Taxing times

The title may be obvious but actually refers to a series of events. First & foremost, my condolences to all the victims of that lunatic murderer at Virginia tech. The obvious is that the deadline is prior to midnight to file your taxes. Gas & insurance count as taxing on our wallets. The weather was taxing on all those who participated in the Boston marathon yesterday and slightly on those who ran tonight, right here in the Grove. No, I wasn't Boston bound this year but my schedule was the inverse of most of those athletes. How? Between Saturday and today, the marathoners only raced on Monday, while that day was the only day I didn't; in essence, I truly took off Patriot's day. I instead rode my bike as crosstraining.

Tuesday agenda-1040k CPA run

This race is always held on the deadline day to file your taxes to the IRS & also is conducted to race money (net proceeds) for the South Florida African American accounting students. This year, the PR racing crew took over. After what occurred last year & this past Saturday, I kept my word & did not switch categories;finally, a sound decision. The cheating got worse in the walk division, to the point that even the offender (at the Gables) was ripped off! This event feature that & the run as a 5k & a 10k run. I chose the 5k, which started 5 minutes after the 10k. Jon Williams was devising a scheme with his step-son, Jeffrey Tait, for the kid to beat me and it was darn near effective. They both took off & ran together for half a mile, way in front of me, sending a defiant message. Had it not been for that fact that I started my running career 16 years ago, I may have fallen into that trap; experience rules! I decided to keep my pace & run my race, not theirs. Lo & behold, pop had to go his normal pace in order not to forfeit his time & position. As soon as that happened, the kid fell back & I passed him with no extra effort. Besides, other than ego, he would have no effect on my age group placement. By mile 2, I finally challenged, one was a 15 year old kid & the other my same age;I was most concerned with the latter. I fortunate to surpass the one that mattered but youth prevailed when it came down to the final stretch. Other than overall position, I was not affected & would have captured the master title if it were offered;I hate that about Miami races! Top in my class will do & so will the mid 18 time. I was disappointed with the cheesy, generic medal they gave out but I earned it by mere seconds. I made the top ten, which included the likes of Boris Fernandez, Jonathan & Jon. Jeffrey booked with 18:44, a time that could've beaten me, but I also was having a great night. I was surprised regarding the amenities. Usually poor at Miami events, this one was good, including the drink selection (I favor Accelerade).

Honorable mention

* Jonathan topped his age bracket
* Chris completed the 10k
* Gary & Adrienne Silver, Inga, Josh, Caroline, Alan all completed Boston. The first two, owners of Premier running, soccer & tri, also founded the racing team to which I belong & both re-qualified for Boston.

My protege, Mike, pulled off a stunt only I'm known for- getting into a race at the last minute. However, his was more extreme. He called about 15-20 minutes prior to the start from his home just to chat, not realizing that the race was not at 7:30. Luckily, for him, he is like NASCAR's Tony Steward & has a racing team, which includes yours truly. He contacted many peeps, while hustling through traffic, had someone to sign him up & that number was relayed to me to give to him at the starting line. I saw him running toward the start, I passed it on & while he tried to put it on, the announcer said the race was going to start in 30 seconds! Despite all that, he still placed and pulled off yet another Jasper- he placed in all three events that both he & I competed in. I am proud of my 'student'.