Can I do a 5k

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Debbie

Debbie

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 13, 2007
Messages
572
Location
So. California area
Hey everyone, this is my first time posting on this forum and have a question. My daughter is going to do a mini triathonon on April 15 and it also has a 5k that I want to do. I will be 3 months post-op by then and not sure if thats to soon. I will be walking it, and I'd like to sign up to give me a goal to work towards. I'm not a runner, but I like to be active and do as much as I can. I'd like to hear from you guys. Thanks Debbie:)
 
Hi Deb

You probably can handle that just fine if you aren't having any complications and are walking it.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
Yeah, probably. But still, take it slowly.

It took me 3 mos just to complete one mile non-stop and at 6 mos was able to run a 5K but I had complications. They collapsed one of my lungs in the procedure so I had a tough time coming back. Once the lung was OK, I was doing as much running as ever.
 
Debbie said:
Hey everyone, this is my first time posting on this forum and have a question. My daughter is going to do a mini triathonon on April 15 and it also has a 5k that I want to do. I will be 3 months post-op by then and not sure if thats to soon. I will be walking it, and I'd like to sign up to give me a goal to work towards. I'm not a runner, but I like to be active and do as much as I can. I'd like to hear from you guys. Thanks Debbie:)
Click to expand...

Debbie, if you feel good walking 3 miles, go for it. :) Listen to your body, train for walking the same as you would if you were running, see if you can walk the distance. If you have a heart rate monitor, use it, carry water with you even though you don't think you'll be thirsty. Subtract your age from 226(women, men is 220) this will give you your max heart rate. Multiply this number by 60%, for light intensity heart rate max, 70% for moderate intensity, and 80% for high intensity exercise.
 
5 K

5 K

If you feel like doing it, give it a shot. It would probably be a good exercise target as you move through the recovery & rehab process. As was noted in a previous post, listen to what your body tells you about how it's doing.

-Philip
 
Hey, sign up for it, train for it, take it a bit easy if you have to, and if you don't finish or don't do it in record time, don't beat yourself up. But, yeah, I think it would be good to have a goal to work towards. Just listen to your body, and if it tells you between now and then to cool the jets, then back off a bit. There will be more races ahead.

Good luck with it !
 
Go for it

Go for it

I would sign up and go for it. As others have said, this is an admirable goal post op. Let us know how you are doing!
 
I would absolutely go for it if you feel able. I ran a 5K at six months and my only goal was to actually run the entire thing. I was able to do it, but still had the slowest time I had ever run at that distance by several minutes. Besh wishes on your continued recovey.
 
5k

5k

Hi everyone thanks for the posts, well I decided to sign up for it, I think I can do this! I'm 5 weeks post-op and I walked yesterday alittle over 1 mile and did it in 20 min. I am very happy, every single day I get alittle stronger and more of my strength back, just a week or so ago I could only walk half that. The 5k is in 6 weeks so I'm sure if I can walk a mile now I can do 3 in that time. I'm also looking forward to the future to see if i can run someday now that my heart is fixed. I have never been able to run my whole life(I'm a ACH patient) I would try but just could'nt do it, I can ride my bike though without too much trouble. My long term goal is Dec. 08 to be in a sprint-tri with my daughter that is 16. She did her first tri this last Dec. and loved it!! I told her when my heart gets fixed I'm there with you! I might just be finishing the 5k while she's finishing the whole event, but that's o.k. :D Any other posts from you active people would be an encourgement to me. Thanks Debbie :)
 
Great goal, Debbie! Having an event like that on the calendar really helps put some purpose in your exercise routine. I am also a big fan of triathlon even though I am not very good at it. The festival atmosphere at the events is really exciting, and the cross-training to prepare is a great fitness regimen. I am fortunate that my wife got hooked on the sport shortly after I did. I can't keep up with her, but on weekends she slows down for me a bit and we do some long bike rides together. Good luck with your training. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
 
5k

5k

Hey everyone, just thought I'd tell you that I'm up to 1 1/2 mile walk now without stopping, I'm so happy because just 2 weeks ago I was'nt able to walk half that far and would have to stop and rest. I'm 6 weeks post-op now and it's 5 weeks till the 5k. Had my 6 week check with the doc. yesterday and he said everything was great and I could walk as far as I felt I could. I'll check in again when I get up to 2 miles. Debbie :)
 
6 weeks. You're right on schedule. So here's what you do tomorrow. At some point during your walk, try to jog for a bit, not far, not long enough that it hurts. Rise up on the toes, stretch out the stride and go for it. It doesn't matter if it's no more than 100 meters, it's a start.

Here's a little ditty I wrote for a magazine a long time ago. It might give you an indication of what's to come. I've posted it before but since you're new...





Ole Jack's Back Again.

I RAN A MILE TODAY!
And boy it felt good. Not running it though, that felt horrible. You know, the burning lungs, the aching legs. I mean after I did it, then it felt good. Then there was a surge of adrenalin from the knowledge that I could at least do one again. Boy it's been a long time. But that's not what matters now because...

I RAN A MILE TODAY!
It's just a couple days shy of three months from the date when I had the open heart surgery. Three months, yeah it sounds like such a short time, but it's been the longest three months of my life. Every step I've taken toward recovery has been a tough one. The day I got out of the hospital, one week after the operation, I went immediately out for a mile walk. Nah, nothing extraordinary there, that's what they tell you to do. Within a couple weeks though I was walking 3 miles every day. And at 6 weeks I tried a tiny bit of running again. I made 80 yards the first time. It's taken from then to now, another whole 6 week period to work it up to one full continuous mile. But that's not what matters now because...

I RAN A MILE TODAY!
The muscles, the ligaments, the tendons and the bones they sawed in two have all healed quite nicely now. I didn't have much trouble from those after the operation, but there were complications. Aren't there always? Upon arriving home from the hospital I was at a loss for as simple a thing as oxygen. During the procedure one of my lungs collapsed, so I began my latest come-back at half capacity. Bringing it back on-line has been a struggle I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. My wife thinks it was a good thing though, since if I had full power I might have gone at the running too soon and too hard. She could be right, but that's not what matters now because...

I RAN A MILE TODAY!
And now I can call myself a real runner again. One mile may not seem like much to anyone who does 10 or more every Saturday morning. I used to be able to handle 35 to 40 miles a week myself. That was just a year ago in fact,
training for the Schenectady Stockade-athon 15Km. God, that sounds like light years compared to a single mile. But it's a start. I know that if I can do one now, I can work up to 2 or 3 soon and maybe more later. But who cares about later, I'm only thinking about now. What I may or may not do later isn't what matters now because...

I RAN A MILE TODAY!
And it was good to be back out on my favorite path and meet an old friend on the run. He said, "Nice to see ya back again Jack". Yeah, it's nice to be back, Mike. Nice to be a part of it all again. Yeah, nice. real nice. Nice just to be alive. Oh hey, before I go, did I tell you I RAN A MILE TODAY?
 
5k

5k

Dear Jack, thanks for the post, I have never been able to run because of my heart so I 'm not sure if I should try yet. For now I'm going to keep going alittle farther on my walk each day and get my speed up a bit. I will be very surprised if someday my newly fixed heart will allow it, lets hope. Debbie :)
 
Debbie, you are doing great! Continue to listen to your body and how you feel after your workouts.

You'll never know if you can run until you take those first couple of jogs. Wait until you are 3 months post op to do any running. Once that bug bites you, you are on your way. My running back in '90 started with running around the block, walking half, then running again. If someone told me then that I would run marathons I would have said 'Yeah, right.'
 
5k

5k

Hey everyone, well I'm at 8 weeks today and 3 weeks to go before the race. I'm walking 1-2 miles almost every day, my heart is doing great, I just still can't bealive my heart is really fixed, this whole experience is truly amazing to me, for the first time in my life my heart is really fixed!! The only problem I'm having and is keeping me from walking more than I am is my leg. They had to do the heart lung bypass through my groin and I've had some nerve damage from that. It will go away in time and has gotten alot better, but I still have some pain in my leg and parts of my leg are numb, it not enough to stop me from walking. I will get up to 3 miles these next 3 weeks, I'm going to do this race even if I have to go slow and rest! Here's my question, did any of you have the groin bypass and have problems for along time with your leg or did it heal up pretty fast?? Let me know Debbie :)
 
You're on the way

You're on the way

Sorry, can't help you with the leg problem, but just wanted to add a little note..judging from your posts, I would expect you will finish this 5k, and probably have a little tear in your eye when you realize how far you and your heart have come!
 
5k

5k

Hello again everyone, well one week to the race and I think I'm ready! I'm 10 weeks post-op now and feel good. I walk now about 2 miles every other day and today did 2 1/2 miles. I'm really looking forward to this, it has been a great goal to have to get me back into feeling alive and healthy again!! I'd love to hear your encourgement, the race is on next Sunday. Thanks Debbie :)
 
Good luck on raceday

Good luck on raceday

Congratulations Debbie, you are going to do great.

Tips for the week heading into raceday:

You are now as fit as you can be for the big day. Walk every day up to Thursday, take Friday and Saturday off. You don't have to walk the entire 2.5, 1/2 the training distance is good enough.

Store carbs (pasta, or bagel, or pancakes) on Thursday and Friday, drink enough water to hydrate, don't eat anything heavy before the race on Sunday morning. A banana or cereal is good if you are hungry, eat at least an hour an 1/2 before the start.

Make your bathroom stop before walking to the starting line so you don't have to stop along the way.

If you can walk 2.5 now, you can walk 5 because on race day the excitement will carry you through.

Oooh, I have race day excitement! Thank you for taking us along.:D :)
 
Debbie said:
...I have never been able to run because of my heart...
Click to expand...
I just now read your thread for the first time, Debbie. Sounds like great progress you're making.

I'm like you in that, while growing up I was never supposed to run, but in my case I never quite built up the strength in my feet/ankle muscles for running much.

I never had any problems from my groin angio entries but I don't think I had the bypass thing you are describing either. There was one shot I received in my leg before first heart surgery, however, that caused part of my thigh to be numb for decades. The needle must have hit some funny nerve just wrong.

Have fun with your momentous walk and take care :) .
 
You go Girl! I am so proud of you....and wish you all the best in your race! it's so great to have a goal and to work towards it...and to know that you heart is functioning well and that your surgery was such a success! I am so happy for you! Remember when you called me just minutes before they wheeled you into the OR...so scared and wanting reassurance and I told you....you are going to be just fine...well you are better than "fine"...you are amazing! Keep up the good work and keep us posted!
 
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