Plano Balloon 5k Recap – Trophies, Balloonies & Selfies!!!

So here’s da ting – I got to race this weekend!!!! It was the Plano Balloon Festival 5k. It went pretty well ~ I think I sent a PR on the way to a 3rd place division finish!

Balloon race, balloon medal, balloon trophy!

I signed up for this race a long time ago, and I’m glad I did – had tons of friends out there this day!

We run. We fun.

I was also glad to run into some of my super speedy friends who I haven’t been able to run with in a while. These two have been inspiring me for a while now – starting a few years ago when we’d regularly meet at the track to try and kill each other with 400’s…

Me and a couple BQ’ers. Maybe I could join them if I got shorter shorts.

It was a VERY humid day. So humid, in fact, that it started raining shortly after the race. Because of the weather they weren’t able to launch the hot air balloons as planned. Bummer, yo! It’s ok doe, I was there to race…and race I did!

And big ups shout out to my boy Tory for taking the following video of some of us during the race. T-dawg is always so supportive of his fellow runners…

I was purdy pleased with my race. I had a great time for me despite the humidity, hills and already running 40+ miles that week.

Official Results: 5k- 21:11 – 3rd in Age Group – 31st Overall (Out of 1945)

Don’t steal my soul, race photographer guy…or my award!!!

I LURVE the awards they gave us – individualized hot air balloon metal wall art hanging thingies…

Division placers…I have fast friends.

After the race, we explored the balloonless festival a bit. And of course, made a spectacle of ourselves…

Not sure what’s happening here.

Oh yeah, I remember ~ someone brought a selfie stick.

I enjoyed the race. I’ve been doing so many hundreds of miles getting ready for the Chicago Marathon that I couldn’t remember what it felt like to go short and fast! I was so glad to see I had gotten faster than when I started marathon training. Funny how that works ~ to get better at running, practice running.

I don’t think our group got enough pictures.

In the end, it was a good time with good peeps. And it was just the little confidence boost I needed after such a miserably hot Texas summer of long slow sweaty miles. Yay, my legs still work!

All smiles after the miles.

And guess what…..the festival also had a half marathon the day after the 5k. And yes, I ran that too. Stay tuned for that recap!!!!

How bout you? Any races recently? Ever go to a balloon festival with no balloons? Did our group take enough pictures (trust me, there’s more I didn’t post here)?

-Scott

Bikini’d Runners, Virtual High Five & I Don’t Need No Selfie-Stick!

Whew, I’ve finally recovered from being chased by dinosaurs!!!!

So back to more rockin n rollin (Or something like that). This past week’s long run was a 16 miler. Once again I ran with the WRRC as part of their Run My Hood summer fun.

I think I heard someone yell, “Get off my lawn!”

Here’s how it broke down: 5:30am, small group ran 3 miles. 6am, joined bigger group ran 6 more. 7am joined full group for another 7.

By the end the sun was up. I was struggling. So hot and humid. So much. And yes, I probably should’ve eaten better before hand. But we’re runners…We like self inflicted punishment, right?

Luckily doe, some of my #runbooze helped me through it!

Three throwin shade, one mad hatter.

And yes, this run did end with another POOL PARTY!!! Woo to the hoo (Or something like that).

The rest of this week has been more more of the same. Basically keepin it real (Or somethin). Let’s go through it in a series of awesome post run selfies (no stick used, thank you very much)!

Run dun b4 da sun.

Towering above the competition. Unless that tower is my competition, then it towers over me.

This is proper run fuel, right?

Virtual High Five! Go ahead, slap your computer screen. I’m keeping my hand up until you do…Do it already!

Chicago Marathon trainings has me feeling good so far. For the month of July we went 172 miles! I’m trying to remember back to my Dopey Challenge training, but that could be one of my highest months ever. Duh duh duh duh duh, I’M LOVING IT! Bring on August!!!*

How bout you? Selfies – use a stick or no? Did you slap your computer screen yet? Any post run photo requests/ideas? 

*Actually, Mr. August…I’m sorry…Mr. Texas August, please be kind to me. I want to be your friend. I really do. Maybe you could be a little cooler than normal? What do you think? Hello? Ok, I’ll let you think on it. Hugs!

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 Marathon Course Partial Preview, Run Bale & Pre-Dawn Selfies

This weekend saw many more miles. The WRRC mapped a route that ran along some of the new Dallas Marathon course – intentionally running the toughest sections of the course. And I gotta say, I feel for those who are running this race. You got some hills to deal with.

The “Dolly Parton Hills”, Swiss Ave & the Santa Fe Trail are gonna make you work.

It did take us through some old pretty neighborhoods. Hopefully the mansions will distract you from the ups and downs of the roads. However, you won’t have such a luxury after you leave the lake and hit up the Santa Fe Trail – Not much to see there.

Now, if you’re running the half marathon, you won’t have to deal with these tough sections of the course. You don’t even sniff them. Consider yourself lucky!

Anyway, to get to this run, I had to get up in the 4 o’clock hour. When I did, I noticed I had been tagged by my buddy Amy at FitnessMeetsFrosting on an Instagram challenge to take a selfie of whatever you are doing at the moment. Here’s mine…

I was absolutely thrilled at being up at this hour.

After the run, we ate tacos. I didn’t take a picture. I was hungry. Deal with it.

Anywhoodle…the next day I was up early again for a trail run with friends. It was kind of rainy and cold, so most of our friends bailed…I didn’t.

See, I told ya I didn’t ‘bale’ on the run.

I love that there was a random hay bale. Just last week in the same park was a random chair.

It’s a park of random mystery props.

Anyway, by the end of the run, there were only two of us left. We ended up getting in 7 miles before I had to head to yoga.

What I loved about both runs is that the people I ran with all pushed each other to go further and faster…In fact, on both days the fastest miles were on the hilliest sections. All in all, we got in some long runs, some hills, and some speed work. Love it! Feelin strong. Thinkin I might need to sign up for the half to take advantage of my current fitness level. Hmmmmmmm………

How bout you? Ever preview a race by running sections of the course? Ever bale on a run? If you took a selfie right now, what would you be doing?

-Scott

Weekend Recapin’: Runnin’, Walkin’, & Yogain’

Like most of us, the weekend started with a ‘long run’.  I took our dumb dog with me (the smart one has bad hips in old age).  I didn’t really have a plan, but thought 9 miles would be good.  It was.  I felt aight.  Picked up the pace as I went and ended up with an average pace around 8:30 something per mile.

And of course, since the weather is nice, we’ve been taking the both dogs (dumb and smart) and the rug rats (both are smart, of course) on walks.  They love it when we have time to stop at the park to play.

Keep calm and slide on.

Sunday the weather experts on TV had predicted crazy winds, hail, massive storms, and basically the end of days.  Turned out it was only a little windy.

Either way, I needed a yoga sesh, so I met some friends at Lululemon for their weekly practice.  It must’ve been a tough class cause there was lots of grunting (not from me), and today I am sore in parts.  Afterward I snapped a pic of our group, but didn’t like the way it looked, so it got deleted.

Sorry folks. I know how much you wanted to see another selfie of me and my motley crew.

Anyway, the weather has been pretty decent, and the flowers have taken notice.  Everything is in full bloom now, so my mom took the rug rats to the arboretum check some of them out.

I’d like to point out some of my favorite plants…there’s the green one, and the other green one, and that green one…

And to top it all off, my Dallas Mavericks won their playoff game in dramatic fashion with a three pointer at the buzzer.  Which was good, because when the Mavs win, “It makes for a much more pleasant household.” (according to the wife)

How bout you?  Good weekend?  Flowers flowering?  Run, yoga, or other workouts?  Goin on any walks?

-Scott

 

Week Workouts, Boston Fundraiser, & Bestie Visit

I’ve been crazy busy this week, but workout-wise it’s been kind of a weak week.  I’m blaming part of that on the weather.  What up spring?  Storms one day, crazy winds the next, temps in the 80’s one day, then temps in the 30’s another day.  What up?

All I’ve managed to get in this week is one yoga class, one weight sesh, one doggy walk, one run.  And on my run I must’ve stepped wrong because 3.25 miles in my lower calf said, “no mas.”  I was able to make it to four, but sheesh.  Luckily my blogging buddy – fitnessmeetsfrosting.com had sent me some Rocktape for my birthday!  Thanks Amy!

I have the exact same running form as the gal on the box.

So now I have it taped up and I’m off to a social run tonight to give it a go.  I’m also going cause one of my elite runner buddies – Logan Sherman – is going to be there as he’s doing a fundraiser for Boston Police who work the marathon course.

You know you’re fast when fitness magazines write articles about you.

If you’re interested in donating, or want more info – here’s the LINK.

Other than that, I had a pretty good visit from one of my besties who was in from North Crackalaka.  Of course, I took her to get some TACOS!

Steps: 1. Open face. 2. Insert taco. 3. Repeat.

She also got to visit the fam and play with the rugrats.

Then we went to a Texas patio bar.

Christie wants to join you in a virtual drink.

Which led to this sort of klassy behavior.

Judging from the photos, my mouth is agape alot.

All in all it was a good visit.  Hopefully she’ll be able to come back again soon!

Final patio selfie…because her hair was on fire.

So there you go.

How bout you?  Crazy weather?  Doing anything (running, fundraising, etc.) for Boston?  Who wants to meet up at the patio bar later?

-Scott

St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I love Ireland and the Irish.  I love Guinness.  I love Irish music and food.  My favorite color is green.  So needless to say, I love this holiday.

I’d be a giant in leprechaun village.

I have been to Ireland thrice, twice of which was on St. Pat’s Day.  Those are some good times, my friend.

My St. Pat’s weekend this year kicked off with a 5am run.  I met some friends and we cruised to an easy 7-8 miles, followed by a mimosa 1 mile fun walk – it was St. Pat’s after all.

I’m checking my watch, and yup, it is 6ish AM.

I was on daddy daycare duty (and doodie) this weekend, so I wasn’t able to go to the big shindig with all my peeps.

Playing firefighter selfie.

I was however, able to make it to one of the big St. Pat concerts – Graceland Ninjaz.  It’s basically Elvis singing cover songs.  It’s fun.  I was actually in one of their music videos last year.  I played a ninja, coincidentally.

In between takes with some “Felvis” dancers (female Elvis).

We had some wicked storms blow in the early evening that day, and I thought the show might be cancelled, but then we got a St. Patrick’s Day miracle.  The skies cleared and delivered us a double rainbow!

Turns out I was the pot o’ gold at the end of the double rainbow after all.  But what does it mean?!?!

The show was on!  It was a fun time!  I’m friends with most of the people in the band, and so they brought me on stage for a bit so I could perform some of my sweet dance moves to titillate the crowd.

On stage open mouth selfie.

Back up for Elvis!

The next morn we were supposed to do a trail run, but it was too muddy.  So I met my runnin buds for power yoga at Lululemon.  Afterwards we went across the street to Starbucks.

Starbux selfie! Why am I always in back?

Now I’ve never had a cup of coffee in my entire life.  So I don’t make it to Starbucks much.  But I wanted to try the turkey bacon egg sammich that Run Salt Run goes on and on about.

Salt Gal made be do it. I’m a sucker to peer pressure.

It was purdy tasty!  Thanks Salt!  However I think I pissed off the line of coffee zombies behind me when I ordered my sandwich and tea.  I’m sorry I held you up, but their system of cup sizes cornfuzed me!  Sheesh!  Like I said, it had been years since I’ve been in one of those shops.

Anyways, it was a nice lil weekend there.  And today is the actual St. Patrick’s Day, so I will celebrate with a pint o’ the black stuff in my custom etched Guinness glass that I’ve been saving for today.

Now nobody can steal my Guinness!

Another thing to love about this holiday – it doubles as my birthday eve.   Yay me!

How bout you?  How was your weekend?  Do anything special for St. Pats?  Ever been to Ireland?  Did I take too many selfies this weekend?

10k, Putt-Putt, & Thundersleet

The weekend started out great – temps took a sudden upswing to the 70’s/80’s on Friday and Saturday.  We took full advantage.

I got up and ran 10K to start the Saturday.  The miles will go toward these two challenges that I’m taking part in:  Around the World Running Blog Relay and 100 Miles in March by Fitfluential.

I was going to run anyways, might as well join the challenge!

Afterwards, the 5 year old begged me to take him to play putt-putt.

We’re quite a pair – like bread and putter.

He’d never played before in his life, and I’m not sure how it got into his head, but it sounded like a fun idea to me.

Good thing they had more than one green, because he got a hole in one.

Afterwards, he begged me for a hot dog.  He typically doesn’t like to eat any kind of animal protein, so this was a new one too.  Maybe it was the nice weather and the smell of people BBQing in the air?  I’m not a huge fan of him eating them, but figured it was a special day.  We went to a really cool patio bar that’s friendly to pets and runners alike.  It was packed.  He got his dawg and I got a brewski.  Here’s a 6 sec video I took of the scene:

The next morning, the wheels fell off.  The temps dropped to the low 20’s and we got freezing rain.  Oh, and something called “Thundersleet”.  It’s apparently that thing when it’s sleeting and thundering at the same time.  It’s weird.  I wasn’t about to run in that noise, so it was off to yoga at Lululemon.

A man’s child pose.

For some reason, the boy begged me to let him tag along.  He really wanted to go.  I was excited to bring him, but looking back I’m not sure why he wanted to come.  He spent the entire class playing games on my phone.  Oh well, eventually I’ll get him to participate.  Baby steps on the way to child’s pose, I suppose.

As the day went on daying, the weather continued to worsen and colden.  Wind chill was around 0 degrees and the roads got all iced over.  It was a real bummer of a way to end the weekend.  But I did get to weather it in a cool way.  I moved from the ice outside to the ice inside where the Dallas Stars NHL pro hockey team plays.  When I’m not running, I’m a video producer and so I that’s what I was there doing.

On ice #selfie!

So there is the weekend that was.

How was your weekend?  Last time you putt putted?  Last time you yogad?  Last time you patio barred?  Doing any March challenges?  Ever been caught in thundersleet? 

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! 

Respect the Run & Don’t Fight Giraffes

Before I get into it, lemme fill in on last night’s social run.  It was good.  Cool temps and low humidity made it so I could actually breath on my run.  It felt awesome.  I ended up doing about a 7:20 pace for the 3 miles.  Much different than the humid & hot 9 per the 3 miles I ran just two days ago.  Anyway, afterwards we traded running stories and shared a few drinks and snacks like we do each Thursday.

Here’s some of last night’s group, along with our laser eyes.

Now onto today’s post…

The weekend approaches.  While most of our friends are thinking about how to relax this weekend, us runners have a different perspective.  The weekend for us either means a race or some training – usually a long run of the week.

For my Disney Dopey Challenge training, I have an “off” weekend.  Which means no back to back medium and long runs.  Instead I have 9 miles on Saturday and only cross training on Sunday.  The off week is designed to let me recharge a bit in anticipation of next weeks mileage – culminating with a 6 and 16 mile back to back runs.

Who put a cartoon character in charge of a major race?

But as I prepare for tomorrow’s 9 miler, something occurred to me.  I was reading a strong runner’s blog that I follow – BayRunner Jamie, and she had a line in one of her posts about respecting the run.  I started thinking about this, and it’s true.  Here’s what I mean about respecting the run:  That means you do not fear it, nor are you cocky about it, you simply respect it, and in return you should have a better performance.

My sis and I after a recent 1/2 marathon in OBX, NC.

Look at it like this:  My marathoner sis is a real keeper.  And by keeper, I mean Zoo Keeper (you see what I did there?).  She works with animals that could rip her skin off.  Gorillas, elephants, and don’t get me started on giraffes.  They look nice, and most are, but they can fight, and when they do, it looks WEIRD.  Giraffe fights creep me out.  Look it up on youtube sometime.

A pic my sis took recently of one of her giraffes. I don’t like the way it’s eyeballing me…like it wants to fight or something.

Sorry, I got off topic there.  I told you not to get me started on giraffe fighting.  Anyway, here’s what I’m getting at.  If you are around animals, you cannot project fear, or they may bite your knee off.  You also can’t be so cocky that you think you can just walk right up to them and take a selfie, cause they may teeth bite your face’s cheek.  You must respect the animal if you want it to respect you back, and hopefully not swing it’s giant spotted neck in your direction.

So when you wake up for your race or long run this weekend, don’t be afraid of it (the distance, pace, course, hills, etc.)…you got this.  And don’t be so confident that you assume you’ll own it…that’s a recipe for disaster (You could go out too fast, or if you think it’s going to be easy, you may freak out once you hit a difficult patch).  Respect the run and you should be able to handle it better than a fighting giraffe.

So what are you doing this weekend?  Racing?  Long run?  How far?  How do you feel about it going in?  Do you think there should be an organized giraffe fighting league?