Loma Linda Holiday Classic 15K

This was a great race regardless of the final outcome. I will run this one again!

It was a great morning for running. A little chilly at 40 degrees, a little early leaving the house at 5:30am to start running by 7am, a little challenging (OK...a LOT!) to run some steep hills at the base of the San Bernardino mountain range.

I signed up for this 15K (my first) as a way to train for a longer distance race just 6 weeks before the Carlsbad Half Marathon. I figured if I could get a feel for racing 9.3 miles then mentally another 4.3 would seem "easy" during Carlsbad. I am horrible at long run training at home. I always find an excuse to cheat and unless my running partner is with me I bail out a majority of the time. I have run 9-10 miles at least 6 times before this actual race though...so I knew I had it in me.

There was some initial confusion on the course that caused a little bit of a delay in the run. Some of the runners didn't follow the truck that was the lead car and half of the runner went one way and half went another way. We finally all merged back into one pack, but I think the people who went straight instead of turning right actually ran further than the race distance.

My first mile was an awesome 7:44 mile...even with the confusion. I was pumped up, but knew I needed to pace myself more than ever, because I was going further than my normal 10K distance. My goal was 1:30:00. I knew I could do this because my best 5K time was 29 minutes and my best 10K time is slightly under an hour. If I maintained my just under 10 minute mile pace then my goal was doable.

I hit some monster hills and my pace slowed to 11 minute miles. Still OK because I had some 8-9 minute miles to average things out. The first elite runner passed me in the turn around at the 5K mark. He was 4 miles ahead of me already-that's amazing! I got to that 5K mark at exactly 29 minutes...awesome. I was right on track.

At mile 4 my ankle (that had been bothering me but just tender not painful for 2 weeks) started feeling painful. OK, I'm halfway there, I can still do this. I got to the turn around at 5 miles. Now, the end is in sight. Only a little more than 4 miles left.

At 7 miles the pain grew a little more intense. i had just gone up and down one of the monster hills and it was taking it's toll on my leg. A volunteer shouted to me "only 2 more miles until your pancake breakfast!". Yes, I can do this...I want my breakfast.

At 8.56 miles...with almost exactly a half mile left I felt an intense burning pain right at the sight of the tenderness I had been feeling and then a pain shot up from there to my knee and down through the bottom of my foot. CRAP! That was it. Just like a blown tire. I had to stop. I stopped and looked at my miles. I had a half mile left and I was still under my goal time. I calculated how long it would take to finish the half mile. Walking would be 16 minutes, running would be 5 minutes and a slow jog would be 8 minutes. OK...I'll slow jog, limp my way in. I looked around for medics and volunteers with walkie talkies and there were none. About 50 people had just passed me in the 30 seconds that I stopped. I need to just keep going. I came around the last curve. The finish line in sight. An older man came up on my left and said "you can do this". I was in such pain but I tried to maintain my stance without limping through the finish. I am vain and there was a finish line camera man. I looked over at the old guy and through the tears and pain ripping through my leg I said "I think I sprained my ankle".

I crossed the finish line and found the nearest open spot on the sidewalk to my left and collapsed on the grass. A man came over and handed me a medal and said you deserve this can I put it on your neck? Awesome, I got my first medal (the first 1000 finishers got medals).

I immediately took my shoe, ankle brace and sock off to examine my foot. The pain was incredible. I have given birth to 4 kids and this pain was bad. The kids comforted me, congratulated me and Quentin recommended a massage over by the fire station.

Rami said I needed to put my sock and brace back on to keep the swelling down and then he had to carry me to the car because I couldn't bear any weight at all.

We went directly home (no pancake breakfast for me) and headed to an urgent care. They did an xray and it's not broken, they suspect a stress fracture. I suspect a torn ligament. They gave me a shot of Vicodin in my rear end because I was in so much pain I was shaking at the urgent care facility.

I'm on crutches and rest and hoping to see an Orthopedic Specialist today.