Tough but fun race today. The very loose plan was to run with Ben and see what happens. I've finally put together some decent weeks and had a few good workouts so I knew I was set up well to run fast. Everything was going well. Me, Ben, Josh, and another guy were just plugging away running 5:30's no problemo. It was a lot of fun. I broke my 10k pr by almost 3 minutes. Just after mile 7 I started to get a nasty side stitch. Ben started to feel really good and was off. I tried to keep on his shoulder but I couldn't breathe like I wanted because of the stitch on the right side. I tried a few different tricks that have worked in the past but I just couldn't get it to go away and it steadily got worse. Josh soon started to pull away and the pain was making my breathing shallow and quick. Finally it became too much and I stopped to try the pinch and exhale routine. This seemed to work after a few tries and nobody passed me so I started to push again. The break mile was 6:10 and the mile after was 5:36. Then it came back with a vengeance and I had to stop again. This time Emily passed me along with a guy in a blue shirt. I was pretty frustrated but just did what I could to work through it and relax. I started running again and it was hard to get it going but I finally got into a rhythm and started working on catching the two who passed me. I got them both just after the mile 12 marker and then saw Scott and Spencer which was a boost. With the smile back on I was able to push it in. The official results have me at 1:16:02. My watch was 1:15:59 for 13.18 miles.
I'm happy with the effort today and thankful to be able to overcome some unexpected challenges. No excuses as the stitch was just part of the race today but I figure it cost me about 2 minutes. I like where I'm at right now and still have a good amount of time build and strengthen before St. George. It was a blast to get to see so many friends and bloggers today. Thanks to Ben and Josh for the motivation during the race and for pushing me while we ran together. For me it's such a cool thing to be able to run with so many of you who I have and continue to look up to. I am motivated to keep working away at it and know that I will be able to get better and reach my goals. Thanks for all of the inspiration and motivation. There are so many class individuals on this blog. Oh, and seriously... how about Mr. Van De Kamp today!? Welcome back :)
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