The Saturday before last (Saturday, April 5, 2008), I moved into my friend's town house with him and his roommates in Baltimore County, Maryland. So far, it's been a great and fairly comfortable transition. When there are no lights on in there, man it's dark! I also managed to lock myself out of my bedroom but my friend helped me get back in! I've been blessed with the opportunity to live with those gentleman and in a pretty nice living arrangement. Hopefully I learn more about the place and its appliances in the near future.
The day I moved in was between two days when I ran races out around western Maryland that I had the good fortune of fitting in around moving and some school work. First on Friday, April 4, 2008, after leaving work and then a CPR certification course at West Friendship Elementary School in West Friendship (Howard County), Maryland, I made my way out to Brunswick (Frederick County), Maryland for the first annual Great "Dead Man's Hill" Downhill Mile. I think it was the first time I've been to Brunswick, and it seemed like a beautiful scenic town. It was quaint and there was a nice view of the Potomac River. It sorta reminded me a bit of Crisfield (Somerset County) on the Maryland Eastern Shore, except with hills, a railroad track, and it seemed the downtown area was a bit less spread-out than Crisfield.
On my way to the race site (Square Corner Park) in downtown Brunswick, I made a wrong turn at a roundabout and crossed a bridge over the Potomac into Loudon County, Virginia. No worries though, I was able to make a u-turn at a gas/service station and crossed over the Potomac River back into MD.
The race went nicely. Almost all the first-half mile-to-the first kilometer (1,000 meters) was downhill and then flattened out. At the start a bunch of runners started out ahead of me (especially many high-school-aged runners). They really seemed to be taking advantage of the downhill (and I don't consider myself much of a downhill runner, probably 'cause I'm a bit apprehensive about rolling/twisting my ankle or something like that). I felt like I was hangin' on the back of the pack (like probably around fifteenth place). However, once it flattened out, I was able to get some "balance" and move up on the pack ahead of me. There were a couple of very small inclines, but it did not seem to slow me much. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I went through about 3/4 miles in about 3:42 and I knew if I held that pace, I could get a little ways under five minutes, which would be fastest mile of 2008 so far. This helped me to keep strong and moved up on a pack of runners in front of me, which helped me kick it in for a 4:50 mile; just a couple seconds shy of a personal best time in the distance and my best mile time since graduating from Salisbury University almost two years ago. In September of 2006, I ran the inaugural Run for the Sun/Son 2-Mile Run on the Cross Island Trail in Stevensville (Queen Anne's County), Maryland, and my second-mile split was 4:51, which was my previous best mile time off-of-a-track/road race. Now I beat that time by a second. I thought that was pretty cool!
At first my finish place was a bit displaced (and I think it was because it took me a while to "collect" myself after I was finished and turn in my race tag), and they had me at eight place with a finish time of 4:54, but I knew I was a few seconds faster. We got it straightened out and saw that I finished in 4:50 (at first I thought I was in at 4:51) in fourth place. Such a blessed and pleasant surprise :) What a nice fun evening.
Before that race, I had some extra time to drive over to Burkittsville, Maryland, which is close by Brunswick in Frederick County, and it was right around there that the "Blair Witch Project" movies apparently took place. I ran about a mile's worth through the town nice and easy. I thought it was a cute, bit historic small town with a terrific view if you're on top of a hill. It was around five in the evening and not too many people or cars were about. I thought some of it looked familiar from scenes from the "Blair Witch Project" movies. I didn't have much time to seek out the woodlands where the movies allegedly took place, and I wasn't as interested as seeing the town for what it was (and I hope to have photos up here sometime of it once I get the disposable camera that I took them on, developed and scanned, which could be a while). I think it's cool when movies are filmed in Maryland. Running around here kind of reminds me of Saturday, March 8, earlier this year after running the Talbot Kids Fun Run in Easton (Talbot County), MD and then going to visit St. Michael's (Talbot County), MD for the first time I could remember. I remember goin' for a brief jog around some river/bay side parts of town , and if I do recall, one of the more recent movies recently filmed around that St. Michael's area was "Wedding Crashers" and had I been more attentive, perhaps I would have picked up on some parts of the St. Michael's and Talbot County in general that were actually in the movie if at all!
Anyway, back to my running updates. A couple of days after the Great "Dead Man's Hill" Downhill Mile in Frederick County, and not even a full day after moving into the townhouse in Catonsville, I was westbound again before the sun was out on no more than five hours of sleep, heading towards Cumberland (Allegany County), MD, for my buddy Kevin's inaugural running of the Spring is Here! 10K. I was fortunate to have made it to the outskirts of the downtown area of Cumberland with plenty of time to spare, stretch, and warm-up. It was great seeing Kevin and eating out with him and his family after the race at Bob Evans.
Now it had been raining earlier that morning, but it stopped before the race leaving a nice cool and overcast morning. Even though I don't always prefer colder weather I'm grateful that the temperatures were as cool as they were, 'cause having to deal with heavy heat on all the rolling hills we covered on the out-and-back 10K course, probably would have made for a more challenging experience. I think at the time it was in the low-to-mid 40's, not too cold at all.
Here are the splits that I remember hitting on the course:
Mile 1 - 6:12
Mile 2 - 12:46/12:47ish
5K - 20:29
Mile 4.2 - 28:09ish
Mile 5.2 - 35:02
Finish (6.2 miles) - 41:40 - One of my better 10K's this year and a bit faster than what I've turned out on a couple of the flat Maryland Eastern Shore 10K races over the last couple of years. I was pretty happy with the finish time as well as earning an age-group award (and I didn't expect them to have awards for a rather low-key inexpensive event, but they were donated along with a lot of the other delicious food and beverages :)
I am grateful to have made it safely to and from Allegany County, MD once again for another race out there. Towards the end of last year I had wanted to do more races out around western Maryland, and I think it's great that I've done a couple in one weekend. In case you did not notice, I have a couple of photos that I was in that were taken of the event, posted above.
The next weekend (Saturday, April 12, 2008) found me on the other side of Maryland: The Maryland Eastern Shore; far on the eastern end of it in Ocean City (Worcester County), Maryland for the 5K race that went along with the Ocean City Half-Marathon. It was a fairly cool and breezy morning, but nothing too uncomfortable (although for a good portion of the 5K I felt like the wind was a somewhat challenging obstacle). It was my first race I ran in Ocean City (the only other race I have run in Worcester County has been in Berlin on Stephen Decatur High School's outdoor track, and that was for the third "Dash and Splash" Series race last June). I am grateful I got to make it out here again. It was flat and sunny, unlike the overcast and hilly race I had run the previous weekend in Allegany County. However, not long after I started I began to feel winded and I think that perhaps part of it was some of the wind resistance. Here are the splits that I hit and I think that for how I was feeling, I may have gone out a bit too fast:
Mile 1 - 5:48
Mile 2 -12:12 (I figured if I really held on at this point I could probably manage to get right under 19 minutes for the 5K race)
Mile 3- 18:33
5K (3.1 miles) finish - 19:11
I was hoping to at least get under 19 minutes, but I guess it did not work out that well. Although, one funny thing that happened towards the end (even though I did not find much humor in it at the time while I was running and huffing-and-puffing) was that at some point around the finish line where the finish line was, we had to make a loop around a good portion of the parking lot before crossing the finish line, and since I did not have my glasses and there were a couple lanes of cones all over the place, I quickly became confused... And quickly realized that I had started going the wrong way! YIKES :0
Fortunately the woman riding the pace bike had met me the night before at the packet pick-up and she recognized/remembered me. She started yelling, "NOAH!", "NOAH!" She tried to verbally direct me where to go, but since I was not wearing my glasses and I was sorta out-of-it and tired from running almost three miles, I had trouble comprehending and started running around in a circle or two almost before I could follow her on the pace bike around the parking lot (the loop which did not seem to have any clear markings that it was on the course). I am thankful that she (her name was Lisa was there, 'cause who knows how much more slowly my finishing time may have been; I probably would not have even broken 20 minutes or I may have eventually have been disqualified). I ran through three miles in about 18:33 and finished fairly strongly in the wooden covered bridge structure in the middle of the parking lot, under which was the finish line (and I haven no idea what a covered bridge was doing in the middle of a parking lot).
I thought the course was pretty neat. We were running right by the ocean and much of the course wound through a little suburban development that sort of reminded me of the relatively new Emerson Community around North Laurel (Howard County), MD, around which I have run in the Gorman Crossing Elementary School Back to School 5K Run and a couple of the Emerson Community One-Mile Fun Runs over the past couple of years. Running from the parking lot area involved a long straightaway, where I really seemed to feel a lot of the wind resistance, but it was not too bad. There were a few cul-de-sacs we would turn around in in each mile of the race as well. Again I thought it was a nice course, fairly conducive to running strong times (I guess I did not have much energy for it that time).
The post-race party at the Francis Scott Key Resort around West Ocean City was terrific. They had a party with an awards ceremony, an indoor pool and hot-tub, beverages and some nice post-race food. I had actually spent the night at the Francis Scott Key Resort the night before (the first time I have stayed over night in a hotel for a road race). I thought they had some great, comfortable rooms. I enjoyed hangin' out at the party, not really having much in the way of pressing obligations that would send me back on the road, so I could have time to relax and chill with some of my buddies I know from around the Maryland Eastern Shore area as well as some other people I met. I enjoyed swimming in the pool and even going down the little water slide (that I think is mainly for younger children, but oh well, "when in Ocean City"... :)- I spent a lotta time chillin' in the hot tub with some people I've met at different races as well as people I met at the event. It was so much fun to hang with them and talk with them under slightly different circumstances than an actual race) . With some we did not just talk about running, but also about God and my faith in Jesus Christ, which is much more important than anything else. In that respect it was as encouraging as it was fun! And another interesting thing was that I did not feel as hot/dehydrated as I normally would while spending that much time in a hot tub/spa.
When I was gettin' ready to leave, I was telling people that I almost felt like I did not run a race, because I seemed to spend a lotta time at the party (of course that was easy for me to say because I had run the 5K instead of the Half-Marathon). I would have liked to have maybe tried the half-marathon, but I think it's best in regards to my right foot to stay clear of those longer races. I talked to my dad about it on the phone afterwards and he said it was like "you ran for 20 minutes and partied for 20 hours!" Haha, I thought that was funny!
Well... I guess I kept the party goin'... 'Cause by the time I had gotten back to my new place in Catonsville, I had another fun idea: That Mt. Hebron High School Viking Backers Viking 5K Run in Ellicott City (Howard County), Maryland was scheduled to take place tomorrow (Sunday, April 13). Growing up in Howard County, I had heard a lot about that fund raising event over the years I had been running in high school, and plus it seemed like many members of the Howard County Striders had done that race before, and I had always thought that one of these days I would get around to it... Well how about tomorrow. I would do it for fun, probably no faster than upper 19's or 21 minutes, and maybe just maybe that might be fast enough to get me an age-group award, haha! Plus I was going to be in Howard County that morning to pick up my friend and go to church with him anyway, so that would be a neat activity to do. It seems like in April there are quite a few races that seem to interest me and who knows when I may be available to do this one again.
So this morning I got up early and made my way for a relatively short and easy commute of probably less than a half-hour to Mt. Hebron High School (which is a fairly short way for me to travel to a race compared to my recent commutes to Allegany and Worcester Counties). The weather was a little on the cold side, but not much in the way of wind (maybe a light breeze). I knew the course would be hilly, as the neighborhoods around that part of Ellicott City tend to be, and sure enough it ended up being one of the more challenging 5K's I have run in Howard County, and a majority of it ran through the suburban neighborhoods by Mt. Hebron High School.
The race started with a lap on the track (which I ran a 400-meter split in 1:25 and that made me want to slow up a bit since I thought that was much too fast to go out if I wanted to ease into this). I wanted to go out in about 6:20ish the first mile, and running like that would get me out in the low 5:40's the first mile. While I have nothing against running that fast, I wanted to pace myself and really ease into this. Well, so much for that! After the track, we ran across the fields and then on a short and narrow bike path (which had a short, but steep downhill and uphill (which we had to run back on again towards the end of the race)). After making a left off of the bike path, we were in the neighborhoods and from there, most of the rest of the first mile was either flat or downhill and it did not take too much effort to get through the first mile in about 5:53. ("So much for goin' out easy", I thought). At this point, I was in a pack of runners (mainly high-school-aged). I was pretty sure that since they were still talking after runnign the first mile in the 5:50's, they probably were pacing themselves smart and had quite a bit of energy to spare, but I got a bit competitive anyway and pulled ahead of them as the course took a rather long but steady up hill.
Afterwards, I managed to barely reach second place around the water stop (which was probably around half way through the race), and hold that position. I was pleasantly delighted that my legs were not feeling fatigued, my right foot was not hurting, and I felt fairly confident. I was thinking that even though this was a lot more hilly, I might beat my 5K time of 19:11 on the flat Maryland Eastern Shore from yesterday morning if I kept it up. I felt like I stayed strong, with the young gentleman who was in the lead not too far ahead. I was glad he was there as well as having the other runners around me, because that really helped me stay focused and keep up a good pace. Before I knew it, I was topping that last steady, yet relatively grueling uphill on Tiller Road, and I was making a right turn back on the bike path. It was here I heard a gentleman monitoring the course yell that I had about a half-mile-to-go and that I was at 16:23. I thought to myself that if this was accurate and if I kept this next half-mile in the mid-2:50's, I could perhaps break 19 minutes!
With that in mind, I dashed down and up the path, almost as if I were sprinting into the finish line right then and there. Ugh, maybe not the best choice! Once I got to the top, I felt the fatigue set in my legs from charging up that short, but steep uphill. Yet, I knew I had to press on as best I could 'cause I knew about two or three of the other runners were not far behind me. I tried to maintain as best I could across the field and onto the track. Once I reached the track, I knew I had a little less than a lap to go into the finish line (which was right in front of the bleachers, a little ahead of where the starting line was on the track). This reminded me of the finish at Lions Stadium on the track at Queen Anne's County High School a couple of weeks ago at the "A Day at the Races" 5K in Centreville (Queen Anne's County), Maryland, where I had to run a full lap on the track and then back down the football field into the finish line. At least hear I did not even have to do a full lap and I was feeling a bit stronger now than I did then. With that in mind, I pushed it around the track and I looked down at my watch with probably a little less than two-hundred meters/half-a-lap-on-the-track to go and it read 18:22, and I thought that this was probably about where three miles was and I was eleven seconds faster than yesterday's 18:33 three-mile split. That really motivated me to kick it in in 18:52!
I was really happy and a little confused as to not only running a 5K faster than a 5K I had done the previous day, but that I had run about 19 seconds faster on a harder course with not very high expectations for myself as to the outcome of the race. Perhaps it was the competition and that there was not as much noticeable wind resistance at the Viking 5K as there was at the Ocean City Half-Marathon 5K. Either way, God is good for helping me run that well when I did not expect it... I guess that's all a part of letting Him have access and control of my running/racing schedule :) They had a nice post-race ceremony on the high school's track and I left as the awards ceremony was getting underway to meet my friend for church. I am glad I took my chances and gave this race a try. Even though it's challenging, I would probably like to run it again. This was the 16th annual running of this event so hopefully they'll put it on in the future!
All right, thank you all who read some or all of my post here on the recent races I have done. Hopefully I can update a bit more consistently, so as not too have to make all these lengthy posts to compensate for it. I'm sure once I get my computer set up and if we decide to get internet up over there, posting on this blog will become a bit more consistent than it has been.
I thank you all for reading and I wish you all a blessed night and upcoming week :)
Running Events I have done this year as of Monday, April 14, 2008
Maryland
Allegany County
- Spring is Here! 10K - Sunday, April 6, 2008 - Cumberland - 7th overall (20-29 age-group division winner) - 41:40
Anne Arundel County
-Valentine’s Day 5K Run – Saturday, February 9, 2008 – Kinder Mill Farm Park, Millersville/Severna Park – 10th overall (3rd in male 20-29 age group division) – 17:59.15 (my best time on course :)
Baltimore City
- Kelly St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock 5K – Sunday, March 16, 2008 – Baltimore City – 61st overall (guntime-based) – 18:33 (guntime), 18:28 (chiptime)
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
- First Annual St. Patrick’s Day 5K – Saturday, March 15, 2008 – Denton – 2nd overall (20-29 age group winner) – 18:58 (clock), 18:55 (watch)
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
- First annual Great "Dead Man's Hill" Downhill Mile - Friday, April 4, 2008 - Brunswick - 4th overall - 4:50 (fastest mile-time in a while and my fastest mile-time off of a track :)
Garrett County
Harford County
- Leap of Faith Fun Run (7K prediction run – Approximately 4.35 miles) – Sunday, February 17, 2008 – Abington (Harford County, MD) – 3rd/4th overall (8th closest to predicted time) – 27:24 (predicted time: 28:00)
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
- H.C.S. “Operation Iceberg” #5: Jeffers Hill Neighborhood Center 15K (first 15K I’ve done as part of the H.C.S. weekly series :) – Sunday, February 10, 2008 – Columbia – 11th overall – 1:10:11
- Road Runners Club of America Ten-Mile Club Challenge – Sunday, February 24, 2008 – Columbia, MD – 122nd overall – 1:07:58.85 (clock), 1:07:52 (watch)
- H.C.S. “Operation Iceberg” #9: Elkhorn 10K – Sunday, March 30, 2008 – Columbia – 13th overall – 43:42 (clock), 43:39 (watch) – Ran negative splits: 21:53 the first half! :)
- 16th Annual Mt. Hebron High School Viking Backers Viking 5K - Sunday, April 13, 2008 - Ellicott City - 2nd overall - 18:52.20
Kent County
Montgomery County
- 5th Annual Walnut Hill Ribbon Run 5K – Sunday, February 10, 2008 – Gaithersburg – 2nd overall – 19:51
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 meter split I believe was right around an indoor track best time for me as well :)
- 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
- A Day at the Races – Saturday, March 29, 2008 – Queen Anne’s County High School, Centreville:
- 5K (on the high school cross country course) – Winner – 18:59 (probably a little shorter than a 5K, somewhere between 3 and 3.1 miles)
- 1,600 meter/1-mile track open fun run – 3rd overall – 6:34
Saint Mary’s County
Somerset County
Talbot County
- Talbot Kids Fun Run (advertised as three-miles, but less than that) – Saturday, March 8, 2008 – North Easton Sportsplex (Rails-to-Trails), Easton – Winner – Probably ran low-to-mid 14’s based on the times of other runners (I did not run my watch on this one)
Washington County
Wicomico County
- Mid-Shore Family YMCA Funny Bunny 5K Run – Saturday, March 8, 2008 – Salisbury – 2nd overall (20-29 age-group division winner) – 19:35
Worcester County
- Ocean City Half-Marathon 5K - Saturday, April 12, 2008 - Ocean City/West Ocean City - 2nd overall - 19:11
Events outside of Maryland
Delaware
Kent County
New Castle County
Sussex County
District of Columbia – Washington
- 410th Tidal Basin 3K – Wednesday, March 19, 2008 – Tidal Basin, Washington D.C. – 9th overall – 10:46
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 mile run – 6th overall – 5:17.0
- 800 meter run – 6th overall – 2:22.5
- 3,000 meter run – 7th overall – 10:59.8
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