Worst Race Ever

The day started waaaay too early for the Surftown 5K at Misquamicut Beach in Westerly, RI. And it was freakin’ cold!

 

 

I got up around 3:30 and chugged a bunch of water, then went back to sleep until 4:15am when we got up and started getting everything ready. The race start was supposed to be 7:30 according to the Hartford Marathon Foundation website. It only listed one race start, so I figured the 5K and Half Marathon runners would all start together. Once we got there, we found out this was not the case. Due to ridiculous lines at the Portajohns, they ended up delaying the race for at least a 1/2 hour. Not only that, we found out when they made early announcements that the 5K would start 15 min after the half marathon. In reality, we ended up starting about 10 min later, but it was just pure disorganization. I digress…

Packet pick-up started at 6am so I planned on us arriving around 6:15. Sunrise was at 6:31 so I was excited we’d be able to see the sun rise at the beach.

 

I can’t even handle the gorgeousness.

 

After enjoying the beach for a bit (and trying to stay warm) I started getting my game face on. I walked around in the knee brace I have for a while, debating whether I’d wear it to run. I couldn’t get it in a comfortable position, so at the last minute I ended up deciding I’d forgo wearing it. I also peeled my KT Tape off last night because it started coming off on it’s own. Because my leg felt better, I opted not to put any new KT Tape on. Both of these may have been huge mistakes, but hindsight is 20/20, right?

 

 

Once we finally lined up, I got this super nervous, bad feeling about it. Maybe I worked my own negative mojo on myself, but I didn’t even make it 1/4 mile before I had to stop and walk because it hurt so much. It was very hard to make my brain force my legs to stop running so I didn’t injure myself further. What the most frustrating thing was is that when I walked, the pain went away. SO annoying! I probably ran a total of 4-5 times, but walked the majority. I haven’t even checked my finishing time as of typing this post because I don’t even want to know. I’m definitely my own worst competitor and to have so many people pass me, and to finish so far back in the pack was the worst experience I’ve had to date in a race.

I’m glad I had Tara, Julie and Dan there cheering me on and to give me a big hug when I just started crying after I crossed the finish line. It’s very disheartening to know I can do it and my body is like “fuck you”. I train all the right ways. I do all the right stretches, all the right foam rolling, all the right EVERYTHING.

On a lighter note, we decided to go out to breakfast together afterwards before Julie and Dan headed home. We looked at our old friend Yelp and found Fatti Mac’s. It was a teensy place, but cute. They had huge servings for cheap prices and it was really tasty.

When we finally got home around 11:30 or so, Julie and Dan packed up to head home and Tara and I settled in for a nap. Let’s be real, it’s Sunday and we were up at 4:15am!

I’m feeling slightly better after a couple more hours of rest. Still upset, but handling it better now as I write this. I have my yearly physical on Tuesday so I’m gonna talk to my NP and ask her about my knee, or at least for a referral to a new ortho. The last one I went to for my hip was a joke.

For now, I’ll continue my regimen of no running, icing, stretching, rolling and tons and tons of elevation when possible. Got 3 more races for the next 3 weeks and I am NOT losing any of that registration money! Even if that means I crawl across the finish lines!

 

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