County line challenge

I'm borrowing the term 'county line challenge' from PRracing's event tomorrow to reference the weekend. My challenge is to win the master title in both counties.

Saturday agenda-sickle cell sprint 5k

I came in as the defending master champion & someone stepped up to challenge me. Guess what age group he belongs?
a. 40-44
b. 45-49
c. 50-54
d. 55-59
e. 60-64
f. 65-69
e. 70 & over
Those were actual categories in this race. Hey, I'll be nice & eliminate the last one as my friend George dominated that category, while beating many his younger. The 7:15 start under cloudy conditions helped to keep the heat down but not the humidity. The course was the no sweat 5k's previous venue-Brian Piccolo park in cooper city. It was put on by the S. Fl. striders, headed by a top master, & chip timed by Accuchip. I had worthy competition for the title, including the likes of Humberto & Jeff Powers, in addition to the wild card that beat them & lead me for much of the race. A kid won the race, while 2 guys in their 30's filled the top 3 slots; Jon was 3rd by seconds. Humberto is in my group, a. Jeff is in c.; both won their respective divisions. That means I had a successful title defense! On top of that, my time was acceptable & no one was between me & the top pack. Still itching to know who almost took my title? He is in the same group as my dad. What? Don't know how old my pop is? Oh well, it's e. FYI, my dad exits that group next year; this guy just entered.

My mission was accomplished in Broward.

Sunday agenda-haulover 5k

This race was officially dubbed as the County line challenge. Jumping to the conclusion, I was surprised that Miami-Dade rose to the challenge & won. Due to team commitments, both Jon & I represented Broward. This day was the complete opposite of Saturday. It was windy, raining, & my time was over a minute slower. This had more to eat, good, but gave out 'generic' customized medals. In fact, it reminded me of a Clint Eastwood movie:
The good-I accomplished my mission in Miami-Dade by capturing the master title & staving off an attack by 2 other master runners.
The bad-weather. Although the cooler feel was nice, the gusty cat 1 winds & driving rain was not.
The Ugly-my time was over a minute slower than yesterday. Even Jon failed to break 19; unheard of. Also the mono tone star medal that had nothing listed regarding placement. Age group winners had same medal as overall & master winners.

Oh, what a weekend

Good ol' Jon came through with another mysterious, but far race. I was itching for a tune-up race prior to the main event (relay).

Saturday agenda-Woody's waterside 5k

I thought this race was based on the famous woodpecker's summer home, but it actually was put on to support special Olympics. I told Jon that whenever you pick a race like this, you roll the dice when it comes to victory. He, like I, was wishing for a repeat of the last mystery event. The only thing true was that he beat me. He didn't realize until too late that the race organizer was a track coach & former competitor of his. Therefore, the race attracted a lot of kids from at least 3 different track teams, with the most from the race sponsors, 3D track club. Although he placed 3rd overall with a good time, he fell to age group. Since only overall, & top masters, grandmasters & senior grandmasters were given trophies, he had to settle for a medal. He was understandably disappointed with his prize, more so than his time. It had the very basic amenities.

Sunday agenda-escape to Miami triathlon

I was fortunate to have Jennifer, thus far, the fastest swimmer I've had on any relay, except for perhaps the mystery one from St Anthony's, if the swim distance was 1.5 k. Plus, the president of the Bikila athletic club & spin class instructor, Steve. I knew I'd be in a good position after those guys did their job. What we could not predict was the late start, which pushed me deeper into the extreme heat & humidity of the day. I had an early battle in the 1st mile with a 16 yr old kid from mack cycle's relay team, who kept clipping my heels. I had to use a waivering pattern to discourage the obvious drafting & unsportsmanlike conduct. He finally broke off & started homing on Elliott after 2 miles & crossing the bridge. It didn't take long for him to lose steam & without extra effort, I passed him. I was doing fine until after crossing over the bridge a second time (5 & a half miles). At this point, I started experiencing extreme heat exhaustion & dehydration. I was forced to start walking to mitigate my damages, then a combination of that & jogging in order to complete the run & avoid a DNF. I did my darndest not to let down the team. I pushed so hard because before I even got to start, the Steves' (USAT ref & our cyclist) got into an argument & the ref wanted to DQ him, which would in turn eliminate the team from the competition & render all efforts futile, & I wanted my best performance regardless. I had to get medical attention, including an I.V. to rush back what I lost. In an ironic twist, after the high winds swept in, it began to rain hard, dropping the temperature almost to the point of a cold day; I could've used that sooner. After I finally recovered, all the team members were gone, both mine & the competition, but I stuck around to check out the race results list. I found out the list wasn't up, but the award ceremony was wrapping up. To my surprise, despite my dismal performance & the maximum penalty imposed short of DQ, we still placed 3rd. This mimicked St Anthony's in that the 3rd one was a charm; a team I was on finally placed here. The was a 4 star event.

? what's up with these kids using track spikes on the concrete course?
This weekend, I couldn't catch them.

Multisport payoff

Remember the circumstances last time? Well, my actions paid off!

Friday agenda-Publix 5k

I listed this FYI. ESM actually held a 5k on Friday nite but I got off work at the same time it started, so therefore I forewent that event. The best I would have gotten would be an age group medal. The worst would be premature injury or fatigue from running in the sand. Granted, I normally would to prepare for the next day & hoped for this last year, remember that I'm still nursing that plantar thing.

Saturday agenda-Publix Powerade duathlon

It rained over night making for wet ground & for deadly heat & humidity. I went head to head against Caroline in the du & beside Jenny C in the tri, both have served on a relay in the past. The latter, was scheduled to do such the next day. ESM held the triathlon, the only event they host that they actually care about, in addition to the du, kid's du & an open water mile swim. My beef with ESM is that they make it obvious that the du is like a 2nd class citizen, failing to announce even the overall winner, much less all the other saps who paid to participate. Anyway, after the 1st run, I managed to be in 5th place. I got passed on the bike by many on the way up & caught 2 on the way back. On the last run, I got past all but the top 4. In the final mile, I managed to get by this one youngster who had my number in the 1st 2 stages, to capture 3rd overall, top elite. I consider this one like the last of the playoffs & now prepare to head for the super bowl (championship race) on top. I am in good standing, such that I don't even have to win the battle (individual race) to win the war (series). However, my great performance came with a price. I was suffering from heat exhaustion & basically struggled with fatigue & headache for the rest of the day. This was a 4 star event, losing a star for not providing the veggie & regular burgers of the past.

Sunday agenda-Multirace triathlon

Multirace hosted the novice reverse tri yesterday, & although I love it, I forewent that event for obvious reasons. Today, GFLRRC hosted the fall fling 5k, but unfortunately, for the 2nd year in a row, I had to miss that to honor my commitment to the team & the tri series. Most were afraid of my doing the du yesterday, thinking it would affect my performance. They were right but in the wrong way. For most, an event the day prior has an adverse effect. For me, the 'tune-up' is required for optimal performance the next day. I was able to enlist the best female swimmer I've ever had on any relay team (Jenny C.) , plus an Olympian (K.C.) who posted the fastest bike time at trilogy #1. They both performed as expected, putting the pressure on me to represent, despite my injury. I woke up with pain in both feet, uh oh! I had no plans on quitting because ya'll know I do try harder! I just feared letting down the team. Fortunately, God came through & I was able to post the fastest run time of the day (by seconds)! The team's combined time was the fastest overall, setting a new personal best in regards to relay action. The closest was 4th, but do to a penalty, we got bumped to 10th (du in Feb). With the top 10 female swim time, the top cycle time & run time, nobody could match up, an unusual but great feeling. No stars amenities, having only the bare necessities: drink & a food. Accelerade & water were the liquids. Bagels for food. We were lucky to get T-shirts, as no goody bags were available. Du tri harder is in a good position in this series. One more race is required to qualify. Weather was better today, but it still got hot & humid. The 3.3 mile course was cut in half, forcing me to run faster in order to represent.

Honorable mention

* Noticeably missing, good friend Mike Nunez, recovering from a set back. Look for his come back!
* Although he didn't compete, Louis showed up as an unofficial photographer & basically picked the right time to chronicle the team of Du Tri Harder. Kudos.
* George McCuen placed 1st at both du events .
* I would've placed high at the fall fling 5k under the over-the-hill category despite the competition.

Circumstances

Due to injury & the magnitude of the events upcoming (circumstances), I opted out of racing this weekend. Instead, I focused on training, a rare move on my part.

Saturday agenda-Heartwalk 5k

I woke up with the intent to inline skate about 12 miles, but while stretching, I saw on channel 6 that they were a major sponsor of a 5k called heartwalk (circumstances). It was a fund raising, fun 5k that was to start at 8 am, according to the segment, & was to be held at Tropical park. I left at 7:30 & headed up US 1, when I was met by unusual traffic. It was unusual to me because I saw a Metrobus unloading, when normally that's handled on the busway (circumstances). As I approached 104 ave, I saw a large finish line & an ING banner. I discovered that I had stumbled on a private 5k held for transit employees using a portion of the busway as the course (circumstances). It was handled by PR racing & it appeared to be a decent turnout; no word on if they gave out awards. Well, I continued on my journey despite the fact that now I'll be late. Guess what? I arrived with time to spare, once I heard the announcer say they will commence at 9 (circumstances). This was a 5 star race if you count popcorn as a hot meal, otherwise I rate it as 4 in terms of food, 2 for drink. Food included subway subs, popcorn, muffins & some kind of snack. Drink was only water. I'm not sure how to classify snow cones. After the national anthem, it was off. We went through the equestrian area & looped around until hitting just before the track; an unusual race path that was mostly narrow. I chose to racewalk to avoid the punishing effects of running. After I finished, I put on skates & rolled through that same course, with modifications. Along the way, I met Kelvyn Love, coach of the Miami Milers & former rival (circumstances). That was a rare interruption, as all know, I don't normally stop, even in training. I wanted to swim also, but opted out because I had some domestic affairs to tend to.

Sunday agenda-firefighter 5k

Oops! I actually wrote a check & had the ap ready to go out but when the postman failed to pick up the mail at work Wednesday, I changed my mind because I still felt pain in my heel from my Tuesday night Niketown training run (circumstances). I went to my recovery crosstraining & by yesterday, I began to feel a bit better. Also, there was a tropical triathlon, but I could not secure a swimmer & therefore would not be able to start. Based on how I felt after Niketown & the projected level of intensity required to succeed at this event (2007 state championship), I opted out & did a long ride instead. It was looking grim, as I had been raining throughout the night, with lots of lightning. Once the light show stopped, I went out on the wet roads because next week, I'll be on the bike as part of the Publix duathlon series. I want to be as prepared as possible. Based on how I feel today & the results (hindsight), I could've run & placed (circumstances)! Oh, well.

Honorable mention

Please show your respect to all military personnel & victims of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The anniversary date is this Tuesday.

Labor day weekend

Happy labor day to all of you.

Saturday agenda- summer sizzler 5k #3

Today was the final race of the series. Since this was the only local race listed on the popular sites, attendance increased. Although it was 'cooler' than previously at the start, the humidity was high & the heat index rose rapidly as the race progressed. Despite having my fastest time during this series, my position was the worst (8th, due to rise in quantity & quality of athletes). By the grace of God, I outlasted the same teenager from last time, even though his time was better than mine of #2! This one was so tough that even Luiz Souza, winner of the previous 2 events, got beat;granted, it was by mere seconds by a teenager (a new member of Premier). Gary came out to support him, & discovered I was there. After a mile & half, I watched my master title slip by. This was disappointing but actually, I was surprised he wasn't in front all the time, since he normally runs in the 17's & places at or near the top 3. He beat me by a mere 3 seconds, winning this battle. However, I won the war(series). Like the NASCAR points series, if you place consistently at or near the top, you can collect enough to win. Like last time, I had the honor of placing 3rd behind Luiz (#1) & Jon Williams, the only other athlete I know capable of racing as frequently as me. The good new continues, as Emilio Gomila, rival & friend was able to capture the master series award because I was advanced to the upper echelon.

Of interest:
* (good) The guy who sprinted past me with authority in race #1 (Almir), failed to beat me in the last two.
* (bad) I had to run with a nagging injury, possibly the plantar one. Plus, 2 master runners finished in front of me.
* (ugly) The same kid (Mohammed) I edged out to take 3rd overall in #2 with my worst time of the series, smoked me today despite my best time!

Sunday agenda-crosstrain

Still suffering from a possible plantar problem, I rode my bike for nearly a hour, avoiding running activity for a day. This was my version of rest.

Monday agenda-MDA 5k

Thanks to Jon Williams, I accepted his challenge & we went to a race he selected. I reluctantly hand over my title as the master of event locating, because I was totally unaware of this event & it turned out to be among the best in my history of running. I've been to umpteen annual events that were poorly run, but this one was just the 3rd ever & everything went smoothly & quickly. In fact, it was a 3-4 star flash event, falling short by failing to have a hot meal. Also, it was for a good cause: Muscular Dystrophy. Despite lack of rest, I felt good, especially since it was even cooler than Saturday & remained that way through the start. Yes, it did get back to normal Florida weather but by then, I was acclimated. We were amazed at the awards, all trophies. Like thieves in the night, we took the top 2 positions, & thus the biggest spoils as well. For him, he won easily once he got past the young pack after about a mile. For me, another story. At mile one, I fought to be in the top ten, just getting by another master competitor. However, by the turn around, it was a battle for 2nd place. The 'kid' was tough, & it took over two miles & all my experience to finally edge him out. I then had to struggle to maintain that position, plus not get lost, since the margin between me & the leader was large. I was nice to clearly see him on the straightway, because no one was between us a half mile from the finish. They gave out only top positions: overall, master, grandmaster & senior grandmaster, then 3 deep in age groups. Although I was 2nd overall, I 'fell' to master. I realize in hindsight that even if the kid beat me, that title was secured, but at the time, we both thought it would be top 3 overall & 1 master. Besides, I am stingy;you must earn the right to pass me, I am not giving anyone anything!