Cinco de Mayo

Feliz cinco de Mayo, amigos! I completed 4 events: pre cinco de mayo=corporate run, cinco de mayo=run for the children & post cinco de mayo=swim bike & run triathlon, sprint & Olympic.

Thursday agenda-corporate run (5k)

Held on an unusual night, this was by far the largest 5k in south Florida. Because of its sheer size, the fact that only the overall winners can get an award & the requirements to be in this event (employed &/or sponsored by a company or corporation), I never took this one seriously. After work, I was tired & couldn't prepare as normal to run this. Also, this is more like the corporate walk, since most participants walk. Since I was not seeded, I was somewhere in the middle of the pack & went the gun went off, it took me 1 minute just to be able to move and another 2 minutes to get to the starting line! In addition to that, it was extremely hot, humid & had hills & bridges. Therefore, I mostly walked & jogged, with small spurts of actual running & finished with a dismal training time. I had fun & plenty to eat. If not associated with a company or two, you'd starve, otherwise, this was a great flash race, designed to satisfy all those weekend warriors.

Saturday agenda-run for the children 5k

I was committed to this race because it was put on by Premier Running, Soccer & Tri. I am proud to be on their race team & came to represent. Only problem is that I had been tight for nearly a week after the St Anthony fiasco & injury prior to that & my training was curtailed because of that. Worse, I almost didn't make there because the application had no directions. Luckily, God prompted me the night before to discover this & mapquest the address in order to get in the 'ballpark'. I spent about half an hour searching because there were about 5 churches but eventually, I found the host one. I passed up what would have been a fun event, much closer to home (Miracle mile by PRracing) & the one I was sorry I did last year at Metro zoo; both were in close proximity. It had been raining prior to the event, so I was afraid of more of the same during it. Fortunately, it held off & blocked the sun, making for a cooler run. This one had an unforgiving course, with 4 cul-de-sac turnarounds, that brought back the nightmare of the one 180 turnaround that caused me an injury. I sacrificed some time to ensure that would not be repeated. I managed to take the last master slot (3rd) behind Luiz & teammate, David. However, this was timed by accuchip, so much like the WWE, anything can happen. When I went back to jot down the time, I notice someone hand wrote another name, which caused a landslide or avalanche in the results, & I fell to age group. Disponded, I went to recover & change near my car, knowing it takes more time to get to my age group. Fortunately, an experienced person calling the awards recognized the bogus name/result & the correct results were restored (I finished 3rd master). Although attendance was low, the amenities were high & can qualify as a 3 star flash race. Like Arnold, "I'll be back".

Sunday agenda-swim, bike & run triathlon/duathlon.

Put on by multirace.com, this one offered the Olympic distance in both the triathlon & duathlon, plus a sprint triathlon. Y'all know me; I found a way to be involved with both. I set up a duathlon relay team, featuring Nicky in her first 10k & relay, plus was introduced to a new kid cyclist by former partner, Hector, of the team Orca. I also organized a sprint triathlon co-ed relay with Steve, the 3rd leg of the marathon of the Palm beaches marathon relay, & student/friend of his, Jenny, as the swimmer. My tasks were to set the tone for the du team by running a mile sprint, then passing off the cyclist. Once this occurs, my job is done with that team & I must prepare to switch to the tri team role as the anchor leg. I finished a close 2nd in the first leg of the du. I then did a few striders & fartleks with Nicky as cool down for me & a warm up for her. While doing that, I missed the exchange between the swimmer (came in quicker than I expected) & the biker. Once my cyclist came in, I took off. After crossing the finish line, I waited at mile 4 to pace Nicky & broke off at mile 5, with a message for her to maintain that pace (it was excellent).
The du cyclist (1st time on a relay) managed to ride well despite a flat & Nicky ran her 1st 10k in about 40 minutes. Although uncontested, the times by each individual on the du team was great. The tri team had to beat out 6 others in the same category to win the title. On cinco de Mayo, the du team was in 1st place in the series & the tri team was in 2nd. When the dust cleared, both teams held their rightful position at the top! Thank you all for your efforts. Your services will be requested again.

Honorable mention

Mike N won his age group, Luigi competed.