Over the weekend I ran the 19th annual Rudolph Run 5k in Allen, Texas. And good news, I set a PR*** and got 2nd in my age group!
Two Medals ~ Twice as nice!
You’ll notice in the picture that I got two medals. That’s cause last year’s race was cancelled due to an ice storm. So they gave us those medals too! So I guess techincally, I will go down in history as the 2nd place finisher in both races!
Now, I’ve never run this race before, but I sometimes go for training runs there, so I was familiar with the area.
The course.
The course goes past some historic landmarks. We were even at the spot of the first ever train robbery in Texas. Kinda cool! And while not really hilly, it did have a couple long steady inclines. The last one being the last half mile of the race. But I pushed through.
Final results:
21:29, 2nd in Age Group, 33rd Overall (out of 948)
***Buuuuuuut, my GPS watch said I actually ran 3.19 miles and that I finished my 5k in 20:58. I have a feeling that is pretty accurate because at the previous week’s North Texas Turkey Trot 5k I ran 20:04 on a short course (2.95 miles), and would’ve finished right around 21 or 21:15. (click on the link for that race recap). Either way, it was fun and a 21:29 is still a PR anyway!
Vlogging during the race.
Oh, and I ran this whole race with a GoPro camera. I put together a short VLOG of the event. Watch it if you have two minutes to spare! Bad puns and all!
So all in all, a successful race and a good time!!!
How bout you? Any holiday themed races? Which of my jokes in the video were the worst? Ever win two medals in one race?
This past American Thanksgiving, I joined a bunch of friends & family to run the North Texas Turkey Trot. There was a 1 mile fun run, a 5k & 10k. I knew the 10k was a two lap course, so I opted for the 5k.
Stop looking at me, swan turkey.
And good news, I set a PR!
That Ironman behind me was aghast at my speed!
But this was incredibly frustrating. Why was a PR frustrating? Because the course was short. It was flippin short.
Yay, feet in the air!
I did some comparing of my GPS data to their course map, and I see what had happened…
My detective work.
After the one mile fun run, they forgot to adjust the 5k/10k course to add an out and back. This left us ultimately .15 mile short for the 5k and .3 short for the 10kers. Bummer.
I remember at one point during the race I looked at my watch and saw it was at 2.75 miles. “Time to drop the hammer!”, I told myself. I picked up the pace, only to turn the corner and see the finish line…da fu???
My look of confusion at seeing the finish line so early.
I finished at 20:04. Good for a PR by a minute and a half…But at 2.95 miles instead of 3.1.
“official” finish time
The finish area was pretty funny ~ all the runners were comparing their watches. We knew it was short. So after a few minutes, I decided to run on my own until my watch said 3.1. And I still set a new PR ~21:15! I just wonder what it would’ve been on an actual race course.
As punishment for a short course, I ate his cousin.
In the end, it was still a competition, and the course was the same for everyone. So I’m happy that I finished 5th in my division and 37th overall…out of well over 3,000 runners!
Anyway, after I was done, I went back to cheer for others. Including my parents who were doing the 10k!
Dad headin to the finish.
Warning: Rant Ahead
This race also had a ton of novice runners, which is great, but it also means a bunch of weaving. I REALLY appreciate the fact that they actually had pacing corrals in this race. But most of the newbies saw these as merely suggestions and still worked their way to the front of the starting line.
All the 10kers told me that there was nobody at the 5k/10k split to tell you which way to go, so it was cornfusing, and people kept going the wrong way then had to turn around. That, and when the 10k merged with the slower 5kers on the 2nd lap, it lead to more weaving.
Not only that, but if you look at the course map, I counted 26 turns…in 3.1 miles. How is that possible?!?! Are there no straight roads we could run?
I hope they get better organized for next year.
We snapped a pic while mom was looking up her time.
Anywhoodle, I’m glad several friends won medals. And since I was two spots from the podium, I had to live vicariously through them…
Ann won her 10k division. Pepsi didn’t race, but brought her smile and hat.
And we celebrated at our annual post race tailgate…
Mixing Everclear with Crystal Lite just like the pilgrims did at the first Thanksgiving.
I took the opportunity to make a 6 second video of the festivities…
So in summary, it was a fun time. I just hope they fix the course and get better organized as they go forward.
Peace out suckas!
How bout you? Race on Thanksgiving? Should I count the “official” PR on a short course? Do you tailgate after races?
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???
This was a tough 5k. Hot, humid, windy, hilly. There were people puking on the course (and no, I don’t think they’d been drinking the free beer before the race). But I’m proud to say that I pushed through it all and was rewarded with a new current* PR!
It all started when I got to the race early to warm up and ran into a bunch of friends.
Sum uv my run buds.
A couple of us were chatting at the start line about how this race was going to hurt, but we still hoped for a good time. I was really wanting to average SUB-7 minute miles.
The course was an out an back with a big man-made hill (bridge) in the middle that we had to cross twice. The out was mostly downhill with the wind at our back…I went out too fast – 6:30ish mile.
At the turn around we realized that the rest of the race was going to be uphill…into the wind…into the sun. Second mile was 7:00ish. Third was 7:30ish. The opposite of a negative split.
The race charity benefits kids with cancer. And they had posters of some of the kids along the course. That definitely helped with motivation. I pushed on.
At the last turn I looked at my watch – I was at 21ish minutes with .1 miles to go…a PR was in reach! I kicked it in, crossing the line at 21:33! That’s an average per mile pace of 6:56!!! Dude. Sweet. Goal reached!
31st out of 1547…I’ll take it!
Afterwards we headed into the beer tent to celebrate!
Cold beer and air conditioning…Yes!
Food, live music and Free Paulaner beer from Germany!
My one friend learned to drink from her dog. I have no idea why they use Bud Light cups for good German beer.
And while I was shut out of placing at this race (I hate my age group), several of my friends did bring home some hardware!! But instead of medals, they got beer steins.
Two age group winners and PR setters!
Another winner! Picking up her beer stein and baby.
A good morning was had by all. We couldn’t help but show each other some love.
I’m the meat in a runner sandwich.
In the end, this event was a lot of fun…But of course, hindsight is 20/20. When I was going up that last hill, I was not having fun at all, but pain is temporary, right? The glory of PR’ing in a local 5k lasts forever!!!!!
How bout you? Race this weekend? Anyone celebrate Oktoberfest? Anyone want to join our sandwich?
-Scott
*I say ‘current’ because my all time PR is like 19:04 (high school).
A buddy of mine here in Dallas recently qualified for the US Olympic Trials in the Marathon. He did so by running a 1:03:55 half marathon. His goal in the 26.2 is to run right at 2:15. I know a lot of people who have a goal of breaking 2:00 in a half marathon. So that gives you an idea of how fast these people are moving.
My fastest ever mile was in high school at 5:04, he was running faster than that for 13.1 If you want to know what goes through the head of someone running sub 5 minute miles in a half marathon, here’s the link to an interview he just did about that race.
I bump into Enoch on the roads, trails, and at races around town. He’s always very supportive of us non-elite runners. And we are supporters of him as well. So congrats to him for this accomplishment!
How bout you? What are your thoughts on running that kind of pace?
This is it. The last race of four on consecutive days. If you missed my recaps of the earlier races, you can see them here: 5k then 10k then 13.1 half marathon.
Now we have the 26.2 full marathon to complete the Goofy and Dopey Challenges. I had stuck to my plan of running personal worsts (PW) for the first three races. Now I wanted to go for it in the final race.
Ready to go 26.2 rounds with Mr. Mile.
My “A” goal was to break 4 hours (9:10 per mile). Considering my pace at shorter distances, I should be able to shatter 4 hours, but I have yet to do it. My “B” goal was to PR (PB). I would accomplish one of the two goals.
Traditional pre-race family photo.
We got a gift this day from the Weather Channel gods. The temps went from hot and humid the day before at the half, to chilly (and a little humid) for the full!!! It was in the 50’s (American) at the start!
With Sis on way to the corral!
Even thought it was chilly, I knew my body temp would warm up once we started running, so I wore light clothes – including a new Ohio University tech tee that the wife got me for Christmas!
Ain’t I purdy?
I also carried the GoPro camera with me. Looking back, it probably was a bad decision considering I was going for a PR. It definitely took energy and brain power (I don’t have much to spare) to use it throughout the course. But I decided to take it anyway, and I don’t really regret that. We did pass some cool attractions along the way.
Mid race selfie vision.
The edited down video is a bit blair-witchy, but I think it shows the race experience. It’s funny to watch how I go from cracking jokes and getting somewhat stable shots, to gradually having zero sense of humor nor the energy to hold my arm out straight! Haha!
The night before the full I spoke via phone with my “coach” – My good friend (and awesome endurance athlete) Rexy. We actually have history of sports at Disney World. In college, we were cheerleaders and competed in the National Championships there my senior year.
Rexy is 3rd from left in front. I’m 2nd from right in back.
Anyway, she gave me a pep talk and helped work out the race strategy. She said to stick to exactly 4 hr pace for the first half. Then evaluate how I felt and pick up the pace if I could for the next 7 miles. Then let it all hang out the last 6.2. She told me to leave it on the course, and that if I crash, it’s better to do so the last few miles knowing that at least I tried.
Peace homey.
Again, we had a 2am wake up call. And the race started at 5:30am. The course began and ended at Epcot. It immediately went from there to the Magic Kingdom.
26.2 magical miles. Click to enlarge.
The first few miles were a bit crowded. I wasn’t able to go my normal pace, and I had to do some weaving. By the time we got to Magic Kingdom, I knew from the clock that I was going too slow. But I also knew I had time to correct that. 5 Mile in 47:39 – 9:32 per mile.
Runnin Down Main St, USA!
We got into the park – which is the highlight for me. It’s still dark out, and the whole park is lit up. Main St. is lined with tons of cheering spectators. And Cinderella’s Castle is all lit up! We get to run right through the castle, which is neat. The MarathonFoto folks had some pictures of me at the castle, but they lost them. I had even stopped for the official Castle photo – like I took with my sis during the Half the day before…
They did NOT light up the castle for the half. I wish I had the pretty lit up one to share with y’all.
…But they lost that one too. Bummer. If they find them later, I will share. They did have these though…
Still in the park.
Feelin the love.
Feelin a little fuzzy in Magic Kingdom!
After we left the Magic Kingdom, we then headed past the Polynesian Resort and the golf course. There was a glow in the East and I knew the sun would be rising soon. The weather was still cool, and I felt GREAT! I was actually smiling and having a really good time. My pace was steadily fastening.
Suns comin up. Right on my forehead.
Then we headed into the Speedway – their race car track. We did the mile lap, and there were a ton of classic cars out. A childhood fave – Herbie the Love Bug – was there, but for some reason the characters from the movie Cars weren’t out this year. Where’s Lightning McQueen???
I think running on this race track is a pretty unique experience though – how many people get to do that? Again tho, the MarathonFoto folks couldn’t find my photos from that locale. Sorry dude.
(photo missing)
Then it was on toward Animal Kingdom. Still feeling great. Still picking up steam. 10 Mile in 1:32:49 – 9:17 per mile.
*Side note. My sis works at AK, so I happen to know a few other of the zoo keepers there. I was glad to see some of them at the entrance to the park. They were there to cheer for us, very cool!
Feelin fine.
AK also had some animals and characters out. And some marathoners would stop to ride the roller coaster, but I didn’t have time for that.
I’m ahead of the guy that thought he could fly.
Once we left the park, we reached the halfway point. I was almost EXACTLY at 4 hour pace. Right at 2:00:06 for 13.1 miles – 9:10 per mile. I had made up the time I lost due to the slow start.
B.O. check.
Now was time to reevaluate. I still felt good, so kept picking up the pace. We were on the way to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. There we got to run through the sports fields, along with a lap on the track where we had been before for the Kids Race.
Unidentified location.
The highlight here is getting to run a lap on the baseball field. This is where the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball do their spring training. It’s a really cool experience, especially with people in the stands cheering! It was in WWOS that I had my fastest mile, but that would soon change.
I already got to first base, now I’m going for home.
Looking back, I think all the energy I spent trying to make up the time took it’s toll. I started to feel it around this point. But at mile 20, I was still on pace to break 4 hours. 3:02:30 – 9:07 per mile.
An angel in the outfield.
From there we headed toward Hollywood Studios. Getting closer to home, but like they say, the real marathon starts at mile 20. I was really feeling it and took short walk breaks at the drink stations to grab a little powerade (and one port-a-potty stop to get rid of the old powerade).
The tower of terror ain’t got nothin on my towering form.
But then I felt doing that worked and I got a second wind! Awesome!!! But then at mile 21 I think I made a bad choice. Instead of continuing on with my new energy, I decided to stick to my recent pattern and grab a quick drink at the drink station. After that brief walk, I never recovered. I should’ve just kept running past it.
Putting on a brave face.
Also at this point, I think the cumulative miles from the previous 3 races started to kick in. My legs started to cramp. Every step I could feel my quads tense, and when I pulled over to try and stretch them, my hammies cramped into a giant ball. OUCH!
You lookin at me?
My pace slowed considerably as I tried to deal with the cramping. Kept running, but had to take a few walk breaks. Mostly at drink stations, but also on a hill or two. Speaking of which….
…This is supposed to be a flat course. It is decidedly not! Sure, it’s not super hilly, but it does have it’s fair share of long steady inclines and declines. Mostly from the bridges and overpasses we had to traverse.
That’s a big wizard hat. Where’s the wizard sleeve?
Anyway, at this point I could see my “A” goal slipping away. It was frustrating, and I felt like I was letting people down who I knew were following along with the auto text/facebook/twitter updates runDisney was sending of my splits. I also felt like I was wasting a great opportunity because of the weather and all the training I had put into it. But I couldn’t control the leg cramps. Maybe I wasn’t mentally tough enough to fight through it this time. Ahh, the stuff we think when we look back.
Goodbye Hollywood.
By now the sun was up and the parks were open, so there were lots of people there. I’m sure they were annoyed that they had to wait behind a rope for us to pass before they could get to the churro stand, but many of them still cheered, and I appreciated that. And I had made it through the Studios.
I almost wore the same outfit as that chick…that would’ve been embarrassing for her.
We then made our way to the Boardwalk Resort. I know that we’re close to finishing, as it borders Epcot. I was slowing even more, but still going.
Somewhere in Disney World.
Finally we enter Epcot. You’d think we’d be right at the finish, but get this – we still have 1.2 miles to go before getting to the parking lot finish. That’s how big those theme parks are!!!
The big spiky golf ball means we’re in Epcot.
Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament.
By now I knew my “A” goal was gone. And when I saw some characters with virtually line (queue), I decided to take the opportunity to stop for a photo – especially with DOPEY!!!!
I cannot explain the Dopey expression on my face, other than we were 47.6 miles into the Challenge.
Disney puts characters ALL along the course, but this is the first time I’ve ever stopped for a photo. Then I got a second one with one of my Asian wife’s fave movie characters – Mulan!
I want a funny pet dragon.
One of the highlights, right before you leave Epcot, hidden from the general public, is a gospel choir. When I ran past them, I turned to look at them and had one final big full body CRAMP! I stopped in my tracks and doubled over in pain. A race attendant asked if I needed the medics. I shook her off, sucked it up and ran toward the finish!
Waving to my fans.
About 100 meters to go and I see my boy! My sister’s roommate and her boyfriend graciously agreed to babysit him while we ran, and they made it just in time to the race to see me finish! That was the final boost I needed to finish strong!
Waving at the boy. Pretty cool pic!
Past the bleachers of cheering spectators, I ran to the finish, and high fived Donald Duck (why wouldn’t I?)…
That guy quacks me up.
His hands were downy soft.
And finished with a defiant fist pump!
I will punch you air, in your face’s mouth!
Yes, I was disappointed that I didn’t break 4 hours, but I still PR’d! I broke my previous personal best by 2+ minutes to finish at 4:07:47 – 9:28 per mile.
Yay for me!
They said there were somewhere between 25,000 – 30,000 people in the marathon. In the end, only around 19,000+ of them finished.
It’s too bad, I had a nice negative split going on until I bonked. But hey, at least I finished the challenge! Next time I run a Full Marathon however, I will NOT run 3 races in the days leading up to it!
Pace getting gradually faster…
…and then the wheels fell off.
After we crossed the line, I collected my Mickey medal for the full. Then on to the Goofy station to get that medal. Then finally to the Dopey station to get that medal.
Finally our blingy reward!
It’s funny, as soon as they put that medal on my neck, I felt real emotional. Instantaneously. I guess it finally kicked in all those months and months of training, all the early hours, all the miles and miles, all the preparation. But sadly, the Disney folks don’t let you stop and enjoy the moment. They.keep.you.moving. “You can’t stop here. You can’t stretch here. Keep walking. Keep moving.” If only I had the energy to tell them that I can’t walk right now. My legs are a ball of lactic buildup!
I’m screaming in triumph, or pain, either or.
Funny story after I collected the medals and walked past the medical tent, a medical person started screaming – the other medics all thought someone was really hurt, but it turns out she went to Ohio University too. You have no idea how many “Go Ohio!” and “Go ‘Cats” I got on the course. Such great support!
After a chat with her, I then retrieved my gear bag, which had the other medals ready for their photo op!
Finally, they are all got!
Later on after all our friends and family members finished, we wore our 6 medals into Epcot to cheer on the later finishers and to ride some rides and get some Guinness and grub. People commented that we sounded like robots with all the clinking that accompanied each step.
It really was kind of heavy. The weight we Dopes carry is indeed a heavy burden of joy.
So there it is: 48.6 miles done. It was a fun challenge, and I’m glad I did it. It’s always a treat to run through all the parks that we would visit as kids. And they do a good job of having characters and volunteers along the way to keep your spirits up! Also, I’m glad I followed my “coach’s” plan the best I could, and even though I crashed toward the end, at least I left it all on the course.
Rumors confirmed – I am dopey.
In the future I’m not sure if I’ll do it again. But I would like to do another full with this same training. I think if I put in the same mileage, but with only one race as the goal, then I can slap that timing clock around!
I will say this though, the thing I’m most proud of is that while I was doing the Dopey Challenge, and posting about it on Twitter and Instagram and such. That I had people message me that I had inspired them to get out and run themselves! That’s probably the best result of this whole thing!
Did I leave anything out? Any questions about the inaugural Dopey Challenge? You have any desire to do it? What’s up?
I did alright in this race. I ran it last year and did ok, but it was really hot then. I ran this race about 40 seconds faster in “cooler” weather. I say cooler cause earlier in the week we had morning temps in the 60’s. It was a heavenly break from the 104 we had the week before. I was hoping for those same temps at this race. It didn’t hold. It was still cooler than normal, but at the race start is was in the upper 70’s and very very humid. In fact, after my warm up run and drills I got in line for the race and saw some friends who asked if I had just poured water on myself. No, it was sweat. Uh oh, they said. But like I said, it was still cooler than normal, so the heat wasn’t as much of a factor.
I forced my way to close to to the starting line for the gun. That helped me avoid some of the typical clogs of slower runners, walkers, etc. who usually congest the start of a race. That said, there were tons of youngins in this race. Lots of cross country teams ranging from children to high school. I got boxed in the first half mile behind some kiddos. But no matter, I was able to hit my stride as the race thinned as the people who made the mistake of going out too fast quickly faded.
The race took us through a neighborhood. I was able to pick other runners off one at a time. I’d just pick someone up ahead and keep going till I caught them and eventually passed them. That helped me keep my pace. A few hundred yards from the finish I passed my final runner – a poor guy pushing a jogging stroller…up a hill. I felt for him, but didn’t want to lose to a guy pushing a stroller…up a hill. I kicked it in and finished at 21:51. Basically my current PR. Sure, back in the day I could run 18-19 minute 5k’s, but that was a while back. Maybe I’ll get back there some day. I’m certainly getting closer rather than further.
Posing with a patriotic trash can.
My 7:03 per mile pace felt good. I was never out of breath, never felt like I was over doing it. Sure, at the end my legs were burning a little, but nothing too bad. It was good enough for 39th out of about 700 runners. I came in 5th in my age group. I hate my age group. Why is my age group so competitive? My buddy, in the same AG, finished with a PR in the mid 19’s…..he got 3rd in our group.
And can I just say, like I’ve said before, that last .1 of the 3.1 mile race is a punk. You look at your finishing pace and think your finishing time should be 21:09, but no, that .1 added 43 seconds to the overall time. Stupid metric system.
Anyway, it was a fun 4th of July race. Saw LOTS of my running friends – many of whom won medals. They once again had free beerskis after the race so we took advantage of that and sat on the North Texas version of a beach and chilled for a hot minute. Good times.
Here ye go: another day, another race recap. This one be the Allstate 13.1 Dallas Half Marathon, but you probably gathered that from the title of this post. Anyhoodle, I had another good race. It’s much more fun to run when you’re in relatively good shape, I tell you. Yes, it can suck getting into shape, but once you are, things are much easier.
I was going for a PR (personal record) in this race, and I got one! My previous PR was set a few years ago at the Dallas Rock N Roll Half. My sister and I pushed each other the whole race and actually beat Troy Aikman. Never mind I felt like puking the entire race from trying to keep up the pace. But that was a few years ago, and this was closer to current times.
2011 Dallas Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon With Sis. Concentrating on not hurling.
The day was the 28th, the month was October, the year was 2012. And this time around I was going for a negative split – where the second half of the race is faster than the first half…and I was able to do it during this half. All the “experts” say this is the way to race to get good times. I like good times. Only problem is that I think I went out way too slow. I was trying to conserve and do a proper negative split, but I conserved too much me thinks. My first two miles were right at 9 minutes per. My last couple miles were under 8 min per. Too big of a gap me thinks. It’s all an experiment, I guess.
Either way I was able to PR at 1:47:43, beating my old best by 13 seconds. Here’s the difference – I never once felt like I might puke all over my Brooks. I was still sore and tired, but never felt the need to blow chunks. So what does that tell me? Glad you asked. It tells me that I can still go faster! I could’ve easily shaved a minute off by not going out so slow. Who knows what would’ve happened if I had pushed a little harder the first half of the race? Nobody, that’s who. What a stupid question. All we can do is imagine, and dream, and wonder, and other fantastical brain workings.
See, told ya the medal is kind of cool. Don’t question me.
Other than that, the course was scenic, but a somewhat hilly. The weather was sunny, but cold, but that’s good for running. The medal was pretty cool too with a little spinning thing in the middle of it.
Piratebobcat 