Prepping for a 5K Run

Prepping for a 5K

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Lord knows I have not been on my “A game” lately when it comes to keeping what I eat in check. I am going to be totally honest. Ever since this summer, I have been struggling with eating what is best for my body. Exercising is the easy part for me. It is definitely the diet plan.

I feel like diet is a dirty word. When I mention diet, I don’t mean restricting calories and eating rice cakes all day to try and loose weight. When I say diet, I mean eating the correct foods that fuel my body to keep up with my exercise and busyness of our daily routine. I can always tell when I start to lag in what I am eating. Dunkin Donuts (if you know me, I am know for my weakness for donuts) calls my name or I am just too busy to food prep and Chick-Fil-A (another weakness) makes it too easy with their drive-up mobile ordering.

So with all that being said, I have decided this year to sign up for the Allstate Hot Chocolate 5K to try and keep myself motivated and in check this Christmas season. Because we all know this time of year is the hardest not to cave to all the yummy goodness that is thrown our way everyday!

What I Eat

I try to eat 5 small meals a day. I do not count calories. A typical day will look like this:

Breakfast: 2 Eggs Whites with spinach
Morning Snack: Protein shake
Lunch: Greens with Turkey, Tomato, Cucumber, Swiss Cheese, and Low-Fat Raspberry dressing
Afternoon Snack: Apple with Almond Butter
Dinner: 6 oz of Chicken, Sweet Potato, Roasted Broccoli and Asparagus.

I will stick to eating clean most of the week and on the weekends “cheat.” Life is too short and I alway eat the cake. Or donut in my case.

Stretching

I am probably the worst at stretching. But it is one of the key components of your training. It prevents injuries and will get the blood flowing in your legs to prep you for you run.

Here is a great page on the BEST STRETCHES FOR RUNNING.

Running/Walking

One of the best programs to help you prep for running is the Couch to 5K. It is best when you are training for a 5K to run/walk for at least 20-30 minutes 3 times a week. My goal most of the time is to finish. Pace is key. As long as you can breath and talk you are running at a good pace. When training, a another good exercise is to sprint for 1 minute and walk briskly for 30 seconds.

What to Wear

This is the fun part! One thing I like to do is set goals for myself. Once I accomplish my goal I will reward myself with a new workout top or pants! It makes the training all worth it in the end! Because who doesn’t like new clothes and looking cute makes working out a little bit easier.