I Ran in a TORNADO!!!*

First up, some good news. I’ve been feeling pretty good on my runs lately. Official Chicago Marathon starts in a few weeks, but the pre-training is in full effect. This week’s highlight being a run with WRRC.

Sometimes Asians let me run with them, which is good cause they like to replenish carbs afterwards.

Now for some tragic news – I skipped 2 runs last week! Eeek! I couldn’t help it doe. It’s been raining like a mofo around North Texas. I mean big nasty storms, like several times a week, like every week, like for months. Just look at the graph from our water supply source lake…

That’s a wet couple months.

Don’t get me wrong – all the rain has been great as we’ve been in a massive drought for YEARS! Just look how our lake was only 50% full just a couple months ago. Now it’s over 100%! So unbelievable!

Buuut, the storms have cancelled/postponed a couple races I was signed up for, like one this past weekend…

Bummer yo.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not afraid to run in the rain, because as we all know…

This is what I kept telling myself all week.

But when you’re in the middle of a run and tornado sirens start going off, and then lighting starts cracking over your head, and then the heavens open up, and then the flash flood water is up to your ankles, and then you start laughing at your irresponsible situation…you really start to question your sanity.

“With all of our running and all of our cunning,
If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.” – Jimmy Buffett

So I’ll keep doin what I can – enjoyin the cool rain, appreciatin the resulting greenery, and sqeezin in runs like Charmin.

How bout you? Ever get caught in a bad storm mid-run? Have any races cancelled? Who’s sexy this week?

-Scott

*OK, maybe it was just a tornado siren.

A Pirate Looks at 40 ~ The Birthday Post

Yup, it’s my 40th birthday. Not sure how that happened. Seems like it was just the other day when I was a kid in a party store looking at all the “over-the-hill” gag items. I remember thinking that that was like a million years away. Haha, it’s a lot closer now.

Thoughts from this morning’s run. I only received a few complaints form neighbors.

I was reading an article recently about how people tend to make major life decisions as they approach the end of a decade. For example, they said as you reach the age of 30, 40, 50, etc. you have a higher rate of suicide, or signing up for a marathon.

Well, I’d kind of like to keep on livin. So I guess I’ll choose the running option. Even though I’ve run some marathons, I’d like to run more…only faster!

One of this week’s runs. It’s like an upsidedown deflating birthday party balloon.

And yes, my birthday does fall the day after St. Pats. Which sounds cool, but in reality everyone is too worn to want to do any more partying. That’s ok though, I can kind of combine them.

Limited edition Guinness in my personalized PirateBobcat pint glass.

We’ll be celebrating later, but I’m not exactly sure what the party plans are yet. But I do know this, I need a cake hat like the boy had at his birthday.

We’re just a group of mouth-breathers.

The good news is that I’m now in a new racing age group! Hopefully I can be competitive!

In addition, it was pointed out that my Boston Qualifying Standard is a little slower now! Woo hoo! Now I only need to run a 3:15 marathon! That means I just have to run my 10k pace for for 42k…….er, uh, wait. I guess I have some work to do!

You have to be fast as a bearded unicorn to qualify.

I’ll leave you now with this. It’s some lyrics from the song that’s been stuck in my head all week:

Yes, I am a pirate two hundred years too late
Cannons don’t thunder there’s nothin’ to plunder
I’m an over forty victim of fate
Arriving too late, arriving too late

-Jimmy Buffett from “A Pirate Looks at 40”

How bout you? Any milestone birthdays coming up/just passed? Did you get me anything? Ever run in your birthday suit on your birthday?

-Scott

Rain Runnin & a Snowshark!

As I promised the other day, I am not going to miss another run due to the winter weather. I was going stir crazy when illness/iceness forced me off the roads. So yes, I ran every day this week…I just had to make some adjustments.

Luckily, we had some warmer weather that melted all the ice/snow. So I has happy to get back to my typical sunrise run routine. Even if it meant running in the cold rain.

As I was swatting the rain that was stinging my face, it occurred to me how sexy I was probably looking.

But then guess what happened. Yup, another cold front came through and froze all the rain. And then dumped a bunch of snow on top of it. Luckily tho, the sun came out and would melt enough in the afternoons for me to run…before it refroze overnights. So I had to adjust my normal sunrise runs to mid afternoon runs. Felt weird, but I got it done.

The best part of running in daylight was seeing all the snowmen in the neighborhood. One, in particular caught my attention. I promptly ran home to get the kiddos to see it.

I didn’t even tell him to pose, he just gets it!

She was scared at first, but warmed up to the killer snowshark.

Felt good to shake out the legs this week. On to more!

How bout you? Seen any snowsharks? Are you able to run outside yet? How foxy am I in that photo?!?!

-Scott

I’m a Sexy Trail & Rain Runner

Firsty, I never check this stuff, but I needed to look at something in my blog settings and I noticed the search term someone had used to find my blog.  I gotta say, whoever he/she is, well, they came to the right place!

Haha, dayum skippy.  They found their man!  If you didn’t know, I’ve been finding that lots of the exercises we do do make us sexy.  Tee hee, I said doo doo.

Secondly, Holy Frijole did we get some rain today!  It was awesome!  We are in a really bad drought here in Tejas, so today was much welcome.  It stormed most of the morning-night and all day.  Only problem – when I was up for my morning run, there was lightning.  We shouldn’t run when there’s lightning.

I waited…and waited…until I thought the lightning had stopped…and went for my run.  It was still raining, which felt uhmaizing!  It’s been a long time since I’ve run in the rain.  However, I have a big but.  (Tee hee, I said big butt.)  BUUUUUUT the lightning hadn’t stopped.  I definitely ducked a few times when I saw the flashes.

Luckily I made it home safe.  However my white tank top was soaked.  I probably would’ve won a wet t-shirt concert if my neighborhood wasn’t so lame and decided to had one.  So sexy.

Anyway, back to whomever was searching for sexy trail runners, I’m sure this is the photo they were looking for…

I hope they were satisfied with their search results.  Hahaha, I wish I could see their reaction.  Oh well.

How bout you?  Rain run much?  Which one of you was searching for ‘sexy trail runners’?  Be honest!

-Scott

Trail Running Makes You Sexy

The other day I just wasn’t feelin another road run for the week. So I ended up going to a local nature preserve to run on their wooded trails. I’m glad I did. Mainly, because doing so makes you foxy.

Never mind the sweaty man laying down in the woods.

Trail running always seems to refresh me. It’s good to get in nature. It’s good to dodge plants and rocks and critters and mountain bikers and hikers and other runners. It totally turned my mood around. Before the run I was all like…

I had a real chip on my shoulder. #tortilla #notpotato

After the run I went and met some peeps for yoga. It was a really good practice. And of course, from a couple weeks ago – you know what yoga does to you…

#NotCreepyatAll

That’s right, I got an extra dose of foxiness that day. Watch out world!

Anyone else ever take a running ‘break’ by hitting trails? Every double dip your workouts?

-Scott

PS. I apologize for posting such foxy (and not at all creepy photos).

Sweaty Miles & Sexy Yoga

This weekend I got in a couple extremely sweaty runs.  First up I met up Saturday morning with the White Rock Running Co-op.  I know several of the members of this group, but it ws the first time I’ve been able to join them for a run.  I’m glad I did!

This run they were meeting at a member’s house so we could run his hood.  I’ve always loved when I’ve had someone visit our place and I get to take them on a run of my usual routes, so I really liked this concept for a run.  The local had routes mapped out from 6-10 miles.  I did 8.

There were some speedy folks in this group – it seemed like everyone was wearing Boston Marathon swag.  But there were other paces too – even walkers.  I ran with a group that said they would do an 8:30 pace – they lied.  We did closer to 8:00-8:15.  But it’s good to go faster than you maybe wanted to.  If you want to get faster, sometimes it’s helps to run faster.  Doy.

After the extremely humid run they had a pool party – funzies!

It took me 4 days to stop sweating.

It didn’t cool me down much though.  Haha, in fact, the only problem with the experience was that after I went in their house to grab some grub, they had to mop the floor to clean up my sweat (serisouly)!  I felt bad, but I wasn’t alone in sweating up the floor (honestly).

Sunday I got in another 4 humid miles.  This time I took a cold shower after…it didn’t help.  I was still sweating afterwards.  But it was OK, because I went to yoga practice where I got even more sweatier…which of course makes you sexier.

#NotCreepyatAll  BTW, that wasn’t my hand.

It was a really good class, and left me pretty sore.  But I was already sore from the runs, so now I’m even sore-ier.  It’s good to be sore…lets you know you did some work son!

Anyway, the rest of the weekend included yardwork, housework, toddler time, World Cup, taking off the kiddo’s bike training wheels, and Father’s Day sushi.  Not too shabby.

How bout you?  Ever take anyone on a running tour of your hood?  Find any fun run groups lately?  How sexy is that yoga picture?

-Scott

Track Work Makes You Sexy (Except for the Gnats)

I got back on the track this morning for some lappage.  I did 400’s and 200’s.  It was fun to go short and fast.  Only problems were the clouds of gnats I had to plow through.

It was gross, but luckily I’ve been through this before and I was careful to keep my mouth closed and my eyes shielded with shades…Unlike my buddy Salt who had one burrow into her brain the other day.

Afterwards I was stretching and realized how hawt I must look.  So I snapped a pic…

My wife called this picture creepy and I’m pretty sure I weirded out the maintenance dudes who were mowing the grass near by.  Whatever haters!  Hahaha!

Go back and look at the photo closely – See the black dots on my face and neck – GNATS!  They were stuck to my sweaty glistening skin from head to ankle.

I really don’t get why they hover over sidewalks and tracks.  What’s the benefit…For them or me????  I’m sure it will go down in gnat lore as the ‘Great Massacre of 2014’.

Either way, I enjoyed the workout.  I’m trying to transition my track sessions to the mornings now due to the heat of day, and since school is out I had it all to myself!  Yuppers!  Hopefully gnat season will end soon!

How bout you?  Do your workouts make you foxy?  Ever been part of a gnat massacre?  Be honest, that photo is hawt, isn’t it?  😉

-Scott