Whoops! I almost forgot to blog about the APA Fast and Furriest 5K this past Sunday! Nothing dramatic to report ... except for some Shin Splint issues on my end. I don't usually do a lot of stetching before any run; my first mile or so in any event is usually done at a slow enough jog to serve as a warm-up. Sunday's race, though, had some unusual aspects. Like Stella being there and racing with me. For the 30 minutes or so before the start (at beautiful Tower Grove Park, by the way!), Stella and I were chilling with the other runners and their dogs. By the time the race started, Stella was jumping up and down and so excited to get the race started. So when the horn went off, she took off like a shot and everytime another dog and racer would pass us, she would get even faster! My first mile of the 5K was probably somewhere in the 8 minute zone, so pretty fast for me.

After that first mile, I noticed my left shin was killing me. I didn't think about it being a shin splint but that is what it was -- a dull aching that would not go away no matter how much I slowed down. We managed to finish the race but the aching stuck around for the next few days (and it probably didn't help that I ran more mileage on Sunday evening because I wanted to go downstairs to the gym in our building and watch a TV show!).

Anyway -- I finished in 30:12 which wasn't bad for having a shin problem! I wish I had a picture from the race but you will notice that this blog post starts with a picture of my training partner (when she is not racing and sitting still!) :D