2014 – Runs, PR’s, Celebs, Concerts, Tacos & Sexiness (Mostly in Photos)

Welp, we’ve dun it. Anuther trip around the sun. Looking back, 2014 was a pretty decent year. Let’s take a peek at a few hightlights, shall we?

It kicked off with a BANG! In January I ran the Disney World Dopey & Goofy Challenge. That’s 4 straight days, 4 straight races.

The 6 Dopey Challenge Medals.

Day 1 – Thursday – 5k (3.1 miles)

Medal 1/6 gotten!

Day 2 – Friday – 10k (6.2 miles)

Medal 2/6 got.

Day 3 – Saturday – Half Marathon (13.1 miles)

Medals 3/6 got.

Day 4 – Sunday – Full Marathon (26.2 miles)

Medals 6/6 (includes Dopey & Goofy bonus medals)

All in all, it was a magical 48.6 miles.

Running at Epcot, waving to my fans.

Included in the weekend was the Kids’ Race, where the soon to be 5 year old rocked it!

Medals for everyone!

Oh, and did I mention my sis and ma also did the Dopey?

At Magic Kingdom with our medals.

Shortly afterwards though, I was going for a run, tripped, felled, and Nancy Kerriganed my own knee.

Put me out of commission for a little while.

I was able to eventually get active again by doing a lot of yoga in a retail store.

Cat, cow, what difference does it make?

I really think yoga is important for everyone – including runners. So I do a lot of it. And besides…

#NotCreepyatAll

Another part of my cross training is lifting weights. And besides…

Dumbells make you smart…and sexy.

I also like to mix up my runs with track work. And besides…

Track work makes you sexy. Here’s the proof!

Trail runs are also great. And besides…

#truth #obviously

Eventually my knee felt better and I got back on the roads with some of my fave people. Like Thursday Night Social Runners.

TNSR, Representin

And also my crazy early morning elfen crew.

They like to run at like 5am. They cray cray.

I also made a few Luke’s Locker social trail runs.

Run trails, eat pancakes. Repeat.

And the White Rock Running Co-op, who really helped me to become a better runner this year.

WRRC. Good runners.

To help fuel my workouts, I ate lots of tacos. Lots.

Legit, son!

In between training, I also got to see some of my fave bands…like at this FREE concert – The Killers!

About 30 rows deep, my mouth a gasp with excitement.

And the Old 97’s.

Seen this band countless times.

And I was super thrilled to see the traveling Broadway show, based on the movie – Once!

And I got to make my annual Jimmy Buffett concert experience…TWICE!

JB concert #1. Just call me Front Row Joe.

JB concert #2. Things get wild at the tailgate parties…trust me!

I also got to hangout on stage during a Graceland Ninjaz concert.

On stage open mouth selfie.

As well as Pentatonix.

I liked to imagine they were all cheering for me (they may have been).

They were amongst the Celebs that got to hang out with me this year.

They asked me to join the group based on some of my youtube karaoke videos.

And my model friend Brooke Becker.

She’s kewl.

And long time friend, fashion blogger, and TV host, Hilary Kennedy.

We had to wear our shades because of the flashes from the paparazzi.

And all around media star, and long long time friend, Ashley Kamrath.

At the Emmy’s. We didn’t win this year, but we’ll get again next year!

And I made another video with friend & TV host, Emily Reppert.

On the set with my actor friends.

And I made a new BFF when I interviewed Olympic gold medalist, Jennie Finch.

See, told ya we were new BFF’s.

And my Dallas Half Marathon Champion friend, Logan Sherman.

Logan, Me, Patrick. Mustachioed.

And model/actor buddy, Shane Land.

We have played brothers in two movies. Can you see the resemblance?

And a Dallas Cowboy – Charles Haley.

A couple of legends.

Anyways, back to running. I ran a bunch of races. Starting with Abby’s Run 5k, where I won my age group!

Yay! I got a photo with Abby (who the race is named for) and her mom. Ann photobombed us.

Then came the Rock the Block 10k. New PR – 46:00!

And we’re off! -Photo from Dallasnews.com

During the months of Texas heat, it was really hot, so I only ran a few unofficial races. Like the Boston Marathon virtual run.

And the America, F**k Yeah 4th of July 10k.

Censored Bling

And the TNSR Beer Mile.

This was a bad idea.

Then came the Fall. Autumn is always a time of change. For us, a big change was the boy starting kindergarten. Where does the time go???

He’s grown about 5 times his size. Based on that growth rate, I figure he’ll be about 80 feet tall by his 20’s.

I even volunteered to coach his soccer team. That was a lot of fun!

Landsharks on three!

And the little girl just keeps growing too!

Stop looking at me swan.

Fall also saw a lot of PR changes. Starting with the Oktoberfest 5k – 21:33. When you PR, you have to celebrate…

They love me.

Next up was the Dallas Mavericks 5k. Another PR!

The Mavs Dancers asked to have their photo taken with me. I obliged.

Speaking of which, my brother ran his first half marathon this fall! And my dad is running his first half in January 2015!

Dad, Bro, Me at an FC Dallas game this fall.

The next PR to fall was at the Dallas 13.1 – 1:42:59!

Bottle opener medal.

Next was the annual Halloween fun run.

Our costumed group.

One sad change was that we lost our oldest doggy this fall. She was such a great pup.

sweet Bailey girl

But in happier times, I set another PR at the North Texas Turkey Trot 5k 20:04. Bummer was the course being .1 miles short.

Stop looking at me turkey.

Next up was the Rudolph Run 5k. And yet another PR – officially 21:29, but my watch had the course being long. According to it I came across at 20:50-something. Either way, I got 2nd in my age group!

Last year’s race was cancelled due to ice. So I got two medals!

The final race of 2014 was the Dallas Half marathon. No PR this day, but still got my 2nd fastest half – 1:45:01.

Big state, little medal.

And as part of the Dallas Marathon festivities, I got to meet MEB!!!!!!

Me n Meb

The end of the year was spent with friends and family for the holidays.

Looking back, it was a pretty good year. Lots of tacos, shows, good times, and running. In fact, I went over 1,200 miles on my feet. I even surpassed 5,000 miles total with my Nike+ watch – starting when I got it a few years ago.

5 g’s over the past few years.

Here’s hoping 2015 will be even better! Happy New Year, y’all!

Today’s only question: What’s your top 2014 highlight?

Running Frozen, New Ambassadorship &Soccer Season Ends

Sorry I’ve been MIA recently…well, actually I wish I was in MIA as it would be a lot warmer than it is here in Texas this week. But I digress…

Yes, we also got that Arctic Blast that blasted much of the USA. It went from 80 degrees on Monday, to below freezing for the rest of the week. Let’s just say that my transition to cold running hasn’t been so pretty. I still ran each day, but I wasn’t loving it.

So cold that a snowflake formed on my shirt.

Now I know that it could be much worse, and it is much worse up North, but I feel Frozen. Ah well, I just need to let it go. (See what I did there)

Before the cold snap blasted our backsides, we were able to sneak in a season’s end party for the Landsharks. I guess we had a decent enough season because they renewed my coaching contract for next season.

We couldn’t get one picture all season with all eyes open.

And now for some other cold cool news. I’ve been named an ambassador for Ramblen! You can see my Ramblen profile HERE!!!

What is Ramblen? Basically they’re for folks who like to take their workout gear with them when they travel. It helps you find places to run, workout, etc. when visiting a city…or even finding new places in your own hometown. Pretty cool.

I like this because I always take my running shoes when I travel. Like in North Crackalaka…

Running in OBX, NC, USA.

Or in sunny Orlando…

Running at Disney World.

Or on the open sea…

Runnin during an Alaskan cruise.

I gotta tell you about that last photo. I need to write a post on it someday, but let me just say that the miles fly by when the views are like this…

Mountains & icebergs.

Or like this…

Mountains & glaciers.

I’ve been to Alaska a couple times. It.Is.Uhmaizing. I can’t even describe the views there. Maybe someday I’ll get to run a race there (that’s not on a cruise ship). We’ll see!

How bout you? Do you workout when you travel? Did you get arctic blasted? What’s the most amazing place you’ve seen?

-Scott

More Miles & Smiles, More Races & Faces

It was time to get in one last weekend of miles in before my next half marathon.

So Friday I knocked out a quick 4 miler – pretty uneventful.

Saturday I banged out 14 miles. This run I met up with the White Rock Running Co-op, and a long time run bud…

My friend Ann. We ran. I ran with Ann.

My bud and I hadn’t run together in a while, and so we chatted the (exactly) 2 hours we were running. I was pretty pleased, because even with the chatting we still were able to hold an 8:30 per mile pace. I’m hoping that’s a good sign for this weekend’s race where I really want to claim a PR.

It was also good that I ran there because part of the race is going through the same part of town as this training run.

Afterwards we had tacos…naturally.

How can it be butt burnin if it’s only medium heat?

Then it was on to the boy’s soccer game. Sadly, my coaching didn’t lead us to a win this week.

Go Landsharks!

On Sunday I met up with some friends for a trail run. We cranked out another 6 miles.

We forgot to take a pic, so here’s an old one of mostly the same folks.

We were either on a squiggly trail, or drunk..or both.

Afterwards it was on to yoga. Aaaaand my legs were done.

The rest of the weekend saw us visiting the pumpkin patch. Though it didn’t seem quite right when it is 85 degrees out.

What else, what else..oh yeah, I signed up for a 2^nd race this week!!! Two days before the 13.1, I’m running a 3.1. It’s the inaugural Mavs Run This Town 5k. Woot woot!

Boom.

This event combines a lot of stuff I love – running, the Mavericks, and The Old 97’s. I’ll preview this race soon, but for now, just know that I’m super happy fun time pumped!

How bout you? Exhausting weekend much? Any good topics to talk about on long runs with friends? Git yo pumkins yet? Good idea to race less than 48 hrs before another race?

-Scott

20 Miles Runnin, Soccer Time, & Winning Yoga

This weekend I got twenty miles running. Not all at once, but split into two. Saturday I met up with some folks to run 13 miles.

We ran there and there and there and there.

After the run, we got breakfast tacos of course. Sorry, no picture, as I had no time to dilly dally. I had to get to the boy’s soccer match (which I was coaching). And the most important thing, they won! they had fun!

I’m hoping to be named ‘coach of the year’.

The next morning I was up early again for a trail run sponsored by a local running store. I got in 7 naturistic miles, then got to catch up with friends.

My old runnin buddies. Er, I mean, they’re not old, I’ve just known them for a hot minute.

I also caught up with folks I don’t know as well.

There was food. And also shadows.

Sadly, I couldn’t dilly dally too long (when will I ever get to dilly dally?!?!) as I had to get to yoga class. But after 20 miles of total running, my quads were not loving the chair pose. Or the warriors. Or pretty much any pose other than ‘dead man’ pose.

After practice we were presented with the green yoga mat. Given to the winners of that day’s sesh. Not really, but I like to pretend.

So now I’m tired. And sore. And I’m very thankful for my rest day. And also sleep. I want more sleep. The process starts over in the morning. Bring it!

How bout you? Get in some good miles this weekend? Anyone know how to dilly dally? Anyone ever win yoga class?

-Scott

Run + Taco + Soccer + Yoga + Celeb + Swan Balloon

It’s been a crazy few days, kids. We had an uhmaizeeng cold front come through. One day it was over 100 degrees, the next day I woke up and it was in the 60’s! All us North Texas runners were absolutely giddy!

I met up with WRRC to run. The group I fell in with went 12 miles at an 8:30 pace, and it felt easy peasy lemon squeezy!!!

It almost looks like a dog.

Afterwards I wanted breakfast tacos, of course. So I hit up a taco joint called Taco Joint.

Crazy eyes. Migas taco. Weird shrimp lookin thing behind me.

I gotta tell ya, it was like a party up in therre. It was before 9am but it was PACKED with runners from different run groups – as well as a few doctors fresh off the overnight shift. And the bar was open, and the drinks were flowin. It was seriously poppin.

I couldn’t partake tho cause up next I was coaching the boy’s soccer game.

Kick the ball in the goal over there.

My parents came out and took some photos.

Aaaand KICK!

Luckily the boy’s good running form helps him out in soccer too!

He’s flying.

And the day didn’t stop there. My buddy messaged me that he had some extra tix to the FC Dallas pro soccer match. I took him up on it.

My bud with the hook up.

My dad and brother also joined me. It was a rare men’s night out!

The Evans Lads.

And FC Dallas won the game!!

Go team go! I think that guy in front of us is taking a selfie, too bad the field is in front of him. #turnarounddude

The next morning I was up early again to join my runnin bud Serene for a trail run.

The squiggly part is where I was I was looking for my keys.

After the trails we went to yoga. Someone brought their pet.

He’s a natural at ‘down dog’

Then I gotta tell ya that something random happened. I ran into Dallas Cowboy legend Charles Haley at the store. Big guy.

Too bad I’m a Browns fan.

Finafreakinly our neighborhood had a block party. Complete with balloon animals.

Stop looking at me swan.

I was pooped (not literally). Such a fun weekend, but so much tired. I laid on the couch to wind down with the DVR, but my eyelids promptly closed. Out cold. Dreams of sugar plums (whatever those are).

How bout you? Great weekend? 9 am party-ers out there? What’s your spirit balloon animal?

-Scott

Runnin, Soccer, Tough Yoga & a Bobcat Encounter!

Another weekend is in the books! Well, not so much a book, but more of a calendar.

Anyway, this weekend was extra epic because the boy had his first soccer match!

You’ll grow into the jersey.

But before that I was able to get in a short run on Friday as well as 9 miler Saturday morning. I was glad to negative split that fool despite the humidity!

After a shower, we were ready for some football.

Landsharks on three!

Unfortunately the Landsharks started the season with a loss. And as head coach, I take full responsibility. In my defense though, it’s hard to get a bunch of five year olds to focus on one thing at a time.

Put me in coach…ooh look, there’s a dragonfly over there!!!

But at least they got a lot of fan support from sister!

Go team…oooh look, there’s a dragonfly over there!

In the end, they all still had a lot of fun!

Much like soccer, some of the team are also still learning how to take a photo.

On Sunday I met up with a friend for a trail run.  After a few miles we came across a train bridge/tunnel. Good spot for pictures.

Feeling a little blurry.

This one feels sharper.

At this spot we heard a waterfall. We climbed over a barbed wire fence and could see it was on the other side of the tunnel. We’d have to climb up and over the tracks to see it. That’s what we tried to do.

Now I’ve been weary of train tracks since my last encounter with them a few months back. But this time I managed not to hurt myself.

Sometimes I incorporate trail running into my ‘training’. Get it? I know, I’m hilarious.

We never saw the waterfall cause when we got to the tracks I spotted a bobcat on the other side. Usually they run away from humans, but this one stood still. My friend snapped a not very clear pic…

She’s dressed in her cammo.

We didn’t want it to lose it’s fear of humans, so we started yelling and waving our arms to scare it off. It didn’t budge. In fact, it just sat down and stared at us like we were loco.

That’s when we heard the meow-screeches of the bobkittens. They were under the rock she was sitting on. This mama was protecting her litter. That’s why she wasn’t abandoning her den. And we could sense she was losing patience with us being so close. We decided it would be prudent to get out of there real quick like. Like my friend said, “I don’t want to get my eye clawed out by a bobcat today.”

We got back safely and ended up going about 7 miles on the run.

Afterwards it was yoga time.

The calm before the pain storm. Oooh look, the shoe lady is back!

The instructor this day put us through a tough tough session. What made it tougher is that she had to leave early, so she squeezed in an hour’s worth of yoga into 45 minutes. This was a no-joke practice. Felt good though (after it was over).

They say weekends are supposed to be relaxing, but mine always leave me sore and tired. Go figure.

How bout you? Crazy weekend? Encounter any wildlife? Any tips to ensure we don’t lose another soccer match?

-Scott

3 Day Weekend – An Extra Chance to Sweat

I’m back muther truckers! Things have been crazy around here…what with all the lawyer meetings since I had some personal photos hacked from my cloud and posted on the web this weekend. 😉

Anyway, gotta love three day weekends. This past one was for Labor Day here in the States. It’s a day where all mothers can relax and not puuuuush too hard. (Thank you, I’ll be here all week)

I celebrated by waking up early to go run with the WRRC. I got in 11 sweaty, hilly, humid miles. My shoes were squishing from the sweat build up. I was gross.

Afterwards I got to sweat again – this time coaching the boys’ soccer team practice.

Race to the ball!

Even the girl wanted in on the sports action.

She doesn’t quite get the ‘no hands allowed’ concept yet.

Sunday it was bright and early again to run. This time on the trails with a group put on by a local running store. Sorry, they took some pics, but never posted them…

Afterwards it was on to yoga. Yay, more sweating!

I’m in there somewhere. I think that one lady fell down.

The hardest part of the workout! Oh that’s why she fell – who wears shoes to yoga???

Monday I didn’t do an official workout, but I did spend 3-4 hours on yard work. After that, I was done. Way too much sweat for one weekend. So I rewarded myself with…wait for it…breakfast tacos!

This BBQ joint is inside a gas station. And it’s delishus.

All in all it August was a good month. Since I’ve upped to running 6 days a week, my mileage also increased. June I ran 100 miles, August I ran 123! Workin on movin back on up!

See, told ya.

But now it’s time to get back in the groove, but sometimes it takes a while to get groovy. (Don’t forget to tip your waitress)

How bout you? Did you have a 3 day weekend? Sweat much? Ever eat food from a gas station?

-Scott

Call Me ‘Coach’, Runnin & More Tacos!

Howdy Folks!  So something happened.  I’m now in charge of a bunch of utes.  What had happened was that we signed our 5 year old up for a soccer league.  Well, on the entry form it asked if I’d be willing to volunteer coach if needed.  I said, “Sure.”  Not thinking they would really need me.  Well, they did and they do.

All I had to do was pass the background check.  Luckily I did…whew!

Would you trust this…man?

Luckily I’ve played my entire life, so I should be aight.

And I have coached before.  For several years I volunteered with a couple different organizations to help coach people training for half and full marathons.

As for futbol, I have coached kids soccer before, tho it’s been several years.  But the orientation I went to last night did get me a bit excited for it.

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

As for running, a few weeks back I upped my game.  I’ve gone from running 5 days a week to 6.  I’m digging it – it’s easier to get more mileage this way!

And the more I run, the more tacos I get to eat.  I’ve already had several of these bad boys this week.

Vegetarian tacos!!! Get in my taco hole!

Tacos, running, soccer.  All of that is right up my alley, right there.

How bout you?  Ever coached anything?  Got any advice/drills for coaching soccer kids?  When are you coming to visit so we can get tacos?

-Scott

Pneumonia, World Cup, & Don’t Eat Curry B4 a Run

I mentioned in my last post how jazzed I am for the World Cup to have started.  I am a soccer/football fanatic and this is the best time of the every four years.  But as this tournament started, I reminisced about the last one four years ago.  It was a Heaven & Hell sort of situation.  Heaven because I got to watch pretty much every single match.  Hell because I had gotten pneumonia (hence the reason I got to watch every match – I was near death on the couch).

Now while I’m happy about getting so see so much football, I gotta say, do NOT get pneumonia if you can help it.  It is an AWFUL experience.  But enough about that.

Not the World Cup trophy, but my rec league 2nd place finish last year is pretty good too, right?  Right???

Other than that, it’s been a pretty good week.  Well, except for my run yesterday.  Here’s the dillyo.  I was going to run in the evening with my usual group, but the weather dudes predicted rain, hail, and end of days (BTW it never even sprinkled a little).  So I decided to sneak one in mid afternoon…in 90% humidity…after I ate my homemade curry…didn’t end well.  Haha, please learn a lesson from my mistake.  Don’t do what I did.

It’s all good though, I gotter done.  And that night I was able to finish the week off with a doggy walk slash kiddy bike ride.

He’s constantly turning around to tell me some ‘amazing’ revelation. Keep your eyes on the road kid!

Hope y’all had a good week and will have a great weekend!  I know mine will be full of soccer!!!!

You watchin the World Cup?  You play any other sports?  You ever eat curry before a workout (I hope not)? 

-Scott

Anyway, I

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.