Walked over to the start... and waited... and waited. I really loathe races that do not start on time. Anyways, got going, took off at a good pace. I decided that it's *only* 15k so I'll push hard, even though I am not 100% (shock). The flat first 5 miles weren't quite flat... at least not by road racing standards. Ok by me. I pulled back on the uphills and let gravity do the work on the downhills, passing tons of people. Hit mile 2 at 14:55... ok, right on pace for 1:10. First 2 miles were pretty scenic, then we left that all behind and ran through the scuzzy - run down parts of town. Lovely. Then ran mile 3 in 7:10... yikes (5k was sub-23). Well, mile 4 was almost all downhill, so I was flying.... ran it in 6:15. Uh-oh... gonna pay for that. Sure enough, a bit before mile 5 I got hit with a wicked stitch. Dang, it's been a LONG time since I got a stitch. Ow, ow, ow, OW, OW!! Took about a half mile before I got it under control, but thankfully I did, b/c I could NOT have kept running with it. Then came the nice looooong uphill. Ugh. I felt whipped from the stitch, now a hill! Wait, what am I whining about?? This thing is NOTHING in comparison to what I run on trails. HTFU! Ok, up to the top of the hill... hmmmm... water stop... sounds like a nice idea, but no effing way I can drink anything with all this huffing and puffing. Heck, it's only 3.5 miles to the finish, I can do without. Hit mile 6 at ~44:05. Turning out of the scuzzy areas into... a park... oh nice... wait... a graveyard?!? Seriously? Ummm... odd. Continue to hold ~7:35/mile. Where's the finish?? Head back to the park we started in, loop around the park, then we're headed back to where the finish line is. Huzzah.. but wait, I didn't see the 9 mile marker... maybe I missed it. Just as I start to put in a finishing kick, I see that we turn away and run around the pond. Ack, slow down!! OMG, is it over yet?? Ok, almost there, almost there... rounding the end of the pond and finally headed for the finish. Start to kick, pass one woman, gaining on another.... dang, she saw my shadow and picked up the pace. It's over!! YAY!!! Not gonna puke, not gonna puke... don't puke on the volunteer taking the chip off.... yes, I'm ok.

Be rested and recovered?? Do speedwork? Not get a stitch?

Drink, walk, drink, eat... change and drive home.


Lack of speedwork; too many races, so little time!