Running Around Floods, The Devil’s Food & Attacked by Snapping Turtle!!!

No matter where you live, you’ve probably seen on the news all the crazy weather we’ve been getting in Texas. Torrential downpours, flooding, tornadoes, etc. It’s been a wild spring. But we did have one day this week where Mr. Sun peeked in on us.

The strange ball of light so confused me on my run.

Other than that it’s been a whet whone. Luckily we were able to race over the Memorial Day Weekend. And then it did storm the rest of the weekend. However my run bud and I were able to get in a nice relaxing 9 miler around White Rock Lake. I’ve never seen the water that high. Check out this shot from the normally dry spillway…

Usually all you see is concrete. It sounded like Viagra Falls!

One of the side effects of the high waters around town is that the critters are getting very cornfuzed. I’ve seen so many poor little ducks, gooses, turtles, froggies & snakes on the roads and trails.

And, funny story, was driving back from yoga and saw a big turtle in the middle of the road – some of us stopped our cars to help it. We quickly found out that it was a cranky SNAPPING turtle. It took some doing, but we finally got it back to the grass.

PS. I have now watched several YouTube videos on the safe way to pick up a snapping turtle. Note – It’s not easy because besides the biting mouth, they also have claws…and they can JUMP!

From the internet. This is what he looked like.

Anyway, after the 9 miler, we needed breakfast tacos, natch.

The devil made me do it.

So there it is…still getting my runs in, just having to dodge raindrops, high waters & critters.

How bout you? Staying dry out there? Ever had a run in with a snapping turtle? Having a good week???

-Scott

Long Run (Hooray!) & I Run 4

So the weather finally cooperated (no more icy roads) and I felt fairly healthy again, so it was back to runnin! I ran each day last week, including a long run with the White Rock Running Co-op. Felt good to be back out there after nearly 2 weeks off!

The route we ran. Started/Ended with hills while the lake was sandwiched in between.

Who Ray that was fun!

After the run, we got breakfast tacos…natch! And I’m glad we did because it gave me a chance to catch up with some run buds.

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

One of these run buds is in the I Run 4 program. If you’re not familiar with IR4, here’s what it says on their website:

“In I Run 4 Michael, Athletes of all levels and kinds – runners, walkers, yogis, triathletes, etc – are paired with children and adults with physical, mental, and developmental special-needs ranging from Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy to Autism Spectrum disorders, to physical deformities and disorders like lost limbs and congenital organ disorders, to lesser-known disorders like AHC.”

It’s a pretty cool program. A lot of these kids aren’t able to run, so when someone runs 4 them, they usually share with them how many miles. After special events like races, quite often they send the kids their medals/shirts.

For the past few months, I’ve been giving race medals to my bud so he can send them to the girl he’s matched up with.

Me & Clay and the chocolate bar medal he’s going to send the girl.

It’s always great to hear back that the kid was so excited to receive her new bling. I’m really glad it can bring a smile to her face!!!

Now yes, I do love my race bling too. And my own kids always love it when I bring a new medal home. So what I usually do now is explain to the race people what I’m doing and if I can have an extra medal for the girl. So far so good!

Here’s me in a homemade tank top hugging a unicorn for some reason. In the background you can see where I hang my race medals.

Not only do the kids love what comes from being in this program, but it can help the athletes too. When things get tough in a race, thinking of the kid you run 4 will help you keep going! That’s for sure!

How bout you? Have you heard of IR4? Do you know Who Ray is? Should I start a homemade tank top business?

-Scott

Classic Me Weekend – Running & Tacos & Yoga (+ Bonus Vomit)

With just a couple weeks until the Key West Half Marathon, I gotta keep at it. So this weekend, I did my best.

Friday wasn’t so good. I didn’t run. I had some weird nausea and light headedness. I even had to pull over my car so I could vomited on the side of the road.

Fast forward to Saturday…I felt less vomity, so I met up with some friends at White Rock Lake early in the morn. The plan was 14 miles @ 8:30 pace. We ended up going a little further and a little faster than planned. Felt good.

Looped the lake, and then some.

After the run, a small group of us went for tacos…duh!

The devil made me do it.

While Saturday was chilly, it was nothing compared to the 30 or so degrees it dropped over night thanks to the Arctic air sent down from Canada. Yes, I blame Canada (can you please fix the Texas weather Mrs. Outdoor Running Adventures?).

I do.

I had put a call out to some of my Sunday Runday buds to join me for some chilly miles, but all I heard back was cricket creeks. I guess a 25mph constant wind that causes a 16 degree wind chill wasn’t up their alley.

Anyway, I decided that since the conditions were tough, that I should say ‘screw it’ and make my run even tougher. So I did 7 miles with a series of nasty hill repeats. My cheeks were frozen by the end.

After, I warmed up with some yoga…

So what, I’m in a yoga class in a Lululemon – I can still keep it old school gangsta.

So there ya go. Pretty much what you’d expect from me, right? Running, tacos, yoga, misguided blame…Just a typical weekend in PirateBobcat’s world. Love it!

How bout you? Did you get Arctic blasted? Do you blame Canada? Ever make a tough workout tougher just to spite the weather gods?

-Scott

I Finally Mastered Yoga & Ran Hilly Miles & Ate Tacos

Nuther krazy weekend, kids…But good news, I finally mastered yoga!!! After yesterday’s hilly 7 mile run, my elf friend and I totally nailed chair and tree poses.

We finally found the Keebler tree.

The day before that, I had woked up early for a long run. This time the WRRC and DRC teamed up at White Rock Lake in Dallas. I ended up running 13 really HILLY miles in the neighborhoods East of the lake.

Yes Virginia, Dallas hills are real.

After those two days of hilly runs, (plus the previous 4 days of runs), my legs were feelin it. I had to help them recover by eating many many tacos. My fave of the weekend was from a farm to taco joint called Good to Go Taco.

Local chorizo and mashed taters in a taco? Yes, they went there. And the,y in turn went to my belly.

And some more good news – we got a warm front this weekend, so we had a very nice 75 degree day. We took advantage with a patio brunch and attending a big Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

All in all a pretty good lil weekend. And there’s more! I got some big news over the weekend, but you’ll have to wait for that. Stay tuned!

How bout you? Have a good weekend? Have you mastered yoga yet? Who wants tacos (besides our friend over at Walk to Rio 2016) who was taunting me on Instagram over the weekend with his Mexico City tacos)?

-Scott

Update on Reflections of a Lost Runner

Almost exactly one year ago, I wrote a post about a little tucked away memorial to a person who had passed away. You can read the post HERE.

I had done some research and found out she was a runner. I pass this memorial on my favorite running route and always pause there.

This is right near the spot where the memorial is located. Cloudy day, but you can kinda see the Dallas skyline in the background.

Since I wrote that post, I’ve gotten a few messages from friends of her. If you read the comments in it, you’ll see some of them. It seems she was very much loved. I’m glad to hear that she made such an impression on people…So much so that they are still searching for her online so many years after her passing (That’s how they come across my blog post). That said, I still had many questions about who this person was…

…Fast forward to this week, and I received another message. One of her friends shared some more details about her. Here is what she wrote:

“Scott – I was a good friend of Sabra’s and her sister, Monica. I met them through mutual friends and became close to them when I joined Luke’s Locker’s marathon training programs in 2000. They’d been running marathons for years, and when I joined the group they took me under their wings and helped me prepare to run my first half-marathon (White Rock half). Although they were both much faster runners than I was, they were so sweet to run at my pace to keep me company and give me pep talks. I told them both at the time that I’m not sure if I would have made it through that first race without their support. We were also good/social friends outside of running. Sabra’s death was tragic – a motorcycle accident caused by a driver who ran a red light.

She was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside, just like her sister, who was her best friend. Monica spearheaded planning for the memorial bench that you’ve discovered, and a number of us running friends contributed to its erection at the park. The phrase on the bench was Monica’s idea and it’s absolutely perfect. So many friends spent hours – years – training with Sabra at the lake and we wanted a place where friends and family could come to visit her. I shed a few tears of sadness when I stumbled upon your post, but also a few tears of happiness to know that her memory lives on at the lake and that others have discovered the special spot where she spent a lot of time and touched so many lives.”

Panorama mode

I’m thankful that she reached out to me, and that I am then able to reach out to you with this information. But I’m most thankful that Sabra’s friends know that even though she’s gone, people are still thinking of her…even people that never met her.

No questions today, but if you have any thoughts on this, please share in the comments.

PS – If you ever run at White Rock Lake in Dallas, and want to know where this memorial is, holla at me and I’ll fill you in.

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

Weekend Group Long Run, Tacos, & Taco Aftermath

On Saturday I met up at 6am at a taco joint with the WRRC for a long run. Did I mention the meeting spot was a taco joint? Of course they weren’t open that early, but I knew they soon would be, and that is some incentive right there to get the run dun.

The lake + some.

Wheweeee! This was a hawt one. Even at that hour. But I pushed through and ended up going 11 sweaty miles with some nice hills thrown in the last few.

I definitely had some runger going on afterwards. But did I mention meeting spot was a taco joint? I took full advantage!

Sometimes it’s good to be fuzzy.

Of course, there are sometimes side effects to eating tacos. And I recruited the boy to demonstrate in a 6 second video (put on your headphones for all the classy sound effects)…

Yes, we’re very mature. I know this.

How bout you? Ever get the runger? Get in a long run this weekend? Have any taco consequences stories?

-Scott

Reflections of a Runner (Update)

A few months ago I wrote about a deceased runner memorial that I always see when I do my long runs at White Rock Lake.  Please do take the time to read it if you can, as I give details that I won’t in this post (you can skip about halfway down the post to where I start writing about her).

You can read that post HERE.

Back when I wrote my original post, I didn’t know too much about her.  A lot of readers wrote in the comments that they were curious about her like I was.  I did my best to research her, but couldn’t find too much.  I did find her brother on Facebook and Linkedin.  I sent him friend requests hoping he would accept and then I could reach out to him…unfortunately he hasn’t yet.

That said, if you scroll down in the comments of the post, you’ll see that I have since gotten comments from a couple of her friends.  One was last week.  They actually came across my blog when they were searching for her.

They left some very nice messages.  One also left a link to her obituary.  It was very nice of them to offer some insight into who she was – saying that she was a beautiful person inside and out.  I’m glad to hear it.

This past weekend I got a chance to run at that spot for the first time in months. I usually start/end my run where the plaque is.  This wasn’t by design – I didn’t notice the plaque until well after I had already established this as a good meeting point (as I said in the original post, it is kind of hidden).

When I finished my run, I went to the spot where the plaque is to stretch (like I always do).  I said a few words to her to let her know she wasn’t forgotten by her friends (and even some of us strangers).

Anyway, that’s just a quick update in case any of you were wondering what ever happened with that.  I promise to share if I ever get any more info. If you are reading this and have anything to share, please do!

-Scott

The 9 Mile Lake Loop Run & Taco Reward

I’ve written about it before, but White Rock Lake in Dallas is an extremely popular spot for area runners – as well as bikers, walkers, fishers, kayakers, unicyclers, etc.

The main trail around the lake is pretty much exactly 9 miles. There are also connecting trails and secret little side trails if you want to add more mileage. When in marathon training, this is where I usually go for my really long runs – especially if I need to run 20+ miles.

Running Shoes, meet Lake. Lake, meet Running Shoes.

Since I finished the Dopey Challenge in Janurary, I hadn’t been down to WRL to run. But as our week of record low temps for North Texas in July kept on keepin on, I decided I better take advantage, and so I went to loop the lake.  The temps were awesome, but it was still 95% humidity – It never quite rained, but it did mist at times.  But the cloud cover was very welcome indeed.

Panorama mode

One always see a lot of weird interesting things around the lake – elites training, an episode of Cheaters being shot, coyotes, Dallas Cowboys taking photos of a horse, a dead body, a marriage proposal – seriously, you knever know.

This time around, I ran into crossed paths with a couple runner friends who were doing their own loops…Like my buddy Lindsay over at Marathonstateofmind .  It’s funny though how none of us ever seem to stop and say our hellos – nobody wants to interfere with the others’ workout – we just wave and shout a passing, “Heeyyyyyy!”  Haha – though immediately afterwards we all contacted each other to make plans to catch up.

You might want to avert your eyes at the Pump House ~ brown chicken brown cow!!

Anyways, for my run I decided to keep my pace comfortable and not look at my watch the whole way. Just wanted to enjoy it. I don’t know if it was the weather, but I think this may be the first time I’ve looped the lake without taking any quick breaks (to refill my water bottle or use the loo). I just kept going – one foot after another until I made it all the way around.

When I finished, I looked at my watch and was pleasantly surprised. I had ran the whole way with an average pace of 8:10 per mile! Not bad (for me) for a ‘long’ ‘comfortable’ solo run. I’ve run one 10 mile race as well as a few half marathons at an 8:13-15 pace which felt like tuff exertion.  So I’m anxious to see how my next race at those distances goes! Looks like my speed work is working.

And so ends the tale of one brave man and his trek around a city lake.

Another bonus to running there is the proximity to some good taco joints. Of course that is exactly where I went after I was done to get some breakfast tacos…

Boom. Tacos. Boom.

All in all, a purdy good lil Saturday morning there.  It made me really look forward to the fall (not a literal fall, like falling down, but like the Autumn kind ~ ya dig).

How bout you?  Any special go to run spots?  Seen any odd interesting things on a run recently?  Who wants tacos?

-Scott

20 Miles, Reflections, & Tacos

For my Disney Dopey Challenge Hal Higdon Training, the weekend called for runs of 5 miles on Saturday, and 15 on Sunday.  And that’s what I did, for a nice 20 mile weekend total!  The weather didn’t make it easy though.  I got running before sunrise both days, but that didn’t help much.  Saturday was around 80 with about 90% humidity.  Sunday was a little cooler – around 70, but with 90% humidity.  Both days I was a sweaty mess!  In fact, it was commented to me that it looked like I had jumped in the lake.  My clothes (and shoes) are still trying to dry.  After that, I felt I deserved a treat….TACOS!

Migas Taco from Torchy’s Tacos. Here’s 1 of about 4 that I ate!

For the Sunday run I met up with some peeps to run around White Rock Lake.  Some of them I knew, some I now know.  You get to know people when you spend a couple hours running together, you know?  And it definitely makes it easier to run these longer distances when you have people to do it with.  That’s one of the reasons I go to WRL to run.  It’s a 9 mile loop with TONS of other runners.  I always enjoy the head nods when you see people who are going the opposite direction as you, especially when you see the same people 2 or 3 times!

We also took a few little batman routes to get us some extra mileage.  I was thrilled when we finished one loop and were at 12 miles instead of 9.  I was thrilled for two reasons.  1) I only had 3 more to go to get to 15.  2) It was my one running friend’s 1st time going that far!  And we did it with a decent pace too!  Somewhere around 8:40 miles.

After the run, I went to a bench that I use to help me stretch.  Under the back side of the bench, kind of hidden, is this small plaque:

Like I said, I use this bench to help me stretch each time I run there.  And I have seen this plaque before, but this time I really looked at it.  “A place to go to think of a friend”  I wonder what exactly that means?  Is that something this Sabra Frazer said often?  Was this her spot to sit and think of friends?  Or is this where her loved ones come to think about her?

And who is this person?  What happened to her?  It says she died in 2003.  She was only 35.  Curious, I did a Google search.  I can’t find many details…except this:  It appears she ran in races.  Some of her race results popped up on pages like Athlinks.com.  But I can’t find much else about who she was, or what happened to her.  If anyone has any information about her, I’d love to hear it.  Please tell me if you know anything!

The bench that this plaque is under is curious in itself.  Instead of facing the lake, it is facing the trail where all the runners are.  Thousands of people go by this memorial every day.  I doubt not more than a handful have ever noticed it.

I’m guessing like many of us runners in the area, this is where she came to train.  I’m also guessing her family put this here so they can come and sit and watch all the runners and remember how she would run past this same spot so many times.  So I sat on the bench for a little while and did what the plaque says to do.  Yes, it is a very good place to go to think of a friend.