A photo of students walking to class over a footbridge over the Laird campus area of the University of Delaware Campus... This was a point that we ran over early in the Friends of Mary Husty 5K!
Monday, May 26, 2008 (Memorial Day :)
I got up at a fairly early hour after a good night's sleep! I think I was still feeling pretty sore from the Chestertown Tea Party Distance Classic 5K I had run two days ago in Kent County, MD, the Masser Five-Miler I ran in Sussex County, DE yesterday morning, and the dancing and moving around at last night's wedding. However, I was still determined and pumped up to continue my quest this week to do a race in every county of Delaware this week. I already finished Sussex County yesterday, and I still had Kent and New Castle before me. This morning I planned on getting a race done in New Castle County: The 7th Annual Friends of Mary Husty 5K in Newark.
The drive up there wasn't that bad; I don't think much more than a little over an hour from where I live in Baltimore County, MD. The drive up Interstate 95 was comfortable, no real traffic (which is the nice thing about getting up early to drive to races and running events).
I got to the University of Delaware campus with plenty of time to spare to register, pick-up my t-shirt and race packet, warm-up and chill out a bit before the race. I knew I would have to stretch out good, because there were sure to be some hills on this course, and afterwards, I made plans with some of my roommates and friends to play a pick-up game of soccer later that day. Today was going to be pretty busy if I got to do everything that I wanted to do, and I was blessed by God's grace to not be feeling too run down after what I had run and done on Saturday and Sunday. I considered myself most fortunate to have Memorial Day off from my job in the school system so that I could make it to this race.
While warming up and running over to the starting line, which was located at this part on campus called "the Towers", I enjoyed running by all of the trees, buildings and dorms on campus. I had gone for a college visit here back in high school, and I had run some track meets when I ran for Salisbury University, but I never realized quite how large the campus is nor how much taller some of the buildings are compared to some other college campuses.
It was a bright morning, not too hot as I recall. I remember the racing conditions being pretty nice.
We started this race in the middle of this small street and we went down a slight hill and then went over this bridge (which I knew would be quite a bottleneck-sorta-situation, so I just sorta chilled at first). After that I started to try and build into the run as we got back out on the roads and went down a fairly big downhill onto the dirt roads of the nicely shaded Brandywine Park, where we would run the rest of the race (and it was a big relief to know we didn't have to run back up that rather large hill we ran down on the way back). I think I went through the first mile in about 5:48ish and I was surprised that I still had it in me to run like that after running pretty well for my level of fitness in the previous two races. In addition, I kenw I was coming back from an injury and had not been running all that much. I kept pressing on, trying to keep up with these younger runners (there were quite a few high-school/early-college-age runners in front of me). In fact, I think it was someone right around that age-range that won the race. We reached a turn-around point at the bottom of this hill, and then had to turn around, and run back up the hill (which I thought was kinda tough because it sorta threw off my momentum to have to slow down and turn around after a downhill). I was fortunate enough to gain back some momentum and keep on truckin' over the moderate rolling hills of the course.
After this point, I started to begin feeling really exhausted, but I kept pressing on. There were a couple of younger runners just ahead of me, and I was glad, because they sorta pulled me along by motivating me to keep up with them. At this poitn there were gently rolling hills along the shaded road of the park. The road bent to the left and I knew the finish line was coming up in another minute or two, 'cause I remembered passing by it after running down the big hill. I began to surge in anticipation for the finish line, and as the road bent to the right I saw it, and finishing ahead of me was a young girl (who ended up winning the female division out right). I bolted in several seconds behind her in 18:36 (according to my watch), my fastest 5K in a while (well, I actually thought that the course was a tad bit short than an actual 5K, but that's okay). I was definitely happy with my time, and graetful that I was already back to running sub-19-minute times for the 5K after having just run my first sub-20-minute 5K in a while not very long ago.
I cooled down by running out of the park and around some of the University of Delaware's campus. It took me a while to figure out where the starting line was so that I could find and retrieve my water bottle that I left there. After I found that, I jogged over to where the awards were to stretch for a bit. Then, I cut out before the awards started to get back to my place so I could meeet up with my roommates and some friends to play a pick-up game of soccer (which was so fun despite how tired I was from all my recent running, and I hadn't played in a while). I think it helped to be fit from all of the recent running.
Later on, I pleasantly found out via internet results that I had won my age-group division (male 19-29) at the Friends of Mary Husty 5K! WHOOOHOOO! That was huge, because it did not take me long to realize that God has blessed me with either winning my age group or winning the race overall, at least once in all three counties of Delaware within my life time :) That is so awesome and I'm really happy about it. It definitely has set up some positive momentum as I continue to get back into better running shape and get ready to run the 4th Annual Firefly 5K Run/Walk in Smyrna (Kent County), DE on Wednesday, May 28, where I will hopefully finish out my Delaware county-wide running quest within a week!
Stay tuned for the final installment of this "trilogy" :)
After this point, I started to begin feeling really exhausted, but I kept pressing on. There were a couple of younger runners just ahead of me, and I was glad, because they sorta pulled me along by motivating me to keep up with them. At this poitn there were gently rolling hills along the shaded road of the park. The road bent to the left and I knew the finish line was coming up in another minute or two, 'cause I remembered passing by it after running down the big hill. I began to surge in anticipation for the finish line, and as the road bent to the right I saw it, and finishing ahead of me was a young girl (who ended up winning the female division out right). I bolted in several seconds behind her in 18:36 (according to my watch), my fastest 5K in a while (well, I actually thought that the course was a tad bit short than an actual 5K, but that's okay). I was definitely happy with my time, and graetful that I was already back to running sub-19-minute times for the 5K after having just run my first sub-20-minute 5K in a while not very long ago.
I cooled down by running out of the park and around some of the University of Delaware's campus. It took me a while to figure out where the starting line was so that I could find and retrieve my water bottle that I left there. After I found that, I jogged over to where the awards were to stretch for a bit. Then, I cut out before the awards started to get back to my place so I could meeet up with my roommates and some friends to play a pick-up game of soccer (which was so fun despite how tired I was from all my recent running, and I hadn't played in a while). I think it helped to be fit from all of the recent running.
Later on, I pleasantly found out via internet results that I had won my age-group division (male 19-29) at the Friends of Mary Husty 5K! WHOOOHOOO! That was huge, because it did not take me long to realize that God has blessed me with either winning my age group or winning the race overall, at least once in all three counties of Delaware within my life time :) That is so awesome and I'm really happy about it. It definitely has set up some positive momentum as I continue to get back into better running shape and get ready to run the 4th Annual Firefly 5K Run/Walk in Smyrna (Kent County), DE on Wednesday, May 28, where I will hopefully finish out my Delaware county-wide running quest within a week!
Stay tuned for the final installment of this "trilogy" :)
Delaware
(Italicized ones are Delaware counties that I ran in the week of 5-25-to-5-31-2008)
Kent County
New Castle County
- 7th Annual Friends of Mary Husty 5K – Monday, May 26, 2008 – University of Delaware, Newark – 8th overall (male 19-29 age-group division winner – Now I’ve won my age group in all three counties of Delaware in my lifetime J) – 18:38 (clock), 18:36 (watch)
Sussex County
- 15th Annual Masser Five-Miler – Sunday, May 25, 2008 – Lewes – 12th overall (3rd in male 25-29 age-group division) – 31:47 (clock), 31:45 (watch – My pace got faster later in the race :)
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