It’s Better Running Together, Get Your Girlfriends and Run!

You’re not the kind of girl that sits on the sidelines. You inspire your friends.

You work on being your best self and you get things done!

But life happens, you have to pay the rent, tend to your children or barely have time to make a healthy breakfast, so even thinking about running a 5K race may seem overwhelming. But with a little help from your friends, joining in and being part of the Gildan Esprit de She 5k races, can be easier than you think. Here’s your down and dirty, “I can do it”, 5K training plan… and you shouldn’t do it alone.

Call a few friends and get the neighborhood moving-afterall, you’re that girl!

Getting started:

The average time for new walkers/runners for a 5k race is between 25-45 minutes. So take the pressure off yourself and realize that you can do anything for 60 minutes or less… and walking on your treadmill at 3.0 mph will finish you in just under that time. Now if you get running just a little bit, you’re at the sweet spot of finishing and you may hit the goal to finish under 35 minutes.

Program overview:

Week One: Week one is all about getting moving. If you’ve never run before, this is your first step. You’ll start by walking and tracking your time. Then we will try to alternate a few minutes or yards of running with longer intervals of walking. This week will focus on more walking than running and you’ll aim for at least 15 minutes of training per day.

Week Two: The second week we aim for the same 15 minutes daily but slowly increase the amount of run time in your intervals. You’ll be slowly increasing the total run time each day to get in at least half of your workouts in a light jog or run.

Week Three: This week we increase the amount of daily time to 20 minutes but only three days per week. The other four days will continue with a 15-minute commitment. Total run time for intervals will be 10 minutes for both your 15 and 20-minute workouts.

Week Four: You’ll focus on distance in this week’s trainings. You will increase your run interval time to 30 minutes for two of your workouts. The other intervals will be back to 15 minutes and a day of rest.- Yes take a day off from your activity tracker and meditate, stretch or focus on being grateful. Setting your attitude for success is key for every athlete.

Week Five: We increase our run intervals on every workout. You’ll be running for 5-10 minutes continuously in this week’s training. You will need to commit to long days of workouts like the previous week and increase to 20 minute workouts on the short days, but you’ll be ready to run that 5K in 7 days!

Week Six: We increase our run interval to 12-15 minutes, try for a 45-minute interval session and take off the last two days before your big race. You will be ready to run the entire 3.2 miles! Success is in sight!

You’re ready to run ( or even walk a little if you like ) your first 5k!

Check out the Gildan Esprit de She race series with bubbly bar and lifestyle market place.