Running Margaritaville & NRDD (National Running Day, Duh)

I’ve been absent from these blog parts, but not by choice. As I often do, I wrote some posts & saved the drafts for future publishing. But when I logged in next, they were GONE! All that genius, lost forever. Sorry, world.

So lemme ketcheweup…Buffett Day was a wild success, like always.

Some of the SFW highlights.

This is my abfab fave day of the entire year. I try to explain it to people who’ve never been, but I’m learning that it’s indescribable. No matter how much I sell it, people who reluctantly finally show up to a tailgate always look around wide-eyed and say, “I had no idea it was like this! I wish I knew! This is awesome!!!”

We see Capn’ Jack Sparrow every single year.

Everyone seems to assume it’s a bunch of geriatrics sitting in lawn chairs drinking green tequila drinks. Everyone shouldn’t assume so much.

I almost wore this same thing.

Every year it’s like a competition to out-do everyone else creatively-tropically.

Mermaids get thirsty too.

And everybody is so chill – no politics, no drama, no greed…everyone shares everything (especially bevvies).

Shotski!

Making friends around a neon octopus.

This year got a bit cray cray. They stopped enforcing the strict parking rules – so anyone and everyone was setting up canopies, boats, etc. wherever they darn well pleased.This really condensed the space and it felt like one big back yard. Love it!

Caught taking a pirate lady selfie. I need that leg chalice.

Another thing that’s changed over the years is my Buffett crew. We had a huge regular group (not talking bathroom habits). But over the years most of them have faded away. Kind of sad, but c’est la vie dansante.

Buffett4Life friends and a svelte merman.

But like in regular life, most of these people have been replaced with runner friends. I still miss my old crew, but not much I can do if they don’t even respond to invites. It’s all good, runners be crazy, yo!

Runner friend unicorn and a zebra lady.

Someone let us drive their land boat.

Free lap dances from “pretty mike”.

I welcomed several runner friends to the Parrothead phlock.

And for those of you paying attention, why yes, that is my Key West Half Marathon race tech tee under my ultimate party Hawaiian shirt.

Perfect shirt for a perfect day.

And here’s a pro tip: Many people just come for the party, but for those of us who like his music and enjoy the concerts, don’t buy tickets in advance. You can always get some for free/cheap at the tailgate from other parrotheads. My dad and I got tickets for $10.

Boom-shaka-laka.

And I’ll leave it at this – one of the newbies who showed up posted this on her facebook page:

“Soooo…yesterday was my first time at a Jimmy Buffett tailgate party, and it’s taken a good 24 hours for me to mentally recover from what I witnessed there. There were things I simply cannot unsee. And I can’t wait until next year to do it all over again!”

OK, back to running. I’m sure everyone did something for National Running Day. Me was no different. I met up for a local running store’s social run followed by free breakfast tacos!!!

Miles and Smiles!

I got to see a lot of old running friends. It was great! And I’ve got some more good running news, but you’ll have to wait for tomorrow for that…I try to keep these posts more visual than wordy, and I see my word count is growing. Till next time!

How bout you? Anything special for NRD? Can you tell we had fun this week? Are you intrigued or frightened of Buffett tailgates based on my pics?

-Scott

2014 – Runs, PR’s, Celebs, Concerts, Tacos & Sexiness (Mostly in Photos)

Welp, we’ve dun it. Anuther trip around the sun. Looking back, 2014 was a pretty decent year. Let’s take a peek at a few hightlights, shall we?

It kicked off with a BANG! In January I ran the Disney World Dopey & Goofy Challenge. That’s 4 straight days, 4 straight races.

The 6 Dopey Challenge Medals.

Day 1 – Thursday – 5k (3.1 miles)

Medal 1/6 gotten!

Day 2 – Friday – 10k (6.2 miles)

Medal 2/6 got.

Day 3 – Saturday – Half Marathon (13.1 miles)

Medals 3/6 got.

Day 4 – Sunday – Full Marathon (26.2 miles)

Medals 6/6 (includes Dopey & Goofy bonus medals)

All in all, it was a magical 48.6 miles.

Running at Epcot, waving to my fans.

Included in the weekend was the Kids’ Race, where the soon to be 5 year old rocked it!

Medals for everyone!

Oh, and did I mention my sis and ma also did the Dopey?

At Magic Kingdom with our medals.

Shortly afterwards though, I was going for a run, tripped, felled, and Nancy Kerriganed my own knee.

Put me out of commission for a little while.

I was able to eventually get active again by doing a lot of yoga in a retail store.

Cat, cow, what difference does it make?

I really think yoga is important for everyone – including runners. So I do a lot of it. And besides…

#NotCreepyatAll

Another part of my cross training is lifting weights. And besides…

Dumbells make you smart…and sexy.

I also like to mix up my runs with track work. And besides…

Track work makes you sexy. Here’s the proof!

Trail runs are also great. And besides…

#truth #obviously

Eventually my knee felt better and I got back on the roads with some of my fave people. Like Thursday Night Social Runners.

TNSR, Representin

And also my crazy early morning elfen crew.

They like to run at like 5am. They cray cray.

I also made a few Luke’s Locker social trail runs.

Run trails, eat pancakes. Repeat.

And the White Rock Running Co-op, who really helped me to become a better runner this year.

WRRC. Good runners.

To help fuel my workouts, I ate lots of tacos. Lots.

Legit, son!

In between training, I also got to see some of my fave bands…like at this FREE concert – The Killers!

About 30 rows deep, my mouth a gasp with excitement.

And the Old 97’s.

Seen this band countless times.

And I was super thrilled to see the traveling Broadway show, based on the movie – Once!

And I got to make my annual Jimmy Buffett concert experience…TWICE!

JB concert #1. Just call me Front Row Joe.

JB concert #2. Things get wild at the tailgate parties…trust me!

I also got to hangout on stage during a Graceland Ninjaz concert.

On stage open mouth selfie.

As well as Pentatonix.

I liked to imagine they were all cheering for me (they may have been).

They were amongst the Celebs that got to hang out with me this year.

They asked me to join the group based on some of my youtube karaoke videos.

And my model friend Brooke Becker.

She’s kewl.

And long time friend, fashion blogger, and TV host, Hilary Kennedy.

We had to wear our shades because of the flashes from the paparazzi.

And all around media star, and long long time friend, Ashley Kamrath.

At the Emmy’s. We didn’t win this year, but we’ll get again next year!

And I made another video with friend & TV host, Emily Reppert.

On the set with my actor friends.

And I made a new BFF when I interviewed Olympic gold medalist, Jennie Finch.

See, told ya we were new BFF’s.

And my Dallas Half Marathon Champion friend, Logan Sherman.

Logan, Me, Patrick. Mustachioed.

And model/actor buddy, Shane Land.

We have played brothers in two movies. Can you see the resemblance?

And a Dallas Cowboy – Charles Haley.

A couple of legends.

Anyways, back to running. I ran a bunch of races. Starting with Abby’s Run 5k, where I won my age group!

Yay! I got a photo with Abby (who the race is named for) and her mom. Ann photobombed us.

Then came the Rock the Block 10k. New PR – 46:00!

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

During the months of Texas heat, it was really hot, so I only ran a few unofficial races. Like the Boston Marathon virtual run.

And the America, F**k Yeah 4th of July 10k.

Censored Bling

And the TNSR Beer Mile.

This was a bad idea.

Then came the Fall. Autumn is always a time of change. For us, a big change was the boy starting kindergarten. Where does the time go???

He’s grown about 5 times his size. Based on that growth rate, I figure he’ll be about 80 feet tall by his 20’s.

I even volunteered to coach his soccer team. That was a lot of fun!

Landsharks on three!

And the little girl just keeps growing too!

Stop looking at me swan.

Fall also saw a lot of PR changes. Starting with the Oktoberfest 5k – 21:33. When you PR, you have to celebrate…

They love me.

Next up was the Dallas Mavericks 5k. Another PR!

The Mavs Dancers asked to have their photo taken with me. I obliged.

Speaking of which, my brother ran his first half marathon this fall! And my dad is running his first half in January 2015!

Dad, Bro, Me at an FC Dallas game this fall.

The next PR to fall was at the Dallas 13.1 – 1:42:59!

Bottle opener medal.

Next was the annual Halloween fun run.

Our costumed group.

One sad change was that we lost our oldest doggy this fall. She was such a great pup.

sweet Bailey girl

But in happier times, I set another PR at the North Texas Turkey Trot 5k 20:04. Bummer was the course being .1 miles short.

Stop looking at me turkey.

Next up was the Rudolph Run 5k. And yet another PR – officially 21:29, but my watch had the course being long. According to it I came across at 20:50-something. Either way, I got 2nd in my age group!

Last year’s race was cancelled due to ice. So I got two medals!

The final race of 2014 was the Dallas Half marathon. No PR this day, but still got my 2nd fastest half – 1:45:01.

Big state, little medal.

And as part of the Dallas Marathon festivities, I got to meet MEB!!!!!!

Me n Meb

The end of the year was spent with friends and family for the holidays.

Looking back, it was a pretty good year. Lots of tacos, shows, good times, and running. In fact, I went over 1,200 miles on my feet. I even surpassed 5,000 miles total with my Nike+ watch – starting when I got it a few years ago.

5 g’s over the past few years.

Here’s hoping 2015 will be even better! Happy New Year, y’all!

Today’s only question: What’s your top 2014 highlight?

Halloween Fun & 10 Mile Run!

Yay, Halloween! I wrote the other day about the costumed social run I went on. Good times. But on the official Halloween, it was time for some trick or treating with the fams and friends. It went something like this:

Enforcing the law, lollipop in tow.

A good ninja is never seen…except when there’s candy involved.

Here in Texas, we haven’t had Autumn yet, so it was a bit sweaty on Halloween. It’s been in the 90’s still during the days. That all changed on Friday night though when a cold front came through. I woke up early for my usual long run and saw the temps in the mid-30’s!!! No thanks! I went back to bed. It was probably the first run I didn’t go on in 6 months. And call me a halloweenie if you must, but I need time to adjust – I can’t just jump into a 60 degree temp change!

Not to worry, it had warmed back up a little on Sunday, so I went for a 10 miler followed by some tough yoga.

I was also race stalking all my friends over the weekend at the NYC Marathon and locally at the Dallas Running Club Half Marathon. Congrats to all!

In between checking split updates, I also cleaned house. And found this gem in amongst the kids Halloween candy.

Times are tough in the suburbs apparently.

Ha, ok then.

How bout you? Did you race this weekend? Did you go trick or treating? What was your costume? Are you ready to get off the rock?

-Scott

Halloween Social Run

Each Halloween the Thursday Night Social Run club meets for a costume run. We run around a popular dining area and throw candy to people eating on the patios. My friends asked if I would join them as 1970’s runners. I agreed.

<CLICK ANY IMAGE TO SEE ENLARGED VERSION>

Our inspiration and us. Next year we need to step up our game.

I got the pic of the jorts runners from our pal over at Jogging Jeans. Check her out if you get a chance, funny stuff.

Anyway, we had a decent tournout…

Our costumed group.

Before we ran, we had to warm up. I did some 70’s stretches.

Work it.

After that, it was time for a few last pre pictures.

Snow White looked beautiful. I don’t know why my friend Jules didn’t wear a costume????

 

Run Forrest, RUUUUUUNNNN!

Got our basket full of candy to hand out. Very few of the candy bars had razor blades in them.

Then it was time to run!!!

We’re ghost runners!!!

Some of the candy recipients LOVED it, others not so much. Especially if a tootsie roll knocked over their margarita. Oh well, it’s only once a year.

Afterward it was time for a little post run socializing.

Keepin it klassy.

Sorry kids, out of kandy.

Retro fun.

Fun times. Fun times. Now it’s time to carve pumpkins and go trick-or-treating with the youngins.

How bout you? Doing a Halloween run? What’s your costume this year? Going trick-or-treating?

-Seventies Scott

Running Debt Paid & Dressed in Drag

I wrote a little while back about a bet I had going on with a running-blog ‘friend’.  You can chickity check it HERE.

Well, I lost the bet.  His team beat my team in the NBA playoffs.  And of course it went the maximum 7 games, which meant I owed him 7 400’s on the track.  Today I did that to pay off the debt.

Photo taken after…hence the sitting.

He tweeted me in jest after the final game and said he’d like to see my splits from the track.  Well, I don’t run with my phone (camera), so I just tried to keep track in my head.  Best I could make out with my math skills were that it went something like this:

1 – 89 seconds, 2 – 86 seconds, 3-7 – 85 seconds.

It was tough.  The winds were between 25-30 mph, with gusts much stronger than that.  The whole back side of the track was a wall of wind and it felt like I was running in place.  Hopefully that made me a stronger runner though.

The flag is holding on for dear life. It’s like that every spring here.

Luckily I forgot to mention to him how the gaggle of my fellow bloggers commented that they wanted us to up the ante with an embarrassing costume, or the opponents team jersey.  In fact, I had planned on wearing my throwback Mavs jersey in spite, but I forgot it at home.

#MFFL

Truth is, I don’t get embarrassed easily, so it wouldn’t have bothered me too much to dress up for it.  You know this if you followed my Dopey Challenge races.

Knee out. Hands on hips. It’s slimming.

Besides, if I had been dressed in drag like some of your suggested, I might have gotten a visit from the cops as I was running on a middle school track – and their girls soccer team was practicing on the infield.  I can hear the 9-1-1 call now, “There’s a creepy man in a sports bra and tutu running laps at the middle school.”

From a Halloween past – The Drag Queen Bee. Or Prom Queen Bee. Whichever you prefer. Aren’t you impressed I found heels to fit me? And a prom dress for that matter?

In the end though, it wasn’t all bad.  Sure, I’m disappointing that my team didn’t win, but hey, I got a good workout out of it!

How bout y’all?  Lost any wagers lately?  Dressed in drag lately?  Besides my blogging friend at hellyontherun (who let’s me know via Twitter) is anyone else interested in the NBA playoffs?  Anyone want to go to the prom with me?

-Scott

Dopey Meet-Ups!

I love how that now-a-days pretty much all my friends are so active.  It always amazes me that I can go to a race, or just go on a training run, and I’m almost guaranteed to “run into” someone I know.  I like that.  It was no different when I traveled half way across the country for a race.  At the Disney Dopey Challenge, I got to meet-up with a few peeps.

If you missed my recaps of the races, you can see them here:  5k, 10k, 13.1, 26.2

First off, these aren’t really reunions, but traveling with me was our boy and my moms.  The boy was doing the Kid’s Race for the 3rd time.

Collage credit goes to my mom. She got all artsy recently.

My moms was doing the Dopey Challenge too.  She only started running a few years ago, and hadn’t run a full marathon yet, but she wanted to make this happen!

Traditional pre-race family photo.

And of course, my sis.  She lives in Orlando, FL so of course we saw her.  Also, her and her roomie let us crash at their crib (I’m so hip), so that was groovy (see).  And if you’ve followed along, then you know that she ran the Dopey too!  We even ran the whole half marathon portion together.

Sibling photo op.  The castle photo bombed us.

Many of you asked how my mom and sis did, and I’m here to tell you that they both finished!  My sis came across the full marathon line a little after me and we reunited when she passed by me stretching next to the medical tent.

With Sis before the marathon. We looked much better here than afterwards.

After we cleaned up, we went into Epcot to look for our ma.  We bought a rose with a Mickey Mouse in it to give to her.  Our plan was for the boy to hand it to her as she passed so she could cross the finish line with it.  All we had to do was wait.

While waiting, we cheered on all the other runners.  And we saw my sister’s friend and cheered for him!  He had met us each morning (he was Dopey too) before the races and served as our official pre race family photographer.

Pre one of the races with my sis’ friend.

Then we finally saw our ma!  We yelled at her to come over so we could hand her the rose, but get this…she blew us off!!!  Haha!  She literally waved us off and kept going.  Everyone around us thought that was pretty funny too.  They said it was comical that we had been waiting there for her, and she was not interested in stopping.

The boy said he was looking “stylish”.

Now I know how it is in a marathon, and I’m sure at that point in the race she just wanted to finish, but it was still funny to us.  Anyway, we gave her the rose a little later.

You can see the rose on the ground next to her. Don’t marathons look fun???

Another mom collage.

Another meet-up I had was with a friend from high school…who I hadn’t seen since high school.  We ran track together at our Ohio high school, but now he lives in Hawaii.  Not a bad gig if you can get it.  Anyway, he was doing the Dopey too.  I actually bumped into him in my coral before the 5k and we ran the whole way together.

That’s him next to me (he’s in the kilt).

We would see each other before and after each race.  It was cool to catch up.

Representing the mean streets of our hometown – Westerville, Ohio.

I had another long time reunion.  Now I must preface this with a short fun fact – also in high school, I used to travel the East coast competing in (mostly) hip hop dance competitions.  My sis went to a dance school, and I just kind of fell into it.

National championships in Myrtle Beach. I know you’re jealous of my mighty dancing shoulder pads.

So, one of the gals I used to dance with now lives in Florida and her and her husband were running the marathon.  After they finished (PR’d!!!) we met up for some post race re-hydrating.

We had to refill our carb levels somehow.

I hadn’t seen her in a long long time, so that was awesome!

Another meet-up I had was with a fellow blogger.  Danielle over at Live, Run, Grow.  There were many that I wanted to run into, but I was only able to find this one.  And here’s how: before the Dopey she had blogged her race costume – Newsies.  After the 10k, I saw a group of Newsies, and knew it must be her.  So we had a brief meet-up.

Virtual friends meet! We take life very seriously.

That’s a great tip from her – post  your race costumes before hand so people looking for you can find you!  For you other blogger friends who were there, know that I was looking for you, and I’m sorry we weren’t able to meet up.

So there are the running reunions I had at the Dopey Challenge.  So cool!

How bout you?  Ever run into old/new friends at races?  Any surprise get togethers?

Half Marathon Recap – Disney Dopey Challenge Day 3

Race 3 of 4 of the Dopey Challenge.  This time it was time for the Donald Duck themed half marathon.  The evening before the race, we prepared by chilling a bit at Downtown Disney.

My sis and I carbo-loading.

Our sunny set view.

Then came the morning and another 2am wake up call.  By now I was used to it.  I had used up all my pre-race sleep jitters before the first race (5k).  And while I still hadn’t had a full night sleep, at least I got a few hours.  And of course we took our customary pre race photo.

Sis, Me, Mom.

Still wanting to take it easy, so I wore one last costume (as you can tell).  This time it was my PR 214 tech tank with an Alice in Wonderland apron.  My friend (who looks like an elf) lent it to me the day before I left for Florida.

Knee out. Hands on hips.

She told me she got it at Disney World when she was a little girl…so it’s probably like 50-60 years old (JK – if she read this).  She also lent me the matching dress, but I could no way in Hades get it on.  I tried, but couldn’t get the waist over my broad manly shoulders.  Nearly split it in four.  I guess costumes meant for a 6 year old girl don’t work on me.

I do like how the rabbit is chasing time – just like us runners!

The apron got quite the few comments and gawks.  One example during the race: a couple bros asked me if I lost a bet – I told them that it was either a result of too much medication, or not quite enough.

I’d be much faster if I ran like a normal person.

I also ran with the GoPro camera.  But I had forgotted to charge it the night before, so I only got a few moments of video recorded during the race.    You can see the fleeting moments here:

As you can see in the video, there was a bit of a let down at the start of our corral.  Now I won’t get into the corral complaints here, as I’m sure the runDisney folks have gotten quite the mouse earful already.  But what I wanted to bring up was that our corral got extra jacked up.  You see, Disney shoots off a pretty nice little fireworks show for each corral start – except for ours.  Something happened when the dude pushed the boom button and we got zilch sky explosions.  Bummer, bro.

But no matter, we were underway!

Follow the yellow brick road…or painted line, as it were.

I ran the whole way with my sis.  We chatted the whole way too, further ensuring that we’d take it easy (in addy to the costumes).

I have to correct my running form. So does she.

We didn’t stop for any characters, but we couldn’t pass up the Cinderella’s Castle photo op (no lines!).

As much as my arms are in the air, I hope I didn’t have B.O.

I was looking forward to this leg of the Dopey.  I had run the Disney Marathon 3 times, but never one of their 13.1 races.  I wanted to know what it was like.

I think I thought I was in 2nd place here.

But after running it, I can now say that I’m glad I run the fulls.  They didn’t have all the bells and whistles out for the half.  The course only hit up two parks (Magic Kingdom and Epcot).

Half of the most magical place on Earth.

The lights of the castle weren’t even on.  The people who run the half really do miss out on all the action of the full – but I guess that’s part of the reward for the people who are more than half crazy???

Catchin flies.

Anyways, it was pretty warm and humid.  So the apron and everything else got nice and sweaty (if Elf reads this – we did wash it after).  I’m really glad we didn’t have this weather for the full!  It was swampy!

Put the guns away already!

Once again, the race started and ended in the Epcot parking lot.  The crowds of supporters were bigger than the day before (10k), which was bigger than the day before (5k).

No mid race selfie for you! Battery is dead bro!

But once again, I was trying to go for a personal worst (PW).  This was the 3rd of 4 legs of the Dopey Challenge and the 1st of 2 legs of the Goofy.  And once again I succeeded!

I must’ve run the entire way with my hands in the air. Sheesh.

We finished at 2 hrs 17 mins.  A near 30 minutes slower than my previous half (1:48).  Just a nice easy medium-long run.

And at the finish, I did a little high step dance, but I couldn’t get the video for y’all, but you can kind of tell from the pics.

Sideways high steppin.

Anyways, we enjoyed the journey and Disney does make a fine race medal!

Thumbs up, finally arms down.

So now we’re 3 races down, with just one to go – the full 26.2 mile marathon!

Family reunion time.

The only scary thing was that people started to point out that even though we’d finished 3/4 races, we hadn’t yet reached halfway of the total mileage!!!!!  We wouldn’t reach that until a few miles into the full.  I wish nobody had pointed that out.

You can lick the medals if you want. One of the benefits.

So there you go.  We are now 1/2 Goofy and 3/4 Dopey.  One (big) race to go to complete the challenges!!!

***Side note – I saw a really funny race shirt that day – it read on the back, “Is this the line for Space Mountain?”  Bwhaha!****

If you missed the previous recaps, here’s the ones for the Expo, 5k, and 10k.

How bout y’all?  Ever cross dress in an ill-fitting outfit for a race?  Can you suggest a new mid-race pose other and arms up?  Should we had made fireworks sound effects when their real ones malfunctioned?

5k Recap – Disney Dopey Challenge Day 1

Day 1 of 4 of the inaugural Dopey Challenge.  This was the 5k Family Fun Run.  It was chilly, but humid.  I was there with my mom and sis.  It was early.  The 2 am alarm clock did not allow for much sleep – especially since I kept tossing and turning afraid we’d miss the alarm.  I also couldn’t shut my mind off while struggling to figure out which outfit to wear for this race (a manly problem, I know).

Sis, mom, me. Before the race.

My goal for the first 3 races was to finish with a PW (personal worst).  I wanted to save my legs for the finale of 26.2 miles in just a few days.  To remind myself to take it easy, I had brought a few outfits to wear.  You can’t take a race too seriously if you’re wearing something silly.  I decided on an old Goofy hat that I own, along with giant Disney cartoon gloves.  And of course, I had to represent my Ohio Bobcats!

The theme of the race was Pluto, but Goofy’s a dog too…isn’t he?

I also carried a GoPro video camera to capture some of the highlights.  If you have a couple minutes, and don’t mind Blair Witch style cinematography, then you can watch the video here:

And while I wanted to get a PW, I still wanted to RUN all 4 races.  I figured part of the Challenge is to actually run, and not walk.  Save for a few photo ops.  Not that I have anything against walk/runners, but for me personally, I wanted to complete what I took to be part of the challenge – running the races.

Yes, I started and finished the race before the sun came up.

The 5k started in the Epcot parking lot, and finished there too.  Basically the course took us on a lap of the park.

The warm-up runs.

I was a tad disappointed with the lack of characters out.  They’re were a few – but the line to get a pic with Dopey was insane!!!  Luckily I got to meet up with him later on (stay tuned for that pic)!

Judging from the photos, I ran the whole race with my arms in the air…like I don’t have a care.

I was also a tad disappointed that they didn’t have all the Disney flair going on – Like lighting up the giant torches.  This was done for a later race, however.

At the finish, next to a lady with a glorious lion mane of hair!

I was lucky to start in Corral A.  From the peeps I talked to who were in the later corrals (through E), it took a long time before they got started.  In fact, I talked to some who said people were finishing the race before they even started!  Apparently the gap between corral starts were kind of lengthy.

Bird’s eye view of the finish. Hands still in the air.

In the end, I reached my goal of getting a PW by about 10 minutes – 35:26.  Considering my last two 5k’s I finished right at 21:50, I’d say this result is a good job of taking it easy!!!

All smiles at the finish photo line!

Race 1 done, 3 more to come!  3.1 miles over, 45.5 to go!  And a fun finisher’s medallion to boot!

Medal 1/6 gotten!

This race was over quick.  Like I said, it was still dark out at the finish.  And it was good to get the race jitters out of the way.  It was weird to line up for a race that I wasn’t “racing”, but like I said – I had a plan and stuck to it!

So there you go, Dopey Challenge Race 1 Recap!  Next up will be the race 2 recap – the inaugural Minnie Mouse 10k!  If you missed my recap of the Expo, you can read it HERE.

How bout you?  Ever ran a race that you didn’t “race”?  What do you think of the Disney 5k?  Holla at me!

Dopey Challenge – To Costume or Not?

Since the Disney Dopey Challenge (5k, 10k, 13.1, 26.2) is only a few days away, I have a dilemma:  Should I wear a costume during the first 3 races?

I since the last race is a full marathon, I want to save as much energy for that as I can for it.  So that means NOT racing the first 3 events.  This can be hard to do – once you line up at the start, it can be difficult to fight the adrenaline and excitement and competitiveness.  But I still have hopes of PR’ing in the 26.2, so I must resist the urge to go hard the early races.

To do this, I thought about wearing costumes.  I usually wear costumes when I run in races that I just want to have fun in, to make sure I don’t take it too seriously.  Here’s a few examples…BTW, I went through a mud/obstacle race phase a couple years ago…

Pirate say, “Fire arrgh bad!”

Hippies love mud.

 

Firefighter Scott – in case of emergency.

Can you guess which one of us is the real Santa Clause?

Updated pirate – ear ring and hook!

I went as a Parrothead for this race…and in real life.

So, do you think I should go for costumes?  Check a box  Yes___  No___

If yes, what should I be?  I do have some Mickey Ears and giant Mickey Gloves…

My mickey mitts…do not ask about the rest of my outfit…

The official themes of the races are: 5k – Pluto, 10k – Minnie, 13.1 – Donald, 26.2 – Mickey, 13.1+ 26.2 – Goofy, All 4 races – Dopey.  I could go off of those, or be more creative.  Anything Disney related goes – any character, ride, movie, etc.  Or I could be a tourist.  I also have a whole box of years past Halloween costumes to pick through.  Cross dressing is OK too. The options are endless, but we’re running short on time. 

Please, give me your ideas/suggestions for race costumes!  What’s your fav thing Disney?  Let’s brainstorm!

Generic Title: Year in Review

Last day of 2013.  I got one last run and weight session in.  It gave me time to think about the past year.  Here’s what had happened…

It started by running the 20th Anniversary of the Disney Marathon in Orlando…

Medals dang near big as yo head!

As part of that, the boy ran the Kid’s Race and won his heat!

I can’t believe he has better form than I do. He also has better race photos.

I also kept my streak alive of being undefeated against celebrities in races.  You can read about the others HERE, but this time I beat Joey Fatone….

It’s the guy from that boy band – I think it’s named – My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Explored the Orlando Theme Parks with…

Moms, Pops, Boy.

Celebrated the boy’s birthday at a fire station (his choice)…

Unfortunately, the did not serve us chili.

I then ran the Too Cold to Hold 5 miler.  You can see the recap HERE – A bunch of friends joined me…

We should’ve ordered brighter shirts for TNSR.

I ran the Dallas Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon.  You can see the recap HERE…

I know it looks like Brooks threw up on me, but don’t care cause it was cold! I needed more of that tin foil stuff to wrap me up like a baked potato.

I then got to produce a bunch more videos with the hilarious Flula…

Like our dope videos or we will fight you…in a non violent way.

I got to celebrate my birthday and St. Patty’s Day in a special way, which you can see HERE…

I’d be a giant in leprechaun village.

Then I won my age group in a very special 5k that you can see the recap HERE…

I’ll treasure this one fo shizzle.

I then got to meet up with my sis and sis from another miss in Raleigh, NC…

With my sis and sis from another miss.

After a few days of fun, we were off to the Outer Banks to run the Flying Pirate Half Marathon, which you can read my recap about HERE…

My sis and I after a recent 1/2 marathon in OBX, NC.

We had a bit of fun exploring the site of the Wright Bros first flight…

Gotcha!

And celebrated on the beach…

Here’s your typical beach photo of legs and feet.

Unfortunately, the next day was the bombing of the Boston Marathon.  I wrote my thoughts on it HERE, which I got a huge response from.  Apparently I wrote what others were feeling.

At Fenway Pahk watchin tha Red Sahx play the wicked Yankees a few years ago.

I then ran another 5k, you can read about it HERE…

Takin it to da bridge!

Then my soccer team finished in second place after losing in a shoot-out after double overtime…

No smiles for second place.

I continued running with Thursday Night Social Run...

We run. We socialize. It’s cool.

I ran another 5k, recap HERE…

Posing with a patriotic trash can.

I re-incorporated trail running into my repertoire…

It’s best to run in the back so the leaders are 1st to find snakes and spiderwebs.

Got to play a ninja in a music video…

In between takes with some “Felvis” dancers (female Elvis).

I then ran in an unofficial 4×1 mile relay race, recap HERE…

At the Relay Race – We’re both rockin the Pure Flow 2 by Brooks.

I then ran my first Beer Mile race (4x 1/4 mile + 1 beer at each).  I finished 2nd overall.  Recap HERE…

A trophy, yay!

I became a part of a new run training group – Project Run 214…

Bright and early!

Got to see Mumford and Sons with family and friends…

Went to the local Oktoberfest so that I could drink free beer cheer my friends running the 5k…

My friend wore lederhosen during the race, so we decided to celebrate.

Enrolled the boy in his first hockey class…

He looks serious!

Went to the coast of Texas to teach a class on TV production and collect some awards…

Boats on the water.

I ran my first 15k race.  Recap HERE…

Say ahhhhhh!

Tested out a new mode of transportation…

Howdy pardner. You like my ride?

Went trick or treating with the rug rats…

I’m a ginja (ginger ninja).

Do not cross him.

Cowgirls are udderly cute.

I then went to the Alamo to look for my bike…

Alamo selfie!

Won two more Emmy’s for the mantle…

Emmy #6! I’d like to thank the Academy, etc. etc.

Hung out with Nitro from American Gladiators…

Right before we went through the gauntlet!

I then tweaked something in my knee…

My tape job.

Cheered for more friends running a Thanksgiving day race…

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

Survived a North Texas ice storm…

All that white stuff looks like fun snow, but is actually pure evil ice.

Which forced me to the dreadmill to continue my training…

That took forever.

Helped a friend run the final few of his 30 mile run for charity…

At the mile 27 station.

Celebrated the holidays with family and friends…

All our ornaments on the bottom half of the tree.

And ate a buttload of tacos…

Mmmmm, tacos.

BTW, my knee is feeling pretty great.  I’m almost done training for next week’s Dopey Challenge (5k, 10k, 13.1, 26.2) at Disney World!  Can’t wait to get these 6 medals!

My neck feels heavy just looking at them.

In between we just kept on trying to keep on.  Hanging out at home with the fams and dogs.  Making videos.  Yoga-ing.  Working out.  Cooking.  Laughing.  Oh, and blogging.

 

How was your year?  Did you make the most of it?  How’s your 2014 looking?  Big plans?  Holla!