4th of July 5k, surfing dogs and firework shananigans!

The surf is STILL flat.

According to my "marathon training schedule" Saturday is my rest day and Sundays are to be my "long" run days. In an ideal world I'll usually be surfing on Saturday mornings. Mother Nature is NOT being nice as of lately and the offshore wind has blessed us with hot days for so long that the swell actually is starting at the beach and going out to sea. Knowing this and looking for something to expel my ridiculous amount of energy on I discovered Friday night that there is a 5k race at 7 a.m. Saturday.

The 4th of July Southeast Volusia YMCA Family Fun 5k Walk/Run to be more precise.

On a whim I got up early and drove my butt down to the park and registered (pre-race sunrise pictured above). Here's a brief recap of how it went.

6:45 a.m. -- Registered and ready to go. I hear my name and turn around to see a friend I graduated high school with that now lives in Tampa. He runs marathons and competes in triathlons. There goes my chance at winning my age division.
7 a.m. -- Wish Tampa Buddy "good luck" and race begins.
7:02 a.m. -- Decide that pacing Tampa Buddy is an extremely BAD idea and look for a better suitable runner to pace.
7:05 a.m. -- Tall skinny girl slowly passes me and I decide to try and stay with her, besides the scenery is quite nice. LOL.
7:11 a.m. -- Almost to the halfway (turn around) point. Tall skinny girl pulls away. This makes me angry. "All Down Hill from Here," by New Found Glory begins on my iPod.
7:14 a.m. -- By my count before passing the halfway point I am in 18th place. The runners ahead of me are so far ahead that at times I can't see any of them. I feel alone. There is another large pack of runners a minute or two behind me. Why do I have to have the strange pace with everyone either way ahead or far behind.
7:18 a.m. -- I notice two runners behind me not far back.
7:19 a.m. -- Cramps begin under my right side rib cage.
7:20 a.m. -- I slow down ever so slightly and it is now apparent the two runners behind are pacing ME! This makes me more angry. Cramp continues.
7:22 a.m. -- Forced to slow down more due to cramp.
7:23 a.m. -- Two pacing runners pass me as the finish line is in sight and I am unable to lay chase due to annoying cramp.
7:24:35 a.m. -- I cross the finish line feeling like my rib cage is about to explode. Immediately drink water and eat banana.
7:24:50 a.m. -- Tampa Buddy tells me that there was a stealth runner our age that beat us both, but he took 2nd in our age division with a time just under 21 minutes.

I finished 20th overall and took 3rd in my age division. They gave me a goofy looking medal. It was the first 5k race I've run in six months. It was also the first time I ever stuck around for awards although there have been other times I've won my age division. Much faster times. My personal best time in a race was the IOA Corporate 5k in Orlando 3 years ago. I finished in 21:15. All I remember was being very motivated NOT to let a fat girl pass me. I was also in very good shape from rehabbing myself after a kidney surgery operation. It appears that I have some work to do if I'll ever reach that speed again. Getting old sucks sometimes! This was only the 5th race of my life so I'm satisfied... for now.

After the race I checked the surf only to be let down by the inevitable. Still flat. To cool down I threw my 9'6" Ron Jon longboard on top of the Jeep and leashed up my dog, Tucker, for a little experiment. I call this longboard the "Log" because it's 3.5 inches thick and basically a beater board that's fun on small days or for beginners. It's banged up so bad that I don't mind abusing it a little. We went straight to the dog beach and I felt like I was in Cuba. I don't think we heard any English spoken the entire time. This is a sharp contrast from the way it normally is down there. So much for meeting some new people or a girl. My Spanish sucks (need to start working on it if I'm going to Puerto Rico).

My plan was to get Tucker on the front of the board, me on the back and be able to paddle down the river with Tucker as my passenger. This plan started well, but we only accomplished Tucker sitting on the board by himself, me sitting on the board with him, me getting on my knees and attempted to paddle and both of us capsizing into the water. This was quite the entertainment for the Spanish-speaking people on the beach. We didn't surf any waves, but I'm writing it off as a success. Tucker is a bit clumsy, but seriously, who isn't their first time on a surfboard??? Maybe next time we'll be a little more mobile!

To finish off the holiday I gathered with the Cooper Street gang. There was a block party going on and we eventually ended up at a Tavern down the street listening to a 80s cover band called The A Team that absolutely rocked the house. I'll close with this video of our friend Greg showing the reason why you should NOT light fireworks while intoxicated! To Greg's credit he did an excellent job providing firework entertainment a little later at the block party!