Chicago Marathon Recap – New PR Followed by Beers, Butts & Burgers!

The Chicago Marathon is doneski! Months and months of miles and miles to prepare, and it was over in just three hours and forty eight minutes. If you’re keeping track at home, that is a nearly 20 minute PR for the Ole Scott-O…I’ll take it!

Yay, we did it! Can I sleep now?

The morning started with a 3 a.m. alarm and breakfast. Then off to the ALZ Stars staging location (two of us were running for that charity, two others were running for different charities) where they were nice enough to let us stay warm and destroy the toilets use the facilities.

Well this is embarrassing…we all wore the same thing!

And YAY, my old college buddy was able to meet us too. Love me some Rexy!

She decided on the pink tutu. Dang, I shoulda wore one too-too!

From there it was a short walk to the start corrals at Grant Park.

A bundle of nervous energy.

And before we knew it, we were off! I felt great. The weather was a bit warmer than we’d like, but at the start it was pretty nice – mid 50’s.

WTFrick?!?! My feet are actually in the air?!?! Nice!

I’d heard the tales of the amazing crowd support, and they were all true. The cheering, the signs, the music, the costumes, the everything was awesome! Chicagoans really know how to support a race! Each neighborhood had their own flair and I loved each of them – drag queens in Boystown, mariachis in Pilsen, dragons in Chinatown, etc. etc. etcetera.

Keep rollin rollin rollin.

10k in and I was feelin runderful. I ran into a Dallas friend who said she felt the same. Just ahead of us was the 3:35 pace group. I went ahead and passed them. I didn’t feel like I was working hard at all.

13.1 miles in – halfway there and I was at 1:45:43 – that is my 4th fastest half marathon ever – within 3 minutes of a PR! I hoped I could keep it going.

Do I ever change my expression?

The second half of the marathon is where reality sets in. Miles 16-19 I started to feel it. I tried to push through, but I could feel I would need to start taking some walk breaks soon.

Still determined…or gassy, I’m really not sure what that expression is.

By mile 20, reality had really set in. The sun was up in full force. The temps were rising. Mid-Upper 60’s by now. I was still determined, but slowing. Luckily they had a hydration stops about every mile. I made it my goal to run to each one, then I would allow myself a walk break as I sipped Gatorade/water, before running to the next one.

The 3:35 pace group had passed me around mile 17…then the 3:40 pace group…finally the 3:45 pace group around mile 21-22. I didn’t want any other group to pass me. I picked up the pace best I could and luckily they weren’t able to catch me.

I really need to get a new expression.

Everyone says this race is “pancake flat”. That’s mostly true, but there is an incline at the start & each bridge we crossed was a little mini hill. That, and I had been warned by several people about a hill right at the finish. Half a mile to go and I saw it. My sister was right to describe it as “dumb & annoying”. It was so dumb and annoying. I was temporarily defeated and immediately started to walk up it. Then I said, “eff that noise.” I ran up that stupid hill and cruised into the finish line!

I guess I’ll smile when I finish.

At the finish line I was pumped when I saw my I had set a huge PR at 3:48! Then even more pumped when my training partner cross shortly behind me. She rocked a 3:45 (she was in a later corral) – a PR by like 30 minutes!!

Yay, smiles!

I’m happy to report that everyone I came to the race with set new PR’s!!!! My college buddy Rexy even crushed a 3:05!!! And she did it in style with the tutu and a finishing brewski!

She knows how to do it right.

After a long rest, we slowly started to make our way out. But not before a couple pictures and a few beers at the post race party!

We’re members of the sunglasses of the month club.

We found a shaded area to park our rears & drink the free 312 beers.

Snapchat had some fun marathon specific overlays.

There wasn’t much cell service due to the crowds, so we had trouble meeting up with other friends. That’s ok though, cause we couldn’t walk very fast by this point anyway.

Can I sit here forever?

To sum up the race, I felt great the first 30k, then it was more of a struggle. No negative split for me this day, but you race and learn. I hope to be stronger at the next 26.2.

Out of 37,000+ total finishers.

I had my A, B and C goals for this race. A – PR. B – Break 4 hours. C – Run in the 3:30’s. I hit 2/3. I’m pretty happy with that.  Especially considering that 3:48 shatters by nearly 20 minutes my previous PR of 4:07 (set at the Disney Dopey Challenge)!!!

Anyway, after a little while we became rungry and rangry. So a few of us ate greasy burgers at the famous Billy Goat Tavern.

It says “butt” Hahahahahaha! Yes, I am 12.

The best part about this was all the beer & fat & carbs marathoners trying to walk down the flight of stairs into the restaurant. Well, it wasn’t funny when we did it, but it was funny to watch the others try to negotiate it…4 minutes to walk down 7 total stairs, seems about right.

If it’s good enough for Bill Freakin Murray, it’s good enough for me.

I’m still trying to process all that happened, but I had a total blast! All the feels!!!!!!!

How bout you? Any Chicago Marathon memories? Any dumb and annoying hills lately? Go-to post marathon grub (cheezborger)?

-Scott

Too Hot To Handle 5k – The Race I Didn’t Race!

So I ran in a rare Sunday 5k. Things got weird. It ended with this…

Scotty the Riveting.

But let’s start at the beginning. I carpooled with my unusual suspects. One of which had scored us a prime parking locale. We just had a short walk, lovely as it was.

Sneaky photog phriend got this shot.

We made it to the race, and it was pretty big – several thousand runners for both the 5k & 15k. As luck would have it, we ran into a TON of friends! As unluck would have it, I didn’t have a bib or timing chip – D’oh!!!

Pre race with some running amigos…and also our secret service agent.

No worries, I was pretty sore from running 12 hot miles the day before. And if you can guess from the name of the race (Too Hot To Handle), it.was.hot. So hot and nasty…and not in a good way…

Hydrating before the race. Two Girls, One Cup.

So I decided to run with my tiny friend, as she said she was not “racing” it either. She turned out to be a liar.

We’re all like, “Running is funzo!” Dude in blue is all like, “Say whaaa?”

Mile one – we had to weave around like a gazillion others, and so it was nice and slow and easy just like we planned.

Mile two – my tiny friend picked it up. I said, “Ok then, is this what we’re doing?” and caught up to her.

Mile three – she picked it up even moar. I said, “What happened to the Easy-E plan?”

But since she did that, I decided to make sure she kept picking up the pace, as I knew she’d have a chance at an age group award. I told her to come with me, and we kicked it in the last half mile or so.

Shaving a minute off each mile is a good pace plan, yes?

There’s a new thing now where 5k’s are starting to give out finisher’s medals. Okie dokie den, fine bys me.

My smile is so bright.

And you see those shades there ^^^ ? One of the vendors was giving them out. Also bandanas too. Which eventually lead to the picture at the top of this post. Cute, huh?

A motley crew…Or is it guns and roses?

Oh, and if you were still wondering, my tiny friend did place…As did several other friends!! Wooot!

When I heard their prize was a plastic tumbler, I had hoped it would be a gymnast with a boob job.

Next time I’ll remember that you need a bib/timing chip to race. But all good in the neighborhood – it was fun anyway! I like fun, anyway.

How bout you? Any hot summer races? Ever race just for fun (and not to race)? Aren’t I kewt in that first picture? 

-Scott

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

Beer Mile Race Recap – Someone Puked

The latest TNSR Beer Mile came and went. And I’m happy to report it went much better than my previous attempt.

Everyone is all smiles before the race…that would change.

I wouldn’t set a PR this day, but I still had a decent time, and I didn’t blow chunks – that’s always a win in the Beer Mile. Not everyone there could say the same thing. A few people in the pictures in this blog vomited. I won’t say who, but maybe you can take guesses.

At least one smiley clean shaven person in this pic puked.

If you’ve never done the Beer Mile, what happens is you pound a beer, sprint a quarter mile – then repeat until you drink 4 beers and run one mile total.

We were so official this year – bibs, timers, and we were provided with Mich Ultra beers.

What makes it tough is all the carbonation bubbling up in your belly. Well, that and 48 ounces of liquid sloshing around as you try to sprint 400’s. If you can’t get some burps out, then you’re in trouble. I’m happy to report that I burped each lap!!!

Someone in this pic may or may not have puked.

And even though I didn’t PR, I did come in 4th place overall – just missing out on the podium.

The official results.

Looking back, I think a couple things helped me out this year – Like I said, I worked really hard to make sure I burped. But also, I chose to drink warm beers instead of cold – tasted nasty, but had less carbonation. <taps head> “Not just a hat rack.”

Thanks for another great event, TNSR!

And after the race they had food grillin, music blastin & fun havin. I even made a 6 second video about it…

All in all a good time was had by all – even the folks who hurled.

Kanye was upset at his race results…or maybe because he puked.

Luckily these Beer Mile races don’t happen too often – they really do hurt. But I did have a great time and look forward to the next one!

How bout you? Would you ever want to do a Beer Mile? Have you ever? Any guesses as to the pukers?

-Scott

Free Race Photos! Woo to the Hoo!

I like the recent trend I’ve been seeing here and there of races giving you the photos for free! I’m sure it’s included somehow in the registration fee, but it’s much better than them asking for $30 a photo.

If you read my Hot Chocolate 15k Recap, then you know I ran the race, duh. But after I wrote it, they sent me the race photos they said they took of me. Here they are:

Before the race with run buds Julie and Mike!

During the race. Looks like I was feelin it.

Apparently I had time for a wardrobe change and facelift during the race.

And also gender reassignment surgery.

Oh look, there I am next to my yellow shirted clone.

Finally, at the finish line!

When you think about it, it’s just smart to give out the photos. Then the race photogs know that they’re getting paid instead of hoping to sell a few prints. And since they put a bug on the pics, it’s free advertising every time someone posts them to social media, or ahem, blogs using them.

Speaking of which, a photog associated with the Key West Half Marathon later saw my BLOG RACE RECAP and was kind enough to send me a photo he took of me! So cool!

Boom Shaka-laka!

This is like the 4th time in the past few months that the races have been sending out free photos. Gotta love it! The others that come to mind are the Dallas 13.1 I PR’d also sent Free Photos, as well as the Abby’s Run 5k where I won my age group! who posted All The Pics! Glad to be able to memorialize those races!

I hope this trend continues!

How bout you? Any free race photos lately? Do you even want your race pics? Ever had gender reassignment surgery?

-Scott

Key West Half Marathon Recap

It’s a two sided medal, it’s a wine stopper, it’s fun and functional.

Ahh, the Florida Keys. Who doesn’t love em? Key West in particular, has always been a magnet to the funky-fresh folks.

Closer to Havana than to Miami.

If you haven’t been, well, it’s kind of like a tropical and clean New Orleans. If you haven’t been to New Orleans, well, it’s kind of like an anything-goes sort of haven – full of good food, strong drink, history, openness, tolerance, and zero inhibitions. Both cities were home to pirates, poets, performers, and parties. Needless to say, I love it!!!

Two similar cities. Only separated by 630 miles.

In case you get lost.

And I’m glad to report that the Key West Half Marathon & 5k had the same feel to it that the island has – laid back, scenic, inclusive & fun! Peeps could even register under a “walker division” – can’t get more inclusive than that.

The fun feel starts at the race expo, which was held at a seaside bar and oyster joint…DUH!

Ain’t I purdy?

I was so excited at the expo, because it meant we got our race shirts! They are so over-the-top amazesauce!!!

The shirts….I heart them! And check out those bibs!

And if you’re so inclined, there are plenty of shops next door to load up on souvenirs.

Yeeeeah buoy!

From there, there were plenty of good joints on the island to get your carbo-load on.

My sis with our sushi grade raw tuna “nachos”

The eggs in the restaurants were very fresh.

The artwork in the eateries was very high brow, as my sis and her bae recognized.

My sis with some key lime pie, natch.

The whole pie.

And of course, there were good bevvies to wash it down with…

Key West beer, why not?

My sis and a Moscow Mule at Louie’s Backyard.

Hog’s breath is better than no breath at all. So they say.

Anyway, on to the race! It started at 7am over by the boat docks. Very laid back – no formal corrals, no pre-race formalities…

Can you spot me? Hint – white Ohio University shirt. Photo courtesy of http://www.fotobyfreas.com

I was a little worried going into the race. I was in good shape, but I’d been training in Dallas in 20-30 degree temps. Race morning it was in the 70’s with 90% humidity – 90%!!!!!!!!! OUCH!

But it was time to race, and hahaha, there wasn’t even a race starting horn – Someone must’ve said, “Go.” cause all the sudden, we were off!

I started my gps about a 1/4 mile into the race. My bad.

The course took us down famous Duval St., past the Southernmost Point marker, then an out and back along the beach.

Our friend Carrie caught me on the course. Throwin Dueces! Or maybe quotation marks cause I was feeling “great” in the humidity.

I crossed the 10k mark at 48:34, but it was all I could do to maintain that pace in that humidity. Shortly after, the wheels fell off. I was taking walk breaks to dump cold water on my head at each aid station.

Anyway, on the way back we went past the Hemingway house, the lighthouse, the A1A Mile Marker 0, and through Mallory Square (where everyone goes to watch the sunsets).

Photo I took of one of their famous sunsets.

The race eventually ended at the boat docks. But I was really hurting in the humidity. However, I sucked it up the last couple miles to finish at 1:50:00. A full 5 minutes slower than the Dallas Half last month.

At the finish, smiling on the inside. Photo courtesy from video from http://www.wildsideonline.com

I was hoping to break 1:40 at this race, but with the humidity, it wasn’t meant to be. I really did push hard though – so much so that I was very sore the next day.

That said, it was the same for everybody out there, and so I was still able to finish 27th in my age group and 201st overall (out of 3-4000 runners)!!!

See, I told you the race ended at the boat docks. Sweat much?

Even though I didn’t have the race I hoped for, I still had an absolute BLAST! It was so SCENIC! The volunteers were WONDERFUL! And the post race party was OFF THE CHAIN!

Before we could really get turnt up, I had some other friends and family finishing the race that I went back to root for!

Some friends.

Some family – my ma.

Sister’s bae.

My dad’s first half marathon!

My sis also ran, but I didn’t get a pic of her finishing. But we did get a selfie with the race announcer. This guy was THE.BEST.MC.EVAH! He was cracking us up with gems like, “This is the best day of our lives!” And I think he called me “dude” when I crossed the finish line.

Michael the Boston radio DJ. Solid dude. Perfect match for the Key West laid back attitude.

With everyone finished, it was time to party!!!

We had fun.

Da Key West crew.

The post race concert was Howard Livingston & the Mile Marker 24 Band. I’ve heard him before on Jimmy Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville. Such a great performer!!! He even made us margaritas with a modified boat-motor-blender at one point.

Howard on stage.

Did I mention all the beer was FREE?!?! That probably led to us making some new friends. Like when I photobombed some stranger’s selfie because Howard had jumped off stage to be in it!!!

Selfie stick, Howard Livingston, PirateBobcat Photobomb. Love this pic! Thanks to Elizabeth T.F. for sending it my way.

Hahahaha, the race photog actually got a pic of us taking a pic of ourselves.

From there it was on to Duval St. where we could proudly display our medals and shirts.

Da Key West Crew all cleaned up.

Yet another patio bar to celebrate on. I figured I’d wear loud shorts with my screaming shirt.

The patio drinks led to even more selfies. Well, that and narcissism.

Look, a coconut tree and a coconut head.

And I even tried my best to copy RunColbyRun and her high angle, partially-obstructed-face selfies, but I couldn’t master the master.

So sexy.

So to sum up, it was a blasty blast!!! If you are ever thinking of running the Key West Half Marathon, I say DO IT!!!!

And besides, you can’t run all the miles until you run the first one…

Mile Marker 0. Yes, I was in Birkenstocks.

Good times people, good times all around!

How bout you? Ever run Key West…or do you want to? What do you think of the swag? Ever go on a runcation?

-Scott

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

Rudolph Run 5k ~ New PR, Two Medals & I VLOGGED!

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?

-Scott

N. TX. Turkey Trot 5k Recap ~ New PR*

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.

Here’s my last three 5k’s:

Sept: 21:33    Oct: 21:34    Nov: 20.04 21:15

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?

-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