The Runterra 8k Race Report

I woke up at 6:00am on Sunday to prep for the Runterra 8k.
I had planned to be in bed by 10:30pm the night before but a case analysis for school kept me up till midnight. When the alarm went off in the morning, I awoke with a sore jaw (excessive teeth grinding I presume) and bloated tummy (perhaps too much senseless eating the night before). I looked out the window and things hadn’t much changed from the day before. It was raining still. 

Weather at 6:05am: Cloudy. 48F, 100% humidity. wind 5mph.

The start time was fairly late, 8:30am, and the race was only 13 miles away (Seneca State Park – Clopper Lake) . But I wanted to get a head start in case I got lost on the way or lost a tire, etc. I also had to pick up my bib.

I made a cup of coffee while quietly mumbling about eating so much shit the night before. My stomach wasn’t cooperating and I didn’t know what to do. To take my mind off of it, I decided to do some school work before leaving at 7:15am.

By the time I checked in, it was 10 minutes till 8:00am. The registration was at Montgomery County fairgrounds, about 3 miles away from the race start. I shuffled around the parking lot while waiting for the bus which was to take all runners to Clopper Lake. 30 minutes later, no bus. 40 minutes later, no bus. hmmm. Turns out the original bus got stuck in the mud somewhere while dropping off the first set of runners and now we were waiting on a replacement. The replacement was a brown school bus and once on it, it reminded me of high school. As I’ve mentioned once before, anything high school related isn’t a very pleasant thought for me. So instead I eavesdropped on the conversations that other people were having. Funny stuff!

We got to the start line later than the anticipated start time of 8:30am. The race instead started at 8:45am.
Weather at 8:45am: same as before with slightly more rain and wind.

I haven’t been to Seneca State Park before and I was pleasantly surprised. According to their website the park, comprises of 6,300 acres and extends along 14 scenic miles of Seneca Creek, as it winds its way to the Potomac River. The Clopper day use area contains many scenic areas, including the 90-acre Clopper Lake, surrounded by forests and fields.

The 5 miles that we ran included lots of rolling hills, a gorgeous water fall, and a breathtaking view of the lake (the fog had just started to clear by the time we ran by it). Since only 166 people ran the 8k (there was also a 1k fun run), it mostly felt like I was running alone. Some of the steeper hills got to me but mostly I ran okay. I finished in 43.45 minutes (avg pace 8.48). I think I am happy with the results. My I-don’t-want-to-suck standard was to finish under 50 minutes and possibly under 45 (gives you an idea of how slow I really run). So I’m happy with what I did, but then it made me think of the Cherry Blossom this coming Sunday. The race is double the distance and I’m sure I’ll slow down as the miles progress…so perhaps I wont finish much better than last year. But I also need to remember that there aren’t any hills on the 10 mile route and having thousands of people running along side of you makes a positive impact on speed. I don’t know, I don’t want to think of it. Sunday isn’t too far off and I’ll find out soon enough.

Lessons Learned: Don’t eat too much shit the night before. Incorporate more runs with hills.

All in all, this was a good way to spend Sunday morning. I went for a slow 2.75 run with Komal later in the day. Total for the day 7.75 miles.
The foam roller is a poor man’s personal masseuse. I am loving it. Komal if you hear me moan behind closed door, it’s because I am rolling on the foam. Don’t judge me.

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runterra 8km
Gaithersburg, MD Mar 29, 2009

Timing & Scoring By Montgomery County Road Runners Club

(Official Results)

Place Num Name S Ag Hometown Time Pace
===== ===== ======================= = == ================== ======= =====
35 197 David Godschack M 41 Bethesda MD 42:49 8:37
36 164 Adam Sidel M 37 Washington DC 42:56 8:39
37 194 Rachel Ungos F 15 Rockville MD 43:02 8:40
38 184 Katy Warehime F 27 Boonsboro MD 43:04 8:40
39 145 Chika Patel F 27 Rockville MD 43:45 8:48
40 41 Melanie Hoff F 47 Falls Church VA 44:25 8:57
41 70 Brenda Chen F 35 Potomac MD 44:26 8:57
42 13 Jimmy Voelzke M 18 Washington DC 44:31 8:58
43 94 Tanya Gegare F 25 Kimberly WI 44:37 8:59

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For complete race results click here