RHINO AND RIVALS

That was me. All 193 pounds of me, running in the Hermes 10-miler-5 k. I ran the 5k. It was one of those goal races, I had on the calendar. My news is good. The news on my son, Patrick is way, way better. Set it up. Warm overnight, but cooling just a bit before we raced. It even rained for the first 4-5 minutes of the race. No biggie. My goal was to average 8:10 per mile.

Mile #1, 7:33. Thats good. Patrick ran with me the first 200 yards and then, I said"Don'l let me drag you down". He agreed and was gone in a flash. I knew the 7:33 was a bit quick and I naturally slowed down in mile #2. Hit that mark in 15:57 total. Slowed down a little bit more in the third mile and finished in 25:06. My average ...8:06 per mile. I just beat my goal!!!! Good enough for a 43rd overall out of 175 runners. I was 4th in my age group, out of...4 guys..but hey, I would have won the womens 30-34!!!! Should I get that sex change operation???? Anyway, I felt I ran it as hard as I could have. There was not much left. Patrick, who only 2 and a half years ago, was a smoker and not much of an exercise guy, turned in a perfect average of 7:00 per mile. He was 10th overall and won his 25-29 age group.!!!!!! I am really proud of him. Last year, he got into triathlons, and finished 2 sprints and one oly. His oly was 2:35 at Portage Lakes. He is doing incredibly well.

Doctor Jodi ran the 10 miler, and I was unable to stick around and see how she finished. I checked her results online and I figure she will drop a post on the race, so if you are able...stop by her blog and see how she did. (Jodi Blog Link)

The past weeks training was as good as the one before. I had 3 long runs at North Chagrin. The longest of 1 hour 45 minutes. 2 Spin classes and one long weight session. The nicer the weather, the more, I head to the trails and I would rather hit the hills than a gym.

Next race??? Rite-Aid Half Marathon on May 18th. Goal. 1:53. We'll see. Soon, the triathlon season will be here.

You see Ali. You see Frazier. Those two were the perfect rivals in boxing in the heavyweight division. Rivals are the rocket fuel that propell the intensity of sports. In my neck of the woods, its the Browns vs the Steelers. Ohio State vs Michigan. I grew up in Euclid, Ohio. Back then, it was my Euclid Panthers vs the St. Joe Vikings.

Rivals have the ability to transcend sports. In triathlon, we hear of Macca vs Norman Stadler, but the battles between Mark Allen and Dave Scott were legendary. This link takes you to a video of the 1989 Ironman. There are 4 or 5 parts. That year, Mark Allen broke through and won. It was the first of his 6 titles. Scott also won 6 times. They had epic battles on the lava fields of Kona. Their rivalry overshadowed everything else in the sport.

Who do you recognize as your fierce rival??? What competitor brings out the best in you??? Or is it just the distance that you measure and strive against???