(Pictured on the left is me finishing the inaugural Francie's Family 5K at Middletown Park in Middletown (Frederick County), MD (thank you Victor Cretella for sending me that photo. Then the photo to the right is a group photo of the participants before the 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run at East Middle School in Westminster (Carroll County), MD. I am the first person on the left in the third row. I am wearing a white t-shirt and glasses (and this photo is courtesy of http://www.matthewandcaitlinbolesfoundation.com/home.html)).
And what a Saturday it was (not to mention it had gotten warmer than it probably normally would for that time of year on the first day of spring). I definitely am grateful for the experience, though it took me a little while to recover from it.
Let me review. Within a week leading up to Saturday, March 20, 2010, I had carefully been studying some running/racing databases and race calendars, and I was able to see an opportunity for me to try something I had never done before: Attempt to run in three road races in one day between two different counties that were next-door to each other. The three races were the first annual Francie's Family 5K in Middletown (Frederick County), MD at 9 A.M. followed by the 2nd (or maybe 3rd annual) Matt Boles 5K Fun Run at East Middle School in Westminster (Carroll County), MD, at 11 A.M., and then I headed back west into Frederick County, MD for the 28th Annual "Forest of Needwood"/"Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial Run"5 Mile Road Race in the Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick area near the Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia state lines. They were all pretty hilly (the Matt Boles 5K probably being the least hilly, and the "Forest of Needwood"/"Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial Run" probably being the most hilly, not to mention the longest race).
I was quite excited to have an opportunity to attempt this. Knowing I was not quite in the best racing shape as I have been in recent years, I did not expect to run really strong times, though I hoped to get through these races fairly well. I was able to get in contact with the coordinators of these races and get directions to them. By the end of the week, I was ready to roll... And do my share of huffin' and puffin' too!
Saturday morning, with probably no more than a little over six hours of sleep, I went downstairs to a bowl of cereal and some other foods for breakfast. Not long after breakfast, I got on the road pretty early, leaving plenty of extra time before the 9 A.M. start of the Francie's Family 5K. I was looking forward to this one, because it was at the Middletown Park right by Middletown High School. When I started out with competitive running with the Howard county Junior Striders in 1997 as a middle-school student, we had had a couple of 4-kilometer (a little less than 2.5-mile distance) cross country races at this rather hilly and grassy park. the latter of those two meets was the Regional Championships, where I finished 10th out of 10 runners in that race. Now, the top-12 at Regionals qualify for the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Nationals (it may work a little differently now than it did in 1997), so by default I was able to qualify and run at the A.A.U. Nationals for Cross country that fall, even though I was last. I thought that was a great experience, a real true blessing looking back on it.
Then, in high school my senior year in the spring of 2002, we had our 2A West Outdoor Regional Track & Field championships at Middletown's high school track. I remembered running really well there at that two-day meet. Thursday, I was on a 4X800-meter relay team with three other guys (we were all high school seniors I believe), and I remember running the first leg in a 2:05 split, my fastest 800-meter time to date. We got a relay team time of 8:35, and we finished fourth and were able to advance to the Maryland State Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (again, another terrific experience). Then, we came back almost two days later on Saturday, and I ran the 1,600 meter in the junior varsity heat and finished it in about 4:58 (my first half was 2:30 and my second was about 2:28). Later on, God helped me pull myself together to run a really strong and even-paced 2:12 800-meter run in the junior varsity heat.
In short, I have some nice memories of that place and I was glad to be going back there for the first time since 2002 when I was in high school.
I thought I was still a little familiar with the area, however, I think I got a little confused with Mapuest.Com directions and road signs regarding Alternate Route 40 West in Frederick County. I was getting pretty close to the park, leaving myself about an hour or so to spare before the race started, I made a wrong turn, and when i went to turn around in Frederick, I ended up missing a turn and I went all the way out to Myersville in Frederick County. I had to get out and ask people for directions twice, and in short, I was lost/disoriented for about an hour. When I finally got to the suburban area surrounding the Middletown Park in Middletown, I rolled down the window and yelled out to the young course marshals were, asking them where to park. One of them said it may be too late to register at this point (it was about ten minutes before the start), but he pointed anyway. Me in all of my visual brilliance thought he was pointing left when he was really pointing behind him, so I drove off to the left and after a couple of minutes of just seeing more of the neighborhood and not the park (nor the people involved with the race), I realized I made a wrong turn once again, turned around, and went the correct way that the course marshal had originally pointed me. I parked, grabbed my check, and ran harder than I probably should have before a race, up this steady hill (which we would run town at the very beginning of the race). I reached the top where the festivities were, and I asked apeson or tow where the check-in/registration tables were, and eventually I found them (by that time I felt like I had gotten a good ways into the race).
I reached the table and was relieved that it was not too late for me to get in the race. I was thankful to God for that! I did not want to miss a single of the three races I had planned to do that day. After I registered, I stretched out and drank some water.
The first of three races I had planned to do that day started off all right. We started off running down the steady hill I had run up to get to the registration table, and within a couple of minutes or so, we were out of the park. Up ahead, there seemed to be a crowd of younger, high-school-age runners ahead of me. We made a right into this neighborhood, and we ran through the flat roads of this neighborhood where the first-mile marker was. I passed the first mile in about 6:10 and I was astounded as that was faster than I had anticipated going out at. Then again, having a downhill at the beginning of the race and kind of allowing myself to be pulled along by the pace of the faster runners would most likely result in a fast first-mile split. I knew that it would most likely get hilly later in the race, so I tried to run cautiously
Soon after the first mile we ran out of the neighborhood and by some shops. The hills started to lightly roll, and I slowed to a 6:30 the second mile, coming through the two-mile mark in about 12:40 (that included me slowing up a little bit to get some water from the water stop). Still, this was faster than I had anticipated, and I knew if I kept up that 6:20-pace-per-mile, I would run this 5K in under 20 minutes.
However, that was not to be so in this race. Just after the second-mile mark we made a right on this road and it got more hilly. Then, we made another right to go on a road towards Middletown High School where the finish line was, and this was probably by far the largest hill in the race. For at least about two-to-three minutes, I was slowed pretty thoroughly running up this pretty challenging and steady hill. There was a gentleman running a little ways ahead of me at a pretty good clip, and he decided to stop and walk briefly. I was tempted to do the same, though I thought it would just be best to get it over with sooner by running. Once I was blessed enough to reach the top, I was pretty beat, and the gentleman who stopped and walk quickly caught up and passed me, and at that point I was not even concerned about my chances of breaking 20 minutes at this race. I just wanted to finish, yet not finish too aggressively so as to make it harder for me to recover. After all, I had planned on running two more races that day and I knew I was not in the best running shape, so I had to budget my energy so-to-speak.
After that hill, there may have been a few more, but if there were, they were so small in comparison to the large one we had run up, that I can't rightly remember it at this point. I remember running onto the back of the Middletown High School campus and making a lot of turns. Up ahead, I saw the arch of balloons that was the finish line, and that was where I wanted to be.
After making several turns, I made a left and there may have been a slight downhill, but I was nearing the finish line in probably no more than a hundred yards. I think I picked it up and finished strongly around the last left turn into the finish line to finish in 21:07. Wow, that hill must have really slowed me down. I was on pace to run in the 19:40's by the two-mile mark, so probably the hill, heat, and my current level of condition contributed to me slowing fairly significantly in that last mile or so. At the time, though, I was happy to be done with the hilly race and to hopefully recover enough to get it together for the next two that I planned to do (though I was pretty sure at that point that that first race of the day would probably see some of my faster running for the day, and that I would just slow up from there). I was talking to this one gentleman there before I left, and he had some sorta GPS/odometer device there, and he was saying it was slightly longer than a standard 5K, and that it was 3.15 miles. So if that were really true, than I probably covered an actual five-kilometer distance in just under 21 minutes. Either way, I was pretty happy with the race :)
With less than two hours until the 11 A.M. start of the Matt Boles 5K Fun Run in Westminster (in the neighboring Carroll County to the east), I did not stick around much after I finished. I hopped in the car and drove to East Middle School in Westminster where the race was. I really had to make sure I followed directions well, as sometimes I have gotten easily confused trying to navigate my way through Westminster. I think I made a stop or two using the restroom and filling up on water. I think the drive was supposed to take about an hour, give-or-take.
I got to East Middle School I think within 20 minutes of 11 o'clock. I got out and quickly paid the registration fee. While I was warming up, I enjoyed talking to a couple of well-dressed gentlemen who were at the race (I forget the particular reason) who were from a Church of Latter-Day Saints, and they were certainly dressed dapper for it. I enjoyed telling them about how God has helped me with my running and how I was trusting him to help me on my endeavor to run three road races in one day. I just hope I did not come off as bragging.
I found out that the course was pretty interesting: Five laps around the back fields of the middle school, and then after completing the fifth lap, running about a third-of-the-way into another lap, and then angling left onto the track to do about 300-meters-plus on the track to finish (a full lap is 400 meters, so in other words we had to do almost a full lap at the end of the race). I am not much for running laps, even if it is on a cross-country course. Yet, I was not expecting to run very strong, so I resigned to just going out at a chill pace and seeing what would happen. I noticed that we would start on a slight downhill, run along the flat back field, and then coming up towards the school we'd go up a somewhat challenging hill (nothing like what I encountered at the Francie's Family 5K Fun Run in Middletown, MD earlier that morning, though), then it would flatten out for a little bit before going up a very small, but fairly steep hill right near the school's blacktop. I knew I would have to pace myself well. One nice thing was that towards the end of each lap, the water stop would be there (and they would actually hand-out like these tiny water bottles of water with their caps on them, which appears to be a lot more water than water in a plastic cup you'd see at your typical water stop for a 5K).
One thing that made me anxious about this race was that it started a little later than 11 A.M. In fact, they wanted the participants to get in a group photo. I was hoping there would be no technical difficulties. I wanted to get started with the race, as I had the "Forest of Needwood/"Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial Run" Five-Mile Road Race that was just over an hour away back in Frederick County to the west, and that started at 1 P.M. in less than two hours There were at least one or two photos taken (one of which is to the right at the beginning of this lengthy post).
Right after that the race coordinators gave final instructions and we were off. A great host of young high-school and college-aged runners took off in a pack ahead of me and I was trying to start off slow (though I do not know if that worked too well). After going up the hills on the first lap, I knew I definitely needed to try and pace myself better, as that hill felt harder than it looked and having run a 5K less than two hours beforehand probably did not help. I went through the first lap feeling all right, and then in the second lap I was feelin' like it was to grab a bottle of water from the water stop. However, by the time I was done the second lap, I was hoping for the race to end soon.
The next two laps, I seemed to slow up significantly, and even though i deliberately allowed myself to slow down to conserve energy to make it through the rest of this race as well as the next, I don't think it made it easier. I wanted the race to end, but I seemed at a loss of energy (and of fluids) to try and pick up the pace much faster than what I was going.
I think during the fourth lap, I grabbed another water bottle from the water stop and thought to myself I had one more lap and then some to go. Normally, that remaining distance would not have seemed as daunting as it did in this race. As I ran (especially up the hills) I think I was praying to God for strength (if I was not He was giving it to me, because after all, I did get through the race :) As I ran up the hills the last time and ran towards the end of the fifth lap, I was grateful that it looked like it would all be slightly downhill and flat from there.
I turned towards the left after completing the fifth lap, proceeding to enter the loop another time, only this time when I reached the bottom of the hill about a third-of-the-way into the loop, I made a left onto the track. Once I was on the track, I had a little less than a lap of it to run before I reached the finish line on the other side of it. As I ran down the back straight-away of the track, my mind went back to the inaugural "A Day at the Races 5K" at Queen Anne's County High School in Centreville, MD that I had run almost two years ago that day. The "A Day at the Races 5K" was run on the Queen Anne's County High School course, and like this course I was running, there was a full lap on the high school's track before finishing the race. Even though I heard that course was a little shorter than a 5K at the time, I had just managed to tuck under 19 minutes with an 18:59.
I felt relatively stronger than I did finishing this race. With my stopwatch saying I was 23 minutes into the race and on my way to the slowest 5K I have run probably since 2006 when I ran a 29:06 at the impromptu 5K they held in lieu of the annual Mike Sterling 10K as part of the National Hard Crab Derby in Crisfield (Somerset County), MD. In fact, at this Matt Boles 5K Fun Run I was running, I was huffing and puffing, and I realized it was going to take significant work to have a strong enough finish to run this 5K under 24 minutes. I believe I prayed that God would give me the strength to finish well here and/or to break 24 minutes on this course.
I rounded the last turn on the track and then ran down most of the straight-away on the track into the finish line in a time of 23 minutes and 54 seconds (even though I thought I heard someone yell 23:50 to me when I crossed the finish line, I think for honesty's sake I will go by the time on my stopwatch and say I ran about 23:54 on this course).
If you have been following me on this blog, you will know that the 23:54 I ran there was the slowest 5K I have run in over three years. I do not think I have ever run a 5K slower than that ever since I began my endeavors to run in running events in every county in Maryland. Though, at the time, I was just happy to have finished. I was quite run-down from having run two 5k's within pretty much two hours of each other, and having a five-miler to do in less than two hours in Frederick County. Not to mention, I felt a little on the dehydrated side despite having drank water on the way to this race and slowing up at the water stops throughout the race.
I would not be surprised if I found out that that course was a little longer. I liked the loop, I felt like I had run about two minutes faster or so for how tired I felt after running the 23:54. Then again, I was not in my best running shape and that was my second race of the day. Perhaps my current level of conditioning was just not up to par enough to run stronger with doing multiple races in the same day.
Like I said, I did like that race. It was fun and family friendly. In the future, I could see myself coming back to it.
I did not stick around much afterwards. I wanted to get to my third and final race of the day (and longest); "The Forest of Needwood"/"Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial Run" Five-Mile Road Race in the Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick area of Frederick County, Maryland. This race was about an hour-and-two minutes away from East Middle School in Westminster according to MapQuest.Com, and I quickly got in the car, figuring at best I would probably only have about 10 minutes or so tops to get my race bib and stretch out before the race.
On the way there I definitely felt tired, and a bit dehydrated. I ate a little bit, though not too much to cause cramps. Yet I wanted to make sure I got something in my stomach to help maintain good blood-sugar levels before this next run. On the way to this five-miler, I realized that this was one of the few times in the past several years that I really felt like I was not interested in doing the race. I think I had had my fill of racing for the day (and probably for the rest of the weekend). Normally, I would feel excited about doing multiple races within a weekend, and occasionally even within a day like this day. Yet, I knew that I was over half-way done with this goal, having finished two-of-the-three races I had set out to do, and I was confident that God would get me through this race somehow even though I was feeling pretty run down. I felt like I was back in high school or college, and not wanting to go to practice (or hoping that practice was canceled for some reason) because I was not feeling well or I was feeling tired from staying up late and doing homework (yea, believe it or not, I actually cared enough about school back then to stay up late to get work done). I felt like I was getting ready to walk into a dentist appointment with my teeth and gums already aching...
I think you get the idea.
I focused on guzzling water on the drive there (and I think I may have made one stop to use the restroom or something, I can not exactly remember). My mouth was feeling kind of dry, which was not helping me feel more hydrated, and I remember it certainly feeling a lot warmer than it normally would be in March during this first day of spring. As I drove, I continued to pray that God would help me through the race. At this point, I felt fairly worn-down and I decided not to worry about my goal of running the race (which I heard was pretty hilly) in under 35 minutes (which is a seven-minutes-per-mile pace), even though I thought it would be nice to perhaps take home an age-group award. When I got into the parking lot of the church, I was thankful that I made it there with about 10-15 minutes before the race started, and I told God that I knew I was safe in His hands!
I got up to the starting line of the race, not long after I rolled up in the parking lot. I was still feeling pretty dried up and at that point I was hoping just to get through the race without any serious harm to myself. At the starting line, I saw this gentleman that I've known for a long while from the Howard County Striders. I mentioned to him that this was to be my third race of the day. Then, right after that another gentleman who heard me say that to him, told me he overheard me say that and he thought it was cool that I was doing all those races. I felt encouraged and a little bit better about what I was about to do, and I think I thanked him and wished him a good run.
Soon after, the race started, and I started pretty close to the back so that I would not be drawn out at a faster pace with the faster runners who tend to start at the very front of the starting line. I focused on keeping a good steady pace, yet there did not seem much that could distract me from my thirst/dryness in my mouth. I quickly realized it was probably not the best idea for me to have left my water bottle by the finish line like I normally do; I should have run with it since I was feeling thirsty, it was hot, and I was going slow enough as is so having to run carrying a water bottle would not have been much of a hindrance.
Now I had to wait for the water stops (and I hoped there were more than one), and they probably would not start coming up until towards the middle of the race. Would I be able to hang in there all right?
I went through the first mile in just under 7:30. Normally that would be a slower first mile for me to go through in a five-mile race, yet I was already feeling fatigued and run-down, so I did not see myself getting much faster.
Not long after going up and down the hills of the first mile, I made a left and caught up to this woman who must have overheard me talking to the gentlemen at the start of the race, and she said something to the effect that she thought it was cool that I was doing all those races, and she wished me well. I felt encouraged. I felt like with what that woman said as well as what other people had said about my endeavor to do three road races throughout the day, it was as if there was a cheering squad for me the whole way through (and I am not trying to sound narcissistic I just felt that way).
However, I was starting to slow significantly and that woman I had caught up too, easily caught up to me and passed me, and I don't think I caught up with her again for the rest of the race. At that point, I started not to care if I were even the last person to finish. I just wanted to finish.
The dryness in my mouth had begun to give way to feelings of woozines and a bit of queasiness. I felt like I could still walk (or run rather) in a straight line, but I felt like I was beginning have a bit of heat exhaustion, and I felt like I was huffing and puffing just to keep jogging/running. I was praying and going back-and-forth in my mind about whether to stop and walk, or just drop out of the race. I had heard of people "bonking" out of races and I was wondering if I were experiencing something that should lead me to do the same. In my mind I knew that this started out as a fun goal, and I did not anticipate much tragedy that would come of it. Man was I naive. I had not been doing as many longer distance runs as I should have to do this endeavor in a more "reasonable and prepared" fashion. I should have run with water in this particular race. I should see my doctor about my heartburn medicine, the side-effects of which were a likely cause of my mouth becoming dry. I had much to look forward to in the near future, such as meeting up with some friends at the Arundel Mills Mall in Anne Arundel County, MD later that evening, picking one of my best friends (Brian) up from work, and then the following day seeing my girlfriend Kay and attending her nephew's baptism. I did not want to miss out on any of that by making myself ill from getting heat exhaustion out in this race.
The thought of dropping out of the race was crossing my mind, and it would do so quite a few times before crossing the finish line.
God had given me sufficient strength to get through to around the two-mile mark, where the first water stop was. I took at least two cups of water and stopped to walk real briefly before, I started jogging again. I was hoping that little hydrating reprieve would help me feel a little better. Though, after a couple more minutes, I felt about as dehydrated, woozy, and tired as I had before. I was spurred on by inspiration to glorify God in this racing goal, and also thinking of Kay and other things I had endured in this race helped boost my spirits a little bit.
I was beginning to feel quite run-down by the time I had run over more hills on these open country roads, and when the course made a left-turn at the bottom of this hill, I saw a course marshal there. I stopped, and asked him if he had some water I could have, and he said he did not. I asked him where the next water stop was, as my mind was debating whether or not I should ask this guy to just drive me back to the start/finish line area, or press on and see what would happen. This was about half-way into the race, and if the first half was going this rough, the second probably would get much uglier for me.
He told me the water stop was right around the fourth mile, and I thought that would be cool to have another water break and have about a mile to go before finishing the race. With that, I walked left along the course and the total time that I had stopped and walked a bit was probably just a little less than a minute at the most.
I started jogging again, the little puddles and streams of water running in ditches along the road looked so appealing for me to kneel down and drink from them, even though they were probably really filthy. I was tempted to do that, though I don't think I rallied enough mental wherewithal to do that, and that was probably a good thing.
I went through mile three in somewhere probably over 25 or 26 minutes. At this point, I did not care about my time and me even placing in the top two or three in my age group seemed out of the question. I just wanted to finish, and I hoped I would not have to drop out (and it would be nice to not have to stop anymore until the finish either).
The distance between me and the runners ahead and behind me had widened quite a bit on these hilly open roads. If any runners came near me, it was pretty much them passing me relatively easily. I just focused on keeping on. I was praying that God would help me get through, hopefully without getting sick, getting heat exhaustion, without going to the hospital or medical tent (if they had one) after getting through this race, and of course I was concerned with being able to drive an hour-plus home after the race. These thoughts and prayers seemed to race through my sluggish body.
The third-into-the-fourth mile did not seem too hilly (it still was, just not compared to some of the ones I encountered earlier in the race). I caught up to a few runners as we neared the fourth-mile mark and I tried to encourage them without shouting too much (I did not want to expend much more energy than I had too). However, to my dismay, I saw that the fourth mile was a left turn away, yet, it was pretty much atop what was probably by far the longest and most grueling uphill in the whole race.
I knew one way or the other I would have to top that hill, whether I'd be walking, riding back with someone, or running/jogging up. I prayed for God's help on that hill, and I was really pleasantly surprised that I slowly and steadily kept up with the other few runners I was around, and I was able to get up that hill without stopping. I reached the top, and took probably about two or three cups of water. I think I ran through the four-mile mark in about 35-36 minutes. The race director was there, and he cheered me on, wishing me well on my third race of the day (I had told him earlier on that I was endeavoring to run three road races in one day, and that his was my third one of the day). That really encouraged me, and I was grateful that before and between all three of these races today, God had put people in the midst of it all to say supportive words.
The last mile seemed to be a blur of huffing and puffing as I shuffled/jogged a fair stretch of what seemed to be a steady downhill. I saw quite a few runners ahead of me, though I think they had gotten there from behind by passing me. I did not care. I knew I had a realistic chance of finishing this race, and hopefully those two times earlier in the race I had stopped would be the only times I would stop in this race. I wanted to finish soon, and more importantly, I wanted to finish without incident. I had plans after wards, especially the next day with Kay and her nephew's baptism!
I had to be strong, and most importantly, lean on God for that strength. Stopping to walk/stretch-out in a race does not happen for me that often in a race, and that was humbling. Usually, I do care to some degree about what place I come in or what time I run in a race, so this was most unusual that I had reached a point in this particular race where I did not care about it. One thing resonated in my mind pretty clearly even before I started this race: God is strong in my weakness (and the Bible says so)!
We reached a bridge going over a road (possibly Highway 340 going between Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, the ladder two states' borders I was near at this point). Around here, I think I heard someone yell out to us that we had about a quarter-of-a-mile left. Ah yes, pretty much one full lap on a track's distance around. Of course, this was not a flat track.
I think after crossing the bridge, we made a right onto this road, and it was a steady uphill. The finish line ribbons and many people stood around it and I was so happy to see it. As I ran past the church on the left, this gentleman who was cooling down (who I usually do well keeping up with) jogged by in the direction I was coming from and, he asked something to the effect of "hey Noah, are you cooling down?" And I said something like, "believe it or not, I am about to finish!" I think that surprised him because he is used to seeing me running much faster than I was.
And I was too!
I angled to the left and rather clumsily tried to dash through the finish line, that I crossed in about 44 minutes and 55 seconds, just under a nine-minute-per-mile pace (with a couple of stops, not too bad)! I was sooo happy to have that over with (even though it was a well put-on race). I slowly bent over to grab my water bottle next to the finish line chute and I definitely felt some pretty heavy acid reflux for a second or two from bending after the race.
Water bottle in hand, I did not really stop to chat or cheer on others like I normally like to do after I finish a race. I walked quickly into the shade and air conditioning of the church, grabbed a chair in a small backroom, and plopped down in it... And I stayed in that room for probably the better part of an hour drinking water until I felt recovered enough to get back outside into the heat.
While I was chilling there, a few guys and maybe one or two women had walked by to use the bathroom and cool off there. I enjoyed their company (and I really could not remember any of their names, maybe one gentleman's name was Fred, I dunno, I was pretty out-of-it). I was a little concerned that I may have been affected with heat exhaustion, though after thinking about Kay and realizing I should probably text her to let her know I got through the races safely, I felt much better (without much wooziness), and I was able to get outside, go to my car, and get my cell phone to send her text messages.
Not long after I went to my car, they began the awards ceremony. I figured I'd stick around and listen, and cheer on people I knew there who earned awards... And I was blessed to be one of them. In fact, I won the male 25-29 age-group division! What? I could not believe it! God had blessed me with an age-group win with one of the most weakest race performances I had ever run!
In my weakness, God is strong!
It turned out that the only other gentleman in my age group division was the overall winner of the entire race, and by default I won the age group! Whoa! I was so pleasantly shocked in that I was not even expecting to place at all in my age group (I think they only awarded the top-two in each age group). Wow! That medal I won the size of a Cub-Scout/Boy-Scout uniform medal is one of the sweetest prizes God has won for me, and I think it will serve as a tangible reminder to me that all things are possible with God, and that in my humble weakness, He prevailed and was strong for me!
God really saved me out there from my own ambition and recklessness with my health and running. It could have gone over a lot worse. And instead, He not only got me through the races, He helped me do so with age-group awards. I was floored by it! I still think it was an incredible age-group award. I do believe that was the slowest 5-mile time I have run in a 5-mile race to date, and that had come after my slowest 5K I had run in the past few years. The "Forest of Needwood"/"Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial Run" 5-Mile Road Race I think has been the most challenging 5-miler I have run. I say that not because of the condition I came to the race with, nor the warmer weather, but just because of the consistently rolling and challenging hills. I have run some pretty hilly 8K's and 5-milers on cross-country courses, yet I do not think they had the quantity of hills that this one did. I am sure there are even much tougher ones out there, and I think that this one sufficiently made me want to stay away from that distance for a while, haha!
So looking back I really think that this endeavor was not about how strong I could appear for doing those three races in one day: It was about allowing those experiences to wear me down so that it was less of my efforts and more of God's grace and provision, which was more than I needed to get through (I got to take home some hardware)!! I wanted to thank all of you who prayed for me, cheered for me, and supported/encouraged me in some way (and that includes all of you I met that day at the races too). I think that this was a worthwhile experience, at least spiritually. I think it humbled me with my running in a way that I think I needed to be. I do not see myself doing something like this again anytime soon, and if I do, I would really prefer to have done more longer runs as to help "train" specifically towards, than I did with this (I sorta found out I could perhaps do this within a week beforehand). I would also pay more attention to the weather and make sure I maintain good hydration habits. I wanna say that that may help me run faster, though I have to remember that God worked through me when I was weak, and when He is at work, it is GOOD! I am grateful for how God helped these three races to fall on the same day, in the locations that they did, at the times that they did, and under the collaboration and leadership that it did, and that it drew the participation that it did. I think that all helped make this experience what it was...
In my weakness, God is strong. In my fading, God brings power and life :)
Races I ran on Saturday, March 20, 2010
9 A.M. - Inaugural Francie's Family 5K - Middletown Park, Middletown (Frederick County), MD - 10th overall (20-29 male age group division winner) - 21:07.25
11 A.M. - 2nd Annual Matt Boles 5K Fun Run - East Middle School, Westminster (Carroll County), MD - 23:54
1 P.M. - 28th Annual "Forest of Needwood"/"Jennifer Schafer Odom Memorial" 5 Mile Road Race - Knoxville/Petersville/Brunswick (Frederick County), MD - 35th overall (25-29 male age group division winner) - 44:57 (clock time), 44:55 (watch time)
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