Top two photos are from the Winfield Mile in Carroll County, Maryland (the one on the upper right is of South Carroll High School), and the bottom two are from the First Annual Southern Maryland Communication Network Resolution 5K Run/Walk in Calvert County, Maryland. I ran both of these on New Year's Day (Tuesday, January 1, 2008).
New Year's Day was really interesting. I got to run a couple of great races despite the fact that I was running on a good ways under four hours of sleep (much like the morning of when I ran the Nutcracker 5K recently in Calvert County, Maryland recently on Sunday, December 23, 2007). Well once again I returned to Calvert County, Maryland (the last county I had left to run a running event in before I could say I ran in a running event in every Maryland county within the year of 2007) to run in the First Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution 5K Run/Walk in Prince Frederick.
That race went surprisingly well for me.
The race had rolling hills and I found it somewhat challenging. It was out and back, so coming back there were a fair amount of downhills which was nice. I started out fairly conservatively not knowing what I would be able to do since I was pretty tired. Fortunately I made it safely to and through the race and I was able to keep up with a high school-aged runner who finished a few seconds ahead of me. I was grateful he was in the race, because without him there for me to try and keep up with, I may have not even broken nineteen minutes.
I went through three miles in 17:45ish, and I knew that had to be off because I was pretty sure I was not running as fast as under six minutes-a-mile. I then crossed the 5K finish line in 18:47, my best 5K time since I started back with consistent running in November. I was really happy about that and finishing fourth overall. On the virtually all flat Nutcracker 5K course, I ran about 18:59 on less than four hours of sleep and now I ran a little faster than that on less than four hours of sleep. It seems that despite being sleep deprived, the Good Lord has blessed me with strong racing times for my current level of fitness :)
That is also barely my fastest 5K I've run in Calvert County, Maryland so far. My second fastest in that county was from Saturday, September 15, 2007 at the 12th Annual North Beach 5K where I ran 18:48 and finished running a running event in all of Maryland's counties in 2007.
Later on that afternoon, I went to Carroll COunty and made it just in time for the Winfield Mile in Winfield Maryland. I was cuttin' it close, kinda like I just barely made the OXford Day 10K Run in Talbot County, Maryland back on Saturday, April 28, 2007. Shortly after I parked at South Carroll High School (where the race finished) and prepared to run at least a mile mainly uphill against wind towards the starting line, I was fortunate that one of the event coordinators was driving to the race start, and let me ride with him along with a few other participants.
I was blessed to have made it on time coming from Calvert County and getting a little lost in the Upper Marlboro area of Prince George's (P.G.) County, Maryland. I surprisingly managed to run a good mile for myself considering I thought I had pretty much expended most of my energy in the 5K earlier in the morning. I thought the course made it easy to run a nice time, as a good portion of it was downhill with very little and slight uphill and a straight finish. I moved up through the runners and managed to finish sixth (although I almost got fourth but the two runners ahead of me really put on a strong kick when I caught up to them near the end). I ran about 5:10 according tot he clock as I crossed the finish line, and some change (which is probably why it is 5:11 in the results with rounding the high amount of milliseconds).
I was well-pleased with both of these races. The Winfield Mile was great for me, because I beat the 5:19 1,600 meter race I ran at Hagerstown Community College last Saturday (December 29, 2007) in Washington County, Maryland. I'm hoping th next time I race in a mile distance that I break 5:10. The next track and field meet is an indoor one that I hope to make tomorrow after work in Princess Anne (Somerset County), Maryland. This is the Coach O Invitational at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, where I hope to run in the 5,000 meter race. Maybe I can run a six-minute-per-mile pace for the 3.1-mile distance, God-willing (which would at least be mid-to-upper 18:30's). We'll see, I hope to make it. I know how hard it is to find running events in Somerset County, and even though it is an intercollegiate meet, I can still run unattached on a nice indoor track against some strong competition.
All right, thank you all for reading through my seemingly obsessive amount of detail about all the recent races I have run in. I hope you enjoy it and I wish you a good night! Happy New Year :)
Running Events I have done this year as of Thursday, January 3, 2008
Maryland
Allegany County
Anne Arundel County
Baltimore City
Baltimore County
Calvert County
- First Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution 5K Run/Walk – Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Prince Frederick – 4th overall (1st in 20-29 age group) – 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
Kent County
Montgomery County
Prince George’s (P.G.) County
Queen Anne’s County
Saint Mary’s County
Somerset County
Talbot County
Washington County
Wicomico County
Worcester County
Events outside of Maryland
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