Omnium-Gatherum: Running 2000

11/5/00: Run Through the Grapevine 8K - with the "Billy Goat Chicks" team. Remind me never to do another cross country race. <grin> Jen's sister Steph had mentioned the hill from last year's course that caused her to stop dead in her tracks and just laugh, as in "you don't really expect us to run up a 90-degree incline do you?" Well, the infamous hill was still part of the course. You definitely couldn't run it though, you had to climb it. Next time I'll remember to bring rappelling gear.

~*~*~

9/17/00: Police Pace. This one took place at Centennial Lake in Columbia, where Ed and I do our weekend training runs together, and was the first race course that we were familiar with ahead of time. With the beautifully cool weather, I came close to beating my 5k PR (missed it by 3 seconds - argh!). My favorite part of the event? -- the platoon of police academy entrants positioned at the rear who shouted cadence throughout the entire 3.1 miles. What could be more motivating than being chased by a group of burly cadets bellowing marching orders? :-)

~*~*~

8/27/00: 25th Anniversary Annapolis 10-Miler. My first 10-miler, I'd been nervous about this one for months, especially after listening to racing veterans refer to it as a "survival race" thanks to the hills and heat. Oy. Add to that 8 weeks of physical therapy to treat chondromalacia patella in both knees, and I really wasn't sure I'd attempt Annapolis, despite having already plunked down the 30 dollar registration fee. But come race day, my last excuse--unbearable weather--evaporated as the stifling heat and humidity of years past failed to show.

And I'm sooooo glad I did run this one. My goals were predictably simple: finish the course in the time allotted (we were required to maintain a 12-minute pace) and collect my race premium: a super-cool red, black and gray "attack" jacket emblazoned with the Annapolis 10-Mile Run logo. Unlike most races where participants receive a t-shirt just for registering, the Annapolis jackets went to finishers only, so the pressure was on! <grin>

And what fun the actual running was! Mile two appeared before I knew it, and as we sprinted by the harbor a cool breeze greeted us. Scores of onlookers gawked and rooted as we pounded the brick streets of Annapolis proper. But my favorite segment was between miles 7 to 9. This took us through an old residential neighborhood atop a hill overlooking the town where onlookers trumpeted tunes from windowsill stereos (I don't remember which songs exactly, only that they were welcome inspiration), handed out orange slices, and sprayed us with water to keep us going.

~*~*~

7/15/00: Rockville Rotary Twilighter 8k. A gorgeous, mystical kind of night, the weather was reported to have been the best in the Twilighter's 15-year history. We were spared the usual heat and humidity. Running through the streets of Rockville in the dark held an excitement all of its own, augmented by the local residents who cheered us on from their front yards, many perched in lawn chairs to take in the event as one would a good horse race. But best of all were the shower-sprinklers set up along the way, and the townsfolk who hosed us down as we sprinted past. I never missed an opportunity to get drenched!

As for running buddies, my brother Ed and his friend George ran this one, as well as Janis from the Wednesday-night training-run crew. Jen (also one of the Wed-night crew) marshaled, and I did manage to spot her in the darkness somewhere around mile 2.

~*~*~

6/25/00: Damien's 5k Run for Recovery. Because it's for a cause near 'n dear to my heart--the prevention and treatment of substance abuse-- I knew as soon as I heard about this race that I wanted to do it. And I was delighted when my brother Ed and good running buddy Jen decided to enter as well.

On race day as Ed, Jen, and I poised ourselves in the starting area waiting for the race to begin, Ed turns to me as says, "My goal is to run this one at a 7:30 pace, what's your goal?" To which I quipped, "To finish without getting lost." Heehee, well, I think I need a better goal. I did manage to find the finish line, but my performance was lackluster at best. The combination of hot, muggy weather that morning and the light training schedule I've been maintaining while in physical therapy for "runner's knee" conspired against me. But Ed and Jen both ran a great race!

And looky what I found at the Massella site! (Notations in white mine of course.)

~*~*~

4/30/00: Pike's Peek 10k. Thanks to the goading... uh, er, make that encouragement... of friends, I registered, albeit late, for Pike's Peak. Since I missed Clyde's, Pike's Peak turned out to be my first 10k. And an excellent first-timer's course it was: a mostly flat or descending grade on a closed northbound segment of 355 starting from the Shady Grove metro station and ending at White Flint Mall. Best of all, the last two tenths of a mile were completely downhill, allowing competitors to fly right into the finish line. This was also the first time I had ever run with the electronic-scoring chip, which actually timed me about 20 seconds faster than my chronometer. Cool.

As far as mistakes, the biggest one I made was lining up waaaay at the back of the pack in the starting area. With over 3,000 entrants, we were divided into "expected-pace" groups in order to save faster runners from having to waste time dodging us slowpokes. Well, I went looking for my fellow eleven-minute snails, but they were nowhere to be found - the pacing sections stopped at 9 minutes! So I lined myself up beyond the nine-minute section. That was the mistake. Though I'm still slow by most standards, I nevertheless lost time trying to pass folks during the first half of the race, quite a few more than those passing me during the last half. Next year I'll place myself squarely in the 9 minute group.

At the post-race festivities I met up with Jen - who marshaled at this race - and her friends. From her marshaling post at the three-mile mark she had bolstered me with cheers to the "lemon-lime kid" (a reference to my outfit), and I was grateful for the mid-race support. When it was time to go she drove us all back to the Shady Grove metro lot to retrieve our cars, saving us a return ride on the metro. The trip back was an hilarious adventure all of its own as five of us passengers squeezed into her compact car, affectionately named "Ghiermo." Ghiermo set a PR of his own that day in terms of capacity!

~*~*~

4/14/00: Clyde's 10k. Yep, my brother and I are signing up for this one. I can't believe I'm doing this... Update: Alas, I wasn't able to run this one due to a knee injury, but I did attend as a spectator in order to cheer on Ed, his friend George, and my buddy Jen. Spectating turned out to be just as much fun as running. You should have seen Ed's face as he crossed the finish line. While most of the other finishers donned expressions of utter agony, Ed flew past with a huge smile. Go Ed! Clydes puts on a great post-race party as well - watching the racers down beer at nine a.m. in the morning was a real hoot!

~*~*~

3/19/00: Howard County Striders Bagel Run. Takes off from the Tilde Lake Swim Center in Columbia at am Saturday mornings, and does a loop or two around Centennial Lake. These folks are serious runners and fast. At one of the water stops we met up with a guy who routinely does 100-mile ultras: 21-hours of running. OE.

~*~*~

2/7/00: Kentlands Monday Night Training Runs. I attended my first MCRRC training run. Marty Horan leads these 4-7 mile jaunts through Gaithersburg. Most folks run it at a 8-9 min/mile pace, but Marty was happy to slow down for me while I learned the course.

~~~

2/6/00: Penguin Pace 5k. My brother and I ran our first race, the Penguin Pace 5k, put on by the Howard County Striders in Ellicott City. What fun! It's true what everyone says: you get so caught up in the spirit of the race you run much faster than you think you're able. I was stunned to hear the volunteer at the one-mile mark yell out "9:08." Being primarily a social runner who started running last spring, I hadn't broken 10:30 prior to this.

But the real fun was meeting up with some familiar faces at the post-race breakfast and awards ceremony. We joined one of my new training-run buddies, Jen, and her sister. Watching Jen scoop up second place for her age group highlighted the presentations. Go Jen!

Update (6/23/00): The photos are in! Imagine my surprise when I cracked open the June 2000 issue of the Runner's Gazette and saw this gem. Yep, that's me trailing behind 7-year old Chase Gilbreath and his father.

Photo by Jim Carbary for the Runner's Gazette.
.................................. Many thanks to the Editor of the Runner's Gazette, Freddi Carlip (a.k.a Miss Road Manners), for sending this complimentary photo, and to Jim Carbary, the photographer.

~*~*~