34:00

i ran my third 5k (of my life) on saturday. it was my first 3 mile run in over a year. it was good and bad. the bad part occurred as i worked through the second mile. it was hard work, mostly because i developed a side stitch that crippled my running abilities, if only for a short time. it was such a tight muscle cramp, i couldn't extend my right leg backwards. this forced me to walk about half of the second mile.
going into the race, i was pretty nervous. the furthest i had run (in a long time) was about 2.5 miles. on top of that, i've been struggling heavily with side stitches right around the 1-mile mark on a majority of my runs. although, for a girl who usually stays between the 11-12 minute mile mark, i'm very proud of myself for finishing the 5k in 34:00, just under 11 minute miles (factor in the half mile i walked, and i was making some good time). i was pretty disappointed that i wasn't able to "run" the entire race, but still happy with my accomplishment. i'm going to keep working at it, and hopefully do better in a race later this year.
i know that running a 5k for some people isn't difficult. actually, i've even had people laugh at me for training for the 5k (jerks). but, running has never been that easy for me, even when i was in my best physical shape. i'm hoping with continued practice, it'll get better.