Yesterday being the day before I marry Kya, there were plenty of thoughts going through my mind... Some of confidence, some of, "wow can I really do this?" It reminded me of times when I would go to a race with a goal in mind, and then I would see what the course was like, and I would be like "uh, this course is kind of on the hard side, I dunno about this goal any more."
However, there ae many many times when I have been aware of God stepping in and helping me rise to meet that challenge, no matter where I was at. Last weekend's 10th Annual St. Anne's School of Annapolis 5K in Annapolis (Anne Arundel County), MD was a fine example of that, because I ran a relly even-paced race and felt strong the whole time despite the fact I had not run much a week-and-a-half leading up to the race and that my sleeping had been thrown off. In short, I am putting (or trying to put my hopes in the Lord that He will empower Kay and I to bring Him glory in our marriage. We are a gift from God to one another; everything that God has done to us and for us at this point, I believe, has helped prepare us for each other (and of course prepared us for other plans that He has I am sure)!
I am eagerly looking forward to getting married to Kay. It seemed like just a short while ago, I had been a content single man just about my whole life up to the point of Sunday, April 19, 2009 when Kay and I started dating. I remember starting these blogs over three years ago in the midst of my terrifically fun endeavors to run a race in every Maryland and Delaware county in Maryland within the year of 2007, and I had not even met Kay back then until the very end of 2007 at our friend Karen's New Year's Eve party :)
I was so surprised how well I was able to focus in on things yesterday. I had less than ten minutes of sleep from the night before of lesson planning, rearranging things in the house, and doing a few other small things here and there. That is the least amount of sleep I have gotten, I think, since my senior year of college thereabouts.
One thought that came to my mind that I think helped me to digest it emotionally was comparing (NOT MINIMIZING) this wonderful experience to a race: Picking up my tuxedo was like picking up my race bib for a big race, the wedding ceremony rehearsal was like the course walk/preview before doing a race, the rehearsal dinner was like a big pasta dinner that we would have the evenings before a big meet in high school and college, and of course this day of our wedding is the start of a race so huge that I hope it lasts us the rest of our lives if that is God's will! I know through God all things are possible, and we are both going to need to keep that honest perspective in all that we experience as a married couple, rough times and pleasant times!
So here I am on my wedding day, getting ready to make one of the largest life-changing moves I have ever made ot a woman who is so much more than I could have asked for in a wife. I do not deserve this with Kay, when I feel like if anything, I deserve so much less. Than again, this is God showing us His love and grace, which I am sure will sustain us throughout our lives together!
Thank you for coming by, as well as for your prayers and encouragements :)
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Settling into Calvert County, Maryland
Hello everyone!
I moved to Calvert County almost two weeks ago; living by myself at the moment. I moved here mainly to be closer to Kay, my excellent fiancee, who I plan to marry tomorrow (Saturday, November 20, 2010) at our church.
This is has just got me all... WOW!!!!!
At any rate, I have been tired and relatively sleep deprived pretty much all week, and God has been good. In fact, last Saturday (November 13, 2010), I ran the 10th Annual St. Anne's School of Annapolis 5K in Anne Arundel County, MD, and I finished in 17:52. The course was obviously a bit on the shorter side (and the race coordinators admitted that this year they had accidentaly cut it shorter). The real neat thing was that I got to the half-way turn-around point a little ways into Quiet Waters Park (a really well-shaded and scenic park in Annapolis, MD), I was at around 8:57, so therefore, God must have helped me pick it up to about 8:55 the second half of the race if my finishing time was about 17:52, or at least stay very even with my pace. They said I ran 17:55, but I saw at the clock I was about 17:52. No worries, though. I did so much better at that race than I expected due to not runnign that much due to a relatively stressful and busy work situation with teaching right now, not to mention that my sleep and eating were a bit thrown off. I felt pretty solid the whole race, and that was proof yet once again that despite how weak or even pathetic I feel, God can lift me (and anyone) up to acheive great things for Him.
All right, I wanted to blog on that. I am also letting you know that I plan to stop blogging on this after I marry Kay. It has nothing to do with Kay; I just feel that I have gotten to a point where I should conclude this blog... Or at least have it on a very extended hiatus. I feel that in getting married, I am not just turning another page in my life, I'm reading a whole chapter at least!! Therefore, I feel it is an excellen point in which to bring closure to this blog. After Kay and I get married, I plan to put a blog entry about the wedding, and close it off there.I will still post results/details of races and some neat runs that I do, and even mention any other running goals that may come my way, however, I think I will leave this more narrative material out unless God leads me to do otherwise.
I think running-wise, southern Maryland can be a lot of fun (and fun in other ways too). I am hoping to explore more of Calvert County, Charles County (especially that southwestern area some more, and Saint Mary's County). I can probably get to do that through runs, or even races, God-willing. Either way, I hope to take Kay to a lot of these scenic places (or her take me since she is a native to this region of Maryland :)
All right, I should be going. I wanted to thank all of you who have suppported this blog and myself. You are a blessing from God and an excellent encouragement to me. Thank you very much and have a blessed day :)
Races I Have Done This Year as of Friday, November 19, 2010
1). Friday, January 1, 2010 – 3rd Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution Run 5K – Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 9th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 20:38 (clock time), 20:34 (watch time)
2). Sunday, January 10, 2010 – Mighty Medford Freeway 5K – Medford/Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 8th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 20:25
3). Sunday, March 7, 2010 – Howard County Striders “Operation Iceberg” Winter Series #6: Oakland Mills Middle School 6-Mile Race – 17th overall – 43:55 (ran at an even pace, and ran negative splits )too
4). Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 3rd Annual Pi-Mile (3.14-mile) Run – Patuxent High School, Lusby (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall (20-29 male age group division winner) – 23:29.0
5). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (9:00 A.M.) – Inaugural Francie’s Family 5K – Middletown Park, Middletown (Frederick County), MD – 10th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 2!:07.25
6). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (11:00 A.M.) – 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run – East Middle School, Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 23:54
7). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (1:00 P.M.) – 28th Annual “Forest of Needwood”/”Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial” 5 Mile Road Race – Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick (Frederick County), MD – 35th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) - 44:57 (clock time), 44:55 (watch time)
8). Saturday, April 3, 2010 – 2nd Annual Race for Joe 5K – Borough of Franklin Park/McCandless Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania – 13th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 21:01 (clock time), 20:57/20:58 (watch time)
9). Saturday, April 10, 2010 – 1st Annual Hills of Milltown 5K Challenge (it was closer to 3.45 miles according to someone’s GPS) – Historic Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (3rd in male 19-19 age-group division) – 24:21
10). Saturday, May 15, 2010 – 1st Annual Queen Anne’s Police K-9 Chase 5K (it was around 2.9 miles) – Terrapin Nature Center area, Stevensville/Kent Island – Queen Anne’s County, MD – 10th overall (4th in male 21-30 age-group division) - 21:58.9 (as of completing this race, I can say I have done a race on all general areas of the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island )
11). Sunday, May 30, 2010 – Patapsco Trail Run – Avalon Area, Patapsco State Park, Catonsville (Baltimore County-into-Howard County-and-back-to-Baltimore County), MD – Dropped out a little after a mile into the race because I lost my glasses after a river crossing. I am grateful to )God I got back and out of the woods all right
12). Saturday, June 5, 2010 – Katie’s Run 5K - New Germany State Park, Grantsville (Garrett County), MD – 21st overall – 22:55 (clock), 22:53ish (watch)… This was the day Kay and I got engaged!!!!!
13). Saturday, June 12, 2010 - Running Brook Elementary School 3K Fun Run – Columbia (Howard County), MD – 4th overall – 13:00 (it may have been slightly longer than 3 kilometers)
14). Tuesday, June 22, 2010 – Centennial 1-Mile Fun Run – Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (I think) – 6:14
15). Saturday, July 3, 2010 – Arbutus Firecracker 10K Run – Arbutus/Relay (Baltimore County), MD – 156th overall – 51:29 (clock), 50:52ish (watch time, I think)
16). Friday, July 9, 2010 – Howard County Striders Cross Country #2: Reservoir High School – Fulton (Howard County), MD – 96th overall – 24:16
17). Saturday, July 17, 2010 – Inaugural Trailfight 5K (a little longer than a 5K I think) – Trolley Trail #9,Oella/Catonsville (Baltimore County), MD – 16th overall – 21:55 (clock), 21:49 (watch)
18). Wednesday, July 21, 2010 – Howard County Striders Meet of Miles – 1-Mile Track Run at Oakland Mills High School’s outdoor track – Columbia (Howard County), MD – 50th overall – 6:18
19). Saturday, August 28, 2010 – 3rd Annual Expect a Miracle 5K – Berlin (Worcester County) – 4th overall (male 21-30 age group division winner) – 22:14 (course was a little longer than a 5K plus I made a wrong turn)
20). Saturday, September 11, 2010 – Inaugural Race to the Creek 5K – Lusby (Calvert County) – 13th overall (3rd in male 20-29 age group division) – 20:48 (clock), 20:47 (watch)
21). Saturday, September 25, 2010 – 15th Annual North Beach 5K – North Beach (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall – 21:01
22). Saturday, October 2, 2010 – Inaugural Run and Rumble in the City for Autism 5K/10K Run (I ran the 5K) – Greensboro (Caroline County), MD – Winner – 18:45 (reported time), 18:20 (clock time)(the course was more like 2.91 miles long according to MapMyRun.Com)
23). Saturday, October 2, 2010 – 9th/10th Annual VP Shoes The Athlete 5K – Salisbury (Wicomico County), MD – 24th – 21:24 (3rd in male 20-29 age group division )
24). Saturday, October 16, 2010 – Inaugural End Hunger in Calvert County 5K – Trinity United Methodist Church, Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 5th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age group division) – 20:53
25). Sunday, October 24, 2010 – Howard County Striders’ “Legends of the Fall” Series #4: Atholton High School 5K – Columbia (Howard County), MD – 8th overall
- 19:57.05 (first time in over a year running a sub-20-minute 5K )
26). Saturday, November 13, 2010 – 10th Annual St. Anne’s School of Annapolis 5K Run – Annapolis (Anne Arundel County), MD – Winner – 17:55 (clock), 17:52 (watch) – First half was 8:57ish, so I was blessed to have kept an even pace
Please check out the events I did in 2009:
http://ranineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflection-on-2009.html
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
I moved to Calvert County almost two weeks ago; living by myself at the moment. I moved here mainly to be closer to Kay, my excellent fiancee, who I plan to marry tomorrow (Saturday, November 20, 2010) at our church.
This is has just got me all... WOW!!!!!
At any rate, I have been tired and relatively sleep deprived pretty much all week, and God has been good. In fact, last Saturday (November 13, 2010), I ran the 10th Annual St. Anne's School of Annapolis 5K in Anne Arundel County, MD, and I finished in 17:52. The course was obviously a bit on the shorter side (and the race coordinators admitted that this year they had accidentaly cut it shorter). The real neat thing was that I got to the half-way turn-around point a little ways into Quiet Waters Park (a really well-shaded and scenic park in Annapolis, MD), I was at around 8:57, so therefore, God must have helped me pick it up to about 8:55 the second half of the race if my finishing time was about 17:52, or at least stay very even with my pace. They said I ran 17:55, but I saw at the clock I was about 17:52. No worries, though. I did so much better at that race than I expected due to not runnign that much due to a relatively stressful and busy work situation with teaching right now, not to mention that my sleep and eating were a bit thrown off. I felt pretty solid the whole race, and that was proof yet once again that despite how weak or even pathetic I feel, God can lift me (and anyone) up to acheive great things for Him.
All right, I wanted to blog on that. I am also letting you know that I plan to stop blogging on this after I marry Kay. It has nothing to do with Kay; I just feel that I have gotten to a point where I should conclude this blog... Or at least have it on a very extended hiatus. I feel that in getting married, I am not just turning another page in my life, I'm reading a whole chapter at least!! Therefore, I feel it is an excellen point in which to bring closure to this blog. After Kay and I get married, I plan to put a blog entry about the wedding, and close it off there.I will still post results/details of races and some neat runs that I do, and even mention any other running goals that may come my way, however, I think I will leave this more narrative material out unless God leads me to do otherwise.
I think running-wise, southern Maryland can be a lot of fun (and fun in other ways too). I am hoping to explore more of Calvert County, Charles County (especially that southwestern area some more, and Saint Mary's County). I can probably get to do that through runs, or even races, God-willing. Either way, I hope to take Kay to a lot of these scenic places (or her take me since she is a native to this region of Maryland :)
All right, I should be going. I wanted to thank all of you who have suppported this blog and myself. You are a blessing from God and an excellent encouragement to me. Thank you very much and have a blessed day :)
Races I Have Done This Year as of Friday, November 19, 2010
1). Friday, January 1, 2010 – 3rd Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution Run 5K – Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 9th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 20:38 (clock time), 20:34 (watch time)
2). Sunday, January 10, 2010 – Mighty Medford Freeway 5K – Medford/Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 8th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 20:25
3). Sunday, March 7, 2010 – Howard County Striders “Operation Iceberg” Winter Series #6: Oakland Mills Middle School 6-Mile Race – 17th overall – 43:55 (ran at an even pace, and ran negative splits )too
4). Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 3rd Annual Pi-Mile (3.14-mile) Run – Patuxent High School, Lusby (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall (20-29 male age group division winner) – 23:29.0
5). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (9:00 A.M.) – Inaugural Francie’s Family 5K – Middletown Park, Middletown (Frederick County), MD – 10th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 2!:07.25
6). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (11:00 A.M.) – 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run – East Middle School, Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 23:54
7). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (1:00 P.M.) – 28th Annual “Forest of Needwood”/”Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial” 5 Mile Road Race – Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick (Frederick County), MD – 35th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) - 44:57 (clock time), 44:55 (watch time)
8). Saturday, April 3, 2010 – 2nd Annual Race for Joe 5K – Borough of Franklin Park/McCandless Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania – 13th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 21:01 (clock time), 20:57/20:58 (watch time)
9). Saturday, April 10, 2010 – 1st Annual Hills of Milltown 5K Challenge (it was closer to 3.45 miles according to someone’s GPS) – Historic Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (3rd in male 19-19 age-group division) – 24:21
10). Saturday, May 15, 2010 – 1st Annual Queen Anne’s Police K-9 Chase 5K (it was around 2.9 miles) – Terrapin Nature Center area, Stevensville/Kent Island – Queen Anne’s County, MD – 10th overall (4th in male 21-30 age-group division) - 21:58.9 (as of completing this race, I can say I have done a race on all general areas of the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island )
11). Sunday, May 30, 2010 – Patapsco Trail Run – Avalon Area, Patapsco State Park, Catonsville (Baltimore County-into-Howard County-and-back-to-Baltimore County), MD – Dropped out a little after a mile into the race because I lost my glasses after a river crossing. I am grateful to )God I got back and out of the woods all right
12). Saturday, June 5, 2010 – Katie’s Run 5K - New Germany State Park, Grantsville (Garrett County), MD – 21st overall – 22:55 (clock), 22:53ish (watch)… This was the day Kay and I got engaged!!!!!
13). Saturday, June 12, 2010 - Running Brook Elementary School 3K Fun Run – Columbia (Howard County), MD – 4th overall – 13:00 (it may have been slightly longer than 3 kilometers)
14). Tuesday, June 22, 2010 – Centennial 1-Mile Fun Run – Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (I think) – 6:14
15). Saturday, July 3, 2010 – Arbutus Firecracker 10K Run – Arbutus/Relay (Baltimore County), MD – 156th overall – 51:29 (clock), 50:52ish (watch time, I think)
16). Friday, July 9, 2010 – Howard County Striders Cross Country #2: Reservoir High School – Fulton (Howard County), MD – 96th overall – 24:16
17). Saturday, July 17, 2010 – Inaugural Trailfight 5K (a little longer than a 5K I think) – Trolley Trail #9,Oella/Catonsville (Baltimore County), MD – 16th overall – 21:55 (clock), 21:49 (watch)
18). Wednesday, July 21, 2010 – Howard County Striders Meet of Miles – 1-Mile Track Run at Oakland Mills High School’s outdoor track – Columbia (Howard County), MD – 50th overall – 6:18
19). Saturday, August 28, 2010 – 3rd Annual Expect a Miracle 5K – Berlin (Worcester County) – 4th overall (male 21-30 age group division winner) – 22:14 (course was a little longer than a 5K plus I made a wrong turn)
20). Saturday, September 11, 2010 – Inaugural Race to the Creek 5K – Lusby (Calvert County) – 13th overall (3rd in male 20-29 age group division) – 20:48 (clock), 20:47 (watch)
21). Saturday, September 25, 2010 – 15th Annual North Beach 5K – North Beach (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall – 21:01
22). Saturday, October 2, 2010 – Inaugural Run and Rumble in the City for Autism 5K/10K Run (I ran the 5K) – Greensboro (Caroline County), MD – Winner – 18:45 (reported time), 18:20 (clock time)(the course was more like 2.91 miles long according to MapMyRun.Com)
23). Saturday, October 2, 2010 – 9th/10th Annual VP Shoes The Athlete 5K – Salisbury (Wicomico County), MD – 24th – 21:24 (3rd in male 20-29 age group division )
24). Saturday, October 16, 2010 – Inaugural End Hunger in Calvert County 5K – Trinity United Methodist Church, Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 5th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age group division) – 20:53
25). Sunday, October 24, 2010 – Howard County Striders’ “Legends of the Fall” Series #4: Atholton High School 5K – Columbia (Howard County), MD – 8th overall
- 19:57.05 (first time in over a year running a sub-20-minute 5K )
26). Saturday, November 13, 2010 – 10th Annual St. Anne’s School of Annapolis 5K Run – Annapolis (Anne Arundel County), MD – Winner – 17:55 (clock), 17:52 (watch) – First half was 8:57ish, so I was blessed to have kept an even pace
Please check out the events I did in 2009:
http://ranineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflection-on-2009.html
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
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Getting Ready to Get a "Move" on!
Now today, I am getting ready to move to southern Maryland (Calvert County to be exact) near where Kay lives. Kay and I found a place for me to rent by myself until we get married on Saturday, November 20 this year, and then she will move in with me. Today I am planning to move.
Yesterday when I was getting ready to go for a 2+ mile run in Columbia, MD where I grew up in Howard County, I began to feel a little sad about it. I am definitely grateful to be engaged to and marrying Kay, and I think the move to Calvert County will be great for us there. Yet, I am going to miss being able to run on the bike paths in Columbia. They have a terrific bike path system that go for miles. I am sure I will find some great places to run in southern Maryland, though up to this point of my life, some of my best runs, bike rides (and even running races) have taken place in Howard County, especially on the bike path systems. I am grateful that as of now, I am happy with my course PR's on some of my relatively frequent running routes, though I am going to miss them all the same. I hope to be able to take Kay to some of the beautiful and scenic places I have run and seen in Columbia. God-willing that will all come in good time.
When I went to college at Salisbury University in Wicomico County on Maryland's Eastern Shore several years ago, I knew I would be back to Columbia for breaks and such. When I moved to Baltimore County back in April of 2008, I was still able to get to Howard County relatively quickly and easily to go running on some of my routes. Now the day has come that I figured probably would come, though I never knew it would come so soon: The day that I move out of the central area /Baltimore area of Maryland to somewhere far away. I also never thought I'd be getting married this soon in my life (or sometimes even at all), especially to someone so caring, wonderful, loyal, supportive and funny (hi Kay :)!
I realize it is quite possible Kay and I could spend the rest of our lives in the Calvert County/southern Maryland area, and right now, that is fine with me because it is really beautiful there. It is well over an hour from where I live now in Columbia, so it is far, yet not too far to get back to Columbia for some Howard County Striders races, to go run on some of the routes I enjoy, and of course to see family, my friends, and some former co-workers (who I will certainly miss)!
This is one more page to turn towards this next exciting (if not a bit stressful) chapter of my life, of which I am sure God has good plans for, just like He has always had :)
Yesterday when I was getting ready to go for a 2+ mile run in Columbia, MD where I grew up in Howard County, I began to feel a little sad about it. I am definitely grateful to be engaged to and marrying Kay, and I think the move to Calvert County will be great for us there. Yet, I am going to miss being able to run on the bike paths in Columbia. They have a terrific bike path system that go for miles. I am sure I will find some great places to run in southern Maryland, though up to this point of my life, some of my best runs, bike rides (and even running races) have taken place in Howard County, especially on the bike path systems. I am grateful that as of now, I am happy with my course PR's on some of my relatively frequent running routes, though I am going to miss them all the same. I hope to be able to take Kay to some of the beautiful and scenic places I have run and seen in Columbia. God-willing that will all come in good time.
When I went to college at Salisbury University in Wicomico County on Maryland's Eastern Shore several years ago, I knew I would be back to Columbia for breaks and such. When I moved to Baltimore County back in April of 2008, I was still able to get to Howard County relatively quickly and easily to go running on some of my routes. Now the day has come that I figured probably would come, though I never knew it would come so soon: The day that I move out of the central area /Baltimore area of Maryland to somewhere far away. I also never thought I'd be getting married this soon in my life (or sometimes even at all), especially to someone so caring, wonderful, loyal, supportive and funny (hi Kay :)!
I realize it is quite possible Kay and I could spend the rest of our lives in the Calvert County/southern Maryland area, and right now, that is fine with me because it is really beautiful there. It is well over an hour from where I live now in Columbia, so it is far, yet not too far to get back to Columbia for some Howard County Striders races, to go run on some of the routes I enjoy, and of course to see family, my friends, and some former co-workers (who I will certainly miss)!
This is one more page to turn towards this next exciting (if not a bit stressful) chapter of my life, of which I am sure God has good plans for, just like He has always had :)
Recent races this past October!
As you can see in the photos above, my running has steadily been improving.
When I went to Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD on Saturday, October 16, 2010 for the inaugural End Hunger in Calvert County 5K Run, I managed run the relatively flat (but windy course) in 20:53. My first mile was about 6:21, and my second-mile split was somewhere around the mid-to-upper 13's. I was certainly happy about that, especially considering I was getting a cold that I had for a bit over a week.
Then, the following weekend, On Sunday, October 24, 2010, I ran the Howard County Striders' "Legends of the Fall" Weekly Series Race #4 at Atholton High School in Columbia (Howard County), MD near where I grew. This course is one of the easiest 5K courses I have run in Howard County. I had only slept for probably no more than 3.5-to-4.5 hours the night before, because I had a bunch of work and I had gotten together with some guy friends the night before for a pre-wedding celebration at the Arundel Mills Mall in Anne Arundel County. That being said, I was not expecting anything much faster than 22 minutes.
Much to my pleasant surprise, I felt quite energized throughout most of the race. The first mile was flat and steadily downhill, and I ran that first mile in 6:02, which has been my fastest mile since last Spring I believe! Whooohoo!
Not long after there was a steady uphill, and then it flattened out for a while. Around mid-way into the race, I believed there was a chance I could run under 20 minutes and I think I said some quick prayers to God about it as I tried to maintain pace.
There were a couple more uphills before we got to the last stretch of the race that I am sure is at least a little over a quarter mile. I saw the finish line a little ways away, and I knew I probably had a little over a minute's worth of running at the pace I was at before I reached it. I was trying to hold onto the pace and pick it up, because I knew I would be close to breaking 20 minutes. I think I prayed real quick that God could help me finish strong.
As I neared the clock, and as the clock itself neared 20 minutes, I felt like I shot up the last little hill, and then surged through the finish line with a chip time (they started using this new interesting chip-timing system) of 19:57.05.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER A YEAR, I BROKE 20 MINUTES IN A 5K! And that was on a relative lack of sleep, a relatively stressful new job, and a rather inconsistent running schedule of late. There is a chance that course may be a little short, though all the same, that is the fastest I have run that distance in quite a long time, and it was not even my slowest time on that course (I can remember a time in high school in the tenth grade in January of 2000 when I ran that course in about 20:09). I was very blessed! (the photographs above, courtesy of Karsten Brown, were from that race at Atholton High School).
The day before I had run this course that was about two miles, give or take (probably slightly more than two miles), and last spring I had run about 15:43 and I thought it would be cool if sometime I could break 15 minutes on that. And I had run a 13:45 on it the day before the race. Those were two great runs that God blessed me with, with not having run for almost a week beforehand.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Keeping Busy!
Hello everyone, it is really hard to believe that I am not only a teacher now, but that it looks like I am getting married in a little over a month. Wow! I remember when I started this blog in the spring of 2007, I was single and not really interested in any particular woman, and it was months before I met and befriended Kay, my fiancee and best mortal friend! It is amazing what God has done in a few wonderful years!!
It was not too long ago that I was on the internet looking for races... Now it's like I am looking for rings (and I'm not complaining :)
Teaching special education has been keeping me really busy and I am sure that this year will be one of the most challenging ones I'll endure. I've been through some rough years when I was younger, and fortunately this time I have Jesus Christ in my life as well as Kay. I am really grateful how Kay has pushed for us to do a bulk of our wedding planning and preparations over the summer break, because right when I went to work at my school, I have been having many busy days at work, before and after work hours, and taking work home. It is a pretty consuming profession, so it has been hard for me to contribute to wedding planning as much as I'd like. I am very grateful that Kay and I can still have time together, and since I have started teaching, I have been able to hang out with a few other friends as well. Usually if I make time to do something fun on the weekends, I often have to "pay for it" by losing sleep to catch up with lesson planning, grading, and such. God-willing I can become much more compotent with the work, and who knows, perhaps even more efficient.
I am grateful that since I started teaching, I have run about five races, and I have been really happy with all of them. God has really shown Himself and His graceful goodness to me. My sleeping and eating, I feel, have been thrown off adjusting to this new job and with keeping up with many of the other things I have to do. Yet, if you look at how I've been doing at some of the races lately, God has helped me run stronger at the races now than I was doing last summer, and even last spring for the most part! Wow! I remember back in high school when my running seemed to be in a rut, probably due to a lack of sleep.
Last summer, at a Centennial 1-Mile Fun Run in Howard County, Maryland (this was on Tuesday evening, June 22, 2010), I ran a 6:14 mile on the hilly course. I have not run a mile that fast since June. Then, just last Saturday, I ran two 1-mile repeats with several minutes in between. The first one I ran on the track in 6:05, and then the second I ran on a fairly hilly bike path in 6:20. That first mile repeat of 6:05 has been my fastest mile in at least a good several months, so it seems like God is helping me run really well right now!
The next race I hope to do is this Saturday (October 16, 2010), and it's the End Hunger in Calvert County 5K in Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD. I have been around the venue before,and it does not seem to hilly, though I am sure there will be challenges in that race for sure (my sleep deprivation among them).
All right, I hope you enjoyed these updates. Please keep Kay and I in your prayers as we excitedly get ready for our upcoming wedding! God-willing, we will get adjusted well, especially with my rather busy schedule lately.
I hope you all are well and that you have a blessed day!
Races I Have Done This Year as of Thursday, October 14, 2010
1). Friday, January 1, 2010 – 3rd Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution Run 5K – Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 9th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 20:38 (clock time), 20:34 (watch time)
2). Sunday, January 10, 2010 – Mighty Medford Freeway 5K – Medford/Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 8th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 20:25
3). Sunday, March 7, 2010 – Howard County Striders “Operation Iceberg” Winter Series #6: Oakland Mills Middle School 6-Mile Race – 17th overall – 43:55 (ran at an even pace, and ran negative splits )too
4). Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 3rd Annual Pi-Mile (3.14-mile) Run – Patuxent High School, Lusby (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall (20-29 male age group division winner) – 23:29.0
5). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (9:00 A.M.) – Inaugural Francie’s Family 5K – Middletown Park, Middletown (Frederick County), MD – 10th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 2!:07.25
6). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (11:00 A.M.) – 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run – East Middle School, Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 23:54
7). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (1:00 P.M.) – 28th Annual “Forest of Needwood”/”Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial” 5 Mile Road Race – Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick (Frederick County), MD – 35th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) - 44:57 (clock time), 44:55 (watch time)
8). Saturday, April 3, 2010 – 2nd Annual Race for Joe 5K – Borough of Franklin Park/McCandless Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania – 13th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 21:01 (clock time), 20:57/20:58 (watch time)
9). Saturday, April 10, 2010 – 1st Annual Hills of Milltown 5K Challenge (it was closer to 3.45 miles according to someone’s GPS) – Historic Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (3rd in male 19-19 age-group division) – 24:21
10). Saturday, May 15, 2010 – 1st Annual Queen Anne’s Police K-9 Chase 5K (it was around 2.9 miles) – Terrapin Nature Center area, Stevensville/Kent Island – Queen Anne’s County, MD – 10th overall (4th in male 21-30 age-group division) - 21:58.9 (as of completing this race, I can say I have done a race on all general areas of the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island )
11). Sunday, May 30, 2010 – Patapsco Trail Run – Avalon Area, Patapsco State Park, Catonsville (Baltimore County-into-Howard County-and-back-to-Baltimore County), MD – Dropped out a little after a mile into the race because I lost my glasses after a river crossing. I am grateful to )God I got back and out of the woods all right
12). Saturday, June 5, 2010 – Katie’s Run 5K - New Germany State Park, Grantsville (Garrett County), MD – 21st overall – 22:55 (clock), 22:53ish (watch)… This was the day Kay and I got engaged!!!!!
13). Saturday, June 12, 2010 - Running Brook Elementary School 3K Fun Run – Columbia (Howard County), MD – 4th overall – 13:00 (it may have been slightly longer than 3 kilometers)
14). Tuesday, June 22, 2010 – Centennial 1-Mile Fun Run – Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (I think) – 6:14
15). Saturday, July 3, 2010 – Arbutus Firecracker 10K Run – Arbutus/Relay (Baltimore County), MD – 156th overall – 51:29 (clock), 50:52ish (watch time, I think)
16). Friday, July 9, 2010 – Howard County Striders Cross Country #2: Reservoir High School – Fulton (Howard County), MD – 96th overall – 24:16
17). Saturday, July 17, 2010 – Inaugural Trailfight 5K (a little longer than a 5K I think) – Trolley Trail #9,Oella/Catonsville (Baltimore County), MD – 16th overall – 21:55 (clock), 21:49 (watch)
18). Wednesday, July 21, 2010 – Howard County Striders Meet of Miles – 1-Mile Track Run at Oakland Mills High School’s outdoor track – Columbia (Howard County), MD – 50th overall – 6:18
19). Saturday, August 28, 2010 – 3rd Annual Expect a Miracle 5K – Berlin (Worcester County) – 4th overall (male 21-30 age group division winner) – 22:14 (course was a little longer than a 5K plus I made a wrong turn)
20). Saturday, September 11, 2010 – Inaugural Race to the Creek 5K – Lusby (Calvert County) – 13th overall (3rd in male 20-29 age group division) – 20:48 (clock), 20:47 (watch)
21). Saturday, September 25, 2010 – 15th Annual North Beach 5K – North Beach (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall – 21:01
22). Saturday, October 2, 2010 – Inaugural Run and Rumble in the City for Autism 5K/10K Run (I ran the 5K) – Greensboro (Caroline County), MD – Winner – 18:45 (reported time),18:20 (clock) (the course was more like 2.91 miles long according to MapMyRun.Com)
23). Saturday, October 2, 2010 – 9th/10th Annual VP Shoes The Athlete 5K – Salisbury (Wicomico County), MD – 24th – 21:24 (3rd in male 20-29 age group division )
Please check out the events I did in 2009:
http://ranineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflection-on-2009.html
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
It was not too long ago that I was on the internet looking for races... Now it's like I am looking for rings (and I'm not complaining :)
Teaching special education has been keeping me really busy and I am sure that this year will be one of the most challenging ones I'll endure. I've been through some rough years when I was younger, and fortunately this time I have Jesus Christ in my life as well as Kay. I am really grateful how Kay has pushed for us to do a bulk of our wedding planning and preparations over the summer break, because right when I went to work at my school, I have been having many busy days at work, before and after work hours, and taking work home. It is a pretty consuming profession, so it has been hard for me to contribute to wedding planning as much as I'd like. I am very grateful that Kay and I can still have time together, and since I have started teaching, I have been able to hang out with a few other friends as well. Usually if I make time to do something fun on the weekends, I often have to "pay for it" by losing sleep to catch up with lesson planning, grading, and such. God-willing I can become much more compotent with the work, and who knows, perhaps even more efficient.
I am grateful that since I started teaching, I have run about five races, and I have been really happy with all of them. God has really shown Himself and His graceful goodness to me. My sleeping and eating, I feel, have been thrown off adjusting to this new job and with keeping up with many of the other things I have to do. Yet, if you look at how I've been doing at some of the races lately, God has helped me run stronger at the races now than I was doing last summer, and even last spring for the most part! Wow! I remember back in high school when my running seemed to be in a rut, probably due to a lack of sleep.
Last summer, at a Centennial 1-Mile Fun Run in Howard County, Maryland (this was on Tuesday evening, June 22, 2010), I ran a 6:14 mile on the hilly course. I have not run a mile that fast since June. Then, just last Saturday, I ran two 1-mile repeats with several minutes in between. The first one I ran on the track in 6:05, and then the second I ran on a fairly hilly bike path in 6:20. That first mile repeat of 6:05 has been my fastest mile in at least a good several months, so it seems like God is helping me run really well right now!
The next race I hope to do is this Saturday (October 16, 2010), and it's the End Hunger in Calvert County 5K in Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD. I have been around the venue before,and it does not seem to hilly, though I am sure there will be challenges in that race for sure (my sleep deprivation among them).
All right, I hope you enjoyed these updates. Please keep Kay and I in your prayers as we excitedly get ready for our upcoming wedding! God-willing, we will get adjusted well, especially with my rather busy schedule lately.
I hope you all are well and that you have a blessed day!
Races I Have Done This Year as of Thursday, October 14, 2010
1). Friday, January 1, 2010 – 3rd Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution Run 5K – Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 9th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 20:38 (clock time), 20:34 (watch time)
2). Sunday, January 10, 2010 – Mighty Medford Freeway 5K – Medford/Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 8th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 20:25
3). Sunday, March 7, 2010 – Howard County Striders “Operation Iceberg” Winter Series #6: Oakland Mills Middle School 6-Mile Race – 17th overall – 43:55 (ran at an even pace, and ran negative splits )too
4). Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 3rd Annual Pi-Mile (3.14-mile) Run – Patuxent High School, Lusby (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall (20-29 male age group division winner) – 23:29.0
5). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (9:00 A.M.) – Inaugural Francie’s Family 5K – Middletown Park, Middletown (Frederick County), MD – 10th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 2!:07.25
6). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (11:00 A.M.) – 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run – East Middle School, Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 23:54
7). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (1:00 P.M.) – 28th Annual “Forest of Needwood”/”Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial” 5 Mile Road Race – Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick (Frederick County), MD – 35th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) - 44:57 (clock time), 44:55 (watch time)
8). Saturday, April 3, 2010 – 2nd Annual Race for Joe 5K – Borough of Franklin Park/McCandless Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania – 13th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 21:01 (clock time), 20:57/20:58 (watch time)
9). Saturday, April 10, 2010 – 1st Annual Hills of Milltown 5K Challenge (it was closer to 3.45 miles according to someone’s GPS) – Historic Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (3rd in male 19-19 age-group division) – 24:21
10). Saturday, May 15, 2010 – 1st Annual Queen Anne’s Police K-9 Chase 5K (it was around 2.9 miles) – Terrapin Nature Center area, Stevensville/Kent Island – Queen Anne’s County, MD – 10th overall (4th in male 21-30 age-group division) - 21:58.9 (as of completing this race, I can say I have done a race on all general areas of the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island )
11). Sunday, May 30, 2010 – Patapsco Trail Run – Avalon Area, Patapsco State Park, Catonsville (Baltimore County-into-Howard County-and-back-to-Baltimore County), MD – Dropped out a little after a mile into the race because I lost my glasses after a river crossing. I am grateful to )God I got back and out of the woods all right
12). Saturday, June 5, 2010 – Katie’s Run 5K - New Germany State Park, Grantsville (Garrett County), MD – 21st overall – 22:55 (clock), 22:53ish (watch)… This was the day Kay and I got engaged!!!!!
13). Saturday, June 12, 2010 - Running Brook Elementary School 3K Fun Run – Columbia (Howard County), MD – 4th overall – 13:00 (it may have been slightly longer than 3 kilometers)
14). Tuesday, June 22, 2010 – Centennial 1-Mile Fun Run – Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (I think) – 6:14
15). Saturday, July 3, 2010 – Arbutus Firecracker 10K Run – Arbutus/Relay (Baltimore County), MD – 156th overall – 51:29 (clock), 50:52ish (watch time, I think)
16). Friday, July 9, 2010 – Howard County Striders Cross Country #2: Reservoir High School – Fulton (Howard County), MD – 96th overall – 24:16
17). Saturday, July 17, 2010 – Inaugural Trailfight 5K (a little longer than a 5K I think) – Trolley Trail #9,Oella/Catonsville (Baltimore County), MD – 16th overall – 21:55 (clock), 21:49 (watch)
18). Wednesday, July 21, 2010 – Howard County Striders Meet of Miles – 1-Mile Track Run at Oakland Mills High School’s outdoor track – Columbia (Howard County), MD – 50th overall – 6:18
19). Saturday, August 28, 2010 – 3rd Annual Expect a Miracle 5K – Berlin (Worcester County) – 4th overall (male 21-30 age group division winner) – 22:14 (course was a little longer than a 5K plus I made a wrong turn)
20). Saturday, September 11, 2010 – Inaugural Race to the Creek 5K – Lusby (Calvert County) – 13th overall (3rd in male 20-29 age group division) – 20:48 (clock), 20:47 (watch)
21). Saturday, September 25, 2010 – 15th Annual North Beach 5K – North Beach (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall – 21:01
22). Saturday, October 2, 2010 – Inaugural Run and Rumble in the City for Autism 5K/10K Run (I ran the 5K) – Greensboro (Caroline County), MD – Winner – 18:45 (reported time),18:20 (clock) (the course was more like 2.91 miles long according to MapMyRun.Com)
23). Saturday, October 2, 2010 – 9th/10th Annual VP Shoes The Athlete 5K – Salisbury (Wicomico County), MD – 24th – 21:24 (3rd in male 20-29 age group division )
Please check out the events I did in 2009:
http://ranineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflection-on-2009.html
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
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Someone took home some hardware... It wasn't me, and it wasn't from a race...
Oh my, summer of 2010 has come and gone without an update on this blog. I have definitely been busy, with what, much of it I will tell in this blog.
When I last wrote on here, I was getting ready to do Katie's Run 5K in New Germany State Park in Grantsville (Garrett County), Maryland on Satuday, June 5th and I would also be with Kay part of the time. I was going to take her up towards southwestern Pennsylvania to meet one of her friends and spend the night with her, and I would spend the night with my friend Phil in western Maryland. That is where I left off.
Before I start talking about running here again, in case I did not mention it before, I was blessed to get into the Prince George's County Resident Teacher Dual Certification Program (which is an alternative route to teacher certification in both elementary education and special education). I got pretty busy with right quick, as the cohort I am with and I took two accelerated graduate-level education courses (and I had not even taken any graduate-level courses until these), interning as student teachers in a couple of different summer school settings in Prince George's County, and then going to other trainings/staff developments before I became a first grade special education teacher (which I currently am). So I am in my first month-and-a-half of teaching and it is pretty busy (and it is tougher on me mentally and emotionally I think because I feel like I have so much to learn about it that I do not know, so it's quite intimidating to say the least). God-willing I will get through all right and I am blessed to still be able to go to church, spend time with Kay, run, and eat. Starting this job my sleeping and eating felt thrown off quite a bit, though I think it may be starting to improve (at least my eating might be).
So back to the Katie's Run 5K that I ran in June. I spent the night before at my friend Phil's and his wife's house in western Maryland. The night before, my stomach was hurting (I think from indigestion of eating too much, and maybe also nerves of the upcoming race and other things). I woke up feeling all right, and as I drove off to the race, it was dreary/overcast, and ironically enough I was flipping through the radio stations, I heard a song I used to hear on the radio a lot in middle school when I was a rather avid listener of alternative/"modern rock" on 99.1 WHFS (which is no longer a radio station on 99.1). The song was Alanis Morrisette's "Ironic" (the song where its chorus goes "it's like rain (or rather "rayayne" on your wedding day"... And it looked like it was going to rain...
And what was even more ironic... I was getting closer to New Germany State Park, and me in my most excellent geographical no-how, somehow took the highway the wrong way and headed in the wrong direction right into southern Pennsylvania. YIKES! Right around the time I realized I was going the wrong way, I was flipping through the radio, when I heard some classical music playing... It was "Canon in D Major", by Johann Pachelbel, and it seemed a more quicker version, which was so funny because it was matching the more hurried mindset and mood that I was in once I realized I was going the wrong way and that I might miss the race as a result. I turned around at a hardware store after asking for directions and I felt like I floored it back down the highway. I hear that "Canon in D Major" at quite a few weddings, though today it seemed like my "rushing to get to the race" theme... Ironically, I think God used it to foreshadow what was to come later that day...
I was blessed to make good time, and I got to the race before it started, so I was able to start on time. The neat thing about this being an early June race up in the mountains of western Maryland was that it was pleasantly a little cooler and I did not have to contend with the heavier heat I had been trying to adjust to with my running during hte spring. The race started and we quickly got off the road onto some fields, around which was the first mile marker, that I managed to run through around the lower 6:30's (which I thought was pretty ambitious for me. I had heard this course was pretty challenging, and a lot of it was on trails. I wanted to make sure I ran safely and that I did not lose my glasses again like I had the previous weekend at the Patapsco State Park Trail Run (I dropped out of the race early on because I lost my glasses while crossing the river). Fortunately there were not any such crossings at this race.
The second mile was relatively flat with some subtle downhills and uphills, and then that party ended around the start of the third mile when there were plenty of uphills and at least one or two switchbacks. It seemed pretty challenging for the shape I was in, and my stomach was starting to hurt again. I am grateful that God kept me going all right, and that I did not trip or roll my ankle like I sometimes tend to do on these trail runs. It probably helped that I was running uphill, as it seems I roll my ankle on downhills since I often go faster downhill.
I'd say with about a half-a-mile to go, the uphills were over and we started on some downhills and it flattened out to a straight shot along a nice trail through the woods. At this point I was starting to pick up momentum, and there was a younger gentleman not too far ahead of me, but I did not really want to kick it in hard to further hurt my stomach and it would probably have slowed me up on recovering from this scenic race. Sure enough the trail opened into a field, and there was the finish line that I crossed in about 22:52. I can not quite remember what my goal was for the race, though I knew that I had hoped to be under 23 minutes and I felt like I worked for it!
I think it had started drizzling during the race, so we all quickly gathered in this building where the post-race celebration was. I did not earn an age-group award at this race, though that was fine because I enjoyed the race and I was feeling pretty tired with much on my mind about picking up Kay in Pennsylvania and then making the long drive back.
Fortunately, they had shower facilities in this building and I was able to take one before getting on the road for a long drive ahead...
I drove from Grantsville to the Bedford area of southern Pennsylvania (which has some really nice quaint small-town sections that I got to check out) to pick up Kay. Once I met her, we took a nice little walk around the parking lot to get stretched out for the drive back.
We had a nice drive back through rural southwestern Pennsylvania, and back into western Maryland. We got to drive through some of Garrett County along Highway 219 South. It was nice stopping at a McDonald's in Deep Creek right by the Deep Creek Lake area. Kay really thought it was beautiful, and it had been many years since she had been there. It had been over a year-and-a-half since I had been there with a church retreat in November of 2008. It was so great to be out there in the mountains with her, and this had been the furthest west in Maryland since we had been dating for over a year and I looked forward to the next as long as she would have me.
After eating at McDonald's the sun was starting to go down and it was getting a little cool and overcast. We headed west further into the mountains of Garrett County.
Now having a thing for running races (not to mention travelling through) all of Maryland's counties, I gained appreciation for something: I learned from my friend Phil about Backbone Mountain, and how that was Maryland's highest elevation point right in Oakland, Garret County, Maryland's county seat. Ever since Phil told me about it almost two years ago, I had wanted to see it, and after doing some research on the internet, I found out that the highest point on Maryland's state roads system was also there on Route 50 on Backbone Mountain. I knew that Kay and I enjoyed spending time in the car together, driving and having picnics, even right from the start of our relationship. I thought it would be excellent to surprise her by taking her up to Maryland's highest point on the state roads system on the way back.
As we drove through rural Oakland around the Redhouse, Maryland area, I had Kay put on her eye covering so that she could not see where I was taking her. It had started raining, and I was a bit disappointed because I wanted her to come out of the car and have a good look at where we would be along the road on Backbone Mountain... After all, it's not like this was in either of our local backyards!
As we drove up the mountain, leaving the fields and farmhouses below, I felt quiet, confident, and grateful that we were almost at the top. I was quiet because I did not want to let on where I was taking her, and confident that she would enjoy being up on the mountain.
Kay already had her raincoat on and I donned my Baltimore Ravens coat my parents gave to me as a present in December of 1998 (my freshman year of high school, and in fact I got that jacket after running an 11:55 at an indoor track and field meet at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore, Maryland; the first time I had broken 12 minutes in the 3200-meter race... Just an interesting side note).
It was already around 7 PM when we got there, and raining. We were tired, though I really wanted her to see the well-shaded area by the highway that was Maryland's highest point on its highway system. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and I was not going to let rain get in the way.
I had Kay take off her blindfold and look around. Kay and I both like toys, and attached to a fun kiddie toy I gave her was attached a note, and on that note was how much I liked and cared about her. I thought it was a perfect setting for it.
I had Kay step out of the car, telling her it would only be a couple of minutes. She stepped out of the car slowly, and I was shaking... Though probably not from the cool rain.
Here I was, with my girlfriend that I really liked, treasured, felt safe around... Someone who was so kind, loyal, compassionate, supportive, and beautiful to me. Kay is what God wants me to find in a woman; of that I am convinced. Here I was with Kay, on top of Maryland's highest point on its highway system. Maryland's highest point. I had been to every county of Maryland, having done something I truly enjoyed (running), and now here I was geographically higher up than Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, Saint Mary's, Somerset, Talbot, Washington, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties with the woman I hoped I would always be with. Talk about HIGH POINTS, I felt like I was living one... And that's what I told Kay.
I turned to Kay and I told her that we were at Backbone Mountain, Maryland's highest point on its state roads system. I told her that being with her has been one of the highest points of my life so far (and I hoped she agreed).
I remember back in high school, I needed to log service hours for Hammond High School's National Honor Society. One of the things I did was volunteer for Special Olympics in indoor basketball and outdoor track & field. I helped coach and support the athletes. I thought it was neat to help people who could not easily do what I enjoyed doing, be able to do those things (like running). They had a saying, I think it was actually a prayer, asking for God to give them the strength to win, and if not, to help them be bold in the attempt.
This day, I wanted God to bless me with boldness among other things.
Kay seemed to think it was sweet that I told her that being with her had been one of the highest points of my life so far. I guess I could not have asked for a better outcome.
C'mon Noah, don't say something stupid now.
My heart was beating faster under the 2007 National Trails Day Run t-shirt I was wearing. I had run that National Trails Day Run outside of historic Saint Mary's City in Saint Mary's County in southern Maryland on Saturday, June 2, 2007. That was my first race I had ever done in that county, and I ran it because that was during my first attempt at running a race in every Maryland county within the year 2007. That was a little over half-a-year before I met Kay at a New Year's Eve party at my friend Karen's house a right at the very end of 2007. How interesting, Kay grew up not too far from Saint Mary's County.
Even more interesting, this was the t-shirt I had worn the night we met on New Year's Eve!
Now I've had a crush on many a female; of that I will not lie. I've pursued some of them, and fortunately for them it did not work out, and fortunately for me it did not work out because I was very happy with Kay. It did not seem very long ago that just having a girlfriend that I really liked to hang out with, go to movies with, and have come to some of my races, seemed way too above me. I remember all those times going to a high school without a date. I remember all those times it seemed like just about everyone I knew had a girlfriend/boyfriend, except for me. I remembered the times I had asked girls that I liked out (or tried to ask them out), though it just did not work. I was not bitter about that now. Taking into consideration all of the girls I liked since I was a wee little kid (and having a crush on Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" counts here with me people) all the way up to when I became interested in Kay, what I said hoped would come to really mean something to Kay: I told her that of all the women I liked and had been involved with (and believe me I've been single just about all of my life up until Kay and I started going out on Sunday, April 19, 2009), that she was the woman that I had really been looking for, and that she was the one I wanted to be with.
Things seemed to grow quiet around us in the surrounding woods by the road; I do not even think I heard the rain.
I told her that we had entered this relationship holding hands, and I wanted to go forward in it holding hands. Then, I took her hand accordingly before she could back away or question what I was doing or why I was saying what I was saying.
It seemed to take a while for me to get to the ground, but in reality, it was only a matter of a few seconds around 7:18 P.M. on Saturday, June 5, 2010, when I got down on my right knee, pulled out an emerald-cut ring I bought on Saturday, August 22, 2009, looked Kay in her soft brown eyes... AND ASKED HER TO MARRY ME!!!!
SHE SAID YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Moments after Kay and I got engaged on Backbone Mountain, Maryland's highest elevation point in general and on its state roads system, we walked along the highest point on Maryland's state roads system, hand-in-hand, seeming to forget the soft rain! We were happy, energized, and just plain stoked! That was what we needed for a long drive back. We talked on the drive back, already drafting wedding plans and people we would look forward to telling the news too!
"It's like rayayne on your proposal day!!!!"
Well it was like Alanis Morrisette sang about rain on your wedding day, except it rained on our proposal day, and that was fine because it was all part of the memory. If it actually rains on our wedding day... That will be just fine!
It was nice how I had heard "Canon in D Major" by Pachelbel earlier that morning. In all honesty, I was hoping for wedding bells in our future that morning. That stomachache I had the previous evening was probably also compounded with anxiety of proposing to Kay coupled with weather reports of rain around the time I planned to propose to her. It was a great blessing to be able to even do a race the day Kay and I got engaged.
We plan to be married on Saturday, November 20, 2010 at her church, and we plan to be attending that church as a married couple, God-willing everything works out.
So that is probably another reason I have not gotten to blogging. Mainly it has been work-related stuff, though I have allowed myself to become pleasantly occupied helping Kay and both of our families prepare for our wedding that is now about a month-and-a-half away :) I am also looking to move to Calvert County, which is in southern Maryland within this month to rent a place by myself and then have Kay move in with me once we are married.
Well even though, I did not come away with any "hardware" (that's what us runners seem to often call rewards from races) from that day's race, Kay is now wearing one of the most beautiful pieces of hardware I have ever seen around her finger, and if anyone was going home with that around her finger that day, I am glad it was Kay :)
Races I Have Done This Year as of Saturday, June 5, 2010
1). Friday, January 1, 2010 – 3rd Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution Run 5K – Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 9th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 20:38 (clock time), 20:34 (watch time)
2). Sunday, January 10, 2010 – Mighty Medford Freeway 5K – Medford/Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 8th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 20:25
3). Sunday, March 7, 2010 – Howard County Striders “Operation Iceberg” Winter Series #6: Oakland Mills Middle School 6-Mile Race – 17th overall – 43:55 (ran at an even pace, and ran negative splits )too
4). Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 3rd Annual Pi-Mile (3.14-mile) Run – Patuxent High School, Lusby (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall (20-29 male age group division winner) – 23:29.0
5). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (9:00 A.M.) – Inaugural Francie’s Family 5K – Middletown Park, Middletown (Frederick County), MD – 10th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 2!:07.25
6). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (11:00 A.M.) – 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run – East Middle School, Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 23:54
7). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (1:00 P.M.) – 28th Annual “Forest of Needwood”/”Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial” 5 Mile Road Race – Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick (Frederick County), MD – 35th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) - 44:57 (clock time), 44:55 (watch time)
8). Saturday, April 3, 2010 – 2nd Annual Race for Joe 5K – Borough of Franklin Park/McCandless Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania – 13th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 21:01 (clock time), 20:57/20:58 (watch time)
9). Saturday, April 10, 2010 – 1st Annual Hills of Milltown 5K Challenge (it was closer to 3.45 miles according to someone’s GPS) – Historic Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (3rd in male 19-19 age-group division) – 24:21
10). Saturday, May 15, 2010 – 1st Annual Queen Anne’s Police K-9 Chase 5K (it was around 2.9 miles) – Terrapin Nature Center area, Stevensville/Kent Island – Queen Anne’s County, MD – 10th overall (4th in male 21-30 age-group division) - 21:58.9 (as of completing this race, I can say I have done a race on all general areas of the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island :)
11). Sunday, May 30, 2010 – Patapsco Trail Run – Avalon Area, Patapsco State Park, Catonsville (Baltimore County-into-Howard County-and-back-to-Baltimore County), MD – Dropped out a little after a mile into the race because I lost my glasses after a river crossing. I am grateful to )God I got back and out of the woods all right
12). Saturday, June 5, 2010 – Katie’s Run 5K - New Germany State Park, Grantsville (Garrett County), MD – 21st overall – 22:55 (clock), 22:53ish (watch)… This was the day Kay and I got engaged!!!!! :)
Please check out the events I did in 2009:
http://ranineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflection-on-2009.html
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
When I last wrote on here, I was getting ready to do Katie's Run 5K in New Germany State Park in Grantsville (Garrett County), Maryland on Satuday, June 5th and I would also be with Kay part of the time. I was going to take her up towards southwestern Pennsylvania to meet one of her friends and spend the night with her, and I would spend the night with my friend Phil in western Maryland. That is where I left off.
Before I start talking about running here again, in case I did not mention it before, I was blessed to get into the Prince George's County Resident Teacher Dual Certification Program (which is an alternative route to teacher certification in both elementary education and special education). I got pretty busy with right quick, as the cohort I am with and I took two accelerated graduate-level education courses (and I had not even taken any graduate-level courses until these), interning as student teachers in a couple of different summer school settings in Prince George's County, and then going to other trainings/staff developments before I became a first grade special education teacher (which I currently am). So I am in my first month-and-a-half of teaching and it is pretty busy (and it is tougher on me mentally and emotionally I think because I feel like I have so much to learn about it that I do not know, so it's quite intimidating to say the least). God-willing I will get through all right and I am blessed to still be able to go to church, spend time with Kay, run, and eat. Starting this job my sleeping and eating felt thrown off quite a bit, though I think it may be starting to improve (at least my eating might be).
So back to the Katie's Run 5K that I ran in June. I spent the night before at my friend Phil's and his wife's house in western Maryland. The night before, my stomach was hurting (I think from indigestion of eating too much, and maybe also nerves of the upcoming race and other things). I woke up feeling all right, and as I drove off to the race, it was dreary/overcast, and ironically enough I was flipping through the radio stations, I heard a song I used to hear on the radio a lot in middle school when I was a rather avid listener of alternative/"modern rock" on 99.1 WHFS (which is no longer a radio station on 99.1). The song was Alanis Morrisette's "Ironic" (the song where its chorus goes "it's like rain (or rather "rayayne" on your wedding day"... And it looked like it was going to rain...
And what was even more ironic... I was getting closer to New Germany State Park, and me in my most excellent geographical no-how, somehow took the highway the wrong way and headed in the wrong direction right into southern Pennsylvania. YIKES! Right around the time I realized I was going the wrong way, I was flipping through the radio, when I heard some classical music playing... It was "Canon in D Major", by Johann Pachelbel, and it seemed a more quicker version, which was so funny because it was matching the more hurried mindset and mood that I was in once I realized I was going the wrong way and that I might miss the race as a result. I turned around at a hardware store after asking for directions and I felt like I floored it back down the highway. I hear that "Canon in D Major" at quite a few weddings, though today it seemed like my "rushing to get to the race" theme... Ironically, I think God used it to foreshadow what was to come later that day...
I was blessed to make good time, and I got to the race before it started, so I was able to start on time. The neat thing about this being an early June race up in the mountains of western Maryland was that it was pleasantly a little cooler and I did not have to contend with the heavier heat I had been trying to adjust to with my running during hte spring. The race started and we quickly got off the road onto some fields, around which was the first mile marker, that I managed to run through around the lower 6:30's (which I thought was pretty ambitious for me. I had heard this course was pretty challenging, and a lot of it was on trails. I wanted to make sure I ran safely and that I did not lose my glasses again like I had the previous weekend at the Patapsco State Park Trail Run (I dropped out of the race early on because I lost my glasses while crossing the river). Fortunately there were not any such crossings at this race.
The second mile was relatively flat with some subtle downhills and uphills, and then that party ended around the start of the third mile when there were plenty of uphills and at least one or two switchbacks. It seemed pretty challenging for the shape I was in, and my stomach was starting to hurt again. I am grateful that God kept me going all right, and that I did not trip or roll my ankle like I sometimes tend to do on these trail runs. It probably helped that I was running uphill, as it seems I roll my ankle on downhills since I often go faster downhill.
I'd say with about a half-a-mile to go, the uphills were over and we started on some downhills and it flattened out to a straight shot along a nice trail through the woods. At this point I was starting to pick up momentum, and there was a younger gentleman not too far ahead of me, but I did not really want to kick it in hard to further hurt my stomach and it would probably have slowed me up on recovering from this scenic race. Sure enough the trail opened into a field, and there was the finish line that I crossed in about 22:52. I can not quite remember what my goal was for the race, though I knew that I had hoped to be under 23 minutes and I felt like I worked for it!
I think it had started drizzling during the race, so we all quickly gathered in this building where the post-race celebration was. I did not earn an age-group award at this race, though that was fine because I enjoyed the race and I was feeling pretty tired with much on my mind about picking up Kay in Pennsylvania and then making the long drive back.
Fortunately, they had shower facilities in this building and I was able to take one before getting on the road for a long drive ahead...
I drove from Grantsville to the Bedford area of southern Pennsylvania (which has some really nice quaint small-town sections that I got to check out) to pick up Kay. Once I met her, we took a nice little walk around the parking lot to get stretched out for the drive back.
We had a nice drive back through rural southwestern Pennsylvania, and back into western Maryland. We got to drive through some of Garrett County along Highway 219 South. It was nice stopping at a McDonald's in Deep Creek right by the Deep Creek Lake area. Kay really thought it was beautiful, and it had been many years since she had been there. It had been over a year-and-a-half since I had been there with a church retreat in November of 2008. It was so great to be out there in the mountains with her, and this had been the furthest west in Maryland since we had been dating for over a year and I looked forward to the next as long as she would have me.
After eating at McDonald's the sun was starting to go down and it was getting a little cool and overcast. We headed west further into the mountains of Garrett County.
Now having a thing for running races (not to mention travelling through) all of Maryland's counties, I gained appreciation for something: I learned from my friend Phil about Backbone Mountain, and how that was Maryland's highest elevation point right in Oakland, Garret County, Maryland's county seat. Ever since Phil told me about it almost two years ago, I had wanted to see it, and after doing some research on the internet, I found out that the highest point on Maryland's state roads system was also there on Route 50 on Backbone Mountain. I knew that Kay and I enjoyed spending time in the car together, driving and having picnics, even right from the start of our relationship. I thought it would be excellent to surprise her by taking her up to Maryland's highest point on the state roads system on the way back.
As we drove through rural Oakland around the Redhouse, Maryland area, I had Kay put on her eye covering so that she could not see where I was taking her. It had started raining, and I was a bit disappointed because I wanted her to come out of the car and have a good look at where we would be along the road on Backbone Mountain... After all, it's not like this was in either of our local backyards!
As we drove up the mountain, leaving the fields and farmhouses below, I felt quiet, confident, and grateful that we were almost at the top. I was quiet because I did not want to let on where I was taking her, and confident that she would enjoy being up on the mountain.
Kay already had her raincoat on and I donned my Baltimore Ravens coat my parents gave to me as a present in December of 1998 (my freshman year of high school, and in fact I got that jacket after running an 11:55 at an indoor track and field meet at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore, Maryland; the first time I had broken 12 minutes in the 3200-meter race... Just an interesting side note).
It was already around 7 PM when we got there, and raining. We were tired, though I really wanted her to see the well-shaded area by the highway that was Maryland's highest point on its highway system. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and I was not going to let rain get in the way.
I had Kay take off her blindfold and look around. Kay and I both like toys, and attached to a fun kiddie toy I gave her was attached a note, and on that note was how much I liked and cared about her. I thought it was a perfect setting for it.
I had Kay step out of the car, telling her it would only be a couple of minutes. She stepped out of the car slowly, and I was shaking... Though probably not from the cool rain.
Here I was, with my girlfriend that I really liked, treasured, felt safe around... Someone who was so kind, loyal, compassionate, supportive, and beautiful to me. Kay is what God wants me to find in a woman; of that I am convinced. Here I was with Kay, on top of Maryland's highest point on its highway system. Maryland's highest point. I had been to every county of Maryland, having done something I truly enjoyed (running), and now here I was geographically higher up than Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, Saint Mary's, Somerset, Talbot, Washington, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties with the woman I hoped I would always be with. Talk about HIGH POINTS, I felt like I was living one... And that's what I told Kay.
I turned to Kay and I told her that we were at Backbone Mountain, Maryland's highest point on its state roads system. I told her that being with her has been one of the highest points of my life so far (and I hoped she agreed).
I remember back in high school, I needed to log service hours for Hammond High School's National Honor Society. One of the things I did was volunteer for Special Olympics in indoor basketball and outdoor track & field. I helped coach and support the athletes. I thought it was neat to help people who could not easily do what I enjoyed doing, be able to do those things (like running). They had a saying, I think it was actually a prayer, asking for God to give them the strength to win, and if not, to help them be bold in the attempt.
This day, I wanted God to bless me with boldness among other things.
Kay seemed to think it was sweet that I told her that being with her had been one of the highest points of my life so far. I guess I could not have asked for a better outcome.
C'mon Noah, don't say something stupid now.
My heart was beating faster under the 2007 National Trails Day Run t-shirt I was wearing. I had run that National Trails Day Run outside of historic Saint Mary's City in Saint Mary's County in southern Maryland on Saturday, June 2, 2007. That was my first race I had ever done in that county, and I ran it because that was during my first attempt at running a race in every Maryland county within the year 2007. That was a little over half-a-year before I met Kay at a New Year's Eve party at my friend Karen's house a right at the very end of 2007. How interesting, Kay grew up not too far from Saint Mary's County.
Even more interesting, this was the t-shirt I had worn the night we met on New Year's Eve!
Now I've had a crush on many a female; of that I will not lie. I've pursued some of them, and fortunately for them it did not work out, and fortunately for me it did not work out because I was very happy with Kay. It did not seem very long ago that just having a girlfriend that I really liked to hang out with, go to movies with, and have come to some of my races, seemed way too above me. I remember all those times going to a high school without a date. I remember all those times it seemed like just about everyone I knew had a girlfriend/boyfriend, except for me. I remembered the times I had asked girls that I liked out (or tried to ask them out), though it just did not work. I was not bitter about that now. Taking into consideration all of the girls I liked since I was a wee little kid (and having a crush on Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" counts here with me people) all the way up to when I became interested in Kay, what I said hoped would come to really mean something to Kay: I told her that of all the women I liked and had been involved with (and believe me I've been single just about all of my life up until Kay and I started going out on Sunday, April 19, 2009), that she was the woman that I had really been looking for, and that she was the one I wanted to be with.
Things seemed to grow quiet around us in the surrounding woods by the road; I do not even think I heard the rain.
I told her that we had entered this relationship holding hands, and I wanted to go forward in it holding hands. Then, I took her hand accordingly before she could back away or question what I was doing or why I was saying what I was saying.
It seemed to take a while for me to get to the ground, but in reality, it was only a matter of a few seconds around 7:18 P.M. on Saturday, June 5, 2010, when I got down on my right knee, pulled out an emerald-cut ring I bought on Saturday, August 22, 2009, looked Kay in her soft brown eyes... AND ASKED HER TO MARRY ME!!!!
SHE SAID YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Moments after Kay and I got engaged on Backbone Mountain, Maryland's highest elevation point in general and on its state roads system, we walked along the highest point on Maryland's state roads system, hand-in-hand, seeming to forget the soft rain! We were happy, energized, and just plain stoked! That was what we needed for a long drive back. We talked on the drive back, already drafting wedding plans and people we would look forward to telling the news too!
"It's like rayayne on your proposal day!!!!"
Well it was like Alanis Morrisette sang about rain on your wedding day, except it rained on our proposal day, and that was fine because it was all part of the memory. If it actually rains on our wedding day... That will be just fine!
It was nice how I had heard "Canon in D Major" by Pachelbel earlier that morning. In all honesty, I was hoping for wedding bells in our future that morning. That stomachache I had the previous evening was probably also compounded with anxiety of proposing to Kay coupled with weather reports of rain around the time I planned to propose to her. It was a great blessing to be able to even do a race the day Kay and I got engaged.
We plan to be married on Saturday, November 20, 2010 at her church, and we plan to be attending that church as a married couple, God-willing everything works out.
So that is probably another reason I have not gotten to blogging. Mainly it has been work-related stuff, though I have allowed myself to become pleasantly occupied helping Kay and both of our families prepare for our wedding that is now about a month-and-a-half away :) I am also looking to move to Calvert County, which is in southern Maryland within this month to rent a place by myself and then have Kay move in with me once we are married.
Well even though, I did not come away with any "hardware" (that's what us runners seem to often call rewards from races) from that day's race, Kay is now wearing one of the most beautiful pieces of hardware I have ever seen around her finger, and if anyone was going home with that around her finger that day, I am glad it was Kay :)
Races I Have Done This Year as of Saturday, June 5, 2010
1). Friday, January 1, 2010 – 3rd Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution Run 5K – Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 9th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 20:38 (clock time), 20:34 (watch time)
2). Sunday, January 10, 2010 – Mighty Medford Freeway 5K – Medford/Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 8th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 20:25
3). Sunday, March 7, 2010 – Howard County Striders “Operation Iceberg” Winter Series #6: Oakland Mills Middle School 6-Mile Race – 17th overall – 43:55 (ran at an even pace, and ran negative splits )too
4). Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 3rd Annual Pi-Mile (3.14-mile) Run – Patuxent High School, Lusby (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall (20-29 male age group division winner) – 23:29.0
5). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (9:00 A.M.) – Inaugural Francie’s Family 5K – Middletown Park, Middletown (Frederick County), MD – 10th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 2!:07.25
6). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (11:00 A.M.) – 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run – East Middle School, Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 23:54
7). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (1:00 P.M.) – 28th Annual “Forest of Needwood”/”Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial” 5 Mile Road Race – Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick (Frederick County), MD – 35th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) - 44:57 (clock time), 44:55 (watch time)
8). Saturday, April 3, 2010 – 2nd Annual Race for Joe 5K – Borough of Franklin Park/McCandless Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania – 13th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 21:01 (clock time), 20:57/20:58 (watch time)
9). Saturday, April 10, 2010 – 1st Annual Hills of Milltown 5K Challenge (it was closer to 3.45 miles according to someone’s GPS) – Historic Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (3rd in male 19-19 age-group division) – 24:21
10). Saturday, May 15, 2010 – 1st Annual Queen Anne’s Police K-9 Chase 5K (it was around 2.9 miles) – Terrapin Nature Center area, Stevensville/Kent Island – Queen Anne’s County, MD – 10th overall (4th in male 21-30 age-group division) - 21:58.9 (as of completing this race, I can say I have done a race on all general areas of the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island :)
11). Sunday, May 30, 2010 – Patapsco Trail Run – Avalon Area, Patapsco State Park, Catonsville (Baltimore County-into-Howard County-and-back-to-Baltimore County), MD – Dropped out a little after a mile into the race because I lost my glasses after a river crossing. I am grateful to )God I got back and out of the woods all right
12). Saturday, June 5, 2010 – Katie’s Run 5K - New Germany State Park, Grantsville (Garrett County), MD – 21st overall – 22:55 (clock), 22:53ish (watch)… This was the day Kay and I got engaged!!!!! :)
Please check out the events I did in 2009:
http://ranineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflection-on-2009.html
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
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Hoping to actually go to Garrett County, Maryland for a 5K this weekend
Hi there everyone. It looks like I will be going out to Garrett County, Maryland this weekend to spend some time with my friend Phil who lives around there. While I am in town, I hope to run this Katie's 5K Race that I have never run before. I have heard it is fairly challenging, and that it is on scenic trails as well as park roads (so says the online registration from at Queen City Striders' website (http://www.qcstriders.org). I am thinking I may have a decent chance of breaking 22 minutes on this course, if not hopefully it will not take me much longer than 22 minutes on that race. The race is in the New Germany State Park in Grantsville, Maryland. I heard that park is a pretty neat one too.
It has been over a year since I have run a race in Garrett County, Maryland's westernmost county that seems to have some of Maryland's highest elevation points. It is quite mountainous out there. I am sure this race will not come that easy for me, especially in the shape I have been in lately. If you could say a prayer for me, that would be awesome. Thank you, and I thank you all for stopping by! Have a blessed week :)
Races I Have Done This Year as of Thursday, June 3, 2010
1). Friday, January 1, 2010 – 3rd Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution Run 5K – Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 9th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 20:38 (clock time), 20:34 (watch time)
2). Sunday, January 10, 2010 – Mighty Medford Freeway 5K – Medford/Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 8th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 20:25
3). Sunday, March 7, 2010 – Howard County Striders “Operation Iceberg” Winter Series #6: Oakland Mills Middle School 6-Mile Race – 17th overall – 43:55 (ran at an even pace, and ran negative splits too )
4). Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 3rd Annual Pi-Mile (3.14-mile) Run – Patuxent High School, Lusby (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall (20-29 male age group division winner) – 23:29.0
5). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (9:00 A.M.) – Inaugural Francie’s Family 5K – Middletown Park, Middletown (Frederick County), MD – 10th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 2!:07.25
6). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (11:00 A.M.) – 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run – East Middle School, Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 23:54
7). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (1:00 P.M.) – 28th Annual “Forest of Needwood”/”Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial” 5 Mile Road Race – Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick (Frederick County), MD – 35th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) - 44:57 (clock time), 44:55 (watch time)
8). Saturday, April 3, 2010 – 2nd Annual Race for Joe 5K – Borough of Franklin Park/McCandless Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania – 13th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 21:01 (clock time), 20:57/20:58 (watch time)
9). Saturday, April 10, 2010 – 1st Annual Hills of Milltown 5K Challenge (it was closer to 3.45 miles according to someone’s GPS) – Historic Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (3rd in male 19-19 age-group division) – 24:21
10). Saturday, May 15, 2010 – 1st Annual Queen Anne’s Police K-9 Chase 5K (it was around 2.9 miles) – Terrapin Nature Center area, Stevensville/Kent Island – Queen Anne’s County, MD – 10th overall (4th in male 21-30 age-group division) - 21:58.9 (as of completing this race, I can say I have done a race on all general areas of the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island )
11). Sunday, May 30, 2010 – Patapsco Trail Run – Avalon Area, Patapsco State Park, Catonsville (Baltimore County-into-Howard County-and-back-to-Baltimore County), MD – Dropped out a little after a mile into the race because I lost my glasses after a river crossing. I am grateful to God I got back and out of the woods all right )
Please check out the events I did in 2009:
http://ranineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflection-on-2009.html
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
It has been over a year since I have run a race in Garrett County, Maryland's westernmost county that seems to have some of Maryland's highest elevation points. It is quite mountainous out there. I am sure this race will not come that easy for me, especially in the shape I have been in lately. If you could say a prayer for me, that would be awesome. Thank you, and I thank you all for stopping by! Have a blessed week :)
Races I Have Done This Year as of Thursday, June 3, 2010
1). Friday, January 1, 2010 – 3rd Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution Run 5K – Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 9th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 20:38 (clock time), 20:34 (watch time)
2). Sunday, January 10, 2010 – Mighty Medford Freeway 5K – Medford/Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 8th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 20:25
3). Sunday, March 7, 2010 – Howard County Striders “Operation Iceberg” Winter Series #6: Oakland Mills Middle School 6-Mile Race – 17th overall – 43:55 (ran at an even pace, and ran negative splits too )
4). Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 3rd Annual Pi-Mile (3.14-mile) Run – Patuxent High School, Lusby (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall (20-29 male age group division winner) – 23:29.0
5). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (9:00 A.M.) – Inaugural Francie’s Family 5K – Middletown Park, Middletown (Frederick County), MD – 10th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 2!:07.25
6). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (11:00 A.M.) – 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run – East Middle School, Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 23:54
7). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (1:00 P.M.) – 28th Annual “Forest of Needwood”/”Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial” 5 Mile Road Race – Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick (Frederick County), MD – 35th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) - 44:57 (clock time), 44:55 (watch time)
8). Saturday, April 3, 2010 – 2nd Annual Race for Joe 5K – Borough of Franklin Park/McCandless Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania – 13th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 21:01 (clock time), 20:57/20:58 (watch time)
9). Saturday, April 10, 2010 – 1st Annual Hills of Milltown 5K Challenge (it was closer to 3.45 miles according to someone’s GPS) – Historic Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (3rd in male 19-19 age-group division) – 24:21
10). Saturday, May 15, 2010 – 1st Annual Queen Anne’s Police K-9 Chase 5K (it was around 2.9 miles) – Terrapin Nature Center area, Stevensville/Kent Island – Queen Anne’s County, MD – 10th overall (4th in male 21-30 age-group division) - 21:58.9 (as of completing this race, I can say I have done a race on all general areas of the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island )
11). Sunday, May 30, 2010 – Patapsco Trail Run – Avalon Area, Patapsco State Park, Catonsville (Baltimore County-into-Howard County-and-back-to-Baltimore County), MD – Dropped out a little after a mile into the race because I lost my glasses after a river crossing. I am grateful to God I got back and out of the woods all right )
Please check out the events I did in 2009:
http://ranineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflection-on-2009.html
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
A nice refreshing dunk... Just couldn't see to well after!
I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day :)
Last Sunday (May 30, 2010) I went to the Patapsco Trail Race in Catonsville (Baltimore County), MD. I have done this low-key running event before in 2007 and 2008, and both times they were slightly different courses. I like it because it is relatively inexpensive and close to where I live. The course is fairly rocky and quite hilly in some areas, so I have taken this slow in the past, and that was what I intended to do with this one.
I had not run anything longer than about 5.5 miles since I got back from my last break from running, so I intended this 6+-mile race to be a "long run of the week" for me.
When I got there, it was pretty hot and fairly humid. They apparently had a record turnout of over 100 participants, and I was waiting in the registration line for the better part of 10 minutes probably. By the time, I registered, I drank more than half of my water bottle and I realized I should probably run with it in this race, and take it real slow. I was grateful to hear that there would be a fairly deep river crossing somewhere along the course. I had also hear that this course was probably gonna be longer than what it was the previous two times I had run it, because I heard it was gonna be somewhere fairly well over 6 miles. Though, I hoped that if I ran with my now-almost-empty water bottle, and if I maybe really soaked in the deep river crossing, I would be able to get through all right. I was definitely feeling a little doubtful about it, since my mouth was kind of feeling dry and I heard there weren't gonna be any water stops. I prayed and I had confidence that God would get me through, as He has always done.
The race started, and I started towards the back. Not more than about 15 seconds after it started, I was slowed to a slow trot as the crowd backed up to a narrow and somewhat steep and fairly rocky descent into the woods towards a creek. In the past this downhill seemed more steep and treacherous with rocks, in fact the first time I ran on it with my friend David several years back, I twisted my ankle on it. Yet, I was fortuante it did not seem that bad this time around.
Once I got more on the water level and splashed as we ran through a couple of puddles/creeks, I felt pretty good, in fact much better than I had before. We got out onto a portion of road not more than a mile into the race, and I saw a water spicket off to the side of the road, and I excitedly angled toward it, and stopped briefly to fill up my water bottle and grab a sip of it. Now I think I was ready to get moving with this run.
A few minutes later, we turned back onto the trails and soon came to a deep river crossing (which I later found out was the Patapsco river dividing Baltimore and Howard Counties). I joyfully got in the water, swam in it a bit, slipped, plodded/waded through it, and then just before I got to the bank on the Howard County side of it, I went under to really cool off, and once I got to Howard County on the riverbank, I realized my glasses were gone! AHHH!
I had probably not gone much more than a mile into the race, and there was probably well over 5 miles of some fairly treacherous trail ahead. Without my glasses that could be dangerous for me; and I would need to really have my wits about me driving home without my glasses. I quickly thought it was best to just retrace my steps the way I came and drop out of the race. I now had bigger worries on my mind (for one thing, I had made Memorial Weekend plans with Kay, and I would have to cancel on her if I could not get replacements and be able to drive safely). Fortunately, I was blessed to be able to find my way out all right. Some bikers helped me find the trail once I got back on the road, and then I found one of the race coordinators, and he was running back towards the start/finish area outside of the woods, so we ran back there together. I think we got out of the woods in a little over 43 minutes, around 10 minutes before the gentleman in first place finished.
Fortunately, I was not too far from where I lived, and once I got back, showered, called my mother for a ride to the eyeglass store, my dad had actually found older glasses of mine from several years ago. That was such an awesome blessing, because even though the prescription was probably a little outdated, they fit well and I could see fine to the point where I almost forgot I was without my current pair.
I am so grateful I got out of those woods safely, and that I still have glasses to drive about safely in. I have been wearing glasses since I was in kindergarten, so I have gotten used to them (and I hope I am not making much of a crutch of them either).
So that was my racing adventure this past weekend. Last time I ran a trail race like that was mid-July last summer when I did the St. Roch's Trail Race (I ran the 7K option), where I fell and my glasses fell off, and after about 15 minutes or so of looking, some other runners helped me find them, and I ran the rest of the way with them in hand.
I think the next time I run a really rugged trail race like that, I should really be careful... And not be so quick to take a dip if I want to cool down... "Cooling down' should maybe be a nice light jog after the race.
Last Sunday (May 30, 2010) I went to the Patapsco Trail Race in Catonsville (Baltimore County), MD. I have done this low-key running event before in 2007 and 2008, and both times they were slightly different courses. I like it because it is relatively inexpensive and close to where I live. The course is fairly rocky and quite hilly in some areas, so I have taken this slow in the past, and that was what I intended to do with this one.
I had not run anything longer than about 5.5 miles since I got back from my last break from running, so I intended this 6+-mile race to be a "long run of the week" for me.
When I got there, it was pretty hot and fairly humid. They apparently had a record turnout of over 100 participants, and I was waiting in the registration line for the better part of 10 minutes probably. By the time, I registered, I drank more than half of my water bottle and I realized I should probably run with it in this race, and take it real slow. I was grateful to hear that there would be a fairly deep river crossing somewhere along the course. I had also hear that this course was probably gonna be longer than what it was the previous two times I had run it, because I heard it was gonna be somewhere fairly well over 6 miles. Though, I hoped that if I ran with my now-almost-empty water bottle, and if I maybe really soaked in the deep river crossing, I would be able to get through all right. I was definitely feeling a little doubtful about it, since my mouth was kind of feeling dry and I heard there weren't gonna be any water stops. I prayed and I had confidence that God would get me through, as He has always done.
The race started, and I started towards the back. Not more than about 15 seconds after it started, I was slowed to a slow trot as the crowd backed up to a narrow and somewhat steep and fairly rocky descent into the woods towards a creek. In the past this downhill seemed more steep and treacherous with rocks, in fact the first time I ran on it with my friend David several years back, I twisted my ankle on it. Yet, I was fortuante it did not seem that bad this time around.
Once I got more on the water level and splashed as we ran through a couple of puddles/creeks, I felt pretty good, in fact much better than I had before. We got out onto a portion of road not more than a mile into the race, and I saw a water spicket off to the side of the road, and I excitedly angled toward it, and stopped briefly to fill up my water bottle and grab a sip of it. Now I think I was ready to get moving with this run.
A few minutes later, we turned back onto the trails and soon came to a deep river crossing (which I later found out was the Patapsco river dividing Baltimore and Howard Counties). I joyfully got in the water, swam in it a bit, slipped, plodded/waded through it, and then just before I got to the bank on the Howard County side of it, I went under to really cool off, and once I got to Howard County on the riverbank, I realized my glasses were gone! AHHH!
I had probably not gone much more than a mile into the race, and there was probably well over 5 miles of some fairly treacherous trail ahead. Without my glasses that could be dangerous for me; and I would need to really have my wits about me driving home without my glasses. I quickly thought it was best to just retrace my steps the way I came and drop out of the race. I now had bigger worries on my mind (for one thing, I had made Memorial Weekend plans with Kay, and I would have to cancel on her if I could not get replacements and be able to drive safely). Fortunately, I was blessed to be able to find my way out all right. Some bikers helped me find the trail once I got back on the road, and then I found one of the race coordinators, and he was running back towards the start/finish area outside of the woods, so we ran back there together. I think we got out of the woods in a little over 43 minutes, around 10 minutes before the gentleman in first place finished.
Fortunately, I was not too far from where I lived, and once I got back, showered, called my mother for a ride to the eyeglass store, my dad had actually found older glasses of mine from several years ago. That was such an awesome blessing, because even though the prescription was probably a little outdated, they fit well and I could see fine to the point where I almost forgot I was without my current pair.
I am so grateful I got out of those woods safely, and that I still have glasses to drive about safely in. I have been wearing glasses since I was in kindergarten, so I have gotten used to them (and I hope I am not making much of a crutch of them either).
So that was my racing adventure this past weekend. Last time I ran a trail race like that was mid-July last summer when I did the St. Roch's Trail Race (I ran the 7K option), where I fell and my glasses fell off, and after about 15 minutes or so of looking, some other runners helped me find them, and I ran the rest of the way with them in hand.
I think the next time I run a really rugged trail race like that, I should really be careful... And not be so quick to take a dip if I want to cool down... "Cooling down' should maybe be a nice light jog after the race.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Gotta "Jump Back In" On This Running Thing!
A few years ago when I was a long-term substitute teacher at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia (Howard County), MD in 2007. During that time, we saw this new Disney movie called "Jump In". The movie had popular stars like Keke Palmer and Corbin Bleu, and it was about this teen who was a boxer (played by Corbin Bleu, who was also in the popular "High School Musical" series) who got into competitive double-dutch jump-roping through a team that his sister was on. He finds that he is good at it and can excel at it. I know this may sound a little corny, but I felt inspired by this movie, especially since I was getting into my first endeavor of running in a running event in every Maryland county before 2007 ended. The kids seemed to like it for the most part. There was this one song from Corbin Bleu (I think it was him who was singing it) that seemed to stick out from the movie, the chorus of which went something like this: "Push it, push it to the limit, limit, 'cause you're in it to win it, win it!"
The students seemed to find it upbeat and inspiring. Again, not to sound too corny, I did too!
So I find myself thinking back to movies like that lately, especially since I think I am in my biggest running rut since I began running about 13 years ago in the seventh grade. I feel like I have not put in as much effort as I have been to run three miles under 22 minutes since the summer of 1998 before I started high school! So far, my fastest 5K has been recently, around 22:10 on a flat track as a split on an independent 5.5-mile outdoor track run. Up until that point, I don't think I had run a 5K in under 23 minutes in over a month! It has probably also been about two months now since I have run under a six-minute mile (then again, I haven't really been trying to do that as much as I have been focusing on building an endurance base with steady distance runs). Usually when I come back from breaks from running, I can usually run better times for certain distances, and without it being more of an ordeal (and of course there is also the challenge this time around of me getting adjusted to the heat). One example of this was back in 2006 when I ran the Metric Marathon of 26.2 kilometers (approximately 16.3 miles) in Howard County, Maryland, and that has been the longest race I have run to-date. Not long after that, I took a break from running for about a month or so after running a relatively longer race for me, and running so well at quite a higher quantity of races leading up to the Metric Marathon. When I started back around mid January of 2007, I started off trying to do more of my runs on a smoother and flatter surface: an outdoor track (usually the one at Hammond High School where I was living at the time in Howard County, Maryland). I worked all the way up to about 4.5 miles on the track during that winter of 2007. I remember on one of those runs, I had done four miles in about 26:25 on no more than four hours of sleep from working a long very early morning shift just before I ran that run. Then, not long after, I had a pretty strong 28:05ish thereabouts for 4.5 miles on the track. With that run, I think I remember going through the first mile around 6:06/6:07ish, the second mile in an even 12:13ish, my 5-kilometer split was right around the lower end of 19 minutes, and had my leg not started cramping up around then, I probably would have broken 28 minutes on that solo run. Back then I was reasonably happy with that. Now over three years later, I would probably celebrate ferociously if I ran a time like that for 4.5 miles, even if it were on a flat track.
I am not complaining, I am just making a point about how I seemed to have notably slowed up. This time around I have worked my distance runs up to 5.5 miles on the track and I think that is how far I will run on a track at this particular point. Here is how some of them went that I remember:
3.5 miles - I remember the heat was a pretty challenging factor here, as I worked fairly hard to run this distance in about 25:56
4 miles - Friday afternoon run, I ran this in about 30:04
4.5 miles - Another Friday afternoon run at a pace fairly similar to the recent 4-mile run on the track. Towards the end of the run, I had a feeling that I might be able to run my 4-mile split a little faster than I had done the four-mile run recently, and I wanted to get it under 30 minutes, and I went through four miles in 29:56 thereabouts, and kept up the slightly-under-7:30-mile-pace and finished the 4.5 miles in about 33:38.
5 miles - I started out on this track run relatively slowly, and that's what I wanted. In fact, I ran the first quarter-mile with my cellphone, leaving a voicemail with my girlfriend, Kay, as I was talking through a wired headset. I was going quite slow, and I went through the first quarter-mile in 2:53 (and usually I;m at least a minute faster than that). Then, the next lap I still held onto my cell phone and that slowed me up a bit, though I was still able to pick up the pace considerable. After those first two laps I was able to put my cellphone down with my other stuff, and I was able to maintain a relatively chill pace (though still faster than what I ran my first lap in). My first mile was 9:27, though my second mile must have been about an 8:02 since my 2-mile split was about 17:29. I ended up finishing the five-mile distance in 40:31, averaging about 8:06-per-mile, which is quite an improvement over the 9:27-mile I first went out at.
Then, came the next day (which is now this past Tuesday, May 25, 2010), when I ran 5.5 miles (the last in this series of track distance runs that I hope to do for a while). It was hotter than many of the other days I had been out running lately. Since I noticed a lot of my times were right around or barely under averaging 7:30-per-mile, I wanted to see if I could run this distance in under a 7:30-per-mile-pace (which would mean running it in under 41:15). If I did not run faster than that time, I would probably try that goal with this distance again in the near future.
I think oftentimes when I set goals like that, I go out a little faster than intended to really try and meet that goal.
That's what happened with the first mile, which I went through in 7:03, one of my faster miles I have run since I started back at the beginning of this month. Then, I must have dropped around a 6:57 the next mile, because I was at 14:00 for the second mile. Then, I ran through 2.5 miles in 17:35/17:36. All I knew was at this point, I was running faster on this training run than I had on all of my other ones this month.
To my pleasant surprise, I slowed a bit, yet still went through three miles in 21:14, which was obviously faster than the 21:58 I had run the approximately-2.9-mile distance of the Queen Anne's County 5K Police K-9 Chase I had run on Kent Island on Saturday, May 15, 2010, and this was 3 miles, a little bit longer than 2.9 miles (and up until this point, that race was probably the fastest time I had run for a distance around three miles this month). I went through about 5-kilometers (approximately 3.1 miles) in 22:10, my fastest 5K this month as I mentioned earlier. Okay, all those stats aside, I pressed on feeling a little more encouraged, yet apprehensive that the heat would eventually get to me or that my somewhat stiff right knee/leg would start giving me more noticeable problems. Yet, God helped me keep going. I noticed that my mouth was not nearly as dry as it had been lately with the heat, and I felt a little more like my normal running self.
At about 3.5 miles I was at around 24:49 I think, then I was very delighted to have run my fastest four-mile time in a while as my 4-mile split was 28:45 (a minute-and-eleven seconds faster than the 29:56 I had run recently on a 4.5-mile run). I was feeling quite optimistic about this, and I think my 4.5-mile split was around 32:40ish. With less than a mile to go, I was very confident that God would get me through this in a healthy manner.
Throughout the run, I toyed with the idea of trying to do the whole thing in not only under 41:15, but under 40 minutes as well, though most of the time I thought it would be too much of an exertion. However, after running through five miles in 36:10, I prayed that God would help me finish this five-and-a-half-mile run in under 40 minutes. And He helped me do just that as I picked up the pace a little bit to run those last two laps in about 3:30, and finish the entire run in a time of 39:40, surpassing my goal for the run by well over a minute!
I don't want to jump the gun here and call this a "break-thru run" where I may be "breaking out" of this rut I have been finding myself in with running, but it was so sweetly ironic. The longest training run I have done this month has pretty much been my fastest, surpassing in pace what I ran my 3.5-mile, 4-mile, 4.5-mile, and especially my 5-mile-run times earlier this month. I will honestly admit that this was one of the runs where I really felt stronger than many of the other ones I ran this month. I think that it made a noticeable difference not having the dry mouth bother me as much (if at all, I really do not remember noticing it). Perhaps if it was allergies causing it, they may be subsiding now.
I know I gotta stay focused and not allow the fact that my running has pretty much been in a rut this school year (which also involved taking two breaks from it) cause me to lose hope that things can get better again. I gotta trust that whatever happens with it, that God is in control and that this is happening for a reason; the nobility and goodness of which I may never come to understand. I feel that the devil may want me to get down on myself about it, but I have to remember that he is the enemy that has come to kill and destroy, and in God's name I will not and do not want the enemy to have that kind of foothold in my life! This gift and passion for running, like anything else, is a gift from God that He can give and take away as He pleases and sees fit for His perfect will. I am gonna make the best of where I am at, maybe do more races as the weather gets a little cooler towards the fall, and just try to enjoy my running in its present form. Things could be a lot worse, and as I try to think and say many times, I am blessed to be running.
"Push it, push it, to the limit, limit!" - Corbin Bleu from "Jump In"
Races I Have Done This Year as of Tuesday, May 25, 2010
1). Friday, January 1, 2010 – 3rd Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution Run 5K – Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 9th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 20:38 (clock time), 20:34 (watch time)
2). Sunday, January 10, 2010 – Mighty Medford Freeway 5K – Medford/Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 8th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 20:25
3). Sunday, March 7, 2010 – Howard County Striders “Operation Iceberg” Winter Series #6: Oakland Mills Middle School 6-Mile Race – 17th overall – 43:55 (ran at an even pace, and ran negative splits too )
4). Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 3rd Annual Pi-Mile (3.14-mile) Run – Patuxent High School, Lusby (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall (20-29 male age group division winner) – 23:29.0
5). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (9:00 A.M.) – Inaugural Francie’s Family 5K – Middletown Park, Middletown (Frederick County), MD – 10th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 2!:07.25
6). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (11:00 A.M.) – 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run – East Middle School, Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 23:54
7). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (1:00 P.M.) – 28th Annual “Forest of Needwood”/”Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial” 5 Mile Road Race – Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick (Frederick County), MD – 35th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) - 44:57 (clock time), 44:55 (watch time)
8). Saturday, April 3, 2010 – 2nd Annual Race for Joe 5K – Borough of Franklin Park/McCandless Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania – 13th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 21:01 (clock time), 20:57/20:58 (watch time)
9). Saturday, April 10, 2010 – 1st Annual Hills of Milltown 5K Challenge (it was closer to 3.45 miles according to someone’s GPS) – Historic Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (3rd in male 19-19 age-group division) – 24:21
10). Saturday, May 15, 2010 – 1st Annual Queen Anne’s Police K-9 Chase 5K (it was around 2.9 miles) – Terrapin Nature Center area, Stevensville/Kent Island – Queen Anne’s County, MD – 10th overall (4th in male 21-30 age-group division) - 21:58.9 (as of completing this race, I can say I have done a race on all general areas of the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island )
Please check out the events I did in 2009:
http://ranineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflection-on-2009.html
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
The students seemed to find it upbeat and inspiring. Again, not to sound too corny, I did too!
So I find myself thinking back to movies like that lately, especially since I think I am in my biggest running rut since I began running about 13 years ago in the seventh grade. I feel like I have not put in as much effort as I have been to run three miles under 22 minutes since the summer of 1998 before I started high school! So far, my fastest 5K has been recently, around 22:10 on a flat track as a split on an independent 5.5-mile outdoor track run. Up until that point, I don't think I had run a 5K in under 23 minutes in over a month! It has probably also been about two months now since I have run under a six-minute mile (then again, I haven't really been trying to do that as much as I have been focusing on building an endurance base with steady distance runs). Usually when I come back from breaks from running, I can usually run better times for certain distances, and without it being more of an ordeal (and of course there is also the challenge this time around of me getting adjusted to the heat). One example of this was back in 2006 when I ran the Metric Marathon of 26.2 kilometers (approximately 16.3 miles) in Howard County, Maryland, and that has been the longest race I have run to-date. Not long after that, I took a break from running for about a month or so after running a relatively longer race for me, and running so well at quite a higher quantity of races leading up to the Metric Marathon. When I started back around mid January of 2007, I started off trying to do more of my runs on a smoother and flatter surface: an outdoor track (usually the one at Hammond High School where I was living at the time in Howard County, Maryland). I worked all the way up to about 4.5 miles on the track during that winter of 2007. I remember on one of those runs, I had done four miles in about 26:25 on no more than four hours of sleep from working a long very early morning shift just before I ran that run. Then, not long after, I had a pretty strong 28:05ish thereabouts for 4.5 miles on the track. With that run, I think I remember going through the first mile around 6:06/6:07ish, the second mile in an even 12:13ish, my 5-kilometer split was right around the lower end of 19 minutes, and had my leg not started cramping up around then, I probably would have broken 28 minutes on that solo run. Back then I was reasonably happy with that. Now over three years later, I would probably celebrate ferociously if I ran a time like that for 4.5 miles, even if it were on a flat track.
I am not complaining, I am just making a point about how I seemed to have notably slowed up. This time around I have worked my distance runs up to 5.5 miles on the track and I think that is how far I will run on a track at this particular point. Here is how some of them went that I remember:
3.5 miles - I remember the heat was a pretty challenging factor here, as I worked fairly hard to run this distance in about 25:56
4 miles - Friday afternoon run, I ran this in about 30:04
4.5 miles - Another Friday afternoon run at a pace fairly similar to the recent 4-mile run on the track. Towards the end of the run, I had a feeling that I might be able to run my 4-mile split a little faster than I had done the four-mile run recently, and I wanted to get it under 30 minutes, and I went through four miles in 29:56 thereabouts, and kept up the slightly-under-7:30-mile-pace and finished the 4.5 miles in about 33:38.
5 miles - I started out on this track run relatively slowly, and that's what I wanted. In fact, I ran the first quarter-mile with my cellphone, leaving a voicemail with my girlfriend, Kay, as I was talking through a wired headset. I was going quite slow, and I went through the first quarter-mile in 2:53 (and usually I;m at least a minute faster than that). Then, the next lap I still held onto my cell phone and that slowed me up a bit, though I was still able to pick up the pace considerable. After those first two laps I was able to put my cellphone down with my other stuff, and I was able to maintain a relatively chill pace (though still faster than what I ran my first lap in). My first mile was 9:27, though my second mile must have been about an 8:02 since my 2-mile split was about 17:29. I ended up finishing the five-mile distance in 40:31, averaging about 8:06-per-mile, which is quite an improvement over the 9:27-mile I first went out at.
Then, came the next day (which is now this past Tuesday, May 25, 2010), when I ran 5.5 miles (the last in this series of track distance runs that I hope to do for a while). It was hotter than many of the other days I had been out running lately. Since I noticed a lot of my times were right around or barely under averaging 7:30-per-mile, I wanted to see if I could run this distance in under a 7:30-per-mile-pace (which would mean running it in under 41:15). If I did not run faster than that time, I would probably try that goal with this distance again in the near future.
I think oftentimes when I set goals like that, I go out a little faster than intended to really try and meet that goal.
That's what happened with the first mile, which I went through in 7:03, one of my faster miles I have run since I started back at the beginning of this month. Then, I must have dropped around a 6:57 the next mile, because I was at 14:00 for the second mile. Then, I ran through 2.5 miles in 17:35/17:36. All I knew was at this point, I was running faster on this training run than I had on all of my other ones this month.
To my pleasant surprise, I slowed a bit, yet still went through three miles in 21:14, which was obviously faster than the 21:58 I had run the approximately-2.9-mile distance of the Queen Anne's County 5K Police K-9 Chase I had run on Kent Island on Saturday, May 15, 2010, and this was 3 miles, a little bit longer than 2.9 miles (and up until this point, that race was probably the fastest time I had run for a distance around three miles this month). I went through about 5-kilometers (approximately 3.1 miles) in 22:10, my fastest 5K this month as I mentioned earlier. Okay, all those stats aside, I pressed on feeling a little more encouraged, yet apprehensive that the heat would eventually get to me or that my somewhat stiff right knee/leg would start giving me more noticeable problems. Yet, God helped me keep going. I noticed that my mouth was not nearly as dry as it had been lately with the heat, and I felt a little more like my normal running self.
At about 3.5 miles I was at around 24:49 I think, then I was very delighted to have run my fastest four-mile time in a while as my 4-mile split was 28:45 (a minute-and-eleven seconds faster than the 29:56 I had run recently on a 4.5-mile run). I was feeling quite optimistic about this, and I think my 4.5-mile split was around 32:40ish. With less than a mile to go, I was very confident that God would get me through this in a healthy manner.
Throughout the run, I toyed with the idea of trying to do the whole thing in not only under 41:15, but under 40 minutes as well, though most of the time I thought it would be too much of an exertion. However, after running through five miles in 36:10, I prayed that God would help me finish this five-and-a-half-mile run in under 40 minutes. And He helped me do just that as I picked up the pace a little bit to run those last two laps in about 3:30, and finish the entire run in a time of 39:40, surpassing my goal for the run by well over a minute!
I don't want to jump the gun here and call this a "break-thru run" where I may be "breaking out" of this rut I have been finding myself in with running, but it was so sweetly ironic. The longest training run I have done this month has pretty much been my fastest, surpassing in pace what I ran my 3.5-mile, 4-mile, 4.5-mile, and especially my 5-mile-run times earlier this month. I will honestly admit that this was one of the runs where I really felt stronger than many of the other ones I ran this month. I think that it made a noticeable difference not having the dry mouth bother me as much (if at all, I really do not remember noticing it). Perhaps if it was allergies causing it, they may be subsiding now.
I know I gotta stay focused and not allow the fact that my running has pretty much been in a rut this school year (which also involved taking two breaks from it) cause me to lose hope that things can get better again. I gotta trust that whatever happens with it, that God is in control and that this is happening for a reason; the nobility and goodness of which I may never come to understand. I feel that the devil may want me to get down on myself about it, but I have to remember that he is the enemy that has come to kill and destroy, and in God's name I will not and do not want the enemy to have that kind of foothold in my life! This gift and passion for running, like anything else, is a gift from God that He can give and take away as He pleases and sees fit for His perfect will. I am gonna make the best of where I am at, maybe do more races as the weather gets a little cooler towards the fall, and just try to enjoy my running in its present form. Things could be a lot worse, and as I try to think and say many times, I am blessed to be running.
"Push it, push it, to the limit, limit!" - Corbin Bleu from "Jump In"
Races I Have Done This Year as of Tuesday, May 25, 2010
1). Friday, January 1, 2010 – 3rd Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution Run 5K – Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 9th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 20:38 (clock time), 20:34 (watch time)
2). Sunday, January 10, 2010 – Mighty Medford Freeway 5K – Medford/Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 8th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 20:25
3). Sunday, March 7, 2010 – Howard County Striders “Operation Iceberg” Winter Series #6: Oakland Mills Middle School 6-Mile Race – 17th overall – 43:55 (ran at an even pace, and ran negative splits too )
4). Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 3rd Annual Pi-Mile (3.14-mile) Run – Patuxent High School, Lusby (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall (20-29 male age group division winner) – 23:29.0
5). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (9:00 A.M.) – Inaugural Francie’s Family 5K – Middletown Park, Middletown (Frederick County), MD – 10th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 2!:07.25
6). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (11:00 A.M.) – 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run – East Middle School, Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 23:54
7). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (1:00 P.M.) – 28th Annual “Forest of Needwood”/”Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial” 5 Mile Road Race – Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick (Frederick County), MD – 35th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) - 44:57 (clock time), 44:55 (watch time)
8). Saturday, April 3, 2010 – 2nd Annual Race for Joe 5K – Borough of Franklin Park/McCandless Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania – 13th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 21:01 (clock time), 20:57/20:58 (watch time)
9). Saturday, April 10, 2010 – 1st Annual Hills of Milltown 5K Challenge (it was closer to 3.45 miles according to someone’s GPS) – Historic Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (3rd in male 19-19 age-group division) – 24:21
10). Saturday, May 15, 2010 – 1st Annual Queen Anne’s Police K-9 Chase 5K (it was around 2.9 miles) – Terrapin Nature Center area, Stevensville/Kent Island – Queen Anne’s County, MD – 10th overall (4th in male 21-30 age-group division) - 21:58.9 (as of completing this race, I can say I have done a race on all general areas of the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island )
Please check out the events I did in 2009:
http://ranineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflection-on-2009.html
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
Monday, May 24, 2010
Hoping to make a few sales in the future!
Some of you may have heard, I have been spending time lately at my parents' house working to help clean out some of my things I left there in their basement, when I moved to Baltimore County, Maryland over two years ago. It was a pretty interesting experience, going through older stuff, some of which I had almost forgotten about. I went through some clothes, electronic games, Magic the Gathering playing cards, books, toys, etc. They brought back some great memories. One of the things I spent a lot of time sorting out in terms of figuring out what to keep and what to sell/give away, were the computer and videogames (and I feel that I have collected many). As some of you may know (especially if you knew me growing up), I was really into videogames for a fair majority of my childhood all the way up to towards the end of high school/college. Over time, God replaced my sometimes relatively unhealthy attachment to electronic gaming with Himself and running. I have to say for one thing, this whole adventure of setting goals of running races throughout Maryland really is much more fun (and meaningful to me) than playing electronic games (no offense to them). Not to sound too narcissistic, but sometimes when I am working hard on a running goal, I sometimes feel like a hero from a videogame whom I may have wanted to be like when I was younger (I know that sounds pretty corny :)
I thought it would be harder to think of parting with some of those games and toys, yet I think that God has helped me to accept it and really open my eyes to the beauty and variety of the world... The REAL world as God created it!
So, I am getting ready to sell these electronic games (they are mainly older ones for computers and different videogame systems) as well as some books and movies that I am considering parting with. I am going to see if some of my friends may be interested in buying some/taking some off of my hands, and if that does not work, I will probably resort to places like Amazon.Com, E-Bay.Com, some flea markets/thrift shops/pawn shops, and I may even list some here on this blog in case any of you are interested in buying it (and if this interests you already, please let me know and I will do what I can to let you know what I may have). I'd like to take photos of these items if I can (with the help of the new camera my parents bought me for my recent 27th birthday, thank you mom and dad :) and list them, which can prove time-consuming. I will keep you all posted on this all the same, and if I choose to try and advertise sales of these items on here, I will work to develop a blog entry with a list of the items and their prices/conditions.
Thank you all for stopping by, and I wish you a blessed day :)
I thought it would be harder to think of parting with some of those games and toys, yet I think that God has helped me to accept it and really open my eyes to the beauty and variety of the world... The REAL world as God created it!
So, I am getting ready to sell these electronic games (they are mainly older ones for computers and different videogame systems) as well as some books and movies that I am considering parting with. I am going to see if some of my friends may be interested in buying some/taking some off of my hands, and if that does not work, I will probably resort to places like Amazon.Com, E-Bay.Com, some flea markets/thrift shops/pawn shops, and I may even list some here on this blog in case any of you are interested in buying it (and if this interests you already, please let me know and I will do what I can to let you know what I may have). I'd like to take photos of these items if I can (with the help of the new camera my parents bought me for my recent 27th birthday, thank you mom and dad :) and list them, which can prove time-consuming. I will keep you all posted on this all the same, and if I choose to try and advertise sales of these items on here, I will work to develop a blog entry with a list of the items and their prices/conditions.
Thank you all for stopping by, and I wish you a blessed day :)
Working out so far
Hey there everyone, I hope you all are doing well. I got some decent runs in, and it has been nice for it with the recent weather around central Maryland that has seemed to fluctuate between autumn-like and spring weather. I've usually tried to get some runs in when its cooler, and when it has been hotter I think I am doing a little better with the heat. Right now I am focusing on getting some distance runs in, and I hope to do more speed work a little later on (and I may try to strategize it to have more of those workouts occur during earlier times of the day when it is not quite as hot).
I tell you, since I started running earlier this month, I have been averaging around 7:30ish-per-mile, and that feels challenging enough, almost as if I am pushing to run under 6:20-per-mile. So yea, a pace that once not so long ago seemed relatively easier for me is now becoming more of an exertion (and that involves me running it around a flat track). I know I have had trouble adjusting to the heat this spring, and earlier this school year I had problems with lower blood-sugar levels, and I suppose they helped "conspire" to really slow me down to where I find it challenging to run 5-kilometer distances (approximately 3.1 miles) around 23 minutes. It's a bit disheartening to think that a year ago I was doing 5K races in under 6-minutes-per-mile pace (not that far under it, usually turning in 5K times well between 18 and 19 minutes), and my training pace was typically under 7 minutes-per-mile for my distance runs. I need to trust the Good Lord that He knows what He is doing with this and that He has His good reasons and plans for it!
One thing worth mentioning that I don't usually mention here is that I have been trying to lift weights about 3-4 times a week, doing relatively smaller workouts each day. There is a weight training class that I help out in at the Homewood Center where I work, and there are several different exercises that I do there to try and boost muscular endurance to help with my running (and my running helps the muscular endurance in turn, or so it seems). I have had a goal for most of the year to do about 3 sets of 15 repetitions on a majority of the different exercises that I do (meaning I try and work out at a lower weight than the maximum that I could lift, so that I could try and do more repetitions with that particular exercise and increase the weight at a hopefully steady pace). Towards the middle of the school year around the start of winter, I had a goal of trying to do 3 sets of 15 repetitions on the lat pull-down and also that same amount on the seated row machine, both exercises at 105 pounds of weight. I remember for the longest time I had started out at 45 pounds on both of those machines, and it was hard for me to get going on it, because at the beginning of the school year was when I was having difficulties with the lower blood-sugar levels when I would work out. As a result, I would feel kinda woozy/dizzy from just picking up the weights, bending down to stretch, and other such relatively simpler physical activities. Once I started getting better about munching on a little bit of food around the times I would work out, I felt like I was able to start moving up closer to the winter break. The winter break, followed by the "second winter break" when we got all that snow throughout Maryland and the surrounding states in early-to-mid February, and of course spring break, were all a bit of a setback in that I did not do those exercises at home, so it took me a little longer to work up to where I am now on those exercise machines. Last Wednesday (May 19, 2010) or last Thursday (May 20, 2010) God helped me get that difficult goal on the rowing machine when I did 15 repetitions of 105 pounds on it for 3 sets. I was happy and ready to focus on the lat pull-down. Then, today (Monday, May 24, 2010) I sat down at the lat pull-down, planning to only do 2 sets of 15 repetitions of 105 pounds. I thought that would have been a challenge since I was hungry and I did not sleep as much last night. Yet, God blessed me with energy on the first set, and I felt confident I could handle two more and try and finish out this goal today instead of waiting until later in the week to attempt it. The third set felt pretty hard within the last five repetitions as I could feel a kind of burning around my stomach and arms. I knew I was almost done and that God would help me through... And He did! As of today, I finished out my goal on the lat pull-down of doing 105 pounds 15 times, and doing 3 sets of those 15 repetitions :)
So that has been going pretty positively. I am thinking I may want to work on my pull-ups goals. The most pull-ups I have ever done was a little over five years ago in the spring of 2005, when I did 27 in the Maggs Gymnasium at Salisbury University in Wicomico County, Maryland. I would like to try and top that; it would be great I think to be able to get into the lower-to-mid 30's on the amount of pull-ups I can do, God-willing. I am not trying to brag, though I would like to be more open about goals on this blog. I think it maybe a doable goal for me to get to 29, quite possible even 31 pull-ups by the end of this year. That would be neat. Two years ago, I was lifting weights fairly often, and I was doing more with the bench press. I had started to bench a little more than my own body weight (which at the time was around 145 pounds, and last week at the doctor's office I weighed in closer to 151, which is great because I feel that I can stand to gain a few pounds :) I would like to eventually get to workouts where I can bench press a little more than my body weight more regularly. God-willing this can happen for me. I want to stay healthy of course, and if I have health/injury problems, it will be hard for me to stay consistent with this kind of training.
Of course, I have running goals. There are a couple of running goals related to a couple of running courses on the Maryland and Delaware Eastern Shores, and I will get into all of that at a later post hopefully. Thank you all for stopping by and reading this! I enjoy sharing this kind of material on this Maryland-Wide Running Quest blog :)
Races I Have Done This Year as of Tuesday, May 24, 2010
1). Friday, January 1, 2010 – 3rd Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution Run 5K – Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 9th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 20:38 (clock time), 20:34 (watch time)
2). Sunday, January 10, 2010 – Mighty Medford Freeway 5K – Medford/Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 8th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 20:25
3). Sunday, March 7, 2010 – Howard County Striders “Operation Iceberg” Winter Series #6: Oakland Mills Middle School 6-Mile Race – 17th overall – 43:55 (ran at an even pace, and ran negative splits too )
4). Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 3rd Annual Pi-Mile (3.14-mile) Run – Patuxent High School, Lusby (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall (20-29 male age group division winner) – 23:29.0
5). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (9:00 A.M.) – Inaugural Francie’s Family 5K – Middletown Park, Middletown (Frederick County), MD – 10th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 2!:07.25
6). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (11:00 A.M.) – 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run – East Middle School, Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 23:54
7). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (1:00 P.M.) – 28th Annual “Forest of Needwood”/”Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial” 5 Mile Road Race – Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick (Frederick County), MD – 35th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) - 44:57 (clock time), 44:55 (watch time)
8). Saturday, April 3, 2010 – 2nd Annual Race for Joe 5K – Borough of Franklin Park/McCandless Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania – 13th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 21:01 (clock time), 20:57/20:58 (watch time)
9). Saturday, April 10, 2010 – 1st Annual Hills of Milltown 5K Challenge (it was closer to 3.45 miles according to someone’s GPS) – Historic Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (3rd in male 19-19 age-group division) – 24:21
10). Saturday, May 15, 2010 – 1st Annual Queen Anne’s Police K-9 Chase 5K (it was around 2.9 miles) – Terrapin Nature Center area, Stevensville/Kent Island – Queen Anne’s County, MD – 10th overall (4th in male 21-30 age-group division) - 21:58.9 (as of completing this race, I can say I have done a race on all general areas of the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island )
Please check out the events I did in 2009:
http://ranineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflection-on-2009.html
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
I tell you, since I started running earlier this month, I have been averaging around 7:30ish-per-mile, and that feels challenging enough, almost as if I am pushing to run under 6:20-per-mile. So yea, a pace that once not so long ago seemed relatively easier for me is now becoming more of an exertion (and that involves me running it around a flat track). I know I have had trouble adjusting to the heat this spring, and earlier this school year I had problems with lower blood-sugar levels, and I suppose they helped "conspire" to really slow me down to where I find it challenging to run 5-kilometer distances (approximately 3.1 miles) around 23 minutes. It's a bit disheartening to think that a year ago I was doing 5K races in under 6-minutes-per-mile pace (not that far under it, usually turning in 5K times well between 18 and 19 minutes), and my training pace was typically under 7 minutes-per-mile for my distance runs. I need to trust the Good Lord that He knows what He is doing with this and that He has His good reasons and plans for it!
One thing worth mentioning that I don't usually mention here is that I have been trying to lift weights about 3-4 times a week, doing relatively smaller workouts each day. There is a weight training class that I help out in at the Homewood Center where I work, and there are several different exercises that I do there to try and boost muscular endurance to help with my running (and my running helps the muscular endurance in turn, or so it seems). I have had a goal for most of the year to do about 3 sets of 15 repetitions on a majority of the different exercises that I do (meaning I try and work out at a lower weight than the maximum that I could lift, so that I could try and do more repetitions with that particular exercise and increase the weight at a hopefully steady pace). Towards the middle of the school year around the start of winter, I had a goal of trying to do 3 sets of 15 repetitions on the lat pull-down and also that same amount on the seated row machine, both exercises at 105 pounds of weight. I remember for the longest time I had started out at 45 pounds on both of those machines, and it was hard for me to get going on it, because at the beginning of the school year was when I was having difficulties with the lower blood-sugar levels when I would work out. As a result, I would feel kinda woozy/dizzy from just picking up the weights, bending down to stretch, and other such relatively simpler physical activities. Once I started getting better about munching on a little bit of food around the times I would work out, I felt like I was able to start moving up closer to the winter break. The winter break, followed by the "second winter break" when we got all that snow throughout Maryland and the surrounding states in early-to-mid February, and of course spring break, were all a bit of a setback in that I did not do those exercises at home, so it took me a little longer to work up to where I am now on those exercise machines. Last Wednesday (May 19, 2010) or last Thursday (May 20, 2010) God helped me get that difficult goal on the rowing machine when I did 15 repetitions of 105 pounds on it for 3 sets. I was happy and ready to focus on the lat pull-down. Then, today (Monday, May 24, 2010) I sat down at the lat pull-down, planning to only do 2 sets of 15 repetitions of 105 pounds. I thought that would have been a challenge since I was hungry and I did not sleep as much last night. Yet, God blessed me with energy on the first set, and I felt confident I could handle two more and try and finish out this goal today instead of waiting until later in the week to attempt it. The third set felt pretty hard within the last five repetitions as I could feel a kind of burning around my stomach and arms. I knew I was almost done and that God would help me through... And He did! As of today, I finished out my goal on the lat pull-down of doing 105 pounds 15 times, and doing 3 sets of those 15 repetitions :)
So that has been going pretty positively. I am thinking I may want to work on my pull-ups goals. The most pull-ups I have ever done was a little over five years ago in the spring of 2005, when I did 27 in the Maggs Gymnasium at Salisbury University in Wicomico County, Maryland. I would like to try and top that; it would be great I think to be able to get into the lower-to-mid 30's on the amount of pull-ups I can do, God-willing. I am not trying to brag, though I would like to be more open about goals on this blog. I think it maybe a doable goal for me to get to 29, quite possible even 31 pull-ups by the end of this year. That would be neat. Two years ago, I was lifting weights fairly often, and I was doing more with the bench press. I had started to bench a little more than my own body weight (which at the time was around 145 pounds, and last week at the doctor's office I weighed in closer to 151, which is great because I feel that I can stand to gain a few pounds :) I would like to eventually get to workouts where I can bench press a little more than my body weight more regularly. God-willing this can happen for me. I want to stay healthy of course, and if I have health/injury problems, it will be hard for me to stay consistent with this kind of training.
Of course, I have running goals. There are a couple of running goals related to a couple of running courses on the Maryland and Delaware Eastern Shores, and I will get into all of that at a later post hopefully. Thank you all for stopping by and reading this! I enjoy sharing this kind of material on this Maryland-Wide Running Quest blog :)
Races I Have Done This Year as of Tuesday, May 24, 2010
1). Friday, January 1, 2010 – 3rd Annual Southern Maryland Community Network Resolution Run 5K – Prince Frederick (Calvert County), MD – 9th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 20:38 (clock time), 20:34 (watch time)
2). Sunday, January 10, 2010 – Mighty Medford Freeway 5K – Medford/Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 8th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 20:25
3). Sunday, March 7, 2010 – Howard County Striders “Operation Iceberg” Winter Series #6: Oakland Mills Middle School 6-Mile Race – 17th overall – 43:55 (ran at an even pace, and ran negative splits too )
4). Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 3rd Annual Pi-Mile (3.14-mile) Run – Patuxent High School, Lusby (Calvert County), MD – 7th overall (20-29 male age group division winner) – 23:29.0
5). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (9:00 A.M.) – Inaugural Francie’s Family 5K – Middletown Park, Middletown (Frederick County), MD – 10th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) – 2!:07.25
6). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (11:00 A.M.) – 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run – East Middle School, Westminster (Carroll County), MD – 23:54
7). Saturday, March 20, 2010 (1:00 P.M.) – 28th Annual “Forest of Needwood”/”Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial” 5 Mile Road Race – Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick (Frederick County), MD – 35th overall (20-29 male age-group division winner) - 44:57 (clock time), 44:55 (watch time)
8). Saturday, April 3, 2010 – 2nd Annual Race for Joe 5K – Borough of Franklin Park/McCandless Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania – 13th overall (2nd in male 20-29 age-group division) – 21:01 (clock time), 20:57/20:58 (watch time)
9). Saturday, April 10, 2010 – 1st Annual Hills of Milltown 5K Challenge (it was closer to 3.45 miles according to someone’s GPS) – Historic Ellicott City (Howard County), MD – 10th overall (3rd in male 19-19 age-group division) – 24:21
10). Saturday, May 15, 2010 – 1st Annual Queen Anne’s Police K-9 Chase 5K (it was around 2.9 miles) – Terrapin Nature Center area, Stevensville/Kent Island – Queen Anne’s County, MD – 10th overall (4th in male 21-30 age-group division) - 21:58.9 (as of completing this race, I can say I have done a race on all general areas of the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island )
Please check out the events I did in 2009:
http://ranineverymdcounty.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflection-on-2009.html
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
Friday, May 21, 2010
Running a race around all the general areas of the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island, Maryland
Saturday, May 15, 2010 - This was last Saturday and that is when I did the inaugural Queen Anne's County Police K-9 Chase 5K in Stevensville (on the Kent Island area of Queen Anne's County), Maryland. This took place at the Terrapin Nature Center area towards western Kent Island right after the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. There is a well-paved and well-shaded trail that runs along Maryland State Route 50 on throughout much of Kent Island called the Cross-Island Trail, and up until this Saturday, I had pretty much done a race on every area of the Cross-Island Trail. However, I had never been to this western section of the trail around the Terrapin Nature Center. That was until God helped me find out about and participate in the inaugural Queen Anne's County Police K-9 Chase 5K.
The race started and ended on the Cross-Island Trail, though just about all of it was on these natural and gravely trails going off the Cross-Island Trail. There was a lot of shade on this course, which was great for me because I feel like this spring I have been more sensitive to the heat and having challenges adjusting to it. Although this race did not really take place ON the Cross-Island Trail as much as I thought it would, I would still say that I had run in the general area of the one area of the trail that I had not run. We had covered quite a bit of ground around it throughout the race.
So when I got there I was one of the first people there (I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to get there in case I hit traffic around the Bay Bridge or got lost on an area of Kent Island I had not been too before). I definitely did not want to miss out on running a race around the only area of the Cross-Island Trail I had not done a race around (not like this has been a goal for me over the years to do, but once I realized that this was the only part of the Cross-Island Trail I had never run on, and then I saw this race, I made it a priority to do so). I left myself plenty of time to stretch and warm-up. However, when I started jogging really short and easy to warm-up, my mouth was feeling dry and I felt pretty tired and that if I got into the race I might get heat exhaustion or something like that. I started praying about it, and I resolved to make this the second race-in-a-row where I would run with a water bottle (a little over a month ago on Saturday, April 10, I had run the inaugural Hills of Milltown Challenge 5K (which I heard was more like 3.45 miles, and I had run with a water bottle about half-way through that hilly course, and that had been my last race before this one in Queen Anne's County). Earlier in the week, I decided to slow my goal at this race from trying to run under 21 minutes to running under 22 minutes, though now I was willing to let that fly out the window and just worry about getting through the race. I really hoped I could finish, preferably without negative incident or feeling really cruddy afterwards. I just kept on drinking and praying. I took like three water bottles from the cooler, one of which I decided to run with and that was about no more than half-full of water by the time I had finished drinking out of it before the race began.
One really notably interesting thing about this race was that since it involved the Queen Anne's County Police K-9, people could run with their behaved dogs on a leash. And believe me, there were a few runners with dogs who got ahead of me by a pretty solid margin.
And on that note, the race started in a pretty tight bottleneck as we ran off of the Cross-Island Trail onto this slighty narrower gravel trail off to the side of the Cross-Island Trail. This worked well for me, because it made for a slower start and I wanted to start slow to pace myself well. The first several minutes I focused on getting into a pace where I could enjoy the energy and not slow up too much to take swigs of water from the water bottle. We took the trail through the woods towards this small beach right by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. About half-way to the beach, this young gentlemen sped past me holding onto his dog's leash, because his dog was bounding ahead of everyone. I was like, "dang, if they keep going that pace, they might win the race!"
As we neared the beach, I hopped over a really small sand dune and I was on the sand. We angled to the left as we entered the beach and we ran on the sand for a really short time before picking up a gravel trail again to run along the outskirts of the small, quiet beach. At this point, I felt like I had slowed because my mouth was feeling fairly dry and I knew I had quite a ways to go, and I felt pretty vulnerable to having the heat really get to me. Since I was going slow, I should have really slowed enough to enjoy the beauty of the placid waters and the feel of the nice sea breeze. Though, there was a larger part of me I think that wanted to press on to make sure I finished. I felt like around this point, the best I could hope to finish this 3.1-mile distance race would probably be somewhere between 23-and-25 minutes thereabouts.
Not long after that point, I was running on this sandy or maybe gravely portion of trail parallel to Route 50, head east. I felt myself huffing and puffing, and knowing that I still had quite a while to go before finishing, I prayed aloud that Jesus would help me through. Within a minute afterwards, the course made a left turn and we ran on this grassy surface down a straight stretch. It was on this stretch heading back towards the woods that a strong breeze came up. Just then, I remembered something that my girlfriend Kay had told me a little over a month ago in regards to my allergies and the pollen in the air, something about trying not to breathe through my mouth (and I am pretty much a mouth breather) too much outside with allergens about, especially in windy weather. Thinking of this, I suddenly felt compelled to close my eyes very briefly as I ran and breathe through my nose. After that, I quickly opened my eyes and before I knew it I was almost to the end of the grassy stretch, and getting closer to the woods. I was catching up to a few other runners (one of which was that gentleman who had running really fast with his dog and blew by me within the first mile of the race). I remember telling that gentlemen that it took real talent to run like he was running with his dog. Somehow, God had blessed me with the ability to tell him that quite coherently when I was running.
And from then on, I felt like God was really helping me power through the rest of the race!
I did not notice much dryness in my mouth after that. In fact, I felt more energized, and I began to pick up the pace.
Sometimes the funny thing about running on trails with a lot of turns and bends is that runners can be less than one-hundred meters behind you or ahead of you (and if you are like me and are used to wearing glasses), yet it may seem like they are miles away from you. Well, once we reached the end of the grassy stretch, I had gained the lead of the pack I was in (not the race, there were probably still many runners ahead of me at this point). There was an ambiguous looking course marker at a junction where the trail either went straight or right, and I had a hunch based on blue ribbons I saw on the right, that we were supposed to angle right, so I ran right and followed the trail through the woods. It did not take long for me to pick up the pace and put some distance between me and the few other runners I had passed back where that fairly heavy breeze hit (and it did feel good as it was getting hotter out). However, after I had made that turn to the right, I did not see any signs of course markings or other people around. At this point, I would not have been surprised if I had been supposed to run straight instead of right, and it would probably only be a matter of time before I saw something or saw someone who would confirm my suspicion that I had taken a wrong turn and that I was probably going to be in this race for longer than I thought I would be.
I think I had started praying about it in probably real jarbled words as I ran, and as the trail wound left, a couple of folks on bikes came from the other way and I asked if they had passed other runners and they said yes. I was so happy to hear this, because this suggested that I had probably been going the right way all along. Not long after going by those folks on their bikes, I saw a course marshal standing by the parking lot where I parked which was also near the entrance of the Cross-Island Trail. They pointed that I run left to make a small loop back through some of the woods to come up the gravely trail towards the finish line area (the one where we had started this race on).
After making this left turn, the grassy trail ahead straightened out long enough for me to see several runners not much further ahead. With renewed energy, I was started to close the gap on them before the course started bending towards the right. After that there were several more turns, and then a course marshal handing out water (I think). Then, very shortly after that, there was a right turn and about 20-30 yards ahead of me was the finish line. Seeing that and seeing that I could actually finish it in under 22 minutes, I bolted towards it and up the slight hill to cross the finish line strongly in 21:48 (well that's what my watch said, yet they got me in around 21:58). I had now run a race in all the areas of Kent Island, Maryland's Cross-Island Trail, and I was very grateful to God to have finished that race, and not only that, but to have finished feeling healthier than when I began.
After catching my breath I looked down, and in my hand I still held my water bottle. This could very well have been the first race I have run carrying a water bottle the whole way through. Another "milestone" race for me :)
I felt pretty well after the race. I drank water and I was able to hang out outside talking to people all the way through the awards ceremony. It was great to meet people and see this one gentleman I had not seen for about a year-and-a-half at least. The heat did not bother me then and I felt quite amped that I ran on the Cross-Island Trail on some parts of it I had not seen by Kent Island High School, and a little beyond to where the Cross-Island Trail goes through Old Love Point Park, and then I turned around. On that walk-jog, I prolly did not put in any more than 3 miles round-trip. It was such a nice morning. Afterwards, I stopped at a deli to pick up lunch, before driving back over the Bay Bridge to meet up with Kay. As I was leaving, the area was growing more crowded in celebration of the Kent Island Day, which happened to be taking place that same weekend!
So I am quite happy about that race! As a result, I finally ran in the one area of the Cross-Island Trail I had never been too. I did find out from a couple of people who ran that race that their odometer on their i-pod-like devices (or whatever they were), said that the course was like 2.9 miles in length instead of the advertised 3.1-mile/5k distance. That did not surprise me or irk me; I thought that running under 22 minutes was a little fast for how relatively chill my pace was towards the beginning. That said, I think my finish time would have been a little over 23 minutes had I kept going at that pace for a 5K, and that would have been more believable of a time for the effort I felt I put into that race. Whether or not they lengthen the course a bit to an actual 5K distance, I think it is a swell race and I hope they have it in the future, because I would probably be quite interested in returning to it. This race helped me feel more confident that God-willing if I keep at running, perhaps later on this spring/summer I can run some 5k distances in under 22 minutes, and hopefully improve from there. I think God treated me much better with this race than I deserved, especially with that burst of energy the last 6-or-7 minutes or so of the race. I was not expecting that, and again, I am was blessed to be a student of God's lesson that He is in charge and in my weakness, He is strong :)
Races I have run on the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island (Queen Anne's County), Maryland
- Saturday, September 23, 2006 - Inaugural "Run for the Sun/Son" Two-Mile Run - Old Love Point Park, Stevensville - Winner - 13:49 (first mile was about 8:58, and the second was about 4:51)
Saturday, March 21, 2007 - Inaugural Race to Impact 10K Run - Chester - Winner - 38:51 (after finishing this race, I gained some inspiration to try racing in every Maryland county before 2007 was over :)
Saturday, December 8, 2007 - Jingle Bell Run 5K (it was actually a little shorter than a 5K) - Kent Narrows - Winner - 16:29
Saturday, May 15, 2010 - Inaugural Queen Anne's County Police K-9 Chase 5K (around 2.9 miles) - Terrapin Nature Center area - Stevensville - 10th overall - 21:58.9 (as of finishing this race, I have run a race in all the general areas around the Cross Island Trail :)
The race started and ended on the Cross-Island Trail, though just about all of it was on these natural and gravely trails going off the Cross-Island Trail. There was a lot of shade on this course, which was great for me because I feel like this spring I have been more sensitive to the heat and having challenges adjusting to it. Although this race did not really take place ON the Cross-Island Trail as much as I thought it would, I would still say that I had run in the general area of the one area of the trail that I had not run. We had covered quite a bit of ground around it throughout the race.
So when I got there I was one of the first people there (I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to get there in case I hit traffic around the Bay Bridge or got lost on an area of Kent Island I had not been too before). I definitely did not want to miss out on running a race around the only area of the Cross-Island Trail I had not done a race around (not like this has been a goal for me over the years to do, but once I realized that this was the only part of the Cross-Island Trail I had never run on, and then I saw this race, I made it a priority to do so). I left myself plenty of time to stretch and warm-up. However, when I started jogging really short and easy to warm-up, my mouth was feeling dry and I felt pretty tired and that if I got into the race I might get heat exhaustion or something like that. I started praying about it, and I resolved to make this the second race-in-a-row where I would run with a water bottle (a little over a month ago on Saturday, April 10, I had run the inaugural Hills of Milltown Challenge 5K (which I heard was more like 3.45 miles, and I had run with a water bottle about half-way through that hilly course, and that had been my last race before this one in Queen Anne's County). Earlier in the week, I decided to slow my goal at this race from trying to run under 21 minutes to running under 22 minutes, though now I was willing to let that fly out the window and just worry about getting through the race. I really hoped I could finish, preferably without negative incident or feeling really cruddy afterwards. I just kept on drinking and praying. I took like three water bottles from the cooler, one of which I decided to run with and that was about no more than half-full of water by the time I had finished drinking out of it before the race began.
One really notably interesting thing about this race was that since it involved the Queen Anne's County Police K-9, people could run with their behaved dogs on a leash. And believe me, there were a few runners with dogs who got ahead of me by a pretty solid margin.
And on that note, the race started in a pretty tight bottleneck as we ran off of the Cross-Island Trail onto this slighty narrower gravel trail off to the side of the Cross-Island Trail. This worked well for me, because it made for a slower start and I wanted to start slow to pace myself well. The first several minutes I focused on getting into a pace where I could enjoy the energy and not slow up too much to take swigs of water from the water bottle. We took the trail through the woods towards this small beach right by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. About half-way to the beach, this young gentlemen sped past me holding onto his dog's leash, because his dog was bounding ahead of everyone. I was like, "dang, if they keep going that pace, they might win the race!"
As we neared the beach, I hopped over a really small sand dune and I was on the sand. We angled to the left as we entered the beach and we ran on the sand for a really short time before picking up a gravel trail again to run along the outskirts of the small, quiet beach. At this point, I felt like I had slowed because my mouth was feeling fairly dry and I knew I had quite a ways to go, and I felt pretty vulnerable to having the heat really get to me. Since I was going slow, I should have really slowed enough to enjoy the beauty of the placid waters and the feel of the nice sea breeze. Though, there was a larger part of me I think that wanted to press on to make sure I finished. I felt like around this point, the best I could hope to finish this 3.1-mile distance race would probably be somewhere between 23-and-25 minutes thereabouts.
Not long after that point, I was running on this sandy or maybe gravely portion of trail parallel to Route 50, head east. I felt myself huffing and puffing, and knowing that I still had quite a while to go before finishing, I prayed aloud that Jesus would help me through. Within a minute afterwards, the course made a left turn and we ran on this grassy surface down a straight stretch. It was on this stretch heading back towards the woods that a strong breeze came up. Just then, I remembered something that my girlfriend Kay had told me a little over a month ago in regards to my allergies and the pollen in the air, something about trying not to breathe through my mouth (and I am pretty much a mouth breather) too much outside with allergens about, especially in windy weather. Thinking of this, I suddenly felt compelled to close my eyes very briefly as I ran and breathe through my nose. After that, I quickly opened my eyes and before I knew it I was almost to the end of the grassy stretch, and getting closer to the woods. I was catching up to a few other runners (one of which was that gentleman who had running really fast with his dog and blew by me within the first mile of the race). I remember telling that gentlemen that it took real talent to run like he was running with his dog. Somehow, God had blessed me with the ability to tell him that quite coherently when I was running.
And from then on, I felt like God was really helping me power through the rest of the race!
I did not notice much dryness in my mouth after that. In fact, I felt more energized, and I began to pick up the pace.
Sometimes the funny thing about running on trails with a lot of turns and bends is that runners can be less than one-hundred meters behind you or ahead of you (and if you are like me and are used to wearing glasses), yet it may seem like they are miles away from you. Well, once we reached the end of the grassy stretch, I had gained the lead of the pack I was in (not the race, there were probably still many runners ahead of me at this point). There was an ambiguous looking course marker at a junction where the trail either went straight or right, and I had a hunch based on blue ribbons I saw on the right, that we were supposed to angle right, so I ran right and followed the trail through the woods. It did not take long for me to pick up the pace and put some distance between me and the few other runners I had passed back where that fairly heavy breeze hit (and it did feel good as it was getting hotter out). However, after I had made that turn to the right, I did not see any signs of course markings or other people around. At this point, I would not have been surprised if I had been supposed to run straight instead of right, and it would probably only be a matter of time before I saw something or saw someone who would confirm my suspicion that I had taken a wrong turn and that I was probably going to be in this race for longer than I thought I would be.
I think I had started praying about it in probably real jarbled words as I ran, and as the trail wound left, a couple of folks on bikes came from the other way and I asked if they had passed other runners and they said yes. I was so happy to hear this, because this suggested that I had probably been going the right way all along. Not long after going by those folks on their bikes, I saw a course marshal standing by the parking lot where I parked which was also near the entrance of the Cross-Island Trail. They pointed that I run left to make a small loop back through some of the woods to come up the gravely trail towards the finish line area (the one where we had started this race on).
After making this left turn, the grassy trail ahead straightened out long enough for me to see several runners not much further ahead. With renewed energy, I was started to close the gap on them before the course started bending towards the right. After that there were several more turns, and then a course marshal handing out water (I think). Then, very shortly after that, there was a right turn and about 20-30 yards ahead of me was the finish line. Seeing that and seeing that I could actually finish it in under 22 minutes, I bolted towards it and up the slight hill to cross the finish line strongly in 21:48 (well that's what my watch said, yet they got me in around 21:58). I had now run a race in all the areas of Kent Island, Maryland's Cross-Island Trail, and I was very grateful to God to have finished that race, and not only that, but to have finished feeling healthier than when I began.
After catching my breath I looked down, and in my hand I still held my water bottle. This could very well have been the first race I have run carrying a water bottle the whole way through. Another "milestone" race for me :)
I felt pretty well after the race. I drank water and I was able to hang out outside talking to people all the way through the awards ceremony. It was great to meet people and see this one gentleman I had not seen for about a year-and-a-half at least. The heat did not bother me then and I felt quite amped that I ran on the Cross-Island Trail on some parts of it I had not seen by Kent Island High School, and a little beyond to where the Cross-Island Trail goes through Old Love Point Park, and then I turned around. On that walk-jog, I prolly did not put in any more than 3 miles round-trip. It was such a nice morning. Afterwards, I stopped at a deli to pick up lunch, before driving back over the Bay Bridge to meet up with Kay. As I was leaving, the area was growing more crowded in celebration of the Kent Island Day, which happened to be taking place that same weekend!
So I am quite happy about that race! As a result, I finally ran in the one area of the Cross-Island Trail I had never been too. I did find out from a couple of people who ran that race that their odometer on their i-pod-like devices (or whatever they were), said that the course was like 2.9 miles in length instead of the advertised 3.1-mile/5k distance. That did not surprise me or irk me; I thought that running under 22 minutes was a little fast for how relatively chill my pace was towards the beginning. That said, I think my finish time would have been a little over 23 minutes had I kept going at that pace for a 5K, and that would have been more believable of a time for the effort I felt I put into that race. Whether or not they lengthen the course a bit to an actual 5K distance, I think it is a swell race and I hope they have it in the future, because I would probably be quite interested in returning to it. This race helped me feel more confident that God-willing if I keep at running, perhaps later on this spring/summer I can run some 5k distances in under 22 minutes, and hopefully improve from there. I think God treated me much better with this race than I deserved, especially with that burst of energy the last 6-or-7 minutes or so of the race. I was not expecting that, and again, I am was blessed to be a student of God's lesson that He is in charge and in my weakness, He is strong :)
Races I have run on the Cross-Island Trail on Kent Island (Queen Anne's County), Maryland
- Saturday, September 23, 2006 - Inaugural "Run for the Sun/Son" Two-Mile Run - Old Love Point Park, Stevensville - Winner - 13:49 (first mile was about 8:58, and the second was about 4:51)
Saturday, March 21, 2007 - Inaugural Race to Impact 10K Run - Chester - Winner - 38:51 (after finishing this race, I gained some inspiration to try racing in every Maryland county before 2007 was over :)
Saturday, December 8, 2007 - Jingle Bell Run 5K (it was actually a little shorter than a 5K) - Kent Narrows - Winner - 16:29
Saturday, May 15, 2010 - Inaugural Queen Anne's County Police K-9 Chase 5K (around 2.9 miles) - Terrapin Nature Center area - Stevensville - 10th overall - 21:58.9 (as of finishing this race, I have run a race in all the general areas around the Cross Island Trail :)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
I may get to run a race, the conclusion of which I can say I have run a race on every area of the Cross-Island Trail in Maryland
(Image of the Cross-Island Trail going through the Kent Island area of Queen Anne's County, Maryland, and this is from http://www.americantrails.org/nationalrecreationtrails/trailNRT/CrossIs-MD.html)
Greetings everyone, I know it has been a while since I have posted. I have just caught up with rehashing my memories of my running on Saturday, March 20, 2010, when the Good Lord got me through three road races on that relatively hot first day of spring! I have been doing all right. I think things at work have been going pretty solid, and Kay and I have been together for a great year now and in fact we are coming up on our 13-month anniversary :) As you may have read in the previous post, a lot of my problem in that third five-mile race in Frederick County, MD came from dry mouth that made me feel dehydrated. This was a problem that continued on as I trained and did a couple of other races in April. I decided not long after April started that I take a break from running and see what was up with that. There's a strong suspicion from the doctor that it could be allergies (the pollen has been pretty strong this year, probably from the heavy snowfall we got last winter). I also think it could be side-effects from my acid reflux medicine. That remains to be seen I suppose.
Anyway, I started back a couple of weeks ago, and it has been pretty slow. I was surprised that I still had it in me to run a pretty flat two-mile loop in Columbia (Howard County), MD in 13:44 (I mean, running anything under a seven-minute-per-mile pace lately has been pretty challenging). I was pretty happy about that. I ran about 3.5 miles on a flat track with a 5K split of about 24:08 and finishing the35. miles in about 26:56. Then, a few days later, I ran four miles on a track in 30:04 (a little faster of a pace than the 3.5 miles). My 5-kilometer split on that I think was around 23:32. Quite slower than what I was turning out earlier this spring, where I was workin' hard to just get under 21 minutes on hilly road races. And even slower than the sub-19-minute 5K's I have become pretty used to running on 5K courses of varying difficulties these past several years. It's amazing what you take for granted with your running times until you start slowin' up. My gosh, I am worried how much slower I would go in a more hilly and hotter 5K race if I am turning out times like that on a flat track and that feeling like a pretty solid workout. Ah well, I gotta start somewhere and be smart about this. The heat still seems to be drying me out a fair amount, though when it's cooler (like low 50's or 40's), it does not really bother me that much (and the wind certainly helps). I am thinking it wise this spring and summer season to not really get much into the races. I just want to train and at least build up a solid mileage base. That way, God-willing I will be in much better shape for the autumn, and then I can see about perhaps doing races with a bit more frequency in weather that would be a little easier for me to adjust too, because it has been pretty hard for me this time around to get used to this heat (and I am sure the pollen has not been the most helpful in that either).
Anyway, I actually hope to do my first race in a little over a month this coming Saturday, May 15, 2010. In fact, I am hoping to get over to the Maryland Eastern Shore for the first time since doing the 30th Annual Mike Sterling 10K at the National Hard Crab Derby in Crisfield Maryland on Labor Day weekend for this new 5K at the Terrapin Nature Center area in Stevensville, which is on Kent Island in Queen Anne's County, Maryland. There is this new Queen Anne's County Police K-9 Chase 5K, and it has geographic implications that it will occur (at least some of it will) on the Cross-Island Trail (which runs along Maryland state highway 50 throughout a good portion of Kent Island, from pretty close to the Bay Bridge eastwards to Kent Narrows). I hope that I am right about this. If that is true, then something really special may be accomplished in me finishing this particular race.
Back on Saturday, September 23, 2006, I ran this new Run for the Sun/Son 2-Mile Run on the Cross-Island Trail that started and ended at Old Love Point Park in Stevensville. I really enjoyed that venue. The trail was really flat, and well-shaded (great to do things on in the warmer weather). So when I saw on MarylandRunning.Com that there was this new Race to Impact 10K Run scheduled on Kent Island on Saturday, March 21, 2007, I leapt at the opportunity to hop in this race to benefit Shore Christian Fellowship's mission trip to Peru. This race took place in Chester, MD, starting and ending by the old Club One gym building. The race went out to the Love Point Park area in Stevensville and we actually turned around where the Run for the Sun/Son started and ended. Oh that brought back some nice memories. I really enjoyed running this race, even though its length proved quite challenging. With God's help I ran a 38:51, one of my best 10K times to date. Later on that evening while I was thinking about that race and thinking about its location in Queen Anne's County, God helped use that very race to inspire me to run a race in every county of Maryland in that year of 2007 (since I had run a race in Queen Anne's County, which is relatively challenging to find year-around running events, so if I had wanted to try and run a race in every Maryland county in a year, I had just done one in one of Maryland's more challenging counties to find a race in). And that's how I got going with this blog and into paying attention to such details about the location of the races I do. Therefore, the Cross-Island Trail is a really special place for me, and every time I hear about a race occurring on it, I take considerable interest. In fact, towards the end of that year, I found out about this Jingle Bell Run 5K that started and ended near the Island Athletic Club in the Kent Narrows area of, went out to the Club One area of the trail in Chester near where the Race to Impact 10K started and ended, and then went back to Kent Narrows. That Jingle Bell Run had been going on for about several years, and when I did it in 2007, it was definitely shorter than a 5K, yet I enjoyed the course. I was fixing to do it again in 2008, but then I heard they canceled it and I do not think they have brought it back since then. That was the last time I ran a race on the Cross-Island Trail.
The last time I was there was a joyous occasion. Last July was when Kay and I celebrated our three-month anniversary, and after eating at the Fisherman's Inn around the Kent Narrows area, we hung out on the Cross-Island Trail and had a terrific time.
So many nice memories of it!
There is one area of the trail I have yet to run a race on, and that is the western-most part of it near the Terrapin Nature Center area. I have never even been on that part of the trail. I have kept meaning to check it out, and now with this new 5K this Saturday I will have the chance to do just that. God-willing I make it to and through this race, and if this race goes through the area I think it does on the Cross-Island Trail, I can say that I have run a race on all of the areas of the Cross-Island Trail in my lifetime!!!! You may think it sounds kind of corny, though if you think about how over the past half-decade, or even decade, races along this Cross-Island Trail are somewhat hard to come by (considering advertising for some of them does not seem to make it to the larger running and racing databases all that much), and also considering I have never even lived in Kent Island to pick up on this stuff word-of-mouth all the time, I think that this is something to be proud of, and certainly a blessing to be grateful for! I am looking forward to doing this!
I know I have just started back running, and before I took my brief break in April from it, my running was not that strong. Based on how I have been doing, I think a realistic goal for me would be to get under 22 minutes by a decent margin (granted that this 5K course is accurate, and not too long or too short). Either way, I want to finish. I am sure I may have my troubles out there, and I probably won't look all that great running/huffing-and-puffing, so believe it or not, I am actually planning on coming to the race in a nice suit and tie. Since this is a special occasion for me personally, I can at least try to look good (because I don't think I'll be looking that great at all once I start running, haha). I will change into my running clothes when it comes closer to the race.
I am hoping to have a nice time, take some nice photos, and enjoy being back on the Maryland Eastern Shore. The last time I was there was to visit some friends in Salisbury with Kay, and that was back in September not long after I had run the Mike Sterling 10K. I hope Kay and I can return there for future visits as well.
All right, thank you all for reading this. If you are interested in doing that inaugural Queen Anne's County K-9 Police Chase 5K, please check out: http://www.active.com/running/stevensville-md-md/queen-annes-police-k9-chase-5k-2010
I gotta get going and get up early for work tomorrow. I am going on a field trip with some of the high school students I work with to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. I have not been to this zoo since I was two, and I probably have some very slightly vague memories of it at best. That should be interesting!
If any of you show up there, please say "hi", and I look forward to meeting/seeing you again. Please keep me in prayer as well! Thank you and God bless :)
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