Beginners and Beyond

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3rd race in 4 days: Free-Da 5K Run For the Arts (Read 28 times)

scottydawg


Barking Mad To Run

    I am Scott aka Scottydog, runner since 1983, cancer survivor, retired Air Force, friend of dogs, fun-runner, and all-around 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.  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, hence my nickname “Scottydog.” Here is yet another of my Race Reports With Photos, and my thanks to all the people I interacted with for their graciousness and good humor in letting me take photos of them.

     

    SHORT VERSION REPORT

    Free-Da's Run - http://huaracheturbo.com/event_freedas_run.php -  was my 3rd race in 4 days (my other two race reports with photos, from July 3 and July 4 are on my blog at scottydogreports.com, if you'd like to read those)  and my 40th race of 2013.  This event benefited the Arts.  Held on the campus of University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio.  Quite a few participants, around 600 or so, maybe even more than that.  I felt pretty good today for this 5K and probably would have finished in my normal 34-something for a 5K, except that I stopped a couple more times than I usually do at a race to take a few extra on-course photos.  My finish time ended up being 36:58 chip time, about 11:37 per mile.

     

    LONG VERSION REPORT WITH PHOTOS

    Apparently the logo of Free-Da, as you can see if you check out the race website above,  is flowers in the hair and eyebrows, so lots of the lady participants wore flowers atop their head and large eyebrows, as you will see in the photos.  The race shirts given out for this event, which have the Free-Da logo on the front, are tech-shirts, with the runner's choice of either green or yellow.  I chose yellow for me since I already have 2 green running shirts.

     

     

    Lots of various venders attended this event too, there were many tables and booths.

     

    Two of the "Great Legs" ladies of my running club, Sally and Joan,  had a table set up for the San Antonio RoadRunners.

     

     

     

     

    My two favorite race vendors - Alamo Beer Golden Ale....good stuff!  Big grin

     

     

     

    Before The Race

     

    Participants, supporters, and volunteers

     

    Me and "Free-Da"

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Getting ready to start

     

     

    On The Course

    The route was: through a parking lot; behind the outfield ence of the university baseball stadium; off-road trails at the back part of the campus; campus paved roads; back onto the trails again; then once more past the baseball stadium and straight to the finish.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The lady in the black skirt ran holding that long skirt up for the whole way.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    After The Race

     

    A volunteer was handing out water right after the finish mat.  Drank that down, did a short cool-down walk and then made my first stop post-race.

     

    Yeah, good stuff!

     

    Next stop...the popsicle cart!

     

     

    Went down good after a 5K on a warm July morning.

     

    This lady gave out ice-cold gatorade from her cooler

     

    Post-race goodies also included breakfast tacos, which a couple of these Happy Finishers enjoyed.

     

     

    More Happy Finishers and supporters

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Running friends Ronnie (left) and Sherry (middle) were award winners.  The award for 1st place AG winners was the Freda Art plaque Sherry is holding.

     

     

     

     

    Award winners and Ceci (in front), a lovely lady who was one of the race organizers and co-owner of iaapweb.com, a great local race event company.

     

    Police officers that did traffic control, course safety, etc, for us.  Thanks so much!

     

    "Great Legs" ladies of the San Antonio RoadRunners.

     

     

     

    Epilog

     

    I don't recall if this is the 2nd or 3rd year for this event.  Either way, this year was the BEST one so far!  One reason for that was the course route.  Normally, a 5K route on the campus of University of Incarnate Word is this 2.5 loop route in which you see the same thing over and over and then over again.  That gets old pretty fast.  By the time you are heading to the finish, you just SO want to be done.  This year iaapweb.com folks came up with a different route.  We still had a couple of out-and-back parts, but they were planned so well that this route felt mentally more like one big loop, which was GREAT!  Every RD in San Antonio who does a 5K at UIW should use this route!  Ceci (the lady in the long red skirt in the awards photo above) was standing near the end of the chute after the chip mat cheering in all the finishers, and I was so happy with this route change, I gave her a big kiss on the cheek and said "Thank you so much for that route!"   So NICE not be be running in a 'deer-in-the-headlights' daze by the time you get to the finish, which is the way you feel with the other route.  So Kudos to iaapweb.com for the course change!

     

    And thanks to all the volunteers, vendors, sponsors, police officers, UIW for the use of their venue, Run Wild Sports for being the packet pickup place and all the others who put this all together.  This is a really nice event, with lots of friendly folks , lots of post-race goodies and, now, a really nice course.  Definitely would recommend this one to my fellow runners!

     

    Post-race I went home and was quite lazy, sitting around in the a/c watching TV with my wife, Gail, who had two "bookends" on either side of her head as she watched TV from her chair...our cats Peanut (left) and P2.

     

     

     

    3 races in 4 days.  I'm resting tomorrow! Big grin  Or maybe not.  Joking

     

    Hope everyone had a great 4th of July holiday and weekend!

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

      Wow, that has the ingredients of a fantastic 5K race - lots of pretty runners, a dude in a coonskin cap, and Alamo beer.

      “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” - T.S. Eliot

      LRB


        Looks like the peeps from the running club cleaned house!

         

        My fave was runner "605" who wore a button down shirt lol, gotta give him kudos for coming out though!


        Hip Redux

          This has to be a Frida Kahlo inspired event, no?  I swear, the logo looks just like her!

           

          And your wife is gorgeous, Scotty!

           

          GinnyinPA


            sounds like another fun event.  I'm not sure I could stomach beer for breakfast, but then, I haven't been offered any at any of our races.

            happylily


              Frida Kahlo is one of my favorite artist in the whole world! What a colorful and fun event, Frida would have loved it!

               

              Congratulations on your third race in 4 days, Scotty! That's a lot of racing, you must not be such an old dog after all. Smile

               

              Gail looks beautiful. She's like an Egyptian queen flanked by two royal cats. Smile

              PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                      Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

              18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

              scottydawg


              Barking Mad To Run

                This has to be a Frida Kahlo inspired event, no?  I swear, the logo looks just like her!

                 

                And your wife is gorgeous, Scotty!

                 

                You are correct.  According to Ceci, one of the race directors, that is for whom the race is named.

                 

                And your wife is gorgeous, Scotty!  Yes, she keeps telling me that too!  Joking

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

                scottydawg


                Barking Mad To Run

                  Frida Kahlo is one of my favorite artist in the whole world! What a colorful and fun event, Frida would have loved it!

                   

                  Congratulations on your third race in 4 days, Scotty! That's a lot of racing, you must not be such an old dog after all. Smile

                   

                  Gail looks beautiful. She's like an Egyptian queen flanked by two royal cats. Smile

                   

                  Yes, she is a beautiful mummy to our cats... Joking

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


                  Hip Redux

                     

                    You are correct.  According to Ceci, one of the race directors, that is for whom the race is named.

                     

                     

                     

                    Awesome!  I love Frida Kahlo.

                     

                    happylily


                       

                      Yes, she is a beautiful mummy to our cats... Joking

                       

                      LOL... You're silly. :-)

                      PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                              Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

                      18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

                      Zelanie


                        Looks like a ton of fun!  Glad they changed the course, too!  Love the Frida Kahlo costumes- did anybody run with a monkey?

                        Docket_Rocket


                          Another great report, Scotty!

                          Damaris

                           

                          As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

                          Fundraising Page


                          SheCan

                            Fun race theme and beer!  What more could you ask for?   Sounds like a good race day.  I totally love the Frida eyebrows on all the ladies... they look just like her.   Great RR, Scotty and Congratulations.  Plus, thank you for including the cat pics with your DW.  How cute!

                            (and yup, I'm home now!)  Big grin

                            Cherie

                            "We do not become the people who this world needs simply by turning our backs on anyone we don’t like, trust, or deem healthy enough to be in our presence. "  ---- Shasta Nelson