Run – Keepin it 200, Dogz Treatz & Super Moon Powers! #OwnChicago

Guys, you guys! Hey guys! I’m back. In so many ways, I’m back! Back to the poor lonely blog. Back to my ole runnin self. Back to life. Back to reality. Wait…I think I devolved into a Soul II Soul song there for a second…but I digest.

September is over and it saw my legs carry me 200 miles!!!

192 + 8 = 200 according to math and Nike+

Chicago Marathon training is winding down and I’m feeling grrrrrreat! Oh wait, I just got why Tony the Tiger says that – so he can grrrrrrrrowl when he does. Huh, learn something new every day…but I divest.

Run. Sun. Shoes. Tacos. Life.

The Texas weather is still hawt as all get out during the sun times, but during the before sun times it is actually kewl out! The humidity/dew point finally broke. It’s no longer oppressively oppressing. I can actually sweat and have it evaporate and cool my bod. Ya know, like it’s sposed to.

It’s made a world of difference in my runs. I have pep in my step. I’ve missed pep this summer.

Mess with the bull statue, get the statue horns.

I had zero confidence two weeks ago. Now I have all the confidence. So many hot sweaty muggy slow long runs finally replaced with cooler damp fun faster jaunts. I didn’t even mind the final track workout.

The numbers and letters say it all..or write it all, as it were.

I’m feelin fine. My month long cough seems to be gone. My aches don’t ache so much. And I’m really enjoying the sunrise runs.

Which way do you want to go?

Keep it coming, Skyler.

You don’t see many people out and about as early as I’m running, but you occasionally see some regulars in the parks. I’ve gotten to know a few folks, and a few dog folks too.

We’ve been good. We can haz treatz?

And this has to be a good sign – I even got to run under the #SuperBloodMoon too!

#nofilter #ILoveMyMoon

Anywhoodle guys, I got some more blog catching up to do. But I’ll save it for next time, which should be maybe…tomorrow? Yay, I’m back!

How bout you? Feelin any Fall? Who’s ready to #OwnChicago??? Does the blood moon give any special powers?

-Scott

PS – To all my blogger friends – I’m sorry I’m so behind. I’m reading your comments and I’m going to reply to all of them! I can’t wait to catch up with your happenings too!!! Working on it, kids!

Running Dawgs, Party Animal & Humid Tacos!

Sup beaches? Sorry I’ve been blog radio silent, but it’s been a crazy couple weeks with school starting, marathon training, work working, soccer coaching, etc. etc. etc.

In the words of Inigo Montoya, “Let me ‘splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up…………with Instagram pics1″

Last week’s runs were ‘zing! We had a little “not 1 million degrees” front come through. It was a JOY to get a break from the humidity.

A dude, A dog, A runbud, A 100 mile world record holder.

Speak for your self, Sign.

These fake flowers are BEEutiful.

Buuut then the heat and humidity came back. Ah well, it was nice to have a little break to get some of the confidence back. The oppressive heat has been slowing me down, so it was nice to know I’ve still got it in me – just need cooler temps to unleash the beast!

Humid again, but hey, free tacos!!

I do got some aches and pains and tiredness, but can’t complain too much. That would be bogus. Closing in on 400 miles in this training plan, and feelin fine!

No animals….Not even party ones?!?

In the end, all that matters is that you have fun with it! And I’ve been having a blast with this training! I’ve hit every single planned mile and have got to run with some GREAT people.

In the words of Crawl, “Puffy cheeks.”

Right now we’re in the middle of our highest mileage week yet: 5, 12, 8, 5, 5, 20 = 55 totes. Stuff just got real. But we got this thang! Let’s do this, legs!

How bout you? Catch my two movie references? Did I miss any caption opportunities? Do you have any questions?

-Scott

The Mankini Run, Greek Tacos & Dinorappers!

Quick update on the Chicago Marathon training. The beats by dre goes on. And things may be getting weird…

Ladies love the mankini.

What had happened was we got a Christmas in in July miracle! A “cool front” came through Texas over the weekend. So instead of being triple digits, we were just in the upper 90’s!!! It made the 16 mile group run somewhat pleasant!

Thankfully no mankinis were worn on the run.

It started at 5:30 am at a WRRC member’s house (thanks John!) for the final Run My Hood run. I had never run in this area before and the route took us on a long hike and bike trail that I really enjoyed. But 16 miles later it was over, and the non-running fun began. Pool Party, hey hey!

Party like it’s 8:30 am (cause it is)!

Funny how your brain works after waking up at 4 am to run for over two hours. You sometimes do silly things. Meh, oh well. Good times.

And if you know me, you know my love of tacos post-run. Well this week was no different. But this time it was Greek tacos!

Gyro, taco, same difference.

As for the rest of the week, the runs have been going very well. I’m very pleased. And this weeks TNSR didn’t even have any dinosaur attacks! But one did join us for the run. We were all very pleased.

Rapasoraus. Photo cred @sojomy

And so it goes. And there you go. A quick update for your face’s eyes to look at.

How bout you? Get a break in the weather at all? Do you like Greek tacos? Be honest, is that mankini a good cut/color for me?

More updates to come in a day or so!!!

-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!

Undressing Runners, Trespassing Yoga & (not) Passing up Tacos!

Sup kiddos? Keep it real? Rock n rollin? I hope so. As for me, I’ve just been tryin to stay gold.

Chi Marathon training is in full wreckx n effect. It’s goin good so far. This weekend’s long run was with WRRC’s Run My Hood series. And it was hot.really hot.and humid. But crushed a 14 miler…Followed by a pool party!!!

If that wasn’t a salt water pool to start with, it is now.

This run started bright dark and early with a smaller group of folks who needed the extra miles.

“You’ll never shine if you don’t glow.” -Smashmouth #NeverForget

We got in a quick 6 miles before heading back to meet up with the sleeper-inners.

This group is known for running in various states of undress.

I’m not gonna lie, I had a really hard time on the second part of this run. The sun was up and it was really really hot. I struggled. It was just one of those bad runs we all have from time to time. As soon as we finished I started to cramp up a bit and had to bust out an impromptu yoga sesh in a stranger’s yard.

I CANNOT believe my “friend” took this photo of me and put it on the internetz. At least a passing car gave me a honk doe…I still got it, baby!

Even though it wasn’t the best run, I’m thankful I had friends who helped me through it – especially the last few miles!!!!

And afterwards, of course was the funner stuffs! Woot wooot!

Oh, and we couldn’t wrap up the morning without one last mandatory group photo.

See, various states of undress, I told ya.

Double oh, this may have also happened…

Don’t judge us early-morning-taco-eating-margarita-drinkers. I mean, we’d been up since 4am for crying out loud. It was like afternoon to us. It’s 5am somewhere, #amiright?

Other than that, the mileage is starting to ramp up. 45 big ones this week. Stay tuned for updates…and more taco pictures.

How bout you? When is too early for tacos/margs? Ever down-dogged someone’s yard? How undressed do you get (when you run)?

-Scott

Running Santa, Hipster Tacos & Purple Time!

Chicago Marathon training is in full swingers beasty mode. Been a good week of running. Let’s go backwards, shall we?

Sunday – I had a race, but I’ll save that recap for the next post. So let’s go to Saturday. This was the long run of the week.12 sweaty sweaty miles.

Texas roads don’t look normally like that – It’s a weird route because it was around a lake.

The plan for this run was to do a 9 mile loop of the lake, followed by a 5k race to make an evenish 12. Well part I of the plan went ok, part II did not. I had failed to pre-register for the race, and by the time I got there they had run out of bibs. So no dice, Detroit!

So mad that I had to partially strangle my running booze.

No worries – Went ahead and ran the final 3 miles along the race course so I could cheer for friends. And yay! Some of them won age group awards!

Tory y Juash. A tale of two pairs of shorts.

Serene got her medal, but her real reward is that I let her run with me sometimes.

Afterwards we met up with a bunch of other runner friends to get wasted on tacos! Woot woooot!

It’s ok to wear blue shades there, it’s a hipster taco joint. Fo realz – everyone in there is either in short running shorts or purple skinny jeans.

Moving on…or uh, further backwards….The weekday runs were also on point. The highlight being the Thursday Night Social Run.

Click image to enlarge and see all the totally not photoshopped action going on here. Really – Some of my friends just have weird proportions and don’t cast shadows.

This run took us past yet another group of longhorn statues. Not sure why we need so many of them here, but whatevs.

We were looking at something udderly amazing. Honest, I wouldn’t steer you wrong! Thank you, I’ll be here all week!

It was also like runner Christmas in July at my house cause a gift magically appeared this week…My ALZ Stars tech tank!

Thanks, Running Santa!

As you may know, I’m running Chi-town this fall on behalf of an Alzheimer’s charity. I’m so proud to represent the purple! If you would like to donate to the cause, you can find info HERE. And to those who have already donated, I know it’s slow going, but I promise to get your thank you prizes soon!!! #BoomShakaLaka!

On to more run-fun!

How bout yous guys? Do you believe in Running Santa? Ever have a hipster taco? Isn’t it unbullieveable how many longhorn statues are ’round here?

PS. Come back in a day or so for rest of the weekend’s recap!!!

Runnning in Yellow, Beer Mile, & Belch Prayers

What up, playas? Beachy keen, I hope. I’ve been bad about the blog recently. Just so flippin busy all the time. But here’s what’s been goin down…

I’ve been running, natch.

I drew a line for you, oh what a thing to do, and it was all yellow. Yes, it’s nike+, add me: piratebobcat

I’m still in pre-training mode for Chicago Marathon, so that just means trying to keep the mileage at a decent number to try and stay fit and healthy.

And you know that thing runners do when they finish a run and look at their gps and realize they’re a little short of the next mile and so they run circles around the block until it clicks over? Yeah, well the other day I was a qtr  mile short and so I ran laps around a giant fountain. The people eating nearby thought I was nuts.

Me and my fountain training partner. Yes, it’s instagram, add me: piratebobcat

And if you’re familiar with me, then you know how I love me some tacos. Well get this – a new Torchy’s opened up near one of my go to running spots. So the little group I was with had to go there post-run…natch!

I make bunny ears look good. Yes, it’s snapchat, add me: piratebobcat

And here’s some exciting news: I’ve signed up for a couple races!!! And the best part, both of them are free! One is a 10k that I’ll post about another time. But the other is this week – the annual TNSR Beer Mile!

The happy group last year pre-race.

I think this is the 3rd or 4th year for this unofficial race. But it’s raised a few eyebrows as it’s gone on. And this year it will raise a few more because TNSR will be providing MichUltra, race bibs, etc. Getting closer to official!

If you’ve never done a beer mile – here’s what happens.

1-Drink a beer

2-Sprint a quarter mile

3-Repeat until you reach 4 beers/1 mile total.

I’ve done the TNSR beer mile twice. It’s a VERY tough thing to try to do. Last year I felt like death during the race – it was awful.

Sloshing to the finish. I think my face/posture sums it up.

The first time I did it, I came in 2nd place overall. I felt much better during that race. The difference – I was able to burp out all the carbonation along the way. I really really hope this year’s experience is more like that one. Please, pray for burps for me!!

A trophy, yay!

Come back soon for the race recap!!!

Until then, I’m proud to be giving out a few more blogger shout outs to the latest dope individuals who contributed to my Chicago Marathon Charity Fundraiser. Thanks so much to: Running Wild, Run to Race, & Darlin’ Rae  I promise I’ll get on your thank you pics/videos soon!

I’m overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity. I really am. Thanks so much! If anyone else wants to donate, you can do so HERE.

How bout you? Ever run a beer mile? Ever run circles to make the next mile click over? Will you pray for burps?

-Scott

Awesome Run, Muddy Run & Birthday Fun!

First off, I want to thank everyone again for the birthday wishes. And yay, we finally got to celebrate it over the weekend with a bunch of friends and fams.

Some running buds. “Must be this tall to ride.”

But I’ll get to that…

…The weekend started with one of the best runs I have had in a long time. I woke up early to meet up with WRRC in Dallas. The weather was gorgeous. It was especially lovely as we ran by White Rock Lake.

This sunrise is the kind of stuff runners see every day. Almost makes up for the early alarm clock…almost.

The folks I joined up with said they were doing 10 miles at an 8:45 pace. “OK, sure.” I said. I’m not really training for anything specific, so just running for fun.

Buuut, one thing that WRRC group runs are famous for, is always running further/faster than planned. We ended up going closer to 11 miles at an 8:15 pace.

My GPS was off – hence the pace/distance discrepancy.

I felt really really good on this run. I think I could’ve gone all day long. I wish more runs were like that.

Afterwards, a few of us got breakfast tacos…Natch! I didn’t take a picture of the tacos (they got in my mouth hole too fast), but I did take a pic of a pic of a friend that I spotted on the wall.

Pic of my good friend…his name is Dean. Oh, and also there’s a pic of my pal, Sylvia (who just ran her first 13.1). BTW, how do I get on the Taco Wall of Fame?

The next morning I met more friends for a really muddy trail run. They also surprised me with some birthday presents…I didn’t take a pic, but trust me, they were Klassy.

Anyway, we went about 6 miles and had a few photo ops along the way.

Taking a break. Bummer that I forgot my giant headband.

A couple friends even camped out there the night before. They let us play with their toys.

We got so hammered.

Even though there were some really muddy patches that slowed us down, we eventually finished the run.

The park rangers didn’t like our shenanigans, so they put us in their tree jail.

After the run, guess what happened? Yeah, that’s right…

I had this thought as I was eating.

From there I had to get all cleaned up nice, cause it was finally time for the birthday party! We went to a runner/kid/dog friendly Texas patio bar. It was packed (like I said, gorgeous weather). Because of the crowd, most of us were spread out all over, but it was still great to see everyone!

I was really bad about taking pics – too busy with birthday bevvies socializing. But we did get a few.

That’s a small glass of water.

Ha, but I did take one photo with a friend who complained it was too “normal”. She wanted a more “Scottish pic”. OK, you asked for it.

I needed salt for the tequila.

So all in all it was a really good past few days. It wouldn’t be a bad life if every day you got to go on a run, eat some tacos, then sit on a patio with friends/fams, would it? Need to work on that.

How bout you? Ever have one of those runs where it just felt effortless? Any guesses what my trail runner friends gifted me? Is it patio weather where you are yet?

-Scott

Race Pics, Puffy Cheeks & Tacos

So if you read my post this week about my PR at the Rock n Roll Dallas Half Marathon, you saw a few of my pirated race photos. Well, I have some bonus ones. Let’s take a look, shall we?

I took time during the race to kiss an angel.

I thought making a double chin would help with wind resistance.

Making sure to give the finish line an angry glare to remind it who’s boss.

After glaring at, be sure to stomp on it’s face.

Then remind the race that you’re stronger than it.

Well, that was fun! You know what else was fun? Hanging out with my puffy cheeked boy and our puffy cheeked friend.

We were watching something very important, I’m sure.

And as I got back into the swing of things this week, I made sure to help my body recover by eating lots of tacos (broken record, I know).

They don’t look it, but they’re vegetarian…Honest! ~Avocados, portabellos, jalapenos, and other veggies that end in “os”.

I also got in a bunch of runs this week. Felt good to work out the soreness. Now it’s on to the weekend and I have to decide if I should race a 5k, or do a long run with friends. Hmmmmmmm. Either way, there will be taco recovery! Believe that, son!

How bout you? Ever kiss an angel? Should I race short or go run long? Who’s meeting me for tacos later?

-Scott

My Last Race Ever!!!*

Yup, it’s true. This weekend is my I’ll be running my last.race.evah.*

*In my current age group.

Yup, I have a birthday coming up, which is going to catapult me into a brand spankin new age group. So this weekend’s race will be my last in the 35-39 division. Hopefully I can go out with a bang!

Sadly tho, I won’t be running any of the St. Patrick’s Day themed races in Dallas. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some St. Patty’s Day fun, but me no likey the huge crowds at those races.

I’d be a giant in leprechaun village.

Instead I’m running the Chain Reaction 5k.

I chose this race for a few reasons: 1. I live nearby. 2. Registration was affordable. 3. All proceeds go to a good charity. 4. A couple times per week I run the trails this race is utilizing, so I’m familiar. 5. It looks to be a small race.**

**With small races, odds go up of placing…even in my super competitive current age group!

That all said, even though I run in this park all the time, I’m not sure how they’re going to host a 5k there. I know for a fact that the main trail is only about 1 mile around. I reached out to them for the course map, which they very kindly sent me. But to be honest, the map cornfuses me.

I can’t make heads or tails of this route.

They say it’s a two lap race, but I don’t get which directions it goes. And also, the map clearly shows that we go off pavement to dirt mud trails for a section. That’s not good because it’s been raining non-stop here in North Texas.

This is what I kept telling myself all week.

I again reached out to the race folks, who assured me the race is all on pavement. If that’s the case, then the map is wrong, so I’m even more cornfused.

Anyways, I’m probably over-thinking it. I need to just go to the race and have fun trying to run fast. But what would runners do if we weren’t obsessing over running details. Am I right?

And those who know me know I also obsess over tacos. So now I’m off for some pre-race veggie ones!

This will help me run fast, right?

Stay tuned for the recap where all the mysteries will be solved!

How bout you? Can you figure out that course map? Are you celebrating St. Pat’s? Do you have a prediction for my performance?

-Scott