{"id":140,"date":"2019-04-01T13:13:37","date_gmt":"2019-04-01T20:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/?p=999944645"},"modified":"2019-04-01T13:13:37","modified_gmt":"2019-04-01T20:13:37","slug":"how-prepare-5k-grand-prix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/how-prepare-5k-grand-prix","title":{"rendered":"How to prepare for a 5K in 4 days when you suck at running"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnyone can run three miles.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one of the things my dear editor, Melissa Evans, said Wednesday afternoon while asking\/telling me to run the Long Beach Grand Prix 5K on Sunday\u2014less than four days away\u2014and write a column about it.<\/p>\n

She knew I\u2019ve been trying to get into running and recently attempted a 10K trail run, so her assumption that I would be capable of running three measly miles (technically 3.1 miles) around a relatively flat track wasn\u2019t unfathomable.<\/p>\n

Except I suck at running.<\/p>\n

That 10K a few weeks ago? Yeah, I tried to convince my husband to ditch it for a warm breakfast. When he didn\u2019t yield to my persuasion\u2014something about it being my idea and all\u2014we walked\/hiked most of it, only running the flat parts and down hills.<\/p>\n

Of course, we had tried<\/i> to train for it. We downloaded an app that helped pace our runs, slowly building up endurance. We got about halfway through the training when, as it happens, life got in the way: He got a cold. I got a cold. \u201cWork was crazy this week.\u201d The cat got sick and so on.<\/p>\n

And before you go thinking I could draw some dormant athleticism of my youth, let me tell you, I nearly failed PE several times in high school. I couldn\u2019t run a mile without getting winded and dizzy. And while I\u2019ve been on a general health and fitness \u201clifestyle change\u201d for the past eight months\u2014working out, losing weight and eating better\u2014it hasn\u2019t translated into becoming a marathon runner quite yet.<\/p>\n

\"\"
My view from the middle of the back. Photo by Valerie Osier.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But I want to be able to run a marathon. I even set a goal last October to run in the Long Beach Marathon (or half-marathon) in 2019. I want to be able to actually run long distances because I\u2019ve never been able to in my entire life, so I said yes. I Googled \u201cHow to prepare for a 5K in less than a week,\u201d which, the internet told me, was impossible and I was silly for trying. I still set my mind to try to run as far as I could that very night.<\/p>\n

Instead, I cleaned my house. It needed immediate attention, I swear.<\/p>\n

The next day, fresh out of excuses, I set out to run as far as I could and walk at least three miles. I jogged for nearly a mile before I needed to walk. I alternated walking and jogging over three miles and finished with a time of about 50 minutes. A \u201cgood\u201d time for a 5K is about 25 minutes, for comparison.<\/p>\n

Yeesh. Well, I\u2019ll try again tomorrow, I told myself. I didn\u2019t have time to take breaks.<\/p>\n

Then on Friday night, I got off work late, I was sore from the run the night before and I needed to catch up on sleep. I worked again on Saturday and through my \u201cextensive\u201d research on running, I read that it\u2019s not advisable to run the day before a race, so I went to the batting cages and got a good night\u2019s sleep instead.<\/p>\n

On race day, I was a little nervous: I had to think of how I would write this story, plus, I had stuck a small camera on my chest with a plan of speeding it up to show the course\u2014a video that turned out much more seizure-inducing than I expected. Don’t watch it if you get motion sickness easily:<\/p>\n