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

Hangin with Jennie Finch – Olympian, Marathoner, & My New BFF

Over the weekend I was shooting video (I’m a TV Producer) at a Jennie Finch Softball Camp in town.  If you aren’t familiar – she is the face of fast-pitch softball.  She is a wicked good pitcher and has an Olympic gold medal to show for it.

I asked if she could fill in on my coed rec softball team.  I’m still waiting for her response.

Obviously she’s an incredible athlete.  And before I interviewed, her we were chatting.  I asked her about the New York Marathon (which she ran for charity).  She finished in 4:05 despite having a baby 14 or so weeks before the race!  She said it was a blast, but that she also did a triathlon in NYC that she loved too.  And she seemed quite amazed at my Dopey Challenge tale.  So we bonded long distance race stories and became instant BFF’s!   😉

And B to the W, she was very nice and told the girls at the camp some very inspirational stories.  Everyone at the camp was getting some great knowledge and having an amazing experience!

Anyway, the rest of the weekend was pretty good exercise-wise.  I got in an 8 mile run, yard work, a long kiddie/doggie walk, and a very good yoga sesh.

Two feets, one mat.

And since the kiddos spent the night at their Auntie/Uncle’s house, the wife (who is also named Jennie) and I got to actually go out to eat!  What?  A dinner out?  It’s been so long!  Hahaha!

How bout you?  Good weekend?  Hang with any Olympians recently?  If you have kids, ever get to go out to eat (children birthday parties don’t count)?

-Scott

Jarrod Shoemaker & Normatec

Last weekend I had a chance to meet Olympian and champion Triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker.  He was making an appearance at a local tri shop which also houses a sports chiro office that my buddy works at.  They were having a sort of open house, so I went into their open house.  I listened to Mr. S’s talk while I tested out some normatec leg sleeves, as the office had a few of them available.  I didn’t take a picture, but my friend Ann took one during her session this week, so I stole it (sorry Ann) – Here’s the view:

Oh great, now I need to find a matching top!

The sleeves inflate like a blood pressure gauge does on your arm.  It inflates at different points and at different intensities.  I don’t know no much about science and stuffs, but they say it helps aid recovery from tough workouts by forcing your blood to move around.  I didn’t ask too many questions, I just jumped in.  Like I said, it felt like a blood pressure thingy, and it kind of felt good.  It’s not painful at all, it just gets tight in different areas at different times.  After they took em off, I didn’t really notice feeling any different, but I bet if I used these things regularly, I would be able to tell a difference.

Apparently TONS of pro athletes have these at home and zip em up while they chill on the couch.  I wish I had one at home…Does anyone have $1700 that I could like…have?

Anyway, while I sat there, Mr. Shoedude did his talk.  I want to share a few of the main points that I took away from him.

I guess he knows what he’s talking about.

-He said he eats several small meals all day long so that he’s not hungry and his body has calories to use as fuel.  This includes eating right before he goes to bed.  I know that goes against everything you’ve ever been told, and I’m paraphrasing here, but he said he wants his body to spend his sleeping hours using energy to digest that food instead of his muscles and stuff.  Now remember, he’s a world class athlete and probably burns a ton butt more calories during his workouts then the average Joey.  His metabolism is probably off the charts.

-He also credits chiropractic care and massages for helping keeping him healthy.  I’m glad to hear this as I visit a chiro regularly and feel it helps me tremendously.  Massage is another story.  I so badly want to go and go regularly (to get a massage that is), but honestly, it’s been about 5 years since I had one, besides the self massages my foam roller and golf ball give me.  I should really change that.

-Finally, he also said that when he got into racing, he started as a runner.  Problem was he kept getting hurt – IT Band, etc.  Then he realized that his whole life he had played multiple sports (soccer, baseball, etc.).  So he gravitated to triathlons.  That way he could still be doing different sports within one sport.  The lesson I take away from this is that everyone should train like a triathlete, even if you aren’t one.  You need to do more than just run, or you risk injury.  That’s why I run, yoga, soccer, lift, bike, etc.  Cross training so that I can stay healthy enough to run injury free!

Anyways, that’s all I got.  Have any of you ever used those sleeves?  What do you think of em?  What else do you do to recover?

-Scott

 

What a Weekend!

So much happened this weekend that it will probably take all week to write about it all.  Today I will give you a summary:

Friday – Went to visit a friend who works at a Sports Chiro joint (pun intended) inside a Tri store.  Got to test some recovery equipment and attend a talk by an Olympian and world champ triathlete – Jarrod Shoemaker.

Saturday – 4 mile run.  Then took the toddler to his first hockey practice.  Oh yeah, Mike Modano was on the ice too playing with the kids.

Me and Mo.

Sunday – 14 mile run.  Then got the new iPhone.  Then an awesome patio lunch.  Then took the toddler and went to a pub where we met my dad and watched the Browns play like an actual football team.  Also, saw the Indians and Rangers make it to the post season!  Also, the Steelers still suck, and that’s a good thing.  I also ate a naughty snack as I heard that a new world record was set in the Marathon!

What else?  Oh yeah, this weekend I got nominated for FIVE Emmy Awards!!!  Did I mention that I’m a TV producer when I’m not running?  Here’s a pic from last year where we added #7 to the trophy case!

Don’t be fooled by the fancy photo, I’m actually not wearing pants.

I’ll give more in depth descriptions of what went down as this week progresses.  For now, just enjoy this picture of the 4 year old in his first ever hockey gear!

He looks serious!

More to come, stay tuned!  Until then, let me know how your weekend went!!!