Matty Siravo 5K - The Good, The Bad, and The Itchy

The Good

Gabe and Dante had a fabulous time doing their "dash."  Dante was first place in his group, and Gabe was second place in his. I always stress to them that it's just about having fun, but I can't help but be proud to see my boys out in front like that :)

Until the final 200 yards, I had a great race. I ran mile 1 in 6:56, and it actually didn't feel like quite as much of an effort as that pace usually feels in a 5K.

Ran mile 2 in 6:54, and was still feeling OK, but definitely glad that there was only a mile to go.

I fell off pace a bit for mile 3, and ended up finishing it in 7:01. I still managed to move up a bit, though, passing two women who had been ahead of me for the first two miles, and putting myself in position as sixth female (yes, I was counting - this race has two turnaround points, so it's easy to keep track of how many women are ahead of you).

And that leads us to:

The Bad and The Itchy 

As I approached the last turn, leading into the final stretch, the palms of my hands started to feel itchy. I recognized the feeling immediately, and almost said, "Oh crap, not again!" out loud. I might not have actually said it out loud, but I was definitely thinking it.

I knew running for another 200 yards wasn't going to make one bit of difference, though, so I finished my race the way I would have finished it even if I hadn't had that sense of impending doom.

I even mustered a smile for Scott, who was on the side of the road with the boys and his camera. I'm glad I was able to smile, because he got some really nice shots :)

There was a woman who was just ahead of me for the final 1/2 mile, and I thought I'd try to catch her as we headed into the home stretch, but I couldn't quite do it. I tried, though - running the last 0.1 at a 6:28 pace.

I crossed the finish line in 21:40 - just two minutes shy of my 5K PR. I had kind of hoped I could take a few seconds off that PR, so I was a tiny bit disappointed, but I was also too preoccupied with the itchiness to really be overly concerned about my time.

I met back up with Scott and the boys and tried to assess how I was feeling. Thankfully, I wasn't having any of the lightheadedness or shortness of breath that I experienced when this happened a few weeks ago. And my lips weren't swollen, either, which I thought was a good sign.

But the tingly, itchy feeling was spreading. I had wanted to hang around for the awards, since I was pretty sure I had come in first or second in my age group, but with the way I was feeling, that didn't seem like a good idea, so we headed home.

By the time we got home, I was covered in hives and itching like crazy, but I still didn’t have any other symptoms. Since it was just the itching, I decided to take a Benadryl (epi-pen didn't seem necessary under those circumstances), and within 15 minutes, it was subsiding, and half an hour later, I felt fine. 

What a way to put a damper on a great race, though.

And this morning, I had planned on a bike ride, but woke up really wanting to run. So I got out bright and early for 10 miles by the beach.

I took it nice and easy, since I had just raced yesterday, and was having such a lovely run. It was feeling effortless and fun and so peaceful.

Then, right around mile 8, it started AGAIN - that nagging tingly, itchy feeling in the palms of my hands. I almost couldn't believe it, and tried to convince myself that I was just imagining things.

But it didn't go away.

I knew I still had two more miles before I got back to my car, but I also had my phone and my epi-pen, so I didn't get too freaked out. I slowed my pace a little more and hoped I could make it back to the car without having some kind of emergency situation on the side of the road.

As it turned out, I ran the final two miles fine, and the only thing that bothered me that whole time were my hands.

Then I stopped running, and got in my car and drove home, and the itching got worse and worse, and by the time I got home, I was once again covered in hives.

Sigh.

After going two full weeks without anything like this happening, and feeling like maybe it was just a freak occurrence, it's now happened two times in a row - and both times under very different circumstances - yesterday a very humid morning, and a race effort; today a comfortable, dry morning, and a much slower-paced long run.

I don't know what the heck is going on, but I do know that I'm not happy about it. I don't like when my body doesn't cooperate. And this is something that, at least for now, is totally out of my control, and that doesn't sit well with me.

I have an allergist appointment Thursday. Hopefully they will be able to shed some light on the situation. Mysterious, unpredictable ailments are not my cup of tea.

But to end on a good note, I'll add that when I checked the online results from the race, I learned that I had in fact won first place in my age group - yay! This is the third time I've won an age-group award at this race, and my second time winning first place.

And the woman I was trying so hard to catch in that final few hundred yards - she was in the 14 - 19-year-old age group, and finished the race just one second ahead of me.

I may not have been able to catch up to and pass her, but I think if I (an almost-41-year-old mom of three) can keep up with a teenager, I'm doing just fine : )

For more from Michelle, check out Me and the Boys, her blog.