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.