Summer is here!

Summer is here! It began officially (summer solstice) 7-ish on Wednesday, plus was the longest day of the year.

Thursday agenda-NBA finals, game 4

All the heat had to do was win this game to take the series. Well, they crushed them, sending a message. As I am the 2 time elite 5k champion, so shall the heat as finals champs!

Saturday agenda-race

I found 2 events, rnr Seattle and sugden 5k. The former is out of Florida and the latter, I am 2 time defending champ. guess which one I went to?

So, I made it to Naples. It was overcast but still humid. The field was tougher plus I am slower than last year. The odds were against me but I still showed up! When the dust cleared, I made the top ten but could only get 2nd in my age group. Fitting, since I barely broke 20. Depending on what the other 8 do in future races will determine how I land in the series this year.

Sunday agenda-race?

I found 1, the Morton plant mease tri, but with no swimmer, that's out! I wanted to roll but it literally rained on my parade. Other than running, cycling is the only other activity I do in the rain. Therefore, I rode my bike, picking cross training.

Mid month crisis (Jun)

Mid month crisis (Jun). Y? Very few races plus still struggling.

Saturday agenda-race?

I found 2:

1. mud run (GA)
2. eagles 5k

Definitely not the former, out of state. I considered the latter but opted against it due to the distance (ft Myers) and the weather (rain & lightning). Once again, I pulled out my inlines and rolled a 10k.

Sunday agenda-race!

Sounds funny but the first of 4 in the key Biscayne trilogy begins this day. It was the only event I even considered. Now, what do I do? Sprint or Olympic? The former as I already did the latter 2 weeks ago. Next, du or tri? If solo the former for sure, either way with help. Lucky to find someone (Tommy) willing to swim, I accepted the task of double duty (everything on land) once again.

Two weeks ago, this was the first time we teamed up & took 2nd. It was hot, humid and windy. The odds were stacked against us but by the grace of God, our combined efforts brought us from 5th to the top of the podium. We were dubbed 1st male relay, but actually, we beat every team, regardless of category. I was fortunate to perform well enough to help the team despite the extra stress from an ex girlfriend making a scene over a situation created by her; God is good. Happy that finishers medals were given, not so pleased with the award medals & lesser categories.

Congrats to all finishers, including the ex.

Who knee oh!

Who knee oh! That's how June is pronounced in Spanish!

Saturday agenda-race?

I found the following:

1. NW track & field (actually began Friday)
2. 13.1 Chicago
3. road warriors 1800 mile run
4. summer sizzler

I normally do the former but on sunday since most of my events are on that day plus I have to wait all day; pass. #2 is eliminated=out of state. #4 began today but goes thru July 4th. I just don't have that kind of time nor endurance; 86ed! I was planning on the latter but since I'd have to travel to west coast of Florida under rain conditions and limited time, I decided against it, taking into account for injury as well. Instead, I pulled out my inlines & rolled a 10 k.

Sunday agenda-race!

1. cleft lip and palate 5k
2. trifecta #1
3. Naples du

Passed on the middle one because I had no swimmer. I would normally do the former, especially since it's a local race but opted for the latter because it's an inaugural.

This was the first duathlon in Naples since ??? It is almost my first individual duathlon of the year! It was hot and humid as expected but surprisingly, not windy. First run, no problem, except for the boardwalk section (over a half mile of that). However, the bike was a struggle, especially when I went longer off course due to lack of signage and personnel. Once I got back on the run, I hung in there to finish. By the grace of God, I won my age group. I was the dead last person to finish under an hour (16 oa). Ready for the next one!

inaugural weekend

I dub this inaugural weekend because both events I did were the first! What a way to open June. Not to forget, yesterday marked the official beginning of hurricane season.

Saturday agenda-race!

The choice was simple, motivation man triathlon if I could get a swimmer, or caba 5k if not; at the last moment, Tommy agreed, making the former possible.

All the people I wanted bowed out, including somebody who said yes last week then backed out on hump day! Although unproved, Tommy stepped up & agreed. I had the dreaded double duty (bike 40k then run 10k). Since a half iron option was available, I cant complain because that would've been much worse.

It was a mission for me to get there (downtown west palm beach) by 7 pm from south of zoo Miami. In fact, I failed but was close. I was allowed to rack the bike as required the day before but was given the run around regarding the tech shirts. The staff was too lazy to unpack them & said come back in morning. I did that, met with my teammate, got chip but still denied the tech shirts. They said they will give them to me at award ceremony in the evening.

All that I feared seemed to happen. It was hot, humid & windy, plus the bike course was filled with rolling hills. After I dismounted, I was spent. By the grace of God, I got through the 'longest' 10k, barely breaking an hour, and our team was 2nd male Olympic relay! I got to ceremony late and they still didn't call us until another hour later. When I asked for those tech shirts, guess what happened? Yep, denied with excuse they were stolen!

Sunday agenda-race!

Another inaugural event, run for the ribbons, was held at Lynn cancer institute and was for a good cause. I didn't know what to expect since I was still somewhat exhausted from the tri relay. I was a bit tired and tight as expected. It was hot & humid but less windy. When the dust cleared, I was just under mid 20's, bad but better than I thought may happen. Praise the Lord, I got 2nd, a nice glass age win. No master title was offered.

Later on, I visited the twilight run with a cameo appearance from Linda! She did her first race of the year while I did a training racewalk. We had lots of fun, and burnt lots of calories while exercising. After that, I went home to watch the heat lose in OT. I blame the refs with a bad call that cause the king to foul out.