Started off ok, the hill was a killer and I did stop but right near the top. I struggled from about mile 6 – whatever the issues with my stomach (pretty sure an ulcer) it really started to flare up at this point. I tried to eat often but then it took over about mile 10/11 and my stomach was just on fire. I struggled on because I knew we were so near the end. Just kept thinking it’s just a 5k left but I lost it just before mile 12. I came over extremely faint and got myself a little worked up as we had really regained some time after the hill. I was pretty upset at this point and in a lot of pain. We walked for a minute or so and then I carried on. This made me a minute short of my goal time which I was disappointed about.
I had 2.11 run time, annoyingly the results say 2.12.
It sounds to me that something is not right and my advice would be to get it checked out asap! You cannot be hard on yourself is there is something wrong with your body. That’s not your fault and you are working really hard and very determined. But important to get yourself sorted as health is vital and you don’t want to be making it worse. Well done though Kelly. Running is like this. You’ll have spells of months on end where nothing seems to improve and the body doesn’t behave, but if you stick with it and come out the other side, things suddenly start to happen. I’ve had the same experience myself. Last year was tough, especially the later part and 4 months towards the end if felt like I made no progress, with constant glute problems, but suddenly 10 weeks into 2024 and I’ve had 3 PBs in 3 races. Trust the process and you time will come. If you have to work harder for it, it feels even better when you get there.
