This morning got off to a nice start. Headed over to Grace Community Church in Fulton (Howard County), MD for a bit of the morning service then headed off to Gaithersburg (Montgomery County), MD for the 11 A.M. start of the 5th Annual Walnut Hill Ribbon Run 5K. I felt pretty tired and my stomach still hurt a little bit (no doubt from attempting to eat that one-pound cheeseburger at Cheeburger Cheeburger yesterday). Since then I have not had a full meal in over a day, just little snacks of crackers, toast and the occasional cookie. If anything I've been drinking water and ginger ale for the most part. Fortunately, I'm not so sick to my stomach that I've been barfing or having diarrhea, and I'm still hopin' to go into work tomorrow, so I decided to pursue this today's race plans in Montgomery and Howard Counties.
Considering I was feeling tired and had not eaten much, I still felt like I ran a pretty decent race at the Walnut Hill Ribbon Run 5K. I went through the first mile in about 6:05, the second in 12:28, the third in 19:04, and then finished the approximate 3.1-mile distance in 19:51, right about where I expected myself to be at the fastest. I held back a bit, and I meant too since I barely tucked under 18 minutes in yesterday's Valentine's Day 5K in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, which was a lot faster than I expected (and I ain't complainin' about that)! I slowed several times on the Walnut Hill race, because we ran through the same intersection six times, and the last five of those six times, course marshalls would hand out a playing card each time we'd run through the intersection, and whoever had the best hand at the end of the race won the "random prize" of free race registration to a few races that I think occur around the Virginia, Washington D.C. area. That was a fun, neat idea. However, I only ended up with three of the five cards I should have had at the end. I went through one time and dropped the card on my way through and I did not care to pick it up, and then the next time through the course marshalls seemed preoccupied with handing out the cards to other runners in the intersection and I decided not to bother with it and just keep pressin' on. I felt like I had enough going on with a hand with two cards and a set of car keys, plus I was pretty tired. The course was pretty neat, going through a lot of well-shaded nieghborhoods. The hills on this course reminded me of those of the North Beach 5K I did on Saturday, September 15, 2007 in North Beach (Calvert County), MD where I finished out my Maryland-wide running quest. This one in Montgomery County had more hills, at least in my opinion.
I felt all right afterwards, and actually a little hungry (and fortunately I had gotten some free snack foods/munchies from the race), and I decided to head over to the Howard County Striders' Weekly Series ("Operation Iceberg") Race #5 at the Jeffers Hill Neighborhood Center. They had two-mile, 10K and 15K race options and for the first time in my ten or so years of running weekly series races with the Howard County Striders, I chose to run one of their 15K races. The course was pleasant, not too hilly and mainly on bike paths (a setting that I like for running and one that I train on often). I intended to take it easy and that is what I did for the most part.
The first 5K portion of this course is mostly downhill and flat, so I went through it a ittle faster than I expected, in 21:42ish. I slowed up a bit after that, but still felt all right. It was probably during the last 2-3 miles or so that I started to feel tired, and I think it was mostly from not eating much in the past day. however, I welcomed this, because that meant my appetite was coming back and I was not feeling sick to to my stomach as I ran (not even during the 5K earlier this morning, which I ran at a harder pace). I took it easy throughout just about the rest of the race until coming to the end of the long last uphill within about an eighth of a mile from the flat finish area, and hten I decided to pick it up and I was surprised I was blessed with enough in me to dash in to the finish line (probably at right around the same pace with which I kicked at the end of the Valentine's Day 5K Run yesterday). I finished in about an hour, ten minutes, and eleven seconds. I hope my ten-mile time is well under that at the Club Challenge Ten Mile race coming up in a couple of weeks in Howard County, but at least I knew I took it easy. Between the 3.1-mile race this morning, the 9.3-mile race this afternooon as well as the warming up and cooling down I did, I'd say I ran about fourteen miles-worth today. I don't see any need for a long run this coming week!
I'm grateful that my appetite has come back a little bit, I was able to eat a little bit at dinner tonight. I'm hopin' for a good night's sleep tonight and hopefully I'll continue to feel better.
Thank you all for reading. Please continue to enjoy the weekend and have a good night :)
Please note that all photos above are from the Walnut Hill Ribbon Run this morning, except for the Howard County Striders logo of course.
Running Events I have done this year as of Sunday, February 10, 2008
Maryland
Allegany County
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
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
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
- 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) – Columbia – 11th overall – 1:10:11
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
Saint Mary’s County
Somerset County
Talbot County
Washington County
Wicomico County
Worcester County
Events outside of Maryland
Delaware
Kent County
New Castle County
Sussex County
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
Northampton County
Cheeburger Cheeburger Locations in Maryland I Have Eaten One-Pound Cheeseburgers:
Abington/Bel Air (Harford County)
- Nothing yet
Annapolis (Anne Arundel County)
- Nothing yet
Burtonsville (Montgomery County)
- Nothing yet
Columbia (Howard County)
- Nothing yet
Hunt Valley (Baltimore County)
- Nothing yet
Olney (Montgomery County)
- Nothing yet
Perry Hall (Baltimore County)
- Nothing yet
Rockville (Montgomery County)
- Nothing yet
Timonium/Baltimore (Baltimore County)
- Nothing yet
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