Tarzan

Hey, I told you I was running out of titles! This was considered a slow weekend for me as I did only 1 race. The other I didn't even consider because they had only top ten male & female awards & half those slots would likely be filled by members of the sponsor of the race- runner's depot. The winner of the prediction run would get a watch. Plus, the fee was high & the race was located in broward;last night, I traveled even further to West Palm Beach. In light of that, today was cross-training day. I rode the bike about 30 miles to train for my newly acquired role on the triathlon relay team. Although not my specialty, whatever I am assigned to do, I want to excel at it. Even if it is not the best, I plan on doing my best.

Saturday agenda- part 2 of the Dreyer park summer series 5k

I am not keen on night races but I elected to do this series because of the following:
1. Dave Ragsdale, head man of Florida Sports & Palm Beach road runners club
2. I like series races
3. Next year, I do not plan on doing short races in Palm Beach, or farther, due to its distance (gas getting too high).

I called a friend (FF), who is an avid cyclist, to ask him if he wanted to ride today. He replied, "no. I'm in the hospital". Naturally, I had to visit. Since it was on the way up to the race, I did so but nearly missed the race. I arrived a quarter to the start & had to hustle to get the packet & change. People who knew me, including the race director, DR, was surprised I was not prompt or early as usual, but this day was not normal. The theme of this race was called run through the zoo, hence the idea of the title. Well, the race went off & I ventured off my usual strategy. I got excited & took the lead over my series rival, Dale Ruby, who beat me by 4 seconds in the first 5k to snag the master's title. I successfully held that for a mile then he picked up while I struggled with the heat, humidity & some exhaustion from both the pre-race activities & the effort to lead. That tactical error was the catalyst for his personal record & triumph over me again. Much as I wanted to complain, I couldn't because, despite all adversity, God gave me the ability to match my performance of the last race & I still placed. The good news is that he didn't take the master title from me like last time. The bad news is that someone else did & therefore I fell to second in the age group. In the final race, I'd like to beat him for the master title to tighten up the points & make it appear as though there was a challenge. At this juncture, he has already won the series, based on points accumulation & performance. I need to hang on to my position, which is right after him, & redeem myself by winning at least one race.

Note on my position of night races.

Although many like these type of races, I don't because of the following:

1. Get's dark & sometimes hard to see.
2. Weather, particularly, heat & humidity build up, at its worse
3. Preparation toward event-must watch what you do, eat & drink with great scrutiny prior to participation.
4. Adjustment-includes travel to & fro plus the day's activity