first of last

first of last, what? Yep, this is the first weekend of the last month of 2012. Christmas is just 2 dozen days away!

Friday agenda-race

The marathon of palm beaches held a 5k & 10k last night but due to distance & duties (close at work), I had to pass on it. Congrats to those who raced, especially teammate Jon W. Heard both events were longer than usual.

Saturday agenda-race?

Found a lot of events today:

1. reggae marathon (half & 10 k)
2. spartan race CA
3. Savannah river bridge run
4. Santa hustle IL
5. the royal 5k
6. cca 5k
7. reindeer trot
8. cross country jingle bell jog
9. running with Danny road race

You may automatically eliminate all events out of FL: 1-5. I don't know where #7 was held nor #9 so scratch those. I like both of the remaining so I chose normal footing over grass.

External conditions=comfortable but windy, internal conditions=stomach & tired. I had to contend with a lot of kids plus the aforementioned but when the dust cleared, I won my age group, praise the Lord. However, time was still unacceptable & position worse (not even in bakers dozen). Everybody got medals. Average post race.

Sunday agenda-race?

Some more events today:

a. spartan race CA
b. Brandon half & 5k
c. palm beaches marathon (& half)
d. Hollywood half

With enough in tri-county area, wipe out a & b. I normally go to c. but decided on the inaugural instead. It was poorly done but hopefully will improve next year. What I liked were the finishers medal, friendly race organizers & a new course for a change.

The following short comings must be rectified:

1. cotton T's to men (ladies got tech shirts)
2. only top 3 overall, no age groups
3. insufficient water stations
4. no sports drink offered
5. insufficient restroom facilities (had ladies in men's room)
6. horrific post race (only bananas & water)
7. website kept referring to CA when info regarding FL needed
8. fee, especially considering what was offered
9. no clocks at mile markers (a great option)

I used this as a training run and was an unofficial sub 2 hour pacer and had fun, so I recommend others to give it a try, especially if you want a new experience.