Upward Mobility

I ran the Annapolis 10-miler hungover. It was my first race longer than 10K. Six years ago, motivated by friends who thought a bunch of us should give it a go. I trained well, knew what I wanted to do, then a friend had a big party the day before the race.

Those that know the A-1o course will tell you: it's hilly and hot (the race always takes place the last weekend in August). My training was all Talbot County roads, and no hills. And I didn't drink water or Gatorade when running; I knew nothing about hydration during a race. I suffered supremely the second time over the old Severn River bridge.

I still managed to finish in about 1 hour, 26 minutes. Miles 9 and 10 were brutal, but I never stopped to walk. It wasn't until marathon training that I found the advantage to a run-walk combo, particularly while drinking or eating.

So I guess my goal going into Sunday's A-1o--my first one since--is to hopefully better my old, beer-sweating, quad-burning time. We have certainly logged some hills en route to Annapolis this year--Holiday Lake, Cherry Pit, Tuckahoe, and the Whites.

Two years ago, I was training for my first marathon. I had hoped to include Annapolis as a training race (like this year), but forgot to sign up before it filled. While the race was going on, I was knocking out an 18-mile run on St. Michaels Road--the farthest I had run at the time. It was a good run. But come Baltimore, I wasn't ready for the hills and suffered through the second half of the race.

So here's to upward mobility. To running hills. To having the legs and the lungs to take on the Severn River bridge, downtown Baltimore, and the hilly AT section of the JFK. And to flat recovery runs in between!