Some Past Race Stories from other blogs

Pikesville Charity 5K (July 2008)
Speaking of races, I ran the Pikesville Charity 5K on Sunday morning and I ran a 25:49. Considering that my all time PR (personal record) was a 26:28 on a 3 mile course from high school, I was quite enthused.

City of Cambridge 5-Miler (Spring 2008)
Wow -- so today, I stomached it, got up early, and bared the freezing cold to run a 5 mile race, which I think is the longest race on foot I have completed to date. It was so cold out there at the start, it was insane. Considering that I haven't run much at all recently, I would have been overjoyed with a time of 45:00, or 9-minute miles, which is great for me. I was really tired, but I put it all out there and somehow my first split was 7:36. I was so happy. That is the fastest mile split I have ever run in a 3-mile race, so for 5 miles it felt even more surprising. I was a little bit worried so I knew I had to cool it. The course moved on (we were still on road) and finally we made it to the biggest pond ever (Fresh Pond) and I got my 2 mile split of 16:18. It was also a water stop and I knew I needed some energy so I took water for the first time ever in a race, drank it, and threw the cup down. I felt guilty about throwing the cup, but whatever. So the pond is kind of dragging along, and some old guy was reading the 3 mile split and he wasn't speaking so that anyone could hear him so I missed it, and I was kind of bummed about that. I kept trucking though and I felt really good about what I was doing. at the end of the 4th mile, the run was wearing on me, and I was getting really tired. And then it happened. The guy reads my 4 mile split and I am hoping for something close to 36 or 37, and he says, in the thickest accent that I will never forget, "Thoyty-five oh-two". 35:02! I know I have to do this. If I can run a 9 minute mile, I will be safely within 45. I started to pump at that point. I was passing people, chugging more water stops, capitalizing on downhills, and making my way through the 5th mile. I did not see my exact final time, but I did see that I finished in the low 43:20's. I'll get the time from the online results later. Regardless, it was really neat to run, really neat to escape from campus and get a real feel of what Cambridge is life, and get perspective on a great Sunday morning. Wow. 43:20. That is essentially the pace I ran my last race in the fall, except for 5-miles instead of 3. It means something good has happened between those two races. I am quite thrilled and motivated to burn that fat and achieve my fitness goals. What a rush.