Running With Pirates, Yogis & Mouth Breathers!

Whazzzuuuup? I hope all my American friends had a great 4th of July holiday weekend – and my foreign friends had a great normal weekend! I, myself, and me participated in an unofficial race. Not so much a race, but more a social run…but we did get kewl homemade medals afterwards!!!

I like my nike mustache, or is it a muswoosh?

The course was  10kilometers, but for our Chicago Marathon training, we needed 10miles, so we tacked on another 4 afterwards. I’m glad we did, cause we found a big ole pirate ship!

I had to invoke the right of parley.

Almost Just as good, I also ran into some other run buds in the last stretch. Soo coo to go for a run in a different part of town and still literally run into friends on the roads.

A. Pickle on my right and an ole Ohio high school bud turned Texan on my left.

Speaking of Chi-town, the training is slowly picking up. It feels kind of good again to be running mediumish runs during the work week. The 4am wake up calls blow, but #whaddyagonnadoboutit? Gotta get em done!

Yes, I was so rungry that I tried to eat a tree.

And of course, I always like hitting up some of the local social runs to incorporate into the training.

We ran and then sat in big red chairs, duh.

Even though I’m all the tired from it all, I’m still keeping up with the cross training – either at the gym or in the department store.

I wear that I squatted a little lower right after this pic was taken.

OK, there’s more but I’ll save it for the next post. I really am planning on being more diligent about blogging – especially as the training increases. But if you want to keep up quicker, just give my Instagram a follow! Like a dude who eats a lot of bananas, on there I’m pretty regular.

Howzit? Training going well? Can you guess what the pirate ship was for? Do I ever close my mouth in an IG photo?

-Scott

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

Running Through Jimmy Buffett!!!

So I had to do my longish run on an odd day this weekend because I had to clear my sched for the most favoritest day of the year…the annual Jimmy Buffett Concert Tailgate!!!!

The costume options are endless.

I heart this so much. It’s like having a tropical vacation without the travel. Everyone is so chill…and most don’t even go to the concert. It’s all about the days long tailgate!

The concert isn’t until tomorrow, but I was able to meet up with my Chicago Marathon training buddy and we did a quick scout run of the parking lot. It’s filling up fast! Going to be as epic as always!

Just a couple of boobs.

If you’ve never been, you really should check it off your bucket list sometime. There are some really creative people out there and they come up with some crazy tailgating stations. In fact, each year it’s here there’s a big social run that goes to the parking lot just to run past all the crazy set-ups.

I’m off to get ready…Cannot Wait!

Fins Up, Parrotheads!!!

One question – Ever been to a Buffett tailgate party?

-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

Run Mileage Increase & Pirates!

I know I’ve been a bit come and go around these blog parts, but there’s good reason. 1. WordPress is giving me fits and 2. There’s some big stuff in the works. Stay tuned!

3. I’ve also been crazy busy at home and work (and in between). Speaking of work…if you don’t know, I’m a TV Producer/editor/writer/photog/etc…now you know. And I recently put together a fun lil’ pirate video.

If you want to watch it, you can do so HERE. But be forewarned, I wrote it, and that means it’s going to  include LOTS of bad puns (that I find funny).

On the set with my actor friends. Luckily the pirate is a happy and not angry.

In running news, I’m happy to say that I’m successfully increasing my weekly mileage as I go. A while back I increased to 6 days a week. And now I run a minimum of 4 miles on those days. So far this month I’m up to 82 miles and we still have a couple weeks to go! I should be over 100 by the end of this weekend!

I have been increasing because I’ve been hanging around a bunch of BQers. They told me I need to run more.

You have to be fast as a unicorn to qualify.

I also read a thing recently about a guy who is contacting as many BQers as he can find online and asking their advice. It ranges all over the map, but the one constant they all agree on is that you need to be running at least 40 miles per week.

I want to run Boston one day, so I’m taking the first step by trying to follow their advice. We’ll see what happens.

How bout you? Did I miss any good pirate puns? You have any Boston hopes? You gettin your miles in? Did you catch the sneaky filthy joke in this post?

-Scott

Run Thru a Party & Parrothead Craziness

(subtitle: Part 2 of why I’ve been MIA)

First off kids, let me say that I’ve had some kind of illness for over a week. I’ve been sexily coughing up mucous, and have general tiredness (do not salute General Tiredness). But I’ve been pushing through. I had to…

Saturday was a big day. It was Happy Jimmy Buffett Day! If you’ve never been to a Buffett experience, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Happy Jimmy Buffett Day!

To start the day, a group of friends actually meet each year to run around the tailgating grounds. I did the same thing. I got 5 miles in while I scouted out the best party set-ups. And yes, even at 7am they Parrotheads are at it. Grilling and drinking. And yes, they invite you to join them.

After my run, I showered and breakfasted and and collected my supplies and got dropped off at the tailgate. I met up with some friends and the day of adventure was on!

Some of my running friends!

We wandered all day long around the ‘sharking lot’ (sharking as in shark + parking, NOT the sharking they do in Japan)… The creativity that people have there is amazing!

Pirate ship in the parking lot? Yes, I will captain it.

Of course, people make some ‘creative’ outfit choices as well. But hey, we’re at ‘the beach’ right?!?

He wanted to get rid of his tan lines.

I almost wore the exact same thing. That would’ve been embarrassing for her.

I’m pretty sure Uncle is off his meds again.

The reason why I love this so much is it’s like you get a tropical vacation at home. Everyone is so chill and they give you free food and drinks everywhere! You could eat an entire meal of crawfish or BBQ, and some desert jell-o shots! Then have a dignified after dinner drink.

These drinks were ice cold!

Or if you like, you can relax in a lawn chair or pull up a hammock.

She looks relaxed.

In the end, I probably walked another 5 miles all over the tailgate, with the occasional dance break mixed in.  I was also happy that I got to spend another year with my favorite parrot drinking vessel.  My grandma gave it to me like 15 years ago and it hasn’t missed a Buffet since.  I’ve lost coolers, chairs, hats, etc. But this guy has stuck with me!

The backstage pass he’s holding didn’t work.

I stopped buying tickets a while back because you can usually find people stuck with extras at the show who will give them to you for free.  That happened again here too, but like I said, I was a bit ill, tired, and sore from running.  Plus I got to see Buffett play two days before, so I was good.  Also, things started to get out of control…

Busted at Buffett. (Fake btw)

I called the wife to pick me up.  And at home the boy and I watched the concert on-line and danced in our living room!  So it was another successful Buffett experience!!!

How bout you?  Ever have a run around a tailgate party?  Ever been to a Buffett tailgate or concert?  Should I have worn those green bottoms?

PS – This is part 2/3 of why I’ve been MIA.  If you missed part one, you can read it HERE.  Part I was pretty epic for me.  Part III is on the way!

-Scott

 

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!

Head for the Cure 5k Review

Sorry for the delay in this review, I’m sure you were holding your breath.  Exhale, it’s here.  This 5k was alright.  There were more people than I expected – over 1000.  The weather was unseasonably cool, though a tad windy, but not too bad.  The course was relatively flat, save a few hills just after mile one.  The course was fairly scenic too, as the last half of the course meandered on a paved trail through the Oak  Point Nature Preserve.  I’d never been there before, and the part of it we ran through was nice.  I’ll have to explore that park some more on future runs.

Takin it to da bridge!

As you can see in the photo, I wore my Flying Pirate 1/2 Marathon shirt.  I was so happy to do so – you see, my flight home from that race resulted in my luggage being lost…for nearly a MONTH!  I finally was able to retrieve it the night before the race, and reunited with some of my fav running clothes, along with my new shirt, I was joyed to put them on for this race!

Hoping the shirt would give me wings too.

Anykitandkaboodle, the combo of the weather, the course, some secret inspiration, having my gear back, and having done some track work, I was able to turn in a decent finish.  I came across at 22:12 – little over 7 minute miles.  I was 4th in my age group and 29th or 30th overall.  This gives me hope, because it’s 20 seconds faster than my last 5k a month ago, and I had been sick the week leading up to this race.  I guess being sick was like a taper?  Taper for a 5k – I wonder if I can sell people on that idea?  Haha!

 

I don’t normally run with my arms crossed – I was reaching to stop my stopwatch at the finish line.

The race is called Head for the Cure because it raises funds for brain cancer research.  I guess it affects more people than I thought because there were lots of signs on the course and people wearing shirts dedicated to who they were running for.  I hope it was considered a success for them.

Anyway, not much more to say…just another 5k.  Yes, that does rhyme.  Until next time, enjoy some extra photos from the race.  Peacey peace!

 

 

 

Jimmy Buffett Concert Tailgate = Tropical Christmas in May.

Most runners I know do their long runs on Saturdays.  Why not?  You’re usually not at work and other people are doing it too.  I usually do too.  But not this Saturday.  No way.  No way whatsoever.  Why not?  This Saturday is the best day of the whole year….it’s the day of the Jimmy Buffett Tailgate Party!

My ever present Jolly Roger at last year’s show. We fly it upsidedown – no prisoners!

If you’ve never been to a Buffett concert, you don’t know what you’re missing.  It’s not about the show itself – most people at the party don’t even have tickets.  It’s about the day-long (or several day-long) tailgate party.  Yes it is.  It’s the one day of the year when a tropical vacation comes to you.  It’s the one day of the year when nobody gives a flying crap.  There’s no drama allowed.  There’s no politicks.  There’s no jealousy.  There’s no possessions.  There’s no negativity.  And when you remove all of that stuff, all that’s left is positivity and laid backness.

People at a Buffett tailgate are just happy.  It’s almost like a big tropical hippie commune landlocked in a North Texas parking lot.  “Hey stranger, have a drink.”  “Thanks, you want some of our crawfish boil?”  “Why yes, yes I do…Hey, that guy has an ice sculpture shot dispenser, let’s go meet them.”  “Excuse me, ma’am.  Can I borrow your bike – rickshaw for a while?”  “Sure, when you bring it back – I’ll probably be over at that pirate ship.”

It goes on and on all day.  RV’s as far as you can see.  Boats.  Makeshift beaches – sand dumped in parking spaces.  Hawaiian shirts.  Bikinis (or less).  Cannons shooting out Jello shots.  Motorized coolers.  Kids.  Elderly.  It’s beautiful.

This is NOT an uncommon sight at a JB concert.

The vibe is so great.  It’s like all you have to do that day is smile.

To be honest, I am a fan of JB’s music.  Always have been.  I  know not everyone gets it.  But I find most of them only know his big songs like “Margaritaville” or “Volcano”.  They’ve never chilled out to “Tin Cup Chalice”  “Coastal Carolina”  “Pacing the Cage”  or the like.  But it doesn’t matter this day if you’re a fan or not.  We’re just here for fun.  But if you are a fan like me, then hey, bonus!

Like I said, most people there don’t have tickets.  They’re just their to grill out, hang out, make out, drink out, whatever out.  I stopped buying tickets years ago, but I still get in to the show every year.  I get free tickets somehow.  Either someone is too drunk to go in.  Someone has extra tickets they got stuck with.  A stranger just gives them to me.  Worse comes to worse, I’ll buy one CHEAP from a scalper.  And I don’t mean a typical scalper…I mean the guy who looks like a parrot threw up on him that is standing by the entrance with a ticket he got stuck with.  You can usually get a good deal from those guys.

Just a couple of melon heads.

Anyways, I’ve been going to these shows annually – sometimes multi annually for the past 20 years.  I can’t even count how many shows I’ve been to.  I’ve seen him every where from Vegas to Dallas to Charlotte to Ohio.  Each time awesome.  And over the years we’ve got the system pretty well down.  We know how to maximize our set up to ensure the most time is allowed to get our party on.  I made the mistake this week of listening to Radio Margaritaville and they played an interview with Jimmy where he talked about all the crazy stuff he sees at his concerts.  The crazy stuff he sees in the parking lots.  It got me too pumped up.  I have been literally shaking with anticipation.  I cannot wait until we get there!!!

I hope if you’re around that you join us.  Just experience it and it will blow your mind and you’ll want to come back.  Who couldn’t use a tropical vacation right about now?  Who couldn’t use an escape from life for a day?  Come on out!

Fins up!

Flying Pirate 1/2 Marathon Review 2013

First off, let me just say that this may be my favorite race to date.  Had an incredible time. We lucked out on weather.  We had good times before and after the race, so that may be swaying my opinion.  My sis and I flew into Raleigh, NC.  One of my besties lives there.  We stayed with her and she showed us her town.  It was my 2nd time to visit her there and I love this area of our country more and more each time I visit.  Such great food places (not many chains).  Such great brewpubs.  Such great great people.  Such great sights.

With my sis and sis from another miss.

After I got into town, I had a few hours to kill so I went for a run.  I ran in Umstead Park.  Even though it’s called a park, it’s really a forest.  It’s huge.  Lots of trails, lakes, wildlife, and really tall trees.  It was gorgeous.  And I’m told it’s where Gwen Paltrow would go on runs when she was there shooting Iron Man.  She has good taste.  My trail run was wonderful.

Tall trees. Sounds like the name of a crappy band.

But enough about Raleigh, this post is about the race.  It takes place around Kitty Hawk, NC in the Outer Banks.  The OBX is basically a string of islands off the coast.  It’s where Blackbeard the pirate hung out.  It’s where the Wright Bros did their first flight.  Hence the name of the race – Flying Pirate.  It was my first time to OBX, and it was beautiful.  So any race there has a great chance of being scenic…and it was!

A flying pirate would be a very dangerous thing indeed!

This race was so much more low key and laid back than the races I’m used to.  You run a Rock n Roll Marathon Series race and you’ve got lots of hoopla, and lots of people.  This race was the opposite.  People were so chill.  Getting ready for the race to start, it felt more like a casual Sunday jog than a competitive race.  People were genuinely happy and chill.  Oh, and there were lots of people dressed like pirates.  Of course!

Right before the start. That’s not a threatening pose, I’m trying to show of my temporary pirate tats on my hands.

The course starts through a parkish-neighborhoody area.  It then ran along the Sound.  We were literally feet away from the water.  It was beautiful.  The course then went through some neighborhoods.  Most of the places on the island were empty since it was the off-season (no tourists), but the locals who were there came out to cheer for us.  And they also cheered in a laid back manner.  They weren’t jumping up and down with crazy signs and noisemakers.  They were supporting us with golf claps and words of encouragement.

Even the other runners were supportive.  I don’t see that at most races in Dallas.  As I passed other racers, they would actually take the energy to to yell out encouragement to me.  I really appreciated that.  It was really cool.  More on this in a minute…

Anyway, the course then took us past the Wright Brothers monument where they had their first flight.  Yet another scenic spot.  But then things got hairy.  The course left the paved surfaces for the dirt pathways of a nature preserve.  The last 3-4 miles were a hilly trail run.  I wasn’t expecting that.  I hadn’t trained for that.  My pace to that point had been pretty good and a PR looked like it was a given.  It wasn’t.  Running trail hills after 10 miles took it’s toll on me.  I had to walk up a few of the steeper ones.

Tacklin the trails…kind of.

There was a guy in an Elvis costume doing the same thing.  We’d have to walk up some of the hills, but then were able to run down.  In fact, as I was walking up a hill, a small group of racers passed me, but on the downhill I caught up to them and they all cheered for me.  They encouraged me to finish with them…and we did!  That was really cool.  Runners helping runners. In fact, after the race, some guy came up to my sis and thanked her for running with him for most of the race.  He said she helped him finish and didn’t even know it.

No PR this time, but it was a great time!

After the race, there was a big pirate party.  Pirate ship, live band, free food, free beer, people laying in the sun.  Again, laid back.  Totally chill atmosphere.  That’s island life for you.

I think a pirate threw up on me.

Our medals turned Christie into an owl.

At the finish. Pirate kites everywhere – why not?

Meet us under the pirate pennant.

More pirates. Arrrrgh you glad?

And yes, the medals were cool.  I didn’t take a pic of the backs of them, but they’re cool too with cool inscriptions.  “Happy Happy Happy” they say.

Yes, that’s a pirate ship behind me.

In the end, I finished right at 1:48:32.  That’s 8:17 per mile.  Good enough for 24th in age group and 177 overall.  My time wasn’t what I was shooting for, but given the tough final three miles, I’ll take it.  I will say that the only cool thing about the hills is that as we left the nature preserve, we entered a field.  It was 100 yards downhill to the finish.  You’d never seen so many people running so fast at the end of a half.  Like I said, 100 yards down hill!  And it was a serious slope.

Anywhoodle, after the race, we got some seafood, then some bottles of wine, then chilled on the beach all day.  It was really chill.  Dolphins and surfers out in the ocean.  Great way to recover after a race.

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

The next day we actually went and checked out the Wright Bros monument.  It’s probably the highest point of the island had great views at the top.  I was surprised to learn how even Amelia Earhart had visited it.  They also have a set of statues where they recreated the famous photo of the first flight.  We had fun posing with the statues.

Say “Whiskey!”

Gotcha!

We also checked out the sand dunes.  One of only a handful in the country.  I had been to the ones in Michigan before, but that was many moons ago.  These were pretty cool though.  They teach hang gliding there, and supposedly Blackbeard buried some treasure there too.

This will by my solo album cover whenever I become a recording artist.

So I once again must declare this my favorite race to date.  It was like none other I’ve done before – smaller and laid back.  Supportive runners and spectators.  Really cool swag (I forgot to mention they also gave us a pint glass too).  Extremely scenic course.  Very flat course until the very hilly last few miles…But even those last tough miles were very beautiful too.  Cool medal.  Fun afterparty.  Great part of our country.  Historical location.  Excellent food around.  Nice people.  Beaches.  I could go on and on.  I have nothing but positive thoughts on this race.  Can’t wait to do it again!!!

Peace!  -Scott