She Runs by the Seashore

I’m a big fan of small, low-frills races, and after seeing that the Baltimore Road Runners Club was hosting a four-ish mile race, Too Hot to Trot, on a weekend when I was visiting my family in the area, I decided to run it.

The race was held in and around Patterson Park in Baltimore on Sunday, Aug. 6, and it was just $15 for members (I joined last year prior to another BRRC race that I planned to run).

Despite the name of Too Hot to Trot, it was not a brutally hot summer day, and the race started just after 7 a.m., so it was also early. I didn’t mark down the temperature, but Garmin Connect logged the start temperature at 74 degrees with 82 percent humidity.

My boyfriend, Mike, used to live right across from Patterson Park, so I was familiar with the area, but I really hadn’t run much, if at all, in the park. A little less than two miles were on paved trails in the park, and then the course took us around the perimeter of the park: west on East Baltimore Street, south on South Patterson Park Avenue, east on Eastern Avenue and north on South Linwood Avenue before heading back into the park for the finish.

When I arrived, I saw some BRRC runners who I’d met at Algonquin or possibly other races over the years, which was fun.

During the first part, in the park, I was thinking the hills really weren’t too bad. There had also been a downhill portion, which was nice. At the exit of the park at the corner of E. Baltimore and Linwood, Karen was volunteering near the water stop, where I got some water. It was nice to see her.

Then, I headed up East Baltimore Street. I’d been thinking I was a little ahead of where I thought I should be in the pack, but this long hill put me closer to where I thought I “should” be. I used the light poles as running/walking targets, but as I was doing this, I realized they were not all evenly-spaced. The “Baltimore Street Half Mile” segment on Strava, which starts on Linwood, is a 2.5 percent grade.

On the other hand, there’s also a segment called “Downhill PPark Ave,” which is on a path in the park that was during the first mile and is a grade of -3.6 percent (I was able to average an 8:58 pace for that .32-mile segment).

After South Patterson Park Avenue, I got to enjoy a downhill on Eastern Avenue (about a -1.1 percent grade, according to Strava).

Near the end of the race, after we went through the water stop again (I did get water again, even though there wasn’t much of the race left), we had to go uphill to get to the end. Rachel encouraged me as we neared the finish. The hills were tougher for me than the heat, but I felt good as I ran.

I was able to finish just under four miles (my watch had 3.93) in 40:37. My watch logged a 10:24/mile pace. While not my fastest race recently, I did have to contend with hills (I live in a super flat area), and it was definitely faster than my usual runs. I was pleased with how I did.

Even though my watch is more accurate with elevation now, I’m still not sure if I can trust it 100%, so I did the elevation corrections on Garmin, and it logged 184 feet of elevation gain.

There were 34 participants, and I came in as No. 18 (results can be found here). I was the sixth female of 20. There were cash prizes for the Top 3 male and female members.

The swag was a cooling towel, and there were snacks to enjoy afterward. Then, I decided to walk about three-quarters of a mile to a café I’d never been to, Café Dear Leon, where I got a Japanese-style iced coffee and a ham-and-cheese croissant.

This was my second BRRC race, and I’ve enjoyed them both. Read more about my experience at the 2021 GPS Half Marathon, which is coming up, here.

Splits

Mile 1: 9:42
Mile 2: 10:38
Mile 3: 10:48
Last part (0.93): 9:40 (10:26/mile pace)
Final: 40:37 on results; 40:49/10:24 pace on watch