As the above picture illustrates beautifully, the race yesterday was an awesome way to open the season. This is my third 2575 event and my third time on the podium. What made yesterday even sweeter, however, was the move from 3rd place to second and the fact that I finished 14 minutes ahead of last year. Fourteen minutes??!? Granted, the course was different: the first two 2575 races were held in my backyard on Key Biscayne. This year, because of the construction mess on the causeway, all of our KB races have had to change venue to one degree or another. So 2575 moved north to Fort Lauderdale to a very flat, very fast and relatively scenic course right along the beach.

The race was also bigger this year. The last two times, I don’t think there were any more than a few hundred athletes but this year the race sold out it’s max capacity of 500. I don’t actually think there were 500 people on the course. Looking through the results (which is what I’ve been doing for the last two hours) it seems like the field was closer to 350-400 people. But I can’t tell exactly.

In terms of conditions, it was a pretty perfect day. Cool in the morning, a little bit overcast with wind out of the Northwest. The swim was northbound with the current and it was wet suit legal so it was bound to be fast. But historically speaking, none of those bonus conditions that tend to make everybody else super happy have ever had any effect on me (with the exception of Augusta) during the swim. I’ve always just sorta suffered no matter what. Yesterday things changed.

I had the race swim I’ve been waiting to have for the last year and a half. I came in 2+ minutes under my estimate, which one could attribute to the current. But the good thing about race conditions is that they’re the same for everyone on the course. So if the swim is fast, it’s fast for the fastest swimmers and the slowest. If the current is against you, it’s also against the former all-state freestyle champ swimming 2 minutes ahead of you. Yesterday, I was less than a minute behind one of the strongest swimmers on my team and neck-and-neck with another teammate who is male and 22 years old and absurdly fit. So good conditions, bad conditions, my swimming has improved.

Our wave was the largest. They put all age group women in with all the men 25 and under and all the men 50 and over. So it was a friggin’ washing machine in there. And not just at the start. It was legs and arms and elbows and people gasping for breath and frog kicking and backstroking into you for the whole swim. And yet somehow, I was able to come out of the water  in the top 3rd of my AG as opposed to the bottom third like normal. When I came into transition, my bike wasn’t the only one left. Regardless of the way the waves are staggered, that is still a huge psychological bonus.

For the first time ever, I swam the whole distance freestyle without having to breast stroke or roll over on my back for recovery. I was able to swim through the fatigue in my shoulders and I had complete control over my breathing. The hardest part was heading back to shore after the last buoy because at that point the current was working against me as I tried to aim straight for the swim-out chute. I made it though and was psyched when I looked at my watch. Not only psyched, actually, a little shocked.

Of course, I got out of the water and immediately had to run across 100 meters of loose beach sand while trying to strip out of my soggy wetsuit and catch my breath. Fun fun fun. But I felt pretty fantastic all things considered and ready to see what I could do on the bike. This was my first race on Starbuck and my first race since I started doing the high intensity training.

I’m not going to go into great detail about the bike mostly because I was disappointed with my performance. But only after the fact. Because that’s my MO. I’d been aggressive with my estimate the night before because, well, because I feel like it’s time to start setting more challenging goals for myself. Goals that are not totally delusional but also not totally wimpy. I figured the course was so flat, I could probably get a 20mph avg. I didn’t really account for the twisty-ness of the course. It was two loops, so already we’re dealing with multiple u-turns and then a couple of right and left turns that slowed things down considerably and then there was the headwind on the way back. So I don’t think I pushed enough in the first three miles, although I was going 23-24mph with the wind. Even that didn’t cover  the inevitable slow-down during miles 5-6 and 11-12.

I was gauging my energy output based on how my legs felt (HR monitor on the fritz) so when they started to burn, I pulled back, especially going into the wind, for fear of blowing my load before the run. In the last mile, I did something that was maybe stupid and I decided to spin into a lower gear to move some lactic acid and get my legs going faster in prep for the run. I say it was dumb because I don’t think it made a lick of difference on the run and it cost me time on the bike. Maybe not much time but time is time. Ultimately, my bike was 4 minutes off what I’d been hoping to do and not that much better than my sprints from last year.

Remember when I said I wasn’t going to go into this in great detail? Well, because I’m crazy and have too much time on my hands, I averaged out the top bike times from each female category. The first place female elite amateur had the best bike split at 34:35; the first place female 18-24 age grouper had the slowest with 49:32. So what did this obsessive number crunching get me? The realization that I am the average. But at least, I’m the average of the best. Enough.

The run. The run felt hard. I went aggressive with my run estimate as well and was hoping to actually beat my most recent 5K road race time. I don’t know why I thought that was going to be possible but it wasn’t. At least not yesterday. I was off by a minute from my PR and 1:43 off my estimate. But whatever, I finished first in my AG on the run so that’s cool. Still, it was a LONG mile and a half to the turnaround. I’d gone through about 20 oz of Perform on the bike so I felt adequately hydrated but I ended up taking half a caffeinated chocolate Power Gel around mile 1 and the other half around mile 2 to avoid any potential bonk.

We had the same headwind on the run that we’d had on the bike so the way home was rough. But my legs felt good and my breathing was fine despite the fact that I was way high in the zones at this point. I really, really, really wanted to win my age group. I went into this race wanting to win my age group and at mile 2 of the run, that desire to win had not faded. Of course, as an age grouper, it’s not like you really know who your competition is. Maybe you know a name or you’ve seen someone at a race before but it’s not like you’re prepping with a specific competitor in mind. But in this sport, the person you really have to be ready to tackle is you. You have to be willing to destroy your own mind. That’s one of the things I love about triathlon because as any of my closest friends will tell you, I absolutely love to beat myself up.

That said, right before mile 2 on the run, this chick sidled up alongside of me and said, “You’re doing really great, great run, I’ve been following you for a while.” I thanked her as she passed me and she said, “Don’t worry, I’m not in your age group.” And I said, “Then go get it!” I was running around 7:20 pace at that point so she must have been hovering right around 7:00. I kept her in my sights until the very end. With a mile left to go, I saw her sidle up alongside another chick and then pass her. I quickened my pace at that point and starting closing in on the other chick. I checked out her leg, saw that she was in my age group and was like, “Fuck that noise.” Until that moment, I had no idea what other women were in front of me. All I thought was, if she’s the only one up there and I have the chance to take her, I’m taking her immediately. Especially, with less than a mile to go.

I didn’t really have to pick up the pace that much. Just a touch so get beyond her. Then there was the realization that she’d probably see the number on my leg and, if she was any kind of competitor, that might be the boost she’d need to kick into gear. So with that thought rolling around in my head, I knew there was no slowing down. In fact, I absolutely had to speed up enough to keep the gap wide or force her into a home stretch burn out. I took it down under 7:00 for the last several hundred meters. It hurt. It hurt a lot but the thought that this woman might catch up to me was enough to keep me going.

I got through the finish like 14 seconds ahead of her and then discovered that there was indeed one woman who had beaten me through the shoot by about 50 seconds. But because of that extra push at the end, I moved up in the rank from last year. Hard work and performance addiction pays off.

It was a really big day for the whole team. Six of us placed and got to take home fancy hardware.

Below is a pic of me with my teammates JD (who took first in his notoriously tough AG and 27th overall) and Mike (third in HIS notoriously tough AG). I train and race with these guys all the time so it was nice to be on the podium with them, even if it was only for the photo op. If the day comes when I’m actually able to beat Mike in any of the three events, I’ll have to turn pro.

Somehow I got camera shy during the awards ceremony:

And then got my mojo back:

The rest of the day looked a little like this:

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday in March.

Addendum:

I just realized that if you’re a tri person reading this blog, a lot of what I’ve written will mean nothing without my splits. If you’re a non-tri person reading this blog, you’re like, “what the F is a split?” And even if you know what a split is, then mine will mean nothing to you without some frame of reference. So I’m going to post my splits (the times for each event) along with the splits of the woman who got first in my age group and the top female elite amateur. So you know what’s what.

Top Female Elite:
Age 28, Finish time: 1:10:04
Swim time: 12:10,
Transition 1: 1:41
Bike time: 34:35
Run time: 21:41

1st Place Female 35-39:
Age: 36, Finish time: 1:20:17
Swim time: 15:31
T1: 1:51
Bike time: 38:49
Run time: 24:07

My Splits:
Age: 34*, Finish time: 1:21:07
Swim Time: 15:43
T1: 1:35
Bike time: 40:07
Run time: 23:43

* USAT decides age based on how old you’ll be on December 31st of the current year so even though I don’t turn 35 until September, I had to race in the next age group. But it actually worked out in my favor this time since the field was much more competitive this time around. Had I raced in my old category, I would have placed 6th.

Addendum to the Addendum:

I was looking at my Garmin time yesterday and I realized that there was a  big discrepancy between what the machine had calculated as my run time and what the race results folks had calculated. This happens sometimes. You’re racing, your head is spinning, you hit the lap button a few seconds too early or too late, and your time is a wee bit off. But the race results had me running about 45 seconds slower than my Garmin, which calculated distance at EXACTLY 3.1 miles. I was scratching my head trying to figure this one out and then one of my teammates solved the mystery for me: the race did not include T2 in their calculations, only T1. So they added the T2 time to the run total and that’s where my 42ish seconds went. So my run time was actually 23 minutes pretty much on the nose. So I was only a minute off my prediction as opposed to almost 2 minutes. Now I’ll be able to sleep.

“I’m very sorry for the organization of the tournament and I’m very sorry for the fans, but we never thought we’d be able to play all matches possible since I came back,” said Nadal.

Nadal won the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday at Indian Wells, California. It was his third title in four tournaments since returning in February after seven months off with the knee injury.  He said he decided to skip the Sony Open so he could rest his knee.

“The doctors recommend me to be back home for a few weeks and rest a little bit and keep practicing the right way. I need more power on the left leg quadriceps, so I need to keep working hard. The competition is hard for the body, so after four fantastic weeks I can’t go to Miami. I need to prepare and rest for the next one.”

Sony Open tournament director Adam Barrett says he’s disappointed that Nadal won’t be competing in Miami.

Nadal says he next plans to play on clay in Monte Carlo in mid-April, followed by two tournaments in his home country of Spain — Barcelona and Madrid — and then Rome.

This is not the first time Nadal has opted not to compete at the Key Biscayne tournament. In 2012, Nadal withdrew from the Sony Ericsson’s semifinals just two hours before the scheduled start of his match. He cited a left knee injury.

Nadal has never won the championship at Key Biscayne.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

This restaurant is not only famous for their perfect way of cooking the fish; it is also famous for the  rustic, comfy feel it gives. It also has a great view of the ocean and different kinds of exotic animals such as iguanas, pelicans and many more.

Source: Google images

Source: Google images

Transportation Services

With great weather, the biggest names in tennis and an atmosphere designed for both family fun and the party crowd the 2013 Sony Open is again the hottest ticket in Miami.

Take in the sights of South Beach, Miami and Fort Lauderdale without the hassle of traffic or the worry of misdirection — let Infinity Transportation be your personal car service in and around Key Biscayne for all the exciting events of the Sony Open.

Infinity Transportation is fully licensed and insured transportation service with an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). All of our chauffeurs are professionally licensed and trained in providing top-notch service.

We provide service to and from Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and Palm Beach International Airport. Whether it is transportation around Key Biscayne, to and from Crandon Park or the nightlife of South Beach and Coconut Grove, Infinity Transportation should be your first call for all your private car needs.

Infinity Transportation can also provide all your travel needs to the preferred hotels for the Sony Open:

The Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne
455 Grand Bay Drive
Key Biscayne, FL 33149
(305) 365-4500

EPIC Hotel Miami
270 Biscayne Blvd Way
Miami, FL 33131
(305) 424-5226

Grove Isle Hotel & Spa
4 Grove Isle Drive
Miami, FL 33133
(305) 858-8300

JW Marriott Marquis Miami
255 Biscayne Blvd Way
Miami, FL 33131
(305) 421-8600

Conrad
1395 Brickell Ave
Miami, Fl, FL 33131
(305) 503-6500

Courtyard Marriott
2649 South Bayshore Drive
Miami, FL 33133
(305) 858-2500

200 SE 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33131
(305) 374-3000

Four Seasons
1435 Brickell Avenue
Miami, FL 33131
(305) 358-3535

Hilton
1601 Biscayne Blvd.
Miami, FL 33132
(305) 374-0000

Hotel Urbano
2500 Brickell Avenue
Miami, FL 33129
(305) 854-2070

Hyatt Regency
400 SE 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33131
(305) 358-1234

JW Marriott
1109 Brickell Avenue
Miami, FL 33131
(305) 329-3500

Mayfair Hotel
3000 Florida Avenue
Coconut Grove, FL 33133
(305) 441-0000

Marriott Biscayne Bay
1633 N. Bayshore Drive
Miami, FL 33132
(305) 374-3900

Marriott South Beach
161 Ocean Drive
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 536-7700

Ritz Carlton
3300 SW 27th Avenue
Miami, FL 33133
(305) 644-4680

Sonesta
2889 McFarlane Road Road
Coconut Grove, FL 33133
(305) 529-2828

Miami ugly days are still paradise, originally uploaded by miamism.

]]> http://miamismpix.com/2013/03/12/key-biscayne-beach-10/ Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:26:45 +0000 miamism http://miamismpix.com/2013/03/12/key-biscayne-beach-10/

Key Biscayne Beach, originally uploaded by miamism.

There are moments when all anxiety and stated toil are becalmed in the infinite leisure and repose of nature ­~~ Henry David Thoreau

Our fine feathered friends snapped with my Canon SX50HS

Feather friend snapped with my Canon SX50HS

These are a couple shots we got on Key Biscayne. You can find some more of his work on my portfoloio page.

Miami, Florida

© Championship Tennis Tours. All Rights Reserved.

From the streets of South Beach to the modern courts at the Sony Open, there is something for everyone in the city of Miami.  Celebrities and travelers from all around the world visit Miami for the sun and the tennis!

Crandon Park Tennis Center and the Stadium, is home to the Sony Open Tennis Tournament, a 12-day tennis tournament.

Rob Lowe At 2013 Sony Open With Spanish Player David Ferrer. Photo credit: HauteLiving.com

Golfer Rory McIlroy, center, of Northern Ireland, watches the match between Caroline Wozniacki, of Denmark, and Garbine Muguruza, of Spain, during the Sony Open tennis tournament in Key Biscayne, Fla., Saturday, March 23, 2013.

Tutto’s Marres: Guests who present a Sony Open ticket will receive a complimentary bottle of Prosecco. 2525 3 Ave, Miami; 305-858-2525

Located in Key Biscayne, the Sony Open is played at The Tennis Center at Crandon Park where the main court seats over 13,000 spectators.  There are many ways to get tickets for the event, but one of the simplest methods is to order a complete package which includes tickets and hotel accommodations.  However, individual tickets are also available as are customized packages to cater to your specific needs.

Sit center court with Championship Tennis Tours!

The 2013 Sony Open looks set to be another thriller as the highest level of competitors will be on display.  One of the most exciting players will be Serena Williams, the world’s number 1 ranked woman.  In a tight points race with Victoria Azarenka, the two will likely battle it out for the top spot, especially since Serena Williams will not partake in the BNP Paribas Open earlier in March.

The Men’s field also features most of the world’s top ranked players and will be highlighted by Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal, who is making a comeback from his knee injury.

My Miami photos snapped with my Canon SX50HS

The lane opening provides a second lane to travelers heading to the village, reports CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald. The change comes nearly two months after structural flaws nearly shut down the bridge.

Public works administrators said they reconfigured the roadway to make more room for the second lane. On Wednesday, the first day it was in use, they said vehicular and bike traffic flowed smoothly to and from Key Biscayne, on what used to be the eastbound-only lanes headed to Key Biscayne.

Two ad-hoc westbound lanes remain in place, next to a dedicated bicycle/pedestrian lane, along the north side of the bridge.

The bridge’s westbound lanes on the structure’s south side have been completely shut down since the Florida Department of Transportation raised concerns with the county about the condition of exposed steel beams and girders in early January. The westbound half of the bridge was built in 1944; its eastern counterpart is much younger, built in 1983 in concrete-encased beams.

Though alternate planning has been underway for well over a month, county and Key Biscayne leaders are still concerned about the March 18 opening of the two-week Sony Open tennis tournament at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on Key Biscayne.

A month ago, hoping to speed up repairs, county commissioners waived the usual competitive bidding process, giving firms two weeks instead of the usual six to bid on the repair work. The repair job is still expected to take almost a year, and cost close to $31 million.

To finance the plan the county will issue bonds which will be paid off with toll receipts. Commissioners voted last month to raise the toll for cars to $1.75 from $1.50.

A casualty of the Bear Cut repair plan will be the Crandon Park Marina boat launch, which will shut down for two weeks from March 18-31, as the bridge undergoes repairs. Alternate county launch sites are no where near Key Biscayne.

The locations are: Herbert Hoover Marina at Homestead Bayfront Park, 9698 SW 328th St., Black Point Marina, 24775 SW 87th Ave., Matheson Hammock Marina, 9610 Old Cutler Rd., Pelican Harbor Marina, 1275 NE 79th St., and Bill Bird Marina at Haulover Park, 10800 Collins Ave.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed to this report.)

A & I spent five days in Miami on our own a few weeks ago.  It’s great for a mini-break since it’s only two and a half hours away from San Juan and perfect for a little dose of “city” and to cure island fever.

We slept the first two nights at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach and borrowed S’s luxurious convertible so we could drive around and explore the city.  On the first day, we walked to Lincoln and had a quick lunch at Paul and headed back to our beautiful beach-front suite.  The following day was spent walking the hip and happening Design District which keeps getting better since we first visited it in 2010.  A few more boutiques and restaurants have opened and I’m sure that soon, this area will be filled with interesting stores and fun places to eat.  As usual, we had lunch at our favorite Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink which we never miss when we’re in Miami, then did some retail therapy at the swanky boutiques nearby.  We also had dinner at nearby Khong River House and further out at Zuma, in Brickell’s bustling area.

Our last two nights were at the Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne where all we did was relax and enjoy the sun, sand, beach and pool.  We literally spent two days lying on a sun lounger doing nothing much except eat and read.  We had lunch right on the beach at Dune (grilled shrimp salad and a fish sandwich with crispy sweet potato fries) on the first day then another al fresco lunch on our last day (hummus, baba ghanoush and taboule with warm pita bread, a Spanish-influenced plate of pan con tomate, marinated anchovies, roasted peppers and mussels and octopus then a slider trio: tuna, Angus beef and turkey) right by the pool.  The food was simple yet delicious plus there were perfect poolside treats like frozen grapes, sunscreen, buckets of Fiji and lots of magazines.

Four days were a bit short but it was enough for both of us to enjoy some quiet time and breathe after the busy holiday season.  Next trip will probably be Florida again with the kids then hopefully, further on the west coast to sunny California.

1. Venetian Pool: Created in 1923 from a coral rock quarry, this public pool takes swimming to a whole new level. The 820,000 gallon pool is the only pool to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and features loggias, porticos, beautiful grottos, striped pillars, and a Venetian-style bridge.

2. Neptune Memorial Reef: Just of Key Biscayne, the Neptune Memorial Reef is the largest man-made reed ever conceived. It was designed to resemble the feel of an Atlantis-style lost city with columns, statues, and detailed structures beneath the water’s surface. Once completed, the reef will span over 16 acres. The creators of the reef, Neptune Society, estimate that the reef will become the final resting place for 100,000 people. It is free and accessible to all visitors.

3. Ancient Spanish Monastery: The story of this monastery is remarkable! William Randolph Hearst bought the structure in Spain in 1925. He then had it disassembled stone by stone and shipped from Sacramenia to the US. His financial problems caused the pieces to sit in storage for 26 years before they were purchased and put back together by two entrepreneurs in 1953. The monastery serves as an Episcopal church now.

4. William Wagner House: The oldest house in Miami-Dade County is located in Lummus Park. It was built back in the 1850s when William Wagner was homesteading on a tributary of the Miami River. Visitors are often shocked that anyone could live in such conditions- no air conditioning, screens, and very little comforts.

5. Coral Castle: This sculpture garden was created by a Latvian immigrant who was jilted by his fiancé, Agnes Scuffs, just one day before the wedding. The sculpture garden was erected in such a strange way that many believe he had supernatural powers. Between the years of 1923 to 1951, he carved over 1,100 tons of coral rock all by himself. It is unknown how Leeskalnin, who was a mere 5 foot tall and only weighed 100 pounds, created and moved the giant stone sculptures. He died without revealing the mystery.

Churchill has short-term rental apartments throughout Florida. Please contact us at 866-255-0593 or email Florida@furnishedhousing.com for more information.