I hate the 5K!

I hate the 5K. It's just an awful race. It's too short to pace yourself, but it too long to out like a bat out of hell. But a bat out of hell is what I went out like and I crashed and burned. In fact, I walked twice during the race. My first mile was a 6:29 which is just way faster than I should ever be going unless it's a one mile race. Just after the one mile mark I got a severe stitch on my right side underneath my ribs. I tried to slow down my reathing but I was weezing and felt like I was going to have an asthma attack. So, I stopped and walked. One of my high schoolers caught me and said, "What are you doing coach?" So I ran with her a while until I felt better and then took off again. At the turnaround there was a waterstop but the water was in plastic cups and there was ice in it so it was hard to drink adn too cold to pour on yourself. The second mile was a 7:45 which included walking and a waterstop. By the third mile I was starting to feel good again and started picking people off again. But with only a 1/2 mile to go I felt like I have been hit by a truck and did a little more walking. My third mile was a 7:38. My overall time was 22:42 which is a PR by 4 seconds. I should be excited because it's been years since I PRed in a 5K, but I raced so poorly that I am more disappointed than excited.