Heat Blows and Happy World Cup Day!

First off, I am pumped!  Today is the first day of the World Cup!  Even though I am passionate about running, soccer will always be my first love.  Can’t wait to watch the beautiful game!  Happy World Cup Day everyone!  Go USA!

Bend it like Evans. I can beat you with one arm tied behind my back.

OK, now on to the heat.  I used to like the weather heat, but then I got into running and now I prefer it to be less heaty.  It’s turning into summer here in Texas and that means super heat. Serious heat.  It doesn’t go away over night, but at least the sun isn’t beating on us, so that’s when I have to run – before the sun comes up.  It’s fine, I’ve made my peace with it.

The Texas sun is not forgiving.

There’s another kind of Heat that I’m not a big fan of – The Miami Heat.  They are an NBA basketball team and they are in the finals right now.  And my blogging buddy Helly doesn’t like them either so we decided to write about it – read hers here. 

First, I must offer my apologies to the Running Schlub.  I know he’s a fan of the Heat, so I’m sorry about this, but lemme splain.

#1 – The current Heat roster took form when free agents Lebron and Bosh decided to join Wade to for a super group.  To me, that was the coward way out.  Instead of working hard like every other NBA player to make it to the promise land, they just got a bunch of all-stars to team up.  To give you some perspective, they asked former great players like Michael Jordan if he would’ve ever joined a team of superstars so they could beat up on the rest of the league – he said, Hells no!  He wanted to beat the best in the league.  He wanted to beat Bird, Magic, etc.  He didn’t want to team up with them for an easy way out.

#2 – They show a lack of respect.  From their first circus like press conference announcing the new superstars.  To Lebron changed his number from 23 to 6 because he said he had too much respect for Jordan.  So does that mean he doesn’t respect Dr J?  And when they barely won the championship last year, they said it was the hardest finals they ever played in.  Um what?  What about the one you LOST to my Dallas Mavericks???  Speaking of which, Wade and Lebron made fun of Dirk Nowitzki when he was sick, but still played in the finals.  Really?  Then when Lebron gets sick he tells everyone how hard he’s fighting through the illness to be able to play.  Really?

#3 – Their fans.  I’m not talking about the hardcore legit fans.  I’m talking about most of them who are bandwagon and obnoxious.

#4 – Who gets a tattoo that says ‘Chosen One”?  Really?

#5 – I was born and raised in Ohio – if you know anything about Lebron, then you know how despised he is now in his/my home state.

Ha, I know Helly and I could go on about this, but I’ll stop it there.  That all said though, I do respect some of their players and I do understand Lebron is a beast.  He’s a dominant player no matter what you think of him. But it doesn’t mean I can’t root against him. 😉  They are playing the Spurs, who are Maverick rivals, but I’m pulling for them anyways.  Go Spurs Go!

I’m just glad my Mavericks were able to beat them in the finals a couple years ago.  Yes, we slayed the giants!

My old school Mavericks jersey. Taken right after they won the title!

Funny story, after the Mavericks won, the governor of Ohio made a proclamation naming the Dallas Mavericks Honorary Ohioans.  Hahahaha!

Anyways, there ya go.  Sorry about the rant.  Helly and I were joking about it on Twitter and decided pull the trigger on these posts.

How bout you?  Excited about the World Cup?  Got any opinions about the Heat?  What time do you get up to run?  What’s your favorite pro sports team?

-Scott

PS – In case you’re wondering, I became a Dallas Mavericks fan while I still lived in Ohio.  They drafted a player from Ohio and that’s when I started following them.  It’s a coincidence that I ended up moving here.

 

A Gentleman’s Wager – “loser” runs.

So my running-blogging buddy Jon over at My ourney: 1,000 Miles in 2014 and also at Inspired Race Events has challenged me to a bet.  Before I get to that, first you should know that Jon and I have never met.  He lives in San Antonio, TX and I live in Dallas, TX.  We only know each other through the blogosphere and our interactions on Twitter.  But now we’re in the middle of a wager.

This came about because both of “our” respective NBA teams are currently playing each other in the NBA playoffs.  He’s a Spurs fan, and I’m a Mavericks man.  These teams are pretty big in state rivals, and so we were taunting each other on Twitter.  Finally he said we need to have a bet.  I agreed.  He asked what it should be over.  I suggested the ‘loser’ has to run an uncomfortable workout.  He agreed.

On the court after a Mavs game last year. Dirk is peeking out of my shirt.

How the playoffs work is the two teams play each in a best of seven game series:  The first team to win four games wins and moves on to the next round.  Loser goes fishing.  The series could be over in 4 games, or it could go up to 7.  We decided that the ‘loser’ will have to run as many 400’s as the number of games the series goes.  If it goes 7 games, the loser has to run 7 400 repeats.  It is currently tied at 2-2.  Hopefully I won’t have to bust out my lucky retro Mavs jersey that I was wearing when the won the title a couple years ago.

My secret weapon.

I personally think the bet should be weighted somehow considering the Spurs had the best record in the NBA regular season and are a #1 seed.  The Mavs are the #8 seed.  But oh well, I guess you throw that all out in the playoffs.  Hopefully my main man Dirk Nowitzki can bring home the win!

Pic I took getting Dirk’s autograph at an FC Dallas match. See, I told you we’re tight.

In the end, the wager isn’t that bad.  Truth be told, I’d probably be doing 400 repeats anyway, hahaha!  Either way, at least one of us will be on the track running 400 repeats at a pace that should induce dry heaving.

From my track workout last week. Luckily I didn’t puke on my pretty shoes.

How about you?  Ever make a ‘run’ bet?  Any other ideas for what we could’ve had the ‘loser’ run?  Anyone else have ‘lucky’ clothes?

-Scott

Destination Running: San Antonio, TX

So while I was in San Antonio over the weekend winning a couple Emmys (see how I snuck that in there?), I was able to stick to my Dopey Challenge training schedge and squeeze in a run.

So grateful for Emmy #6! I’d like to thank the Academy…

If you’ve never been to San Antonio, it’s a pretty cool town.  Lots of history there.  Of course, you know about the Alamo…

Looking for the basement at the Alamo.

But did you know that there are several other “Alamo-style” missions from the same time period around the city?  Probably not, because they didn’t have big battles like this one did.  I looked into running a route that would take me to them all, but it would’ve been too far for me in the short amount of time I had.

I also thought about running around the city proper, as there are plenty of historical landmarks all over the place.  Including this old church….

San Fernando Cathedral – they say the oldest building in Texas.

That church above even hosts the burial tomb of Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, among others.  So there’s plenty of stuff like that to see around the city.

But instead, I decided to run along the River Walk.  What is the River Walk?  It’s probably one of the coolest features of the city.  The San Antonio River flows about a story below the city streets.  It’s lined with hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops.  There ain’t a lot of room on the sidewalks, because all that stuff in the previous sentence are right on top of it!  Click on the link earlier in this paragraph for better info and pics, but here’s a quick one I snapped…

Don’t worry if you fall in, it’s not deep much.

For my run, I needed to get in 7 miles.  I did so on a Sunday at 7:30 a.m.  Not many tourists on the river walk that early, which is good, because like I said, sidewalks are skinny as a 4 year old.  Buuuuut, there were several several runners, which colored me surprised and happy.  I don’t think they were all visitors to the city, I think most were locals.  That’s cool.  I’m glad I got to run a popular local spot.

Tour boats boating tourists on tours.

Anyway, since we were below the city and under several trees, bridges, overpasses, etc. my gps watch was having a Charles Dickens of a time tracking me.  But I knew about how long it would take me to run that far, so I switched my watch to “elapsed time” and kept on going.  I was very pleased to learn that it went for several miles.  I was able to get my out and back 7 total miles in no problemo!

My only regrets were that 1) I didn’t have a picture taking device on me, and 2) I was running and could stop to really experience all that I passed.

Here’s why – I passed by tons and tons of artwork, historical landmarks, and other cool things like waterfalls and grottos.  Since it was a few miles away from the heart of the touristy area, most people never walk that far.  They, like me, probably have no idea all that stuff exists.  I just wish I was able to stop and check it all out.  But experiencing it with passing glances will have to do for now.

All in all, a cool place to run!!!

What about you?  Ever been to San Antonio?  Did you find your bike in the Alamo?  Where’s a cool place you ran while on a trip?

Weekend Whirlwind: Emmys, Running, and American Gladiators!

I’ll try to keep this brief and let the pictures do the talking.  Friday I ran 17 miles and felt good.  Saturday I ran 2 miles and felt like bricks.  But after that run I got on a plane and flew to San Antonio for the Lone Star Emmy Awards Gala where we were nominated for 5 Emmys!

Looking for the basement at the Alamo.

Then got all gussied up for the brew ha ha.

I wanted to have a duck lipped selfie.

Then went to the ballroom for the festivities where I met a couple guys in nude tuxedos.

This one is for the frosted fitness blogger lady!

Ran into some of my friends who were also nominated for Emmys.  Here’s my buddy Emily Reppert – host of Chevy Hometown Kids on Fox Sports Southwest.

I almost wore that same dress…man, would that have been embarrassing.

Out of the 5 nominations, we took home 2 Emmys!

Pretty cool night!

Since we won 2, I got to make 2 speeches.  I think my jokes were funny.  Others might not be as amused.  haha.

Saying something important, I’m sure.

The next morning I ran a 7 miler around the city.  Had breakfast with a friend, then flew back to Dallas. Ran into Nitro from American Gladiators at the airport.  2nd time I’ve run into him, so figured it was a sign to have a chat with him.  Very nice guy.  Now he promotes the Gladiator Rock n Run.  Worlds colliding!

Right before we went through the gauntlet!

Once home, the wife and I went to get some veggie burgers.

So my veggie burger wouldn’t get lost, they branded it.

I then met up with a bunch of my runner friends for a big tree lighting ceremony.  I brought one of my Emmys, people liked taking photos with it.

We don’t always run, we sometimes have other fun.

Yes, it was a Christmas tree lighting.  I don’t know why they did it, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet!  But they lit up the whole square as well.  All the trees are lit, looks nice!

I’m so totally lit right now.

Obviously, it was a tremendous weekend.  I’m still processing it all.  But I’m also very thankful.  I work hard, and appreciate the recognition.

I had to give the golden lady a kiss.

Anyway, how was your weekend?  Which American Gladiator would you like to meet?  Tell me something good that happened to you recently! 

Need Advice – Dopey Challenge Training Week 9

Help!  I’m not sure what to do this week.  I have followed my training plan religiously, but this week there is a hiccup, a good hiccup, but a hiccup nonetheless.  Hiccup.

Here’s what my week is supposed to look like:

Sun – Cross (done)

Mon – Rest (done)

Tue – 4 mile + weights (done)

Wed – 7 miles (will do)

Thur – Rest + weights (hmmm)

Fri – 2 miles

Sat – 7 miles

Sun – 17 miles

The hiccup is that I I fly to San Antonio for the Emmy Awards Gala Saturday morning and fly home Sunday Morning.  My flight Saturday is around 10 am – I’ll have to leave the house by 8 am.  It’s an about an hour flight.  Then travel to the hotel and lunch, I’m assuming.  I have to be at the awards gala by 4:30 at the latest.  So I only have a couple hours free that afternoon.

After last year’s Emmy’s. Fake mustaches bring good luck!

I fly home Sunday around noon, so will probably have to leave the hotel by 10-10:30.  Will most likely be partying it up Saturday night at the gala, so an early Sunday 17 mile run is most likely out.  Travel always beats me down, so running Sun afternoon when I return may also be out.

I’d like to run in San Antonio as I found some routes online that look like fun.  But I’m not sure if the timing will workout.

Yosemite Sam would be proud of my moves. He would then be sad that they no longer serve “Pie Alamode.”

So what should I do?

Should I move the 2 miler to Thursday?  I think maybe I should.

Do the 7 miler on Friday?  Probably, right?

What about Saturday – wake up super early to get the 17 in? (it’s probably going to take me 2.5 hours to finish)  Or try and hustle and squeeze it in once I land?  Or should I do half in the morning, and do the other half when I land?

Or should I do part of the 17 miler on Saturday and part of it Sunday morning?  Like do 10 on Sat and 7 on Sun morn?

I called my good friend (and expert runner) last night and she told me all that matters is that I spend the time on my feet, and that it’d be OK to break it up.  I’d rather do it all at once, but may not have a choice.  She also said that since we’re still a couple months from the races, that mixing up one week now won’t affect me too much down the road.  Good advice.

What would you do???  Please advise!!!