The 410th running of the Tidal Basin 3K went pretty well. Apparently the course was a little different and of course I did not know any different since I had never run a race on this course before). I had a little trouble finding exactly where everyone was meeting but I eventually found them towards the time the race started, after running about a lap-and-a-half aorund the Tidal Basin and then some, but that's okay because I got in about 3.5 miles worth of a warm up. I did not feel too tired either starting out. The course was pretty much flat except for a couple of gentle, almost unnoticeable hills near the beginning. The course ran clockwise around the Tidal Basin. The only challenge was that it was windy, and even that did not seem to be too rough until the last several mintues of the race.
When the race began, I was probably around fifth or sixth place, but then soon got passed by three people around the first minor uphill after crossing the first bridge over the water. Soon after, I started gaining on some other runners ahead of me, despite that the pace began to wear on me. Around the middle of the race, I enjoyed running past the Jefferson Memorial and I think that nice scenery helped motivate me to stay strong.
Now the course was not marked, so I did not know when I passed through the first mile or what pace I was going, but from how I was starting to huff I knew I was pushing myself pretty well. After a few more minutes of running through a little garden/past a park, we made a slight right onto a street that stretched out ahead and I knew that this was the final stretch and that somewhere down this street was the finish area. Knowing that the end of the race was near, I pumped my arms against the heavy winds that were beginning to blow against me and the runners close behind and in front of me. I could feel my legs tighten with fatigure, but fortunately my recent workout s in the gym for my upper body seemed to help me maintain decent form, and before I knew it I had caught up to a couple of runners ahead of me who had passed me earlier in the race, and then when I wsaw the red to the right about a hundred yards or so down the street, I knew that we were definitely nearing the finish line, and I ban to kick. I kept pushing it and pushing it, knowing that at any moment that someone with more sprint speed than I would probably catch me before I got to the end. But that did not happen. Instead, I barely managed to finish in the top -ten with a 3,000 meter/3-kilometer time of 10:46, just three seconds slower than the 10:43, I ran back on Sunday, January 27, my best time for that distance so far this year and about fithy or so seconds slower than my personal best time for that distance. Not bad at all!
I'm happy with that time considering the wind resisteance and the two 5K races I had run in Caroline County and Baltimore City, Maryland the previous weekend. I am glad I had off this week so that I could make it to a Tidal Basin run, that the D.C. Road Runners (http://www.dcroadrunners.org) seem to put on every third Wednesday of the month at the Tidal Basin. If I'm available again, I may do another one (and now I know where to find the runners too).
And now onto some other great news! It looks like in the near future I'll be moving in with some friends who live in Baltimore County, Maryland. It looks like a nice living arrangement. Just the other week my friend asked 'em if I wanted to move in with him and his roommates and after talking it over with my folks, we made an official decision to move in. This is going to be really cool to live with some of my friends and have a little more independence like I did when I was going to college at Salisbury University. Plus, some of them are physically active so maybe we can work out together sometimes. I did not post it up because I had not reached a decision on it until very recently. One thing I should adjust too is that they do not have the internet over there just yet, but that may be changing in the near future. I plan on moving over there in about a couple of weeks (possibly even sooner), and after that I may not be able to update or e-mail as much, at least until we get internet if that ends up happening. So I'll probaby have to use the library, computers at work, or go to my folks' place to use the internet and update my blog. And I do plan on updating it, just not as frequently!
And on that note, I'll mention several races that I hope to run in the near future:
- Saturday, March 29, 2008, 10:00 A.M. - "A Day at the Races" 5K Run - Queen Anne's High School, Centreville (Queen Anne's County), MD - Call Barb Thompson (410) 758 - 2994 if you are interested. They have track races for younger runners as well as an open one-mile track race (which I might do in addition to the 5K run that is said to be on the Queen Anne's County High School cross-country course). I hope to make it to this event as Queen Anne's County is a county in Maryland that does not have a lot of year-around running events.
- Sunday, March 30, 2008, 2 P.M. - Howard County Striders Winter "Operation Iceberg" Series Race #9 at Elkhorn for either a 10K or 2-mile (I'll probably run the 10K, sorta as a nice easy-to-moderate recover run from the previous day's run, which I hopefully do) - Columbia (Howard County), MD - http://striders.net/weeklySeries/
- Friday, April 4, 2008, 6:30 P.M. - Dead Man's Hill Down Hill Mile - Brunswick (Frederick County), MD - http://marylandrunning.com/index.phtm?month=4
- Sunday, April 6, 2008, 8:30 A.M. - Spring Is Here 10K! - Cumberland (Allegany County), MD - http://www.carr.org/~wrrc/spring10K.htm Another one that I really hope I can make, because my buddy Kevin is putting it on and it's low-key apparently, so it is definitely affordable. I'm looking forward to running more races out in western Maryland this year if possible!
All right, hopefully I can run in all those races coming up. we'll see! Enjoy this first day of spring, I know I did by taking a break from getting things togethe by going for a run of about eleven miles nice and easy in about an hour, twenty minutes and fifty-one seconds (I only had to stop the watch once to sotp and tie my shoes, otherwise I felt all right). Thank you all for reading, and if I do not post before then, I hope you all have a blessed Easter :)
Running Events I have done this year as of Thursday, March 20, 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 J)
Baltimore City
- Kelly St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock 5K – Sunday, March 16, 2008 – Baltimore City – 61st overall (guntime-based) – 18:33 (guntime), 18:28 (chiptime)
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
- First Annual St. Patrick’s Day 5K – Saturday, March 15, 2008 – Denton – 2nd overall (20-29 age group winner) – 18:58 (clock), 18:55 (watch)
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
- Leap of Faith Fun Run (7K prediction run – Approximately 4.35 miles) – Sunday, February 17, 2008 – Abington (Harford County, MD) – 3rd/4th overall (8th closest to predicted time) – 27:24 (predicted time: 28:00)
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
- Road Runners Club of America Ten-Mile Club Challenge – Sunday, February 24, 2008 – Columbia (Howard County), MD – 122nd overall – 1:07:58.85 (clock), 1:07:52 (watch)
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
- Talbot Kids Fun Run (advertised as three-miles, but less than that) – Saturday, March 8, 2008 – North Easton Sportsplex (Rails-to-Trails), Easton – Winner – Probably ran low-to-mid 14’s based on the times of other runners (I did not run my watch on this one)
Washington County
Wicomico County
- Mid-Shore Family YMCA Funny Bunny 5K Run – Saturday, March 8, 2008 – Salisbury – 2nd overall (20-29 age-group division winner) – 19:35
Worcester County
Events outside of Maryland
Delaware
Kent County
New Castle County
Sussex County
District of Columbia – Washington
- 410th Tidal Basin 3K – Wednesday, March 19, 2008 – Tidal Basin, Washington D.C. – 9th overall – 10:46
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
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