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

Awesome Run, Muddy Run & Birthday Fun!

First off, I want to thank everyone again for the birthday wishes. And yay, we finally got to celebrate it over the weekend with a bunch of friends and fams.

Some running buds. “Must be this tall to ride.”

But I’ll get to that…

…The weekend started with one of the best runs I have had in a long time. I woke up early to meet up with WRRC in Dallas. The weather was gorgeous. It was especially lovely as we ran by White Rock Lake.

This sunrise is the kind of stuff runners see every day. Almost makes up for the early alarm clock…almost.

The folks I joined up with said they were doing 10 miles at an 8:45 pace. “OK, sure.” I said. I’m not really training for anything specific, so just running for fun.

Buuut, one thing that WRRC group runs are famous for, is always running further/faster than planned. We ended up going closer to 11 miles at an 8:15 pace.

My GPS was off – hence the pace/distance discrepancy.

I felt really really good on this run. I think I could’ve gone all day long. I wish more runs were like that.

Afterwards, a few of us got breakfast tacos…Natch! I didn’t take a picture of the tacos (they got in my mouth hole too fast), but I did take a pic of a pic of a friend that I spotted on the wall.

Pic of my good friend…his name is Dean. Oh, and also there’s a pic of my pal, Sylvia (who just ran her first 13.1). BTW, how do I get on the Taco Wall of Fame?

The next morning I met more friends for a really muddy trail run. They also surprised me with some birthday presents…I didn’t take a pic, but trust me, they were Klassy.

Anyway, we went about 6 miles and had a few photo ops along the way.

Taking a break. Bummer that I forgot my giant headband.

A couple friends even camped out there the night before. They let us play with their toys.

We got so hammered.

Even though there were some really muddy patches that slowed us down, we eventually finished the run.

The park rangers didn’t like our shenanigans, so they put us in their tree jail.

After the run, guess what happened? Yeah, that’s right…

I had this thought as I was eating.

From there I had to get all cleaned up nice, cause it was finally time for the birthday party! We went to a runner/kid/dog friendly Texas patio bar. It was packed (like I said, gorgeous weather). Because of the crowd, most of us were spread out all over, but it was still great to see everyone!

I was really bad about taking pics – too busy with birthday bevvies socializing. But we did get a few.

That’s a small glass of water.

Ha, but I did take one photo with a friend who complained it was too “normal”. She wanted a more “Scottish pic”. OK, you asked for it.

I needed salt for the tequila.

So all in all it was a really good past few days. It wouldn’t be a bad life if every day you got to go on a run, eat some tacos, then sit on a patio with friends/fams, would it? Need to work on that.

How bout you? Ever have one of those runs where it just felt effortless? Any guesses what my trail runner friends gifted me? Is it patio weather where you are yet?

-Scott

New Race, Random Question, & Super Heroes all up in yo grill!

Random thought – I wonder if the parents of Miles Davis were runners and that’s why they named him that.

Anyway, it’s been a good couple weeks of running. This past weekend I got in a long run with WRRC. We ran to one Dallas running landmark to another and back (White Rock Lake & Katy Trail).

Kind of a pointy laying down cat.

The next day I ran a solo run around one of the ‘burbs. It went well, except for the one stretch with all the bobcat droppings all over the sidewalk…I was looking over my shoulder the whole way!!! “Good kitty. Nice kitty.”

Kind of a cartoon caveman with an giant head.

Unfortunately I had to miss yoga this weekend, but it was for a good reason…the boy’s birthday present! We took him to see Marvel Live!

A bunch of stunt performers dressed up as super heroes.

Thor and his big hammer.

The Hulk was there too. And he SMASHED!!!!!

Despite the loud explosions, the boy had fun. And he was doubly thrilled cause his Godmother sent him a Pirate Ship Kite that’s gonna be like bigger than he is once put together!

It’s going to be big.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this coming weekend I’m running in a race! It’s the Hot Chocolate 15k in Dallas.

Can’t wait to get this medal!

I think I’ve only raced one other 15k, so I’m not really sure how to pace this distance. But I’ll do what I can. Go big or go home, right? Booyah!

PIRATEBOBCAT SMASH!!!!!

How bout you? Ever run a Hot Chocolate Race? Ever flown a kite bigger than you? Have you ever gotten smashed?

-Scott

Dallas 13.1 Half Marathon Recap – New PR!!!

Well it looks like all the extra mileage I’ve been running is paying off. I set a new 5k PR at Oktoberfest, ran within one second of that PR at last week’s Mavs 5k, and then two days later PR’d by nearly 5 minutes in the Michelob Ultra Dallas 13.1 Marathon.

Shiny new PR, shiny new medal, dull bumpy tongue.

My goals going into this race were:

1.PR

2. Run sub-8 minute miles

3. Negative split

4, Have fun

I’m glad to say that I accomplished each goal – finishing in 1:42:59!!!!

Official results

The weather was warm – 70 at the start, and fairly humid, and a bit windy. Also they changed the course this year ~ unnicely adding in some rolling hills the first half of the course. There was also a nasty little zig zag of a couple 180 degree turns at on little section. They also feature an unwelcome hill at mile 12.

There was also very little crowd support and entertainment along the course. But overall, it’s still a good course and race. Like I said, I PR’d, and so did several of my friends.

Some of my PR friends. We did it big..until that guy stole our water bottle.

I took it out easy and slowly increased speed as I went. Once we got to the Katy Trail section of the course, I could see the 1:45 pacer off in the distance. I ended up catching him around mile 10 and was able to pass him by a good distance. At the water stops I would look over my shoulder to make sure I was keeping my lead on him.

The White Rock Running Co-op and Thursday Night Social Run folks. Everyone had a great outing!

Unfortunately I dropped my Gu packet around mile 10, so I had to rely on the Gatorade at the water stations. I walked through three of them, but I didn’t lose too much time doing so, luckily.

My buddy Terrance ran his first half marathon! I’m on my tippy toes.

When I got to the last turn, I only saw two people in front of me, and I kicked it in, using them as goals to pass…I did! I even heard a shout out from the race announcer.

My Sunday Runday pal, Serene also PR’d!

I also had two friends in this race who finished 2nd and 1st overall!!! Speedy dudes!

Brent and Logan collecting their hardware.

After the race they had a fun band playing, but I felt bad for them because it was so hot out that everyone was hiding in the shaded areas. Well, except for one hula hooper…

Besides the bazillion friends I had running this race, I also had a gagillion more who were there to cheer. Great people.

I’m a selfie artist.

In the end, this race is known for PR’s. Despite the changes this year, that reputation held true. It was a fun event with lots of fun friends!

How we do.

How bout you? Know any races where people usually PR? Did you know hula hoopers love Bobby Brown music? Anyone else race this weekend? Or do two races???

-Scott

Race Creepin, Newish Run Route, Yoga & Swimsuit Sale

As I wrote about yesterday, I had a pretty good weekend with the new kindergartner. But I also managed to sneak in my workouts.

Saturday I got up early to run 9 or so miles. It was hot and humid, and I didn’t feel too fast. Buuuut, at mileish 6 I came to a park where I got some pep for my step.

A high school cross country meet was going on. There were tons of teams running all over the park to warm up while others were racing. I normally don’t like seeing high schoolers running when I run – they always seem to have zero percent body fat, and yet to acquire any bad habits, which combine to make them seemingly sprint the whole way. But just being around the energy of the event brought mine up. Of course I didn’t linger too long, didn’t want them to get the wrong idea about the sweaty guy milling about.

On Sunday I woke up early to meet a friend for a run. She suggested we go to the Katy Trail – which is hugely popular in Dallas. However I have only run there once recreationally. The other times were when it was part of a race course.

After a Katy Trail Race. The guy we’re holding up has two heads. It’s a rare defect.

Human pyramids are the perfect cool down exercise after a race.

We ended up going about 6 miles out and back. Halfway we came to a very popular (and very strategically based) patio bar adjacent to the trail. Coincidentally it’s called the Katy Trail Ice House.

It was too early for them to be fully open, but they did have cold water sitting out for the runners. And air conditioned restrooms…can’t forget that! So smart of them to support the running community like that.

It has paid off for them – one time we brought a small group of us to their 2^nd location for a run…

I guess we had a decent turnout that day.

Afterwards we went to yoga, which always burns a little bit more when you’ve run beforehand, ya know? But I know it will pay off in the long run!

Anyway, after that I had to make a quick stop at the sporting goods store. And check this out ladies, what a sale, the swimsuits were HALF OFF!

The prices were drastically shaved!

So there ya go, another decent weekend.

How bout you? Ever creep around a race? Ever done a training run at a spot you’ve only raced at? Who’s going to the bikini sale?

-Scott

The Katy Trail 5K #blog

May, 2012.  Dallas.  The full title of the race: The Michelob Ultra #13 Katy Trail 5K.

This one was a fun one, but not a good one to record good times.  Lemme ‘splain.  In Dallas, Katy Trail is a popular running and biking trail.  It’s a great place to get your sweat on, but when 5000 people are there to race, it is pretty crowded.  The trail itself isn’t that wide, so when you have a gaggle of folks out there, it was quite congested.  And a LOT of them were novice or non-runners, so there were walkers, sometimes four across.  I had to do a lot of swerving and dodging.  It didn’t help that I got stuck in the middle of the pack at the start.

Other than that though, it was a blast.  Lemme ‘splain.  The Katy Trail is lovely, and there were lots of lovely people running this race.  It’s a younger crowd for sure.  And the post race party was right on.  Free beer, free food, repeat.  Tons of restaurants were handing out free grub, while the title sponsor was handing out free suds.

Human pyramids are the perfect cool down exercise.

Score!  We also found our way into the VIP tent which had craft beers and wines.  No offense to Mick Ultra, but you ain’t got much flava.  I many much prefer the crafty brews, which led to even more human on human climbing.

The we’re holding up has two heads. It’s a rare defect.

I might like to do this race again.  Like I said, the post party was spot on.  I forgot to mention it was on a school night, and took place in the early evening – a nice little shake up to the normal Saturday morning 5k’s.

Next time though, I’m going to force my way to the front of the starting corral…that way I’ll avoid most of the walkers and get to the post party post haste!

Peace homeys!

 

The Great Taco Run 10 Miler

Sept. 30, 2012.  Downtown Dallas.  My first 10 mile race.  Cold and a little rainy.  Decent course.  Post race tacos and cervezas.  My goal:  to run my first race negative split….then drink the free cervezas.  Mission accomplished!

It was hard at the beginning of the race to keep in control and not go out too fast.  Trying to run my first negative split, so I wanted to stick to the plan.  I wanted to see what it feels like to finish strong instead of struggling to cross the finish line.  Plus I’d been reading how pretty much every world record is done with a negative split.  Worth a shot.  Worth some experimenting.    I was able to do it, as you can see by my split times in the photograph picture below…

Watch the splits go down like an elevator.

It certainly helped that the last couple miles were all down hill!  Of course the couple miles before that were all spent getting us to the top of said hill.  But can I just say, or can I just write, that the coolest part of doing a negative split was that after the first couple miles of coasting, when I started to pick up tha pace, not a soul passed me!  I spent the last 7-8 miles just passing people left and right.  That was cool.  I was just flying down the Katy Trail until it spit us out right by the American Airlines Center, from there it was a push to the finish around the corner*.

*There were also 5 and 10K races, of which we merged somewhere near the end, but the course and streets were spread out enough, it didn’t matter much.

Finishing Strong Like Bull.

I was pleased with my time of 1:21:55.  At worst I wanted to run 8:30 miles – ended up running 8:12 miles!  I didn’t know what to expect from a 10 mile race, but that was the goal I set before hand.

Anykidoodle, after the race I got to enjoy the free beervezas, but not a single taco!  I waited to long and the lines were too long, and they eventually ran out.  That’s OK tho.  Had a badbutt brunch afterwards with the fams.

So to sum up:  Ran the Taco Race and got the runs!