Notes
Super Sunday 5k! This was a fun day, mostly because it was sponsored by Legal Seafoods and they were giving out free clam chowder at the end.
I got to the race a bit later than was perhaps ideal for such a crowd, so I only managed a 15 minute warm-up. I definitely went out too fast, crossing mile 1 in 5:17. I was feeling decent but clearly slowing down, which was confirmed when I crossed mile 2 at 10:52, a 5:35 second mile.
About a quarter mile into the third mile, I had something happen that I have never experienced before: I got a side stitch. Ridiculous, and it was unbelievably crippling. I couldn't get a real breath in, and found myself actually gasping without being able to stop it. My pace slowed considerably and when it finally faded I picked it back up. I crossed mile 3 at about 16:40, making my third mile in the ballpark of 5:50. Pretty fucking pathetic splits if you ask me. It's like I forgot how to race.
Overall, this was pretty decent. Nice benchmark for the start of the year, thinking 16:30 is well within reach for May/June or so. I'm going to shoot for that and then re-evaluate then.