Am I fit enough for this relay race?

Hi, i'm looking for general advice, encouragement and even if I don't like it, constructive criticism. Here are some details:


- 20 year old female


- currently running 45min daily at 4.5mph (so 13:20min/mile)


- two months to prepare for a 5 mile run


- the cut-off time is 14min/mile


- endurance good


- 5'0" (meaning my stride is much shorter than the average runner - Will this be a problem?)





I'm just nervous b/c it's my first big run since being a couch potato! I don't care about winning but i am afraid of being slower than everyone, coming in last and looking like a fool. Thanks everyone! I appreciate all your help!|||I think you're in good shape considering you've got 2 months left to prepare. If I were you I'd try to go a little bit longer (an even 4 miles to start with, then keep easing it out to your desired distance, which at minimum 5 miles but 6 would be best) and just gradually continue to increase your speed.





Try maybe twice a week to go farther, and twice a week to go faster at the current distance (maybe go 4.7mph), and the other 2 days keep doing exactly as you are. You should always take at least 1 (if not 2) days off for full recovery. Mix up the workouts so you don't have too many hard days in a row.





Don't worry about your height, there are a lot of very good runners who are shorter than average. You should be sure to focus on your stretching and take it seriously though, being flexible makes it easier to reach and maintain a natural stride length comfortably.





You've got lots of time. Just stay focused, keep working on improving a small amount every week, and let time do its thing. 2 months is 7 solid weeks for training and an easy week to recover and rest up.





Good luck!|||Hey Maggie,





You should do fine, a lot better than fine. Focus on the endurance more, but seeing as you're running 45min daily you really shouldn't have a problem. I recommend, that once a week or every two weeks you do a test run. See if you can run 5 miles at all, and at what speed. But you really shouldn't have a problem, and don't forget about that adrenaline rush (it just may give you that boost to stay ahead or at least even with everyone else). Focus on your breathing too, it may add a few minutes to your endurance level (in through nose, out through mouth/ pace it).|||You shouldn't worry about coming in last. If you're doing a charity run, many will be recreational runners who are keen on improving their fitness, having a good time, etc. however, if you're doing a competitive race there are always many people who are newcomers to the sport and it may be their first big run too.





Your endurance seems to be excellent and on track. By running 45 minutes daily, your body should be accustomed to sustaining itself over long periods of time and over long distances, so I don't think the distance will worry you much. Two months to prepare is a relatively long time, so I would suggest that you start doing time trials once a week, perhaps on a Saturday or the weekday the race will be held on. This conditions your body to run at that particular time and at race pace. Try timing yourself over the 5 miles and focus on pacing, such as not tiring yourself out too quickly in the first half of the race, etc. Don't do an all out effort as this should be reserved for the race only.





If your main goal is to complete your first race, ensure you can run the full distance of the race. If your main goal is to improve and get a decent, reasonable time, you can try doing speed drills and interval training, which is designed to improve speed and strength. You seem to be progressing well, so if you add in a few speed drills, you might even squeeze out in the top half of the pack on your race.





As with your stride length being shorter than average runners, you needn't worry about that. If you incorporate speed work, as you run faster, your stride rate and stride length increases. Surprisingly, your stride length increases more than your stride frequency.





Best of luck! Don't worry about coming in last :)


Hope this helps!