Last year I had PRed at this race. It was difficult to go back this year and run it knowing I would be much slower. But...I decided that the day I don't do a race because I worry it won't be my fastest is the day I need to hang up my running shoes. I need to remember that I run because I truly love it and not let my competitive self get in the way.
I decided to go ahead and run it and try to stuck to around 10 minutes miles, because it seems the faster I go the worse my back is.
I arrived to the race about 20 minutes prior to the start. It was a very small race...just over 100 people and completely flat, out and back course. I grabbed my packet, put on my number and started my warm-up.
Before I knew it, we were off. It was very hard at the start to stick to 10:00 miles. I wanted to take off and run my best, but didn't want my back to give out in the middle, so I stuck to my pace.
By the time I made it to the halfway turn-around I was sore, but it was manageable. I kept on chugging along. By the time I hit 2 miles I picked up the pace a bit. I ran the last 1/2 mile at my normal 5K pace and was sore but able to finish it. My final time was 29:42....a far cry from last year's 26:52. But, I was glad I got out there and stuck it out.
About 1/4 mile from the end there was a man collapsed on the side of the course being loaded onto a golf cart to be taken to the ambulance at the finish. He was a tall, built guy and was a complete rag doll at the time...4 large men struggled to get him on. My guess is dehydration. It was very hot and humid. Kind of a scary finish to the race.
So...not the most interesting race report. I have since the race been fitted for an SI support and ran with it yesterday and my back felt great, which is awesome. I will talk a little more about my back injury and PT in my next post. :)
Here I am after the race:
12 comments:
Hi Sarah,
Way to go on your 5K!! I think that you had a great time considering the heat:) Dehydration is going to be a problem with the next couple months of racing. I ended up getting dehydrated on Sunday's race:(
Have a wonderful week Sarah!
Hey Sarah, I find that sometimes I forget why I started running in the first place and beat myself up when I am "too slow."
Considering your problems with the back, a sub 30-min 5K seems pretty good to me. I want to be able to do that by the end of this year.
Good job on you run and sticking to it, even though your back hurt. I so hope you feel better soon!!!
Glad your back let you finish the race. Way to go!!
Sounds like you ran a very smart race. Am interested to hear about your new support. How it helps you. It's so hard when you are competitive to just back off and run for fun. Running is fun, but when you're competitive that seems to overtake so easily. Good job!
Glad you were able to enjoy the race and not hurt yourself more. Good job keeping to your plan.
So happy that you were able to race without hurting your back further! Way to go!
Hope you are on your way to recovery!
Love the sweaty band!
Running just because you love it is a great reason to run! Great job on the 5K!
Great job on the 5k - glad your back didn't give you too much trouble!
Nice job on the run....and great to hear your back is feeling good after getting the brace!
Nice blog!!
http://tusshar7.blogspot.com/
http://tushar7.blogspot.com/
Nice work on remembering why you run! I also pause anytime someone asks me my goal for my next event I always say to have fun training and I hope for a PR~I hope your back feels better soon take care!
Post a Comment