who knee oh!

who knee oh, that's how you pronounce this month in Spanish. Today marks the 1 yr Anniversary of the death of 2 icons, the king of pop, Michael Jackson & my poster pin up favorite as a child, Farah Fawlett. May they rest in peace. This day is a stark reminder of the reality that life is short. We need to praise the Lord for whatever blessings we have, like running. Train & race while you can; I know I will.

Saturday agenda-5k

This is the last weekend of month in which I can race. I could've & would've done the freedom 5k in Broward but the allure of being in a 5k series was just overwhelming. I rolled the dice and made the trek to Naples for race #1. My chances were good as it went 5 deep in age groups, just what I needed on memorial day. I ran well for 2 miles before I began to fade. However, it was miminal as it was in the last mile that I advanced to the 4th overall position. I managed to capture the master title, even though all the awards looked the same and had no division distinctions. I saw that unique glass awards were to be given. I was thinking that the award would be made out of glass but came to find out they were drinking glasses; can't say they lied. They had decent post race refreshments. This was an inaugural race (love those) and held in Sugden park (was beautiful).

Sunday agenda-adventure race.

Remember this line of a rap song - 'you can meet on the trail, it's going down'? I do & it did. Down2earth put on a trail race of three distances- 5k, 10k & half marathon. I did the latter because I needed to do a long run. I was made to pay for that decision. This was my first ever trail event, so you can bet I didn't sleep well (anxious & nervous). It is also my last race of the month. The race start was scheduled for 7:30, late enough for a distance event; try over a half hour later! It was extremely hot & humid, spared from the worst by the shady course. The most treacherous part was the 1st loop, which went through a stream, making my shoes wet immediately. Lots of mud, rocks & roots but worse were the slower people from the shorter races blocking the very narrow paths. I did a lot of ducking, dodging & jumping to avoid them & maintain some speed but ultimately, that would wear me down. Judging by time, it seems I may have only done ten miles but it was the toughest training run I have done thus far this year. I got blisters within that first loop & suffered throughout the race. Post race was horrific as there was no food whatsoever. However, water & mix one was available.