The Rest Is Still Unwritten: Dreaded Druid Hills 10K and Bel Air Town Run 5K

This weekend was my first attempt at double-dipping with races. I ran the Dreaded Druid Hills 10K on Saturday and the Bel Air Town Run 5K on Sunday. I would someday like to do the Disney Goofy Challenge (which is a half-marathon one day followed by a full marathon the next), so it is good to test what back-to-back racing feels like. However, I guess this time doesn't count for much since I didn't run very hard at Dreaded Druid Hills.

Dreaded Druid Hills 10K:

This race is known for its brutal hills. The description on the website reads: "Most memorable quote so far: I love running hills, but that was mean and totally uncalled for. - Finisher in the chute, 2002." I love a challenge and have seen my fair share of nasty hills, so I had to see for myself just how bad this course was.

Unfortunately, I was hit with food poisoning mid-week and spent two full days in bed. By Friday, I was recovered enough to eat full meals again but still took a full day of rest from physical activity. I thought I was fully recovered and back to full running form on Saturday morning, so I started out at a decent pace and ran the first mile in 8:49. Then, the same stomach pains that had me lying in bed for 2 days came back in full throttle. I felt like I was about to hurl and told the friend that was running with me to go ahead without me because I needed to slow down. Although I was able to still keep somewhat of a running pace for the 2nd mile, each time I sped up or climbed a hill, my stomach would hurt more.

When I got to the 2nd mile, I couldn't ignore the pain any longer and had to stop and walk for the full mile. I felt so defeated! With the exception of JFK (which required walking), I have never walked in a race. My goal for my first marathon was to be able to run the whole duration of the race, no matter how slow or fast. But here I was, walking a 10K. After one mile, I decided it would take too long for me to finish if I walked the whole second half and started running again with some intermittent walking. When I reached the last mile of the race, I was finally able to ignore the pain and speed up. Thinking about how I don't belong this far back in a race kept me motivated and I passed a lot of runners who were out of gas from all those hills. I finished in 1:12:16.

Besides all of the stomach issues, I actually enjoyed the course. I thought it was rather scenic and although the hills were pretty brutal, I think I would've managed ok if not for the food poisoning. If I am free next year, I will definitely come back and redeem myself. I guess the lesson learned here is that no matter how much you prepare, there are so many factors that play into whether you are going to have a good race or not, be it the weather, injuries, sleep deprivation, digestive issues, pre-race jitters, etc. It's how you deal with all of this that makes you a better runner.

Bel Air Town Run 5K:

This year, I am competing in the RRCA State Championship series to try to win my age group. Basically, this is a series of 10 races throughout the year all over Maryland amongst several running clubs. Each club hosts a race and you get points based on your finish time. You have to run at least 4 of the 10 races to qualify for an award. The Bel Air Town Run was the 3rd race in the series and was hosted by Harford County's running club, RASAC.

I couldn't get any of my friends to go all the way out to Bel Air to run 5 km with me (it was weird driving that far north on 95, I am so used to driving south to MoCo for my weekend runs), but I knew a few HCSers that were doing it and was able to hang out with them before the start. It was such a hot and humid day that I was already sweating from just standing and waiting 5-10 min at the start line. I knew it was going to be a rough run. Luckily, the course was pretty forgiving as it was mostly downhill with only a couple uphills towards the end. A good number of supporters came out to watch and some even took their hoses and sprinklers out to cool us down.

I didn't experience any stomach pains during the race or any other sort of issues, so that was good. I wasn't really able to speed up or slow down much, so I basically just kept the same pace throughout the race. I pretty much just remember it being so hot and humid (which made me contemplate why I am doing the Annapolis 10 Mile Run at the end of August again) and just wanting to be done and glad that was only a 5K and not a 10K. I crossed the finish line with a time of 24:21.

I cooled down and hung out with my HCS friends for a while afterwards but I had to leave at 9:00 AM to get balloons and decorations for my mom's surprise birthday party. They hadn't announced the awards yet by the time I left, but apparently I came in 3rd place out of the 48 females in my 20-24 age group. However, since the overall female winner was 22 and you cannot win both the overall and age group award, I got bumped up to 2nd place for the AG award. This is my first running award ever! Too bad I was not there to claim it. Hopefully they will mail it to me, so I don't have to drive all the way back up to Bel Air to get it. My friend said the awards for this race was trophies too! Yay!

I went from feeling defeated and walking for the first time in one race to winning an award in another all in one weekend! A lot of firsts this weekend: some good, some bad. I need to get faster (or find races where the fast girls don't show up), so I can win some cash awards to make up for all of these race fees.

***UPDATE***

Drove up to Bel Air after work today to pick up my award. Here it is: