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