Nightmare holiday weekend

I call the span from Thursday to Monday a nightmare holiday weekend, particularly for me. Except for thanksgiving itself, there were no normal, local races. On turkey day, the run was a wonderful, runners dream, as the pickings were as great as the fixings at most dinners; the nightmare was the last kiss. Through no fault of mine, I was unceremoniously 'kicked out', officially culminating the end of an 8 month relationship in which I was consistently a victim of lying, cheating & stealing, in addition to negativity. The dream was that I got to visit all members of my immediate family, often difficult in my strange lifestyle. Unfortunately, I was limited to training only over the nightmarish holiday weekend but I am compelled to move on.

Friday kicked off the Christmas season with the up early black Friday specials. It is a nightmare on the wallet, though; dream for the retailers. Could be considered a dream in that you can save money on items you needed but not so much on just stuff you wanted.

Saturday agenda-the last ride

Dubbed as such by Elite cycling store, a group of riders get together & ride from there to La Carreta in key Biscayne, then afterwards, return to a post ride refreshments in house. I chose to go to the end (just in front of the park entrance), adding a bit more distance. The ride with the multiple stops (yes, we obeyed most traffic lights) took over 3 hours. I felt the training was more advantageous than the long drive down to Key west for the hog's breath 5k.

Sunday agenda-the last run

If I chose to travel, I could've done the space coast marathon (or half) or go over to Tampa for a jingle 5k; I have plenty of travelling to do, so I passed on those. I considered doing a trail run, in which 3 distances were offered: 5, 10, & 15 k but mother nature ended that when I got a stomach ache. I did a rare thing & decided to rest & slept till late. Bell standards do not allow me to escape workouts so I did a cross country tempo run near home. I call it the last run based on the weekend but I can actually run tomorrow as well.

Tomorrow, the last day of the month, is considered to be cyber Monday, the high tech version of black Friday but totally online. Also, a nightmare but on your credit; dream for the retailers. The best news of all is that at midnight, the hurricane season officially ends. However, God doesn't always follow our rules!

Honorable mention

* Terry does the half at space coast marathon.
* Aldo does the full space coast marathon.

Thanksgiving 09

Happy Thanksgiving! Its that time of year for most to stuff their faces & sports fans to watch football but us runners, we burn off our calories in advance. There's a turkey trot just about in every county & definitely in every state.

Today's agenda-a turkey trot!

With so many to choose from ( a sweet dream for me), I had to narrow it down using one of my many guidelines. Today, I invoked the been there, done that rule, which required me to travel a bit far.

With the umpteen number of races available, I narrowed it down to the following:

1. run Miami turkey trot 5k/10k- traditionally the one I choose. Since the 10k costs more & is merely a 2 looper, I usually go for the former. If I do well & place, the most I can get is a medal.

2. tamarac turkey trot- a 5k in which I have never had success, so I have no idea what I could have won. Through the grape vine, I heard trophies for first, the rest medals. Parking is on the level with Miami beach & downtown Miami-terrible.

3. Adolph & Rose Levis JCC turkey trot-inaugural event, much like a blind date- you don't know what to expect but satisfies the bt,dt rule.

4. Run for the pies 4 miler- also satisfies the bt,dt rule since I have never done it.

With 3 & 4 satisfying the bt,dt rule, next is the proximity rule, eliminating the latter. Plus, I am still recovering from injury.

I was hoping for an easy race among all nobodies, but naturally, that didn't happen. Mike (who beat me at the break through 5k) & Harrie (beat me last Sunday) showed up. Plus, with ten year age groups and no master title(s), my chances became slimmer when it was announced that over 400 showed up (333 finished)! The course was horrific because the start was the finish line (crammed in a narrow area) & you have turn immediately (within 100 feet). There were lots of turn arounds. Although slightly humid, it was cool & cloudy. Every one was told to advance to the starting mat, we waited nearly 5 minutes & then the air horn sounds, causing mass confusion because there was absolutely no warning, no count down, nothing! Come to think of it, may have been able to break 19 had it not been for that; only God knows. Although I lost the sprint battle against Harrie, I was blessed to be able to place at all considering the aforementioned. The winner of the age group was in the low 18s.

Honorable mention

* Louis gets 2 pl age 5k at Miami (estimated 4000 between both events)
* Carol P is 2nd overall female 10k at Miami
* George wins age at tamarac (1383 finishers)
* Ronnie wins the tamarac
* Sonia is overall female at the 4 miler (1364 finishers)

No V M bray

No V M bray. If you say it fast & together, that's the pronunciation for Noviembre, Spanish for November.

Saturday morning agenda-5k

This weekend was a runners dream. So much so, that Jon W ran 5 events (I heard through the grapevine actually 6, including Fri)! Due to injury & finances, I did less.

I chose to head down south for the mariner 5k. I hadnt done it in years due to conflicts. I played it smart & did the racewalk to conserve for the main event at night. I was hoping for an easy race but was challenged by a female racewalker that had a running start. Despite that bit of cheating, I managed to outwalk her for the victory & one of my better times (her best). It was an out (no back) course, straight & flat.

Saturday evening agenda-5k

This is the main event. Despite my best time since the car accident, I came up short. Why? They got cheap with the age categories (last year, top 5 masters, this year only 3) and awards (key chain medals) compounded with the fact that Jon was so tired, he failed to break 18, pushing me down & out. Post race was ok but they were stingy with the food, giving only 1 serving & leaving half of it unserved after all had finished. This event was more hype than anything else because they made it difficult to enter it (have to register way in advance). Also pathetic was only half the course was lit, leaving too many dangerous pitch black spots. I was so disappointed, I may not repeat it.

Sunday agenda-5k

Hoping to improve upon the previous day, I entered yet another. However, it was much worse. Both internal & external conditions were horrible. To expound upon the latter, it was hot & humid plus the markham course has hills & curves. It was an afternoon race (4 pm) to boot. Internally, I was tired & tight & later sick to my stomach. By the grace of God, I won my age group with a dismal time. If I had run normally, I would have won the master title. Post race was 5 star for meat eaters, 3 otherwise. They gave out generic medals for all age groups, but I'll take that over the alternative. Runners depot swept the top 3 categories, with Jon on top.

Honorable mention

* Jon W gets hardware in all his events
* George wins his 'triple crown'

Veteran

Yesterday was a day reserved for veterans. Let's give our props to all the troops who serve & have served to protect our freedom.

Wednesday agenda-Veterans day

Hope all have enjoyed the day. I did because, not only did I get to run (thanks to Jon) but I spent a little time with friends who also ran. It was a night race that went over bridges (my favorite, ha ha). We started on the crest of one & ran against the wind to the turn around, in the dark. When I do a mystery race, its usually small & primitive; this was the opposite as it used the chrono tag & drew over 750 participants. I had a great mile (sub 6) and then it went downhill from there. I failed to break 20 again, but by the grace of God, I still won my age group;Jon was 5th overall but fell to top master (ill take that any day). Along for the ride was Alan & Linda. Alan is the owner of accuchiptiming.com & does a wonderful job at that but said he's starting to miss his roots-running, so he participated in this race. I usually bring in runners to the world of multisport (tri & du) but Linda, a triathlete, is a reverse case and has entered my domain. She has improved so much under my tootledge that I missed her finish (sub 34) by mere seconds when interrupted en route by a friend. She has done an unbelievable number of races since we met, surpassing most athletes;one event per month (12 max) is the normal limit for someone actively racing. After that, it takes a better than average to an elite athlete with heavy passion &/or training to survive more.

Friday agenda-5k

Disappointed with how it conducted last year & in consideration of my injury, I decided to visit rather than race this one. Last year, medals were given instead of the crystal like trophies. They had horrible age categories & worse, I was listed as winning my age group all the way until awards were actually given out. To my dismay, some mysterious runner took the title. Besides, I couldn't get there in time to start as the main road to get there was blocked by law enforcement. Post race was 4 star.

Most say I am half crazy. Following this sentence may prove my critics right.


Saturday agenda-half

I decided to do the inaugural Jewfish creek half marathon. Kinda a tough decision knowing that I am scheduled to run the 13.1 marathon on Sunday. However, due to the number of 5k races out there, this would be the only way to force me to do required long runs in preparation for the Goofy challenge. This one was only the second time in my career that I headed down south (Monroe county) for a distance race. Aware of my foot injury, I had to run carefully. It was a straight, out & back course. Other than the wind & the bridge itself, the external conditions were great (cool day). I was unable to place due to the poor age categories (no master & ten year age groups). I finished better than a quarter to 2 hours. Post race was less than Niketown. Plus, they had the audacity to have most of food there for sale, even if you were a runner! Teammate Jon won the 5k that was also hosted.

Sunday agenda-half

This was the main event & the one most were training for. This is evident by the attendance of over 2,000. I began the event both injured & tight from the previous day. Cognizant that my chances of placing were next to impossible, my only goal was to finish under 2 hours. By the grace of God, this came to fruition. Post race was 5 star with a pancake breakfast. Less cool & windy but the course had multiple curves & turns. This was well represented by Runners depot.

Honorable mention

* Louis wins age group at 13.1
* Jon takes home hardware from all the races.

Dog days

You know that every dog has his day. This applies this weekend due to my injury. People that didn't normally beat me had their chance & most took advantage, as I would, if given the opportunity.

Saturday agenda-5k

Due to this injury, I had to pass on a double header opportunity that Jon accepted. I had to miss the wellington 5k & race for the troops 5k, both in Palm beach & separated by 2 hours. However, thankfully, God allowed me to do one, good enough to satisfy my tune up requirement for endurance events. Problem is that I opened myself up for attack, as aforementioned. I lost all master positions & the respective trophies because of the lack of running due to the injury; I lost too much of my fitness. One guy was so elated because he got his 1st overall master title (3rd) over me by effectively swapping places. I had to settle for top in the age category & walk out with a generic medal (no race info on it) while he held a beautiful trophy. It was a humbling experience. I have to realize that if I decide to take chance, I have to deal with any consequences. On the bright side, I did place when there was a distinct possibility I'd walk out the same way I came in-with nothing.

Sunday agenda-Miami man

Put on by multirace, this event offered a half iron for both the tri & du & an international tri. With a bit of encouragement from Linda (kept talking about how shes done one), I decided to do my first half iron. Course you know I dont swim, therefore I am a du'er, not a tri'er. I picked the wrong day because there were record strong winds & gusts up to 30 mph. With cycling not exactly my strength, I was further challenged & suffered through the 56 miles. When started, only my right heel hurt in the first mile. When I finally finished that portion after over 3 hours, it was time to do a half marathon and both of my feet hurt. I had to go slow just to guarantee a finish. Despite dismal times, every dog has his day. By the grace of God, I not only finished but placed 3rd in my age group. I wanted to do this to get it out of my system. Now that its done, I am not likely gonna do it again; it was costly & tough.

Honorable mention

* George wins an award* Linda missed an award by less than 30 secs; still proud of her to be 4th in age group