Twist of fate

I chose that title because this weekend exemplified the statement, "God works in mysterious ways".

Saturday agenda- race for what matters 5k

This event mimics the a1a marathon by the following:
1. uses a portion of the actual course
2. 2nd annual event
3. all finishers received medals

The weather was nice, making for good external conditions, but unfortunately, the internal conditions weren't ideal. This was a major league race that drew top runners, including Ronnie Hollasie & the race winner, Mike Korir. What concerned me was the master field. The master winner was Brian Keno again, while the only one visible was 3rd. I got beat by 2 guys I have been beating on the regular but with a sub-par performance, they got by me by the middle of the race. Despite that, by a twist of fate (God), I still placed first my age group because those guys were in the next group! Unless I ran a PR and beat the 3rd master, that was the best position I would've gotten.

The good: finisher's medal,amenities, raffle, placed, saw Sammy
The bad:I got passed by a woman with whom I could've beaten.
The ugly: ego hurt because of woman & the two runners I also should've beaten. I didn't win in the raffle & Sammy left quick

Sunday agenda- S. Fl. duathlon series opener

I received bad new from my cyclist that she fell & got hurt while training on Thursday & could not perform. I scrambled for days trying to find a runner or cyclist willing to pay & participate. All either said they had other plans or were non committal. A friend (Michael) I was able to convince to do another duathlon came through with a friend of his that is a superb cyclist, in fact, a former professional. By a twist of fate (God), just yesterday when all seemed bleak, even after my race, the bike position was filled. Although he said he was not at his best & we received a 2 minute penalty, we still made the top ten, were first relay & only relay under an hour! I was happy today because my average pace was under 6 minutes, unlike yesterday. Even better, I had a negative split in the anchor leg. This likely occurs because Kevin (the replacement) brought the team from 14th overall (I was tied with Mike) to 6th, putting me in line with the elites. By the grace of God, I managed to pass somebody in the first mile & also in the last. We finished fourth overall but were cut to 10th after a drafting penalty was accessed against the cyclist. Fortunately , our lead was insurmountable & we could've gotten another penalty & still be under an hour! Poor amenities but good organization.

Honorable mention

Teammate success! Chris got 2nd, only to Jon Williams in the 5k & Mike got 2nd in the tough du class. Sammy finished the 5k while Luis finished the du.