Hey there everyone! When I was blogging about the visit with the gastroenterologist, I forgot to mention some fairly good news in regards to running. One of the last questions I had asked him was if it would still be all right to keep up running with the gallbladder/stomach acid stuff goin' on. He said it should be all right and that typically exercise helps balance out those things. However, he also added something that pretty much agreed with a somewhat tough-to-digest (sorry for the silly pun guys :)- conclusion that I had come too: That I should be all right running, so long as I take in enough calories to match the activity (and the amount of it I do). Right now, I guess I'm not really so much trying to gain weight as I am just getting my body used to eating more on a daily basis. God-willing, perhaps I may start back with running and possibly some races sooner than I think.
However, this all the more shows that part of the "root" of the problem still has yet to be dealt with: The cause of the stomach aches that discourages me from eating enough to compensate for running and other exercise! It looks like things could get frustrating a bit with this feeling sick/running/eating thing until this is dealt with, God-willing. With these tests that the gastroenterologist wants me to have done seem a bit unpleasant (one of which involves having a tube down my esophagus so that the gastroenterologist can have a thorough look at what is going on, such as a stomach ulcer). Then, of course, there's the possibility I may have to have surgery or some kind of operation. I dunno, still kinda too soon to say. Perhaps yesterday's blood test results may help clear things up. I'm not gonna "belly ache" much more beyond this, as it is quite clear and easy to see that unfortunately some people suffer much worse than I am on a daily basis (and I can't confidently call what I'm going through "suffering"). I am grateful that God has blessed me with and given me justifiable reasons for faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, whom I am confident will carry me through as He has so many other times. I may personally prefer to not have this happen, though I am confident it is a part of God's plan, and for what it is worth I am learning quite a bit about human anatomy and nutrition as a result (and my body may be getting a break from working out that I was not really aware that it needed).
On that note, thank you all so much for your prayers as well as advice. I am really grateful to a lot of people (you readers included) within and outside of the running and racing scene who have actually been considerate and respectful towards my recent choice to stop running for a bit until I can regain some weight and get healthy again. I really appreciate the advice I have been getting from dieting, cross-training, certain tests I should have done, doctors I should check with, some possibilities as to what is actually making me feel sick-to-my stomach when I have these rather sickening bouts, or just the plain encouragement :) Even if some of you who I'm referring too never see this, you are all excellent and I thank you very much!!
I'll keep you all posted about starting up with running again. I weighed around 149 at yesterday's gastroenterologist appointment, so that's progress in my mind! Today I had my first milkshake in months (I got one from a local Chick-Fil-A during lunch and I felt all right, but I did not finish it because I did not want to push my luck). Strangely enough, I've overheard recently that milkshakes do help to add weight.
On that note, to help stimulate eating and to stay true to my more "quixotic" form I've decided to try a pretty fun/low-key goal: I'm gonna try and eat at a unique restaurant in every Maryland county within my lifetime. God-willing, I'm sure that will certainly be possible. I hope to stick to more healthy foods there. Now, I mean "unique" restaurants in that it is not just a typical chain restaurant, especially places I like to go such as Chick-Fil-A, McDonald's, Subway, Taco Bell, etc. That would seem to make it too easy and it probably would not be as creative. This can include coffee shops, delis, diners, etc. I don't plan on making special trips to counties that are far away from me just to eat out if I've already eaten at one in that particular county (for example, I've already eaten at this coffee shop in Northeast, MD in Cecil County last May, and I've already eaten at the Jubilee Dinner in late July of last summer in Friendsville (which is in Garrett County, MD)). Of course, growing up in Howard County and going to college at Salisbury University in Wicomico County, I've already eaten in those counties as well. I'll call this the "Maryland Munch" :)- Yesterday afternoon, I made some progress on it by eating at a place in Baltimore County called the Taneytown Deli, a small and quaint deli and shop in Catonsville that my co-worker really likes and I had been meaning to try it anyway. I don't think I've ever eaten at a unique restaurant in Baltimore County until yesterday, Wednesday, February 26, 2009 (and if I have, the memory of it has escaped me). So yea, "Maryland Munch" seems to be well underway, and I'm hoping to have my progress on that in these blogs in the future in much the same way I've displayed details on running events I've done over the last couple of years.
I'm gonna get going now and hopefully get a flu shot later on this afternoon. I hear that flu is running quite rampant, at least here in the United States. You all stay healthy and have a blessed weekend out there! Thank you for stopping by :)
Running Events I have done as of Friday, February 27, 2009
January
- Sunday, January 18, 2009 - "Inaugural" All-comers Indoor Track & Field Meet - Thomas Jefferson Community Center, Arlington (Arlington County), Virginia:
1). 1-mile race - 14th overall since some mile times run in other heats were faster than mine, (7th overall in the "Elite heat") - 5:26.7 (not bad considering my shoe came untied around half-way into the race :)
2). 800-meter race - 2nd overall - 2:17.78 (my best time in this event at this track venue and very well-paced too :)
3). 3,000 meter race - 15th overall (13th overall in the second heat) - 11:27.8 (I accidentally ran a lap extra and ran about 3,200 meters worth, and my 3,000 meter split was about 10:46, which would have put me at about 8th overall and 8th in this particular heat. This is also my best time-to-date for 3,000 meters at this track venue :)
4). Saturday, January 24, 2009 – Inaugural Chesapeake Bay Running Club Trail Run #1 (5K) – King’s Landing Park, Huntingtown (Calvert County), Maryland – 2nd overall – 19:21
- Sunday, January 25, 2009 – Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex All-Comers’ Showcase Indoor Track & Field Meet – Landover (Prince George’s County), MD:
5). 1-mile race – 4th overall – 5:03
6). 400 meter race – 5th or 6th probably (second-to-last in heat) – 1:04ish (I think this was the first time since middle school I ran this race J )
7). 800 meter race – Not sure how I placed – 2:16/2:17ish; I couldn’t see my time on the clock clearly.
8). 200 meter race – 8th in the heat I was in and last place in heat - :41 (my first time since middle school running this race J)
February
- Sunday, February 1, 2009 – Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex All-Comers’ Showcase Indoor Track & Field Meet – Landover (Prince George’s County), MD:
9). 1-mile race – 4th overall - 5:03.4 (best 1-mile time at this venue J)
10). 800 meter race – Open/Masters Heat Winner – 2:12.7 (best time at this venue J)
11). 3,200 meter race – 11:16 (and 10:37 for the 3,000 meter split, both 3K and 3,200 meter times are personal best times at this venue J)
12). Saturday, February 7, 2009 – Inaugural Chesapeake Bay Running Club Trail Run #2 (Four-Miler) – Calvert Cliffs State Park, Lusby (Calvert County), MD – 3rd overall – 27:31
13). Sunday, February 8, 2009 – Bear Run Four-Miler – Pleasant Valley/Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 11th overall – 27:07
Please check out the events I did in 2008:
http://ranineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2008/12/
not-much-longer-until-2009.html
Please check out the events I did in 2007:
http://runineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2007/09/
i-ran-in-running-event-in-all-of.html
“Maryland Munch” – Unique restaurants I have eaten at within my lifetime throughout Maryland
Allegany County
Anne Arundel County
Baltimore City
Baltimore County
- Taneytown Deli – Thursday, February 26, 2009 – Catonsville – Nice, quaint little deli and shop tucked away off of Highway 144/Old Frederick Road. One of my co-workers recommended this to me and I went there for my first time with “Maryland Munch” in mind. I had “The Catonsville” sandwich. I think there were slices of turkey breast and ham on it; it tasted pretty nice overall. I probably should have seen what I could have done about getting some cheese on it, but it was fine enough. I also had a black and white muffin and that made for a nice dessert.
Calvert County
Caroline County
Carroll County
- Sunday, May 25, 2008 – Reisterstown/Westminster area – My friends Erica and Josh got married at Life Point Church (which used to be called Carroll Community Church), and then we went to a local country club for a receptoin. The food and appetitzeres were delicious from what I could remember (I apologize, I don’t clearly remember much more). I remember more of the dancing and fun I had catching up with people and friends I had not seen in a while!
Cecil County
- Saturday, May 10, 2008 – North East – After Dr. Daniel Williams and I ran at the Inaugural Run for Reading 4K in Bayview/North East, MD, we went over to a small coffee shop around downtown North East to talk more. Dr. Williams was in town to see family and run that Run for Reading, because after he had run that race in Cecil County, he had completed his goal of running a race in every county along the Mason-Dixon Line. As I recall the coffee and small food (I think I had a cookie, pastry, or something like that) were pretty good. We enjoyed ourselves!
Charles County
Dorchester County
- Saturday, April 14, 2007 – Cambridge - After my friend John and I ran at the Healthy Kids Fun Run at the Dorchester YMCA and Sandy Spring Elementary School in Cambridge, we went out to eat at a small seafood restaurant around downtown Cambridge. This was at the very beginning phases of my first endeavor to run in a running event in every Maryland County in 2007, and that was certainly my first Dorchester County race. I recall they had some nice food here (And I can’t quite remember what it is I had; I wanna say it was some seafood, if not pizza). I don’t think I had much of an appetite after that run, but John and I enjoyed it nonetheless.
- Friday, May 2, 2008 – Vienna – I stopped by this small waterside deli/restaurant in Vienna (I forget what it is called), and I think I had a sub or some kind of a sandwich, and I think I had a soda too. I was headed to Salisbury (Wicomico County) to see some friends and do a race in Crisfield (Somerset County) that weekend, which was why I was over there in the first place. It seemed like a small, more intimate dining place and I remember enjoying the food!
Frederick County
- Sunday, January 15, 2006 – West New Market – My friends, Danny and Brianna, got married this day at this beautiful bed and breakfast place, where we also had the reception. I liked the food there (even though I can’t remember much of what I ate). I remember a very joyful wedding with great dancing, music, and people J
Garrett County
- Jubilee Diner – Saturday, July 26, 2008 – Friendsville – After my first time at Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County, MD for this inaugural Adventure Games 10K Trail Run at the Wisp Ski Resort in Deep Creek, I decided to head over to Friendsville, MD around where my friend Phil lives. I knew Phil was working that day, so I decicded to settle in for eating some place by myself. I came by this small, rather dimly lit diner called the Jubilee Diner. I remember the service was great and fairly personable. I know I had a milkshake, and I think I had a burger and fries. I enjoyed the meal quite well as I recall J
Harford County
Howard County
- Timbuktu – Winter of 1997 – Columbia area – I was in seventh grade when I went here for a friend’s Bar Mitzvah reception. I remember eating here and enjoying the company and hte food quite well. I rpobably would have liked the experience a bit more, but my brother and this other guy named Brett were spinning this circular thing around and the next thing I kenw, all these sauces were every on the talbe, and a lot of the people at the table thought it was me. Fortunately none of us got in serious trouble. Looking back, I think it’s funny that that is my most salient memory of eating there.
- Best Hunan – King’s Contrivance Shopping Center, Columbia – Back in my junior year of high school (2000-2001), my friends Brian and Nate would invite me to go with them, and this became our typical hang-out spot. It’s pretty well-lit, comfortable, and intimate. I like the crab rangoons, fried ice-cream on a banana (which I’m not sure if they have), sweet-and-sour soup, beef lo-mein, and some of their platters just to name a few. I still eat here with my friends and it pretty much got me into Chinese food more. I think the last time I ate here was back in 2008, and I probably had beef lo-mein or something like that.
- Forest Diner – 2007/2008 (winter time) – Ellicott City – I ate here with my friend from Salisbury University, Mike one evening. It was pretty small and I think it is closing (or has closed down). The food was pretty nice, and if I know myself, I probably got some burgers, frieds, and a soda (and possibly something for desert). Like typical diners, I enjoyed the food and the atmosphere was relatively quiet with images and set-up to resemble times as far back as at least the 1950’s. I may have eaten here with a couple of buddies from high school back around the August of 2003, or it might have been the Double T Diner nearby in Ellicott City.
- Bagel Bin (Wilde Lake Village Center location) – Saturday, January 10, 2009 - Bagel Bins are one of Columbia, MD’s “best kept secrets” and I would therefore consider it a more “unique” restaurant as it only seems to be in Columbia. I’ve eaten at various Bagel Bin locations (mainly the one at the King’s Contrivance Shopping Center near where I grew up), and I’m a fan of their bagel melts (with melted cheese) and their smoothies (which may only be out in the summer or warmer weather, I’m not quite sure). My most recent time I ate there was after a Saturday morning Bagel Run with the Howard County Striders where we start and end our running routes by the Wilde Lake Village Center’s Bagel Bin, and it was on Saturday, January 10, 2009. I can’t quite remember what I had there that morning, and I was there catching up with someone I hadn’t seen since middle school who was also doing the run. I’m pretty sure I bought a sports drink (like Gatorade) while I was there. I really like Bagel Bin and I definitely came to appreciate it when I would come home on breaks from college at Salisbury University.
Kent County
- Harbor Shack – Sunday, April 22, 2007 – Rock Hall – This was my first visit to Rock Hall, MD and the afternoon I came to visit, I went for a little run around the town and then decided to eat at the Harbor Shack right by the water. It was fairly noisy indoors, but it was not bad and it was to be expected since there was a bar there. It was a fairly nice day out and I think I actually ate outside (I think I bought some nice french fries).
- Durding’s – I think I stop in here every time I’ve been to Rock Hall (and I think I’ve been about five times now). This is a very quaint shop right around the downtown area and it’s a gift sohp with little antiques, gifts, and they sell food (they have nice ice cream as I recall from experience J)
- Java Rock Café – Friday, July 4, 2008 – Rock Hall – I came to Rock Hall on the Fourth of July to run in the 27th Annual Rock Hall Flat Five, and that was a fun race. It ended right by Java Rock Café, and afterwards I went there and got some coffee and possibly a little food too. It’s a pretty small and quaint coffee shop, and I do believe they sell some souvenirs (such as Rock Hall, MD hats and shirts). I had been there before, and that is my most recent memory of being there.
Montgomery County
- Vegetable Garden – May/June, 1999 – I was a freshman in high school when I went with my mom to meet up with my grandma, a relative, and my relative’s friend to celebrate my relative’s graduation (I think it was from high school, if not college). I don’t remember where in Montgomery County this is located, but I’m pretty sure it is in Montgomery County and that the menu is pretty much all vegetable stuff. I was not much into that kinda food at the time, and I rememmber being fairly sleepy from not getting much sleep in preparing for 9th grade finals, but I thought the food was pretty decent considering I don’t normally eat a lot of what was on their menu. Looking back, I’m glad I had the experience and that I got to eat and celebrate with family J
- 2007/2008 – I went with my friends, Aaron and Brian, to this Chinese restaurant in this shopping center in Olney (I think there’s a Cheeburger Cheeburger and a Shopper’s Food Warehouse there now). The Chinese food was pretty good here, and I think we ate here during the winter time. I think I had some beef low-mein. I’ll venture to say that I think when I was in seventh grade, I went to this same place around the winter/early spring of 1997 to get some carry-out from this restaurant. It looks a bit small on the outside, but on the inside it seems a bit more spacious and I’d say it is a more upper class restaurant (then again, I have not had all that much experience with ritzy restaurants).
Prince George’s County
- Don Pablo’s – Summer of 1997 – Laurel area – I remember going here when some relatives from out-of-town were visiting, and I think it was a week day evening. I can’t quite remember what I got, but if I know me and if I knew me back then, it was probably a quesadilla, a taco, or something similar (and I probably had a root beer or some kinda soda to go with it). Great food as I recall, and then again, I usually like just about all Mexican food.
- Silver Diner – Sunday, August 31, 2008 – Laurel – I went with my friends Amy, Kseniya, and Walton to eat here after a fun afternoon and evening at the Six Flags around the Largo area of Prince George’s County. I did not have much of an appetite after all of those rides, and I wanted to take it easy on my stomach, ‘cause I knew I wanted to do the 5th Annual Labor Day 5K Rogue Race the next day in Eldersburg (Carroll County), MD. I think I just got some nice soup and a soda, and possibly more (maybe a desert too).
Queen Anne’s County
Saint Mary’s County
Somerset County
Talbot County
Washington County
Wicomico County
- Hunan Palace – March/April of 2005 – Fruitland – My friend Suzanne and I ate at Hunan Palace; this really nice Chinese restaurant just outside of Salisbury (Wicomico County). Going to school locally at Salisbury University and recently getting a car on campus, I felt like I could “stretch my legs” a bit and check out some of the places around town more. I’m glad we chose this. Even though my stomach was not feeling the best while I was there (which I don’t think had anything to do with the food), I thought it was a great restuarant. If I know me, I probably got some beef lo-mein or something similar.
- Lighthouse Diner II – Salisbury – I’ve been here many of times, and their prices are great for the breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods that they have. I like their hot chocolate, pancakes, grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken soups, and quite a few of their other menu items to name a few. Usually when I go back to visit with friends in Salisbury, a visit here is in order. I wanna say that probably my most recent time here was around Saturday, December 13, 2008 (at least that was the last time I was in town). My friends and I noticed that it was called Lighthouse Diner II, and we sorta have a joke among us to keep our eyes out for the first Lighthouse Diner.
Worcester County
