Tonight I get to run a race! It’s the 3rd Annual Thursday Night Social Run Beer Mile. This is an unofficial race. It’s not a sanctioned event, but then again, how many Beer Miles are?
I ran this race last year (it was my first ever Beer Mile) and I was fortunate enough to finish in 2nd place! You can read my recap of that race HERE.
A trophy, yay!
Oh wait, I forgot to explain what a Beer Mile is. Here’s the breakdown:
The clock starts.
Everyone drinks a 12 oz beer as fast as they can (it is a race afterall).
Run ¼ mile lap as fast as you can.
Repeat until you finish four laps/beers.
Last year I finished the Beer Mile in 9:49. Being that this is a race, I hope to do well and try for a PR. I’m hoping the experience from last year’s race will help me. I know not to go out too fast, as pretty much everyone last year who did crashed by the 2nd lap. Kind of like a normal race, huh?
~~~Run with your head the first half, run with your heart the second half~~~
Hopefully the track work I’ve been doing will translate to the Beer Mile!
That said, I’m still planning on just having fun with it. I remember it wasn’t the most pleasant race I’ve ever run, what with all that brew sloshing around in my tummy. But it should be a blast anyway! Stay tuned for the recap!
Questions: Have you ever run a Beer Mile? Any strategy tips? Any other advice?
-Scott
PS – Congrats to the USA advancing today in the World Cup!!!! We got out of the “Group of Death” and we’re on to the knockout stage! I hope we knock someone out! #ibelievethatwewillwin
*I know it was only their first match of the tournament that they won, but wouldn’t it be nice to be able to write that for realz!?! A boy can dream, can’t he?
Anyway, to watch the match I met up with my dad and elusive bro at a local pub. This was the scene when they scored the winning goal…
I love how soccer has become so popular in the States recently. I wish when I was a kid that they had a pro league and showed Euro Leagues and World Cup matches on TV. Oh well, I’m enjoying it now!
Still on the winning high, I got up this morning for my run. Despite only getting a few hours sleep due to a certain 2 year old waking up at 4am, I still had a pretty good run. That is until I was going through ‘my’ park and I saw two German Shepherds hauling arse across the field. I stopped in my tracks not wanting them to chase me. I didn’t see any owners. Then I thought maybe I saw them wrong, maybe they are coyotes. Time to assess the situation. But then I saw the owners…
A male and female couple. They came around the corner. They were throwing balls for the dogs to chase. Clearly violating the leash law. I gave them a stare down to let them know it was not cool that they were interrupting my run. I still wasn’t moving because I didn’t know if the dogs wouldn’t come after me. I kept staring until they finally waved at me. I did not wave back. I know, rude much. But they were rude for not having their dogs on a leash when there’s runners and kids around. I waited till the dogs were going in the opposite direction and continued on my way.
I’m glad to report I made it home safely. Crisis adverted. You can breath easy now.
How bout you? Did you see the US victory in their opening match? Give anyone a stare down lately? How many bar flies did I catch in my mouth?
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.
Over the weekend I was shooting video (I’m a TV Producer) at a Jennie Finch Softball Camp in town. If you aren’t familiar – she is the face of fast-pitch softball. She is a wicked good pitcher and has an Olympic gold medal to show for it.
I asked if she could fill in on my coed rec softball team. I’m still waiting for her response.
Obviously she’s an incredible athlete. And before I interviewed, her we were chatting. I asked her about the New York Marathon (which she ran for charity). She finished in 4:05 despite having a baby 14 or so weeks before the race! She said it was a blast, but that she also did a triathlon in NYC that she loved too. And she seemed quite amazed at my Dopey Challenge tale. So we bonded long distance race stories and became instant BFF’s! 😉
And B to the W, she was very nice and told the girls at the camp some very inspirational stories. Everyone at the camp was getting some great knowledge and having an amazing experience!
Anyway, the rest of the weekend was pretty good exercise-wise. I got in an 8 mile run, yard work, a long kiddie/doggie walk, and a very good yoga sesh.
Two feets, one mat.
And since the kiddos spent the night at their Auntie/Uncle’s house, the wife (who is also named Jennie) and I got to actually go out to eat! What? A dinner out? It’s been so long! Hahaha!
How bout you? Good weekend? Hang with any Olympians recently? If you have kids, ever get to go out to eat (children birthday parties don’t count)?
Quick recap of the week. It all started on Saturday with an extremely humid 7 mile run. That got me to 100 miles for the month of May…hooray.
Sunday saw another 7 miles, but on trails. Afterwards we did an hour of power yoga. That’s when we tried out some experimental and improvised fake partner yoga.
I call this one ‘Egret Getting Sun While Squatting on Uncomfortable Bench”
We call this one the “toddler superman” pose.
Tuesday saw a quick 3 mile run. Nothing much to report there.
Wednesday was National Running Day and I met up with a group to partake. I finished off the day with an hour of weights.
Thursday was Social Run day. Another quick 3 miles followed by some swapping of run stories.
Stretchin back four tables deep yo.
I also ran into an old friend at our socializing part of the run. We did our best prom pose for a photo. We thought it’d be funny cause I was so casually dressed compared to her.
I wore the same outfit to my real prom back in the day.
That brings us to Friday. Rest Day. But it won’t last long.
Saturday I’m getting up suuuuper early to get my run in before going to work. I’m supposed to interview USA Olympic Superstar Softball Pitcher Jennie Finch.
Give her a Finch and she’ll take a mile.
If you have any questions you’d like me to ask her, you best hurry up and let me know!!!
Anyway, that’s about it. Pretty low key, but a good week.
How bout you? Have a good week? Any questions for Jennie? Any ideas for new yoga poses we can try?
This is it. The last race of four on consecutive days. If you missed my recaps of the earlier races, you can see them here: 5k then 10k then 13.1 half marathon.
Now we have the 26.2 full marathon to complete the Goofy and Dopey Challenges. I had stuck to my plan of running personal worsts (PW) for the first three races. Now I wanted to go for it in the final race.
Ready to go 26.2 rounds with Mr. Mile.
My “A” goal was to break 4 hours (9:10 per mile). Considering my pace at shorter distances, I should be able to shatter 4 hours, but I have yet to do it. My “B” goal was to PR (PB). I would accomplish one of the two goals.
Traditional pre-race family photo.
We got a gift this day from the Weather Channel gods. The temps went from hot and humid the day before at the half, to chilly (and a little humid) for the full!!! It was in the 50’s (American) at the start!
With Sis on way to the corral!
Even thought it was chilly, I knew my body temp would warm up once we started running, so I wore light clothes – including a new Ohio University tech tee that the wife got me for Christmas!
Ain’t I purdy?
I also carried the GoPro camera with me. Looking back, it probably was a bad decision considering I was going for a PR. It definitely took energy and brain power (I don’t have much to spare) to use it throughout the course. But I decided to take it anyway, and I don’t really regret that. We did pass some cool attractions along the way.
Mid race selfie vision.
The edited down video is a bit blair-witchy, but I think it shows the race experience. It’s funny to watch how I go from cracking jokes and getting somewhat stable shots, to gradually having zero sense of humor nor the energy to hold my arm out straight! Haha!
The night before the full I spoke via phone with my “coach” – My good friend (and awesome endurance athlete) Rexy. We actually have history of sports at Disney World. In college, we were cheerleaders and competed in the National Championships there my senior year.
Rexy is 3rd from left in front. I’m 2nd from right in back.
Anyway, she gave me a pep talk and helped work out the race strategy. She said to stick to exactly 4 hr pace for the first half. Then evaluate how I felt and pick up the pace if I could for the next 7 miles. Then let it all hang out the last 6.2. She told me to leave it on the course, and that if I crash, it’s better to do so the last few miles knowing that at least I tried.
Peace homey.
Again, we had a 2am wake up call. And the race started at 5:30am. The course began and ended at Epcot. It immediately went from there to the Magic Kingdom.
26.2 magical miles. Click to enlarge.
The first few miles were a bit crowded. I wasn’t able to go my normal pace, and I had to do some weaving. By the time we got to Magic Kingdom, I knew from the clock that I was going too slow. But I also knew I had time to correct that. 5 Mile in 47:39 – 9:32 per mile.
Runnin Down Main St, USA!
We got into the park – which is the highlight for me. It’s still dark out, and the whole park is lit up. Main St. is lined with tons of cheering spectators. And Cinderella’s Castle is all lit up! We get to run right through the castle, which is neat. The MarathonFoto folks had some pictures of me at the castle, but they lost them. I had even stopped for the official Castle photo – like I took with my sis during the Half the day before…
They did NOT light up the castle for the half. I wish I had the pretty lit up one to share with y’all.
…But they lost that one too. Bummer. If they find them later, I will share. They did have these though…
Still in the park.
Feelin the love.
Feelin a little fuzzy in Magic Kingdom!
After we left the Magic Kingdom, we then headed past the Polynesian Resort and the golf course. There was a glow in the East and I knew the sun would be rising soon. The weather was still cool, and I felt GREAT! I was actually smiling and having a really good time. My pace was steadily fastening.
Suns comin up. Right on my forehead.
Then we headed into the Speedway – their race car track. We did the mile lap, and there were a ton of classic cars out. A childhood fave – Herbie the Love Bug – was there, but for some reason the characters from the movie Cars weren’t out this year. Where’s Lightning McQueen???
I think running on this race track is a pretty unique experience though – how many people get to do that? Again tho, the MarathonFoto folks couldn’t find my photos from that locale. Sorry dude.
(photo missing)
Then it was on toward Animal Kingdom. Still feeling great. Still picking up steam. 10 Mile in 1:32:49 – 9:17 per mile.
*Side note. My sis works at AK, so I happen to know a few other of the zoo keepers there. I was glad to see some of them at the entrance to the park. They were there to cheer for us, very cool!
Feelin fine.
AK also had some animals and characters out. And some marathoners would stop to ride the roller coaster, but I didn’t have time for that.
I’m ahead of the guy that thought he could fly.
Once we left the park, we reached the halfway point. I was almost EXACTLY at 4 hour pace. Right at 2:00:06 for 13.1 miles – 9:10 per mile. I had made up the time I lost due to the slow start.
B.O. check.
Now was time to reevaluate. I still felt good, so kept picking up the pace. We were on the way to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. There we got to run through the sports fields, along with a lap on the track where we had been before for the Kids Race.
Unidentified location.
The highlight here is getting to run a lap on the baseball field. This is where the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball do their spring training. It’s a really cool experience, especially with people in the stands cheering! It was in WWOS that I had my fastest mile, but that would soon change.
I already got to first base, now I’m going for home.
Looking back, I think all the energy I spent trying to make up the time took it’s toll. I started to feel it around this point. But at mile 20, I was still on pace to break 4 hours. 3:02:30 – 9:07 per mile.
An angel in the outfield.
From there we headed toward Hollywood Studios. Getting closer to home, but like they say, the real marathon starts at mile 20. I was really feeling it and took short walk breaks at the drink stations to grab a little powerade (and one port-a-potty stop to get rid of the old powerade).
The tower of terror ain’t got nothin on my towering form.
But then I felt doing that worked and I got a second wind! Awesome!!! But then at mile 21 I think I made a bad choice. Instead of continuing on with my new energy, I decided to stick to my recent pattern and grab a quick drink at the drink station. After that brief walk, I never recovered. I should’ve just kept running past it.
Putting on a brave face.
Also at this point, I think the cumulative miles from the previous 3 races started to kick in. My legs started to cramp. Every step I could feel my quads tense, and when I pulled over to try and stretch them, my hammies cramped into a giant ball. OUCH!
You lookin at me?
My pace slowed considerably as I tried to deal with the cramping. Kept running, but had to take a few walk breaks. Mostly at drink stations, but also on a hill or two. Speaking of which….
…This is supposed to be a flat course. It is decidedly not! Sure, it’s not super hilly, but it does have it’s fair share of long steady inclines and declines. Mostly from the bridges and overpasses we had to traverse.
That’s a big wizard hat. Where’s the wizard sleeve?
Anyway, at this point I could see my “A” goal slipping away. It was frustrating, and I felt like I was letting people down who I knew were following along with the auto text/facebook/twitter updates runDisney was sending of my splits. I also felt like I was wasting a great opportunity because of the weather and all the training I had put into it. But I couldn’t control the leg cramps. Maybe I wasn’t mentally tough enough to fight through it this time. Ahh, the stuff we think when we look back.
Goodbye Hollywood.
By now the sun was up and the parks were open, so there were lots of people there. I’m sure they were annoyed that they had to wait behind a rope for us to pass before they could get to the churro stand, but many of them still cheered, and I appreciated that. And I had made it through the Studios.
I almost wore the same outfit as that chick…that would’ve been embarrassing for her.
We then made our way to the Boardwalk Resort. I know that we’re close to finishing, as it borders Epcot. I was slowing even more, but still going.
Somewhere in Disney World.
Finally we enter Epcot. You’d think we’d be right at the finish, but get this – we still have 1.2 miles to go before getting to the parking lot finish. That’s how big those theme parks are!!!
The big spiky golf ball means we’re in Epcot.
Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament.
By now I knew my “A” goal was gone. And when I saw some characters with virtually line (queue), I decided to take the opportunity to stop for a photo – especially with DOPEY!!!!
I cannot explain the Dopey expression on my face, other than we were 47.6 miles into the Challenge.
Disney puts characters ALL along the course, but this is the first time I’ve ever stopped for a photo. Then I got a second one with one of my Asian wife’s fave movie characters – Mulan!
I want a funny pet dragon.
One of the highlights, right before you leave Epcot, hidden from the general public, is a gospel choir. When I ran past them, I turned to look at them and had one final big full body CRAMP! I stopped in my tracks and doubled over in pain. A race attendant asked if I needed the medics. I shook her off, sucked it up and ran toward the finish!
Waving to my fans.
About 100 meters to go and I see my boy! My sister’s roommate and her boyfriend graciously agreed to babysit him while we ran, and they made it just in time to the race to see me finish! That was the final boost I needed to finish strong!
Waving at the boy. Pretty cool pic!
Past the bleachers of cheering spectators, I ran to the finish, and high fived Donald Duck (why wouldn’t I?)…
That guy quacks me up.
His hands were downy soft.
And finished with a defiant fist pump!
I will punch you air, in your face’s mouth!
Yes, I was disappointed that I didn’t break 4 hours, but I still PR’d! I broke my previous personal best by 2+ minutes to finish at 4:07:47 – 9:28 per mile.
Yay for me!
They said there were somewhere between 25,000 – 30,000 people in the marathon. In the end, only around 19,000+ of them finished.
It’s too bad, I had a nice negative split going on until I bonked. But hey, at least I finished the challenge! Next time I run a Full Marathon however, I will NOT run 3 races in the days leading up to it!
Pace getting gradually faster…
…and then the wheels fell off.
After we crossed the line, I collected my Mickey medal for the full. Then on to the Goofy station to get that medal. Then finally to the Dopey station to get that medal.
Finally our blingy reward!
It’s funny, as soon as they put that medal on my neck, I felt real emotional. Instantaneously. I guess it finally kicked in all those months and months of training, all the early hours, all the miles and miles, all the preparation. But sadly, the Disney folks don’t let you stop and enjoy the moment. They.keep.you.moving. “You can’t stop here. You can’t stretch here. Keep walking. Keep moving.” If only I had the energy to tell them that I can’t walk right now. My legs are a ball of lactic buildup!
I’m screaming in triumph, or pain, either or.
Funny story after I collected the medals and walked past the medical tent, a medical person started screaming – the other medics all thought someone was really hurt, but it turns out she went to Ohio University too. You have no idea how many “Go Ohio!” and “Go ‘Cats” I got on the course. Such great support!
After a chat with her, I then retrieved my gear bag, which had the other medals ready for their photo op!
Finally, they are all got!
Later on after all our friends and family members finished, we wore our 6 medals into Epcot to cheer on the later finishers and to ride some rides and get some Guinness and grub. People commented that we sounded like robots with all the clinking that accompanied each step.
It really was kind of heavy. The weight we Dopes carry is indeed a heavy burden of joy.
So there it is: 48.6 miles done. It was a fun challenge, and I’m glad I did it. It’s always a treat to run through all the parks that we would visit as kids. And they do a good job of having characters and volunteers along the way to keep your spirits up! Also, I’m glad I followed my “coach’s” plan the best I could, and even though I crashed toward the end, at least I left it all on the course.
Rumors confirmed – I am dopey.
In the future I’m not sure if I’ll do it again. But I would like to do another full with this same training. I think if I put in the same mileage, but with only one race as the goal, then I can slap that timing clock around!
I will say this though, the thing I’m most proud of is that while I was doing the Dopey Challenge, and posting about it on Twitter and Instagram and such. That I had people message me that I had inspired them to get out and run themselves! That’s probably the best result of this whole thing!
Did I leave anything out? Any questions about the inaugural Dopey Challenge? You have any desire to do it? What’s up?
I have never run the Boston Marathon. I may never be able to. To qualify I’d have to run a 3:10:00 marathon. That’s 7:15 per mile. The best I’ve done at a 1/2 marathon is an 8:13 pace. So I’d have to shave an minute off my current best pace and go twice as far. I’d have to run at basically my 5k pace for 26.2. That’s a tall order. But never say never. Someday maybe. It’d be an awesome achievement. And I have nothing but respect for others who can make it there.
Long before I ever had any inkling about running these distances, I still knew what the Boston Marathon was. It’s a storied event, known worldwide. And around this same time in my life, I actually saw the finish line. I was in Boston on business and had some free time to explore. I randomly got out of a subway stop and there it was, the finish line to the Boston Marathon. The race was not going on, but I guess they leave it there painted on the street year round. Like I said, I’d never even considered running a marathon, but I knew about Boston and seeing the finish line gave me a sense of respect, awe, and history. I knew that people worldwide focus on that exact spot once a year. I knew people worldwide strive to be at that spot once in their life. And I was standing in it’s presence. Like many tragedies, there’s no way I could predict what would happen at that exact spot so many years later.
At Fenway Pahk watchin tha Red Sahx play the wicked Yankees.
I used to go to Boston about once a month for work. And. I. Loved. It. I love the food, the people, the accent, the history, the sights, everything. I always added a free day or two to my trip so I could explore the city. I still consider Boston one of my 2nd home cities. Combine that with my love of running, you can imagine how the Boston Marathon bombing hit close to home for me.
I don’t have to get into how horrible the event was and is. I’d rather focus on the good. Like how people post on social media the Mr. Rogers quote about focusing on how there are always people helping the injured. Like how Patton Oswalt posted about there will always be more good people than bad people. Like the reports of finishers running to the hospital to donate blood. Like how the message of peace on the sign held in the picture of the little boy who was killed, Martin Richard, will reach so many people. Like how within seconds, first responders and civilians alike were running toward the travesty to help strangers in need. Like how instead of scaring people, this event inspired so many across the country get out and run and remember.
I for one have never wanted to run more than I do right now. I have never wanted to run the Boston Marathon than I do now. I signed up for the Dopey Challenge at Disney last week – that’s 4 straight days of racing – 5k, 10k, 1/2, & full marathon. I was kind of intimidated by it, but now I’m inspired to run it. I’ll run it with Boston on my mind. Like I said, I’ve never wanted to run more than I do now. Stephen Colbert had a funny quote:
“Here’s what these cowards really don’t get: they attacked the Boston Marathon, an event celebrating people who run 26 miles on their day off until their nipples are raw — for fun.”
It’s true. People don’t run marathons cause they’re easy. People who run marathons aren’t weak. Regardless of what you think about politics, I thought President Obama gave a great speech at the interfaith service in Boston a few days after the attack. As a runner and American, I liked how he compared America to marathoners. How we always push through, even when times are tough. How we always know that around the next bend, there will always be others there to support us. How we will always finish the race!
On a personal note, I had two friends running this race. One was already long finished. But the other was within half a mile of the finish when the bombs went off. We didn’t hear that she was safe for hours, so that was a stressful time let me tell you. But we were lucky, both our friends are safe. So thankful for that.
But like I said, I’ve spent lots of time in Beantown. I know the people. I know how tough they are. I’ve also spent some time in NYC. I know how tough that city is. When I was at ground zero last summer, I saw firsthand how they have picked themselves up and gotten stronger since 9/11. I know Boston will do the same.
Whatever your personal race is, get out and do it. Whether it’s running or something in life…no person, no excuse, no situation can stop you. Go do it!
Piratebobcat 