Run a 5k

If you sometimes find yourself getting bored with just going to the gym for your workouts you might consider training for and competing in a fun run. A fun run will offer you an opportunity to take some of your workouts outdoor. Running outdoor can be a different experience each time you go. Head east today, and west tomorrow. Run in your neighborhood this week, on the high school track next week. The variety of your scenery is only limited by your imagination. You can run in the park, on the Seawall, on trails, at the college, or take it back to the gym on the treadmill for some cool air conditioning on hot days.

Just about every fun run offers a 5k distance. That's 3.1 miles for those who flunked the metric system in school. Training to run a 5k can be done in 3-4 workouts a week, each lasting about 15-35 minutes. Of course you can do more if you want, but if you are just getting started running, this is all the time you need to commit to successfully run a 5k. Give yourself about 12 weeks to train if you haven't been running.

If you are in the Houston area you can find a pretty good list of local races and fun runs at the HARRA race list. The list is not quite complete, so you might stop by The Runner's Link, On the Run, or Fleet Feet.  These running stores will have flyers for all the local races that are upcoming. Also, you can talk to the sales people, who are also runners, and they will be happy to help you find an event that is well organized and well supported.

Expect to pay $15-25 to participate in a fun run. For your money, you should get an event t-shirt, water stations along the race route, fruit and water after the race (sometime even cookies or hotdogs), and you will be supporting a local charity. Also, you will get an official time. If this is your first race, you are guaranteed to get a PR (personal record). From there, your goal will be to improve on this time.

It will be helpful to find a training program to follow at looks like fits your ability. If you haven't been doing any exercise up to this point, you can search online for a C25K (couch to 5k) program. These training schedules are designed to take a sedentary person and train them for a 5k race in 9-12 weeks. They will start with walking, build up to walking with some running, and take you until you are running all or most of the milage.

If you feel that running is a little to intense for you at this point, you can find a program that trains you to walk a 5k. Fun runs welcome walkers, former high school track stars, and everyone in between.

Here's some great news for anyone wanting to lose weight or fight off the weight creep at comes with age. Walking a mile burns about 75 calories, and running a mile burns about 125 calories. These numbers are dependent on your weight, but you can get a general idea of how many calories you are burning with these numbers. If you want a more accurate number, you can purchase a heart rate monitor for about $100. These devices are able to take your weight and age and calculate it with the information in gathers while you run and give a much more exact number of calories burned.

Where do you go from here? First, find a race that is about 3 months away from now and commit to it by pre registering. Then, find a training program online that you think you can follow. Print it out and stick to it. Try not to miss any of the workouts. If you have to miss one, commit to make it up on another day. Finally, post photos on facebook and show everyone how awesome you are!