Notes
Very happy with today's results. If you told me a week ago that I would run sub-40 for the 10k, given my injury, I never would have believed you. Given my groin problems, my goal coming in to this event was to run sub-43, which was the Wave A qualifying time.
I was nervous because it was very difficult to get to the event. I definitely cut time too close. Traffic was bad getting there, and getting a parking spot was really a pain. Ended up paying $5 to park in a garage. I quickly put on my shoes and jogged down the road about 5 blocks away to the starting area. Since there's no place to put your stuff, you've essentially got to be wearing what you're going to race in when you leave your car. I don't like that aspect of big races, but oh well.
I was worried I wouldn't find a place to use the bathroom, and there were crowds everywhere. The kid's run was still going on, which was made finding the starting line a little difficult. I finally got to the Siegal center, where I stood in line for about 5 mins to use the bathroom. Feeling a lot better, I jogged back to the start line with just 5 mins to spare. Luckily, they started the event on time without any pre-race bullshit. Just the national anthem, that's it. Race started as scheduled.
It was cool to see the elites go off first. Kenyans, Ethiopians, etc. 1 minute later, we got going. It was pretty crowded on the course pretty much the whole race, especially over the first 3 miles. Definitely had to watch where you were going.
I was amazed how I was able to run 6:10, 6:10, 6:15 over my first 3 miles. I ran the first 5k in about 19:20. I was starting to feel it at this point, and I really didn't think I was going to be able to go sub-40. I was still thinking sub-43. But after another 6:30 4th mile, I started thinking it might be possible. I gritted out a 6:25 5th mile and knew it was going to take a choke to miss going sub-40.
I felt very little to no pain throughout the race. 3.5 hours later, I'm starting to feel the groin pain coming back. I don't know how I'm going to beat this injury... I think I will take some time off for sure. Regardless, right now I'm just enjoying the result!