One of my all-time favorite races the Sportspectrum Firecracker 5K in Shreveport, LA with over 3,000 other runners. It attracts a fast field but also a ton of beginners come take part in it.
My training had been going really great all year, including a 10:02, 3200m time trial run just over a month before. However, just a couple of weeks before this race me and my wife came down with bronchitis. We thought it was a common cold at first but I kept relapsing after every run so I ended having take even more time off. We both saw the doctor and got antibiotics when we realized it wasn't going away.
The week before this race was a bit rough getting back into it as I had a few DNF's. The antibiotics made my heart rate a lot higher than it should have been. However I was off of them a few days before the race. I knew the fitness was there.
I get in the front pack right away, however there was a Kenyan type way, way, off the front of us. However, probably within a half-mile I'm struggling to keep up. I hit the first mile in 5:03 and just behind the front chase pack now. It was a struggle after that. It's not often you hear someone say, I wanted to drop out of a 5k but today I did. I almost had to come to walk but I managed to hold on. From the mile, I faded from 5 to 10th or 12th. During the last quarter mile I ended up finding some legs and had a fast kick and finished 8th overall, almost catching 7th by the line.
Racing is taking chances and making risks. Teetering on that line of blowing up.
have a great day
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