Running downhill towards the finish of the inaugural Chesapeake Bay Running Club's Trail Running Series #2: A 4-miler at Calvert Cliffs State Park in Lusby (Calvert County), Maryland (courtesy of Karsten Brown)
....what does that make me?" Those words from the David Crowder Band's, "Everything Glorious" Christian/Inspirational song were in my head for a majority of the Bear Run Four Miler in Carroll County, MD on Sunday, February 8, 2009, my most recent race, and I felt like I needed that extra motivation because I was feeling pretty drained.
Well perhaps this post will make a bit more sense if I start from the beginning and cathc you up from about two weeks or so before now.
On Sunday, February 1, 2009 (this past Super Bowl Sunday), I made it to the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex in Landover (Prince George's County), MD for the all comers' indoor track & field meet that they were having there. It went nicely for the most part, although I felt a little sick-to-my stomach in the morning on the way there. I felt like I could not eat much either. Needless to say, I did not feel the most energized when I ran my first race of the meet: The one-mile.
I was hoping to break five minutes and even beat my best 1,600 meter time on this indoor track, which was 4:58.8 and my first time running under five minutes for that distance (a goal I had sought after for about two years :) I remember the evening I ran that; Wednesday, January 15, 2001... I was a senior in high school and I had just run an 800-meter split in the 4X800-meter relay/3,200-meter relay race earlier, and I had run 2:15, another personal best time for me at the time. I was also feeling sick that evening and a couple of days later I had been diagnosed with bronchitis and tonsilitis (and I think there was strept throat in there too). God is awesome in how He gets us through in excellent ways; His strength never fails in our weakness. I knew that this full mile was about 8 or 9 meters longer than 1,600 meters, hardly a second or two's different between 1,600 meters and a mile. I prefer to do the full mile, the ever-so-slightly longer of the two if I can.
Anyway, here are the splits of the one-mile that I remember. I'll just say that I could tell as I ran pretty much the same splits as the previous week (Sunday, January 25,2009) when I had run the mile here, that I did not have as much energy, but at least I had a nice finish:
lap 1 (of 8 laps) - :37
lap 2 - 1:14ish
lap 4 - 2:28ish
lap 6 - 3:49
lap 8 (finish) - 5:03.4 (I think this is mere milliseconds faster than the 5:03 I had run the previous week).
Even though I was at least several seconds slower than what I was going for, I was still happy with it considering I did not feel that strong until maybe the last quarter-mile or so, because I was able to finish that last 400-meter in about 1:14. However, not long after, I began to feel queasy again, and it felt more intense than before (and having run a mile race pretty hard probably did not help matters). Though, I did feel a little better afterwards and I was able to munch on some of my food and I decided to stick around for the 800-meter and the 3,200 meter.
The 800 meter came next; a four-lap race that is pretty much a half-a-mile. My best time on this track was 2:15 and I was pretty confident that so long as the heat I was in was not too crowded, I could probably get it (and of course if my stomach did not start bothering me again).
Here's how I ran below:
Lap 1 - :32
Lap 2/400 meters - 1:05 (not bad considering I ran 1:04 in the 400-meter race at this venue the previous week :)
Lap 3 - 1:38 (I can't remember the last time I broke 1:40 for 600 meters :)
Lap 4 (finish) - 2:12 (my best time on this track :)
I would have to say that that was my best race of the three that I ran that day. I had only been in the heat with about three or four other runners, so I had plenty of space, versus last week when I struggled to hit about 2:16/2:17 because the heat was so packed I felt like I spent most of the race just jockeying for position.
The final race I did was the 3,200 meter race, which is barely less than two miles in distance. I was hoping to break 11 minutes, because my best indoor track time was 11:10 from Saturday, December 27, 2008 at the Mountain Express Indoor Track and Field Invitational at Hagerstown Community College in Hagerstown (Washington County), MD, and also my best time at this particular bvenue was 11:24 from late January of 2008. Here are the splits that I remember hitting in this race (and I apologize that I can't remember them all):
Lap 4 - 2:40/2:41ish
Lap 8 - 5:28
Lap 12 - 8:26
Lap 15 (3,000 meters) - 10:37 (my best 3,000 meter time at this venue :)
Lap 16 (finish) - 11:16 (my best time at this venue :)
I didn't break 11 minutes here, but at least I ran my personal best times-to-date for the 3,000 and 3,200 meter distances at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex (and I take note of the 3,000 because sometimes they have the 3,000 meter race at this venue as well as at quite a few other indoor track & field meets). I came away from there feeling pretty happy (and quite a bit hungry too :)
Later on, I went over to my friend Tommy's with one of my other friends for the evening to watch the Super Bowl. It was certainly an intense game and I enjoyed it as well as the commercials. I would have liked for a different outcome, but even though, the Arizona Cardinals played really strong in my opinion and they seemed to surprise a lot of other viewers as well. And I gotta applaud the Pittsburgh Steelers, as they set some kind of a record (I think it was a conference-based one) with their sixth Super Bowl win!
One thing that sort of distracted me from the game was that I was feeling pretty sick-to-my stomach again, and it kept on bothering me throughout the week. It did not encourage me to eat much and as a result I probably lost quite a few pounds. After the meet, I lifted and rode on the stationary bike at Howard Community College's gym (where I started taking teaching certificate courses at again). On Wednesday, I ran having run three sets of brisk-to-harder-paced runs for about five-and-a-half minutes with about three minutes of rest in between. I figured if I was gonna get in a run, I would try and make it work me out. The rest of the days I had taken off because my stomach was not feeling well and I knew I was not eating as much as I should have.
There were two four-mile races I had wanted to do that weekend: The inaugural Chesapeake Bay Running Club's Trail Run #2 at the Calvert Cliffs State Park in Lusby (Calvert County), MD on the morning of Saturday, February 7 and then the Bear Run Four-Miler in the Pleasant Valley/Westminster area of Carroll County, MD at noon on Sunday, February 8. The Calvert Cliffs State Park race sounded interesting and then I've also been wanting to do the Bear Run for a couple of years now, because bears are one of my favorite animals (and some of my friends and family members know I can "be a bear" sometimes :)- Even though I was feeling sick-to-my stomach for a good amount of the week, I still saw fit to run the races, just not with many ambitious goals. I had run races feeling sick like I was in the past (and some of you know what I am talking about if you've read some of my earlier blog posts over the last year or two).
Saturday's race at Calvert Cliffs State Park was pretty rough, no matter how easy I wanted to take it out. It was an out-and-back course on trails, and I was thankful they were pretty clear, but they had some pretty sizeable rolling hills (not to mention a pretty lengthy downhill near the middle that we had to run back up once we turned around at this pretty little beach area by Calvert Cliffs). Even though we had to go up some steady uphills from the very start of the race, it was great to run down it at the end. I came to the race with Brian, one of my best friends, 'cause we were going to visit with some friends of ours in southern Maryland afterwards. Brian and I drove down and I had fun getting to introduce him to some of my running buddies and people I've seen at various races over the years. It was cool, almost like bringing a friend or a family member to where you work, only I tend to think of running and racing as more fun than work (well, in most cases anyway).
I felt like i started out this race pretty conservatively, even though I know I did not have much energy. Once I was a good ways into the woods on this fire trail (which we stayed on for a majority of the race) I felt like I had been running fora longer while, but my watch only read 5:50 and I knew that I had a longer way to go because my energy was beginning to wane quite a bit, and it was only a matter of time before I would start to feel more sick and tired. From there, I pretty much felt like I was huffing-and-puffing throughout most of the hilly race, with my stomach only bothering me here-and-there at the most (and it certainly could have been a lot worse). I went around the half-way point at about 13:12, and even though I could usually easily hold onto that pace ina race, I felt like Iw as pushing it, and I knew it was not just because of the more hilly course, but probably more from my lack of energy from not eating too much and of course from recent stomach problems. Still, God was faithful to get me through and to help me maintain my third-place position for a majority of the race all the way to when I dashed down the final hill out of the woods (and that's where I am at in the race in the photo above :) I finished in 27:31, a time I typically run or run faster than in my training runs, but I was grateful to finish and to have maintained position while I felt a fair amount of adversity within.
After that race, I felt pretty sick-to-my stomach, and it was no surprise, because it felt like quite an exertion, but God helped me tough it out as we went out to lunch at the Mexico Restaurant (where I hardly touched my soup) and then when we went to my friend's house to play games and hang out (and it's terrible to say that I had to "tough it out" during those times to wait to go home and sleep), but I wanted to see my friends and I knew Brian did too. Later that evening, some of us were going to go swing-dancing near Washington, D.C., but I was thinking of passing on that, though I as starting to feel a little better once I got back on the way, so I decided to go out swing dancing. I'm glad I went, because I had fun even though I felt a little tired.
The next day (Sunday, February 8, 2009), I felt a little better (stomach-wise). I did not feel like I had much energy, but I still wanted to do the Bear Run, even if I ended up having to jog it. This would be my first time doing that event (and from what I heard it actually sounded like one of the less hilly race courses in Carroll County, a county in Maryland where hills are plentiful as haystacks on a farm. I got to the race sporting my Hammond High School Class of 2002 long-sleeved t-shirt with a big bear picture on it (because our high school mascot was the Golden Bear),a nd I thoguht it fitting for the Bear Run. The weather was quite warm; well into the 50's I'd say, and I would have gladly worn a short-sleeved t-shirt, but I wanted to wear something with a bear on it to humor the race's name (which may have occurred near a "Bear Creek" or something like that). Anyway, Iwarmed up briefly and I felt like I was already tiring out, and I felt like going for another four miles would tucker me out, but I was confident that God would get me through, even if I did not run the best time for myself.
Once the race started it was no surprise that I was starting to huff-and-puff, but I knew that if I could get through the hilly four miles yesterday with my stomach bothering more than it was today, than my chances were good on getting through this out-and-back course that went through mostly open country roads (and the quaint small town area of Pleasant Valley at the beginning and end of the race too). I went through the first mile in about 6:28, which I thought was pretty fast for what I was doing. At the two-mile turn-around and water-stop, I was about about 13:17, several seconds slower than the previous day's two-mile split, however, the hills were not as long or tough on this course as the ones at Calvert Cliffs. Throughout a majority of this race, I had this song by the David Crowder Band ("Everything Glorious", some of the lyrics of the chorus of which I have posted in this blog entry's title and at the begining of the entry). I had heard that song the other morning on my way into work on a local Christian music station and since then it sorta stuck in my head in a rather uplifting sort of way. I knew that through Jesus Christ, I am glorious in God's eyes no matter how drained, sick, sluggish, or even frustrated I feel.
I think this helped me through the next two miles that seemed to take a lot longer. I slowed to about a 7:13 mile that third mile because I went through the 3-mile mark in about 20:30, which I think is about a 6:50-pace; a pace that if I kept up would put me at about 27:20, about 11 seconds faster than the 27:31 I had run the previous day. That, and the fact that the runners behind me were probably gaining on me and once they did, I probably would not have much energy to keep up with them, helped motivate me to pick it up towards the end. I could feel myself straining for the last three-quarters-of-a-mile or so, but I did not want to let up easily. I came around a bend int the road that curved to the left and I ran past this house where people were cheering us runners on. Then, I began to get up this steady uphill in front of me and I saw the buidlings and small shops of the town and I knew I was within a few minutes of finishing. Ahead in the distance I could see the Pleasant Valley Fire Hall, where the race started and ended, andthat helped me to maintain the pace. After topping a slight uphill (which felt challenging and taxing to me at that point), I knew I was done with the uphills, and then the course went downhill into the finish line, and I bolted down the hill and crusied through the finish line in 27:07, about 24 seconds faster than the previous day's four-miler. Praise God :) I could not believe that I finished faster on the second four-miler of the weekend than the first one (heck, I'm amazed I was able to find and do two four-milers in one weekend, since four-mile-distance running races seem to be no where near as common as 5-kilometer and 10-kilometer distance races). After that, I felt a little bit more hungry and a little less queasy. Monday, February 9 (the next day) I did an easy run for about 29:32 after I got off work at Centennial Park in Ellicott City (Howard County), MD, which has plenty of rolling hills, and I hoped I covered at least 3.5 miles thereabouts, because I intended for that to be my last run for a little while until I gain some weight back.
Let me back up a bit. The Friday before I did the race at Calvert Cliffs State Park (this is Friday, February 6), I had finally decied to see a doctor about these bouts of several-day-long queasiness that I have been experiencing several times over pretty much since around early September of 2008, and she thought I may have some stomach issue (probably aside from me having a sensitive stomach). I offered that perhaps this has been happening because I am beginning to realize that I am not eating enough compared to how much I have been working out and racing, and as a result I have been losing more weight than I am gaining (and I'm not trying to cast blame, but I would probably be eating more if I did not keep getting these stomach aches that discourage me from eating more). She thought that was probably affecting me, but there could possibly be more and it is worth looking into. God-willing, things will be okay and after this time off of running, I can regain fairer health and a healthier amount of weight before I start running.
Since Monday, I have not really worked out. Next week, I'd like to start lifting once or twice-a-week again. I don't think I'll burn as many calories doing this, yet boost my metabolism to hopefully stimulate more eating and plus one of my roommates mentioned that lifting also helps stengthen the immune system. I like to lift anyway to compliment my running, so this could hopefully serve as effective cross-training as well. I think I may stay back from other cario activities like biking, swimming, or anything that involves a lot of running. I'm not planning on ruling out on playing after-school pick-up games of volleyball with my co-workers after the work-day on Thursdays, but if I feel God telling me to do that, I will.
All right, thank you all for reading this. That's where I'm at now with my running (or lack thereof). However, at this point, I'm almost grateful for the break. It's not that I felt like I was really burning out or even injured, but my stomach probelms were draining me, as was an appparent lack of food and weight loss, and running/racing just is not that much fun for me with al that going on. Running (at least recreationally) has typically been energizing, but this past week or so it has seemed more draining. I'm not complaining at all about my recent runs or races, and I'm very grateful for how the Good Lord has helped me run what I've run, but I know that I was beginning to really wear down on my health and it just would have drained me more to the point where my running and racing would not have been thriving all that much, if at all. I'm confident I'm doing the right thing if I wanna run well, often, and healthy in the future. I'll keep you all posted, and I would most certainly appreciate any prayers on my behalf. Already, I'm feeling much better than last week with hardly any stomach problems and a much better appetite. I weighed myself yesterday and I was back over 140 pounds, so I think things are starting to look up more with that!
Thank you all and I wish you all a happy Valentine's Day. Have a blessed and enjoyable weekend :)
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
Well perhaps this post will make a bit more sense if I start from the beginning and cathc you up from about two weeks or so before now.
On Sunday, February 1, 2009 (this past Super Bowl Sunday), I made it to the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex in Landover (Prince George's County), MD for the all comers' indoor track & field meet that they were having there. It went nicely for the most part, although I felt a little sick-to-my stomach in the morning on the way there. I felt like I could not eat much either. Needless to say, I did not feel the most energized when I ran my first race of the meet: The one-mile.
I was hoping to break five minutes and even beat my best 1,600 meter time on this indoor track, which was 4:58.8 and my first time running under five minutes for that distance (a goal I had sought after for about two years :) I remember the evening I ran that; Wednesday, January 15, 2001... I was a senior in high school and I had just run an 800-meter split in the 4X800-meter relay/3,200-meter relay race earlier, and I had run 2:15, another personal best time for me at the time. I was also feeling sick that evening and a couple of days later I had been diagnosed with bronchitis and tonsilitis (and I think there was strept throat in there too). God is awesome in how He gets us through in excellent ways; His strength never fails in our weakness. I knew that this full mile was about 8 or 9 meters longer than 1,600 meters, hardly a second or two's different between 1,600 meters and a mile. I prefer to do the full mile, the ever-so-slightly longer of the two if I can.
Anyway, here are the splits of the one-mile that I remember. I'll just say that I could tell as I ran pretty much the same splits as the previous week (Sunday, January 25,2009) when I had run the mile here, that I did not have as much energy, but at least I had a nice finish:
lap 1 (of 8 laps) - :37
lap 2 - 1:14ish
lap 4 - 2:28ish
lap 6 - 3:49
lap 8 (finish) - 5:03.4 (I think this is mere milliseconds faster than the 5:03 I had run the previous week).
Even though I was at least several seconds slower than what I was going for, I was still happy with it considering I did not feel that strong until maybe the last quarter-mile or so, because I was able to finish that last 400-meter in about 1:14. However, not long after, I began to feel queasy again, and it felt more intense than before (and having run a mile race pretty hard probably did not help matters). Though, I did feel a little better afterwards and I was able to munch on some of my food and I decided to stick around for the 800-meter and the 3,200 meter.
The 800 meter came next; a four-lap race that is pretty much a half-a-mile. My best time on this track was 2:15 and I was pretty confident that so long as the heat I was in was not too crowded, I could probably get it (and of course if my stomach did not start bothering me again).
Here's how I ran below:
Lap 1 - :32
Lap 2/400 meters - 1:05 (not bad considering I ran 1:04 in the 400-meter race at this venue the previous week :)
Lap 3 - 1:38 (I can't remember the last time I broke 1:40 for 600 meters :)
Lap 4 (finish) - 2:12 (my best time on this track :)
I would have to say that that was my best race of the three that I ran that day. I had only been in the heat with about three or four other runners, so I had plenty of space, versus last week when I struggled to hit about 2:16/2:17 because the heat was so packed I felt like I spent most of the race just jockeying for position.
The final race I did was the 3,200 meter race, which is barely less than two miles in distance. I was hoping to break 11 minutes, because my best indoor track time was 11:10 from Saturday, December 27, 2008 at the Mountain Express Indoor Track and Field Invitational at Hagerstown Community College in Hagerstown (Washington County), MD, and also my best time at this particular bvenue was 11:24 from late January of 2008. Here are the splits that I remember hitting in this race (and I apologize that I can't remember them all):
Lap 4 - 2:40/2:41ish
Lap 8 - 5:28
Lap 12 - 8:26
Lap 15 (3,000 meters) - 10:37 (my best 3,000 meter time at this venue :)
Lap 16 (finish) - 11:16 (my best time at this venue :)
I didn't break 11 minutes here, but at least I ran my personal best times-to-date for the 3,000 and 3,200 meter distances at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex (and I take note of the 3,000 because sometimes they have the 3,000 meter race at this venue as well as at quite a few other indoor track & field meets). I came away from there feeling pretty happy (and quite a bit hungry too :)
Later on, I went over to my friend Tommy's with one of my other friends for the evening to watch the Super Bowl. It was certainly an intense game and I enjoyed it as well as the commercials. I would have liked for a different outcome, but even though, the Arizona Cardinals played really strong in my opinion and they seemed to surprise a lot of other viewers as well. And I gotta applaud the Pittsburgh Steelers, as they set some kind of a record (I think it was a conference-based one) with their sixth Super Bowl win!
One thing that sort of distracted me from the game was that I was feeling pretty sick-to-my stomach again, and it kept on bothering me throughout the week. It did not encourage me to eat much and as a result I probably lost quite a few pounds. After the meet, I lifted and rode on the stationary bike at Howard Community College's gym (where I started taking teaching certificate courses at again). On Wednesday, I ran having run three sets of brisk-to-harder-paced runs for about five-and-a-half minutes with about three minutes of rest in between. I figured if I was gonna get in a run, I would try and make it work me out. The rest of the days I had taken off because my stomach was not feeling well and I knew I was not eating as much as I should have.
There were two four-mile races I had wanted to do that weekend: The inaugural Chesapeake Bay Running Club's Trail Run #2 at the Calvert Cliffs State Park in Lusby (Calvert County), MD on the morning of Saturday, February 7 and then the Bear Run Four-Miler in the Pleasant Valley/Westminster area of Carroll County, MD at noon on Sunday, February 8. The Calvert Cliffs State Park race sounded interesting and then I've also been wanting to do the Bear Run for a couple of years now, because bears are one of my favorite animals (and some of my friends and family members know I can "be a bear" sometimes :)- Even though I was feeling sick-to-my stomach for a good amount of the week, I still saw fit to run the races, just not with many ambitious goals. I had run races feeling sick like I was in the past (and some of you know what I am talking about if you've read some of my earlier blog posts over the last year or two).
Saturday's race at Calvert Cliffs State Park was pretty rough, no matter how easy I wanted to take it out. It was an out-and-back course on trails, and I was thankful they were pretty clear, but they had some pretty sizeable rolling hills (not to mention a pretty lengthy downhill near the middle that we had to run back up once we turned around at this pretty little beach area by Calvert Cliffs). Even though we had to go up some steady uphills from the very start of the race, it was great to run down it at the end. I came to the race with Brian, one of my best friends, 'cause we were going to visit with some friends of ours in southern Maryland afterwards. Brian and I drove down and I had fun getting to introduce him to some of my running buddies and people I've seen at various races over the years. It was cool, almost like bringing a friend or a family member to where you work, only I tend to think of running and racing as more fun than work (well, in most cases anyway).
I felt like i started out this race pretty conservatively, even though I know I did not have much energy. Once I was a good ways into the woods on this fire trail (which we stayed on for a majority of the race) I felt like I had been running fora longer while, but my watch only read 5:50 and I knew that I had a longer way to go because my energy was beginning to wane quite a bit, and it was only a matter of time before I would start to feel more sick and tired. From there, I pretty much felt like I was huffing-and-puffing throughout most of the hilly race, with my stomach only bothering me here-and-there at the most (and it certainly could have been a lot worse). I went around the half-way point at about 13:12, and even though I could usually easily hold onto that pace ina race, I felt like Iw as pushing it, and I knew it was not just because of the more hilly course, but probably more from my lack of energy from not eating too much and of course from recent stomach problems. Still, God was faithful to get me through and to help me maintain my third-place position for a majority of the race all the way to when I dashed down the final hill out of the woods (and that's where I am at in the race in the photo above :) I finished in 27:31, a time I typically run or run faster than in my training runs, but I was grateful to finish and to have maintained position while I felt a fair amount of adversity within.
After that race, I felt pretty sick-to-my stomach, and it was no surprise, because it felt like quite an exertion, but God helped me tough it out as we went out to lunch at the Mexico Restaurant (where I hardly touched my soup) and then when we went to my friend's house to play games and hang out (and it's terrible to say that I had to "tough it out" during those times to wait to go home and sleep), but I wanted to see my friends and I knew Brian did too. Later that evening, some of us were going to go swing-dancing near Washington, D.C., but I was thinking of passing on that, though I as starting to feel a little better once I got back on the way, so I decided to go out swing dancing. I'm glad I went, because I had fun even though I felt a little tired.
The next day (Sunday, February 8, 2009), I felt a little better (stomach-wise). I did not feel like I had much energy, but I still wanted to do the Bear Run, even if I ended up having to jog it. This would be my first time doing that event (and from what I heard it actually sounded like one of the less hilly race courses in Carroll County, a county in Maryland where hills are plentiful as haystacks on a farm. I got to the race sporting my Hammond High School Class of 2002 long-sleeved t-shirt with a big bear picture on it (because our high school mascot was the Golden Bear),a nd I thoguht it fitting for the Bear Run. The weather was quite warm; well into the 50's I'd say, and I would have gladly worn a short-sleeved t-shirt, but I wanted to wear something with a bear on it to humor the race's name (which may have occurred near a "Bear Creek" or something like that). Anyway, Iwarmed up briefly and I felt like I was already tiring out, and I felt like going for another four miles would tucker me out, but I was confident that God would get me through, even if I did not run the best time for myself.
Once the race started it was no surprise that I was starting to huff-and-puff, but I knew that if I could get through the hilly four miles yesterday with my stomach bothering more than it was today, than my chances were good on getting through this out-and-back course that went through mostly open country roads (and the quaint small town area of Pleasant Valley at the beginning and end of the race too). I went through the first mile in about 6:28, which I thought was pretty fast for what I was doing. At the two-mile turn-around and water-stop, I was about about 13:17, several seconds slower than the previous day's two-mile split, however, the hills were not as long or tough on this course as the ones at Calvert Cliffs. Throughout a majority of this race, I had this song by the David Crowder Band ("Everything Glorious", some of the lyrics of the chorus of which I have posted in this blog entry's title and at the begining of the entry). I had heard that song the other morning on my way into work on a local Christian music station and since then it sorta stuck in my head in a rather uplifting sort of way. I knew that through Jesus Christ, I am glorious in God's eyes no matter how drained, sick, sluggish, or even frustrated I feel.
I think this helped me through the next two miles that seemed to take a lot longer. I slowed to about a 7:13 mile that third mile because I went through the 3-mile mark in about 20:30, which I think is about a 6:50-pace; a pace that if I kept up would put me at about 27:20, about 11 seconds faster than the 27:31 I had run the previous day. That, and the fact that the runners behind me were probably gaining on me and once they did, I probably would not have much energy to keep up with them, helped motivate me to pick it up towards the end. I could feel myself straining for the last three-quarters-of-a-mile or so, but I did not want to let up easily. I came around a bend int the road that curved to the left and I ran past this house where people were cheering us runners on. Then, I began to get up this steady uphill in front of me and I saw the buidlings and small shops of the town and I knew I was within a few minutes of finishing. Ahead in the distance I could see the Pleasant Valley Fire Hall, where the race started and ended, andthat helped me to maintain the pace. After topping a slight uphill (which felt challenging and taxing to me at that point), I knew I was done with the uphills, and then the course went downhill into the finish line, and I bolted down the hill and crusied through the finish line in 27:07, about 24 seconds faster than the previous day's four-miler. Praise God :) I could not believe that I finished faster on the second four-miler of the weekend than the first one (heck, I'm amazed I was able to find and do two four-milers in one weekend, since four-mile-distance running races seem to be no where near as common as 5-kilometer and 10-kilometer distance races). After that, I felt a little bit more hungry and a little less queasy. Monday, February 9 (the next day) I did an easy run for about 29:32 after I got off work at Centennial Park in Ellicott City (Howard County), MD, which has plenty of rolling hills, and I hoped I covered at least 3.5 miles thereabouts, because I intended for that to be my last run for a little while until I gain some weight back.
Let me back up a bit. The Friday before I did the race at Calvert Cliffs State Park (this is Friday, February 6), I had finally decied to see a doctor about these bouts of several-day-long queasiness that I have been experiencing several times over pretty much since around early September of 2008, and she thought I may have some stomach issue (probably aside from me having a sensitive stomach). I offered that perhaps this has been happening because I am beginning to realize that I am not eating enough compared to how much I have been working out and racing, and as a result I have been losing more weight than I am gaining (and I'm not trying to cast blame, but I would probably be eating more if I did not keep getting these stomach aches that discourage me from eating more). She thought that was probably affecting me, but there could possibly be more and it is worth looking into. God-willing, things will be okay and after this time off of running, I can regain fairer health and a healthier amount of weight before I start running.
Since Monday, I have not really worked out. Next week, I'd like to start lifting once or twice-a-week again. I don't think I'll burn as many calories doing this, yet boost my metabolism to hopefully stimulate more eating and plus one of my roommates mentioned that lifting also helps stengthen the immune system. I like to lift anyway to compliment my running, so this could hopefully serve as effective cross-training as well. I think I may stay back from other cario activities like biking, swimming, or anything that involves a lot of running. I'm not planning on ruling out on playing after-school pick-up games of volleyball with my co-workers after the work-day on Thursdays, but if I feel God telling me to do that, I will.
All right, thank you all for reading this. That's where I'm at now with my running (or lack thereof). However, at this point, I'm almost grateful for the break. It's not that I felt like I was really burning out or even injured, but my stomach probelms were draining me, as was an appparent lack of food and weight loss, and running/racing just is not that much fun for me with al that going on. Running (at least recreationally) has typically been energizing, but this past week or so it has seemed more draining. I'm not complaining at all about my recent runs or races, and I'm very grateful for how the Good Lord has helped me run what I've run, but I know that I was beginning to really wear down on my health and it just would have drained me more to the point where my running and racing would not have been thriving all that much, if at all. I'm confident I'm doing the right thing if I wanna run well, often, and healthy in the future. I'll keep you all posted, and I would most certainly appreciate any prayers on my behalf. Already, I'm feeling much better than last week with hardly any stomach problems and a much better appetite. I weighed myself yesterday and I was back over 140 pounds, so I think things are starting to look up more with that!
Thank you all and I wish you all a happy Valentine's Day. Have a blessed and enjoyable weekend :)
Running Events I have done as of Sunday, February 15, 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
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