Why no race letter 2019?
Forrest Gump did say, "what's the point," or after 14 years, I ran out of stories?
Many of you know that I have been trying to find a path to retirement.
I have worked in the business since I was seven, at 65 I would continue working if I could. Sneaking up on me is age and a body that deteriorated before its time. Standing in the way of extending the business without my full-time involvement is an unreliable un-trainable lazy young workforce and a company that continues to grow beyond my control. The year starting with a revolving door of millennials, and then the virus got the retirement ball rolling. It's time to end the 60 hour weeks and transition the business into a hobby by the end of the year.
Last year I missed more regular races because of unreliable employees then the year before. And the year before was fewer races than the year before.
I still find enjoyment and stress relief with racing, and there is that adrenalin rush as the start countdown gets to zero. When you are Interacting with other humans, weather, Murphy's law, or watching some idiot run into a parked car while texting, there will always be a story. The best stories always come from the races best described as "races I forgot not to enter."
The Readers Digest version of 2019 race stories.
Broad Street 10 miler in on a cold rainy day in early May.
I finished third in male masters, and after I visited the IRS tent, I am sent to the VIP tent to wait for the awards ceremony. The larger the race, the greater chance of crossing paths with idiots. These would be the two people that regulated entrance into the heated VIP tent with real food. The discussion was the number of steps on the awards podium. If there were three steps like every other year and every other award podium, I would be allowed to get out of the rain. If there were only two steps, I would be out in the rain dining on wet, cold Hot Pretzels.
2019 was my 13th Steamtown Marathon 8th Bird in Hand and other races where my participation is closing in on ten years.
Philly Marathon weekend.
Philly Sucks, but the Philly money is good. And the Philly start is the coolest start in racing. However, the money is thin as Philly only pays first place and only to the Push-rims. With only a few of us in the 8k, It was looking like I could collect another first-place check when the only person who could beat me popped a tire on his carbon-fiber disks, and he didn't have the tool to fix it. Even though I don't race my Carbon Fiber Zipps in Philly, I did have the tool he needed. As a Mechanic, I am pretty sure I took some kind of hypocritic oath that required me to fix his racer. A good time was had by all but no check for me, I did get to pass the IRS Tent without stopping.
Palm Beach revisited 2019.
2019 was my first trip back to the Palm Beaches since 2014. Palm Beach has become less convenient since my mother sold her Florida house. Palm Beach in December is still unique with its after dark 5k under the Christmas lights and the pre-dawn start for the Marathon.
Over the years, I have done well in the large and competitive Palm Beach adaptive class. Top 3's and 5's and a PR of one hour 35 minutes with the Handcycle. There was that airport hostage thing in 2013 but who holds a grudge. For 2014, I stepped way outside the box and attempted 26 miles with the push-rim. The four hours and 50 minutes on a perfect sunny 80 degree south Florida day was a personal athletic accomplishment. Even though I finished more than 2 hours after the winner in my group crossed the finish line, I finally figured out why people do what they do.
My 2020 winter race season started in January and ended quickly in mid-March. Every race either postponed or canceled. Many of these races are small volunteer committees with shoestring budgets raising money for charities. I had a check written to a mid-March race when I got the cancelation notice. I sent my registration with the note that it was a donation. These race directors purchased dated tee shirts, water, and awards. The next week another of my regular races was changed to virtual with the hope enough people would enter to cover some of the costs.
Some Race directors set-up challenges to keep the runners active. You need to realize racers who intended to race the spring distance events have been training for six months or more.
I had no interest in doing virtual racing; however, after I completed a few, I found I could challenge myself with my GPS and the Tatamy Trail.
For the last four months, I have been searching out races that were canceled live events with worthy charities. I have been trying to collect as many states as I can. My current count is five half marathons 15 10k's and a scattering of distances from 1 to 10 miles. My current count is 24 states and more than 24 hours of push-rim racing averaging six mph.
At this point, most of the spring races postponed until fall have been canceled along with most of the fall races. The Gettysburg Races have received permission to be live. Palm Beach early December hasn't canceled.
Some local live races are currently running; however, I have no interest in Bouncing Buns a clothing-optional race.
Secret Project number 36.
We are building a car.
This AC Cobra project has been in the works for more than three years. https://www.factoryfive.com/roadster/289-usrrc/ As I spent seven years of legal bills divorcing my sisters (business partnership), I needed a project. Three years ago, the project started with an $800.00 1987 mustang with 250,000 miles. I harvested the drive train for the kit. In January of 2019, I attended a build school in Michigan. In February of 2020, I ordered the kit that arrived in late May.
The 2019 race letter will eventually be finished and posted to the racing Blog with pictures and clips https://rentalbarn.blogspot.com/ There might be other stuff there you haven't read.
I will post Cobra updates linked to the racing blog.
Rob Leiser
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