Stillpond looked like a really small and quaint town, like many of the ones on the Maryland Eastern Shore. I had never been there, nor to Betterton (where the race ended at Betterton Beach), at least not in my memory. I thought that running under 23 minutes would be a good goal, and going about around 6:10/6:15 the first mile would probably be a nice set up for it. I knew, though, with the wind it would be somewhat troublesome.
The race got off to a good start, and my buddy Steve and I started out in the front and I'm glad that Steve was there because he helped take my mind off the heavy wind and I was able to get through the first mile in about 6:13, about where I wanted even though I was starting to huff-and-puff around then. From that point on, there were no more mile markers, just a straight and slightly curving country road that we ran on from start to finish. At least there were a few steady and rolling hills to break up the monotony of it. Typically I don't run well on those open country roads for long periods of time, because I think it can get monotonous after a while, but like with many things recently, God helped me to maintain and not allow the wind, the reality that I have not been training as much or as intensely as I was before I took my break from exercising, nor much else slow me down.
I passed the sign for Betterton, Maryland in exactly 17 minutes and I knew that I must be in Betterton and that I only had to make it to the beach. Up ahead, there was a steady hill and I heard from a spectator that I was almost there. I remember hearing before the race, that there was a steady downhill right at the end at Betterton Beach, and I hoped that it would be coming up after this hill. As I got to the top of this hill, I was really starting to huff and pant with effort, and even though I knew I was probably not running under a 6-minute-per-mile pace, it felt like it because I was running against the wind. As I got up this last hill, I started praying out loud to God and Jesus to help me through, and to help me maintain this lead that I had. I knew that I was on the verge of having a great race, and possibly winning it, and I did not want anything to go wrong. I kept on praying out loud simple prayers like, "God help me" as I was breathing heavily.
The road flattened out after cresting the top of the hill, and soon after it went downhill. I tried to pick up the pace a bit, pretty much hyperventilating (or so it felt like) and still praying and thanking God for getting me through this. I glanced at my watch and it read 22-something (I think just under 22:20 or 22:30ish, and I had a feeling that I would be able to break 23 minutes) As I dashed down the hill, I noticed the small houses and buildings by the beach and the dark blue water ahead. And just at the bottom of the hill in front of the sand were a bunch of people with finish line ribbons and cones angling left, and so I thought I had to follow the road left, but instead the director said for me to go right and then I saw the finish line ribbon, and I ran through it thanking Jesus for helping with that run as I heard Sue, the race director, yell out "22:42" for my finishing time!
Whoohooo!! I broke 23 minutes, the goal time I was shooting for on this somewhat challenging and windy 3.6-mile course. I know I've run 3.6-mile splits before en route to longer distances that were faster than this, but I was certainly pleased with it! What was really terrific, though, was that this was the first time I have ever won a race in Kent County, Maryland and now I can say that I have won a race in all nine of Maryland's Eastern Shore Counties (Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester) in my lifetime so far, with God's help :) I was very happy about this, and it was great that my friends Susan, Steve, and some others that I knew were there to share in the victorious experience :) The top three males and females, as well as the oldest and youngest runners each won trees. I won a pretty hefty tree that I'm keeping over at my parents' place for the time being until I return from the Mission: Mississippi trip!
All right, I apologize if this appears to be rushed. I hope to have some statistics as well as photos up here sometime soon after the upcoming missions trip. Right now, I am getting sleepy, I gotta get up early, and more over, I am so pumped about the outcome of today's race and seeing some of you there :) Thank you all being there and praying for me. Please continue to pray for us on Mission: Mississippi! Thank you! I hope that you all have a great weekend, upcoming week, and a blessed Easter :)
Caroline County
- Schaffner Printing’s 20th Annual Turkey Trot Two-Mile Fun Run – Saturday, November 19, 2005 – Denton Elementary School, Denton – Winner – 11:54
- 21st Annual Turkey Trot Two-Mile Fun Run – Saturday, November 18, 2006 – Denton Elementary School, Denton – Winner – 11:06 (best time on the course :)
- 2nd Annual Adkins Arboretum Arbor Day Fun Run (10K) – Saturday, April 21st, 2007 – Ridgley – Winner – 37:59 PR (Personal Record/best time in that distance!!!!! :)
- 23rd Annual Turkey Trot Two-Mile Fun Run – Saturday, November 22, 2008 – Denton Elementary School, Denton – Winner (also awarded for winning 20-29 male age group division)– 11:29
Cecil County
- Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area (N.M.R.A.) Fools Frolic 22K (I ran the much shorter 5-6 mile route) – Sunday, April 1, 2007 – Fair Hill/Elkton – First person in, but it was not much of a race, just pretty much me and another gentleman chillin’ and chattin’ our way through – 1 hour, 21 minutes, 55 seconds
- Inaugural Run for Reading 4K – Saturday, May 10, 2008 – Bayview Elementary School, North East – Winner – 13:13 (accidentally cut the course a bit short) As of this race, Daniel Williams ran a race in every Maryland County along the Mason-Dixon Line :)
- St. Roch’s Trail Run 7K – Saturday, July 19, 2008 – Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area (N.R.M.A.), Fair Hill/Elkton – Winner – 51:36 (this was after running a little past the actual finish area :)
Dorchester County
- Dorchester Family YMCA Healthy Kid’s Day Fun Run (1.9 miles, mainly flat cross country) – Saturday, April 14, 2007 - Cambridge – 1st overall – 10:54 (ran negative splits too J)
- North Dorchester High School Eagle Athletics Boosters 5th Annual Eagle 5K Run – Saturday, October 4, 2008 – Hurlock – Winner – 18:49 (as of this race, I ran in a running event in every county of Maryland within 2008; God is Awesome :)
Kent County
Queen Anne’s County
- Shore Christian Fellowship Church’s inaugural Race to Impact (10K) – Saturday, March 24th, 2007 – Chester/Kent Narrows/Kent Island (it was all on the shaded Cross Island Trail) – Winner – 38:51
-
- 5th Annual Jingle Bell 5K Run – Saturday, December 8, 2007 – Kent Narrows – Winner – 16:29ish (definitely shorter than 5K)
- 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)
-
- Kennard Alumini Association 5K Walk/Run & Family Day (new course this year) - Saturday, June 14, 2008 – Kennard Elementary School, Centreville – Winner – 19:20
Somerset County
-
- 1st annual McCready Health Services Foundation’s Founder’s Day 8K Run & 2-mile walk – Saturday, May 6, 2006 – Crisfield – Winner(8K) – 27:31 (it was measured out to be approximately 4.2 miles :).
- 59th Annual National Hard Crab Derby, 27th Annual Mike Sterling 10K (improvised 5K course out-and-back on Route 413 because some parts of the 10K were flooded) – Saturday, September 2, 2006 – Crisfield – 1st finisher – 29:06
- 2nd annual McCready Health Services Foundation’s Founder’s Day 8K Run & 2-mile walk – Saturday, May 5, 2007 (El Cinco de Mayo) – Crisfield – Winner(8K) – 31:58 (ran faster there this year than last year :)
-
Talbot County
- Oxford Day 10K – Saturday, April 28, 2007 – Oxford – 1st overall – 38:35 (big improvement over last year’s 42:04 here, and a well-paced race on a relatively short amount of sleep :)
- Talbot Kids Fun Run (advertised as three miles, but most likely much less) – Saturday, March 8, 2008 – North Easton Sportsplex (on the Rails-to-Trails), Easton – Winner – I probably ran low-to-mid 14’s based on the times of other runners (the event was not timed and I did not have my watch running during this event)
- 7th Annual Fall into St. Michaels 5K Run/Walk – Saturday, October 25, 2008 – St. Michaels Elementary School, St. Michaels – Winner – 18:54 (I accidentally made a wrong turn towards the end of the race, but this is the race where I finished out my half-year endeavor; praise God! :)
Wicomico County
-
-
- Salisbury University Spring Olympics Ten 5K Run event (or it may have been 3 miles) – Saturday, mid-April, 2004 – Salisbury University campus (“Turkey Trot” course), Salisbury – Winner – 17:51 (best time on the course :)
-
- 3rd Annual Jerry Daniel Landsman (J.D.L.) 5K Run – Saturday, last weekend in April, 2005 – Salisbury University campus (almost similar to the “Turkey Trot” course, except you do not go around the Devilbiss Hall, but I did that anyway without knowing the course was in fact shorter, and a lot shorter than a 5K, I’m sure), Salisbury – 2nd overall (because I went longer), but I was awarded as the winner anyway ‘cause I led by a lot the whole time – 18:14ish
-
- Funny Bunny 5K Run – Saturday, April 1, 2006 – Salisbury – winner – 18:45 (not bad considering I ran an “in’s-and-out’s” workout at the track for track practice the previous afternoon :)
-
- Salisbury University Spring Olympics Twelve 3-mile/5K Run – Saturday, April 28, 2006 – Salisbury University campus (“Turkey Trot” course) – Winner – 18:22 :)
- Hunter’s Mill neighborhood Family Fun Run (5K) – Saturday, May 20, 2006 – Hunter’s Mill neighborhood, Salisbury – Winner – 18:52 (my watch), 18:51 (clock) This was my last race before graduating from Salisbury University :)
Worcester County
- Francis Scott Key Family Resort “Dash and Splash” Run/Walk Series 5K Race#3 at Stephen Decatur High School (on the track) – Saturday, June 30, 2007 – Berlin – Winner/only finisher – 18:52 (clock), 18:50 (watch) – Finished out the Maryland Eastern Shore portion of my 2007 endeavor with this event :)
- 8th Annual Pink Ribbon Classic 5K – Saturday, October 18, 2008 – Ocean City – Winner – 18:36
- Lower Shore Delmarva Family YMCA Inaugural “Jingle all the Way” 5K Run/Walk (it was actually measured out to be around 3.2 miles; a little bit more than a 5-kilometer distance) – Saturday, December 13, 2008 – Pocomoke City – Winner – 20:29
No comments:
Post a Comment