Well, as I've told some of you, this year I'm back at it: Trying to run at least one running event in every county of Maryland (and of course one in Baltimore City) within 2008. In addition, I hope to run races in all three counties of Delaware (this time, I'd like to try and get them in within a week, I know that's certainly possible) as well as Accomack and Northampton Counties on Virginia's Eastern Shore, so I can say I have run in a running event in all the counties on the Delmarva Peninsula (Delmarva is a name for the Eastern Shore area near where Delaware, Maryland, and VA meet). The Delmarva Peninsula includes all three counties in Delaware (actually it may just include Sussex, but I'm goin' for all three anyway), all nine counties on the Maryland Eastern Shore, and Accomack and Northampton Counties on Virginia's Eastern Shore. If I'm wrong on any of this, please correct me. Last September, towards the end of my 2007 endeavor to run in running events in all of Maryland's counties, a strong runner at a race in Somerset County, Maryland suggested that I maybe try and get the counties on Virginia's Eastern Shore in so I can say I've run races in all of the counties in the Delmarva Peninsula. At first I did not know what to think....
... But I haven't forgotten about it either....
I knwo of at least one race that occurs in both of those counties in Virginia, but they do not occur until the fall, so if I can find something sooner, I'll try to do those events. For Maryland and Delaware, I have some fun race ideas about what I can do in most of the counties in those two states. For Queen Anne's County, Maryland, I don't know of any races occurring until late fall, so if one pops up there sooner and I'm available for it, I'll try to make that one. Early in June there's the Relay for Life scheduled to occur at Kent Island High School in Queen Anne's County, but it would be nice to get an actual race in,b ut I may still do that event to help support the cause. Cecil County, Maryland is another one where I don't have any solid idea about what I want to do. I know of some events that occurred there last year, so I'm waiting to see when and if they occur this year to start making plans for that. As part of the Galena, Maryland Dogwood Days Festival, there's the Walk/Run for our Riverkeeper that I found out about last year (but did not run in). Apparently it starts and ends in Kent County, Maryland, but part of it also goes into Cecil County. It's scheduled for Saturday, May 10 this year it looks like according to someone from the Sassafras River Association (http://www.sassafrasriver.org/index_files/SRA%202008%20Calendar.pdf) that puts the event on. I hope to keep my schedule clear for that one. God-willing I can do races in all of these counties that I want to do them in, because I had so much fun in this endeavor last year and this year I have left myself more time to get it done with more of the year ahead of me.
Now for another, somewhat challenging aspect/goal this year that I have been contemplating...
Back in August, my friend Aaron introduced me to a new restaurant in Olney (Montgomery County), Maryland, called Cheeburger Cheeburger. It was an awesome place with burgers and a variety of soft-drinks (and nice fries too)! It was mainly a 50's-style theme that sold nice desserts, even malts and shakes. The soft drinks were often served in mason jars too. It seems like an authentic place. My first time there was Sunday, August 5, 2007, after I finished runningthe Annapolis Striders' Dog Days 8K Cross Country Run in Anne Arundel County earlier that morning. I really enjoyed hte burgers and selection there!
Their burgers range in size. They have burgers in sizes of 5.5-pounds (a "classic beginner burger"), 1/3 of a pound (a "semi-serious" burger), 1/2 of a pound (a "serious burger), a 3/4 of a pound (a "delirious" burger), and then the Famous Pounder (a one-pound, twenty ounce burger). I think the largest burger I've eaten at Cheeburger Cheeburger is the "serious" 1/2 pound burger. People who eat the Famous Pounders at Cheeburger Cheeburger typically have their picture taken and the photo is placed on a "Wall of Fame" in the restauarant.
Now I'm sure in the mentality of running races in every county of Maryland, you can guess how this Cheeburger Cheeburger thing ties in: This year, I hope to eat a Famous Pounder burger in all nine Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurants in Maryland! Yup, that's right, I'm making an attempt to do that when I doubt that I have ever eaten a one-pound burger in my life. Maryland has the second highest number of Cheeburger Cheeburger locations in the United States (Florida has the most according to the restaurant's website, http://www.cheeburgercheeburger.com). I've sorta been toying with this idea for a coupla months now and I think it is definitely realistic. I hope to stay healthy and I'm sure running will help keep the weight down (while eating one-pound burgers I'm sure will help me sustain some weight). Earlier this week I started to pray about it more seriously and I keep on having more inspiration to do it along with my endeavors to run races in every county of Maryland, Delaware and the Delmarva Peninsula this year. God-willing He can help me through this. At least all of the Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurants in Maryland seem to be around more of the central Maryland area, with about three of them or so in the Baltimore County area, and one in Howard County (where I hope to finish this endeavor at, on the homefront). I hope to start with this tomorrow after I hopefully make it to and finish the Annapolis Striders' Valentine's Day 5K in Millersville/Severna Park (Anne Arundel County), Maryland. After the race I hope to go to the Annapolis location in Anne Arundel County, Maryland and make my first attempt at eating a Pounder there. I think that it would be cool to start this endeavor in Annapolis for two reasons:
- Annapolis is Maryland's state capital
- The first time I ate at a Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurant, it was after running a race in Anne Arundel County (and an Annapolis Striders event no less).
I know this sounds kinda corny, but after running races in every county of Maryland last year, I don't think it's too far out there. One of the challenges that I expect to face during this endeavor is that I've almost always had a rather sensitive stomach. I found out I was lactose intolerant when I was about six and sometimes I had lots of trouble digesting food/eating large amounts of it quickly (like I'll go out to eat with some of my friends are are around my weight, and they seem able to put more away quicker than I can, regardless of how hungry I am or think I am). Before elementary school, it was not uncommon for me to get sick to the point of throwing up at least once a year. Those times were not much fun at all, and I don't think my folks much enjoyed it. When I was a kid in elementary and middle school, I would often find my self in the health room crying/groaning/complaining of a bad stomach ache. I dunno if it was because of anxiety or if I had a more senstive stomach. All I know is I seem to get stomach aches more frequently than the average person, and sometimes running hard probably is not the best thing as it can aggravate/exacerbate queasy feelings. Sometimes if I'm eating in a public restaurant, even around my family or friends, I just don't seem to have as much of an appetite as when I eat by myself at home or at a restaurant. Maybe it's some sorta sub-conscious anxiety thing about being around people. Who knows...
So you can see how I may not be a likely candidate for this one-pound cheeseburger eating venture in Maryland....
But I'm going to attempt it anyway.
I have faith that if God let me have this vision and let me challenge myself with it, He will be faithful to see me through. And if I'm not successful in this, well at least I tried and maybe God has had other plans for it all along.
On a more positive note, I have an intersting long-term experience that I feel God has blessed me with. From the second grade through my second year of college, I did not throw up, even though I felt sick-to-my stomach/nauseated/queasy plenty of times during that period between the April of 1992 and the October of 2003. In other words, I managed to make it eleven-and-a-half years without vomiting, something I was not trying to do, but I guess it is just how it happened. I did not even realize I had gone that long without throwing up until probably around the seventh or eighth grade. I don't like puking, so maybe that's why I didn't for so long, haha! Either way, right in the middle of this time I started running consistently as a sprinter for the Howard County Junior Striders in the spring of 1997 and from there, I became a much more healthy person through running mainly, and I think that helped me get sick a lot less (although the harder running sometimes aggravated my stomach, I guess it just comes with the territory sometimes). I don't know if I'll ever make it another streak (or longer) like that without vomiting again, but I know if God wants it to happen, He will. I just thought that that was amazing that God used a weakness in me (my seemingly frequent stomach aches/lactose intolerance/"squeamish"/sensitive stomach) to help strengthen me and despite all that He helped me to make it over elevent years without vomiting. God says it in His word that in our weakness He is made strong...
And that is why I have confidence that God is going to help me through this challenge, this endeavor. No matter how long it takes me to eat a one-pounder in one sitting, or how squeamish my stomach can get, He will give me strength like He did when I was younger and helped me to go that long without vomiting. Not only that I have faith that He will help me to not only keep up healthy running, but to imporve my times as well over various distances and courses. I plan on eating most of these burgers by myself, so I don't hold anyone up (unless they really want to come with me to Cheeburger Cheeburger and wait on me while I eat). It may take me a while to digest the food so it may take a while (and maybe I should bring some reading material... Goodness, I hope they don't have a time limit at Cheeburger Cheeburger for a person trying to eat a one-pound cheeseburger). I don't think my gag reflex is all that strong. I have troubles chugging beverages, even plain water. I can barely chug them it seems without making a mess. I'm not embarassed to admit it, that just happens to be a weakness, but I know I'm wonderfully and fearfully made by the grace of God, and its by that grace that I'll find victory in Him. I hope that this is not seen as gluttony of any sort, I hope it glorifies God and helps inspire others who have been challenge by (or are challenged by) frequent stomach aches and/or other such illnesses/pains/injuries. I want you to know that God can lift you up and heal you, and help you to achieve things that your weaknesses may say that you can't. If He can help a lactose intolerant person with a sensitive stomach go for over eleven years without vomiting (much less one who was putting himself through a lot of phyiscal rigour for a good portion of that time), then He can do similar if not more amazing things in your's. Plus, when I was younger I was hardly athletic and not in very good shape, yet last year God helped me to rfind and run at least one race in every county of Delaware and Maryland in less than a year, a challenging feat considering some of Maryland's counties hardly have any year-around running events. This is a large part of life, and it's living in grace. Jesus Christ, God's Son, laid down His own life so that we can have life fully and abundantly, even though we do not deserve it because of our sin against God. Yet, God sent Jesus as a sacrifice to take our punishment for our sin and free us from that debt into eternal life. YEA, I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!
I hope that this year's running goal(s) as well as my endeavors to eat a One Pounder cheeseburger at every Cheeburger Cheeburger location in Maryland will glorify God, and that it can provide opportunities to share the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ and talk about how awesome God is in my life and in this universe. I also hope that it inspires others who live their lives in constant discomfort, anxiety, pain, illness, etc. to not let those circumstances stop them from fully experiencing the abundance of life that God has for them in Jesus Christ. Most of any funds I gain as a result of my running/eating this year, I hope to donate it to churches, Team in Training, Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts, and also towards people who have illnesses/conditions where they spend a lot of their lives in discomfort. I may also look into donating towards organizations to help keep scohol foods healthy, so as not to have so many students turn up in the health room (like I did quite a few times when I was younger, of course it was usually not as the result of cafeteria food).
I hope that you all who experience such things and consistent discomfort can know that God can and will bring healing into your life as He has done with me and still continues to do for me. Do not de-value your own effectiveness in this life; do not perceive yourself as "squeamish" or helpless because you feel like you are constantly sick or in pain. Ask God for healing and over time, He will heal and reveal to you perhaps why you are challenged by those things in your life. Just remember that God says in His word that He disciplines those He loves, He is made strong in your weakness, faith in Him heals (Jesus says that faith in Him ehlps do the healing), and He gives grace to the humble.
I apologize I do not know all of the precise Bible verses where these messages are conveyed, but I know that htey are in there, and its such messages that have revealed to me some of God's work and blessings of health throughout my life. I hope you do not find this as a sort of me "showing off", I am just giving the credit and glory to God, where it belongs, without whom I would not have a fraction of these successes and I would not even be blesed with such goals. God loves me, and I know He loves you and everyone just as much. Make an effort to seek Him and turn to Him everyday; He is your best friend, closer than a brother, whether you know it or not!
So it's with that inspiration in God that I set off in the seemingly simple, yet personally challenging endeavor to eat a Pounder cheeseburger at every Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurant in Maryland this year while I'm trying to run races and running events in all the counties I want to run in this year. I think that could work out nicely. Lately when I've been running, I've been really hungry and I think eating that much can help me (I remember last May when I was making progress on my Maryland-wide running endeavor, how a lack of food/nutrients sorta made me lose feeling in my legs when I went to some races). A few days ago after doing a lot of running, I got back from a traning run of about six miles and I weighed about 145. I guess puttin' on a few pounds could not hurt. Plus, I feel like in the last few years at least, my lactose intolerance has not given me much in the way of stomach problems/indigestion. I hope to space out the times that I attempt to eat these Pounders at the Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurants. In fact, I hope to maybe reduce the amount of burgers and fast food I eat this year too, so as to not clog up my arteries too much. I'm not trying to do something like that brave gentleman did on "Supersize Me", where he made a documentary of himself living off of McDonald's food for about a month or so. In fact, I'm thinkin' of checkin' in with the doc sometime in the near future to make sure everything's all right with my cholesterol levels/arteries/and such before making sufficient progress on this. I'm not looking for a coronary, I'm looking for a testimony! Even if I'm not successful everytime in finishing a one-pound burger at Cheeburger Cheeburger this year, it's okay, I'll try again. Sometimes failures and challenges make success stories the stories that they are! I hope not to make myself sick either, but keep it enjoyable, as I try to keep my quixotic quests. I think God has used running to help make me a so much more stronger and healthy and I am curious/interested to see what He has in store for me as I attempt this. Please keep me, my health, and all those out there with health problems that cause them a lot of discomfort and unease, in your prayers if you can. For it is people in those consistent struggles that inspire me to do this and I hope to inspire them to wellness and a healthy attitude toward God and life if they do not have one already. For all of you in school who are constantly in the health room because of constant stomach aches, headaches, anxiety-related issues, I'm keepin' you in my mind and prayers. If you are intimidated by going to eat in large, crowded, public places (or even lunch time in the school cafeteria/dining hall) because of suddenly losing your appetite and feeling sick to your stomach in front of strangers/peers/friends, then I'm keepin' you in my mind and prayers. If you experience any of things (or worse), you are in my mind and prayers, and it is for you all who struggle like this consistently that I am running/eating/praying for. I used to have those same kind of challenges like you (and sometimes I still am challenged by that), and now I'm going to take that with my faith in God who will straighten the paths and order my steps in my endeavors and throughout my existence. You all rock; God bless you all :)
So here I go with a Maryland-wide eating endeavor....
Running Events I have done this year as of Friday, February 8, 2008
Maryland
Allegany County
Anne Arundel County
Baltimore City
Baltimore County
- Baltimore Road Runners Club (BRRC) Grand Prix Series Eight-Mile Run – Sunday, January 13, 2008 – Loch Raven Reservoir – 11th overall – 53:34
Calvert County
- First Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution 5K Run/Walk – Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Prince Frederick – 4th overall (20-29 age group winner) – 18:47
Caroline County
Carroll County
- Winfield Mile – Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – South Carroll High School, Winfield – 6th overall (2nd in 20-29 age group) – 5:11 (clock), 5:10 (watch)
Cecil County
Charles County
Dorchester County
Frederick County
Garrett County
Harford County
Howard County
- Howard County Striders (H.C.S.) Weekly Series (“Operation Iceberg”) #1: Burleigh Manor Middle School 5-mile run – Sunday, January 6, 2008 – Columbia/Ellicott City area – 7th overall – 32:18
- H.C.S. “Operation Iceberg” #3: Atholton High School 5K Run – Sunday, January 20, 2008 – Columbia – 6th overall – 18:38
Kent County
Montgomery County
Prince George’s (P.G.) County
- Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex Track Showcase (indoor track) – Sunday, January 27, 2008 – Landover:
- 1,500 meter race – 15th overall - 5:04.9
- 800 meter race – 2nd overall –2:17.5
- 3,200 meter race – winner – 11:24 (best indoor track time for that distance by one second, and the 10:43 3,000 I believe was right around an indoor track best time for me as well J)
- Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex Track Showcase (indoor track) – Sunday, February 3, 2008 – Landover:
- 800 meter run – 3rd overall – 2:15
- 3,200 meter run – 2nd overall – Have not gotten time yet, but I’m sure it was close to the 11:24 I hit there last weekend :)
Queen Anne’s County
Saint Mary’s County
Somerset County
Talbot County
Washington County
Wicomico County
Worcester County
Events outside of Maryland
Delaware
Kent County
New Castle County
Sussex County
Virginia
Accomack County
Arlington County
- Potomac Valley Track Club All-Comers’ Indoor Track & Field Meet – Sunday, February 3, 2008 - Thomas Jefferson Community Center, Arlington:
- 1,600 meter run – 6th overall – 5:17.0
- 800 meter run – 6th overall – 2:22.5
- 3,000 meter run – 7th overall – 10:59.8
Northampton County
Cheeburger Cheeburger Locations in Maryland Where I Have Eaten One-Pound Cheeseburgers:
Abington/Bel Air (Harford County)
- Nothing yet
Annapolis (Anne Arundel County)
Burtonsville (Montgomery County)
Columbia (Howard County)
Hunt Valley (Baltimore County)
Olney (Montgomery County)
Perry Hall (Baltimore County)
- Nothing yet
Rockville (Montgomery County)
- Nothing yet
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