In November, I had the chance to run across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for the 10th time at the Bay Bridge Run 10K. It’s in its fourth year under the current organizers, Corrigan Sports.
Last year, I came close to breaking 1:00 for a 10K at the Mike Sterling 10K in Crisfield. This year, my time was 1:05:41. While I’d hoped to run a little faster at the Bay Bridge Run, I came in with almost the same time for this race, which was Nov. 10.
I was staying with my family on the other side of the bridge (what many on the Eastern Shore call the “Western Shore,” but I never called it that when I lived there). On Saturday, I had to pick up my packet at the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds and then set up the Eastern Shore Running Club social team tent on Kent Island. Neither of these were close to where my family lives, so I committed several hours to this race Saturday, including picking up sand for ESRC’s new tent weights and snacks for our team after the race.
It was nice to have our branded tent at the finish as an easy place to meet up with fellow team members. We had 62 people sign up with our team, and we could set up a tent and get a $15 discount per person with 40 or more members.
Luckily, when I set up the tent, there were people there to help.
I’d picked the Kent Narrows parking lot, and headed there early Sunday morning. I’d chosen the 7 a.m. wave when I thought I’d be staying over nearby, so I knew I was cutting it close to start with that wave. I ended up boarding the bus around 6:45 and starting with the 7:15 a.m. wave. The sunrise I saw while I drove across the bridge (for those not local to the area, there are two bridges — one was closed for the run and the other was open to two-way traffic) to get to Kent Narrows was absolutely breathtaking. I would have loved to have gotten a photo, but I was driving.
If I’m driving up that morning again, I’ll probably pick a later wave next year. I picked this parking lot on purpose, even though I was staying on the other side of the bridge — I knew I wouldn’t be able to pick up the tent until 1 p.m., and I also wanted to run extra for my marathon training, so I figured I’d run back to my car.
It was not cold like the races I’ve done since then, but it was chilly, so I wore a long-sleeved shirt (1/4 zip) and shorts.
Since I’ve run across the bridge several times (the first being when I was a teen), I’ve remembered from recent years that it can feel tough running on the incline. Even if my times are slower for those uphill miles, there’s still a chance to make the time up on the downhill.
I was relatively consistent with my times for this year’s race, with just one mile not starting with a “10” — Mile 2, which I ran in 12:09. I’d been struggling with some plantar fasciitis issues, but this wasn’t too much of a problem during the race (though it certainly was when I added on mileage afterward).
Since the bridge is normally not open to pedestrians, I always enjoy the opportunity to run across it. Once we started heading downhill, I tried to make up some time and ran my two fastest full miles of the day — 10:08 for Mile 3 and 10:00 for Mile 4.
Then, runners who have done this one before know to prepare for another uphill that comes after you finish crossing the bridge, which is about 4.3 miles (in the race, you’ve run a little bit before getting on the bridge, so you’re a little farther into the course).
The race ends in a business park. I crossed the finish line with a time of 1:05:57, but for some reason, I’m never right at 6.2 on my watch when the race ends (maybe it has to do with going over the Bay). I kept going a little until my watch did hit 6.2, which was only several more seconds — 1:06:08.
Runners received their puzzle-piece medals and could get some snacks and drinks at the finish line, and there was also an opportunity to purchase a beer bracelet (I didn’t do that).
I hung out at the Eastern Shore Running Club tent for a little over an hour and enjoyed some Oreos and got several group photos with the club.
Then, it was time to keep running. I originally wanted to run a total of 20 miles, as this was three weeks out from my marathon, but my feet were giving me a lot of trouble. I ended up running 12 more miles, for a total of 18.2, with the 12 miles at a slower pace than I’d hoped — I averaged 16:03/mile because it was hurting to run.
I ran in the business park, on the Cross Island Trail and in some residential areas before massaging my feet at my car and charging my phone so that I could continue listening to my audiobook. Then, I kept following the Cross Island Trail and ended up discovering a new park — Ferry Point Park. I followed a boardwalk to this park and ran on a trail. It was not a long trail, but it was pretty!
Then, I got back into my car, stopped at Dessert First, picked up the tent and headed back to spend time with my family. It was my sister’s birthday (she was visiting from Florida), and we headed to one of her friends’ houses for a Friendsgiving.
This race was my slowest run across the Bay Bridge, but not by a lot. If I can run my sub-1:00 10K earlier in the year next year, maybe I’ll just use this run to take photos and video next year. Or, I might be trying for that sub-1:00 again.
Splits
Mile 1: 10:43
Mile 2: 12:09
Mile 3: 10:08
Mile 4: 10:00
Mile 5: 10:48
Mile 6: 10:25
Last bit (.2): 1:52 (9:11/mile pace)
Final time on results: 1:05:57 (10:37/mile pace); final time on watch: 1:06:08 (10:40/mile pace)
She Runs by the Seashore 