East Palm Beach

Both of the events I did were held in Palm Beach county, but since both were on the east side of I95, my title is East Palm Beach. Dating back to an old program, Arsenio Hall used to have a funny segment called, "things that make you go, hmmmmmmm";this qualifies. It called West Palm Beach, implying there may be an East Palm Beach; hmmmm.

Saturday agenda-dreher park 5k

As expected, it would be an extremely hot & humid race, especially since it was a night one. By 7 pm, the atmosphere is fully baked! By the grace of God, I not only got through it but slipped by 2 guys who beat me in previous races & finally broke a long losing streak of failing to break 19. Unfortunately, I was no match with the master winner because I am a conditional runner & the conditions were not conducive for a fast run. I had to settle for the top of my class(age group).

Sunday agenda-multirace event

Now that Rob, the race director, lives in Palm beach county, he created the Riviera beach triology series. Although I'm not a part of the series, I chose to cash in on this one as an individual, especially since no one dared to travel way up there. They hosted a triathlon, which is the series & duathlon, which is not, but will count toward the longer S. Fl du series. I have done this one before when it was a single race in a long series, so I was aware of how challenging it would be. The bridge is shorter than the Rick but much steeper. Participant must first scale it with the bike, make an immediate sharp U-turn & go back up over it. Not enough fun? Gotta do the same on the run! I was still a bit tight from the night before so I had a disappointing mile sprint that was actually .8. After the dust cleared, I was blessed by the Lord to get master recognition. I was able to capture the last spot by an inadvertent .1 sprint to the finish. In hindsight, I discovered I lost 2nd place in transition. My 1st run was mere seconds slower & the bike only 2 seconds. The anchor leg was faster, signifying I was catching up, but yet I lost by nearly a minute; oh well.

Triple crown

I borrowed the horse racing term, triple crown, to refer to this weekend's schedule. I was involved in three (triple) events, each in a different county, three to be exact, and was fortunate to bring home hardware (crown) in each one.

Saturday morning agenda-summer sizzler 5k

The race was just that, a summer sizzler, because it was hot & humid. I am the 2007 defending 2nd runner up champion but judging by my recent slump, I am not performing as such. Thanx to the racing Gods (really, there is only one), I won my age group. The top master won the race. Another fast one got the master title. I discovered it was an all or nothing race after the fact. The were frugal & didn't offer 2nd or 3rd in the age groups.

Saturday evening agenda-sunset 5k

Also, much like the race. It was held in Key West & for that reason, I planned on skipping it. However, good ol' Jon planned on it & I wound up doing it since he planned on driving his car (carpool). We both placed.

Sunday morning agenda-key Biscayne trilogy 2/3

Both a triathlon & duathlon were held;we did the latter to continue on our quest toward the series victory. Our team was challenged. The runner who began, did the 1 mile sprint, placing us in 2nd overall, then passed to me, I rode and managed to get us in the lead, despite posting a bike split seconds slower than our competitor. Upon my return, I let the other person do his best on the anchor run. It was hot & humid & struggled a bit. When the dust cleared, we took 2nd by mere seconds. Whenever the times get tough, I say pull out your awards of this year and go do something different. What? It depends on what happened, but make the appropriate adjustments to win. I had a PR on this course but it doesn't mean jack for the team if we don't win.

Rock & roll & run

The rock is in reference to the duathlon, and not Dwayne Johnson. The roll refers to the 10k state & the run, the 5k.

Saturday agenda-ESM multisport events

The ESM multisport events were a triathlon & duathlon. Naturally, I did the latter and did well minus the transitions. I couldn't find my bike coming back from the initial run, so I slipped worse than 5th overall right there. I'm not the fleetest of cyclists so I drifted back further, mainly because they have great bikes with zipps & disc and such. After that, I couldn't find the right rack, giving up more slots to the competition. Luckily, on the anchor run, I chased down some of them to finish in the top ten & win in my category; I ROCKed. I didn't have the time to pick up the award so I had to wait for that. Also, they hosted an open water swim and a kid's sprint;I passed on those but maybe I would've had a chance on the latter.

Sunday agenda-the ancillary events

First up, a 10k skate, which I often refer to as a roll. I invested in a good pair of inlines prior to the cancellation of the event I intended to use them in-the Walt Disney world inline marathon (& half). So, pending the weather, I decided to do this one. God gave us a break and therefore I did it. I rolled my fastest time ever but only 3 laps were recorded.

Last, but not least, the 5k run. Naturally, I was somewhat exhausted from the prior event but that did not stop me from accepting the challenge. Luiz showed up & won easily. Jon allowed his protege to take 2nd overall. Meanwhile, I managed to be in 4th for 3 miles. Ignorant of the longer course (it was actually 3.35 miles), I lost steam & was not able to fend off a challenger 2 decades younger who was able to sprint past in the last stretch. I was compelled to settle for 5th, but the was sufficient to win the age group. In reality, I was the top master who didn't win the race.

Considering I was able to place on both days, you could say that I rocked! (du, roll & run). Now I gotta roll. C ya!

Independence

Today is that day and weekend goes with it. Have a happy one! But while you may enjoy a 3 day weekend, many are overseas protecting our freedom. They don't have independence since their lives depend on their training and they are stuck there due to a war that really shouldn't have happened. I initially understood that Bush had to back up what he said, which was essentially, if you don't let us (USA) in to see if you have weapons of mass destruction, we're gonna barge in to find out. Once none was found, our job was done. I never supported the change in mission to free Iraq. We don't have the right to impose our ways on others. So, while I don't support the war, I will always support (pray for) the troops. Yeah, this one was deep but at least I'm thinking about them and not just being selfish. We get to watch fireworks safely while they under fire(works). Despite all this, this is the greatest country. Our independence from England is worth celebrating. Even though it seems there is a lot of taxation without true representation, like it was over there, we don't have only a select few who can be in power (royal family). We get to vote, and sometimes, it counts. Remember, you don't have the right to complain unless you vote!

Friday agenda-5k

Guess which event I picked:
a. Multirace duathlon
b. Weston hometown 4th of July celebration 5k
c. Firecracker 5k
d. Crimestoppers 5k
e. Freedom run 4 mile (Ocala)

Well, the agenda automatically eliminated a. & e.
If you guess which 3 are left, now guess why I chose it:
a. cost
b. proximity
c. series

Unfortunately, I got sick leading up to & through today. Choice a. was skipped in lieu of a 5k, mainly due to member acquisition problems. Choice c. would have the reason for doing it. Anyway, illness prevents a. & e., plus the latter is extremely far away. Might as well add d. as reason b.;that was held in Key West.

Remember the been there, done that rule? a, b, & c. fall under that.

Ok, I'll ya off the hook. b. had been held for 15 years straight while c. hadn't been held in over 5 years. Back then, I was a submaster and the event was held by the Miami runners club. I chose the latter due to reason b;gas is well over $4, dude!

Glad I did because I ate something wrong on hump day & just went downhill from there. I did the unthinkable-I let up after three miles, allowing Jeffrey Tait, the kid wonder, to beat me. In hindsight, that was stupid but at the time, it seemed wise. Due to the illness, I was struggling & he caught me from behind & passed me while I was trapped in a pack. I had to surge on the outside to pass 5 runners, just to catch him, then I matched his pace. That effort took much of what I had but not all. Coming toward the finish, I realized that I already had the master slot at hand and beating the kid would not change that outcome. Since I planned on heavy training over the weekend, I pulled back to conserve my health. Although I relinquished an overall position, I retained the top prize after the top 3 overall (unreachable). Even if I decided to beat him, I still would have failed to break 19 and just further compromise my body. Now, when I recover, this will not occur.

Saturday agenda-long run

To my dismay, this agenda was cancelled due to illness. An extremely light workout was done. This was my mom's birthday! She had to take a rain check, since the worse part of the cold was in effect.

Sunday agenda-long ride

This agenda was modified. I felt blessed that I was able to do something, even if much shorter than planned.