First run at Alpha Ridge Park!

This afternoon after I got off of work at the Homewood Center, I changed into my running clothes and decided to do a couple of intervals at a place I had never been: Alpha Ridge Park in Marriottsville (Howard County, the more northwestern part of it I think), Maryland. It is off of Route 99 right near Mount Hebron High School, Marriott's Ridge High School, and the Chapelgate Christian Academy/Chapelgate Presbyterian Church! I ran about 11:04 to warm up around the relatively flat park with some gently rolling hills. Then, I ran two four-minute repeats hard. I ran a lap around a parking lot at the beginning of each interval, I did the first lap in about 1:06, and then the second lap in about 1:03. I felt like I kept up a consistent pace on both of them and I feel like my second interval was a bit faster than the first (not to mention my kick towards the end on my second one was pretty strong too, I thought).
While doing this, I mainly ran on roads, bike paths, and fields. The park has about a couple of football and/or soccer fields, I think some tennis courts, acouple of baseball fields, and a outdoor hockey ring. I liked it I thought it was neat and I'm sure I'll do some more of my runs around that area of Howard County sometime in the near future.
I cooled down for about 11:34. I sorta went a bit easier on this workout, since I hope to run strongly in the Police Pace 5K this Sunday, September 9th at the Centennial Park in Howard County. For more information on this event that starts around 9:00 A.M. this coming Sunday, check out: http://www.policepace.com
Thank you for checkin' up on my blogs and I hope you enjoy the above photos of the Alpha Ridge Park. Take it easy and have a good night out there!

Photos from a Labor Day 5K in Eldersburg, Maryland

Labor Day morning was a lot of fun. On Monday, September 3, 2007, I went to Liberty High School in Eldersburg, Maryland for another Carroll County race: The Eldersburg Labor Day 5K Rogue Race.
The race started near Liberty High School (which is pictured in the upper left) and then ended right in front of the school (the finish line area is pictured in the lower right).
After running a 10K in Somerset County the previous Saturday, a 15K in Prince George's County the previous Sunday night, I was pleasantly surprised to have run the 5K in 19:35, and to have finished seventh overall, taking first in my age group division (I'm pictured with the award medal in the upper right). What a blessing!!!!!
Thank you for looking at the photos of this past weekend's racing and traveling about. I am looking forward to more and I hope to keep you all posted. Have a good night out there!

Larry Noel Greenbelt 15K/Prince George's County, Maryland Photos

These two photos are from the Beltsville, Maryland area on Sunday evening, September 2, 2007, where I completed my first Prince George's County running event this year: The 49th Annual Larry Noel 15K and 3K. I ran the 15K (approximately 9.3 miles) in about 1:06:50, and took 13th overall and 2nd in the male 20-29 age group! I was pretty happy about that and relieved to be done on that hilly, rural course.
I did not really get any photos of the race, but of the area close to the starting and finishing areas. On the left is a parking lot and street near where the 15K run started, and on the right is the St. Hugh of Grenoble Church (or maybe it was the school) near where the race started.
My family came to watch the start of the race and took a photo of me before I took off, hopefully that one comes out well but it is not developed as of yet.
I hope you all enjoyed the photos, next I hope to get some from the Eldersburg Labor Day 5K Rogue Race in Carroll County, Maryland on Monday, September 3, 2007.
Thank you for stopping by!!!!!

Running Events I have done this year as of Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Maryland

Allegany County

- Queen City Striders Junior Striders Cross Country meet (1 mile and 2 mile) – Tuesday evening, June 19, 2007 – Paris N. Glendenning Park/Frostburg

- One mile race – 2nd overall – 5:51

- Two mile race – 7th overall – 12:37

Anne Arundel County

– Governor’s “Non-Bay Bridge” Run (2.93 miles) – Sunday, May 6, 2007 - Sandy Point State Park/Annapolis – 8th overall (1st in 20-24-year-old age group) – 18:09 (clock), 18:07 (my watch)

– Metro Harriers’ fourth summer track and field all-comers meet – Thursday, July 19, 2007 – North County High School, Ferndale/Glen Burnie, MD

– 1,500 meters – 1st overall – 4:42

– 800 meters – 2nd overall – 2:21

– 3,000 meters – 2nd overall – 10:41

– John Wall Memorial Track Run (One mile) – Saturday, July 21, 2007 – Broadneck Senior High School track, Annapolis – 6th overall (1st in 20-29 year-old age group) – 4:53

– Dog Days 8K Cross Country Run – Sunday, August 5, 2007 – Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold – 13th overall (3rd in 20-29 year age group) – 32:18 (clock), 32:17 (watch)

Baltimore City

- Survivor Harbor 7-mile/3-mile – Sunday, June 10, 2007 – Baltimore City – 2nd overall (3-mile run) – 17:56 (clock), 17:53 (watch)

Baltimore County

– Patapsco State Park Avalon area trail race (a little over 6 miles) – Sunday, May 13th, 2007 – Near University of Maryland-Baltimore County/Arbutus area – 18th overall – 58:03

– PopPop and Pinhead Trail Scramble (about 5-6 miles) – Saturday, June 9, 2007 - Perry Hall/Gunpowder Falls State Park area – 5th overall - 52:14

Calvert County – Nothing yet

Caroline County

- Adkins Arboretum Arbor Day Fun Run (10K) – Saturday, April 21st, 2007 – Ridgley – 1st overall – 37:59 PR (Personal Record/best time in that distance!!!!! :)

Carroll County

- Westminster Road Runners Club (W.R.R.C.) Predicted Time Four-Miler – Saturday, March 10, 2007 – Westminster/Bachman Valley area – 2nd person in, 14th closest to predicted time – 25:34 (my predicted time was 27:00, I was 1:26 fast, whoops :)-

- Andy Hayes Memorial 5K Run – Saturday, April 7, 2007 – Westminster/near Farm Museum – 2nd overall – 18:47

- Inaugural River Valley Run 5K – Saturday, August 25, 2007 – River Valley Ranch, Manchester – 5th overall (2nd in 20-29 age group) – 19:15 (clock), 19:13 (chip)

- 4th Annual Eldersburg Labor Day 5K Rogue Race – Monday, September 3, 2007 – Eldersburg – 7th overall (1st in 20-29 age group division) – 19:35.0

Cecil County

- Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area (N.M.R.A.) Fools Frolic 22K (I ran the much shorter 5-6 mile route) – Sunday, April 1, 2007 – Fair Hill/Elkton – First person in, but it was not much of a race, just pretty much me and another gentleman chillin’ and chattin’ our way through – 1 hour, 21 minutes, 55 seconds

- Run4Fun 5K Run/Walk – Sunday, June 3, 2007 – Elkton – 5th overall (1st in 20-29 year-old age group) – 19:29

Charles County

- Civista Health Services Run for Wellness 5K – Sunday, May 20, 2007 – LaPlata – 5th overall (1st in male 20-29 age group) – 19:14 (clock), 19:08 (chip)

Dorchester County

- Dorchester Family YMCA Healthy Kid’s Day Fun Run (1.9 miles, mainly flat cross country) – Saturday, April 14, 2007 - Cambridge – 1st overall – 10:54 (ran negative splits too :)

Frederick County

- 11th Annual Frederick Steeplechasers Run for the Pie 10K – Saturday, July 14, 2007 – Frederick 4th overall (1st in the 20-24 age group) – 42:39

Garrett County

- 1st Annual Grantsville Days 5K – Saturday, June 23, 2007 – Grantsville – 8th overall (3rd in male 20-29 age group division) – 18:37 (clock), 18:36 (watch)

Harford County

- 2nd annual Eden Mill 5-Miler (4.8 miles approximately) – Sunday, July 1, 2007 – Eden Mill Park, Pylesville – 2nd overall – 30:37 (clock), 30:35 (watch)

Howard County

- Howard County Striders (H.C.S.) Weekly Winter Series (a.k.a. “Operation Iceberg”) # 3: Atholton High School 5 Kilometer – Sunday, January 21, 2007 – Columbia – 15th overall – 19:43

- H.C.S. “Operation Iceberg” #4: Thunder Hill Elementary School 2miles – Sunday, January 28, 2007 - Columbia - 30th overall - 20:17

- Penguin Pace 5K – Sunday, February 4, 2007 – Columbia – 8th overall (1st in 20-29 age group) – 18:43.86

- H.C.S. “Operation Iceberg” #6: Thunder Hill Elementary School 2 miles – Sunday, February 18, 2007 – Columbia – 2nd overall – 11:52 (my best time on that course :)

- Outback’s 5K for the YMCA – Sunday, March 11, 2007 – Ellicott City – 9th overall – 18:01.05 (clock), 17:59/18:00 (my watch – my best time on that course :)

- H.C.S. Spring Series Race (“Vernal Velocity) #1: Burleigh Manor Middle School 2 miles – Sunday, April 1, 2007 - Ellicott City/Columbia area – 2nd overall – 10:51 (best time on the course :)

- Inaugural Musical Madness 5K – Saturday, May 12, 2007 – Maple Lawn/Fulton/Scaggsville – 7th overall (1st in 20-29 age group category) – 18:48.71

- Damien F. Massella Run for Recovery 5K – Sunday, June 24, 2007 – Columbia – 52nd overall – 19:58.12 (clock), 19:55 (watch)

- Centennial Fun Run (one mile)#3 – Tuesday, July 10, 2007 – Ellicott City area – 1st overall – 5:11 (tied my second-best time on the course :)

- Centennial Fun Run (one mile)#4 – Tuesday, July 17, 2007 – Ellicott City area – 12th overall – 5:44

- H.C.S. Summer Series Race (“Summer Sizzler”) #3: Burleigh Manor Middle School 2 miles – Wednesday, July 18, 2007 – Ellicott City/Columbia area – 1st overall – 11:02

- PRE – Season Cross Country Races – Saturday, August 11, 2007 – Oakland Mills High School, Columbia

- 5K – 11th overall – 18:53 (best time on the course :)

- 3K – 5th overall – 15:12

- Emerson Community Fun Run (one mile) #6 – Tuesday, August 14, 2007 – North Laurel – 1st overall – 5:27 – Hit the fifty-races-per-year mark with this for the fifty-plus club :)

- Emerson Community Fun Run (one mile) # 7 – Tuesday, August 21, 2007 – North Laurel – 1st overall – 5:26 (my best time on the course :)

- H.C.S. Summer Series (“Summer Sizzler”) #7: Burleigh Manor Middle School 5 miles – Wednesday, August 22, 2007 – Ellicott City/Columbia area – 3rd overall – 32:33

Kent County

- 31st Annual Chestertown Tea Party Distance Classic (10 miler) – Saturday, May 26, 2007 – Chestertown – 31st overall (2nd in 20-24 age group) – 1:15:01 (clock), 1:14:57 (watch)

Montgomery County

- Gaithersburg Firebirds Track one mile race – Thursday, April 12, 2007 – Gaithersburg – 3rd overall – 5:04.88

- Comus Cross Country 5K – Sunday, August 12, 2007 – Comus/Dickerson – 10th overall (1st in age group division) – 20:29

Prince George’s (P.G.) County

- 49th Annual Larry Noel Greenbelt 15K and 3K (15K) – Sunday, September 2, 2007 – Greenbelt - 13th overall (2nd in 20-29 age group division) – 1:06:50

Queen Anne’s County

- Shore Christian Fellowship Church’s Inaugural Race to Impact (10K) – Saturday, March 24th, 2007 – Chester/Kent Narrows/Kent Island (it was all on the shaded Cross Island Trail) – 1st overall – 38:51

Somerset County

- 2nd Annual McCready Health Services Foundation’s Founder’s Day 8K Run & 2-mile walk (8K) – Saturday, May 5, 2007 (El Cinco de Mayo) – Crisfield – 1st overall – 31:58 (ran faster there this year than last year :)

- 60th Annual National Hard Crab Derby, 28th Annual Mike Sterling 10K – Saturday, September 1, 2007 – Crisfield – 4th overall (2nd in 20-29 age group) – 41:48

Saint Mary’s County

- National Trails Day 5K (it was a little more than that, probably closer to 3.5 miles) – Saturday, June 2, 2007. – Historic St. Mary’s City area – 1st overall – 21:38

Talbot County

- Oxford Day 10K – Saturday, April 28, 2007 – Oxford – 1st overall – 38:35 (big improvement over last year’s 42:04 here, and a well-paced race on a relatively short amount of sleep :)

Washington County

- Tom Ausherman Memorial Series #1 (2-mile/1-mile) – Tuesday, June 5, 2007 – Hagerstown – 6th overall(2-mile race) – 11:36

Wicomico County

- Salisbury University Track & Field’s Seagull Home Opener Meet – Saturday, March 3, 2007 – Salisbury

- 1,500 meter run – 7th overall – 4:48.7

- 800 meter run - 2nd overall – 2:12.5

- 4X400 meter relay (alumni team) – 4th overall (1st alumni team) – 4:01.5

- 4th Annual Tim Kennard 5 mile River Run and 3 mile walk – Sunday, March 4, 2007 – Salisbury – 14th overall (3rd in the 20-24 age group division) – 31:25 (clock), 31:14 (chip – Nice performance for me that surpassed my expectations, especially after running three track races less than twenty-four hours ago :)

Worcester County

- Francis Scott Key Family Resort “Dash and Splash” Run/Walk Series 5K Race#3 at Stephen Decatur High School (on the track) – Saturday, June 30, 2007 – Berlin – 1st overall/only finisher – 18:52 (clock), 18:50 (watch) – Finished out the Maryland Eastern Shore portion of my endeavor with this event :)

Events outside of Maryland

California

San Diego County

- 30th Annual Scripp’s Ranch Old Pros Run and Bike 10K and 2-mile Fun Run (10K) – Wednesday, July 4, 2007 – Scripp’s Ranch neighborhood, San Diego – 73rd overall-39:08 (clock), 39:05/39:06 (chip)

Delaware

Kent County

- March Moonlight Madness 5K – Thursday, March 1, 2007 – Wyoming – 2nd overall (1st in male 20-29 age group division) – 18:28

New Castle County

- 2nd Annual Wilmington Games 5K – Wednesday, July 25, 2007 – Wilmington – 5th overall (2nd in 19-29 age group division) – 19:35 (clock), 18:35 (watch-probably would have been low-to-mid 19’s since I accidentally missed a turn and cut the course a bit short near the end)

Sussex County

- 25th Annual Y.M.C.A. 5-Mile Run/Walk – Sunday, July 29, 2007 – Deauville/Rehoboth Beach area – 13th overall (1st in 20-29 age group division) – 31:59 (clock), 31:57 (watch) – Completing this race, I have run in all three Delaware counties this year!!!!!!!!! :)

- Seven Sisters, Four Brothers 6th Annual Venus on the Half Shell 5K – Saturday, August 4, 2007 – Dewey Beach – 9th overall (2nd in 20-24 age group division) – 18:36 (clock), 18:35 (watch)

District of Columbia – Washington

- Hugh Jascourt Memorial Four Miler – Thursday evening, June 21, 2007 – Northwest Washington D.C./C&O Towpath area – 17th overall – 26:04 (clock), 26:01 (watch)

Photos from the 60th National Hard Crab Derby and other areas in Somerset County, Maryland

Good evening everyone. Here are some great photos (great in my opinion anyway) of when I went to the 60th National Hard Crab Derby for the 28th Annual Mike Sterling 10K and armwrestling matches in Crisfield (Somerset County), Maryland on Saturday, September 1st, 2007.
This county is as rural as it is scenic. Being by a bay area, it includes several islands like Jane's Island and Smith Island. I do not believe I have ever been to these islands before, but perhaps someday. Anyway, I took some pictures from the race area, then the Crab Derby Festival, and then some other scenic pictures in Somerset County.
I'll start from the top.
The top two photos are from the "Depot" area of Crisfield, where the Mike Sterling 10K started and finished.
The next two down are on some city docks around the "Depot" area where the registration and awards ceremony took place. To the right, I'm getting my age group award with race coordinator, Steven Flaherty, to my right, and the person who helped start up this event so long ago, Mike Sterling.
The next two down are more scenic ones. The one on the left is a photo of Jane's Island from the city docks where the awards took place. The one on the right came from later that afternoon in Jane's Island State Park from a dock (this park is part of the McCready Health Service's Founder's Day 8K course that I ran earlier this year on Saturday, May 5 :)
The following two are from the afternoon at the hub of activity of the National Hard Crab Derby. These festivities occurred in Crisfield at the Somers Cove Marina, pretty much within walking distance of the "Depot" area. To the left is a picture of some of the booths and tents set up at the festival. To the right is a pciture of the "Bowl", a sorta stadium where events like the crab races and arm wrestling took place.
The last four photos down are from the relatively rural area of Rehobeth, Maryland (not to be confused with Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, haha). I have always seen it on maps and I thought it would be cool to check it out since it sounds like the name of one of my favorite Delaware beaches. It is right off of Route 667, which can be reached from Route 13 or Route 413 (just to name a couple of probably common access points on the Maryland Eastern Shore).
I really thought Rehobeth was scenic and I am confident that last Saturday was my first time there!
This part of the weekend definitely helped make it enjoyable as well as all the people I saw and met. Thank you for reading this and I wish you all a good night :)

A little faster than I expected in Eldersburg!

Hi there, believe it or not I did my third race in a row on this Labor Day weekend today (Monday, September 3). I made it to and through the 4th Annual Eldersburg Labor Day Rogue Race in Carroll County, Maryland. The race was fairly hilly, but it probably could have been tougher. It started and ended at Liberty High School, and the course went through some neighborhoods throughout Eldersburg. I went through the first mile in about 6:12, I think I hit two miles in about 12:50 (I am not totally sure, as I thought that I saw at least two number "2" markings along the street shortly after goin' by a course marshal sayin' that the two-mile mark was comin' up). I picked it up fairly strongly, considering I had to go up that steep hill on Caren Drive (I think that was what the street's name was called) towrads the end, but when I got near the top of that hill, I was pleasantly surprised to feel that I still had a lot in me and I took off, and I had a really strong finish and ran 19:35 to finish seventh overall and first in my age-group division :)
I ran faster than the 19:59 I ran last year (they had me at around like 20:02 on the clock, but on my watch I hit about 19:59, since I had started a good ways back in the pack and it had taken me a few seconds I'm sure to actually reach the starting line before I started my watch). I ran on this course on Monday, May 27, 2006 for the Carroll County Parkinson's Run 5K (I'm pretty sure it's the exact same course), and I hit about 19:12 (19:13 on their clock), so I do not think I ran my best time on the course, but for the EVENT I did. I am really happy that I did not cramp up or hurt as much as I did a coupla days ago on Saturday during the Mike Sterling 10K in Somerset County, Maryland (it was part of the 60th Annual National Hard Crab Derby held in Crisfield). I'm feeling a little bit more encouraged about my running now. Even though just a couple of weeks ago, I would not have thought a 19:35 in a 5K anything to get excited about, but after my expereinces these past couple of weeks I will take it and go from there.
I hope to get up really early tomorrow and run for maybe about three-to-three-and-a-half miles really easy, then take a couple of days off and then do some more running on Thursday and Friday, take Saturday off, and then run the Police Pace 5K at Centennial Park in Howard County, Maryland on Sunday, September 9. I ran that race last year for the first time and got an 18:23. I do not think that where I am at now I can match that time, but God may have other plans and we'll see. I hope to have a good race, the Howard County Striders do a great job when they help put it on.
I'm gonna clean up and relax a bit more. This Labor Day Weekend has been a bit more laborious in the three events I have done, but I'm hoping it made me stronger and I have had some fun times. As a result of running the Larry Noel Greenbelt 15K last night in Prince George's County, Calvert County remains the only Maryland county I have left to run a running event in this year. I am so close and getting really excited.
Thank you al once again for your continued support and I wish you all an enjoyable Labor Day :)

First 15K, First Prince George's County Race of the Year, WAHOOOO!!!!!

The D.C. Road Runners helped me out a great deal this evening (Sunday, September 2nd, 2007) by putting on the 49th Annual Larry Noel Greenbelt Classic 15K and 3K in Greenbelt, Maryland. Greenbelt, Maryland is in Prince George's County, so as of this evening I have completed a running event in Prince George's County this year, YESSSSS!!!! I'm really happy about this. I know that Prince George's (we typically call it "P.G. County" for short) is not too far from me, yet earlier in the year I could not make it to an event because of other plans or I just did not know of any that were going on!
Now I only have Calvert County, Maryland left to find and participate in a running event in. I know that there are several coming up in that county, most of them through the Chesapeake Bay Running Club (http://www.cbrcmd.org). As a matter of fact, there are one or two 5K races comin' up this month in Calvert Count, so I'm hopin' things work out so I can make it to participate in it to finish out my goal. I think it's cool that the last county in Maryland that I have not run in this year is one that I have not run in in my life. I do not even think I have run a training run there. Some of these counties I have run in this year I had never even run or raced in before, so it has definitely opened my eyes to a lot of neat events that go on and the folks that participate in them.
Tonight's 15K (approximately 9.3 miles) was the first time I had run that distance (I have run longer before and some of my 15K splits were faster than what I ran). I thought I ran all right considering I went out pretty conservatively and was cramping up ever now and then throughout the race (especially comin' up to the 10K mark). Plus, I was still tired from yesterday morning's 10K in Somerset County, Maryland (the 28th Annual Mike Sterling 10K in Crisfield) where I was hurting. I was glad that my legs did not really lose feeling and that my right foot and/or knee did not hurt that much (I don't think my right foot was giving me much trouble until maybe I felt a little tension in going down a gradual hill towards teh end, bt I don't think it hurt as much as yesterday morning).
I went through the first mile in about 7:01 and from there picked it up pretty decently well into the middle of the race. Here are my splits that I recall:

1 mile: 7:01
2 kilometers (2K): 8:38
3K: 12:44
4K: 17:18ish
5K: 21:37ish
6K: 26:14ish
7K: 30:33ish
8K: 34:55/34:56ish
10K: 43:50ish
11K: 48:25ish (I started to feel better a little before here and pick it up a bit.
12K: 52:50ish I think
14K: Upper 1:02's I think
15K Finish: 1:06:42/1:06:43

I had originally planned to try and run the first 5K in 22 minutes-and-some-odd-seconds, then take that split down about another minute in the second 5K, and then the third 5K split down about another minute. I did not run exactly as planned, but I still did decent and was glad that towards the end I started feeling stronger and I thought I had a nice kick at the end on the shaded bike paths (at that point I had to remove my sunglasses and hold them before I started my kick towards the end, because it was so shaded and the sun was goin' down). I'm glad that I managed to get 2nd in my age group (something I did not think would ahappen considering my approach to this race was not that aggressive). I don't know where I placed overall, but I suspect I may have been close to the top-ten, hopefully the results get posted in good time and I can find that out.
Thank you for reading, I am so glad I made more progress on this endeavor for the first time in about a month-and-a-half or so since July 14, when I ran the Run for the Pie 10K in Frederick (Frederick County), Maryland. P.G. County and Calvert County did not seem to have many running events over the summer and when they did, I seemed to have other things goin' on or I just did not know about them.
Well, I'm gonna go eat a late dinner, get a little ice on, and then get some shuteye for the 5K in Eldersburg (Carroll County), Maryland tomorrow morning, and it's called the Labor Day Rogue Race 5K. It is put on by the Eldersburg Rogue Runners club and it is a hilly loop-sorta course that goes through neighborhoods and starts and ends in front of Liberty High School. Lookin' forward to it. Maybe if I feel really good, I can run faster than 19:59, which I ran there last year! We'll see, I'm not gona push it all that hard as I've run about 25 kilometers (about 15.5 miles) in races in the past coupla days.
Thank you again for all of your reading and support once again, I am grateful for how far the Good Lord has brought me and for all of you being there for me, whether we have just met or throughouta good portion of these endeavors. I hope you all have a nice weekend and a happy Labor Day :)

Somerset County, Maryland Revisited!

Hey there, I finally got to do the Mike Sterling 10K course in its entirety (unlike last year where it got reduced to a 5K as a result of the weather. It was very scenic and a great time. I ran all right, my right foot was really hurting after the second mile and I really hope it feels better for the Larry Noel Greenbelt 15K tomorrow evening in Prince George's County, Maryland, one of two counties I have not run in yet in Maryland. I hope I can make it to that one and finish it. If I am still hurtin' tomorrow, I'll see what I can do about maybe switchin' to the 3K instead tomorrow evening.
Anyway, the 28th Annual Mike Sterling 10K was fun, part of the 60th Annual National Hard Crab Derby in Crisfield, Maryland. I went through the first mile in about 6:18, four miles in about 27:03 and I finished in about 41:48ish, and took second in the male 20-29-year-age-group division! I almost took the wrong route, but luckily Mike Sterling himself (who went to Crisfield High School and was pretty much a one-person cross-country and track & field team during his high school years there, and one of the founders of the race), caught up to me at that point and helped get me back on course. He started pullin' away from me, but I surprised myself by responding and movin' to keep up with him, despite how much my foot hurt. It was nice that I had that to occupy me, because as I worked to stay up with him, my right foot did not seem to hurt as much. I hung with Mike until maybe about a half mile to go or so, and then he took off. I'm still happy with how I tried to hold on despite how I was starting to limp and cramp up towards the end. It was certainly nice that my right knee was not hurting like last Saturday at the River Valley Run 5K in Manchester (Carroll County), Maryland nor did my legs seem to lose feeling, I think I fed myself well!
I took quite a few pictures from today on the Maryland Eastern Shore, but I'll try to get 'em up later. I'm actually typin' in my brother's room at his college house on his laptop. There's a party goin' on outside that I was invited too and I think that after the race, going to Salisbury (Wicomico County), Maryland to watch the cross country meet, arm-wrestling at the National Hard Crab Derby (which went all right, a neat learning experience), I think I'm gonna join the party.... Or crash, whatever comes first, haha!

I hope everyone has a good night and thank you for reading!