Notes from the Back of the Pack

This past weekend, I ran a 5k with my favorite running partner, who is currently thirty-four weeks pregnant. Having decided ahead of time to let her race-day condition dictate the pace, we planned a quick 5-minute warm-up walk and then some tight little run/walk intervals for the duration of the race. We started at the very back of the pack so that we weren't immediately trampled.
As a solid middle-of-the-pack runner, I'm accustomed to a race start quickly giving way to the rhythm of slapping...