Flying Pig 5k

I was so nervous about this morning’s race. I thought for sure, it was going to be horrible, with my back pain. I iced it before we left, and I did some light exercises to warm it up, pre-race, then I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

This particular race has a history of being cold, wet, and windy. We only got two out of three this year -Bitter cold and high winds. But we made the best of it, taking advantage of the hard tail winds when we got them, and burning all our extra energy trying to stay upright when it was a side or head wind. Jerry ran with me, by my request. I wanted someone to talk to through any pains issues while running so I could be sure I wasn’t pushing through something I shouldn’t, or walking because I was being overly cautious. Plus it’s always fun to goof off with my husband, since I wasn’t trying for a best time.

I had a few issues throughout the run, but nothing bad. I got a rock in my shoe at mile marker 1, so I had to stop and dump it. My shoulder, above the rib that usually bothers me, tightened up and hurt for a little while. My left calf cramped up for a short distance. And the whole race felt like I hadn’t been training to run lately… oh wait. Probably because I haven’t! But, there was no real back pain. There were a couple of downhill spots that I took a little too hard and fast which resulted in little twinges in my back but I readjusted my form, making sure to land more softly on feet as we went down. That seemed to be all I needed to do, because the twinges stopped and I was able to finish the race without anymore back issues.

The race only provided gun times for the finishers, so I timed myself since I never cross the start when the gun goes off. I clocked myself at 43:04. Not a PR, but a close second. In fact, I was surprised to realize that had I not stopped to get the rock out of my shoe, I might have actually beaten my best time. I wasn’t even trying for a good time! That was extra encouraging.