A 22 Mile Half Marathon, Freezing Texas & It’s Chicago Marathon Week (Eeek)!!

Sup beaches? Keepin it real, or really keepin it? Good, I hope you’re well.

Things my way have been 2 fast 2 furious – and not in a street car racing kind of way. Life, ya know? But here’s the thang – It’s Chicago Marathon Week!!!! I cannot believe it’s finally here. It seemed so far away when I first registurd. Breathe Scotty, breathe.

OK, I had all these blog posts planned, but I just haven’t had the time. So let me catch you up now…….We had our last 20+ miler the other week ~ 22 to be exact.

Is that gal in the red headband checking me out? She thirsty!

Yes, I ran 9 miles…then a half marathon. That’s how that worked. This was a hot and humid day in North Texas. Wasn’t the prettiest run, but got it dun with the help of my run partner (the open mouthed gal) and my friends along the course.

Normally they’re just full of hot air.

Between the 13.1 and the 5k I placed in the day before, I came away with a pretty nice lil haul for the weekend.

Two medals, one trophy. Better than two girls, one cup…Or one guy, one jar.

But since that day, the Mountain Dew Point has fina-freakin-ly broke!!!!! We’ve had almost fall like weather. It’s been Glorious!

Needed to warm up with jalapeno soup!

My legs feel like they have a spring in their steps. I just can’t say enough about how happy I am for this weather after such a rough Texas blistering summer.

Sun, I eat you.

It’s been good, cause we haven’t had much of a taper – still running 40-50 miles per week per the training plan. Somehow though, I’m ok with that. Just enjoying the freedom of the runs.

Hoping I get patriotic winged feet by race day.

I really hope this weather is a preview of what we’ll currentview when we get to Chi-town.

Mouth open – it’s so nice to finally be able to breath!!! No soup-like air for you!

I do have some confidence going in to this marathon. I feel way more prepared than I ever have for a race. 26.2 is never easy, but I know the work we put in all summer will pay off when we get to that start line.

Oh, and speaking of which, look what came in the mail…

Sorry for the language – I work blue on Snapchat.

Woo to the hoo. We do this. Almost there, baby doll.

How bout you? Ever run a 9 mile warm up for a race? Anyone I should look for in Chicago? Can you dig it?

PS – Come back tomorrow, I have some more good updates to share!!! And yes, I will get to responding to your comments. Soon, I pinky swear!

-Scott

Plano Balloon 5k Recap – Trophies, Balloonies & Selfies!!!

So here’s da ting – I got to race this weekend!!!! It was the Plano Balloon Festival 5k. It went pretty well ~ I think I sent a PR on the way to a 3rd place division finish!

Balloon race, balloon medal, balloon trophy!

I signed up for this race a long time ago, and I’m glad I did – had tons of friends out there this day!

We run. We fun.

I was also glad to run into some of my super speedy friends who I haven’t been able to run with in a while. These two have been inspiring me for a while now – starting a few years ago when we’d regularly meet at the track to try and kill each other with 400’s…

Me and a couple BQ’ers. Maybe I could join them if I got shorter shorts.

It was a VERY humid day. So humid, in fact, that it started raining shortly after the race. Because of the weather they weren’t able to launch the hot air balloons as planned. Bummer, yo! It’s ok doe, I was there to race…and race I did!

And big ups shout out to my boy Tory for taking the following video of some of us during the race. T-dawg is always so supportive of his fellow runners…

I was purdy pleased with my race. I had a great time for me despite the humidity, hills and already running 40+ miles that week.

Official Results: 5k- 21:11 – 3rd in Age Group – 31st Overall (Out of 1945)

Don’t steal my soul, race photographer guy…or my award!!!

I LURVE the awards they gave us – individualized hot air balloon metal wall art hanging thingies…

Division placers…I have fast friends.

After the race, we explored the balloonless festival a bit. And of course, made a spectacle of ourselves…

Not sure what’s happening here.

Oh yeah, I remember ~ someone brought a selfie stick.

I enjoyed the race. I’ve been doing so many hundreds of miles getting ready for the Chicago Marathon that I couldn’t remember what it felt like to go short and fast! I was so glad to see I had gotten faster than when I started marathon training. Funny how that works ~ to get better at running, practice running.

I don’t think our group got enough pictures.

In the end, it was a good time with good peeps. And it was just the little confidence boost I needed after such a miserably hot Texas summer of long slow sweaty miles. Yay, my legs still work!

All smiles after the miles.

And guess what…..the festival also had a half marathon the day after the 5k. And yes, I ran that too. Stay tuned for that recap!!!!

How bout you? Any races recently? Ever go to a balloon festival with no balloons? Did our group take enough pictures (trust me, there’s more I didn’t post here)?

-Scott

Too Hot To Handle 5k – The Race I Didn’t Race!

So I ran in a rare Sunday 5k. Things got weird. It ended with this…

Scotty the Riveting.

But let’s start at the beginning. I carpooled with my unusual suspects. One of which had scored us a prime parking locale. We just had a short walk, lovely as it was.

Sneaky photog phriend got this shot.

We made it to the race, and it was pretty big – several thousand runners for both the 5k & 15k. As luck would have it, we ran into a TON of friends! As unluck would have it, I didn’t have a bib or timing chip – D’oh!!!

Pre race with some running amigos…and also our secret service agent.

No worries, I was pretty sore from running 12 hot miles the day before. And if you can guess from the name of the race (Too Hot To Handle), it.was.hot. So hot and nasty…and not in a good way…

Hydrating before the race. Two Girls, One Cup.

So I decided to run with my tiny friend, as she said she was not “racing” it either. She turned out to be a liar.

We’re all like, “Running is funzo!” Dude in blue is all like, “Say whaaa?”

Mile one – we had to weave around like a gazillion others, and so it was nice and slow and easy just like we planned.

Mile two – my tiny friend picked it up. I said, “Ok then, is this what we’re doing?” and caught up to her.

Mile three – she picked it up even moar. I said, “What happened to the Easy-E plan?”

But since she did that, I decided to make sure she kept picking up the pace, as I knew she’d have a chance at an age group award. I told her to come with me, and we kicked it in the last half mile or so.

Shaving a minute off each mile is a good pace plan, yes?

There’s a new thing now where 5k’s are starting to give out finisher’s medals. Okie dokie den, fine bys me.

My smile is so bright.

And you see those shades there ^^^ ? One of the vendors was giving them out. Also bandanas too. Which eventually lead to the picture at the top of this post. Cute, huh?

A motley crew…Or is it guns and roses?

Oh, and if you were still wondering, my tiny friend did place…As did several other friends!! Wooot!

When I heard their prize was a plastic tumbler, I had hoped it would be a gymnast with a boob job.

Next time I’ll remember that you need a bib/timing chip to race. But all good in the neighborhood – it was fun anyway! I like fun, anyway.

How bout you? Any hot summer races? Ever race just for fun (and not to race)? Aren’t I kewt in that first picture? 

-Scott

Katy Trail 5k Recap – Hawt Run, Dope Party & Epic Photos!

The other day was the Katy Trail 5k. This is a hugely popular race in Dallas. I hadn’t registered for this race before it sold out, but I got hooked up with a bib at the last minute from my man K-Rob. Thanks dude, it was a blast!!!

Pre-race group below, double photobombs up top.

The Katy Trail is a highly popular running spot around here. It’s 3.5 miles long and it really is pretty nice. In fact, last week after the Bloomin 4 Mile Race, some of us went to KT to get in some extra miles.

Runnin free down the trail…or was it up the trail?

This race takes place on a school night at 7pm. I had planned to take it easy, after all it was in the 90’s – also I had already run 5 miles this day and done a track workout the day before.

My heart shaped butt sweat from the track workout.

But of course, when the horn sounded I was off like a prom dress! Unfortunately, the heat and previous miles took their toll…legs felt heavy…There would be no PR this day – not even close! But I’ll take the results, considering it all.

Official Results: 22:17, 7:10 per mile, 14th in Age Group, 132/3622 Overall.

If you want to see a 5 second video of me crossing the finish line, do so HERE!

Post Race – I’m glad Josh fixed my sun-washed-out head in photoshop. Looks totally natural.

But the reason this race is so popular is the after-party. Local restaurants bring out a ton of good food and drink – and it’s all free!!!! Besides the grub, there’s also live music and tons of give-aways. And there may have even been a human centipede pyramid or two.

I had hoped to be a top.

My buddy Logan won the race in around 15:30. Not too shabby, I guess. 😉 But I bet he’s more proud that he made it into one of my famous leg-pop photos…

Logan and his short-time fiance, Amanda & me and my long-time friend, Tahressa.

Since it was an evening race, pretty soon the sun was down. Luckily we had time for a couple more photo ops before heading home to slizzeeep!

Good times with these fools.

Smart move on the free photo-booth with your logo…Well played, Nike.

I had only run this race once before a few years, and to be honest, I thought it was a bit unorganized then. However, this time ’round I had a blasty blast!!! I get now why it’s so popular ’round here. I’ll be back!

How bout you? Ever run an evening race? Why do runners lurve a good post race party so much? What is the shape of your butt’s sweat stain?

-Scott

Rock the Block 10k Recap – Running in Soup & Winning Medals!

I did just run the Rock the Block 10k over the Memorial Day weekend. It was a tough day, but good news is that I was still able to manage my way to a medal!

I wish in college I had learned how to make a proper collage.

As I mentioned in my preview, I was not looking forward to running this race course. I’d run it before and wasn’t a huge fan. Well, be careful what you wish for. Due to all the crazy stormy floody weather we’ve been having in Texas, the course was part underwater. But rather than cancel, the organizers scrambled to get a new certified course.

Look closely folks, the 10k is a two lap course.

First off, kudos to the race for not cancelling, and finding an alternate route. But unfortunately the new route was a 5k distance that we had to run twice. There’s nothing more demoralizing than crossing the finish line and realizing you’re only halfway done. And on the 2nd lap of the race, we hit all the people still trying to finish the 5k. That meant a lot of weaving and missing out on tangents. Throw in a few hills and 180 degree turns, and it was a bit challenging.

Before the race with two normal sized friends and a miniature sized one.

The weather was also a factor. 97% humidity. Ugh. It was like running through pea green soup. Legs felt heavy and when the breeze was at our backs, it was hard to breathe. I saw one guy puking about a mile in. And through a middle section of the race it started to rain on us which made the roads a bit slick.

That all said, I was able to push through and finish 3rd in my age group and 14th overall!

Official stats.

I was hoping to break my PR of 46:00 that I set one year ago, but it wasn’t meant to be. I finished in 46:32, or 7:29 per mile. And I was proud of myself for actually rocking a negative split (I lost those stats doe).

I’ll get you next time, two guys I don’t know!

Not only that, but my peeps from WRRC and TNSR also received age group awards!

Bringing home da bling.

So despite the tough conditions, we had a great time. And they raised a lot of fundage for a good cause.

And best of all, we all went for breakfast tacos after the race!

Racing, medals & tacos…I’ll take it anytime!

How bout you? Race this weekend? Your tips for humidity running? It’s been so long, can anyone tell me what the sun looks like?

-Scott

Race Discount for YOU, Check My Flow, & It’s (hopefully) Race Day!

It’s been a good week of runs for me, I think even Kanye would agree…

Josh is excellent at photoshop.

A TNSR run is always fun.

Trying a new running form.

Tho the day before’s run on the track was whack.

The clouds and the noises they made were scary, but I got the run dun before they cried on me.

But the day before that was pretty phat.

A baby run and a papa run.

OK, that’s enough freestylin. I gotta focus on this weekend – RACE TIME! Well, I hope. My last two races have been cancelled due to massive Texas storms. And as I write this it is storming again. Hopefully it will clear up before the race.

I was lucky enough to get a free entry to this race – Rock the Block 10k. That said, I’m dreading it a little. I ran this race last year and wasn’t a fan of the course.

Last year’s poster. The route hasn’t changed. Who likes an out and back – I mean, honestly?

But at least I know what to expect since I’m familiar with the route.

And we’re off! -Photo from Dallasnews.com

And hopefully the rain clouds will help keep it kewl this year – last year it was friggin hawt!!!! But I still ran a PR (with a horrible positive split) of 46:00.

Just a bit sweaty at the end.

I’m going for a negative split and another PR, so come back in a couple days for the recap!!!

Other than that, the fine folks at Spartan Race have sent me a discount code to share with you:

They do these obstacle races all over the USA (and I think internationally too), and they have different distances you can choose from…

But hurry up and use the code MEMORIAL because I believe it expires pretty soon!

So there ya go, kiddo. A week that was pretty on fleek. And now I best be goin cause my rhyme is done flowin.

How bout you? Running this holiday (US) weekend? Ever run a Spartan Race…or going to? Do you have any race predictions?

-Scott

I Ran in a TORNADO!!!*

First up, some good news. I’ve been feeling pretty good on my runs lately. Official Chicago Marathon starts in a few weeks, but the pre-training is in full effect. This week’s highlight being a run with WRRC.

Sometimes Asians let me run with them, which is good cause they like to replenish carbs afterwards.

Now for some tragic news – I skipped 2 runs last week! Eeek! I couldn’t help it doe. It’s been raining like a mofo around North Texas. I mean big nasty storms, like several times a week, like every week, like for months. Just look at the graph from our water supply source lake…

That’s a wet couple months.

Don’t get me wrong – all the rain has been great as we’ve been in a massive drought for YEARS! Just look how our lake was only 50% full just a couple months ago. Now it’s over 100%! So unbelievable!

Buuut, the storms have cancelled/postponed a couple races I was signed up for, like one this past weekend…

Bummer yo.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not afraid to run in the rain, because as we all know…

This is what I kept telling myself all week.

But when you’re in the middle of a run and tornado sirens start going off, and then lighting starts cracking over your head, and then the heavens open up, and then the flash flood water is up to your ankles, and then you start laughing at your irresponsible situation…you really start to question your sanity.

“With all of our running and all of our cunning,
If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.” – Jimmy Buffett

So I’ll keep doin what I can – enjoyin the cool rain, appreciatin the resulting greenery, and sqeezin in runs like Charmin.

How bout you? Ever get caught in a bad storm mid-run? Have any races cancelled? Who’s sexy this week?

-Scott

*OK, maybe it was just a tornado siren.

I Won a Whole Race! (Chain Reaction 5k Recap)

This past weekend was the Chain Reaction 5k. If you read My Preview, you know I had some concerns going in about the course. Welp, my concerns were justified. But I’ll get to that.

First off, let me say that I won the Whole.Stinkin.Race! Like, as in, nobody was in front of me. I was all alone at the finish.

Look at that plaque! I guess I should brush my teeth more. Badumpump.

Yup, that’s right…according to that plaque, I am an overall male. But you probably already knew that.

Anyway, here’s what had happened. My run bud Marsha was also running the race, so she picked me up on the way (not literally, she’s too tiny to hold me up).

Before the race. As you can see by my finger, I correctly predicted my finish. Marsha was one off.

This was a very small race. Around 50 people. I told you it was small.

When the gun sounded I settled in with the lead group – mostly teenagers. After the first lap, it was down to me and one of the teens. I didn’t want it to come down to a sprint at the finish where his youthful energy would work against me, so I made my move when we came to an uphill with 1/2 a mile to go. It worked, he fell behind and I was free to cruise on home!

My finish time: 13:54!!!!!!!!

Rockin a 4:28 per mile pace.

Amazing time, right? I bet you didn’t know I was that fast. Neither did I. But slow your roll, hombre. The course was about A MILE SHORT!!!

So yes, my concerns before the race over the course map were spot on. I spoke with the timing guy and he said the volunteers who marked the course missed a whole section that we were supposed to run.

We only ran 2/3 of this course.

That said, everyone ran the same distance. So in that aspect, it was a fair race.

It felt good, but strange to finish 1st Overall. I don’t think that’s happened since high school track.

Me in high school.

Anykitandkaboodle, at the awards ceremony, they called my name to come get the plaque.

Listening intently as the MC tells me how great I am.

And here’s some more good news…Marsha was also called up as the 1st Female Finisher!!!!! Very cool!!

1st Overall Female & Male plaques selfie.

And the best part, this race gives 100% of the proceeds to a charity that’s a very passionate cause for the race directors. You can read about it HERE.

Final picture of the plaques, I promise.

So all in all, it was a successful race. We had a good time and they raised some funds for charity. Booyah!

How bout you? Prefer small or big races? Ever won a race? Do you have a race strategy you deploy against teenagers?

-Scott

My Last Race Ever!!!*

Yup, it’s true. This weekend is my I’ll be running my last.race.evah.*

*In my current age group.

Yup, I have a birthday coming up, which is going to catapult me into a brand spankin new age group. So this weekend’s race will be my last in the 35-39 division. Hopefully I can go out with a bang!

Sadly tho, I won’t be running any of the St. Patrick’s Day themed races in Dallas. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some St. Patty’s Day fun, but me no likey the huge crowds at those races.

I’d be a giant in leprechaun village.

Instead I’m running the Chain Reaction 5k.

I chose this race for a few reasons: 1. I live nearby. 2. Registration was affordable. 3. All proceeds go to a good charity. 4. A couple times per week I run the trails this race is utilizing, so I’m familiar. 5. It looks to be a small race.**

**With small races, odds go up of placing…even in my super competitive current age group!

That all said, even though I run in this park all the time, I’m not sure how they’re going to host a 5k there. I know for a fact that the main trail is only about 1 mile around. I reached out to them for the course map, which they very kindly sent me. But to be honest, the map cornfuses me.

I can’t make heads or tails of this route.

They say it’s a two lap race, but I don’t get which directions it goes. And also, the map clearly shows that we go off pavement to dirt mud trails for a section. That’s not good because it’s been raining non-stop here in North Texas.

This is what I kept telling myself all week.

I again reached out to the race folks, who assured me the race is all on pavement. If that’s the case, then the map is wrong, so I’m even more cornfused.

Anyways, I’m probably over-thinking it. I need to just go to the race and have fun trying to run fast. But what would runners do if we weren’t obsessing over running details. Am I right?

And those who know me know I also obsess over tacos. So now I’m off for some pre-race veggie ones!

This will help me run fast, right?

Stay tuned for the recap where all the mysteries will be solved!

How bout you? Can you figure out that course map? Are you celebrating St. Pat’s? Do you have a prediction for my performance?

-Scott

Hot Chocolate 15k Recap – Trains, Hills, & a New PR!!!

The Dallas Hot Chocolate 15k was my 2nd ever race at that distance. And I’m glad to report that it went much better than the first one. In fact, I earned my shiny chocolate themed medal by running a new PR!

The medal looks like a chocolate bar, but it tastes like brass.

There was supposed to be sold out with 13,000 total people running the 5k and 15k races. That means a lot of traffic getting to the event. Luckily my friend, Jewely talked me into taking the train down with friends rather than drive.

Of course we needed a pic on the choo choo.

We definitely saved a lot of time and stress by taking riding the rail. All we had to do was sit there and watch the world go by.

You can’t take a selfie around us without getting photobomed, duh!

As we got closer to the race, the train got more and more crowded. We were lucky to have gotten on at an earlier stop, when seats were still available.

Train’s getting full. Luckily they had stripper poles for people to hold on to.

The temps that morning were in the mid-40’s, but with a 10-15 mph wind it felt like 35 degrees!!! So when we got to the event, we stayed warm before the race by staying indoors!

B4 da race. I never understood arm sleeves. Are they for people that don’t care about cold shoulders?

The 5k started first. But due to traffic and such, people were late. The race was nice enough to wait for them, but that also meant the 15k would start like 15 minutes late. It was not fun standing in the cold waiting for the starting horn to blow! But eventually, we were off!

My run buds Clay and Dawn were on the course cheering. Clayton got this shot of me. Dueces!

The course itself was TOUGH – lotsa hills! Most people don’t think of Dallas as hilly, but this race made sure to find as many as they could!

At mile 5ish, we had about a pretty steep incline for about half a mile. At the top of the hill, some spectators had set up a whiskey station to give shots to the runners. Haha, with the pain I was feeling, I was tempted to take one, but decided to plug along instead.

The red parts are my slowest sections, coincidentally, they were also on big hills. Ha, when I saw that hill around mile 8 after turning the corner, I dropped a few choice words aloud!

And can I just say, I love the support of the running community. Towards the end of the race, a few of us strangers started encouraging each other with words of encouragement. It helped us finish strong!

You can watch a short video of my and my new besties crossing the finish line BY CLICKING HERE!

I wanted to run a sub 7:40 mile pace, and I did!!! ~ 7:39 per mile ~ a full 20 seconds faster per mile than my last 15k! That came out to more than a 2 minute PR!Also, I’ve said this before, but I hate my age group. I finished in the top 3% overall, but in the top 15% of my age group. Grrrr, I can’t wait to get to a new age group next month!!!

After da race with our sweet rewards.

After the race, they had a fun little after-party going on with a DJ, chocolate treats, etc. Here’s a 6 second video recap I made:

To be honest, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so all the chocolate was a bit too much for me to handle. But on the way home I decided there should be some celebrating with a grown-up treat…

A chocolate stout still counts as chocolate, right?

In the end, I was sassified with the results – especially considering the wind, hills, & not knowing how to pace this distance. And most importantly, it was a fun time!

How bout you? LIke that bling? Gotta sweet tooth or a beer tooth? Ever ride a choo choo train?

-Scott