The Loop 15k preview – Running with Ebola

So there is a race I’m supposed to run this weekend. It’s in Dallas. Where the Ebola stuff is going on. They say we’re safe. I believe them. But, I’ve been sick all week with a cold. At least I THINK it’s a cold!!!!

Should I be worried?

I tried to continue with my workouts all week, but on my run yesterday, I felt like doo doo. Besides my Ebola sniffles, it was also flippin hot, wildly windy, and freakin Humid with a capital H. Left me nice and shweaty.

My sweat leaves marks.

Buuut we had a massive storm blow through last night, and that has brought us some relief. And so the thought of running a race in somewhat tolerable conditions is very tempting.

Also, I ate some pho last night (pho realz, I did). And I slept-in instead of running this morning. So I hope that helps me feel more better. Well, at least as well as I can feel…

I hope to get rid of the chip on my shoulder.

I ran this race last year and did ok. But it was muuuch more hotter than it’s supposed to be this year. But two, I was healthy last year. Well, at least as healthy as I can appear…

Say ahhhhhh!

So here’s hopin I feel well enough to race this weekend!

How bout you? Do you run if you’re under the weather? Do you run whether the weather? Can you diagnose my illness?

-Scott

The Loop 15k Race Recap

I’ve been very diligent about my training for the Disney Dopey Challenge.  Running four races in four consecutive days will be a new experience, and I want to be smart about it.  Add to that the hefty registration fee, results in me not doing any races lately.  But not racing for several months makes a PirateBobcat go a bit nutso.  Not to mention it’s good to break up training now and again with a race.  This not only serves as a barometer of your status, but also helps you practice racing.  And of course, they’re fun!

This past Saturday I decided to race The Loop 15k by the Dallas Running Club.  Here’s why I chose it: I had some friends doing it, the weather was finally supposed to cool off, it fit into my training schedule, and the registration fee was only $10!  Also, I had never run a 15k, so instant PR! 

They call this race The Loop, because it takes you on one loop of White Rock Lake.  It’s a very popular running and biking spot in Dallas.  It’s where I go to do my long runs as the lake is about 8.9 miles around.  There are also a few detours to make add distance.  This race had to add a detour because we needed to get to 9.3 miles to complete the 15k.  I know, right, why aren’t we on the metric system, except for races?  Haha!

The start/end was at Winfrey Point. I assume named for Oprah.

My last several half marathons have been run at around an 8:12 per mile pace.  My goal after the Dopey is to get faster and the next step is to run 8:00 min miles in a Half.  I secretly hoped I could do that in this 15k.  I thought that hope was out the window when I arrived though because the weather was not cool like the weather dude promised.  It was in the low 80’s with 90% humidity.  It was swampy.  I did a quick warm up before the race and was absolutely drenched with sweat.  But a funny thing happened when the gun sounded – I was able to finish with a pace UNDER 8 min miles!  Here’s what had happened…

Before the race I started chatting with a dude who was new to running.  He was asking me all sorts of questions about it, which I was happy to answer.  This guy is younger and looked like he was in pretty good shape, but this race would be a new experience for him.  Also, at the start line I saw one of my running buddies – Lea.  She’s a great runner who is getting ready for the Houston and Boston Marathons.  I decided to try and keep up with her despite the weather.  My new friend decided to try and keep up with me despite his newness.  We did all stay together until about mile 7 when we hit some hills.  Not nice hills either.  They actually hit me pretty hard, and I fell off the pace a bit.  But my two friends did great and finished just ahead of me.  Lea even got 2nd place in her age group.   

I finished in 1:13:48.  Good enough for 8th in age group and 60th overall out of 512.  I was really happy with this.  Especially considering the weather, and especially considering that I took a few walk breaks through water stations (and part way up the last nasty hill).  The conditions were so bad that I had to briefly stop at one point and tighten the belt lace in my running shorts because they were so heavy with sweat that they kept falling down, and I didn’t want to have a wardrobe malfunction on the course – especially in case a race photographer was around! 

Say ahhhhhh!

There was also a 5k race that I had some friends in.  In both the 5k and 15k, my other friends did great in their races too!  It was tough out there and I’m proud of them all!  One friend even got 1st in his 5k age group! 

But here’s the thang – about 15 minutes after I finished my run, the skies opened up and it began to pour down rain!  I was glad I finished before the wet stuff came down, but after it passed, the weather dropped down into the 50’s!  What I wouldn’t have given for those temps at the start of the race!  Oh well, what are you going to do?  Hopefully those cooler temps will stick around for a while for my next round of training runs. 

Anyways, that’s why there are no post race photos – because it was pouring rain and cold as crap.  I’ll try to take a photo of the lake next time I run there.  Some nice views!

I know this was a big racing weekend around the country.  Did you race?  How’d you do?  If not, what did you do?  How’s the weather there?

-Scott

Dopey Training Week 4 (I think) Weecap

Not a typo in the title, I just invented the word for week recap.  Anyway, last week’s runs went fine.  The mileage is still low, which is frustrating, but good too.  The weekdays only had my run 10 miles total.  Then came the weekend’s back to back runs.  Saturday called for 3 miles, I went a tad further.  Sunday called for 12 miles, I didn’t go a tad further.  Sunday was hot again and humid again.  I met a friend at White Rock Lake (9 mile loop) before sunrise…it didn’t matter, the weather was still pretty miserable for running.  We did pretty good the first 7 miles, but by then the sun was up and blazing.  It was a bit of a struggle the next 3 miles, then a noticeable struggle the last 2.

Now I follow some big time runners on Twitter – Hal Higdon, Jeff Galloway, etc.  And I can’t remember who, but one of them likes to tweet that your “wall” hits at the mile of your previous long run’s last mile.  I’m finding this to be true.  So that partly explains my struggles the last couple miles.  But I also know the heat plays a role too.  And I found myself wishing for fall temps.  I have hope with the start of English football and American football, and the fact that the calendar says “September” that it hopefully it will start to cool soon.

But we got her done.  That’s what counts.  Injury free, that’s what really counts.  So on to the next week.  Keep on keepin on.  Bring it!

Run the White Rock Lake Loop

So I normally don’t blog about my workouts.  I workout nearly every day and sometimes twice a day.  If I were to write about each one, I’m sure I’d bore a lot of people.  But this particular workout, a lot of karazy stuff happened.

On Saturday I decided to do a lap around White Rock Lake.  I think every Dallas runner should do this loop at some point their lives.  It’s roughly 9 miles around and it is pretty scenic with views of the Dallas skyline, trees, kayaks, sailboats, picnicers, wildlife, tamelife, and other runners/bikers.  This time though, there were lots of surprise and cornfusing sights.  I’ll run them down in order of how I saw them.

1.)  Right when I was pulling in to park, Logan Sherman came flying down the trail.  We hadn’t seen each other in a few weeks and so he was kind enough to stop and chat with me for a minute before offering some encouragement and the taking off in a blaze to finish his 20 mile run (he’s getting ready for the Boston Marathon).

2.)  On the run, I passed a Goth lady with bright red hair in a wedding dress with her military uniformed husband taking their wedding photos.  Good for them.

3.)  One lonely pelican floating near the shore.

4.)  An ornery looking snapping turtle just off the trail giving me the stink eye as I ran past him and/or her.

5.)  A group of pro football looking dudes (some wearing NFL jerseys) taking photos of two horses they had tied to a tree by the lake.  Still trying to figure that one out.

6.)  Every fisherperson I passed seemed to be smoking cigs.  Is that a thing?  Do fishing and smoking go together like Spam and eggs?  PS. I’ve never eaten Spam and eggs, but I’m told it’s a thing.

7.)  A truck shaped like a giant shoe.

8.)  After I finished, I was stretching and noticed a lady hiding behind a tree with a camera.  I figured she was a private detective and hoped she wasn’t looking for me.

9.)  Then I saw a marriage proposal…it was accepted.

10.)  The lady hiding behind the tree was taking photos of the proposal.  Mystery solved.

So there you go.  Not you’re typical workout.  But I was glad to see it all ’cause it kept my mind entertained.  Oh, and sorry I don’t have any photos of this schtuff, but I refuse to workout with my phone…gotta keep phocused.  You’ll have to take my word for it.  But it is all true!  I can draw you sketches if you like.

Anyway, give the White Rock Lake loop a chance if you get a chance.  It’s a good trail, and you never know what you’ll see!

Peace out internet!

 

Too Cold to Hold 5 Miler (part 1)

So on Sunday I ran the Too Cold to Hold 5 mile race.  They also had a 5k and 10 mile, but I stuck with the 5 miler as I had never run that distance in a race before – guaranteed PR, haha!  I wanted to run fast and race it as it was a relatively short distance and for the past several months all my races have been between 10 and 26.2 miles.  It felt good to go fast, even though I wasn’t in my best speed shape.

Too Cold to Hold, Too Blurry to See

I didn’t know how fast I could go since I hadn’t done any speedwork in months, but I had one goal – to run under 40 minutes.  I figured that was plenty doable, and I figured right.  I ended up going 37:25, around a 7:25 per mile pace I think.  It was good enough for a top 40 overall finish and placing 5th in my division.

The weather was good – though warmer than I expected.  And there was not the usual blustery winds coming off White Rock Lake.  There was a nasty hill about a mile into it, but I’m glad it was there and not at the finish.  Only major problem was the big cluster of people at the start.  Anyone who knows me knows I’m a big fan of corrals, but this race didn’t have ’em.  All three races had the same start time, so the first mile definitely included a lot of bobbing and weaving around walkers and people going slower.  Always frustrating, but I didn’t get their early enough to forge my way to the front of the start crowd.  So part of that’s on me.  My bad dawg.

Anyway, we had a group of friends and Thursday Night Social Runners out there.  Several of us either PR’d, won age group awards, or had a distance record.

We should’ve ordered brighter shirts for TNSR.

Afterwards the real party started (as opposed to the fake party).  They had lots of free food and drinks (incl. beervecas).  But as always, our group remained serious and committed to professionalism, as seen in this photo.

I decided I needed the duck-lipped-hand-on-hip-one-bent-legged pose that every female seems to have on facebook.

We moved the morning to brunch, where things got super fun.  But I won’t bore you with pics of scalloped risotto and drasians (drunk Asians).  Some things are better experienced than witnessed in social media pics.

Anyhoodle, as soon as they send out the race photos, I’ll try to share a few if I look good (aka duck lips).  Hence, that’s why this post is only part 1.

Peace out Internet!

New Race, Past Race

So I went ahead and regis-turd for the Too Cold to Hold race at White Rock Lake in Dallas.  I would’ve taken a screen shot of the online registration page, but it wasn’t very exciting to look at, and I assume you believe I registerd as I have no reason to lie about this.

They have a 5k, 5 Mile, and 10 Mile.  I decided to go for the 5 Mile.  Why?  Couple o’ reasons.  Firsty is that I’ve never run a 5 mile race and want to give it a go.  Sloppy seconds is that after all the long steady training runs I did leading up to the Disney Marathon, I really just want to run short and fast finally!  (And I know that 5 miles isn’t as short as the 5 kilometers, but to me it seems short after going 26.2, so back off!)  Thirsty thirds is that I’m still letting my body recover and so I figured I’d keep it to single digits mileage for now.

Speaking of which, can I just say that I see too many people not taking enough time to let their body recover after a big race.  There are some folks out there who can run a marathon every day, but most people can’t.  These races take a toll on the average person’s body, and it needs to heal itself.  Even if you don’t have an injury, there are still breakdowns in the body after races and long runs that go all the way to the cellular level.  But I see so many people jump right back into it right away.  Take a freakin break already.  There will still be races after your body is recovered and your legs are springy again!

Now that said, I feel pretty good after my race.  No significant injuries to speak of.  Still have good energy.  But I’m in this for the long haul, so figure it’s better to listen to my body.  It will tell me when it’s time to go long again.  I’ve still been running, lifting, yoga-ing, but also enjoying the relative break.  Of course, I still need to get ready for the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in two months, but I’ll be fine.  (Again, sorry for lack of this race’s registration screen shot, but see my reasons for not doing so in sentence two.)  I’ve partnered with a very exciting new training group, but that’s a story for another soon to come blog post.  But know that through this group, I’ll be more than ready for the Dal RnR 1/2.

Finally, I’m still working on collecting all my thoughts and pics and vids from the Disney Marathon, but I’ll get to it’s recap eventually.  I’ve got other stuff going on in my life, so you yahoos will have to wait.  In the mean time, here’s a recap video Run Disney made about the marathon.  Check it out when you got 4 minutes.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bdFXVDZzVQ&list=PL4C524BF1027443FA

It quickly shows a lot of what went down.  Man, Disney does it right!  They don’t do anything small, that’s fo shizzle.  Peace and running grease!

Tour des Fleurs 20K #blog

September, 2011.  A bunch of us ran the Tour des Fleurs 20K.  It’s a 12.4 mile race that goes around White Rock Lake and some of the surrounding neighborhoods.  This is a decent event, but it wasn’t a great race for me. Don’t get me wrong, any time I get to race, it’s a good day, but this was tough.

I had no idea there was a camera present, that’s how I always look when I run.

First off, it was insanely humid and muggy.  In fact, when I finished I crouched down like a hidden tiger and was disgusted as I noticed the waterfall of sweat that was pouring out of my shorts like a faucet.  Second off, I was dumb.  My sister and I took off from the start like it was a 5k.  Went out waaayyy too fast, and paid for it later.  Once we hit the hills of the neighborhoods, I was hurting.  Battling the heat, hills, and non-negative split had taken a toll.

There was on final hill once we got back on the trail that circles the lake, and I had had enough, so I started walking.  Just as I did, I heard a voice behind me, “Come on, buddy!”  It was my friend Ann.  She had run a much smarter race and was able to finish strong.  She encouraged me to start running again and I was able to suck it up and finish with her.

Proof that Ann helped me finish. Get it? Proof? Come on.

The race starts and ends at the Arboretum on the lake, and is fairly scenic.  The post race party inside the park was fun.  We reunited with friends and fams and checked out all the flowers in the Arboretum.  My only question is why they call it the Tour des Fleurs.  Kidding, I get it.

The Three Fleurmigos.

They also offer a 10k.  So there’s something for everyone, or at least for people who are able to run those two distances.

Peace out Internet!

4th of July Liberty 5k #blog

This will be short and sweet cause I be busy as a beaver bee.  So here it goes…

4th of July 2012 me and a few friends decided to run in a race since a) it was a holiday and b) why not.  There was a 5k and 10k, but it was HAWT, so I opted for the shorter distance.  The location was nice – right on a big ole Texas lake.  The course was OK, it just went through some neighboring neighborhoods.  I was trying to get in better shape at the time, so I called my speedy friend Mary to come pace me.  She agreed, but when we got there she said she wasn’t “feeling it”.  So right after the race started, she said she was going to turn around and try to find our friend Joseph who was also running.  Jo saw her coming and didn’t want to run with her cause he knew she’d make him speed up, so he hid behind other runners.  It didn’t work, she eventually found him.

Here I am with Joseph and Mary. (sounds so biblical)

I did OK.  Despite the massive heat I ran 7:16 miles, good for 6th in my age group.  Pretty good for being somewhat not in shape.  But here’s the kicker – Mary got second in her age group.  And remember that she spent a good deal of the race running in the wrong direction!  I told you she was speedy!

Anyway, the post race party had free beer and a free view of the lake, so that was lovely.  You’re lovely too.

Peace out home slices!