Update of the last few races

My buddy Chris took this photo of me after finishing the 4th Annual Marriotts Ridge High School Mustang Stampede 5K in Marriottsville (Howard County), Maryland on Sunday, March 29, 2009

Hey there everyone; it's been over a week since I've posted and since then I've done three 5-kilometer (approximately 3.1 miles) races. The first one of these I did was a mere few days after I had that stomach bug, and it was the first annual Break-in the Bypass 5K Run in the Greenmount/Hampstead area of Carroll County, Maryland on Sunday, March 22. I was going for low 21's, maybe mid-20's, and I was blessed to have done quite better. It had some fairly challenging, gradual hills on the open out-and-back course. I went through the first mile in 6:06, which surprisingly did not feel as hard as I thought it would. I slowed to about 9:56 at the half-way turn-around point. However, there was a nice downhill just after this turn-around and it helped me keep up a great momentum, and I ended up running a little faster the second half to finish in about 19:42 (the clock got me at 19:46, and I expected that since I started about four seconds late since I started a little later than I meant too, 'cause I started in the middle of the pack and I was not really paying as much attention as I should have to the race start :)- The post-race was fun; I saw a few friends and got to catch up with them. It was a nice come-back race from a stomach bug as well as my first 5K run in almost two months.

The next Saturday (March 28, 2009 I ran another race in southern Maryland: The 4th Annual "Keep Your Colon Rollin' 5K" at a new location at the Jefferson Patterson Park in Saint Leonard (Calvert County), Maryland. The evening before, I went out with my roommates to a new local Mexican restaurant in Baltimore County, MD and the food went down fairly well (it had been one of my first times in a while I've had Mexican food; I tried an inexpensive torta and it was delicious). However, the next morning I had like four bowel movements before the start of the race. I won't go into anymore detail about it, but it was not diarrhea and I was not feeling sick. In fact, I think it was definitely better for me to get that out of my system. Needless to say, my "colon was already rollin' pretty good" by the time I got to the "Keep Your Colon Rollin' 5K" :)-
This race was on a cross country country course with various terrains (in fact, according to one person, the terrain changed six times just within the first mile. Well after the running through that first mile in about 6:09 and fighting to keep my balance through some of it, I believed them.
I remember starting off on a field, going onto a paved footpath briefly, and then coming into a pretty muddy section of the field, and then there were some dirt trails too I think just before the first mile mark. Then, I think shortly after the one-mile, we ran through the sand briefly on this beach and crossed over this small wooden bridge. That was one of my favorite parts of the race, just because of the scenery.
Not long after the beach, there were some fairly short, but somewhat challenging hills. This one hill in particular was a lot of fun going down it towards the water, but just after the turn-around at the bottom, coming back up it was pretty tiring. After that, we ran straight along this field, which was kind of weird because it was sloping to my left and I felt like I was kinda running sideways. I didn't realize it (or maybe I did and I just don't remember it), but apparently I ran by a cannon around this point, because I checked the website for the Calvert County Health Department (http://www.calverthealth.org) and it showed a photo of me running by it while I was checking my watch. And on that note, as this stretch of field gradually descended downwards, I went through two miles in about 12:39, which was a little slower than I wanted to be because I was trying to break 19:30, and for a 5-kilometer (approximately 3.1-mile distance), it takes about a 6:17-per-mile pace to do that and I was going at about a 6:19 pace. It was a bit of a slow-up from the 6:09 pace I went out at, but at that point I was just getting ready to finish. Though, I knew that if I stayed under a 6;20 pace, I would finish out a little faster than teh 19:42 I had run the previous Sunday at the Break-in the Bypass 5K in Carroll County, MD. However, I felt that my energy was beginning to wane. Fortunately, my buddy Perry was catching up to me and this helped motivate me to keep pushing. Not long after the second mile, like fourteen minutes-and-some-odd seconds into the race, we ran close to the finish area and I thought that maybe the course was way short, but the course kept going around that field we ran through near the beginning... The one with the slippery mud where I almost fell like at least three times!
Well, as I ran around this field, I knew I was getting closer to the finish. I felt a bit frustrated and anxious as I tried to pick it up, but I could not seem to speed up as the slippery mud seemed to mess up my momentum. Fortunately, I got through this section of the field without taking a face plant, and once I made a right turn back onto that paved path we ran on at the beginning of the race, I was able to pick up the pace a little bit again (even though I was pretty tired trying to hold my balance while running through some of the more challenging parts of the course). Towards the end of the path, I went through two miles in about 19:02, and I knew if I really worked at kicking it in, I could beat last week's 19:42, and as I made a left onto the field with the finish line on the other side of it, I dashed across it, hoping and probably praying that I would not fall and I crossed the finish line in 19;35. I was pretty happy with that time and that I had run about seven seconds faster than last week on a fairly challenging cross country course (well mainly challenging because of the wet conditions). And wouldn't you know it, I don't think I was having quite as many bowel movements for the rest of the day than what I had that morning (if any). I guess that "Keep Your Colon Rollin'" kept my colon from rollin' a bit too much :)-
I really liked that course despite how slippery it was in some areas. I'm glad I was able to run like I did, and Perry ran well too after two or three weekends in a row of running one-to-two races with a couple of marathons thrown in. There was a barn building we all hung out in before and after the race, and I thought it was a nice place, and the park seemed pretty with a great view of the water right near by (and it was overcast also).

The next morning (Sunday, March 29, 2009) I woke up and had a few bowel movements (maybe it has been because of my recent stomach issues, recent running activity, diet/the recent Mexican food, who knows) before going to Marriottsville (Howard County), MD for the Fourth Annual Marriotts Ridge High School Mustang Stampede 5K Run that started and ended around Marriotts Ridge High School. This was my first time running this race, and while I would typically expect the rural area of western Howard County to be rather hilly, it was not nearly as hilly as I thought it was. In fact, this looped course was rather conducive to running great times, even though it was damp, overcast, cool, and sprinkly. All-in-all, I thought the running conditions were all right and no one was seriously injured that I noticed. Plus, the course was on roads versus multiple terrain like the previous day's Keep Your Colon Rollin' 5K.
I came to the race feeling tired from not sleeping as much as I wanted too, the previous day's race, as well as probably a little bit from the three bowel movements I had earlier that morning (again I was not feeling sick, I just had to go to the bathroom a lot). I had somewhat faint hopes of running under 19:30, but if that didn't work out, I was not going to sweat it 'cause I was plenty pleased with my race at the Keep Your Colon Rollin' 5K (and not to mention that pace from the second mile was even, and if not, I picked it up a little bit).
The race started on Marriotts Ridge High School's outdoor track, then out into the parking lot, and soon out onto Highway 99/Old Frederick Road that runs right past the school. Pretty much a majority of the race was on a loop of these country roads. This first mile had a couple of steady uphills at least, and a good amount of downhills and flat areas. I was surprised that I hit about 5:54 for the first mile, as this was my first sub-six-minute mile I've run since I started back running earlier on in March. Though, I was even more pleasantly surprised when the second mile (which hardly had any uphills if any) had a lot of steady downhills and I ran my second mile faster than my first to go through two miles in about 11:36. I was encouraged by this, knowing that there were going to be some steady uphills coming back towards Marriotts Ridge High School in the third mile. Indeed there were a few, but it was not as bad. As I made a right towards the parking lot of the high school, I was praying that God would help me maintain, and He did as I went through three miles probably in the low-to-mid 17:40's and finished in 18:24, my first sub-19-minute and sub-6-minute-per-mile-paced 5K of 2009! I was definitely not expecting that so soon after getting back into running earlier in the month, and it is neat 'cause it takes about a 5:56 pace to hit 18:24 for about 3.1 miles, and since I went through the first mile in about 5:54, my average pace-per-mile was barely slower than what I went out at. I thought that it would be a slimmer chance to break 19:30, and instead I ran under 18:30, over a minute faster than yesterday :) God is amazing in how He works through us and does not allow our weaknesses to get in the way of Him strengthening us :)
In addition, the Mustang Stampede 5K was significant, because as of this race I can now say that I've run a race at or in the vicinity of every public comprehensive high school in Howard County, Maryland (there are 12 in this county, with Marriotts Ridge High School being the newest, and the other 11 being: Atholton, Centennial, Hammond, Howard, Glenelg, Long Reach, Mt. Hebron, Oakland Mills, Reservoir, River Hill, and Wilde Lake). I was not trying to go after that goal, but after years of running in different high school cross country and track meets as a student and runner for Hammond High School, I guess sooner or later I would end up doing races in the vicinity of these schools if I just kept it up. I'm grateful that I ran so well for my level of fitness, in running a race at the only Howard County public comprehensive school I had not run at or near before :)

Next race I hope to do is this Saturday, April 4, 2009 on the Maryland Eastern Shore in Kent County. I'm hoping to make it to the 28th Annual Stillpond-to-Betterton Tree Run. This race is a unique distance of about 3.6 miles, and apparently you start in Stillpond and end at Betterton Beach. I've never done it before, and am looking forward to givin' it a shot :)

Hopefully I can make it to that race. I have that endoscopy that I think I've mentioned before; it's a scan/test in relation to my recent stomach... issues. My health has been holdin' out pretty nicely since I had that stomach bug the other week. This test should be interesting, as they are going to put me to sleep. I don't believe I have ever been given any kind of anaesthesia that has put me to sleep, though I suppose there is a first time for everything, like the first time I ran races in some of the counties I ran in when I first got interested in trying to run one in every Maryland county ;)

Thank you for reading and for praying for me. I hope that this procedure goes well and that I can make it to and through the Stillpond-to-Betterton Tree Run, and do some other things I have coming up in the near future (which I hope to mention in the near future). I gotta get rollin' to the doctor's office now for the endoscopy. Thank you all again for stopping by and God bless :)

Controversial newspaper article; your ideas are certainly welcome!

Hey there everyone, I am feeling a little bit better today compared to yesterday. I am actually able to sleep decently after a nice nap, and I'm able to stomach more of my "jail bird" diet of water, crackers, bread, and now I've thrown in dry cereal as well as ginger ale of course. Thank you all for praying for me for those of you who have been!
On the note of prayer and spirituality, almost a month ago I came across a letter-to-the-editor in the Columbia Flier; a local newspaper from where I grew up in Howard County, Maryland. This particular letter-to-the-editor article is from teh Thursday, February 26, 2009 edition and it is in reference to the Road Runners Club of America Ten-Mile Club Challenge road race that I've done in the past and that I helped out at a little bit this year on Sunday, February 22. The person writing the letter appeared to be frustrated with the fact that the race route got in the way of church traffic. I think you can see why this interests me as a Christian and an avid runner/racer. Below is my re-typed version of this article, verbatim:

"Police, runners disrespectful of sabbath and church-goers"

"I can't express strongly enough the rage I felt on Sunday morning toward the runners and the planners of the running event that took place along Owen Brown Road Sunday, with their profound disrespect for Christianity. Worse yet, the Howard County Police were blocking traffic, keeping drivers from getting to church and giving runners' safety higher priority.
This outrage has happened many times before in Howard County, with public roads wrongly blocked for runners. It is wrong when there are perfectly good tracks for runnign or sidewalks and paths to use. Roadsare meant for vehicles and it is wrong to keep drivers from reaching their church witht he wrongful help of the Howard County Police. IT is a misuse of police resources.
Howard County puts out signs that say "Choose Civility," but I guess those are just empty words when runners fail to keep the Christian Sabbath holy! I don't like going to church feeling angry and wanting to smite all of those involved. Sure, I am supposed to love my enemy, but that isn't easy to do when you feel that you've been wronged intentionally. At the very least, planners should not route runners past churches on Sunday."


Strong words from an empassioned Christian. I definitely commend the gentleman who wrote this for expressing his views, however, after reading this and coming to my own conclusions I found that based on my experience with this particular event as well as other Sunday morning races, I disagreed on some points with this gentleman, I agreed on a couple of other things and came up with a couple of ideas that could help remedy the situation a bit (even though I have nothing to do with directing this race), and I felt a little bit convicted too. Here's what I have to say.

First, I would agree that it is unfortunate that traffic going to churches (or anywhere in general) had to be slowed/re-routed due to the race; that's just what happens with these kinds of events. I also think it was worthwhile to point out that there are sidewalks and bike paths for runners to use locally, though of course with this particular event of ten miles, roads had to be used as well (especially during the first couple of miles with the Owen Brown Road that he mentioned).

Now the most significant point in this letter that I disagree with right off was his opening statement and anything similar throughout the article that said that the runners and planners of this 10-mile race wree disrespecting Christianity profoundly. Apparently we were not being civil, perhaps we are trying to become "enemies" and actively working against Christianity (well that 's what the writer was suggesting). I can say from experience of running Sunday morning races for years before and after I came to Jesus Christ and was saved, that I have never been to a running event on Sunday morning that was scheduled just to thwart Christianity and aggravate its followers; I guess it just happens to fall on a Sunday for whatever reason. I tell you, if I ever did come across a "Run against Christianity 10K" or a "Let's mess up church traffic 5K"; I would use their race flyers as toilet paper. However, like I said, that is not the intention of those Sunday races I've been too; the Road Runners Club of America Ten-Mile Club Challenge being no exception. That race in particular has been going on for years; being one of Maryland's more popular races and drawing people from all over Maryland and beyond! That being a larger race, it's harder to have it confined to sidewalks and bike paths, which is unfortunate for the whole runner-traffic dynamic.

I know that some of the people who participated in this event are Christians as well. One of my buddies took a shower in the Howard Community College where the race starts and ends, and was dressed in his Sunday best. Another woman I met earlier that morning while help out at one of the water stops actually told me she was going to church after the race. As for me personally, I tend to go to a young adult service (it's called Fusion) on Sunday evenings, so it's great I can do that in addition to doing Sunday races. Also, my church has a service later on Sunday mornings, so I have options. However, I know it is not like that for everyone, and for me personally, more often than not, if I attended church with only an early morning service option and it conflicted with a lot of the races, I would probably attend the church more often. Of course, I'm not gonna lie and pretend that I would not pass up church for the occasional Sunday morning race that appears really interesting to me. Though, I'm not gonna judge other Christians who would pass up church every now and then for a Sunday morning race or other significant events; it's their decision. Sometimes things come up and I feel that God blesses people with certain interests, abilities, and passions to glorify Him (such as with running), it's just important not to let that come between you and Him (a rather simple lesson that I've been learning a lot recently). Also, God loved us that He sent Jesus Christ to take our punishment for our sinful nature and actions; a sacrifice in our place we did not deserve. This was an act of saving grace to bring us back to God in the perfection of His Son, Jesus, who took our place. There was nothing we could have done to earn this; no ritual or sacrifices we could have brought to escape God's judgement on us for our sins. He sent His perfect Son, Jesus, so that His perfection could take the place of our iniquity and imperfections, and we could be seen by God as purified and holy, while Jesus took on our sins and bore our punishment for us on the Cross. Fortunately, a few days later , He rose again from the grave and is alive. Therefore, we are saved by grace of a living and active Savior, and not by our actions or activities (such as how often we go to church or how many different Bible studies we go too). Also, it does not matter how how fast you run, or how successful you are at your job, or how much you excel in your vocation, at least as far as salvation is concerned: What matters most is that God loves us, and our need for redemption being met for us in sending Jesus Christ out of His love for us and His desire to see us made right with Him.
I am definitely not discouraging people from going to church or Bible studies, possibly even from going more than once a day or once a week, but I think that if on occasion you miss those kinds of things for other things, it does not change the fact that god is in control, He is in love with us, and what He has done for us out of that love. I think church and fellowship are mighty important, and I think that every believer should at least be involved in some form of fellowship to hear the Gospel being preached, understand the Word, and grow in general through teaching and fellowship with other believers. That's my personal conviction, but that's why I do not hold it against others who may not go to church everyday for one reason or another.

One final thing that stuck out to me as a little strange was the last sentence in the first paragraph that reads, "Worse yet, the Howard County Police were blocking traffic, keeping drivers from getting to church and giving runners' safety higher priority." I may be mistaken, but I think it's the police's main duty in an event like a running race to prioritize the safety of the participants. However, if an emergence vehicle had to get through on this race course, the participants should give them the right-of-way. I think maybe what he was getting at was that since there are tracks, sidewalks, and bike paths to run on, runners in a race should not run on the roads, and therefore there should be no use of the police on the roads, so that the police could be better used elsewhere to avoid a "misuse of police resources" as the writer put it.

Now, the one thing I felt convicted about was the part towards the end of the article in keeping the Christian Sabbath holy. You know what, God wants us to be keep it holy adn I'll be the first to admit that I don't for so many reasons and in so many ways. I do homework on Sundays, I do yardwork on Sundays, and of course I do races on Sundays, just to name a few. However, the way I justify doing that is that sometimes Sundays are the only times I can get those things done (especially when it involves helping others), and sometimes if I don't, I'll have problems on my hands and it will make the rest of the week a lot more hectic and difficult because I put off doing things or errands that I could have gotten done on sunday. As for running, while it is hard work physically on the body, I usually find it fun and I would choose to go run or do a race over a lot of other things I could be doing in my freetime, so I don't look at it as "labor" so much as I do "diversion", and of course I hope to glorify God with all that He has given me in my health, abilities, and passions!. On sundays I have spent quiet time with God and been to church often, so it's not like I completely block Him out either; I'll just admit that I probably do not honor the Sabbath like I could and I see this as an opportunity for me to check out what the Bible says on it and learn some new things. As for running, while it is hard work physically on the body, I usually find it fun and I would choose to go run or do a race over a lot of other things I could be doing in my free time, so I don't look at it as "labor" so much as I do "diversion", and of course I hope to glorify God with all that He has given me in my health, abilities, and passions.


Finally, here are a couple of solutions/things that I've questioned that I've thought of. These could very well have been thought of, questioned, or brought up before, but I'm gonna write it anyway.


- First, and probably a more obvious thing that this has led me to question is why can't this race just be on Saturday? I know for years that this race seems to fall on Sundays; I don't know if there is a special reason for it. If this race was moved to a Saturday, I would certainly encourage and support that, because that way it can draw more participants who would pass up on the race to go to church on Sudnay, and it would not get in the way of Sunday morning church traffic either. Also, I may not be an expert on this, but growing up in Columbia and being with the Howard County Striders for the almost twelve years that I have been running, I can't think of any other local running event that occurs around the same time as this 10-miler that would conflict with it/divert interest away from it, if it got moved to a Saturday. To be honest, I don't think it would hurt my feelings at all if Sunday races were all moved to Saturday (even though it would have made things extremely difficult with my recent endeavors to run in running events in every county of Maryland and to do over a hundred of said events in a year, 'cause I definitely have been known to run a race on both days of the weekend). Anyway, I think that is a simple and obvious solution to the problem.
Of course, there is probably a reason why moving it to Saturday would not work (or did not work if it had been done in the past). There are probably other groups who would be offended if it were to be on Saturday instead of sunday, because it may conflict with other kinds of traffic. I dunno, maybe I'm being over-analytical. I just think if it is the Sunday morning church commuters who have an issue with it, I think it would be an easier fix to move it on Saturday (not to mention if it was moved to Saturday, runners and staff at the event could have Sunday to relax/recover before entering a busy school or work week). One terrific thing I like about the Howard County Striders is that they have Sunday "weekly series" races during the fall, winter, and spring, and I grew up doing them. However, these occur on Sunday afternoon, so as not to conflict with much church or other religious services. Who knows, maybe making this 10-miler a Sunday afternoon event may not be that bad of an idea either.


- Another solution that I think could work (if it has not been done already), is to notify churches and other places along the route about the race very FAR in advance, adn to let them know to let the commuters coming to their buildings know that they should expect some delays in getting to those places because of the event. That way, the commuters can plan to leave and get to their destination earlier, possibly even before the race starts (or take an alternate route). This puts the onus on the race staff to make sure they are properly coordinating with the local community, and on the leaders of organizations (like churches) to warn their members ahead of time to plan ahead to try and leave earlier or take another route. I am sure this is done to some degree already.

All right, thank you for stopping by and reading this post. I would actually like to know what you all think when you get a chance. You can leave a comment here or send me an e-mail at: noahwood@juno.com
I am very interested in hearing what you have to say if you'd like to volunteer any comments as well as just different perspectives in general. You don't have to agree or disagree with anything I've said; I just want to hear some different takes on it, 'cause I think I may even be able to benefit and learn something from it. I typically am not into all this controversial stuff, but when I see these two things that I feel really passionate about coming into contention, it definitely gets me thinking. I'm not gonna lie, I felt a bit outraged when first reading this article and the writer seemed to accuse the runners of actively disrespecting Christianity, while I knew that was not their motives (well I'm sure at least for most of them). However, I do respect him for bringing it up nonetheless, because it did lead me to question some things to see how this situation can be made better through doing things like maybe making the race on Saturday instead of Sunday. Ever since I saw that article in the paper, I knew it would be worthy material for this blog. Running is important to me, and so is church/fellowship, and I know people from each camp (some are involved in both like myself), and I feel this gives me a little more confidence in speaking my mind about it. Over all this, God is the best and in charge, and ultimately Him, His Kingdom, and His love are much greater than this and will prevail :)

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day :)

Pennsylvania trip was fun!

Crack around Highway 61 in Centralia, Pennsylvania, cause by horrific underground mine fires in the early 1960's. Photo taken from http://www.offroaders.com/album/centralia/the-story.htm

Hey there everyone; I hope everyone is well and staying healthy. I actually seem to have a bit of a stomach bug today and since I seem to be feeling a little bit better than I was before, I figured I'd use some time to update (afterall, I requested to take a sick day tomorrow at work, 'cause it's been my experience with these stomach viruses that they can take a while to thoroughly recover from). It's funny to think that a little over two years ago (Wednesday, March 14 into the morning of Thursday, March 15, 2007), I was sick where I was throwing up a couple of times (probably from food poisoning). I remember feeling prety sick and demoralzed from thinking I could ever run strong again; however, God had other and better plans, and a couple of days later I was running pretty well and then about a week-and-a-half later, I ran the Inaugural Race to Impact 10K along the Cross-Island Trail in Queen Anne's County, Maryland on Saturday, March 24, 2007, and event that helped set off a series of events that got me to set up this blog on attempts to run in running events in every county of Maryland. And to think just a short while before I thought I would not recover from that illness. That helped keep me motivated as I am sick in a fairly similar way this time around, and I feel God's comfort and Him helping me to recovery. In other words, I feel much more encouraged this time around. I just hope this is actually a stomach flu thing and not that my stomach issues that I've been getting tested are getting worse. We'll see how that goes.

I did make it up to and from Centralia (Columbia County), Pennsylvania this weekend for my first time. I was interested in seeing the town because it has the reputation for being a "ghost town" as a result of mass evacuations from horrible underground mine fires that started accidentally in the early 1960's (this area of the state is apparently big with anthracite mining, or at least it was at one time). There are now about 13 residents in the town according to one of the friendly locals I met there. Still some tourists pass through it as well, even though some of the steam coming up from holes in the ground from the constantly burning fire can be gaseous. I was blessed to have made it to, through, and back just fine (well so far anyway).

I first heard about Centralia several months back through the fictitious horror movie, "Silent Hill", which takes place in a town called Silent Hill, West Virginia. I actually liked the movie to some extent and I thought it would be cool to see where Silent Hill actually was in West Virginia, so that may be I could do a race around there sometime.  Of course I found out that Silent Hill was merely a fictitious town. However, it was based off of Centralia, Pennsylvania with the tragic mine fires (in the "Silent Hill" movie, the mine fires helped make Silent Hill the ghost town that it was :)- Needless to say, I was grateful to have a bit of time to myself this time around and go visit.

Before I headed towards this more central area of Pennsylvania, I stopped off in Lancaster (Lancaster County), Pennsylvania to run in this race called the Run4Luck Four-Mile Run (I figured hey, I might as well try to stay true to one of my favorite hobbies en route Centralia, which I'll admit I was nervous about visiting because of the gases from the fires). Anyway, I was hoping to do under 29 minutes for this fairly hilly course that went through mostly rural neighborhoods. However, I was blessed with a pretty nice race for me coming back into shape. I went through two miles in about 13:35, 3 miles in 20:20, and then finished the four miles in 26:51, faster than the 27:31 and the 27:07 I ran in those two 4 milers in Calvert County, MD and Carroll County, MD, respectively, before I took a bit of a break from running in February. I was pretty happy with that to say the least, especially since it looks like I ran the second half a bit faster than the first (since keeping up the 13:35 for two miles would have put me at about 27:10 for four miles). I was cramping up a bit, and without that and if I had been in better shape, I could have certainly run a much stronger time, but I'm certainly happy with that. I had no idea that I would do 4 miles that well at this point, because when I had my first run back on Centennial High School's track almost two weeks ago in Ellicott City (Howard County), Maryland, I ran the first mile of that approximately 2.5-mile distance in about 6:49, and before this four-mile race, that could have very well been my fastest mile (and for four miles, running that distance in 26:51 means averaging about 6:42/6:43-per-mile. Talk about an improvement over my first run back :) The Lancaster area of Pennsylvania is also apparently noted for its Amish culture, which I have taken a recent interest in, and that's why I thought it was great to run a race in that particular area as I've never done one in Lancaster County before (don't worry, I'm not trying to do a race in every Pennsylvania county... At least not now).

Not long after the race I hung around, mingled, met a few new people, and then headed off to Centralia. When I got there, I parked outside one of the three cemeteries around there, and I saw the occasional tourist checking it out. I met people there from New York, Washington D.C., and other places who came to check it out (probably among other things). I went running through what appeared to be the main drag of the town (Route 61). It was pretty hilly and silent (heh, "Silent Hill" perhaps :)- I ran up this quiet hill towards this Roman Catholic church (or maybe it was just Catholic, and I think it was called St. Marry's, and it was beautiful 'cause you could see the top of that building from the other hill). Like I said, running through here was quiet and hilly, and it definitely reminded me of the Westminster Road Runners' Club's Predicted Time Four-Miler and Dancer Dash 10K in the Westminster area of Carroll County, Maryland. I got to the church, went oup the outter stairs, and took some photos of the great view (one of the many scenic mountainous views). I chatted with a few of the rather amicable locals and visitors, ran by the cemetaries, ran down this old road with a crack in it with steam rising out of said crack), ran by this area of a lot of wreckage with quite a bit of steam rising from it, and then eventually got back into my car and headed back. On the way back, I took a longer way home through Hagerstown (Washington County), Maryland and ate at my first rather unique restaurant there for dinner called Gracie's Place. I had a nice chef salad there and I remember trying to hold a phone conversation with my friend Kay, but for some reason I had trouble hearing her... Perhpas the reception was the best over there.

Afterwards, I went over to my friend, Bing's, St. Patrick's Day party at his place, adn that was fun. They had karaoke and I had not seen Bing since like mid-to-late August. It was a fun time and I'm still recovering from not sleeping that much last weekend (and now with this stomach virus in the mix, I wonder if I'll get any sleep tonight). Ah well, God is good and I am very confident that He will get me through and get me back to proper health to continue running among other things. I am grateful He helped bless me with the opportunities to do what I did last weekend before I got sick today, and that I was available last Saturday (March 14, 2009) to make that trip into Pennsylvania (which is a state north of Maryland in the United States of America for all of you who are not too familar with United States' geography or do not live in the U.S.)


Thank you all for stopping by! I hope to get some photos from Pennsylvania developed in the near future and eventually have 'em posted on here. I recently ordered a new digital camera online through Woot.Com (which one of my roommates helped find), but I have not gotten to play around with it yet, so we'll see how it works. If it works out nicely, I'm sure I can upload photos much quicker on these blogs. All right, have a good night, fair health, and many of God's blessings :)

Running Events I have done as of Wednesday, March 19, 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

March

14). Sunday, March 8, 2009 – Howard County Striders “Operation Iceberg” (Winter Series) Race #8 : Thunder Hill Elementary School 2-miler – Columbia (Howard County), MD – 6th overall – 14:19

15). Saturday, March 14, 2009 – Run4Luck Four-Mile Run – Lancaster (Lancaster County), Pennsylvania – 40th overall – 26:51.55 (I ran negative splits here :)

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

- Gracie’s Place – Saturday, March 14, 2009 – I went to the Hagerstown, Maryland location on my way back from running the Run4Luck Four-Mile run in Lancaster County, PA and from visiting Centralia, PA. I ordered a chef sald and thought that I got a lot for about four bucks. It was a great deal, as well as a small, yet very friendly and personalble atmosphere with the help of the kind employees that were there. I may have gotten one or two things on the side, I can’t quite remember. I may go back again if I’m in town J)

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

HIDA Scan went well!

Hey there everyone, just wanted to get a quick update out. The HIDA scan went pretty well; I hardly felt queasy/nauseated at all like I worried I might during the scan. I have not heard the results yet, though hopefully I'll be able to talk it over with the gastroentenerologist (stomach specialist) soon! Running's been all right; I went running for probably a little over 5.5 miles yesterday for my "long run" that took about 40 minutes and 2 seconds to do. Yesterday, I ran a bit of a harder work out where I ran three sets of 4 minutes hard in a moderately hilly are of Columbia (Howard County), MD.
I'm hopin' to go up to Pennsylvania tomorrow to the Centralia (Columbia County) area; an almost abandoned town. Horrible coal fires accidentally started there a little over forty years ago and it is still occurring underground. As a result a lot of the town was destroyed and most of the residents relocated (though I hear a small handful still remain). I'm hopin' to check it out since I'll be somewhat close by there tomorrow, and God-willing I can be safe and go for a run around there. The horror movie "Silent Hill" was inspired by this town (in that the fictitious town of Silent Hill, West Virginia was inspired by Centralia, Pennsylvania). Afterwards, I'm hoping to go to my friend's St. Patrick's Day party tomorrow evening, and hopefully I can make that 'cause I have not seen him in a while.

Thanks for stopping by, and for praying for my recent HIDA scan as well as health. I hope that you all have a nice weekend :)

Gettin' back to lifting and running

Hi there everyone! Last Thursday (March 5, 2009) I went over to the gym at Howard Community College and lifted some weights for the first time in at least a couple of weeks. I have been feeling all right recently and I feel a little more confident that I can better balance how much I eat with how much I work out. I've gained a bit of weight too, I'm probably in the low 150's, and if not I'm close to that. The next day (Friday, March 6) I went running for the first time since mid February, and I did about 2.5 miles (10 laps and then some) on Centennial High School's outdoor track in Ellicott City (Howard County), Maryland. I felt all right; I think it may have gone better had my right leg not been feeling a bit sore behind the knee (and if I had not been feelin' fairly outta shape; I felt pretty winded/tired afterwards). I ran it in about 17:31 (right around a seven-minute pace on average, with a 6:49 the first mile and 13:53 for two miles). I ran a little more than ten laps, 'cause on the last lap I had to run on the grass (the track team over there was practicing and they were about to have a time trial, so I ran on the grass to get out of the way). I realize that I was cutting off a bit of the distance, so I decided to add on by about 25 meters after running by the place on the track where I initially intended to finish my ten laps, which probably resulted in me running just a little bit over 2.5 miles, but that's all right. Anyway, I went running again yesterday (Sunday, March 8, 2009) at the Howard County Striders' weekly winter series ("Operation Iceberg") number 8 at the Thunder Hill Elementary School in Columbia. I ran the two-mile nice and easy, even though it was pretty hilly and I probably did end up running a bit faster the second half than I did the first. I ran it in about 14:19, and I haven't run times like that since the eighth grade (at one time, my two-mile PR was about 14:20 in eighth grade and I had run it at that venue, and since then my two mile times there have been anywhere between 11 and 14 minutes, with my best time on that course being about 11:52 back in 2007). Anyway, it was not as fast as I ran on Friday, but this had hills, and I felt much better than I did on Friday. I actually think I may have gone through the first mile in about 7:59, thus coming back in 6:20, but I may have gone through the first mile a little faster than that, thus coming back in the second mile a little slower than 6:20. Though, either way, I thought I had a nice second mile.
I made sure I ate some trail mix and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich not long after. I'm just takin' this slow; tryin' to get a smart balance between eating and exercising. I have a HIDA scan on my stomach/abdomen this Wednesday, so hopefully as a result, the test can lend a bit more clarity to what's been up with my stomach/gallbladder/digestive system. God-willing, things will work out and I feel fortunate to be back at running, and even though I'm not running as strong as I was about a month or so ago, at least I'm able to run and if it's God's will, I'll be able to get back into stronger shape and continue to improve.
Thanks for stopping by and reading. I'm gonna try and go for my "long" run of the week (I hope to hit about five-and-a-half miles), which may be tough, as it's pretty windy over here. I hope you all have a terrific day; God bless :)