Title: More from The Villages
Tags: SEALs, marathon, swimming
Blog Entry: The Seal Fitness Challenge was held on March 29th. There were over 100 participants including about 12 residents of The Villages, of which I was one. The swim was first and not a problem; in fact, I even finished before some of the young men and women participants. After that it was a real challenge for me. I did the pushups and sit-ups, but not the minimum amount in the allotted time. As for the chin-ups, they helped me up so I got at least one in. I also completed the run. The other Villagers, both men and women did very well, a number of them completing most of the required exercises. When receiving my participant's t-shirt, I told the young SEAL, "Not bad for a guy on Medicare!" Our local Newspaper did a nice write up on us seniors and referred to us as Courageous! The article closed with the following: “Someday, perhaps on the battlefield, they will become acquainted with courage. Only then will they be able to comprehend what motivates a 75–year-old man to do chin-ups alongside a 20-year old.” That afternoon, there was a SEAL static display at our Polo Fields and a demonstration from the SEAL jump team, the Leap Frogs. To start the afternoon off, a Navy SEAL jumped with the American Flag. This jumper was Captain Norm Olsen, USN (Ret.) and a former Navy SEAL. Yes, it was the Sky Fossil, whom I have written about before. He is a resident of The Villages, and I might add 77 years young. The next weekend we did another fun road race, the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Miler in Washington, D.C. We started at the Washington Monument, and toured through numerous monuments on what was supposed to be a bright warm sunny Sunday, April 6th! I didn't even pack any warm running gear, knowing it was going to be a nice day, even had sunscreen with me, which I had forgotten to use the weekend before in Florida, and my forehead (now a five- to six-head) was still peeling. Race morning we got up as planned at 5 a.m. I always want to be there first, and not have to worry about the crowds from almost 20,000 runners descending on D.C. Well I looked out the window; saw the pouring rain, the wind, and the temp of 47 degrees from the TV. I told Carol this is ridiculous, I am not going to stand in pouring rain in that kind of weather for 2.5 hours with nothing but a shirt and running shorts on. We reached a compromise and called our son-in-law Tim, and asked him if he had a rain jacket I could borrow. He also agreed to give us a ride. The hotel kitchen staff was kind enough to give us trash bags we could wear over our clothes until race start. Believe me, it was cold, and I was shivering before the start. We finally got underway, and for the first four miles it was with the wind, so not so bad. We paid our dues in the last six miles when the rain and wind increased and the temperature dropped. The highlight of the race was seeing son-in-law, daughter and grandchildren on Memorial Bridge at about mile 7.5, and getting our pictures taken with them, albeit separately, since Sister Mary Aggressive (my wife, Carol) had about a 10-minute lead on me. Prior to the start we had decided that it made no sense to wait for each other at the finish. We'd just get on the Metro back to the hotel. Trust us; it was a very cold trip back. I didn't think it was appropriate for me to want to hug all the nice young women on the Metro for warmth, so for a change, took the high road and did not ask! During the next week, I went over The Villages Charter High School and watched a district track meet featuring teams from 10 area high schools. They have a beautiful facility for athletics and in talking to some of the visiting parents, they and their children love to come and compete here. The Villagers also get involved not only as spectators, but in all facets of the meet. For example, the meet director, Chris Murray, is a former Olympian and college coach. These facilities are in the middle of The Villages, which makes it very convenient to see all these events. That weekend, I participated in The Villages Senior Games Swimming competition. We had some great competition, and I was pleased with my results, a couple of second places. I had a fun time, witnessed some great swims and can take pride in how far our team has come in the four years I have been associated with it. Oh yes, our cheerleaders were there cheering us on, as they are for all our athletic competitions. Another motivator to do well is the hug you get from them when you receive your award! What you may not know is that I first heard about The Villages at a National Senior Games Swim Meet in 2003. We visited The Villages, liked what we saw, moved here in early 2004 and have been swimming biking, running and ever since. Bike Florida Safari is a bike ride sponsored by the Florida freewheelers out of the Orlando, Fla., area. It is a six-day ride with varying distances, based on the rider’s desires. The first three days are out of Live Oak, the county seat of Suwannee County, and the last three days out of Cherry Lake. We get riders from all over and all ages. It is a tremendous ride and about 60 percent of the riders are repeats. Because of the Swim meet, I wasn’t able to join the ride until Monday, but got some rides and swims in. Along for the ride were a number of Villagers, as well as friends of ours from as far away as Spokane, Wash. It is very reasonable, and there is a three-day option as well. People can’t say enough about the food. For more information, go to their website: www.floridafreewheelers.com . After returning to The Villages on Thursday, we caught a flight to Boston Friday morning to watch the Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials and The Boston Marathon. Yes there were Masters athletes in both. It was a terrific experience to See Joan Benoit Samuelson compete at age 50. We are now back in Florida, getting ready for St. Anthony’s Triathlon this Sunday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
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