Being outdoors kicked my butt! I hate humidity! I needed a controlled environment for my training and would eventually go back outside. 

It wasn't until she needed to buy a new pair of running shoes that I realized mine hurt. They were too narrow for me and wouldn't let my toes spread out a little. Once I got these awesome Asics and a few cute running shorts and I was motivated all over again. I must mention I wear a size 5.5-6.5 usually but these are a kids 3.5.... who cares, they were cheaper!

I decided to start taking this seriously. We have a long driveway so I planned to walk up it then run down it---fast! About 8.2 mph, and my dog thought I needed to go even faster because she kept jerking ahead of me. I'd do that for about 30 minutes and come home exhausted. I tried doing this each night I didn't go to the gym. I just wanted to finish the 5k as fast a possible... yeah don't do that.

It wasn't until we started going to AM classes that I realized I could get in 20 minutes of training after class when my body was already stretched and awake before I had to head home to get ready for work. This was so helpful and my time was improving with each run but I was still pushing myself too fast too hard.

First AM Run. No inclines

A few nights at the gym and I learned our treadmills had 5k training on them. I'd set it up and away I went. The motivation, besides the distance left tracker, was my heart rate. I could walk forever thinking I was still cooling down but when I saw that my heart rate was in the 140's I knew I could run again. Before I knew it I was completing 3.1 miles on a treadmill! Wooo Whooo YEAH ME!!

First 5k Completed. See how up and down my
walk/ runs are?

No, it wasn't in competitive time, but it was proof that I could do this. I could finish it. So proud I could prove those people that told me I could quit in the middle of a run and no one would know... psh yeah they would know. Most color runs have color stations spread out over the whole run. If you didn't have that last color on you it was proof that you ditched! I wanted my monies worth of color!

What happened next wasn't so fun... I over stretched my groin. One day in yoga we were doing the pigeon hip opener move and seemed like we held the pose longer than usual. I was giggling in my head at the noises the men in the class were making... it's not an easy move, especially for men. Well I guess for non limber women too as the next day I was in plenty of pain. I spoke with my teacher and she knew exactly what I did and made sure I didn't further injure myself during classes. Only problem was the run was in just a few days!!! I wanted to train. I just wanted to run!!! I was so excited to run and feel accomplished and I couldn't even walk without pain now. Lesson learned. Don't overstretch then over train. I am very competitive with myself and it bit me in the groin...er uh butt*. 

Third 5k!!! Even better time!!!
This is where I injured myself
pushing too hard after overstretching

I googled all I could about how to speed up the recovery and the best answers were to keep doing light stretches and give it time since it wasn't a serious injury. 

Well race day came and I hadn't trained in a week. I was determined to do this...after all... there are no refunds in a charity run :) 

We grabbed some Tylenol and were off. The chance of rain was not stopping us today. I was still nursing my pains but I was going to finish even if I walked the whole thing. We parked where we saw the majority of cars were only to find out the race was on the other end of the park.. ugh oh well. So we ended up having a 1 mile warm up walk... there's always a positive way to see it. We arrived 15 min early all ready to run. Everyone dressed in all white and ready for color! We met a group of Pentecostal ladies that run in FULL LENGTH SKIRTS. If that's not motivation I don't know what is. 

3...2...1... GO! and we were off. The nice ladies let us skip to the front of the line with them if we took their pictures. I was more than happy to do this so that I wasn't completely in the back of the pack once the 2nd and 3rd groups ran past me :) And I'm off... run run run run run walk walk walk after awhile my sister in law noticed that I bolt... like super fast. She taught me how to jog right in the middle of our 5k. It's because of her that I made my best time ever of 45 minutes by not exhausting myself by pushing my runs so hard. Oh and did I mention that I was no longer in pain? No... well I'm not. The pain killer I took kicked in AND I do believe that finally getting my mind off the pain and warming up properly has everything to do with it.
I have completely learned my lesson.

Listen to your body. Don't push beyond your limits.

After our first mile we had a pleasant surprise from our husbands. Mine told me he'd be busy helping a friend so I kinda gave him a hard time for not being at my first 5k event but I understood. Sly little booger. He was there and took awesome pictures for us.

All week we had been watching the weather for Saturday. It was forecasting a 70% chance of rain. I really didn't want my first 5k to be in the rain but if it happens it happens.

We went through the first set of colors, the second, the third... we didn't even know the finish line was in sight by the time we finished. "Oh, that was it? I would have ran faster in the end had I known?" But we made it for the last 2 color parties. So much fun.

After we were all done the boys were going to return us to our car.... now the rain comes. Pouring, freezing rain! We're getting soaked. Not wanting to get his truck dirty we have to stay in the back. With the traffic lights it would be at least a 5 minute drive. Cold...So cold. My husband quickly jumps out of the truck and we yell that we don't want to get in ( the color stains EVERYTHING). He laughs and just hands us an umbrella.

We had a blast. Loving our color and proud of ourselves.

If I can do it you can do it!

My Desk to 5k Plan

I know you prolly want this magical formula but it's all about starting somewhere more than finishing

• Get off your butt! Get active, do something. Something is better than nothing. Even if you can only find 20 minutes to catch some time to walk, do it! Baby steps still bring your closer to your goal.
• Motivation. I'm not going to pretend everyone can go out a buy a new wardrobe to workout in but it certainly helps. I needed better shoes if I was going to stick with running and spending a pretty penny keeps me motivated to get my monies worth out of them.
• Eating habits. If you always feel sluggish you'll never want to go workout feeling like that. Or worse you'll make yourself sick. Eating healthier makes a huge difference.
• If you're highly motivated, like numbers, and love to push yourself in a short amount of time then this is what you're looking for...
  
   
  It's not about being the fastest, just being faster than you were the last time.
• Bonus. Set a prize for you for completing your 5k. Mine was my favorite musical. Legally Blonde just happened to be in town the same weekend so I bought tickets and told myself I would finish and the musical was my reward. It was fun to look forward to doing something else that night.

What I learned

• How to breath ~ I've always took breaths from my chest rather than my diaphragm. It's very hard mentally to change that but after some practice completely filling your stomach with an inhale while trying to keep your chest still you will feel the difference. Continue to practice this until you can do it without thinking about it. Also, I've found I breath properly while singing ( or at least mouthing the words to a song ), and it made a huge difference on my time, so upload your favorite songs or use the mix tracks from this app (Rock my Run) to hear all of today's popular songs mixed with some old favorites.
• Stretch ~ Stretch correctly. Don't overstretch. If you're body is saying it hurts more than saying I'm being pushed a little then you're doing too much. 
• How to jog ~ walk walk walk run run run walk walk walk... yeah I was doing it wrong. I was exhausting myself by running so hard then having to recover. Jogging at a slower pace like 4.5 mph kept my heart rate steady and allowed me to jog longer before needing to recover. Keep in mind I am only 5 foot and not a runner so your comfortable jog might be a lot faster.
• Stay hydrated ~ This should be a no brainer but we did see people on the side of the trail sitting and recovering from dehydration. 
• Know when to run ~ My track star cousin gave me this awesome tip- I find that anytime there is a slope up hill or down hill you should try to go faster. Downhill will already take you faster you might as well not fight it. Uphill will take you longer to manage so go ahead and sprint up it and get it out of the way. 
• Run outside ~ I know I mentioned that I hated running outside before but that's because it was too blasted hot. When the weather is to your liking go outside. There's so much to see and let your mind wander to that before you know it your run will be over. 
• You wont die ~ You'll always think this while you're overworking yourself and then realize you wont once it's over. Just remember, there is always an end.

Tips for the color run

• Wear white ~ duh. Most color runs provide you with a shirt to wear. Double check it's white though because sometimes you have to pay extra for the white ones. 
• Wear glasses ~ this is also sometimes provided. Definitely needed in case you get a face full of color like I did. You don't want that stuff in your eyes.
• Find out where to park ~ kinda stunk parking in the wrong spot and walking a mile.
• Walk though the color stations ~ well only do this if you want more color. We did and we loved it. But remember to keep your mouth closed, NO laughing... lest you want to eat it. bleh
• Bring your own water ~ some places have water stations but we didn't see one until the very end.
• Enjoy the run!

How to keep the color in your 5k shirt

• Don't wash it!!! Not yet anyway. Soak it in vinegar for 15 minutes.
• Let completely dry.
• Now wash it by itself.

Keep in mind that some colors stick better than others. For us it was the pink. It stuck so well that my sister-in-love had to go get her hair redyed after a week... we'll wear hats next time ;)

I plan on running another 5k in October and in November. I'll gladly take any additional advise.

~Rayah