What I Wish I Knew Before My First 10K (A Brutally Honest Timeline)

I ran my first 10K three years ago. I'd done a 5K before, felt pretty good about it, and thought "why not double it?"

Turns out, doubling your race distance isn't quite as simple as doubling your training. Who knew?

Looking back, I made basically every mistake a new 10K runner could make. But I also learned a lot. And I finished, which was the goal.

Here's what actually happened, week by week. Not the sanitized "inspirational journey" version. The real version, with the stupid mistakes and the unglamorous parts.

If you're training for your first 10K, maybe you can skip some of my failures.

Before Week 1: The "I've Got This" Phase

My situation:

• Had completed a 5K four months prior (time: 31:47, which I was proud of)
• Currently running once per week, maybe 3 miles
• Registered for a 10K race exactly 10 weeks away
• Confidence level: unreasonably high

My plan:

• Found a "Couch to 10K" plan online
• It was 8 weeks long, so I had 2 extra weeks (perfect!)
• Started immediately without actually reading the whole plan first (mistake #1)

What I wish I knew: Going from running once per week to following a 4-day training plan is a bigger jump than I thought. I should have spent 2-3 weeks building up my running frequency before starting the structured plan.

Week 1: This Seems Easy

The plan: Three runs—20 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes

What actually happened:

Monday: 20-minute easy run. Felt great! Why do people say running is hard?

Wednesday: 25-minute run. Started way too fast (didn't realize it at the time), bonked at 18 minutes, walked for 3 minutes, finished.

Saturday: 30-minute long run. Made it the full 30 minutes but my shins felt... crunchy? Is that normal?

Mistake I made: Ran all three runs at the exact same pace—way too hard. Didn't understand what "easy run" meant yet.

What I learned: Nothing yet. I thought I was nailing it.

Week 2: Wait, My Legs Hurt

The plan: Three runs—25 minutes, 30 minutes, 35 minutes

What actually happened:

Monday: Shins hurt from the start. Pushed through anyway because I'm not a quitter. Made it 20 minutes before I had to walk.

Wednesday: Skipped it. Shins still hurt. Felt guilty.

Saturday: Attempted the 35-minute long run. Made it 15 minutes before admitting my shins were screaming. Walked home.

Mistake I made: Ignored the pain signals. Also, my running shoes were four years old and completely worn out.

What I learned: Shin splints are real, and they don't care about your motivation. Also, I needed new shoes.

Week 3: The Shoe Store Intervention

The plan: Paused the official plan to let my shins heal

What actually happened:

Monday: Rest (doctor's orders—well, Google's orders)

Wednesday: Went to an actual running store. The person watched me run on a treadmill and said my shoes were "catastrophically dead." Bought new shoes. They felt like clouds.

Saturday: Easy 20-minute test run in new shoes. No shin pain! Revolutionary!

Mistake I made: Waiting until I was injured to get proper shoes. Should have done this before week 1.

What I learned: Running shoes matter more than I thought. Also, specialty running stores are worth the slightly higher price.

Week 4: Starting Over (Sort Of)

The plan: Restart the training plan, but smarter this time

What actually happened:

Tuesday: 20-minute easy run. Actually went EASY this time. Pace was 10:30/mile instead of my usual 9:15/mile. Felt weirdly relaxing.

Thursday: 25-minute easy run. Kept it slow. Felt good.

Sunday: 30-minute long run. Still easy pace. No shin pain. This is how running should feel.

Mistake I made: Still running every run at the same (easy) pace. Needed variety.

What I learned: Easy runs should be easy. Like, embarrassingly slow. Like, you could have a conversation. Like, my "fast" pace was hurting me.

Week 5: The Confidence Returns

The plan: Three runs—30 minutes, 35 minutes with some faster intervals, 40 minutes

What actually happened:

Tuesday: 30 minutes easy. Nailed it.

Thursday: 35 minutes with 3x3 minutes at "tempo pace." I had no idea what tempo pace was, so I just ran faster. It was hard. Probably did it wrong.

Sunday: 40-minute long run. This is the longest I'd ever run. Made it the whole time! Pace was slow (10:45/mile) but I finished feeling strong.

Mistake I made: Still didn't really understand pace zones or why I was doing different types of runs.

What I learned: I could run for 40 minutes. That felt like a big milestone.

Week 6: The Dip

The plan: Three runs—30 minutes, 40 minutes with intervals, 45 minutes

What actually happened:

Monday: 30 minutes easy. Fine.

Wednesday: 40 minutes with intervals. Went out too hard on the intervals, died halfway through, walked twice. Felt like garbage.

Saturday: Tried the 45-minute long run. Made it 35 minutes before my legs felt like concrete. Cut it short.

Mistake I made: Not eating enough. I was trying to lose weight while training (terrible idea). Also running the intervals way too fast.

What I learned: You can't train hard on a calorie deficit. Your body needs fuel. Also, I was still running too hard on my "hard" days.

Week 7: The Mental Block

The plan: Three runs—35 minutes, 45 minutes with tempo, 50 minutes

What actually happened:

Tuesday: Skipped it. Felt tired and unmotivated.

Thursday: Did 30 minutes instead of 45. Just couldn't get into it.

Saturday: 50 minutes felt impossible. Did 40 and called it good enough.

Mistake I made: Overthinking everything. Got in my head about whether I was "doing it right."

What I learned: Some weeks suck. That's normal. The goal is to show up and do something, even if it's not perfect.

Week 8: The Breakthrough

The plan: Three runs—35 minutes, 45 minutes, 55 minutes (longest run yet)

What actually happened:

Tuesday: 35 minutes. Decided to just enjoy it instead of worrying about pace. Felt great.

Thursday: 45 minutes with some tempo running. Finally understood that tempo = "comfortably hard." Like, hard but sustainable. Not all-out sprinting. Went much better.

Sunday: 55-minute long run. I was nervous but decided to just go slow and steady. Brought water. Listened to a podcast. Hit 6.2 miles (a full 10K!) at 53 minutes. I DID IT.

Mistake I made: Celebrated by immediately eating an entire pizza. Stomach regrets followed.

What I learned: I could run a 10K distance. Maybe not fast, but I could do it. Race day was suddenly less scary.

Week 9: Taper Panic

The plan: Reduce mileage to stay fresh (two shorter runs)

What actually happened:

Tuesday: 25 minutes easy. Felt weird to run so little.

Thursday: 30 minutes easy. Started panicking that I wasn't training enough.

Saturday: Rest day but I was convinced I was losing fitness.

Mistake I made: Not trusting the taper. I thought resting meant I'd lose all my fitness.

What I learned: Taper panic is real. You feel like you should be doing more. You shouldn't. Trust the plan.

Week 10: Race Week

The plan: One short easy run early in the week, then rest

What actually happened:

Monday: 20 minutes easy. Legs felt fresh.

Tuesday-Friday: Obsessed over race day weather (it was supposed to rain), what to wear (still not sure), what to eat (everything seemed wrong), and whether I should have trained more (yes).

Saturday: Race day.

The race:

• Lined up way too far forward (got passed by approximately everyone in the first mile)
• Went out too fast (9:00/mile pace, which lasted about 8 minutes)
• Settled into a more reasonable 10:15/mile pace
• Miles 3-5 felt surprisingly okay
• Mile 6 was just surviving
• Finished in 1:02:47
• Immediately felt like dying and also like a champion

What I learned: Race day adrenaline is real. I went way too fast at the start despite every article telling me not to. Also, finishing a 10K is incredibly satisfying.

What I Wish Someone Had Told Me

1. Your first 10K isn't about time

I spent so much energy worrying about my pace. None of it mattered. I was never going to win. I was there to finish. The time doesn't matter on your first one.

2. Easy runs should feel TOO easy

If you can't hold a conversation, you're going too hard. I spent 4 weeks running too fast on easy days and wondering why I felt tired.

3. Different runs have different purposes

Easy runs build endurance. Tempo runs build lactate threshold. Speed work builds... speed. Don't just run the same pace every time.

4. Rest days are part of training

I felt guilty every rest day for the first 6 weeks. Rest is when your body actually gets stronger. It's not skipping training; it's training.

5. You will have bad runs

Some runs just suck. Your legs feel heavy, your lungs hurt, nothing feels right. That's normal. Finish it anyway, even if you have to walk.

6. Get good shoes BEFORE you start training

Not after you're injured. Before.

7. Eat enough

Training takes energy. You need to eat. This is not the time to be in a big calorie deficit.

8. The training is harder than the race

Race day adrenaline is real. You'll feel better on race day than on most training runs. Don't panic if training feels hard.

9. 10K is the perfect distance

Long enough to be a challenge. Short enough that it won't destroy you. Hard enough to feel accomplished. Accessible enough that almost anyone can train for it.

10. You're more capable than you think

Ten weeks before race day, I could barely run 3 miles. On race day, I ran 6.2. Your body adapts faster than you expect.

The Honest Race Day Timeline

Since we're being real, here's what race day actually looked like:

6:00am: Woke up. Immediately regretted signing up for a race.

6:30am: Ate half a bagel. Stomach felt weird. Questioned all choices.

7:00am: Drove to race. Noticed approximately 2,000 other runners who all looked faster than me.

7:30am: Used porta-potty. Waited in line 15 minutes. Used porta-potty again.

7:55am: Stood in starting corral. Everyone looked calm and confident. I felt neither.

8:00am: Race started. Immediately got swept up in the crowd and ran way too fast.

8:10am: Realized I was going too fast. Slowed down. Got passed by everyone.

8:25am: Hit mile 3. Felt surprisingly okay.

8:40am: Hit mile 5. Started questioning why I do this to myself.

8:55am: Saw the finish line. Found energy I didn't know I had.

9:02am: Finished! Grabbed water, medal, banana. Tried not to cry (failed).

9:15am: Sent sweaty finish line photo to everyone I've ever met.

The Real Takeaway

Your first 10K won't be perfect. Mine definitely wasn't.

I made mistakes every week. I ran too fast, then too slow. I got injured, took time off, questioned everything. I had great runs and terrible runs and runs where I just wanted to quit.

But I kept showing up. I adjusted when things went wrong. I learned as I went.

And on race day, I crossed the finish line.

That's what matters.

If you're training for your first 10K, give yourself permission to mess up. You will. Everyone does.

Just keep running. Even when it's hard. Even when you feel slow. Even when you want to quit.

Ten weeks from now, you'll have a finisher's medal and a pretty good story.

And maybe some questionable tan lines from those running shorts.

But hey, you'll be a 10K finisher. And that's pretty cool.