I just can't catch a break

Seriously...seriously...it's like I'm cursed.  After Miami and after some tough training runs this season I thought that it could not have gotten much worse.  Unfortunately it can.  I ended up getting hurt at mile 10.5/11 and it was literally a mess from there.  I almost DNF-ed.  I somehow pulled through, literally at times limping along, and found some way to run the last half mile.  Likely was not a good idea to push forward, but I was so freaking pissed that I dug down to just finish as strong as I could.  I was happy to have passed two people in the last leg and finish with some pride.  

Surprisingly I finished in 2:22:05; 10:54 min/mile.  Still better than my times in Baltimore last year and this year at Miami.  Both those races were in the 2:30:00 zone.

Let's start with the good stuff ---

I started off with a good dinner and good night's sleep.  I woke up with a ton of time and got ready for the race.  I was high on adrenaline and was fully hydrated.  I got to the race really early and was mentally ready to get rolling.

The starting line was a bit of a mess with folks jammed up against barricades.   Our group jammed through a break and jumped into the crowd.  Within minutes we were off!

I took the excellent race advice from the tri team.  It was all going according to plan.  I was careful not to go out too hard and my game plan was to reel them in toward the end.  Erin and I decided to stick together and motor through for what we anticipated would be a strong finish.

Miles 1-4:  The first leg was pretty steady ---- 10:28, 10:05 and 9:50 min/mile.  We both pulled back to ease into the race and let folks smoke past us.  We were happy to stick to our plan.  We felt great.

Miles 4-7:  The second leg welcomed us with an ascent into Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan.  We've done this many times and trained on more painful hills (hello Calvert!) this season.  We kept looking only a few feet in front of us and put one foot in front of the other as we moved up the hills.  Thankfully the crowds lining the streets pushed us on...but we still felt the effect of the hills.  Our legs felt like bricks when we passed Fleet Feet.  My pace was --- 10:14, 10:32 and 10:30 min/mile.

Miles 7-9:  The third leg included a set of rolling hills.  Erin and I were recovering from the previous leg and continued to conserve some of our energy as we headed into the last set.  My pace was --- 11:23, 10:36 and 10:32 min/mile.  We were both getting super excited as we passed the water treatment plant and turned back toward RFK.

Miles 9-13.1:  And here is where disaster struck.  I may start thinking I'm cursed.  Our plan was to gain speed on the downhill at mile 9.  We had a great mile --- pacing at 9:47.  No pain, felt fantastic and did not over stride.  As we moved onto mile 10 and 11 I suddenly felt pain in my left hip.  It was all very strange since I haven't had any hip issues.  I pulled back a bit and tried to shake it off.  As I continued on I realized something was wrong.  I let Erin go and pulled over to shake it off and start stretching.  Once I stopped, I realized that I was not in good shape.  I was limping.  I ended up doing a combination of slow running, walking and stopping to stretch for the next few miles.  It was AWFUL!  It was so hard to see my finish time just slipping away, especially when I knew that I was not physically tired and had more to give.  Check out my pace for this leg --- 9:47, 13:07, 13:25 and 11:15 min/mile.  Grrrrr!

I luckily saw a friend at the finish and she helped me limp off to the side to stretch after I crossed the finish line.  After stretching, foam rolling, icing and konking out for a few hours I feel a bit better.  It still hurts and there is no way in hell I'm running or really walking anywhere right now.  I'm gonna see how it feels tomorrow and if it's not better have someone look at it next week.

Crossing my fingers that this is no big deal and just requires a little break. I need at least one positive break!