Deerfield

The Deerfield dilemma is in reference to doing to events in the general area, in addition to the outcome of events. In order to save time & distance, I had to drive up Friday from work in Dade county to pick up my packet in Broward county for the du, then meet up with friends in Palm beach county. Along the way, I was met with the normal bumper to bumper after work traffic, plus rain.

Saturday agenda-Publix duathlon

This event featured a triathlon as their main event, duathlon & open mile swim, plus for fire fighters, a beach blowout challenge. Since I am a land lover, I did the du. In the lead run, I was about 5th place but struggled in both transitions & on the bike. This dilemma was tantamount to Dwayne Wade's poor performance in the playoffs & it cost me the top slot, albeit only by 6 seconds. Although the winner, 17 years old, was in the lead through out the race after the 1st transition blunder, I was unknowingly reducing the lead & could've have caught him & possibly beat him had I been aware. Unfortunately, there's no way to know how someone signed up nor keep track once the du & tri combine in transition. The kid almost got beat by an old man! He's now on notice & I'm sure we're both going to step up our game. Although not as good as last year, this still qualified as a 5 star flash race, with both a breakfast & small lunch. No hot meal this time but plenty to indulge upon. An improvement was made in regards to the award. Instead of the normal wood plaque, they gave out the one similar to the ocean drive 5k (glass), only to all that placed, not just the top (thank goodness).

Sunday morning agenda-Audi scholarship run

This event featured both a 10k & a 5k and was put on by Premier running, soccer & tri, the store who's race team I am a member of. We had good representation at this event. If you use I-95, you'll pass briefly through Deerfield but head west toward Parkland, where the event was actually held. Because of its proximity, I still deem it as part of the Deerfield dilemma. When asked which one (10k or 5k), many were startled by my response, "both". Mathematically, this was possible because the 10k was scheduled for 6:45 am, while the 5k was for 7:30. The dilemma was that the former started late & the latter, early. As I crossed the finish line for the 10k, the other race just took off. Because of this, I was the last runner to start in the 5k & got lost on the poorly marked course. When the dust cleared, I had finished with times commensurate to my estimates. In regards to the 10k, I knew that the wind & the bridge would slow my pace. As far as the 5k, I calculated for the fatigue factor but not for the logistic errors of the race officials. By the grace of God, I placed in both events, bringing back memories of the days of old, when I was much younger. Guess what? This qualified as a flash race due to the food & drink. I'd say 4 stars because no hot meals were served for breakfast, such as pancakes & no lunch. The overalls got normal tall trophies, but however, age group winners got a unique Apollo-like trophy (track shoe with wings). That was the only one of that type I ever got in my 16 year history; I love it!

Sunday evening agenda-twilight 5k

I did not register for this one, despite doing it last year, for the following reasons: 1. insufficient funds, 2. only give out gift certificates, no tangible awards, 3. ran 2 events prior on the same day, 4. past history of success (in the run, I have never placed & in the walk, the past few events, joggers were allowed to win). However, I still needed to show in order not to disappoint many friends & to do my training walk. I knew this was a flash race, & I give as 4 stars as well. Only a small fast food dinner but lots to eat. I helped the top walker by pacing on the side.