Another update as we head into winter!

Hey there everyone, thank you for your patience in awaiting another post these past couple of months or so! I do not know whether or not I should say this sheepishly or with a straight-face, but I have been pretty busy this semester. Yea, semester is a sufficient operative word to describe one of the main sources of me being occupied these past several months (do not worry; it is a good thing for the most part)!


I will start by staying I am still actively running, though probably not as frequently throughout the week as I was over this past summer and beforehand (usually no more than 3-4 times a week, and that can include races). One of my last really good races that I ran (and I say “really good” because I felt like I ran a smart race and felt relatively strong, even though it was a harder course) was the Kowowmu Trail Four-Mile Road Race in Westminster (Carroll County), MD on Sunday, August 23, 2009. I had run that race last year when it was a 5K, and this year they moved it back to a four-mile course after it was a 5K for at least a coupla years. Last year, I had run it in 20:21 when it was a 5-kilometer, and this year it was something a bit… different. I had come to this race feeling a little tired, probably because of the longer drive the day before to go with my girlfriend, Kay, to a rainy picnic with her church (which was a lot of fun)! I was not expecting much out of myself in this race to say the least. The first mile had quite a bit of downhill, but I tried to be conservative about it knowing the tougher hills coming up later in the race, and I went through the first mile in about 6:31. Not long after I was feeling tired and starting to huff-and-puff and after going through the water stop area, I ran up a long steady hill, near the top of which was the two-mile turn-around that I ran through in about 13:05. Not long after coming back down the long steady hill I felt like God had blessed me with a “second wind”, and with renewed energy I took the next somewhat flat, somewhat hilly mile in about 6:14/6:15 to go through the third mile in about 19:19/19:20. I think right after I ran by the three-mile mark and started up a series of hill that made up a majority of the fourth and final mile of this race, I quickly thanked God as I knew that if I kept up the pace I was at for about another .1 miles, my 5-kilometer split would be just under 20 minutes, which would take down my previous personal best time at this venue of 20:21 (and at the time I ran that, I thought that was a pretty hard effort). However, God seemed to bless me with more energy than I expected, and He steadily helped me run over the rolling shaded hills of the Kowowmu Trail (which was pretty much a gravel road, probably looser gravel) to where I was about within a half-a-mile away from the finish line, and then I went down one steady downhill, up another relatively short, but fairly steep hill, and then shot down the rather steep hill through the finish line of the four-mile course with a time of 25:36. To run four miles in 25:36, that works out to about a 6:24-per-mile pace, which would probably put me in the upper 19:40’s/lower 19:50’s for a five-kilometer (3.1-mile distance), which is about a half-a-minute faster than the 20:21 I ran in just the 3.1-mile distance at this venue in 2008. In 2008, I had run a pretty challenging 5K the day before I did the Kowowmu Trail 5K Road Race, but this year I was very happy to have run faster for a longer distance, on a harder course, and run negative splits with the first two miles at about 13:05, and therefore bringing in the last two miles in about 12:31.

That Kowowmu Trail Four-Mile Road Race in Carroll County, Maryland was one of my last really great races I ran before things started going downhill. The next Saturday, August 29, 2009, I ran this new and relatively smaller Zoe Track Club Lighthouse Christian Academy 5K Run in Port Deposit (Cecil County) , MD in about 19:12, and I have not run a 5K in under 20 minutes since. The next day (Sunday, August 30, 2009), for the first time I ran the pretty challenging Annapolis Ten-Miler in Annapolis (Anne Arundel County), MD. This is one of the most popular (if not the most popular) foot races in Maryland (and I am surprised that with all the different places I have run races that I have not done this one), and it is known for its heavy heat and hills. Fortunately, I did not have too much of the former, but of course the latter, especially during the middle parts in the shaded neighborhoods around the Severn River Bridge (and going up and down that bridge twice was no easy hill either). I got to that race late, because I made the naïve mistake of getting there closer to the race time, at which time the local roads and parking were a bit backed up. I managed to start I think around 14 minutes late, and I managed to cover the ten-mile distance in one-hour-nineteen-minutes-and-fifty-eight seconds, just under an eight-minute pace that I was going above and below throughout the race. While this has been by quite a margin my slowest 10-mile race time to date, I had meant to go conservatively and I was happy that God helped me pick up the pace the last couple of miles or so to get under an eight-minute-per-mile pace (a pace I had spent the middle miles running slower than). Even though I had made a point of taking it easier and enjoying it, I still felt quite light-headed and short of breath afterwards, and it took me a while to get myself together (and this had been a problem over the past month with my longer distance runs, which is why I was really less ambitious about doing well at this race). I know this race is relatively expensive, and I had signed up for it before I started having these problems, thinking that I might have a shot of running it in under an hour-and-ten minutes.

Well this problem did not go away, and as the school-year started and I got busy taking a few classes towards my elementary education teacher certification, I felt like it was getting worse. Pretty soon I had trouble sometimes bending over to get things or even just stretching, because it would cause dizziness and shortness of breath (not to mention aggravation to my already sensitive stomach). I quickly passed up on running long, lifting weights, or even doing really any warm-up/cool-down runs before/after races (and I started cutting back on those as well). I saw a few doctors, and they narrowed it down to me having lower-blood sugar levels at certain points in the day, and after consulting with a dietician, I began to try and follow orders to eat six smaller meals a day, which I still think I fall short of at times. No, I am not hypoglycemic, but my primary care physician advised that maybe about an hour or so before running/exercise, I eat something to keep my blood-sugar levels up.
Now a day or two before I saw the doctor and found out about the lower blood-sugar levels thing, I ran this Howard County Striders Weekly Fall Series (the second one in the series)10-kilometer (approximately 6.2-mile race) on the Elkhorn-Savage paved trail in Columbia (Howard County), MD on Sunday, September 27th. I planned to use this as an easy-paced distance run, but what ended up happening was me feeling kinda dizzy/light-headed, a bit short of breath, and I had probably lost feeling in my legs about 2-3 miles away from the finish line of this relatively flat course, which God helped me to cross in a time of 50 minutes and 44 seconds, my slowest time in a 10K race to date! I know I had intended that I take it easy, but that felt like I had run minutes harder and much longer. I felt quite woozy and it took me a bit of time to feel comfortable enough to drive away, and I do not think I felt fully recovered until the next day. I mean, I ran relatively slower for myself, yet it felt like I had run harder and longer. It has not seemed like that long ago about two-and-a-half years back when I was getting into this running races in different Maryland counties thing, where God would usually help me run 10K’s in under 39 minutes at the drop of a hat, and I would feel tired afterwards, but it would not take me the better part of a day to recover from it, and now I struggle to run under 51 minutes for the same distance, and I feel about the same (probably actually worse) as if I had run around that 38-39-minute range for a 10K. I felt like I was falling apart, and had it not been for God blessing me with the grace, health, and energy to get through it, I probably would have either passed out or just had to stop and walk. Needless to say I was discouraged, and I was glad I was seeing the doctor soon.
After that race and doctor’s appointment, I resolved to take at least the better part of a month off of running in the near future. But first, I wanted to at least do the Fourteenth Annual North Beach 5K in North Beach (Calvert County), MD on Saturday, October 3 for the third year-in-a-row. That rather hilly, more low-key race is very special to me in that on Saturday, September 15, 2007, I had run that race for the first time and as a result of doing that, that race had been the accomplishment of my goal to race in every Maryland county within the year 2007 (and in my current profile picture here, I am pictured with my third-place overall award medal after finishing that race). That was a great morning and an equally terrific race. That year I had run it in 18:48, then in 2008 I ran 19:01, and then this year I ran about 21:12, by far my slowest time on the course, but that was okay because I had resolved to just sorta chill and enjoy it, and had put more “umph” into it, I probably would have been able to have run a good ways under 21 minutes. I was grateful to be there, to have finished the race in fair health, and that my girlfriend Kay was there to support me. That was definitely special to have her there at that particular race that means a great deal, cheering me on! She is quite supportive in that way 
Then, the next day (Sunday, October 4, 2009), sort of a last minute decision, I decided to run the third Howard County Striders Fall Weekly Series race which consisted of either a hilly 5K or a fairly hilly one-one mile race at Swansfield Elementary School Columbia, MD. I opted to do the one-mile for fun and surprisingly finished in about 5:46, which was faster than I expected (I was not expecting much faster than six minutes). Although, I do suspect that course may be just a little on the short side, but if so, I doubt it is that much shorter than an actual mile.
After that one-mile race, I took close to three weeks off of running (to me that seems like a long time without running). Then, I slowly started back later in October and I felt ambitious enough to try the new Harvest for the Hungry 5K Run that started and ended at Mary B. Neal Elementary School in Waldorf (Charles County), MD. I surprisingly felt all right (though I think my right knee/leg tensed up a bit as it sometimes does and I sorta let that slow me down, and I was happy to have finished in about 20:48, which was faster than the last time I had run a 5K in 21:12 (the North Beach 5K). However, I later heard that the Harvest for the Hungry 5K course may have been a bit short, which would not have surprised as I felt that perhaps I did not run quite as strong to warrant a time under 21 minutes.

Anyway, enough of the technical stuff, I am happy to be back running and that I have not experienced the problems with shortness of breath, lightheadedness, or anything like that very often since I have been back to exercising, and if I experience those things, it is usually because I had not eaten within closer proximity to working out, hence I am working out with a lower blood-sugar level. I think a large part of it is God working through my obedience to the doctor’s orders and me focusing on eating more frequent smaller meals throughout the day as well as munching on something light within an hour before working out, and also I feel God has worked through my time out to help me recover a little bit. I may not have much going on in the speed department, but I seem to at least be able to cover distances no greater than six or seven miles without too much trouble (and again, those have usually not been the fastest runs either, hahaha). I am just taking it one day at a time, and I do not have any big race or personal record ambitions on the horizon of the near future. I just want to see what God does with my running and fitness where I am now, so that I can glorify Him who gave me the abilities, health, and passion for doing this.

Some nice highlights since I have been back running have included running a mile in about 5:33 on Saturday, November 14, 2009 at the Glenwood Community Center’s Turkey Trot 1-Mile Fun Run that I did with my friend David, that went through Western Regional Park in the Cooksville area of western Howard County, MD (however, I do heavily suspect that that course was just a little short, but I think at the pace I was going I was still a little ways under six minutes). Also, my fastest 5K that I have run since I have been back was the fairly hilly and challenging Burke Memorial 5K Run in Westminster (Carroll County), MD in about 20:12 (and I think had I focused more and gone harder in some spots, I probably would have broken twenty, though God helped me to keep an even pace). Then, this past weekend, on Sunday, December 13, 2009 I ran the ninth Howard County Striders’ Fall Weekly Series 2-miler/5-miler race at Burleigh Manor Middle School in Ellicott City (Howard County), and I was glad I opted to do the two-miler as it was cold and rainy. I ran that out-and-back hilly two-miler in 12:24 with my first mile being around 5:58  So those have been my fastest times in the one-mile, two-mile, and 5-kilometer distances since I have been back to exercising, and God-willing I hope to improve from there 

Another great piece of running news is that recently I have been spending some time at the East Columbia Branch Library in Columbia (Howard County), MD, which is fairly close to my jobs. This library has bike paths right near it that go towards the scenic Lake Elkhorn and many neighborhoods around it. I ran this one almost-loop-like route on the bike paths (with a little sidewalk and parking lots here and there) that started and ended at this library. The course was only moderately hilly at best, and I would venture to say this course is a little over 5.5 miles long (and I would even say that it would roughly be about 9 kilometers long). A couple Fridays ago (Friday, December 4, 2009) I ran this route for the first time that I made up that leaves the library, goes through the nearby Owen Brown Shopping Center, around a fair majority of Lake Elkhorn (the loop around which has been measured to be about 1.84 miles or so), and then took a bike path up through some neighborhoods before picking up the bike paths again to go around the rest of the Lake Elkhorn loop, then back up through the shopping center, and then back up some more hills for a nice short and flat downhill finish near the front of the library. Towards the end of this run, I thought I could finish it in under 40 minutes, but I finished it in 40:02, started walking, and then started running again when I realized that I forgot that I wanted to stop a little further up closer to the front of the East Columbia Branch Library. By the time I reached my originally-intended finish, my watch read 41 minutes exactly (well there were probably some milliseconds). I figured that I could keep running this course in the future, and God-willing I would get into shape enough to break forty minutes on it (and that would include finishing where I wanted to finish (where I finished in 41 minutes), and not where I accidentally stopped earlier).
Well the next Friday (December 11, 2009), it was all cold and windy, and I would not be surprised if it had been a wind-chill of less than thirty degrees. I was still ambitious to try and get under forty minutes, or at least improve a little bit what I had done on that course the previous week. I started out fairly boldly, covering the distance between the starting point and where I had accidentally "finished" the previous week in 29 seconds, and then I got through a majority of the Owen Brown Shopping Center in about 7:17, which was about 18 seconds faster than I was at that point the previous week. As I ran and prayed along the way, I was grateful that I was not feeling fatigued, sick, sore, or light-headed. I felt energized and in shape, and as I came back from the neighborhoods to finish up the portion around Lake Elkhorn, I was confident that God would help me break forty minutes on this run. By the time I made my last left-hand turn to continue down the almost half-mile stretch of Cradlerock Road before I turned into the library parking lot to finish, my watch was just above 36:10 (and it had been about 37:49 at this point last week). I was happy as I felt myself cruise down the steady decline towards the library parking lot, my momentum slowed only by the dimmer light of the setting sun. Oh my gosh, could I quite possibly even break 39 minutes...
I reached the last turn into the parking lot where I had first stopped the previous week (where I had run 40:02 when I reached that point), and my watch was somewhere around the 38:30's (and I could not read my watch that clearly due to less light earlier in the evening, and I remembered running this last stretch at the beginning of my run in 29 seconds, in just under half-a-minute, and if I sped in real strong, I might be able to break 39 minutes...
... And I did not even complete that thought until I was about half-way down that last stretch and with another ten-to-twenty yards or so, I passed one of the library signs that marked my finish in about 38:56 (from what I could roughly read on my watch with the fading daylight)!!
YES!!!! That has been my best run since I started back running, and not because I beat my goal by over a minute, but because I felt pretty strong all the way through (and I was on a little less than six hours of sleep too). God is good and despite adverse conditions, He can help ordinary folks like you and I accomplish great things!



You may be asking what else has been keeping me busy. Well as of, 8:42 on Tuesday evening (December 15, 2009), I submitted my last item to my online reading course, thus concluding the third of the three teacher education courses I was taking this semester between two different community colleges (I was taking an assessments course as well as a methods of teaching in elementary education course at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold/Anne Arundel County, MD, and then taking an online class through the Community College of Baltimore County (C.C.B.C.). This had been the first completely online course I had taken, and despite the technological difficulties that God, my family and friends helped me get through, I was able to complete it (my final project and whole class grade is still pending as far as I know). I signed up for two courses at Anne Arundel Community College (A.A.C.C.) because the local community colleges offered classes I was going to take, but those unfortunately were cancelled towards the last minute and at the last minute I was fortunate enough to pick up those courses so I could still make some relatively larger progress towards my elementary education teacher certificate! In addition, I took a second part-time job that is pretty flexible serving as a teacher's aide in an after school enrichment program a few days a week after my full-time job at Homewood. One of the days it meets is on Saturday mornings, which obviously cuts into racing options, but you know what, it may help me to save money that I could be spending on races that I probably am not in the best shape to do right now, and plus, I made a New Year's Resolution to really cut back significantly on the races I have done this year in comparison to the past few years, and so far God has helped me with that!!

Finally, through all of this going on with health, school, work, and running, my girlfriend Kay has been a real gift in her loyalty, support, companionship, and encouragement for me. I know it may not make much sense with all I have going on to try and keep up a long-distance relationship, but God has used her to help me and support me in a lot of ways, and to be honest, despite how relatively busy this semester has been, these have been some of the better days I have known with her in it. I do not think I would have gotten through this semester as well as I have without God, my family, and what God has done with Kay and her care for me (and the fact that she has steadfastly been praying for me). I am happy to say we are coming up on eight months together as a couple, and I am very happy to be with her!

There have been some other endeavors I have been doing a little bit to try and move along a bit in my educational occupation, but more on that later.

Thank you all for stopping by and reading. Hopefully I will see some of you in the running scene in the near future. I wish you an early merry Christmas and warmth as it is almost the winter :)