ING

Well, this weekend, I did a lot of runnING & some walkING.

Saturday agenda-tropical 5k

I always use this event as a tune up for the main event the next day. For the first time ever, Jonathan went against his normal ritual & followed the same approach. Guess what occurred on this day?

a. yours truly won the master title
b. Jonathan won the race
c. Jon Williams won the race
d. Jeffrey Tait won the race
e. Felipe won the race


What I can tell you is that the runners mentioned in b, c & e attained PR's. Gene & I did 'charity' work by serving as pacers for other people. The weather was excellent. It was cool, as has been in the past but for the first time ever, no wind! This lead to record times. Over 1300 finished & I made the top 25. Choice a. was impossible for 2 reasons: 1. the master title was not offered & #2, the top 2 in my age group broke 17! Remarkably, Jon did not win; he was second to Edmundo. 3=18:21, better than I have been doing lately. This also rules out option c. I was out of the money in a normal race, luckily, this went 5 deep. I decided to pace Emilio, my competition for the master title. God has given me a gift & along my illustrious career, I have been assisted by others. Today, was time to return the favor. The original goal was about 20, usually sufficient for me to place within 5 & not overdo it for the big one. He was immensely elated that I cut back my pace to allow him to adjust his; he did his best time ever since ??? He forced me to run a lot faster than planned;I had a blast. Gene & Jeffrey paced even slower people because they wanted to be prepared for the main events; you may scratch d. but trust me, he's gonna win one. The entire Rubio family placed in their respective age groups, bringing back to the hey days of a decade & half with my family. Yep, you guessed it. Jonathan got the cake & was able to eat it too. He not only won the race but set a PR in the low 16's. In fact, he deemed this weekend his sweet sixteen.


After the 5k, I did a lot of walkING because went to expo to pick up the packet & wound up parking about a half mile away. Plus, I cased the joint to see what's happening. Unfortunately, I missed all the lectures, especially Lisa's. She left without her award to do it & while I was having brunch with the Rubios & the Mederos, she gave her speech.

Sunday agenda-ING marathon (& half)

This is the main event. Everyone mentioned earlier (except Emilio) was involved here too, but I was the only fool doING the full! For me, I wanted to beat my Disney performance using the same techniques. Technically, I accomplished this, but to my dismay, it was by mere seconds. The bright spot was my personal best halfway mark split of under 1:40. However, judging by the end result, I went out too fast & 'blew up' with a slower 2nd half. This was my fastest marathon completed without ever walkING & I feel somewhat vindicated with these 2 marathons this year for that horrendous performance at my final marathon of last year in NY. Although I was runnING positive splits, the results weren't totally negative. As for my friends, Jonathan got a PB & placed 2nd in his group. Felipe, Jon & Gene all got their PRs. Once again, I passed my self imposed litmus tests. INGenius, huh?

Change

By the date of this blog, it is obvious I am getting old. I waited for Monday to post on Dr Martin Luther King day & could've sworn I began, but 'lo & behold, I had not! Like the U.S.P.S., better late than never.

I selected the title because, like Dr Martin Luther King, president Obama worked diligently toward change. The doc did so to defend & protect the rights of ALL people, rather than just the white male racist ones. He not only fought for 'our' people, African-Americans as a whole, but for all females, regardless of color & non-white men, such as Asians & Hispanics, as well. It's amazing how the country was founded saying that 'all men are created equal' but yet not treated equally.
Although 'we' were free from actual slavery, we were still enslaved by a racist system. We were being punished just because of the color of our skin & our presence here in the U.S., even though in the past, we were forced to be here. Dr King, through methods similar to my primary hero, Jesus Christ, induced change to bring us closer to normalcy. Although I believe we will never attain a perfect society, it is possible to get a high percentage. Because of his efforts, Obama was able to achieve the impossible-a black man employed at the highest position in the nation-president.

On the tonight show with Jay Leno, his favorite guest, Wanda Sykes said that George W Bush was the best thing that ever happened. Like Jay, I wondered why she said that. She followed up by essentially saying that if he hadn't screwed up so bad, no black man would have been considered. Now president Obama has a tall order. He has to try to dig us out of a deep & dirty ditch. I pray he can do this. We need to change from our dismal state to one of prosperity. We as a nation have already begun to heal the damage to our reputation worldwide. We need more focus on our domestic woes & less on others; godspeed.

Saturday agenda-5k

In Miramar, there was both a 10k & a 5k. In light of what I have done & yet to do, I chose the latter. Despite cool weather, I had a dismal time. In spite of that, I still won the master title & my tune up race was complete.

Sunday agenda-Naples half

In keeping with my tradition, my dad & I went over to Naples. I forfeited my chance to place in lieu of an endurance event. Like the previous day, the external conditions were awesome. Unfortunately, my internal condition set me back. Luckily, I met my average standard but failed to meet or beat the best time I set for this course.

Monday agenda-MLK 5k

Also a tradition, this event falls on the observed holiday. Due to the strength of my schedule, I chose to racewalk. By the grace of God, I recovered well enough to win the event once again.

Tuesday agenda-inauguration

This day couldn't have been timed better. Right after the observed birthday for my earthly hero, Dr Martin Luther King, came the day to make Barack H. Obama officially the president of the United States. After that, he & his wife (the 1st black 1st lady) had to attend ten balls! Unfortunately, I had to miss the swearing in because I was working but am happy that I am employed.

Honorable mention

* Jon W placed in top 3 over weekend & top master on monday
* Jeffrey T also top 3 over weekend
* Louis molina wins age group both in 5k & half
* Gene gets PR with sub 1:33
* Mike Korir 2nd only to Ronnie H.
* George wins age group all 3 days
* Leo wins age group
* Jonathan, & Felipe in top 5, 1 & 2 in age group

Disney 09

Once again, my dad & I headed up to Orlando to get involved with the Walt Disney World marathon weekend, despite how overpriced & overrated it was. Oh, by the way, even though it's all about the U, congrats to the gators as the national champs; way to rep the sunshine state. Savour the victory 'cause the Canes are coming this year!

Saturday agenda-half

I originally planned on doing a 5k, flippany to be exact, but the friend that introduced me to triathlon relay got sick & asked for a favor. Since she spent so much to register for the goofy challenge & a couple of commemorative pins, she needed someone to pick them up. In exchange, she knew I'd accept the challenge of a half over a 5k, like I did last year. I was able to complete my 'training run' under 2 hours & without injury, critical for a decent performance for the main event.


Sunday agenda-full

This is the main event, the distance that dated back 16 years ago. For anyone who did them all, Disney offered a special sweet 16 finishers medal; neat idea. To accomplish the feat that my dad & I did (first two fulls, halves & goofys), we had to forfeit both last year's 15 year anniversary plaques & this year's promotion. I paid for the marathon early last year to be sure I'm in. Similar to last year, I was able to 'run' the entire course without stopping or walking. Only difference is that I did it faster! By the grace of God, I was able to redeem myself regarding New York by running substandard. Also, I beat myself without worrying about the past. I got what I came for & then so.

1st weekend 2009

Like Obama will be tested, I was. In keeping with resolution 10, I had to pass on 2 races.

Saturday agenda-bridge buster 5k

This race was held in Ft pierce. Since I have never run this before, this one could qualify for the 'been there, done that' rule, meaning I'd do it because I never did it before. Since it would take nearly 2 1/2 just to get there, & I didn't get to bed until midnight, around that time, I decided to scrap the double header in lieu of training. Being in a financial bind, this was best way to mitigate my damages. I did the ' tour de falls (shopping mall), which was nearly 9 miles.

Sunday agenda-Deleon springs event

I have been here before, but last time, my dad & I did the half. I was planning on the 5k but it was gonna take 2 1/2 from the ft pierce. That means over 5 hours to return home. Think I'll follow one of my resolutions & pass. Instead, I did a decent ride on my bike.

It was a disappointing weekend but the training was necessary. I was made aware of a triathlon/duathlon clinic but the website did not mention a race. I found out after the fact that they had a race. However, even if I went, my division was extremely competitive.

My dad & I had previously done the half marathon years back. Since they offered a 5k as well, I planned on doing that. This was canned when the first one failed.

In with the new '09

Happy new year! Wishing you all an active, injury free athletic year. I wanna put all the bad experiences of last year behind & move on to hopefully better ones this year. I shall cherish the positive memories of last year, but unfortunately, be compelled to deal with any lingering situations this year. Traditionally, we make resolutions, & like bones, they may be broken. My top ten list will include the usual, some will be continuations, some may be possible & some may be improbable, but it doesn't hurt to dream. Come to think of it, did Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr do that? Top ten resolutions for this year (not necessarily in order):

1. Continued athletic success, especially with racing & competition.
2. Health.
3. Wealth.
4. Wisdom.
5. Employment.
6. Training (stepped up).
7. Change.
8. Teamwork.
9. Diet.
10. Travel.

Now it's time to expound on those resolutions.

1. Last year, I did 105 races. Although I'd like to match or beat that, my main goal is continuation; march will mark 18 years since I began.
2. To do the aforementioned, I must maintain good health, largely through fitness & diet. That means I still won't smoke or drink, and naturally, avoid injury & illness.
3. This resolution has always failed but you never know;this might be year. Maybe I'll get rich the easy way by winning in the powerball or the hard way with some breakthrough opportunity.
4. Hopefully, as I progress, this continues to improve. I made it this far through trial & error, & experiences. Thus far, 2 out of 3 (healthy, wealthy & wise) has been my case.
5. Since the quick fix (lottery) has so far never panned out, I'll need to keep my job to survive.
6. To get the glory (race win), one must train. I plan to up the ante with quality workouts, such as a 3 mile blast at Niketown.
7. Obama's slogan. He is the change America needs. However, I too, must utilize this. I revolve to make some adjustments in my normal scheme of things.
8. I want to continue doing relays, both as a team captain & participant. However, this year, I am eliminated most, if not series participation, in lieu of individual events;I sacrificed too many running races that I loved last year.
9. Continue & hopefully improve upon my nutritional regimen, such as no meat diet.
10. I will travel as necessary, meaning doing only races that have some significance or purpose to me. I'll avoid just racing to race if it is far.

Today's agenda-1st race of the year

Once again, I did the run, walk, crawl 5k. I picked the middle option because it is extremely difficult to find a racewalk with awards. I managed to beat my of last, partly because of the cooler weather. The generic medal was horrible because absolutely no info was on it, unlike last year, when it was engraved. I had to write on the medal, the event, date, & result.

There was an incredible sweep for runner's depot. Top 2 overall (Jon & Jeffrey), top master (Louis M) & top racewalker (yours truly).