After battling bronchitis for the last 2 weeks, I attempted the Press Club 5K on Saturday, September 13. The race is an out and back course that essentially runs between the Press Club and the Capital. It's a pretty flat course and I had one of my best races of the year last year in this race. And then there are the pancakes! They have a great post race party in the Press Club after the race featuring a pancake breakfast. I wasn't going to miss that!
I ran 1.3 miles two days before the race just to see if I could even run. I managed to run it at about 10 minute pace so I thought I might do OK. Nonetheless, a 2 week illness and layoff had me worried. At the starting line I was thinking a 37 minute 5K might be the target.
I got through the first mile in 10:24. That was a comfortable pace and included a 1 minute walk break. However, after a mile I just didn't feel very good. My heart felt like it was running fast and any running at this point was difficult. I walked up the hill by the Capital, made the turn, had a couple of cups of water and ran down the hill I just climbed. The 2 mile mark was at the bottom of the hill...it took me 13:57 to complete that second mile! Doing some quick math in my head I realized that I needed to run at a 10 minute pace for the entire rest of the race just to come in under 36 minutes. Well that wasn't going to happen. Given my difficulty breathing from the bronchitis, my elevated heart rate, and pain in my left foot which I have to think is a stress fracture, I decided to shut it down for the day. I walked the final 1.1 miles in 16:58. My final time was 41:18....probably my worst 5K time in years.
I hope I get better soon. These times are just dePRESSing!
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