Trials & tribulations

This weekend was a testament for trials & tribulations.

Saturday Agenda- sizzler 5k

In a effort to get more sleep, I woke up at my normal 5:30 work time but underestimated the travel time for this one & cut it too close. I had to hustle to get there & pick up my packet. This one started rather late (7:45), therefore, the heat & humidity affected my performance. Unfortunately, I am a conditional runner & external factors can inhibit me. On top of that, this was the same twisty course of the hot to trot 5k. In order to capture the master title, I had to beat someone I had never beaten before-Ralph! He is an accomplished runner, having over 25 years of experience in this area. Considering both internal & external conditions, I knew I could not make any moves until the final lap. We both were having a bad day, in terms of time, but fortunately for me, he struggled a little more. Funny I say that when he lead most of the race, but I am taking into account his normal run times. I overcame the trials & tribulations in the last 1/4 mile with some outside assistance (god) and was able to take the title;I finished 6th overall. Ironically, the top 2 overall were also 40+ years old. For all the young guys out there, we ain't so old after all!

Sunday agenda-Key Biscayne triathlon trilogy series finale

I entered this event as part of a co-ed relay. Our team-Triple Teem -entered the series as defending champions. Only one problem- the original cyclist quit the team. In an effort not to forfeit the series, I (team captain) had to get that slot filled. Trials & tribulations!
recap:
race #1, by the grace of god, that position was filled on race day by a member of runner's depot;I ran.
race #2 lead runner of du relay champions, Du Tri Harder, agreed to run for the remainder of the series. I assumed the role of cyclist, & for the first time ever, I rode competitively in Key Biscayne. In an ironic twist, we got beat by runner's depot.

In an effort to improve my bike time, I trained vigorously as outlined in previous blogs, & judging by today's results, it paid off. I cut my time down despite the bridge & slight wind resistance on the return trip. The swimmer had an awesome time & the runner lost only 2 seconds on a revised course that seemed to be longer than a 5k. We were the number one co-ed relay team. In fact, we beat all but 1 team, which consisted of all men, and the deficit was less than 1 minute! There were over a dozen teams that finished. I thank both teammates (JM & EW) for their performances. Our combined efforts help close out the series & Triple Teem has successfully defended its title. Can you say three-peat?

In both events, I was able to meet the goals I set. This does not always happen but it's sweet when is does!

Spills & Thrills

In order to understand the catchy title, a spill can be taken literally or figuratively as a negative experience. A thrill is obviously positive.

Yesterday, competed in the series finale of the Dreher park summer race series held in West Palm Beach. I trained hard because I was determined not to get swept (spill) in the series. Thus far, Dale Rudy owned me for the first & second race, even though only by seconds. I came prepared to take him down & apparently he may been aware of that. Rather than allow me to get him, he forfeited his place in the series by failing to appear for the finale. That move did fulfill the thrill of not getting swept by him but was the last thing I calculated on actually happening. Unfortunately for me, someone else filled his spot & gave me a run for the money regarding the masters title. Brian Keno, former title sponsor of the classic Keno Bros. duathlon series, decided to run. He helped pull me to my best time all year by forcing me to perform to his level to get a shot at the master title. Although I lost by only 2 seconds (spill), I still came up short & in that case, I have been swept from the master title. However, that title was picked up by different winners in each race, which is somewhat consoling. Each of those persons won a battle (individual race) but guess who won the war (series)- yours truly. While I may have lost those battles, I got the ultimate prize of being the series Master champion (thrill) because of all my efforts. There were many entrants that qualified to make a run at the title but I was the only one dedicated enough to meet the requirements to earn the title; I did all 3 as fast as I could!

Today, I rode the rick! I did a long ride in preparation for the series finale of the Key Biscayne trilogy series, next week's main event. Since cycling is secondary to me, I had to do this ride, using a large part of the actual race course to be better prepared & hopefully, ride faster, even though the ground was wet from all the rain. On the way back, upon making a turn in the grove, the bike slipped from under me & I took a spill. Witnesses saw this, riders included, & my only comment is that it goes with the territory. I will chalk that up with various other experiences of mine.

Tomorrow will be a thrill if I can cap off the weekend with a good training roll (inline skate). If it rains as forecasted &/or I don't feel or do well, it'll be classified as spill!

No sweat?

This weekend is the closest I get to a vacation from sports. There was only 1 non triathlon event I could find this weekend. Since I don't swim, any triathlon I do, other than a super sprint or reverse (in pool), will require a partner who can & considering the difficulty I had forming a relay team for a major event, the minor one on Sat. or the far one in Clermont today, would be out of the question.

This is event was known as the No sweat 5k fun run. I was put on by GFLRR & anyone who knows Cynthia, can figure how she arrived at that title. Her since of humor! Apart from today, it was the hottest & most humid day & everyone I saw started sweating before the race even began. Because it was a fun run, there were no awards & no age groups. However, there was a reward for the top 50 finishers- a finisher's dog tag. My gameplan was simple- run well enough to get my reward. Naturally, that means that I did not push myself to time qualify as I usually do but instead, ran an easy training run for the 1st 2 miles & then used near race pace in the last. Doing that, I still made it in under 20 minutes but my time was well over a minute slower than normal but that was expected since I made no true effort to compete. I had a fun run! I stayed for the raffle but realized after 3/4 through that it would be impossible for me to win because I forgot to put in my number! Oh, well.

Today was my long ride day. I told a long time friend of mine (BR) that I'd be there 7 am. I was halfway to location when I realized I didn't have my correct bike shoes. I doubled back to get them but that obviously made me late. Remarkably, she was still there. We hit a snag regarding parking but eventually, the ride was on. She doesn't ride competitively so I returned the favor & rode much slower than normal & many points, stopped so as not to lose her on the ride. It was her first time back on the road for months. This ride was necessary training for me because I will be racing as the cyclist on the relay team at the KB trilogy one more time & I want to master the bridge. In order to get a good workout, I borrowed the famous run training technique- the fartlek -& applied it to cycling. This method was introduced to me by my teammate on the relay team & since we are both runners, we often use our experiences wherever & whenever it is needed. Anyway, she used a pace that was very comfortable & held that until about a mile prior to the bridge, at which point I picked up to near race pace & hammered up the bridge then coasted down & stopped to wait for her; this occurred twice. Finally, she ended her workout where we found parking, which was 6 miles shorter than my normal course. Therefore, once she left, I continued the course but since I was solo, I rode at a much faster pace (final fartlek) to conclude my workout.

I have plans to sweat it out on skates tomorrow in order to execute all my disciplines. This will likely occur for the rest of the month. My normal disciplines include running, race walking, cycling & inline skating. I'd like to include swimming but pool access is difficult for me, particularly because I don't have much money & I am not comfortable with open water. I feel one much master the pool before going out to nature. Therefore, I do that here & there.

2nd Update to run, ride & roll.

Mr. Laskey of ESM stated he was aware of the problem & recified it. ESM apologized for the chip timing errors that affected a good percentage of the participants & offered an entry to a future event, in good faith, to make amends & encourage continued support from the affected athletes. Laskey stated that one of the major problems in my case is the fact that I did the unthinkable- perform in two different categories at the same time - & since ESM used my name instead of the relay team name I provided, the race officials thought an error occured when they saw my name twice. Therefore, they deleted my duathlon results but now they are reinstated.

Now ESM is aware that I am a multi-sport athlete who will attempt to do, & likely complete, unbelieveable, inconceivable tasks much like phelps or tom cruise- a mission impossible!

Huntington's disease

I'd like to take an excerpt from the Huntington's disease triathlon brochure to inform you of the worthy cause supported by this event:
Huntintons's Disease (HD) is an inherited degenerative brain disorder which results in loss of both mental capability and physical control. HD ususally strikes between the ages of 30 and 50. Over a period of 10-15 years, the ability to think, speak, walk & perform the daily taskes of living is greatly diminished. The affected individual is frequently a parent whose children have 50% chance of inheriting the disease themselves. There is no cure for Huntington's disease.

The Huntington's disease triathlon stated that 100% of its proceeds will go toward research. It was held yesterday in Key Biscayne.

They hosted both an olympic & sprint triathlon. Amazingly, I had great difficulty getting a team together for this popular, local triathlon. The top 3 reasons given by all my normal prospects were at least one of the following: out of town, out of training or out of money. A fellow runner (RL), who trains at Niketown, stepped up & agreed to be on a team with me & the sprint distance was selected. Thank goodness because he wound up doing double duty (2 of the 3 disciplines) since the swimmer backed out to participate as an individual. RL swam & rode, well I might add, while I ran. We placed second, only to a store bought team. They bought the best yet: a professional swimmer (swam even faster than the winner of whole tri), an avid cyclist & a cross-country champion kid who was half my age! Although the odds were stacked against us (there were 3 of them plus the overall time was better than that of the race champion), we (only 2 people) still placed 11th overall. Hey, as long as we get to the podium, I am happy!