Skin of my teeth

I placed by the skin of my teeth! Yep, the field was tight.

Saturday agenda-freedom 5k

Put on by the GFLRRC, they announced that they had a record turnout. Adding to my dismay, it was windy and it felt like record humidity. Even with all the special categories, I barely made it in my age group, despite breaking 19! I had a good first mile (under 6 minutes) but quickly suffered in the heat and from the fatigue of the long drive up (it was only 2 exits from Boca). After the race, I stopped by Runner's depot main HQ to check out the Newtons, a brand new running shoe. Later, I stopped by their southernmost store where I found out the a legendary triathlete, Babbette, passed away mid week while swim training. Naturally, that adds to my fear and I had to pay my respects. I met up with her sister and daughter to do such. Also there were many other mutual friends, with the greatest being Hector, her coach and the one who recruited me onto his triathlon relay team, Orca, back in '03.; It was my inaugural entry into relay activity. The event was more of a celebration than a mourning, probably the way she would have wanted it. She died in the latter manner that I'd prefer, which would be either peacefully at rest or doing something I love.

Sunday agenda-long ride

I couldn't find a race but that doesn't give me a free pass to inactivity. I did yet another Florida city ride but from techniques pick up by renowned triathlete elite Boris Fernandez, I cut the time by 3 minutes from my last, despite wind resistance.

Honorable mention

* Gene, the one who started our relay, placed 3rd in age group
* John, the one who anchored our relay, also placed 3rd in age group

Summer solstice

Yep. It's official. Today marks the summer solstice. SOLstice, the first three letters is Spanish for sun, fitting for summer. However, it felt like summer already started months ago.

Saturday agenda-train

Darn it! I couldn't find a race but that doesn't give me a free pass to sit on butt. Since I have to compete the next day, I had to cut it in half, so I only skated a 10k equivalent. After some recovery, I immediately did a short drill run element.

Sunday agenda-Key Biscayne trilogy series

This is actually a triathlon series but this year, multirace.com also included the duathlon. Although they dont count in the KBT series, the du's do count toward his du series. I recruited a new runner, John G, to anchor. Gene started us off with the mile sprint and he was the overall split winner. His great performance made me the first cyclist out of transition. Within 2 miles, I was passed as expected, but remarkably held my position until the turnaround. Upon approaching the bridge on the way back I got passed again & fell to 3rd. After the bridge, a pack of 7 or 8 elite rider whipped by me & those others. When I passed off to John, we were in second. He quickly reclaimed our position and we got the top relay spot. Surprisingly, we also had the fastest overall time of anybody! John's time was the fastest anchor, not bad for his inaugural relay entry. Thank you team.

Honorable mention

* Mike made the top ten elite
* Kevin completed a tri
* Jenny C competed solo (reason why we didn't defend the tri title)
* Hector (cyclist of our tri team last year) made an appearance

F weekend

No, F is not the grade, except regarding the weather and does not stand for festive. Saturday was flag day. I was reminded by my patriotic dad. Coincidentally, his day was next. Father's day was yesterday. I truly wished him a happy one & remember that it was him that got me started in this running life. I'm sure most of you have been impacted by your pops. Saturday was wet on the way back while both days were especially hot & humid, an F in the comfort zone.

Saturday agenda-5k

Teammate Jon invited me to do a 5k in Orlando. Invite doesn't mean free, but rather, an opportunity to race when one is not available locally. Initially, I was going to decline until I realized that, in the 17 years since I started running, I have never done a 5k over there;only long distance. The course was interesting as it was not condusive for a PR. Much like in a triathlon, it went through a trail & was cramped (small space). When the dust cleared, I accomplished the goal of breaking 19 & did win my age group. To my dismay, no master title was offered. I deem the post race refreshments as 4 star, with plenty to eat. Drink was basic-water. Top 3 overall got trophies, all else medals. They had a raffle and we both got something, granted mine was a piece of ...well, I am glad I got something!

Sunday agenda-Northwest express track and field classic

Once again, I enter into foreign territory. The club, Northwest express track club, held yet another club meet. Although it always seems to be run like it the first time, I keeping doing this for some crazy reason. Oh, I remember, I couldn't find another race! Kidding! I planned on it but didn't want to burn the entire weekend on it. It actually started on Friday & went through till the wee hours yesterday. I competed in 4 planned events plus a bonus. It was an all day event, but having done it before, I was prepared in regards to sustenance. I brought plenty to eat & drink but had to plan carefully on the timing & quantity because there's almost nothing worse than to have a lot of fluid sloshing in a full stomach when it's time to run. The 1500 meter racewalk went off without a hitch (except for my rush to pick up my packet) but I lost due to someone who had to job to catch up to me before beginning to walk. The 3k was scheduled for 11:30. It went off 5 minutes later on mountain time; it started over 2 hours later! Yeah, I assumed it was gonna go off properly in the same time zone. Many people dropped out, impatient with this. Although I still won my age group, my time suffered, like I did waiting in the heat and humidity. The highlight for me was the 400 meter. I beat last years time but instead of winning the heat, I was fighting not to remain dead last! Worse, due to low participation, two others guy & I were crammed in with all young females. The youngest guy won the heat, followed by the ladies, leaving only the other master & myself. Praise the lord, I overcame the final position 1/4 from the finish! A similar case occurred in the 800 in regards to sex mixing. In the 1st lap, I was smoked, dead last; I didn't finish the event this way & got 1st in my age group. I was about to rack up when the guy I beat asked me if I wanted to be on the coach's relay. I wasn't prepared for it but ya'll know I'm always up for a challenge. I took it, did what I could, and added a bronze to the mix. I was the slowest man but fortunately, there were only 3 teams, guaranteeing a slot for us.

Listed in order of participation, are my age group results (medal count):
1500 meter racewalk, silver
3000 meter, gold
800 meter dash, gold
400 meter dash, gold
4x100 relay, bronze

I earned the 2008 master MVP (40-44) for the track events. Another master was flawless (4 gold) in the field events.

Festive weekend

I dub this weekend festive for the following reasons:
1. School is out and traffic time has reduced in half.
2. Goombay festival was today. I took a quick look see & kept it short due to the heat.
3. I was able to get the cyclist from the MIT for the relay tomorrow & he just got a new, tricked out tri bike. Plus, the runner from my last du relay will take care of the anchor run.

Saturday agenda-roll!

Yep, I couldn't find any races so I opted to cross train on my inlines. I did the equivalent of what I'll be doing on foot tomorrow, plus a short drill run.

Sunday agenda-SoBe IDC

The International Distance Classic series begins right here in Miami, south beach in particular. ESM is offering both an international duathlon & triathlon;the former was chosen for obvious reasons. I was able to recruit Kevin, my 2nd best cyclist ever (only KC, the olympian, topped him) & the most improved runner I've had on a team, Gene. Kevin & I could've done the whole thing ourselves, but we decided to team up. My reasons were the following:
1. entry fee
2. heat & humidity (would decrease my performance)
3. course (same as #2) because the run was 60% sand
4. length (international distance) would reduce my chances of placing

Our collaborative effort yielded us the overall position & our time was 1 of the only 3 to break 2 hours. Hats off to the other two who accomplished this feat as individuals.

I kicked off the relay with the 10k (2 loops) on the strange course which began near the finish line on sand to the broadwalk & at a certain point return to transition area. First time, do not enter, the last loop, I had to pass off to the cyclist. Prior to the exchange, I slipped on a sand dune which dropped me to second overall by a mere second. The cyclist endured a few bridges on a 2 loop course plus an increasing crosswind before passing off to the anchor. He had to contend with both the heat & traffic (by now, both duathletes & triathletes were running), in addition to the 60% sand course.

Thanks & congratulations, guys!

That time of the month

Hey! Get your head out of the gutter! I'm talking about another transition weekend. Yesterday marked the end of May and Today, the beginning of June, plus the hurricane season.

Saturday agenda-magic bullet 5k

This was my first time doing this one & my last race of the month. It drew a good crowd-over 400-and a good master field; The race winner was 45 and the master winner was 2 seconds short of breaking 18. I ended up a minute behind him, less, versus 2 other masters in front. It was a 5 star flash race, with pancakes & sausage, in addition to oranges, donuts, bagels and such. To drink, orange juice, water and some kind of alcohol (not beer). They had a general raffle and one you pay into. The top slots got crystal like trophies, all else medals. Luckily, they were decent ones, not those generic ones typically given out in Miami.

Sunday agenda-long ride

I couldn't find any races, so twas time to train. I decided to measure the distance with a Garmin and finally found out how long this ride really was-31 miles! To save on gas, the start & finish was my home and the turn around was in Florida city.

Honorable mention

*George wins again
*Adam was top Miami runner (2nd overall)