- Saturday, May 3, 2008 - I made it to Crisfield (Somerset County), Maryland for the 3rd Annual McCready Health Services Foundation Founder's Day 8K Run (the top two photos are of this event). I've run it the past two years that they have had it (the first year it was a lot shorter than 8K; more like 4.2 miles I heard instead of the 4.97ish miles that make up 8 kilometers). Although the turn-out for it is not that large compared to some of the other races and running events that I have been too; it is still a fun and very scenic race. It starts and ends out in front of the McCready Health Services Foundation Hospital campus, which has a terrifically clear view of the water. The run goes through a nice small neighborhood by downtown Crisfield and then it goes on out to a country/rural road. Just as it gets a bit tedious (at least for me), the course goes left into Jane's Island State Park, and there we run through the parking lots and even through this grassy section along the river (I think it's the Daugherty Creek, I'm not 100% sure), but point being it has a little bit of a cross-country section. The park is my favorite part of the race because of the shade and scenery. Afterwards it's back out onto the country roads, but with more turns on the way back so it does not get all that monotonous. Before coming back to the hospital campus, runners pass by what appears to be a trailer/RV park. Soon after, the runners finish in front of the McCready Health Services Foundation. They also have a two-mile fun walk as well as a health expo in and around the hospital.
My friend Joe (whom I met at this race last year, on Saturday, May 5, 2007) said I could crash at his place in Ocean City (Worcester County), MD. I thought that was a great offer, because he wanted to do the race again too, as did I, and on a good traffic day, Crisfield is easily within an hour of Ocean City.
Since I've really been rather low-key with my running (having only run one other time in the past two weeks) and since I was working through an injury, I figured I would just do this race for fun (maybe running somewhere between 36-38 minutes at best). My best time on the course was last year, when I barely managed to crack 32 minutes by the grace of God and finish in about 31:58, and I did not see myself in shape enough to hack that this year. I also thought it would be fun to spend a good portion of the weekend in Ocean City with Joe and some of my other friends on the Maryland Eastern Shore.
When I got to Ocean City the Friday night before the race, Joe and his roommates were just chillin' out and they wanted to go out and chill at some of the bars and restaurants, and I figured I'd go with them and check out some of Ocean City. I did not care if I stayed up really late and had to get up early, since I was not taking the next day's race that seriously. But oh man, did we stay up late (probably until somewhere between two and three in the morning). I was kinda slow with falling asleep for a few precious hours before waking up and driving Joe and I to the race. When we got there we chilled for a bit and warmed up. I saw some people at the race I had seen there in the previous couple of years. The nice thing about coming back to smaller races like this is that you kinda get a bit of a sense of camraderie and community among the participants. It was pretty fun catchin' up with some of them and a few had some encouraging remarks about last year's successful endeavor to run in running events in every county of Maryland. Somerset County is one of the hardest counties in Maryland (in my opinion) to find year-around running events in, so I have really come to appreciate this event for that. The first time they had it on Saturday, May 6, 2006, I was still a senior at Salisbury University, so the race was somewhat local for me. Then I came back to it in 2007 in my quest to run in running events in different counties of Maryland (and I also was going to meet some friends later that day for our first ever skydiving experience at the Ocean City Airport, which was a lot of fun for me for the most part).
The race went off to a nice start. I was surprised that I was able to hang with the lead runners within the first mile and still feel pretty chill pace-wise. I saw the lead runner, a younger high-school aged gentleman, not too far ahead of me leap up and touch a basketball net of a basketball hoop outside of a house in the small neighborhood at the beginning of the race. Just for grins, I followed suit and did the same thing, haha!
Shortly after the first mile, I was pleasantly surprised to feel that I had picked up the pace a good amount and that I did not feel as tired as a result. I knew I had intended to take it easy with this race, and for the sake of my foot, I decided it best not to push it any further. Before entering Jane's Island State Park I slowed up at the water stop. I ran through the Jane's Island State Park and while running along the creek/river I started to turn off early thinking that was when I was supposed to make a right turn back onto the roads in the park, but then I saw up ahead more course markings, so I continued on ahead before correctly choosing where to turn off. Upon exiting the Jane's Island State Park and running back onto the country roads, I slowed up for the water stop again and soon ran through the four-mile mark in about 26:35. Wow! That's a lot faster than I expected; going at about a 6:38-per-one-mile pace. Really impressive for me considering I had not run much before. Praise God! That was really the only split I caught (the previous year I had caught all my other splits except for the fourth-mile split), and that really kept me encouraged :)
I knew for my own health, and that this has been one of my first runs in two weeks, that I should not push it much further than this, so I backed off a bit and came through the finish of the 4.9-mile course in 34:27 (even though my official time was 34:51, I have no idea how that happened). I felt pretty solid and I was definitely surprised to have finished in under 35 minutes. I think this was probably my slowest time on this course. In 2006, I ran 27:31, but the course was a lot shorter then (someone measured it out to be about 4.2 miles), and it probably would have equated to about 32:20/32:30ish on the current 4.9 course. In 2007, I hit 31:58. Still, I'm happy with it considering my recent lack of running!
Joe ran all right too. We enjoyed ourselves and chilled out at the post-race events that included food/beverages, an awards ceremony (the upper left one shows me walking away with an award), as well as a health expo inside the hospital. I actually ran into this young lady I went to high school (and I think some of middle school) with all the way out in CRISFIELD! Her fiance was running in the race (and I remember him from it a couple of years ago) and she was out visiting. It was so cool to see her there; I would never think I would have encountered anyone from where I grew up around Howard County, MD in a small bayside town almost three hours away! That was pretty wild.
After the race, Joe and I headed back to his place. We got to visit with one of his friends and have some nice convos (and rapping/free-stylin') on the way back to his place in Ocean City. We chilled out there for a little bit and had some pizza before he had to leave for work and I left to head back to my place so I could make it to a "guy's night" at my friend's place in Ellicott City (Howard County), MD
- Sunday, May 4, 2008 - Yes, believe it or not, since I felt so well and ran better than I expected at the Founder's Day 8K the day before, I decided to run another race (and another 8K at that). This one was out-of-state, but not as much of a drive as Crisfield, MD was. I decided to run in the 30th Annual Patriot's Cup 8K Run on and around the George Mason University campus in Fairfax (Fairfax County), Virginia. I had run on that college before when I stopped to check it out on my way home from a conference in Lynchburg, Virginia back in the February of 2007, and I thought it was a nice and scenic venue. Typically around this time of year I would be running the Chesapeake Bay Bridge 10K Run from the Maryland Eastern Shore into the bayside outskirts of Annapolis (Anne Arundel County), MD, but since that race was cancelled this year due to construction around the bridge area, that left me available to check this out.
And I'm glad I did...
This course was definitely a lot more hilly than the flat Founder's Day 8K I had run on the Maryland Eastern Shore the day before, but the competition seemed a lot more fierce and there was more people. Nonetheless, I "let myself go" a bit more on this course. When you see my splits, I think you'll understand what that means:
Mile 1: 6:20
Mile 2: 12:40 (at this point, not only was I getting excited that I was running this fast for not having run much recently, but for the fact that my pace was pretty even).
Mile 3: 19:23ish (I started slowing up here)
Mile 4: 26:05
Finish: 32:27 (clock), 32:23ish (watch - I started further back in the pack and it took me a few seconds to reach the starting line after the starting gun went off, and that's when I started my watch).
The course was scenic, and I felt like there were cheering spectators almost all the way. The course involved taking a couple of loops and then some through and around the campus. The crowd support was definitely a lot thicker within the campus, and that was great, because that's where a lot of the hills were. I liked how there was a nice easy downhill after the second mile and a little ways after the fourth, and there was a strong downhill finish too! Apparently they changed up the course a bit this year, this year being an easier course, and I really liked it. If I go back to this event in northern Virginia in the future (which could definitely be a possibility), I would hope to be in better running shape and beat the time I ran. I am grateful for the 8-kilometer times that God helped me run this weekend. I felt like I cramped up a little bit at the Patriot's Cup, but I think it was because I was going at a harder pace after not running very much for a while. I am grateful I finished, and finished healthy and optimistic.
I'm hoping towards the end of this week to do another race, and then the following week, the doctor says I can start running more often again. Next post you'll see why I want to do this race next weekend.
Thank you for reading and I hope to get caught up in these blogs sometime soon. This weekend was such a blessing, and it was great seeing some of you at the races too! Have a terrific day :)
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