For the second time in three years, I have managed to get out on the water in April. The weather has been wild, with some days topping 90, and others barely hitting 60, and April is always a busy month with family and house obligations, so it can be challenging to find time to paddle. Today, I went out before work, launching at Solley Cove Park and paddling about 5 miles round-trip on Marley Creek. Along the way, I checked on 10 geocaches that I hid in the area last year. The weather could not have been better, with sunny skies, air temperature in the upper 40s to low 50s, water temperature around 60, and very light winds. I wore a wet suit over swim trunks and a hat. I had brought a jacket, gloves, neoprene hoodie, and pogies, but ended up not needing any of them.

This past Saturday, I ran the “Pints for Patapsco” 10K through the Patapsco Valley State Park Avalon Area. I last ran this in 2024, when it was an untimed 8-mile run dubbed the “Open Gate Gallop”. Last year, I missed it due to our European cruise. The run is now timed (though billed as non-competitive) and officially starts and ends in the park, with the leg to/from Guinness used for warmup and cool-down. And, of course, there’s beer at the end. 🍺 I did pretty well, placing 116th out of 400 runners. My only goal was to complete the 10K in under an hour, which I did, averaging about 9:05/mile, which is super fast for me. In fact, my watch says I set PRs for both 10K and 5K distances. Although I am not very competitive, and typically prefer running solo, I do find that I like running races every so often, as a way to occasionally push myself to go faster. In fact, I just signed up to run the Arbutus Firecracker 10K the morning of July 4, for the first time. That race has been on my radar for several years, but for various reasons, I never ended up registering for it. It will be interesting to see how it goes for me running in the July heat.