Chicago Marathon Recap – New PR Followed by Beers, Butts & Burgers!

The Chicago Marathon is doneski! Months and months of miles and miles to prepare, and it was over in just three hours and forty eight minutes. If you’re keeping track at home, that is a nearly 20 minute PR for the Ole Scott-O…I’ll take it!

Yay, we did it! Can I sleep now?

The morning started with a 3 a.m. alarm and breakfast. Then off to the ALZ Stars staging location (two of us were running for that charity, two others were running for different charities) where they were nice enough to let us stay warm and destroy the toilets use the facilities.

Well this is embarrassing…we all wore the same thing!

And YAY, my old college buddy was able to meet us too. Love me some Rexy!

She decided on the pink tutu. Dang, I shoulda wore one too-too!

From there it was a short walk to the start corrals at Grant Park.

A bundle of nervous energy.

And before we knew it, we were off! I felt great. The weather was a bit warmer than we’d like, but at the start it was pretty nice – mid 50’s.

WTFrick?!?! My feet are actually in the air?!?! Nice!

I’d heard the tales of the amazing crowd support, and they were all true. The cheering, the signs, the music, the costumes, the everything was awesome! Chicagoans really know how to support a race! Each neighborhood had their own flair and I loved each of them – drag queens in Boystown, mariachis in Pilsen, dragons in Chinatown, etc. etc. etcetera.

Keep rollin rollin rollin.

10k in and I was feelin runderful. I ran into a Dallas friend who said she felt the same. Just ahead of us was the 3:35 pace group. I went ahead and passed them. I didn’t feel like I was working hard at all.

13.1 miles in – halfway there and I was at 1:45:43 – that is my 4th fastest half marathon ever – within 3 minutes of a PR! I hoped I could keep it going.

Do I ever change my expression?

The second half of the marathon is where reality sets in. Miles 16-19 I started to feel it. I tried to push through, but I could feel I would need to start taking some walk breaks soon.

Still determined…or gassy, I’m really not sure what that expression is.

By mile 20, reality had really set in. The sun was up in full force. The temps were rising. Mid-Upper 60’s by now. I was still determined, but slowing. Luckily they had a hydration stops about every mile. I made it my goal to run to each one, then I would allow myself a walk break as I sipped Gatorade/water, before running to the next one.

The 3:35 pace group had passed me around mile 17…then the 3:40 pace group…finally the 3:45 pace group around mile 21-22. I didn’t want any other group to pass me. I picked up the pace best I could and luckily they weren’t able to catch me.

I really need to get a new expression.

Everyone says this race is “pancake flat”. That’s mostly true, but there is an incline at the start & each bridge we crossed was a little mini hill. That, and I had been warned by several people about a hill right at the finish. Half a mile to go and I saw it. My sister was right to describe it as “dumb & annoying”. It was so dumb and annoying. I was temporarily defeated and immediately started to walk up it. Then I said, “eff that noise.” I ran up that stupid hill and cruised into the finish line!

I guess I’ll smile when I finish.

At the finish line I was pumped when I saw my I had set a huge PR at 3:48! Then even more pumped when my training partner cross shortly behind me. She rocked a 3:45 (she was in a later corral) – a PR by like 30 minutes!!

Yay, smiles!

I’m happy to report that everyone I came to the race with set new PR’s!!!! My college buddy Rexy even crushed a 3:05!!! And she did it in style with the tutu and a finishing brewski!

She knows how to do it right.

After a long rest, we slowly started to make our way out. But not before a couple pictures and a few beers at the post race party!

We’re members of the sunglasses of the month club.

We found a shaded area to park our rears & drink the free 312 beers.

Snapchat had some fun marathon specific overlays.

There wasn’t much cell service due to the crowds, so we had trouble meeting up with other friends. That’s ok though, cause we couldn’t walk very fast by this point anyway.

Can I sit here forever?

To sum up the race, I felt great the first 30k, then it was more of a struggle. No negative split for me this day, but you race and learn. I hope to be stronger at the next 26.2.

Out of 37,000+ total finishers.

I had my A, B and C goals for this race. A – PR. B – Break 4 hours. C – Run in the 3:30’s. I hit 2/3. I’m pretty happy with that.  Especially considering that 3:48 shatters by nearly 20 minutes my previous PR of 4:07 (set at the Disney Dopey Challenge)!!!

Anyway, after a little while we became rungry and rangry. So a few of us ate greasy burgers at the famous Billy Goat Tavern.

It says “butt” Hahahahahaha! Yes, I am 12.

The best part about this was all the beer & fat & carbs marathoners trying to walk down the flight of stairs into the restaurant. Well, it wasn’t funny when we did it, but it was funny to watch the others try to negotiate it…4 minutes to walk down 7 total stairs, seems about right.

If it’s good enough for Bill Freakin Murray, it’s good enough for me.

I’m still trying to process all that happened, but I had a total blast! All the feels!!!!!!!

How bout you? Any Chicago Marathon memories? Any dumb and annoying hills lately? Go-to post marathon grub (cheezborger)?

-Scott

Chicago Marathon Pt. 1 – Lost Wallet & Expo, No Flat Runners & We Bean Runnin!

So the trip got off to a rocky road start. As in my ride to the airport arrived at 5 a.m. (thanks for the ride dad!) and as I was walking out the door, I realized I didn’t have my wallet. It was nowhere to be found. It was frustrating. It was stressful. It caused me and my friend to miss our flight. I felt awful about that. And any hope to getting to the Expo early was dashed.

Too many people. Too much stimulation. Please don’t make me go in there.

Luckily I’m one of the few Americans who actually has a passport. I grabbed it. My pops let me borrow his credit card. I thanked him. Finally got to the airport and sweated out the standby process.

Three happy people. One miserable one.

Luckily there was a loooooong security line that caused many a people to miss their flights. Thanks TSA. But their loss, my gain. I took one of those poor suckers seats on the next flight. Standby success!

Next stop, Chi-Town!

First sight off the L train. A sign that we were in the right spot.

Then it was off to the Expo. Luckily there was a shuttle from our hotel. And by shuttle, I mean a real live school bus. Okie dokie.

Snapchat fun: @piratebobcat

I personally don’t like expos much. Too overwhelming for me. But I sucked it up and tried to enjoy it. Luckily they had free beer to help endure it.

We found the beer bus!

Do we really have to run that far?

Bibs got.

Hoping I will be like the sign says.

You see that Chicago? I own you!

With the expo out of the way, we were free to do a bit of light sight seeing.

Who us? No, we’re not tourists.

Heck of a town.

I see you, camera person.

And of course, we ate. A lot. We ate a lot. Ate a lot, we did.

Homemade past? Yes. Wine? Double yes.

And did I mention I was running this race for charity? I had raised funds for Alzheimers, and the group was cool enough give us a pre race dinner! They rule!

And it was all purple.

But the best part of the pre race shenanigans was meeting up with my old college buddy, Rexy. We were on the cheerleading team at Ohio University and have remained close ever since. She’s the bomb biggie…and one heck of a runner. We met up with her for a two+ mile shakeout run the day before the race.

Lisa Lisa, why ya buggin?

Where did we run? To the Bean of course! And we weren’t the only ones with that idea. I think every other shakeout runner was there too.

Have you ever ‘bean’ to Chicago?

That’s always a good spot for pictures, and I’m glad we got it out of the way early as it would be packed later on in the weekend.

Just hanging around.

And since I refuse to take a #flatrunner picture the night before a race…all that was left was to wait for the 3 a.m. alarm to go off. While I did, I went back and read all the supportive comments you bloggers have been making on my posts the past few weeks (I still promise to respond to each of them). I also checked out all the supportive messages on the Facebook as well as the kind texts I received. Thanks again urrbody!

Time to sleep. Months and months of preparation was over. In the morning we race 26.2 miles across CHI.

Good night, sweet city.

One heck of a town.

Come Monday I will post my recap of the race. Stay tuned folks! Spoiler alert – I ran a PR!!!!

How bout you? What’s your pre-race ritual? Do you like expos? Ever bean to Chicago?

-Scott

Off To Chicago Marathon, You Stalkers!

Hey guys, it’s almost time. After over 700 miles of training, countless hours of yoga & weightlifting, it’s time to #OwnChicago!

This week saw just a few more training runs. They looked something like this:

The only explanation I can give for this is we have taper madness.

It was nice to have shorter runs this taper week leading up to the race.

Yellow + Blue = Green. No, I didn’t plan this, I dress in the dark, it was coincidence.

I still can’t believe it’s here. It’s been so many months of running many many miles at ungawdly hours. I mean, just look at this daily alarm setting:

I died a little each night when I turned this alarm setting on.

I’m happy to report though, that we ran EVERY SINGLE TRAINING RUN. We didn’t skip a single one. No, they weren’t all pretty, but at least we were out there.

I still can’t believe the final run came and ended…

Done before the sun, but it’s all good, we glow anyhow.

Now it’s here. Time to run 26.2 miles. Going to let me sink that in for a while.

In the mean time, feel free to stalk me:

I’ll be Instagramming hard in Chicago: @piratebobcat

I’ll bet Tweeting too: @piratebobcat

You can track me TWO ways during the race (My bib number is 2411):

1. Download the Chicago Marathon App
2. Get updates with MY RUNNER TRACKING

That is all. See you on the other side.

-Scott

My Big Secret Revealed & a Gift for YOU!

I’m sorry I left you hanging in my last post. I had to take several days to align my ducks (by height) (which FYI, didn’t work out so well as they don’t like being crittersized).

But I digest.

So here’s what I was holding back from y’all: I’m running the Chicago Marathon for charity in October!!!

Do what the words say.

Yes, I’m raising funds to help end Alzheimer’s. Why did I pick this charity? Well, my grandfather passed away a few years ago from this disease.

The gramps and baby me.

If you don’t know, Chicago has a lottery system now for registering. But, since I decided to go the charity route, I get a guaranteed entry. But up now I have to raise at least $1000.

My grandparents a few years ago.

So here’s me asking you to donate. You can do so by GOING TO THIS PAGE.

But wait, there’s more!

When you do donate, I will make a personalized Instagram photo or Vine video for you! Just click on those two links to see what you might be getting!

This is one example of my Instagram pics.

I also made a super hi-tech short video where I explain all this:

So to sum up:

1. I’m running the Chicago Marathon for charity.

2. If you donate, you get a personalized Instagram photo or Vine video.

3. It’s a win-win for everyone!

Again, you can DONATE HERE.

Thanks so much in advance!

-Scott

P.S. – If you want to remain anonymous, that’s cool too.

I Got a Fever & New Key West Half Marathon Pics/Video!

Sup mutha truckers? Hope everyone is staying warm wherever you be. I myself, have been quite out of it recently. 102 fever, yo. And let me say that a Thursday Night Fever isn’t as much fun as a Saturday Night one.

While I’ve been trying to recover, I got some good news – More Race Photos/Videos!

Last month I ran the Key West Half Marathon. It was Epic. You can read the recap HERE.

Anyway, they’ve been trickling out race photos to us as time goes by. Earlier they sent me this one…

Boom Shaka-laka!

The other day they posted a few more…

Runin Down Duval St.

The after party. Can you spot me?

The fams celebrating after the race.

And then…….The other day they posted a “drone” video they shot at the event. Now I am a TV producer, and I use one of these quadcopter cameras from time to time. They really do give a cool perspective on things.

They only posted it on Facebook, which was giving me issues about trying to post the video here. But I think I got it figured out. Please to enjoy the Key West Half Marathon from above…(see if you can spot my cameo)

That just reminds me how much fun that event was. And hopefully it will remind you that there’s warm days out there to be had!

How bout you? What should the prescription be for my fever? Do you ever find yourself in random race videos/photos? Who’s ready for spring?

-Scott

Free Race Photos! Woo to the Hoo!

I like the recent trend I’ve been seeing here and there of races giving you the photos for free! I’m sure it’s included somehow in the registration fee, but it’s much better than them asking for $30 a photo.

If you read my Hot Chocolate 15k Recap, then you know I ran the race, duh. But after I wrote it, they sent me the race photos they said they took of me. Here they are:

Before the race with run buds Julie and Mike!

During the race. Looks like I was feelin it.

Apparently I had time for a wardrobe change and facelift during the race.

And also gender reassignment surgery.

Oh look, there I am next to my yellow shirted clone.

Finally, at the finish line!

When you think about it, it’s just smart to give out the photos. Then the race photogs know that they’re getting paid instead of hoping to sell a few prints. And since they put a bug on the pics, it’s free advertising every time someone posts them to social media, or ahem, blogs using them.

Speaking of which, a photog associated with the Key West Half Marathon later saw my BLOG RACE RECAP and was kind enough to send me a photo he took of me! So cool!

Boom Shaka-laka!

This is like the 4th time in the past few months that the races have been sending out free photos. Gotta love it! The others that come to mind are the Dallas 13.1 I PR’d also sent Free Photos, as well as the Abby’s Run 5k where I won my age group! who posted All The Pics! Glad to be able to memorialize those races!

I hope this trend continues!

How bout you? Any free race photos lately? Do you even want your race pics? Ever had gender reassignment surgery?

-Scott

Final Key West Picture Purge – Run & Relax

Thanks for everyone’s great response to my recap of the Key West Half Marathon. It really was a great time! But like most good things, this racecation had to come to an end. Not before we got all touristy though…

Reppin Torchy’s Tacos in the Conch Republic.

In key West you walk. A lot. According to my pedometer app, we were averaging around 9 miles a day. How that’s possible on such a small island is beyond me. Anyway, because of that, I only went on one other run while there.

A quick 3 miler.

Then of course, I had to shower. Why not do it publicly.

Sadly, nobody paid.

Then we had to eat (and drink).

Sure, I’ll sit on the patio.

Blue Heaven. Buffett played a show from that water tower and Hemingway used to referee boxing matches here.

And hang out on the beach and play with animals.

My shirt fit in there.

Yes we pelican.

Iguana know what he’s doing in that tree.

And of course, hang out with the chickens.

Wonder why he crossed the road.

Like a boss!

And shop for a new outfit.

I think I can pull it off.

Eat some more.

You must take a pic at every meal.

And of course, get turnt up in da club…

What’s the age restriction in Sloppy Joe’s?

Capt. Tony’s was a regular spot.

In the men’s restroom – protected Buffett lyrics he wrote on the wall as to not forget them.

Get a little churchin.

That’s a pretty stain.

Eat by the sea again.

Yay, the electricity came back on!

Watch more sunsets.

I’m sewper kewl.

They’re on a boat!

So are they.

And drive back to Miami.

Bienvenidos a Miami.

Stop by Key Biscayne.

Look, an old lighthouse.

I was down there before.

Before finally flying home.

We flew over New Orleans, where I tried to leave a little luck for all my friends running the Rock n Roll NOLA 1/2 & 26.2 a couple days later.

French Quarter from above.

So there ya go kids. A crazy good time. Now back to life, back to reality. Luckily I brought some of the south Florida weather back with me to Texas. Time to run!

How bout you?

Key West Half Marathon Recap

It’s a two sided medal, it’s a wine stopper, it’s fun and functional.

Ahh, the Florida Keys. Who doesn’t love em? Key West in particular, has always been a magnet to the funky-fresh folks.

Closer to Havana than to Miami.

If you haven’t been, well, it’s kind of like a tropical and clean New Orleans. If you haven’t been to New Orleans, well, it’s kind of like an anything-goes sort of haven – full of good food, strong drink, history, openness, tolerance, and zero inhibitions. Both cities were home to pirates, poets, performers, and parties. Needless to say, I love it!!!

Two similar cities. Only separated by 630 miles.

In case you get lost.

And I’m glad to report that the Key West Half Marathon & 5k had the same feel to it that the island has – laid back, scenic, inclusive & fun! Peeps could even register under a “walker division” – can’t get more inclusive than that.

The fun feel starts at the race expo, which was held at a seaside bar and oyster joint…DUH!

Ain’t I purdy?

I was so excited at the expo, because it meant we got our race shirts! They are so over-the-top amazesauce!!!

The shirts….I heart them! And check out those bibs!

And if you’re so inclined, there are plenty of shops next door to load up on souvenirs.

Yeeeeah buoy!

From there, there were plenty of good joints on the island to get your carbo-load on.

My sis with our sushi grade raw tuna “nachos”

The eggs in the restaurants were very fresh.

The artwork in the eateries was very high brow, as my sis and her bae recognized.

My sis with some key lime pie, natch.

The whole pie.

And of course, there were good bevvies to wash it down with…

Key West beer, why not?

My sis and a Moscow Mule at Louie’s Backyard.

Hog’s breath is better than no breath at all. So they say.

Anyway, on to the race! It started at 7am over by the boat docks. Very laid back – no formal corrals, no pre-race formalities…

Can you spot me? Hint – white Ohio University shirt. Photo courtesy of http://www.fotobyfreas.com

I was a little worried going into the race. I was in good shape, but I’d been training in Dallas in 20-30 degree temps. Race morning it was in the 70’s with 90% humidity – 90%!!!!!!!!! OUCH!

But it was time to race, and hahaha, there wasn’t even a race starting horn – Someone must’ve said, “Go.” cause all the sudden, we were off!

I started my gps about a 1/4 mile into the race. My bad.

The course took us down famous Duval St., past the Southernmost Point marker, then an out and back along the beach.

Our friend Carrie caught me on the course. Throwin Dueces! Or maybe quotation marks cause I was feeling “great” in the humidity.

I crossed the 10k mark at 48:34, but it was all I could do to maintain that pace in that humidity. Shortly after, the wheels fell off. I was taking walk breaks to dump cold water on my head at each aid station.

Anyway, on the way back we went past the Hemingway house, the lighthouse, the A1A Mile Marker 0, and through Mallory Square (where everyone goes to watch the sunsets).

Photo I took of one of their famous sunsets.

The race eventually ended at the boat docks. But I was really hurting in the humidity. However, I sucked it up the last couple miles to finish at 1:50:00. A full 5 minutes slower than the Dallas Half last month.

At the finish, smiling on the inside. Photo courtesy from video from http://www.wildsideonline.com

I was hoping to break 1:40 at this race, but with the humidity, it wasn’t meant to be. I really did push hard though – so much so that I was very sore the next day.

That said, it was the same for everybody out there, and so I was still able to finish 27th in my age group and 201st overall (out of 3-4000 runners)!!!

See, I told you the race ended at the boat docks. Sweat much?

Even though I didn’t have the race I hoped for, I still had an absolute BLAST! It was so SCENIC! The volunteers were WONDERFUL! And the post race party was OFF THE CHAIN!

Before we could really get turnt up, I had some other friends and family finishing the race that I went back to root for!

Some friends.

Some family – my ma.

Sister’s bae.

My dad’s first half marathon!

My sis also ran, but I didn’t get a pic of her finishing. But we did get a selfie with the race announcer. This guy was THE.BEST.MC.EVAH! He was cracking us up with gems like, “This is the best day of our lives!” And I think he called me “dude” when I crossed the finish line.

Michael the Boston radio DJ. Solid dude. Perfect match for the Key West laid back attitude.

With everyone finished, it was time to party!!!

We had fun.

Da Key West crew.

The post race concert was Howard Livingston & the Mile Marker 24 Band. I’ve heard him before on Jimmy Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville. Such a great performer!!! He even made us margaritas with a modified boat-motor-blender at one point.

Howard on stage.

Did I mention all the beer was FREE?!?! That probably led to us making some new friends. Like when I photobombed some stranger’s selfie because Howard had jumped off stage to be in it!!!

Selfie stick, Howard Livingston, PirateBobcat Photobomb. Love this pic! Thanks to Elizabeth T.F. for sending it my way.

Hahahaha, the race photog actually got a pic of us taking a pic of ourselves.

From there it was on to Duval St. where we could proudly display our medals and shirts.

Da Key West Crew all cleaned up.

Yet another patio bar to celebrate on. I figured I’d wear loud shorts with my screaming shirt.

The patio drinks led to even more selfies. Well, that and narcissism.

Look, a coconut tree and a coconut head.

And I even tried my best to copy RunColbyRun and her high angle, partially-obstructed-face selfies, but I couldn’t master the master.

So sexy.

So to sum up, it was a blasty blast!!! If you are ever thinking of running the Key West Half Marathon, I say DO IT!!!!

And besides, you can’t run all the miles until you run the first one…

Mile Marker 0. Yes, I was in Birkenstocks.

Good times people, good times all around!

How bout you? Ever run Key West…or do you want to? What do you think of the swag? Ever go on a runcation?

-Scott

Unplanned Running Blogcation (Key West will do that to ya)

Hey y’all! I’m sorry to have been absent from these blog parts the past week. After my runs in Ft. Lauderdale, I was able to write a post about them on the drive down the Keys (I wasn’t driving, duh). And I had planned to keep posting while in the Southernmost City, but island life and island time can change a man.

Island boy.

As the famous philosopher, John Dewey wrote about living in Key West, “The climate here is too relaxing to be conductive to work.”

Dewey wasn’t screwy…His words are true-y.

Photo I took of one of their famous sunsets.

But I also know many great writers wrote some amazing stuff living in Key West – everyone form Hemingway to Frost to Tennessee Williams to Jimmy Buffett. Like them, the Keys also inspired my writing.

I’m working on my recap of the Key West Half Marathon. It will be ready for you on Monday. I’m sure it will be as good as For Whom the Bell Tolls, or at least on par with Cheeseburger in Paradise…But with more selfies.

How’s everyone been? Vacation ever slow your mind?

PS. Please check back Monday for my Key West Half Marathon recap!!!!

-Scott

Ft Lauderdale Warm-Up Runs

We made it to sunny Florida. Immediately after stepping off the plane, I defrosted. It’s nice and muggy here. So naturally, I went for a run to warm up even more.

I ran along A1A (Beachfront Avenue). Girls were hawt (wearin less than bikinis).

Then it was time to enjoy some boat drinks and ballads along the strip.

Next morning my seestah joined me for another beach run. Total for the two days: 11 sweaty miles. And we even got some hill work in by running over the giant draw bridge next to the cruise ship port.

And ha, after the runs my calves were bangin in the hotel light.

It’s nice to be in tanks/shorts again. Just two days ago in Dallas I was running in pants, gloves, hats & triple layered shirts. Hopefully I’ll acclimatize to the heat in time for the Key West Half Marathon on Sunday.
Until then, fins up!

On to the Keys, and racing time!
How bout you – Keepin warm? Sick of wearing pants? Ever run a tropical race?
-Scott