Summer of 2009 for me so far...

Thank you all for your patience in waiting for me to update. Don't worry, just because I have not gotten around to blogging on here in the past couple of months does not mean that I've brushed these blogs to the wayside or have not been running. I've just been pretty busy since my two spring teaching certificate classes last semester ended, and whenever I'm on the computer I usually opt to do other things (i.e. look for races/race results, go on Facebook, or do e-mailing). If not on the computer, I have spent time working at summer camps with the Howard County Recreation and Parks Department since the school year ended. Last summer I worked for these summer camps with a camp called Teens on Tour, and I did that for a week, before I voluntarily opted to go to camps with younger kids and shorter workdays when I found out Teens on Tour was kinda overstaffed. While I may get paid for less hours, at least I am having more experience with elementary-school age children, which is an age group that I am interested in teaching. So yea, the summer camp thing has been going well; with Teens on Tour earlier in the summer break and now the more outdoorsy camps with the younger kids. I'm glad that more recently I have gotten more time to get back to these blogs.

My running has been going all right. Been trying to get more distance in, 'cause I signed up for the Annapolis Ten-Miler in Annapolis (Anne Arundel County), Maryland on Sunday, August 30 this year. This will be my first time running what is probably one of Maryland's largest foot races, which also has a reputation for being hot, humid, and hilly. Whooo! I wanna be in good shape for it, so at least I can make it through without hurting myself. Not too long ago, my foot would hurt in longer runs (like anything over three miles). My toes would begin to curl under my right foot, obviously altering the way my foot would land, and causing pain. It's probably no coincidence that this was the foot giving me plantar fascia problems last year. I went to see the physical therapist about it and got it taken care of, and so far it has not been bothering me recently. God willing, maybe now I can get in some longer runs more consistently. The problem seemed to be that my calves would tighten up around my right foot, causing tension in the right foot, leading to my toes curling/my foot landing in different ways, which aggravated my plantar fascia. I felt it bothering me a lot in longer races I have done in the past couple of months like the 33rd Annual Chestertown Tea Party Distance Classic 10-Mile Run in Kent County, MD on Saturday, May 23, in which I was hurting most of the way not even really pushing the pace (I hope that does not happen again at the Annapolis Ten-Miler, 'cause that could very well be more hot than Chestertown, and certainly much more hilly). Also, with the Dawson's Father's Day 10K that I tried for the first time in Anne Arundel County, MD on Father's Day (Sunday, June 21) this year, my right foot was pretty much cramping up and bothering me for most of the race right when I got half-way into it. I struggled to run about 42:07 in that 10-kilometer (approximately 6.2 miles), and then I was huffing and puffing to end up at about 1:16:16 for the 10-miler. I was happy to have finished, and to have earned an age group award in the 10-miler, but there was a time not so long ago when I was able to beat those times in mere training runs without it costing me/paining too much. Well, it could have been worth and I know the Good Lord has plans for it; after all, He had helped me to run so well in the past too in both, races and training, and He can certainly do it again if He so chooses, so I'm not going to worry too much about it. Everything happens for a reason, and I think at the Chestertown Tea Party 10-Miler, I would have probably gotten heat exhaustion pretty bad if the hurting foot had not held me back from going it harder, so maybe that was God's way of protecting me. After that 10-miler in Chestertown, I had made plans with my girlfriend, Kay, and I to visit my parents so that they could meet her for the first time, so I definitely wanted to be "sober" enough for that :)


And that reminds me, along with running, everything else seems to be going pretty well for the most part. I feel like I have a bit up-in-the-air with the next steps in working towards a teaching certificate, but this being the summer, it seems like an opportune time to address those things, and I'm glad I'm taking the time to do it. I have already signed up for two classes at Howard Community College in Howard County, MD, one of them will be my first online class (granted I don't find out I don't need it and drop it like I've done with other online ones in the past). I may quite possibly sign up for a third. I'm hoping to schedule a date to take the Praxis II as well; a test required to become a certified teacher. Other than that, I've been making time for family and friends. Kay and I have been doing pretty well; enjoying the relationship and each other the more we get to know each other! She is definitely a good influence on me; encouraging me in my faith, my professional goals, and supportive of my running. She has already been to three of my races and she wants to go to more in the future. We have a bit of a longer distance relationship, though God has really helped us with our schedules to be able to see each other usually at least once or twice-a-week, and still make time for other important aspects of our lives too! Still been averaging at least one-race-a-week, though not all of them have been really hard efforts on my part. Back in June, there were actually a couple of weekends later in that month that I did not actually do a race. That's so rare for me considering these past couple of years I can count the number of weeks on one hand that I have not done a race in. It's not all 'cause I have a girlfriend now either, some of it is 'cause my New Year's Resolution was to cut back on the number of races I do so that it would not consumer, and I want to save some more money as well. So yea, I've been busy, but mainly in a fun way, and I'm grateful to still have time to run consistently and get out to races. I'm actually hoping to get back into a more steady weight-lifting routine as well!

The next race I hope to do is a low-key trail run this Saturday (July 18, 2009) at the Fair Hill Natural Resources Management area in the Fair Hill/Elkton area of Cecil County, MD (which is in the northeast part of Maryland). It's the St. Roch 25K, and they also have a 14K and a 7K option (since I have plans with friends later that day, I'm gonna go for the 7K option like I did last summer, and hopefully this time not get lost like I did last summer, a time or two). My time last year was 51:36, which included minutes extra of going the wrong way at least a couple of times and running right by the intended finish line which was a bit off from the starting line (and it was at the starting line that I finished since no one happened to be at the finish area when I ran through it and there was no else around me at that point of the race). There seem to be a bunch of trails there, and for all I know, they may have changed the course around a bit. I'm sure they'll probably have that deeper, but brief stream crossing I'll have to wade through again. God-willing, I hope I can get through the course a bit faster than I did last year, and hopefully not get hurt. It's a bit over an hour from where I live, and I have done a couple of low-key trail races at this somewhat hilly venue over the past couple of years with these guys who put it on (the Delaware Trail Dawgs). In fact, the Fool's Frolic Trail Run I did there back on Sunday, April 1, 2007 was one of the first races I did upon being hit with the idea of doing a running event in every county of Maryland before 2007 ended (and I had done the shorter 5-6 mile route they had there as opposed to the longer 22K that they had advertised at the time).

So hopefully I get through this one safe (even though I'm sure I'll be filthy, but it's all part of the package :)- Thank you all for stopping by and catching up with me. I hope you are all having a blessed and fun summer :)