Fall

Today marks the official day of the autumnal equinox, otherwise known as fall. However, I am also referring to occurrences. On Friday night, of all nights, I got injured while training on the treadmill, 1st time ever! My knee mysteriously got hurt, feeling as if I took a FALL & served as a hindrance, both that night through the next day.

Saturday agenda-bridge buster 5k

Ya'll know how stubborn I am. I had to FALL for Jon's offer. Since the injury occur ed within 12 hours, I decided to continue as planned. This was an inaugural race; that, coupled with the injury left me in a state of not knowing what to expect. The race was challenging enough with that dreaded blue heron bridge, located in singer island, and was used in the du that I did just weeks ago. Add to that, the heat, humidity & the injury and wa la! I carpooled with Jon & Jeff & we went up to W palm beach. I had to wrap up my knee, then grin & bear it (the pain). Naturally, those 2 took off. I had to struggle just to make it to the finish line. Despite setting my worst 5k time of the year, I just squeaked in to make it to the podium. Although I was seconds from second, that also applied to missing hardware. I thank the lord for giving me enough to make it, & for not giving up, I was rewarded with a plaque. I almost had to take a FALL by virtue of the circumstances. This qualified as a 3 1/2 to 4 star flash race with the amenities. This biggest plus, besides the massage, was the free pictures that were taken & given out.

Sunday agenda-key Biscayne trilogy

Originally known as the Miami SS tri/du, it was changed to be known as the bonus round of the key Biscayne trilogy. This wild card race allowed anyone to drop the lowest or make up a missed race & if in the tri, 3 of 4 put you in that series. Well, after the nasty comments, rudeness & underhanded tactics of the team captain & dad of the father & son relay, I had a wild card up my sleeve. Our team was leading the series until that team that claimed they weren't going to singer island to race, did just that twice, to win contested. They wanted us to FALL to 2nd. Our anchor runner decided to race a 5k elsewhere, so I decided for at least 1 race to recruit someone who specialized in cycling while I do what I do best-run. I selected the same guy I used once last year, K.C., an Olympian, with the intention of achieving the same result-the overall victory. No doubt this came to fruition. However, unexpected was how well this combo would do & what reaction we'd get. Having never beaten our lead runner, Gene, the kid was compelled to overexert to finally get the monkey off his back. While both ran the mile sprint in a record time, tying with a 5:22, that move lead to his downfall on the anchor run against our team. The jerk of a dad (totally opposite of the humble & kind son) was cheating by placing his back on the edge of the rack to gain an advantage. That effort was futile against KC as he was smoked by our cyclist, who set a new course record of 22 & 1/2! Then came my turn. Having just struggled the day prior, I was not sure if I'd even been in the 19's. By the grace of God, I got my 2nd fastest course time & best of the year with an 18 & 1/2. It turned out that the cyclist could not take the same medicine he was dishing out, and like a wimpy cry baby, he protested to remove the points, which were naturally astronomical. He had been bitching & complaining the minute he discovered a minor change had occurred & couldn't believe that I could out think him in terms of strategy nor could he stand the feeling of disgust similar to what he served to my teammates, enough to discourage them from competing in 2 other events I really wanted them to do. Whether the points will count or not, I was worth it to me. Turnabout's fair play. Oh, and the owner of multirace is himself a cyclist, so he obviously sided with the jerk. Birds of a feather flock together. As quick as Rob is, KC outrides him as well. That was an error on my part not to take that into consideration; oh well. What I do know is that if our team does not win the du title, I will no longer pay to compete in his events because it is not right to change the rules during the game. According to both printed (S Fl multisport guide he published & even distributed through competitor SE) & his online site, any relay may have 2 or 3 members; we chose the latter. Also, there is no mention barring substitutions. if there were, it would be stupid because a member maybe unavailable due to illness, injury or another commitment; the latter applied. Remember that even in the Olympics, a replacement was used. I have introduced many, including Gene, via substitution & many of those are now solo competitors, making that company more money. I have been with that company since its inception. I sacrificed so many better events to commit to the series. Once I pull out, all the perks he enjoys will be gone with the wind.

Honorable mention

I went from worst (Fri & sat) to first (sun) by the grace of God. Athletes, beware never to underestimate me. I shock many not only with athletic prowess, but my uncanny mental ability. After all, I am a chess & video game player that has dabbled with poker. You never know what I could come up with.