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"Chances are good that most of us have pulled the occasional all-nighter trying to cram for a test. But what about cramming for a race&amp;#8212;is it possible? That&amp;#39;s what reader Shannon wants to know!\nPinterestFacebookShe writes: &amp;quot;I signed up to run a 5K race about six weeks ago, figuring I&amp;#39;d have plenty of time to train. And, while I&amp;#39;ve been exercising regularly, I haven&amp;#39;t adhered to my training plan nearly as well as I should have! I have a few weeks left to try and pull this off without hurting myself. Can I do it?&amp;quot;\nShannon&amp;#39;s question is of special interest to me at this exact moment time&amp;#8212;I&amp;#39;m basically in her (running) shoes. I have to run a 10K soon, and I&amp;#39;ve not been super great about sticking to the training schedule. So I asked the fitness experts at Greatist&amp;#8212;after all, they created this neat user-friendly training guide for anyone interested in running a 5K.\nFirst: Well, it&amp;#39;s not really possible to cram weeks&amp;#39; and months&amp;#39; worth of training into a few weeks (or days!). Amping up your workouts in the preceding days could actually leave you more at risk for injury during the event. But there are a few things you can do to make the race a little easier&amp;#8212;and still enjoy yourself.\nUse a walk-run approach. While training over the next couple of weeks, take short walking breaks between spurts of running&amp;#8212;it&amp;#39;ll preserve your energy over the course of the race, so you don&amp;#39;t end up running for half of the overall distance and then plod to the finish line because you&amp;#39;re exhausted. This method also helps reduce the chance you&amp;#39;ll injure yourself.\nDon&amp;#39;t drink, don&amp;#39;t smoke, and get plenty of sleep. As race day approaches, it&amp;#39;s important to keep your body well hydrated, healthy, and well energized. Alcohol steals water; smoking compromises your lungs; and lots of sleep means your mind (and body!) will be sharper.\nPamper thyself. Get loose with massages, dynamic stretching, foam rolling, ice baths, and acupuncture.\nFuel up on the day of the race. Two hours before the race, eat something simple that&amp;#39;ll give you some bang for your buck: oatmeal with fruit, a banana (or a piece of whole-grain toast) with peanut butter.\nRemember that walking is OK! Remember that, even though it&amp;#39;s called a race, it&amp;#39;s totally OK to go at your own pace. That may mean that 12-year-olds will blast by you (this has happened to me more than once!)&amp;#8212;but don&amp;#39;t stress about it! Stick to what you know you can do and enjoy everything you can about the experience. And, you know&amp;#8212;next time, adjust your training so that you feel more prepared to hit the goals that you&amp;#39;d like.\nGood luck, Shannon! Race runners, do you have any other tips you&amp;#39;d like to offer?"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/story/crash-train-5k-race>