Now I’ve done it. After 3 months of pretty darn steady training, I’ve signed up for my first official 5K, the Humboldt Park 5K, on Sunday Aug. 14th. The reason I chose this particular 5K was that it falls on the exact day my training program calls for running a 5K. So I hate to say that I’m not really interested in fundraising for that particular park. I’m doing this for selfish reasons. But my steep late registration fee leaves me with no remorse.
For those who may be curious, I’ve been using a training plan from the fine people across the pond in the UK, Full Potential. If you are into the psychology of running, there are a lot of tips and tricks about how to get your mind right on race day and many other articles that really make a lot of sense. You’ll have to sign up for an account, but it’s worth it and it’s free. The training plan was made available to me through Garmin. The plan has been converted by them into Calendar entries that are available on my watch. I then use my watch (Garmin Fenix 3) and it’s attached heart rate monitor (HRM-RUN) to track my runs and make sure I don’t over or under train (based on heart rate zones). It’s a great way to stick with running, especially if you don’t consider yourself a runner, and the individual exercises are actually a lot of fun and something I now look forward to. They always seem perfect, i.e. an easy exercise when I’m tired and a challenge when I’m raring to go.
