Whoooo, this was a tough race.

For the first time ever, I ended a race in pain.  I was in pain for hours after we went home and was in pain for probably half the race.

When I ran this race last year, I ended with a 1:20:12 time (12:56/pace).  I also ended feeling good, which was quickly changed when I ended that day unable to walk on my foot.  This race last year was too far, too soon, and it ended my running for months with the tendonitis I picked up.  My foot swelled up for weeks and it ended with me too hurt to run the mini.

So, I was a bit nervous about the race before it started today.  I knew I wanted to finish in under an hour and fifteen minutes.  I also didn’t want to get injured again this year, so I was going to pay closer attention to my body and take it easy when something hurt.

Well, I finished the race without my foot hurting, but I was in a mess of pain otherwise.  I ran for about 3 miles with a stomach cramp, ended up getting sick around mile 4, then finished with a side cramp as I hammered out the last quarter mile.  I did feel better after getting sick (stopped the clock for that), but by the end when I crossed the finished I was in so much pain.  I walked off the side cramp and was sick for about the next 3 hours after we got home.

It’s bizarre to end a run without the endorphins taking over and feeling happy, but I think that’s probably part of the process of learning and teaching my body to get used to running and doing more.  It was good to get beyond the 5k distance and know, even feeling ill, that I could keep my pace up.  Back to the 5k distance next week with training runs bumping up the distance mid-week.   Next long race will be in April – a 15k.

So far, on track for a solid Mini this year.

March Race
6.2 Miles
11:58 pace
1:14:12 total time