5km Race mistakes to watch out for 

5km Race mistakes to watch out for

It is pointless training hard for a certain goal for weeks of the year only to see all your hard work undone by a classic mistake or mistakes. In truth race disasters are most common in the longer distance events, but even though a 5k won’t take long to run, it can feel like a lengthy and painful experience if you get some of the basics wrong.

Preparation makes perfect

With every race there are always a series of running rules that really should be followed to avoid disappointment. As always preparation lies at the heart of so many of them. Remember some of the basics? Things like don’t run in brand new kit that you haven’t tried in training before. It could rub and blisters are often a painful result. Don’t try new foods the night before a race. That way disaster and the portaloo lies. Don’t deviate from any of your normal routines and do make sure you get plenty of sleep and appropriate rest. And make sure that you lay out all of your kit and essentials at least 24 hours before the race. You really don’t want to be running around with 5 minutes until the starting gun, trying to find safety pins. Nor do you want to be driving around the streets of a town/city that you don’t know, simply because you haven’t planned your route and can’t locate the start. And don’t forget to research the course in advance. You need to know whether it’s a hilly or a flat race because it could have a major impact on your time.

Pace is the key to 5km success

Speaking of time, it is now time to focus on the challenges which are specific to the 5k race itself. Pace is the outstanding issue. A disaster will likely befall anyone who sets off like the proverbial wind over the first mile and then crashes and burns for the next two. As in all races you must have a pace plan, something that you have practiced in training and feel comfortable with. It’s simply not possible to train for weeks at a certain pace and then expect to be able to run a minute faster for each kilometre come race day. You might manage it for the first one, but the chances are you won’t for any of the others. Decide in advance when you begin your training what your target time is and then start training for it.
You can split the race either into 5 kilometre blocks or 3 mile intervals. Once you have determined what you want to do, then you can train accordingly. Ideally you are looking for an even split, in other words running each section of the race in the same time. In an ideal world you might even run the distance in negative splits, which means getting progressively faster as the event goes on. However the important thing to remember is that as long as you practice race pace in training then you can translate that speed into the race because your legs will be used to it. Speed work and tempo runs will be essential if you are to meet your goals and if you train properly and prepare properly before the race, you should achieve your target time.

Avoid overtraining

Even if you feel anxious about achieving your goal, don’t be tempted to over train. It’s easily done and so many runners try and cram in extra runs. The trouble is there is only so much hammering the body can take before it starts to rebel. Injury and illness can descend fairly quickly on an athlete who overdoes it. If you’ve done the right amount of training then trust your body and take some rest in the build up to the race. If you haven’t done the right amount of training to achieve your target time, even if it’s only for a 5k, no amount of late cramming will fix that problem.

Race day nerves

On race day itself think positive and remember how well prepared you are. Warm up properly especially if it’s cold because you don’t want to pull a muscle in the first 200 metres. A good warm up is really important for a 5k as you tend to hit the ground running faster than you would in a long distance race and that can present an injury risk if your muscles are cold.

Try to ignore the adrenaline surge you may experience and stick to the plan. It can be tempting to head off with the faster runners or if it’s a big race, place yourself in a starting pen that doesn’t reflect your ability. It’s a tactic that just won’t work if you haven’t done the training. Focus on your own race, have your target split times with you either on paper or programmed into your watch and do what you’ve trained to do.
Having said all of that remember that some days we just run badly. That can be for a host of reasons. Not enough sleep, a reaction to food, or a developing illness to name but a few. Because it’s sometimes difficult to pinpoint where things went wrong, it’s a great idea to keep a diary of your training and eating/preparation in advance of every race. That way you can trace back any potential issues and explanations for a poor performance and put it right next time.

From: IAAF World Athletics Club (Facebook)

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