Over the past several years, I’ve continually battled with going out too fast. Usually it’s meant an unsuccessful practice, as I’ve got little left after mile 1. But I’ve been working on it, and usually in 5Ks themselves, I’ve been okay. Unfortunately, it caught up with me during this race. And I didn’t know that it was going to happen until it was too late.
As Rob and I started out, he noted that I was going too fast. I kept trying to slow it down, and things felt good at a 12:15 or so pace. Then at less than a 1/2 mile in, my right side and back started hurting — bad. Almost like I had pulled something without realizing it. I hoped that a couple minutes of stretching would help, but to no full avail.
So for the rest of the race, I did what I could. This meant running until the pain level got to a 5 or 6, then walking until it was back down to a 2; rinse and repeat. While it’s just antidoctal, I think I may have had some minor dehydration. I say that because post-race as I kept draining cups of water, it kept getting a little better (although I was still in some pain).
While it wasn’t the race that I had hoped for, I still had fun. And I appreciate Rob being able to come out and run with me!