today i ran my first 2 races in about 20 years, and my first race over a 5k ever. for the first mile my stomach was in knots. i am not sure why, but i was so nervous. maybe it was not knowing the course or the competition of the race. i knew i could do the 6.2 miles, i think i was just worried that there might be too many hills, or i would get too hot or something else would go wrong. this was the longest i had run during daylight in a long time. the weather was kind of cool to start, it was cloudy and actually thundering a little with just a sprinkle here and there. i did one big no no. i put different insoles in my shoes before the race. insoles that i use in my work boots and are very comfortable and supportive. however, the heel cushion was a little too much. i wasn't looking at this as a race but more of a training run, so i thought it would be fine to switch something around, wish i hadn't. i have a hot spot on my left heel that is still hurting me a little to walk nearly 12 hours after the race. my heel did finally quit hurting during the race at about the 5 mile mark. i finished in pretty good time, i was hoping to keep it under 11 miles per minute and really gonna try for 10:30 minute miles. i finished right at 10 minute miles. luckily i found a woman who's pace was where i could keep up and followed her to the 1/2 way point where she slowed to get a drink. i knew she was a client but didn't think she recognized me. as she slowed down i was going around her and she said "aren't you dr. sykes?" so for about the next 1/4 mile she wanted to talk. i am not good at talking and running. she didn't have a watch and asked me for the race time. at mile 5, after keeping back for a little, i ran back up to her, gave her an update on the race time and then went ahead and finished a little ahead of her.
for the 5k i dried off, got a little water and switched shirts, socks and shoes. i knew i was going to keep this at a little slower pace. i finished it right at a 10:24 min/mile pace. i was happy with that. the rough part of the race was at the end, i had heard some footsteps coming behind me for a while and i was content at finishing at my pace. however, as the footsteps got a few feet away my competitive spirit took over and i could hear people cheering (i think they were wanting to see the other runner pass me for a race at the end, or that is what my mind told me) so i broke out into a full-out sprint to the finish. the 5k was much hotter than the 10k. the sun was out and there didn't seem to be any shade. i got really hot at the end but cooled off pretty quick. i knew i needed to eat since i hadn't eaten much all day. i went into the registration area and got a few orange slices and some fruit chews. i had a cooler with some dr. peppers and drank one of them.
then i went into work and did a c-section. i think i should have drank more before the c-section because during it (it took about 1.5 hours) i started getting a bad headache. that headache has just gone away. i tried to take a nap, since i only got about 5 hours of sleep last night, but it was like i couldn't cool off. i did nap for about 30 min though. i got up and ate some food, started drinking as much as i could then took a cool shower. i feel much better now.
thoughts of the day: after a hot run, cool off fast and get plenty of fluids, don't try new insoles for a race, even if you don't plan on running that hard. even if you think you are not trying to do beat people in a race, you will try with everything you have at the finish, after all, it is the end of the race and it will all be over soon.
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