Tragic times

Since my last post, so many tragedies occurred, many affecting me directly & indirectly. First, Ed McMan, Johnny Carson's former sidekick on the tonight show passed away. Then, Farah Fawcett, almost every man in my generation loved watching her as one of Charlie's angels. Pop Icon Michael Jackson suffered a cardiac arrest but not a heart attack; I never heard of anything like that. With all those drugs, however, it's no wonder. Death of a salesman- Billy Mays, info-merical icon, died today. I grew up watching & listening to all the aforementioned. More direct to me, today marked 3 months in a relationship with a PYT; a thriller. Like MJ, with no TLC, I had to beat it because no one wants to be defeated. For now, I am the man in the mirror who will return to running & exercise trying to keep up until the force stops, I won't stop still I get enough (thus far, 18 years strong)!

Saturday agenda-freedom 5k

This one was special because my dad returned to race again. I forgot to mention that I hurt my back going to work on Friday, & as of now, I still suffer from the pain, just one of the many tragedies I have to deal with. The Bell standard does not permit me to quit, so no doubt I ran as scheduled. The master title was impossible, as all 3 slots were filled by sub 18 performances. By the grace of God, I did win my age group eventually (initially, I was not listed & had to hunt down the race director to correct this tragedy). Even better, my dad got 2nd in his age group, bringing back memories of our family sweep.

Sunday agenda-ride

Initially, I had intended to do the Lauren Katzenstein celebration ride, metric century distance but that got altered due to my personal life situation. Luckily, I got back early enough to do my favorite ride to Florida city. Even though it was about half the distance originally planned, it still gave me a good workout and provided a slight bit of stress relief. Oh, yeah, there was more tragedy. I discovered I squandered good money by leaving out some formerly frozen food accidentally when I rushed out Friday morning to work. Plus, it started raining before I had a chance to cut the grass & I still have a flat tire to contend with. Lord, please ease up this week for me in regards to troubled times.

Honorable mention

* My dad places in age group. * George wins the golden master title.

Dad day

Happy fathers day, plus it's the official start of summer.

Saturday agenda-run for the future 5k

I despise night races but left with the option of race or not, you know ill chose the former. It was hot & humid, as expected. I began feeling a bit tired & tight. Due to these conditions, I failed to make the top 3 but thankfully, the quality in attendance was low, allowing me to win my age group. I would've been top master if that title were offered. Oh, by the way, the age group sucked as it was 41-50, the most difficult (5 year) divisions combined! No big loss as all winners, including overall, got the same medal.

Sunday agenda-key Biscayne trilogy, round 1

The word trilogy indicates 3 but because of greed, a 'bonus' round was added. Anyway, the fastest female swimmer (Jenny) I ever had returned, along with yours truly, to defend our series title as co-ed champions. I selected a young, up and coming new comer to run; this would be his first relay. When the dust cleared, we won the co-ed title for this race on our quest to defend our series title. Both she & he posted the fastest time of all relay participants in their respective discipline. Although I set a personal best on the bike, I was 2nd to the team we beat. We were the only team to break an hour; what an accomplishment. Speaking of that, Linda made the top ten in the beauty pageant.. I mean her age group with a spectacular I run that I'd like to take some credit for. Well, she did the whole triathlon by herself! This was race #13 & her first tri of this year.

Honorable mention

*George wins the 5k & the du age group

Mid month madness

Remember the mid month crisis (May)? June brings a similar dilemma. Friday might as well been the 13th. I was rejected like vhf. You know, it was the delay from the original date of February to now for the digital transition. Unlike you had cable, it was the day to lose a lot.

Saturday morning agenda-5k

I still don't know the name of the race but it commemorated 50 years of the incorporation of royal palm beach. Thanks to unclear instructions on the race flyer, Linda & I show up to the location for registration as directed but they (race organizers) neglected to mention this was not for race day. On top of that, my car mysteriously failed to start & we had to get a jump. Thanks to Linda's diligence, after many an incident, we finally arrived at our destination. From there, we had to be bussed to the start. We ran a poorly marked course with no mile markers, clocks or many cones. Later, I overheard that the course was designed to begin where the city began & end at its current location. In the last half mile, a kid & I followed arrows into a grassy field, only to be told to return to the road for the finish; we did more than a 5k, as indicative by my poor time. By the grace of God, I was runner up to teammate Jon Williams, the race winner. I was especially fortunate since, not only did I not have a stellar day, but the age groups were ridiculous. I was in the 18 & up age group.

Saturday afternoon agenda-NW track & field classic

Ever since introduced to it by Freddy, the NW track & field classic has been tradition for me. It serves as both competition (race) and training (track speed work). The events actually began on Friday but I can never make that due to work. I did the 800 meter dash then pleaded to move the 1500 meter to the next day due to the Runner's Depot party scheduled at night. I made it to the event with a significant other whom I refer to as she looks, pretty, & met up with many of my teammates.

Sunday morning agenda-5k

The intense training 5k was an inaugural. Unlike the previous day, this one had chip timing. When I began, I was barely in the dirty dozen but when the dust cleared, I got 2nd master, 5th overall. I was amazed to get trophies in both places. Despite bad weather, Linda & I ran and she did well in her age group.

Sunday evening agenda-5k

This was the final day to participate. When the dust cleared, I still could've gone through the school. They used a course that went through winding, small paths. I broke 19 barely and got 2nd master. I did the 3k and the 400 meter dash; the 1500 meter was missed while changeing. The latter I to run in the rain. Despite the rain & other complications, by nightfall, I had a Linda (pretty in English) good time.

who knee oh!

That's Spanish for junio-June. Can you believe we're here already? It officially marks the beginning of the hurricane season. To my dismay, all the morning races were late starts (8 am), which allowed the heat and humidity to become a negative factor for me.

Saturday agenda-1 race, 1 village 5k

This was actually an inaugural and thanks to Linda, close to 'home'. In over 18 years, I have never done a race where this was held (by Pompano air park). Bad enough the race is at 8 am, but worse, I felt tired & tight and they had 10 year age categories. Much of the course was on a narrow path. By the grace of God, I survived the bad conditions. Unfortunately, I allowed someone to beat me for 3rd overall, but luckily, I had no affect on my podium position. Jon Williams won the race while Luiz Souza (2nd overall) took the master title. I fell to top of my age group. The post race refreshments were good & massage was available. The biggest highlight was the surprise appearance of Linda and that Jon & I won as a 2 person team. He continued on to place at the wharf 8k down in key west at night; I forewent that & decided to rest. Besides, it was raining a lot.

Sunday morning agenda-Kendra's kisses 5k

Also an inaugural, it mimicked the previous in that it was scheduled to start at 8 (yep, it was even later) and had 10 year age groups. The Lord came through when I really needed it. Although I lost the battle for 2nd, the top 3 got nice sized trophies. Unfortunately, there was no master title & everyone else got medals. Sadly, no Linda but fortunately I got into the low 18's. They had a decent post race refreshment, especially the Jamba juice.

Sunday evening agenda-twilight 5k

This race was memorable even though I did not sign up for it. I selected this one as a training run, especially since #1 my racewalk category was eliminated & #2 skimpy categories made it virtually impossible for me to place, even with a PR! I had the honor of running with my dad for 2 miles. I did the remaining with an old friend then anxiously waited for Linda. She chose to do well & 'hide' behind a group of army soldiers, so I missed her coming in. When the dust cleared, both did well. She got into double digits in terms of races since we met (10) with a good time, while my dad got 3rd in his age group, same as Jon W.

Honorable mention

* Jon W places in 4 events, 2=overall victories
* George wins age group in 5k & du
* John G won age group
* Louis M won age group