I Ran My Last Race of 2009!

Hey everyone, on Saturday, December 26, 2009, I ran what I planned to have been my last race of this year, the Nutcracker 2-mile in Dowell (Calvert County), which is southern Maryland right by Solomon's Island in southern Calvert County. The morning was on the warmer side for this time of year (in the upper 40's, possibly the lower 50's). This was the first year they had something other than the out-and-back 5K. In addition to the 5-kilometer (3.1-miles), they had a 2-miler, 3-miler, and a 4-miler (yes, they had a 3-miler and a 3.1-miler at the same event). Considering all of these different distances, as well as the free t-shirts, selection of prizes, this small event was considered low-key and definitely friendly with the people who organized it and the participants that showed up.

I decided on the two-miler as I had not run much during the recent snow, and I thought that it was an appropriate distance for the shape that I was in. I ran the flat out-and-back course (the 3-mile, 5K, and 4-mile distances were all flat out-and-back courses, and all four of the races started simultaneously since it was a relatively smaller turnout) in 12:44 (their timing got me at 12:46, but I saw 12:44 on my watch). I know I could have gone much faster, but my stomach was bothering me (I think I had trouble digesting food I had eaten the day before) and I think it was harder since I had not been running that consistently the week leading up to this race. 12:44 for two miles averages out to a 6:22-per-mile pace, which would certainly put me under 20 minutes for a 5-kilometer/3.1-mile distance (which is my next fitness goal in getting back into solid running shape). The next race I am planning to do is the 3rd Annual Southern Maryland Community Network (SMCN) Resolution 5K in Prince Frederick (back in Calvert County), MD on Friday, January 1, 2010. Haha, how funny that is, my last race in 2009 is in Calvert County and my first race in 2010 will be in Calvert County, a county that is special because that is where I finished out my initial endeavor to race in every Maryland and Delaware County in 2007, upon finishing the North Beach 5K on Saturday, September 15, 2007 in North Beach, MD. God-willing, I can run under 20 minutes here. I ran this rather hilly course on New Year's Day in 2008 in the inaugural running of this race in Prince Frederick, and I had finished in about 18:47, and while I usually try to improve my times on many courses that I run, I do not think it likely that I will beat that time on this course this coming year. Still, I think it would be a good way for me to push myself and see where I am 5K-wise as it has been a month since I ran the Burke Memorial 5K in Carroll County, MD, the last 5K I ran on Sunday, November 29, 2009.

So those are my upcoming race plans. Nothing much planned beyond that. If anything, it will be more lower key road races between New Year's Day and the spring before I start doing those more premium ones. I may do an indoor track & field meet later on in the winter, but I am not prioritizing those this year as I have in the past coupla years.


After the Nutcracker Two-Mile Run last Saturday, I got to spend time with my girlfriend Kay and she got to meet my Bubbee (my grandmother) for the first time, and then yesterday (Monday, December 28), I got to meet her older sister for the first time! Kay is wonderful, supportive, and a great deal of fun, and I certainly enjoy having her meet some of my family, and I have been having a great time meeting her's. With her, I feel like I am experiencing another incredible example of how radically God loves us and blesses us when we do not deserve it. My joy and passion of running is also another great example of gifts that He has lavished upon me in my life, and I hope that this Christmas season I glorified Him with it as well as with other gifts and joys He has given me!!!!!


So that has been what I have been up too and thinking about these past several days. I hope that you all are doing well as well get ready to head into 2010!