{"id":27389,"date":"2010-08-06T01:00:02","date_gmt":"2010-08-06T06:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=27389"},"modified":"2010-08-05T16:42:01","modified_gmt":"2010-08-05T21:42:01","slug":"how-to-choose-your-first-5k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/08\/how-to-choose-your-first-5k\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose Your First 5K"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>A competitive swimmer into her teens and a cross-country runner in high  school, Jane Couto, of <a title=\"mom generations\" href=\"http:\/\/momgenerations.com\/\" target=\"_self\">MomGenerations.com<\/a>, rediscovered her love for these sports only after a  decade-long hiatus. She enjoys helping others rediscover &#8211; or discover  for the first time &#8211; the rewards that come from an active lifestyle.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-27390\" title=\"jogging\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/jogging.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/>For many novice runners, a <a title=\"5K\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/tag\/5k\/\" target=\"_self\">5K<\/a> is the ultimate first race. It\u2019s a popular distance (3.1 miles), so finding one isn\u2019t difficult. It\u2019s long enough to require training, but short enough to be an attainable goal within a few months \u2013 or even weeks \u2013 depending on your fitness level.<\/p>\n<p>Ready for the challenge? (The answer is \u201cyes!\u201d)\u00a0 Here are some tips to help you choose your first 5K:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Race Size<\/strong>. Decide if you want your first experience to be a large, corporate-sponsored race with thousands of runners and a lot of fanfare, giving you the option to remain very anonymous. Or a smaller race, one to which you can bring a few proud fans and be sure they\u2019ll see you as you run by and\/or cross the finish line. There isn\u2019t a right or wrong choice here \u2013 it\u2019s a personal preference.<!--more--><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Race Course<\/strong>. Choose a course with some familiarity. If you\u2019re used to running on relatively flat roads, a hill during your first race can come as a shock. Prepare either by training on all types of terrain, or by finding a course map (look on the race\u2019s website) and training on the route prior to the race. (And if your training has been primarily on a treadmill, make sure you run outside multiple times prior to your race. Get used to adjusting your speed on your own, not by pushing the \u201cslow down\u201d button!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Race Buddies<\/strong>. See if you know anyone else who has signed up for a particular race. In addition to gaining potential training buddies, you\u2019re also apt to find a support network to motivate you when your inspiration isn\u2019t there.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Race Prep<\/strong>. Don\u2019t be afraid! Many people put off their first race because they don\u2019t want to finish last. Unless you\u2019re signing up for an inaugural race, you can find previous years\u2019 results on www.coolrunning.com, www.athlinks.com or www.onlineraceresults.com. Estimate your 5K time and see where it falls in past race results. Chances are it won\u2019t be the slowest time. And even if you are the last finisher, who cares? You\u2019re out there racing, and that\u2019s what counts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Also Read:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a title=\"become a runner\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/12\/how-to-become-a-runner-part-1-getting-started\/\" target=\"_self\">How to Become a Runner<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a title=\"couch to 5k\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/05\/couch-to-5k-program-launches-c25k-iphone-app\/\" target=\"_self\">Couch to 5K Program<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a title=\"blogher 5k\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/07\/running-tips-and-tricks-from-the-blogher-5k\/\" target=\"_self\">Running Tips and Tricks from BlogHer 5K<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>___________________________________________________<br \/>\nGuest Blog Series:<\/strong> Look for the following badge on your favorite health sites to see if they have been a featured guest blogger on <a title=\"diet reviews\" onclick=\"pageTracker._trackPageview('\/outbound\/article\/');\" href=\"..\/..\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>DietsInReview.com<\/em><\/a><em>. See other posts in the <\/em><a title=\"diet blog\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/category\/guest-blog\/\" target=\"_self\"><em>Guest Blog series<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><a style=\"margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 120px; height: 60px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/category\/guest-blog\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/images\/diet-weight-loss-blogger.gif\" alt=\"Diets in Review - Weight Loss and Diet Blog\" \/><\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>If you would like to apply to be featured as a guest blogger, please <\/em><a title=\"guest blog\" href=\"mailto:help@dietsinreview.com?subject=guest%20blogger%20application\" target=\"_blank\"><em>contact us<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A competitive swimmer into her teens and a cross-country runner in high school, Jane Couto, of MomGenerations.com, rediscovered her love for these sports only after a decade-long hiatus. She enjoys helping others rediscover &#8211; or discover for the first time &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/08\/how-to-choose-your-first-5k\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2080,23,3758,211],"class_list":["post-27389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness","tag-5k","tag-guest-blog","tag-jane-couto","tag-running"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27389"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27392,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27389\/revisions\/27392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}