Beginners and Beyond

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Glorify Grow Go 5K Report and Photos (Read 2 times)

scottydawg


Barking Mad To Run

    INTRO  

    I am Scott aka Scottydog aka Scotty Dogg, runner since 1983, cancer survivor – caught very early, so I actually had a fairly easy time of it - , retired Air Force, employee of University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), friend of dogs, fun-runner, and all-around punster and goofball.  In 2003 I had spinal arthritis flare up and ever since then I’ve done the run/walk method since it hurts my back too much now to run continuously with no walk breaks.  I’m on what I call my “2F Plan” which stands for Fun and Finish.  My only goals for a race these days are finish everything I start, have fun along the way, and finish standing up with no ambulance waiting for me.  At events that I now do for fun I carry my camera, chase “Great Legs” to help motivate my slow old man self to keep moving forward, and take pictures before, during, and after the race. Sometimes I even get a nice post-race sweaty hug from one of the Great Legs ladies.   I then do a pictorial race report of my events.  I also carry dog biscuits with me to treat any dogs I may meet at a run – unless it’s a mean dog; then the biscuit goes in one direction and I go in another.  Hence my nickname “Scottydog.”

    And a big thanks to runningahead.com for allowing me a “home” for my many many MANY race reports and photos.  Great site, free training log; calendars; running routes; maps; conversation forums for runners; and much more

     

    Here is yet another of my photo reports.  Full report below.    

     

    Link to photos only:  http://s166.photobucket.com/user/scottydog69/slideshow/2017%20Race%20Reports/2017%20Race%20No%2051%20Glorify%20Grow%20Go%205K

     

    A couple of the photos may not have come out so well; sorry about that.   Plus, at times post-race I forgot to wipe my sweaty lens - duhhhh - so there might be a smudge or two on some of them.     All in all, I think they came out fairly well.  I am certainly no professional photographer with skills; but at least all the photos are free to save.  J

     

    BEFORE MY START

    My 51st race of 2017, held on July 29 was Glorify Grow Go 5K to raises funds to provide backpacks filled with supplies to Wiltshire Elementary School in San Antonio.  Small event, 153 finishers.  Race location is pretty close to where I live, so did not take me long to get there and start wandering around taking some pre-start photos.  My wife was there, too, she walked the 5K, and there was a competitive walkers group.  Gail placed 5th in her age group, averaging a 14-minute something per mile, finishing in 44-something.

     

    Me and wife, Gail.

     

     

    Gail and Bernadette, my 'running wife', lol, we do so many of the same races each year.

     

     

     

     

     

    Athlete Guild folks

     

    Our MC

     

    Friend Bert, competitive walker....he walks about as fast as I run

     

    Pacer cyclist taking a rest before we get started

     

     

    Various participants, volunteers, etc

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    As fast as this guy was, I'd want to take a short nap before the start too, lol.

     

     

     

    ON THE COURSE

    Start time at 8 a.m. – walkers started 5 minutes after the runners - and it was already hot, temp already in the upper 70s, as temps were predicted on this date to hit a heat-index of 104 – 108 degrees.  The course went through a pretty nice neighborhood and thankfully there were quite a few shade trees along the way.  Out-and-back course that was mostly flat, but after the turn-around point for a while there was a really long up incline.  It was not really a hill, just a long up incline for about a half mile, and your legs could certainly feel it.  The last part of the course was pretty flat back to the finish.  I ended up with chip time of 32:30, good enough for 3rd place in my age group.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Bernadette heading to the finish

     

     

     

     

     

     

    AFTER MY FINISH

    Looked for the cold beer, but nada.  I guess it’s frowned upon in some places to have beer at elementary schools.    At the finish line, nice ice-watered down small towels were handed out and that was very refreshing, and also the cold bottled water was right at the finish line area too, very nice, so you didn’t have to go looking for it. I wandered around for a few minutes doing my cool-down and enjoying the feel of that cold towel on my neck; and then it was time to get some ‘after’ photos.

     

    Speedy Burt finishing up

     

     

     

     

    Gail finishing up

     

     

     

     

     

    Various

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    Medals

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    EPILOGUE

    This race has been put on 3 years now.  This was the first time for me doing it.  A very enjoyable event for a good cause.  Lots of very friendly people, a pretty good course, and some nice post-race goodies available that included Kiolbassa sausage wraps, some different flavors of some type of slushee/icee thingy in a cup, various fruits, nutrition/energy bars and so forth.  Nice quality race tee.  Also inside restrooms instead of portapotties and after that warm run/walk a nice-and-cool inside gym area where the awards ceremony was done, and that felt pretty good.  I would definitely do this one again and recommend it to other runners/walkers.

     

    MUCHO thanks to all the people who did all the hard work to make this one happen for we participants and were out there for us: Athlete Guild did the timing, course setup and results; law enforcement was out there for us at the intersections; and lots of volunteers who were out there really early for us, doing setup, registration, and so forth; and, of course, all those sponsors/vendors, etc. for their support.  Without all of you doing what you do, there would be no events for us participants, so thank you very much for what you do!

    "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt