A.K.A.

A.K.A.=Andrew, Katrina Anniversary. This is the 5th of this millennium's worst thus far. Also, this past Tuesday marked an anniversary of hurricane Andrew, Florida's most devastating of the last century.

Saturday agenda-elite 5k trilogy finale

I initially found out about this series trying to fill in the gaps of the summer (lack of races). Ya'll know I am a sucker for inaugurals & series events; this satisfied both. Today marked the series finale, and with the race for the top slot tight, I knew I needed to bring my A game. To my dismay, a greater quantity of faster runners showed up. By the grace of God, except for Perry, all of them were submasters. During the course, there was a damp, slippery bridge section. I was during this area that I intentionally slowed my pace so as not to slip (did this error in the past) but lost 2 positions in the process, one, a master (friend Mike K). I regained one position once back on normal turf but did not press the kid (I was more than twice his age). I won the master title for the day (Perry was 2nd overall & given grandmaster title), which I call winning the battle. Perry won 2 battles as the 2nd best twice but ultimately I won the war (the entire series) because I was consistent (top ten finishes) in all 3 races. In fact, today was my worst finish at 7th overall; previous 2 were 4th. Praise the Lord! I actually won 2 titles: the overall title and the 40-44 age group title. I call it double dipping but based on the scoring system utilized, it wasn't. The overall title was based on points accumulated in regards to your overall position within the total number of runners in your sex category. The age group title gave a max of 20 points down to zero based on your position in your age group. This means that if more than 20 are in your age group, & you don't place within, you get 0 points, whereas, even if dead last, the overall scoring will yield at least a point. Post race was nice, perhaps 4 star. All awards were (drinking) glasses.

Sunday agenda-triathlon

This day would have been Michael Jackson's 52nd birthday if he were still alive. Speaking of travesties, the Miami nice tri was on for the 2nd time this year & my 3rd attempt to bring home hardware. Even though every team I was involved in placed, I have yet to bring home an award. This was due to a seemingly racist female who was put in charge of running this event. In the inaugural last year, only 1 trophy was given to a team of 3 people (I was the team captain). The cyclist, who now rarely wins an award, took it to show his boss & I haven't seen it since; I fault the organizers for that error. This year, in June, I joined onto a team, hoping for better luck. At least she listened to me & offered 1 award per teammate (3 to distribute among the winning teams) but sadly, only gave them to her friends. She unjustifiably withheld my award claiming the team captain (not me) improperly &/or incorrectly formed the team. In essence, I got punished for his alleged mistake. If I were not who I am, she would have rectified this in the background, if not on the spot. Therefore, I got ripped off Miami twice! So, in this race, I am the team captain & formed the team myself to ensure it is correct. Would you believe that 'perra' hassled me again? Yep, prior to even starting, she decided to alienate me while I was chatting with a teammate, trying to embarrass me & insinuate that I was not a registered athlete, meanwhile there were so many obviously unregistered people scattered about. I responded in kind & later converted this negative energy to achieve a positive result.

The team was aptly named TRI-MEN D'US (dats us). It was exciting for all. Josh was scheduled to do his longest swim ever racing. For Spencer, it was his first triathlon relay. We were to do the sprint. This was my third attempt to come home with an award after placing. I have been unjustifiably denied my awards so much that even God disapproved of the organizers. After the 2nd wave went off, the skies opened up, lightning struck near while the winds gusted through and all the swimmers were called back due to the tumultuous weather. Once convinced the message was delivered, all subsided except the wind, which merely stopped gusting but still steady blowing high. With the ground wet, care had to be taken. The course was altered due to the inclement weather, making it easier for the Olympic athletes but a bit harder for the sprint. The swim was shortened for them but lengthened for us sprinters 900 yds instead of the normal quarter mile. Imagine signing for a 5k but doing 5 miles instead (it happened to me early this year). It will slow you down somewhat because you weren't prepared for that. Despite that, he was the 5th fastest of all relays. I did 1 loop and so did the Olympic athletes, who were supposed to do 2. Even though the conditions were not in my favor, God granted me the fastest bike time of all relays, dirty dozen overall! The run remained in intact. Although I took of a fraction of our deficit, Spencer not only eliminated that but reversed it into a substantial lead, despite his fast paced long run (18 miles under a 7 min average) the previous day. Post race was very good. Ultimately, the third time was the charm!

In the rain

Some people were singing in the rain but not me. I was just getting wet. Well, most of the time I had to deal with driving in the rain. Since I picked an event that was not local, I had to travel after work (couldn't get off or leave early). That's when I got hit with the weather conditions, in addition to traffic & lane closures. By the time I made it, it was almost midnight.

Saturday agenda-race!

I've had too many weekends with 'no' races (not local) so this time I decided to revisit an event I did nearly a half decade ago rather than go to key west (conch pride 5k), among others scattered in the far regions of Florida. There are so many forts here in Florida that I forgot how far this was. The ones I have heard of & been to have been Ft Lauderdale, Ft Pierce, Ft Myers & Ft DeSoto; the latter was were the venue was held. Therefore, it took me about 5 hours, with only 1 pit stop, to get there. Once there, I saw so many athletes I knew, it was like a familiar scene. Although my first run was under 6 minutes, that was barely enough to make the top 20. I felt slow on the bike but the time was better than expected. After the course snafu (not all signs were properly placed), I was given 2nd in age group; I felt I won since the guy in front ran mostly concrete going the wrong way. The time was disappointing but I have to take into consideration that half of the 5k was on loose sand, my worst surface to run on. By the grace of God, besides a podium finish, I made the top 10% of the entire du field & broke an hour in the process. The post race was great (4 star) but lacking the veggie burgers of the past. Thanks (hospitality) & congrats to Shannon, who also found the podium. Lisa B dominated once again, taking the overall female title, made the top ten (not percent) & had a bike time faster than me for a change; her run always did in this sport.

Sunday agenda-train

Well, I had my share of travelling & racing this weekend, so I opted for more training. Another muddy buddy (MN) came & went. I passed on the oleta la roootaaa mt biking series & pulled out a road bike to finally join a group that rides the Miami man half iron course. Except for 1 guy, I was like in a dream riding with 4 beautiful women but don't let that deceive you; they can ride. I wound up doing a tad over 60 miles, lasting about 4 hours including the pre & post meet up and 1 pit stop at the fruit & spice (their choice, not mine). I left with the feeling that I am ready! Oh, after some rest, before I could cut the grass, it started raining!

Mid month crisis (Aug)

It that time again. Yesterday was not just a Friday, but the 13th! My bad luck included having to do a brake job on my car, in addition to the fact that I have not broken 19 since independence day!

Saturday agenda-race?

Well, at least there was 1 local event-the ING kick off 5k. Sadly, it was basically a fun run, with no individual awards or categories. Fortunately, the top 30 males & females got a prize. Last year, it was a medal. This year, a starbucks gift card on an ING lanyard, thus far the 2nd lamest as far as a finishers medal but however, practical. This was my debut 'race' wearing the Vibrim 5 finger shoes. I ran the 1st mile an easy 6:15 & basically ran with Allan W. lost ten seconds in the 2nd. The last mile I intentionally slowed down to adjust with Allan. At the final stretch, I pulled back, jogged near the finish, stopped & turned around to walk in backwards for the finish. Hey, I was having fun! Also, I needed to reserve my strength for the main event tomorrow. Unfortunately, I didn't escape without injury; I re-aggravated a callous on my right foot. My mission was accomplished for today-be in the top 30 & do it in under 20; yep, I made it even with the showboating. Remember, this was a FUN RUN. They had a nice post race with a raffle (rigged) offered. Oh, I forgot. There was a special category I missed because of that. George won the male swimsuit division. There were other winners, male & female, but I didn't know any of them.

Sunday agenda-race!

Already scheduled on my calendar, it's time for round 3 of the trilogy series. I saved my strength for this one because I not only compete as an individual, but also as part of a team; I was more concerned about the latter. However, I also needed to redeem myself for my last outing. Praise the Lord, the callous was not a factor & with 90+ % recovery, I was basically in race form. With little or no wind, conditions were ideal for cycling. Unfortunately, even with cloud cover, it was still hot & humid. By the grace of God, I cracked 6 minutes on the mile sprint (8 oa) to reach the awaiting teammate who blew the field with the fastest split, despite an 18 mile training the day prior. The good Lord came through again as I had one of my better cycling days with a better than 21 average (14 oa); yea, I lost some positions, as expected. Once Spencer took off, he advanced the team by dropping 10 people and we won hands down! Meanwhile, by God's grace, I picked off the same number as our overall position. I actually could've been 1 better but lost the sprint to the finish to a kid nearly 2 decades younger; that was expected. I warned him that he had better stepped it up or this old man would've beat him. If you check out the stats, I defeated him on both run legs, which means he was a faster cyclist. Post race was nice, with hot pancakes & lots of fruit. Oh, Spencer had the fastest split on the anchor run as well; thank you, teammate. My second run was rated the same as the 1st in overall position. I was aware I lost time in transition but winning twice, both as an individual & team, was well worth it. Crisis over?

Honorable mention

* George took the male swimsuit division in the 5k & age group in the du despite complications

Aw gaw stoh!

Aw gaw stoh! That's how it sounds in Spanish. A gust, oh, is what we want sometimes to alleviate the torture of the extreme heat & humidity. A gust is what we could encounter if a hurricane comes by. Agosto!

Saturday agenda-race?

To race or not to race, that is the question. The answer is that I didn't feel like driving all over the state just to race. However, I commend Jon for doing 4 races within 14 hours. I couldn't make the 2 nite races in Orlando, and, although this morning was possible, I declined on the long trip. So, this morning, I pulled out my inlines & skated a 10k.

There was a inaugural night race scheduled that I had reservations about, so I had already pre determined not to do it. These were the reasons:

1. 10 yr age groups
2. distance (in Boca)
3. cost
4. conditions- internal=just recovering from injury, external=weather

Ultimately, it was the latter that prevailed (race cancelled due to inclement weather). However, it was the heat & humidity that deterred me before I found out about the rain.

Sunday agenda-race?

With the same sentiments as before, it was an easy decision for me to stay local. Question is, do I race or not? Last time I entered my first trail & despite my best efforts, I came up short due to confusion and logged my first ever DNF. I refuse to leave that stone unturned, so I entered once more into a trail half. This time, I saw more people I knew- Jon,and the Hadley sisters , in addition to Sam. Except Sam, they all did the shortest distance (5k). I got what I expected (heat & humidity, although less severe than last time due to the clouds) and then some (poor signage). Since the staff was clueless & even the race director was unable to help me get back on course due to poor signage (later discovered that a direction sign placed knee high was blocked by a water table), this was the first time in history I began at the front and finished dead last in an event. Fortunately, I brought my Garmin, so I was able to know how long, both in time & distance, I've been travelling. When I crossed the finish line, I did 14.75 miles in 3:18 but the actual half distance was completed within that at 2:48. I am satisfied that I have avenged the DNF plus picked up some slack (1.65 more) in the process. I got in great training & enjoyed the challenging scenery. This time, more hydration was available, but no great post race. Unless I find no other events, I had my fill of adventure racing.