Dallas Half Marathon Recap (or…That Time I High Fived Meb)

This past weekend was the Dallas Marathon, Half, & Relay. This was a big one. A sold out event. Live TV coverage. Huge city. Running royalty like Meb, Deena Kastor, Ryan & Sara Hall.

I ran the half. I was hoping to PR, and maybe break 1:40, but it wasn’t in the cards. I still had a decent race and a great time!

Big state, little medal…It’s all good in da hood.

It all started the day before at the Expo. I had carpooled down with three female friends…Mistake!!! They treated it like a shopping outing, hahahaha! We were there for hours. At least it gave me plenty of time for red carpet photos.

White sunglasses.

Red sunglasses.

After that, it was time to rest up for the race! But like most pre-race nights, I didn’t get much sleep (kept thinking I’d miss the 4 am alarm). But luckily I made it up early to carpool down with another friend. I was glad we were there early to avoid the stress of running late. We chilled for a while before heading to the corrals.

On the way I bumped into Meb! The Meb! But I let him alone so he could focus on his race. I’d see him again later…

I also ran into a bunch of non-Olympians…

Some runner friends before the race.

When I got to corral A, I ran into a bunch of members of the WRRC who I trained with most of the summer/fall.

I thought we were supposed to wear our grey t-shirts that day.

Then it was time to race! After some fireworks and confetti, we were off!

The elites waiting at the starting line.

There was about a 15 mph wind, and it was in the 60’s and like 90% humidity. There was mist in the air and the streets were wet with slickness. The first 9 miles were generally a long steady incline.

Da course & elevation

Conditions weren’t great for a PR, but I gave it a go anyway:

5k ~ 25:08 ~ 8:06 per mile

10k ~ 49:15 ~ 7:46 per mile

Halfway and so far so good. But then the humidity and hills took its toll. I started to slow.

15k ~ 1:14:12 ~ 8:04 per mile.

Finish ~ 1:45:01 ~ 8:01 per mile.

Final Results ~ 501/8441 Overall & 75/510 Division

I was hoping to break the PR I set in October, but wasn’t happening. I was still happy because this was my 2nd fastest half to date!

On da course.

I haven’t always viewed this race in the best light. But I gotta say, the changes they made this year were great! Except for a few bail bond and pawn shops, the course was pretty scenic. I like how we went through many Dallas landmark neighborhoods.

And the energy was terrific! In particular the crowd support was AWESOME! And it was great to see so many friendly faces along the way, like my pal Tory who went all out with his cheer station…

Tory, the sign master.

There was definitely a lot of creativity by the spectators.

After the race with my pal David, and his malfunctioning umbrella.

It was also cool during and after the race, where I can’t even count how many racing friends I ran into…

My friend Sylvia..I’m pretty sure that was her first half!!!

Another cool thing was my local elite friends had a good showing too. Our friend Brent got 7th place overall in the marathon! And my buddy Logan came in first place overall in the half, with a time of 1:08:20!!!

Logan at the finish!

After the race, it was time to celebrate!

Group shot 1.

We had a rotating group of some really strong runners join us for some craft brews.

Group shot 2.

But I gotta say, the COOLEST thing that happened that day was Meb giving me a high five! He was running the first leg of the relay. After he passed the baton, he hung around to support the runners. When I saw him, I made a detour to hit that opportunity (literally)! So cool! And what’s even cooler, later on I got to meet him formally!!!!

Me & Meb. Like peas and carrots…or maybe tortoise and hare.

All in all it was quite a whirlwind. I’m still processing it all. I was really surprised with how much I enjoyed this race. I may have to sign up for next year already!!!

How bout you? Did anyone else race Dallas? Hang out with any Boston Marathon champs recently? Seen any creative race supporters lately?

-Scott

Balloon ½ Marathon Recap (From Someone Who Didn’t Race It)

The day after running my 5k PR, I was up early again for a race…but this time I wasn’t racing. I was running yes, but not racing. I was there with some friends to support the racers.

The cheer squad.

I had SEVERAL friends running this race – (Hot Air) Balloon ½ Marathon & 5k – Including my brother…it was his first Half!

So I got there early to get in some miles before the race. We eventually came to the start of the race just in time for the gun. We cheered on the runners until it thinned out then jumped on the course and joined them. We ran along the first 4 miles and eventually found my brother and ran with him for a short while.

Along the way we saw dozens of hot air balloons as they launched. That was a cool sight.

I don’t care what you say, those dudes are full of hot air!

We also found some friends who were there to cheer too. Though the racers didn’t seem to appreciate their sign. It read, “You are NOT almost there.” Haha!

We then ran back to our cars for 10 total miles! Waiting in our cars were mimosas, bloody mary’s and shiner beer. We were parked at mile 11 of the course and tried to encourage the runners to finish strong!

Our cheers didn’t work on that guy…he kept walking.

A lot of the runners thanked us for being there. This course was VERY hilly. The temps were VERY hot. It was a tough day for them all. I’m glad we could help some of them.

My run bud Ana. I guess we ‘cheered’ her up. See what I did there?

Buuut, some of the runners had a bad attitude going into the race….

Hahahaha!

And apparently I was hatching an evil plan in my head while we spectated…

Muahaha! Evil smile much?

And then we saw my brother!

Almost done with is first half marathon!

As my BQ friends there mentioned, he was looking pretty solid at this point of a very tough race. He didn’t look like he was hurting at all. And he got er dun!

In the end, we cheered on many runners – friends and strangers alike. I know I appreciate the support of race spectators. And if we can squeeze some of our own miles in along the way, then all the better!

Our ‘refreshments’ are almost gone. Time for one last pic.

Sometimes it’s good to give back like that.

How bout you? Ever go to a race just to cheer? Ever run along a race course to support the runners? Was it wrong to taunt them with our mimosas?

-Scott

Thanksgiving Run & Race Fun

In my first run in over a week since I’ve been resting my knee and letting it heal, I felt pretty good.  My chiro gave me some kinesio tape that I think gave me some extra support.  I also took it pretty easy on my pace.  I also made sure to do a proper dynamic warm up – lunges, squats, toy soldiers, etc. etc.  And since it was in the upper 20’s when I woke, I made sure to bundle up to help keep my bod loose.

I knew that after my run I wanted to go and cheer for my racing friends.  Where I was running, I could hear the MC of the race off in the distance and it was a bit of a downer knowing I wouldn’t be in the race, but I wanted to be smart about my health.

The turkey was probably sad because it was Thanksgiving – a rough day for flightless birds.

Afterwards I did plenty of static stretching, changed to dry clothes and went to the race.  It was fun to cheer for everyone.  I saw so many people that I knew running this race.  It’s amazing to me that can go to pretty much any race in town and chances are I will know people there.

It was also cool that as some of my friends finished, they would go back and find other friends to help them finish.  Good stuff.

Afterwards we tailgated in the parking lot.  To our surprise there were a couple other groups tailgating, and being competitive people, we were determined to beat them.  We made sure to stay until the other groups packed up and left.  Yes, we won Thanksgiving!

We are so very thankful, obviously.

Afterwards it was the family celebration, but unfortunately I don’t think anyone took any photos, so you’ll just have to imagine what happened.

How bout you?  Did you race or run?  Did you have a good turkey day?  Have you ever gone to a race to support others?

Don’t be an Embarrassed Runner

There’s no reason to be.  I bring this up because recently I’ve had a few interactions with people, who for whatever reason, are embarrassed to work out.  I guess I didn’t really know that so many people feel this way.  But I hear that they think everyone is judging them (either in the gym or on the roads) and they don’t want to be embarrassed by how they look working out.  They tell me that they are self conscience about their bodies, their running pace, their lack of knowledge around gym equipment, their age, etc. etc. etc.

I have never felt that way.  Well, except for once.  I had just had wrist surgery, and once I was cleared to start rehab, the only weights I could lift were 2-3 lbs.  So I hid in a side room at the gym so nobody would see me doing curls with baby weights.  But then a group of body builders came in the same room and stripped down to g-strings and started critiquing each others poses, as they were preparing for a competition.  I was trapped in the room, surrounded by giant men in tiny banana hammocks, lifting 2 pound dumbbells – so yes, I was a little embarrassed.

But anyway, I seem to recall in college someone telling me they were intimidated being around buff dudes in the gym, so they didn’t go.  Now I’m not saying I was buff, but I was on the cheerleading team and we had to lift weights…a lot.  The gym was our second home.  And yes, we had a strength and conditioning coach, just like every other sports team on campus.  Here’s photo proof of my involvement:

My fav cheerleading photo (Hint–I’m the one on the bottom)

I remember talking to some of the other regulars at the gym and asked if they ever judged anyone else, and they all said “No.”  They were too busy focusing on their own workouts.  In fact, they said they actually respect the out of shape people they see in the gym.  They respect how their in there working to get better.  The only time they don’t is when someone just shows up one time and quits.  Or people who are just there doing things half-butted.  But if you are there and committed, then others respect you, no matter what your fitness level is.

This goes for people running too.  Whenever I pass another runner, I don’t say to myself, “They should not be out here.”  Instead I think, “Hey, another runner trying to get better, just like me.”

And when I’m in my car and pass by someone running, I’m always jealous.  I’d rather be out there on my feet than on my vehicular wheels.

So to sum up:  lift the weights, run the roads, swim the the pools, bike the streets, yoga the yoga mats, do whatever it is you like to do without fear.  Nobody is judging how fast you run, how much weight you can lift, how unflexible  you are, etc, etc.   Chances are, you are actually being respected or envied……Unless of course you’re doing something weird, like stealing all the paper towels and putting them in her giant purse, like I saw an old lady at the gym do the other week.  If that’s the case, then yes, I am judging you Mrs. Paper Towel Stealer.