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?

Rudolph Run 5k ~ New PR, Two Medals & I VLOGGED!

Over the weekend I ran the 19th annual Rudolph Run 5k in Allen, Texas. And good news, I set a PR*** and got 2nd in my age group!

Two Medals ~ Twice as nice!

You’ll notice in the picture that I got two medals. That’s cause last year’s race was cancelled due to an ice storm. So they gave us those medals too! So I guess techincally, I will go down in history as the 2nd place finisher in both races!

Now, I’ve never run this race before, but I sometimes go for training runs there, so I was familiar with the area.

The course.

The course goes past some historic landmarks. We were even at the spot of the first ever train robbery in Texas. Kinda cool! And while not really hilly, it did have a couple long steady inclines. The last one being the last half mile of the race. But I pushed through.

Final results:

21:29, 2nd in Age Group, 33rd Overall (out of 948)

***Buuuuuuut, my GPS watch said I actually ran 3.19 miles and that I finished my 5k in 20:58. I have a feeling that is pretty accurate because at the previous week’s North Texas Turkey Trot 5k I ran 20:04 on a short course (2.95 miles), and would’ve finished right around 21  or 21:15. (click on the link for that race recap). Either way, it was fun and a 21:29 is still a PR anyway!

Vlogging during the race.

Oh, and I ran this whole race with a GoPro camera. I put together a short VLOG of the event. Watch it if you have two minutes to spare! Bad puns and all!

So all in all, a successful race and a good time!!!

How bout you? Any holiday themed races? Which of my jokes in the video were the worst? Ever win two medals in one race?

-Scott

N. TX. Turkey Trot 5k Recap ~ New PR*

This past American Thanksgiving, I joined a bunch of friends & family to run the North Texas Turkey Trot. There was a 1 mile fun run, a 5k & 10k. I knew the 10k was a two lap course, so I opted for the 5k.

Stop looking at me, swan turkey.

And good news, I set a PR!

That Ironman behind me was aghast at my speed!

But this was incredibly frustrating. Why was a PR frustrating? Because the course was short. It was flippin short.

Yay, feet in the air!

I did some comparing of my GPS data to their course map, and I see what had happened…

My detective work.

After the one mile fun run, they forgot to adjust the 5k/10k course to add an out and back. This left us ultimately .15 mile short for the 5k and .3 short for the 10kers.  Bummer.

I remember at one point during the race I looked at my watch and saw it was at 2.75 miles. “Time to drop the hammer!”, I told myself. I picked up the pace, only to turn the corner and see the finish line…da fu???

My look of confusion at seeing the finish line so early.

I finished at 20:04. Good for a PR by a minute and a half…But at 2.95 miles instead of 3.1.

“official” finish time

The finish area was pretty funny ~ all the runners were comparing their watches. We knew it was short. So after a few minutes, I decided to run on my own until my watch said 3.1. And I still set a new PR ~21:15! I just wonder what it would’ve been on an actual race course.

Here’s my last three 5k’s:

Sept: 21:33    Oct: 21:34    Nov: 20.04 21:15

As punishment for a short course, I ate his cousin.

In the end, it was still a competition, and the course was the same for everyone. So I’m happy that I finished 5th in my division and 37th overall…out of well over 3,000 runners!

Anyway, after I was done, I went back to cheer for others. Including my parents who were doing the 10k!

Dad headin to the finish.

Warning: Rant Ahead

This race also had a ton of novice runners, which is great, but it also means a bunch of weaving. I REALLY appreciate the fact that they actually had pacing corrals in this race. But most of the newbies saw these as merely suggestions and still worked their way to the front of the starting line.

All the 10kers told me that there was nobody at the 5k/10k split to tell you which way to go, so it was cornfusing, and people kept going the wrong way then had to turn around. That, and when the 10k merged with the slower 5kers on the 2nd lap, it lead to more weaving.

Not only that, but if you look at the course map, I counted 26 turns…in 3.1 miles. How is that possible?!?! Are there no straight roads we could run?

I hope they get better organized for next year.

We snapped a pic while mom was looking up her time.

Anywhoodle, I’m glad several friends won medals. And since I was two spots from the podium, I had to live vicariously through them…

Ann won her 10k division. Pepsi didn’t race, but brought her smile and hat.

And we celebrated at our annual post race tailgate…

Mixing Everclear with Crystal Lite just like the pilgrims did at the first Thanksgiving.

I took the opportunity to make a 6 second video of the festivities…

So in summary, it was a fun time. I just hope they fix the course and get better organized as they go forward.

Peace out suckas!

How bout you? Race on Thanksgiving? Should I count the “official” PR on a short course? Do you tailgate after races?

-Scott

Thanksgiving Run & Race Fun

In my first run in over a week since I’ve been resting my knee and letting it heal, I felt pretty good.  My chiro gave me some kinesio tape that I think gave me some extra support.  I also took it pretty easy on my pace.  I also made sure to do a proper dynamic warm up – lunges, squats, toy soldiers, etc. etc.  And since it was in the upper 20’s when I woke, I made sure to bundle up to help keep my bod loose.

I knew that after my run I wanted to go and cheer for my racing friends.  Where I was running, I could hear the MC of the race off in the distance and it was a bit of a downer knowing I wouldn’t be in the race, but I wanted to be smart about my health.

The turkey was probably sad because it was Thanksgiving – a rough day for flightless birds.

Afterwards I did plenty of static stretching, changed to dry clothes and went to the race.  It was fun to cheer for everyone.  I saw so many people that I knew running this race.  It’s amazing to me that can go to pretty much any race in town and chances are I will know people there.

It was also cool that as some of my friends finished, they would go back and find other friends to help them finish.  Good stuff.

Afterwards we tailgated in the parking lot.  To our surprise there were a couple other groups tailgating, and being competitive people, we were determined to beat them.  We made sure to stay until the other groups packed up and left.  Yes, we won Thanksgiving!

We are so very thankful, obviously.

Afterwards it was the family celebration, but unfortunately I don’t think anyone took any photos, so you’ll just have to imagine what happened.

How bout you?  Did you race or run?  Did you have a good turkey day?  Have you ever gone to a race to support others?

Turkey Day Races

Sis and I after a Dallas Trot couple years ago. Be jealous of my sweet headband.

This year I am not racing on American Thanksgiving.  It’s the first time in as long as I can remember that I haven’t.  Feeling nostalgic, I went and looked up some of my old Turkey Day race results.  Much to my surprise, I found out I once got 2nd place in my age group in the Dallas 8 mile Turkey Trot.  I had no idea.  That race gets like 40,000+ people, so yay for me, haha!

Here’s me and my sis taking the race extremely seriously (yes, that’s me doing the Running Man dance while Running)

The race in Dallas has gotten so big and crowded, that I’m going to take a break from it for a while.  Can you imagine that many people with starting corrals????  It’s chaos!  I hear they’re making changes, and hopefully they can get it worked out.

That said, there’s an alternative around where I live:  The North Texas Turkey Trot.  I ran the 10k option last year and enjoyed it.  Here I am before and after…

Throw your deuces up.

I eat you turkey!

A lot of people like to run these races to have an excuse to eat guilt free later in the day.  Most of my friends tho, do so for another reason:  to have an excuse to tailgate at 9 in the morning.  Yup.

Here’s some of us after a Dallas Trot a couple years ago…

We are so thankful.

And here’s some of us after last year’s N.TX Trot…

I’m in the background, but I prefer this pic of my Drasian friend (drunk Asian).                           Click image to enlarge.

Since I’m not racing this year, I think I’ll still be out there early to tailgate cheer for my friends.  Then it’s off to celebrate with the family!

How ’bout y’all?  Any Turkey Day racers out there?   Other plans to give thanks?

Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot #blog

The Dallas Turkey Trot is an extremely popular race in North Texas, but I may be done with it.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great cause and the course is not bad, but there’s just too many people.  It takes place on Thanksgiving morning in downtown Dallas.  “Runners” can choose between the 5K or 8 mile option.  Traditionally a group of our family and friends make our way down there for the 8 mile race.  But we didn’t do it this year, and probably won’t again until they get a coral system or staggered start times, or the like.

Before the race with moms, friends, sis, and 39,995 of our closest co-trotters.

I think they have around 40,000 people who show up.  Most do the 5K.  Many of them are walkers.  Many of them have strollers, or dogs, or strollers with dogs in them (no joke, I actually saw this!).  Many force their way as close to the start line as possible.  The result is a lot of bobbing and weaving.  It does clear up for us 8 milers after we pass the finish for the 5K, but before that it is chaos on the course.  And I have a theory why there are so many people who do this race:  For many of them, this is the only race they’ll do all year, which is fine, but I think that they think if they walk/run 3.1 miles then they can over-eat all Turkey Day guilt-free.  That’s just my working theory tho, I’m still in the research phase.

Tailgating after the race in a scenic location.

That all said, I hope they get it worked out.  It has just gotten too big and out of hand for my taste.  If they can get the start figured out, I’d love to come back to it.  We’ll see what happens.  In the mean time, since I knew I wouldn’t have a speedy time, I took this race not so seriously….as evident in the video below of my sis and I finishing the 8 miler last  year.

I thought the running man was an appropriate dance to do in the middle of a run.  I need to find a robot run to race next.

Peace out Internet!

Hello Again World!

OK, here’s the dilly-o.  I blogged for many years.  It started as a way to keep track of my training and share my experiences from my first marathon.  Then it morphed into posts about travel, life, leisure, and whatever the hex I wanted to write about.  Then I freaked out.  Wasn’t sure about having personal thoughts all over the interwebs, so I deleted everything I had written….years worth of world changing blogging.

Scott’s 4th Emmy – 2012

Then was then, now is now.  I miss the writing.  I have always loved writing.  I’ve even been nominated twice and won once in the Emmy category for writing.  I also find that blogging every day helps keep my creative part of my head brain razor sharp.  So I’m at it again.

What am I going to write about?  A lot of it will be about running and fitness as running has recently taken over a great portion of my life.  But I will also put together some travel guides as I always have friends asking me where to go in certain cities.  I haven’t traveled as much as some people, but I have traveled more than some.  And I tend to find cool places when I do.  Other than that, we’ll see what I come up with.

I’m going to start with some race recaps.  Prolly going to go backwards in time.  So, that’ll have me start with the North Texas Turkey Trot 10K 2012.  It took place in Frisco, TX on Thanksgiving Day.  This was only my second 10K.  The first was back in June, and I wasn’t in the best of shape, and it was hawt!  But this time around I was in pretty good shape, and the weather was OK, so I PR’d by 5 minutes!

N. TX Turkey Trot 2012 – Peace out homeys.

The course wasn’t very scenic, and there were five 180 degree turns, and four miles into the 6.2 mile race, we merged with the 5K runners, and the course was .1 mile too long, but I still managed to run pretty good.  My official time was 46.23 – around 7:20 per mile!  I was happy.  Still, I wonder what my time would’ve been if those 5Kers hadn’t slowed me down some, and if the course was the correct distance.  But I’ll take it.  And from what I understand, Frisco wasn’t very race friendly to the race organizers, which I totally believe.  But I won’t get into that now.  Gonna stay positive!

Anyway, had a good time running and of course afterwards, a group of us tailgated.  Why?  Because we tailgate everything!

I’m in the background, but thought you’d rather see a pic of a Draisan (drunk Aisan)

So to sum up: good times and we definitely all got the trots!

Peace out!