Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HWHxCgbBTtFj66nh7

BEFORE MY START: My 8^th race of 2022 was the In The Loop Run Crew 5K. held on February 26 at Lady Bird Johnson Park in San Antonio, Texas. This event is put on by the In The Loop Run Crew, a local running group of friendly runners and walkers of all types of paces. The start time was 9 a.m. so I got to sleep in a little as I only live around 3 miles from the park.  I think I slept in a bit too much, lol. By the time I got to the park, it was already 8:40, so just had time to get a few pre-start photos and then get lined up for the start.

ON THE COURSE – The 5K started exactly on time. The course was an out-and-back, with us going around a loop road near the park’s pavilion, and then down a small incline that took us to the park’s off-road paved trails.  From there, we went to our turn-round point, passing by the Lost Patios vendor/shopping area and then doing a turn around just before the frontage road of the local area Loop 410 highway. After that, back the way we had come out. Predicted weather had been for cold – it was chilly, with a 37-degree temp at the start – and some drizzling rain had been predicted also, but that never died occur, thank goodness, while we were out on the course. The wind was pretty mild too, hardly any at all.  These trails go between trees on either side, so that gave us some nice windbreak shelter too. I am not a fan of the cold – I seem to feel it more the older I get, lol, and my current cancer treatment seems to add to that – so had dressed in a few layers – probably more layers than most runners use, lol – and I felt pretty comfortable the whole way. I ended up 6^th out of 7 in my 60 – 69 males age group, finishing chip time of 38:29, and I did negative splits too, nice, with Mile 3 being 12:19.  Slowly but surely starting to get a bit faster now, after pacemaker implant in 2019 and doing well with my current prostate cancer treatments.  One of these days I might even get back to being under 12-minute miles – used to be able to do 9-and-10-minute miles way back when, but I was a lot younger then. Anyway, just happy to be able to run at all and will take what I can get.  I was happy with my results and met my primary two race goals:  finish standing up and no ambulance waiting specifically for me at the finish. 

AFTER MY FINISH – First thing, get into some dry clothes. I had brought a dry base layer shirt and a dry hat so I would not be wandering around in wet stuff post-race. Changed into those and then went around post-race chatting with friends and getting post-race photos.  I call them ‘Happy Finisher Photos” because more people seem to be smiling after they are done than before the start and on the course, lol.   

Epilogue – Nice turnout on a chilly day with 198 finishers. I think someone told me 200+ had registered, maybe staying home due to the weather predictions. If so, they missed out since the weather was actually better than the forecasters had predicted, with no rain on us at all. A nicely thought-out course and a really nice bunch of runners and walkers to be with at this event. Nice quality race shirt of an interesting color, lol, and a really nice finisher medal too. I would do this one again and would recommend it to others. If someone asked me about the In The Loop Crew, I would recommend them too, very nice group of people.  BTW, runners and walkers are not the only crazy people to get out in weather like this.  As I was driving home, I saw that the park ballfield had a team out there on it doing what looked like a practice session. It’s nice to be all nuts together, isn’t it?  😊 MUCHO THANKS TO:  All the people that made this one happen for us; all the sponsors, the many volunteers out there for us, local race management company iaap for course set up, timing, results, etc;  our great MC, Anthony, who did his usual superb announcing job, which has become a norm for him; our sound and music guy; the Park Police officer that was out there for us; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!      

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LJCCmdo27YGdZRG86

BEFORE MY START   My 7^th race of 2022 was the Street2Feet 5K held on February 19 in San Antonio, Texas.  This was the 13^th annual Street2Feet 5K and I have done every one of them since it first started, so this is one of my few ‘streak’ races.  Street2Feet 5K is a running and walking program designed to assist those experiencing homelessness and includes training programs, as well as other assistance for them.  Race location this year wa at Los Patios, a small business area that includes food places and various vendors and shoppes.  The area is adjacent to the offroad paved trails of Lady Bird Johnson Park and also near the trailhead of Tobin Park.  Race start time of 8 a.m., so a nice early start. I picked up my packet the day before the 5K so was good to go for race morning.  Mother Nature has lately been having a hissy fit with Texas weather, giving us fairly warm weather the weekdays and then dropping the bottom out during race weekends, which happened for the last 3 weekends I did races.  Today was no exception.  Pretty nice on Friday and then the bottom dropped out Friday night.  I awakened Saturday morning to temps in the upper 30s, but at least it was sunny and dry.  Dressed in some layers and brought a dry base layer and shirt to change into post-race and then was literally off to the races.  Arrived with about 40 minutes to go until start time and got a few pre-start photos.

ON THE COURSE – As previously noted, the weather was a bit chilly, but sunny and no wind, thank goodness. We started in the Los Patios area right by the off-road paved trail and made a right turn and headed down to the Loop 410 frontage road which we crossed.  We proceeded along under an overpass and then up a small incline, followed by a short downhill that took is in the direction of going towards Austin Highway.  We proceeded to a turn-round that was not quite to the back Tobin Park trailhead off of Austin Highway and then back the way we had come out.  This meant, of course, our downhill was now an uphill on the way back, but all good, it was not really that long of an uphill. The course was a really well-thought-out course.  This park is not too busy at this time of day – especially when the weather is chilly – and there was plenty of maneuvering room for all of us, even a slow old dog like me.  I met my two primary running goals – finish standing up, and no ambulance waiting specifically for me at the finish 😉 – with a chip time of 38:42, averaging 12:27 per mile and Mile 2 and 3 were negative splits for me, nice.   I ended up 10^th out of 16 in my 60- 69 males age group.  There are some speedy old guys in my age group, lol.  The first 8 of them all finished in the 20s.  I was also really proud of my young friend Ian and the progress he’s made.  We do a lot of the same races and usually I finish ahead of him.  Today he had a kick at the end and surged ahead of me, crossing the finish line before I did.  Way to go, buddy!

AFTER MY FINISH – I got a few photos of others coming into the finish. After that, I went to retrieve my dry-clothes bag, got out of my sweaty base layer shirts and put on dry base layer shirts.  Ahh, feels so much better and warmer. After that I enjoyed some of the post-race goodies provided by the race and the race vendors and also got some after-photos. Everyone seemed pretty happy, lots of smiles, laughter, friends enjoying each other’s company, etc. Nice turn-out for this one, with 254 finishers.  This is also a dog-friendly event and the doggies there were very happy to get treats from me. Friends now for life, lol.

Epilogue – This is a very good quality event and I am proud and privileged to call friend Race Director Lana Hernandez – who I think also started the San Antonio Street2Feet program. She is awesome and it shows in these races how much she cares for this cause, which is a good one.  If you have gently used running shoes, other running or walking gear, etc, that you are about to put aside please consider passing them onto her, her group can use them and will too.  As noted in my report, I have done every one of these since they started, will continue to do them, and certainly would recommend this event to others.  Always well done, very nice quality race shirt, and pretty good courses too.  My favorite course so far in the 13 years this event has been put on was the 10^th anniversary run in downtown San Antonio – and the group surprised me with a “personal” Street2Feet shirt – the one I wore at the 5K today.  I thought that was so nice of them…and yes, I was really touched and I did cry.  Anyway…if you ever get a chance to do this event, go for it!  I think you will not regret it.  MUCHO THANKS TO:  All the people involved that made this one happen for we participants. This includes the Street2Feet group who often volunteer for this one, and also our Race Director Extraordinaire Lana; iaap crew that did the course setup, timing, results; all the various sponsors and vendors whose support helped make this one happen; the Los Patios business residents for their patience in letting us invade their space for a few hours; and anyone else I inadvertently may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!     

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Tbb6cmdZHqWFoxLi9

BEFORE MY START – My 6^th race of 2022 was the Be My Valentine 5K held on February 13 at McAllister Park in San Antonio, with a start time of 9 a.m.  This was my 2^nd 5K of the weekend, after doing the Cupid’s Chase 5k on February 12. The weather for this one was much better than Saturday’s race weather, which was overcast and very winding, making it feel cold. Be My Valentine 5K had sunny skies and no wind.  It was still chilly, with a temp around 41 degrees at start time, but all that sunshine sure made it feel better. I arrived at race site around 8:20 am, after a long drive of 10 minutes or so – I live 3 miles driving distance from the park. I’d picked up my race packet the day before so was good to go.  Before the start I chatted with friends, got some pre-start photos, and sipped my water off-and-on.  Even in cold weather, you still have to keep hydrated. This event is put on by local race management company iaap/Hurache Turbo which, in my opinion, is one of the top two race management companies in San Antonio, along with Scallywompus.  This event is very popular each year and sold out this year. I don’t know if everyone showed up – it was pretty chilly, but the event had 284 finishers, per iaap’s online results listing, so a nice turnout on a chilly Sunday morning. 

ON THE COURSE – For those of you familiar with McAllister Park, we started from the pavilion across from the soccer fields and down the street from the youth baseball field. After passing the baseball stadium area we went straight up the adjacent park road, heading toward Becken Pavilion. Before we got to Becken pavilion we made a left turn onto one of the off-road paved trails, then a quick right, and then a left onto another trail just down from Becken Pavilion. We followed this trail for a short distance until we came to our turn-round point and then went back to the start/finish the way we had come out. McAllister Park roads and trails for the most part are pretty flat – there are some hills in the park but you have to go find them – and we had no hills at all on this course, which was nice after my hilly 5K course on Saturday.  Due to me currently being treated for prostate cancer, my medical team had recommended to me to stay as active as I can but also not to do 2 races in a weekend, during my treatment as it just might wear me out a bit too much; the hormone therapy I am receiving now, after having finished my radiation therapy, does wear me out a bit sometimes, so I get where they are coming from.  However, this is one of my favorite races, so I did get permission to do this one – and the drive home for me is not long at all, lol – as long as I took it easy.  So for this one I planned to shoot for positive splits, maybe take a few extra walk breaks – I do 8-min run/2 min walk due to my arthritis, can’t run nonstop anymore, tears me up too much – and get a few extra photos.  This went pretty well for Mile 1 and Mile 2, and then I said to myself okay, I am ready to be done and got a negative split for Mile 3, lol. I ended up finishing in 39:59, averaging 12:52 per mile and finished 4^th in my 60-69 males age group.  Overall, I felt pretty good and am feeling a lot better these days than when I first started my radiation and hormone therapy. Once I finally finish my treatment – in Sep 2022 – I am hoping I will start getting back to my old running self again and then start doing a whole lot of races each year, like I used to do.  Until then, I am just happy I can run at all and will take what I can get.  Never give up! be

AFTER MY FINISH – First, got a bit of water.  Then enjoyed a post-race Kiolbassa sausage and an Alamo Beer ‘Golden Ale”, nice. After that, wandered around chatting with friends and participants and getting some “Happy Finishers” and supporters photos.  I call them “happy finishers’ because more people are smiling after the race than before and during, lol. Also had a pocketful of doggie treats, as this is a dog-friendly event, and those went pretty quick.  I was quite popular with the dogs, lol.  I also entered the costume contest. I may not have placed in my age group, but I did come out winner in the costume contest and got a nice little box of Valentine’s Day treats, sweet, and there was a cash prize too, which I did not expect at all, so a pleasant surprise.

Epilogue – Race Director Cecy throws a really nice party at her events.  Entertainment included some dancers, and goodies included Kiolbassa Sausage and Alamo Beer.  Very nice quality race shirts, really nice goodie bag and a nice finisher medal.  Music played by a DJ and some sponsor tables and booths giving away a few freebies.  If you have never done an iaap race, I encourage you to check out their online race calendar and give one a try.  No doubt in my military mind that you won’t regret it. Also, their events are walker friendly and usually dog-friendly too.

MUCHO THANKS TO:  All the people involved that made this one happen for we participants.  Thanks so much it iaap, our MC Anthony Zamora; DJ Paul’, race director Ceci, who also was the official photographer at the finish line; the iaap crew out there who did the course setup, timing, results, etc. the park police officers out there for our safety; all the event sponsors; and anyone else involved that I may not have mentioned.  Thank you all. 

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/X6z3BzhVpP3TmWHz6

BEFORE MY START – Written Feb 12, 2022.  My 5^th race of 2022 was Cupid’s Chase 5K in San Antonio, held on Feb 12th at O.P. Schnable Park in San Antonio. Put on by nonprofit Community Options, Inc. the 5K is a fundraiser in support of persons with disabilities at one of 34 USA Track and Field certified race locations across ten states. The event takes place in February at various locations and dates in ten states across the country. I know this is primarily for those with various mental disabilities, but even so I try to do this one whenever I can because I was a disabled kid – a March of Dimes baby born with a birth defect of dislocated hips – and I had to wear for a while a pair of shoes with that bar that connects the two shoes – you may have seen that at times on some babies, young children – and then braces.  So I try to do as many events for as possible for causes that support the disabled. My wife tells me not to use the term ‘disabled.” She says use the term ‘differing abilities’ instead.  We all have differing abilities.  I like it.  I showed up for packet pickup at 8 a.m. and was ready to start at 9 a.m.  However, my friend Sherri from Athlete Guild informed me it started at 10 a.m. I said, wait, I went to the Cupid’s Chase website and it said 9 a.m.  She said, no, Athlete Guild announced it as 10 a.m., per the San Antonio office’s request.  I checked my phone and found out she was right; and that when I looked it up, I had actually looked at the Cupid Chase info of a different state….duhhh. So I just hung around – and thankfully had some Cliff Bars in my car, so I could give myself a bit more ‘fueling” before the start – chatted with others there and sat in the car a bit to keep warm because Mother Nature had given us temps of 50+ degrees, but also wind gusts up to 22 mph, so it was darn chilly out there. I am currently being treated for some prostate cancer and for some reason – I think is’d because of the hormone therapy injections I am taking –  I always seem to feel colder these days than I used to.  That, and also probably because I’m older than dirt, lol. There were quite a few other races on this day, so we got a pretty nice turnout with a total of 115 finishers.

ON THE COURSE – So, 10 a.m. finally rolled around and we all got lined up.  Mother Nature even blessed us with some sunshine but kept the wind going too.  Once we got started though it was okay.  The route was on paved trails in the park.  it took us on an out-and-back in the park ad there are plenty of trees and off-road trails in the park, so the trees served as a pretty good windbreak for us for most of the course. We started from the park’s primarily pavilion, went up a long but not-too-steep incline. At the top, right turn and then down an incline for a bit. Left turn and down a steep hill, then flat for a bit, then another down incline.  Then another up incline and another down incline. After that it was pretty much flat to the turn-round point. We rounded the cones and went back the way we had come out.  This meant, of course, that now we had to climb up that first steep hill we’d come down, and then had a pretty steady uphill incline until we finally made the turn onto the first pavement we’d come out on.  This got us back to the finish going downhill.  I managed finish with a chip time of 38:51, averaging 12;30 per mile and was first in my male 65 – 69 age group; mainly because I was the only one IN my age group, lol. Even so, I’ll take it. I felt pretty good out there and did okay; I even managed to get negative splits.  After I finished, I got a few finish photos of others that I had been running with and interacting with at various points on the course.

AFTER MY FINISH:  Went to the car and got on a dry base layer, that wind was still going pretty strong and once I stopped moving, started getting a bit cold again. Then wandered here-and-there, chatting with friends/other participants and getting a few “happy finisher” photos. I call them happy finisher photos because more people seem to be smiling after they are done than before the start and on the course. A very nice group of people and enjoyed interacting with old friends and also making new friends. This event is also pretty close to University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), where I work.  This was nice because it was only a short drive away, so I was able to stop at the UTSA gym and get a nice hot shower and change into the dry clothes I had brought, so did not have to drive home all wet-and-sweaty.  Yes, even in cold weather I sweat like crazy when I run. That hot shower felt great too, after all that wind, lol.

Epilogue – Very nicely done event put on by some great volunteers and staff of the local office of Community Options. Really nice quality short-sleeved race shirt, very nice finisher medal and nice age group medal.  Overall male and female runners got a nice trophy and each “first in age group’ got a nice medal.  A friend told me they were planning to go 3-deep for the age group awards, but someone came along to the pavilion and took one of the bags of medals right off their table, jeez, how sad is that?  Even so, the organizers pressed on, and did a great job with this event.  As previously noted, I’ve done this one before and will do it again. I certainly would recommend it to others. MUCHO THANKS TO:   Athlete Guild for their usual great race organization skills, course set up, timing, results, etc. Thanks also to the many volunteers out there and the Community Options folks there – made some new friends there, really nice people – and a big thank you to all the sponsors who helped make this event happen.  We also had a park police officer on-site and a medical team – at my age, I appreciated that, just turned 68 a few days ago – and anyone else involved that I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all so  much!

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yDFjgvgyyjbyDrXs6

BEFORE MY START – My 4th race of 2022 was the Stock Show and Rodeo Stampede 5K held on February 5^th in Downtown San Antonio.  Start and finish was at Milam Park on the corner of Santa Rosa and Houston Street, just down the street from the San Antonio Children’s Hospital.  The event had a 9:30 a.m. start, allowing me to sleep in a bit.  This was nice because Mother Nature threw another cold front at San Antonio on race day. The temperature at start time was 37 degrees with a “feels like” of 35.  I dressed in about 4 layers, lol. I really do not like cold weather. Give me 70s and 80s anytime instead of temps in the 30s.  Thankfully, Mother Nature also gave us plenty of sunshine and no wind.  I’d forgotten about the downtown construction in that area, so it took me a while to wind around the streets and get parked. Thankfully, I had picked up my packet before race day so was ready to go. I took a few pre-start photos and then got the MC announced time to line up. I shed my top layers and lined up in my planned running attire – which still consisted of two layers and my hat. Did I mention I hate cold weather? The gun went off right on time, exactly 9:30 a.m. and we were off and running.

ON THE COURSE –   We crossed over Santa Rosa Street, did a little stretch on Travis Street that had us avoiding some construction on Houston Street, then turned on Main and then to Houston Street, where we turned left, heading up Houston toward Alamo Street. Houston Street is just about all cobblestones, and a gradual uphill incline; very low incline, but still rising a tad. I tried to find the most level parts of the road to run on, which was mainly in the very center of the street.  First walk break here and got some photos. We turned left on Broadway, went around a curve, took a right turn, then left on Alamo Street.  Went all the way down Alamo, then left on Brooklyn, then left on Camden, which got us to Mile 2. After that we did a kind of winding path on a few streets that took us past the very brightly colored Downtown Library, then onto Main Street, back onto Travis Street, where we hit Mile 3, and then back to the finish at Milam Park.  Pretty nicely laid out course avoiding the majority of ongoing downtown construction. I surprised myself by doing 37:57 chip time – usually I do 38 – 40 minutes and change – and also had negative splits, with my last mile actually being under my usual 12-minute miles.  Felt pretty good out there the whole way.

AFTER MY FINISH: Got a few photos of some others finishing, and then went and retrieved my dry clothes from a very nice volunteer lady who had let me cache them under her display table while I did the race.  Went into one of the porta-potties and got my wet layers off, dried myself off with a small towel I had brought and got into my dry stuff.  Ahh, much better and much warmer, so now could walk around taking some after-photos without getting all chilly.   Got to enjoy the Stampede “roundup’ and parade, watching some cowboys herd Longhorns down the street.  There were also some military folks, a small herd of sheep, rodeo clowns, and more. Lots of post-race goodies, including beer. 

Epilogue – Really nicely done event, with a well-planned route and a really nice turn out on a chilly day; 389 finishers. Nice post-race goodies, great location, and lots of spectator activity afterwards, with the ‘cattle drive’ and the parade. This event, by the way, if I remember correctly, helps raise funds for the scholarships given out by the San Antonio Livestock Exposition (SALE) to deserving students.  This event is definitely a keeper event to do. I certainly would recommend this one to others.MUCHO THANKS TO:  All the sponsors who supported this even – I put a list of them in my photo report – and to all the many volunteers who made this one happen for us.  Thanks also to the many police officers out there on the course keeping us all safe; local race management company iaap for course set up, timing and results; and thanks to any drivers who were along the course for their patience as the police officers stopped them for we participants to cross intersections, go down various roads, etc. If I missed anyone, my apologies, thanks to everyone else involved.

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CuDqYjxgxeyEFjMNA

BEFORE MY START – My 3^rd race of 2022 was the Freedom Fighters 5K held on January 29 in Castroville, Texas, which is about a 31-mile drive from where I live in San Antonio. Freedom Fighters 5K is a celebration of our military and veterans. Start time of 9 a.m., so I got to sleep in a bit.  I was thankful for that because the temperature dipped to about 37 in the early Saturday morning hours – which is cold for we South Texans, lol.  By the time of race start, however, we had lots of sunshine, and no wind, and the temp had gone up a whopping 5 degrees to about 42.  Still chilly, but at least we had a nice day for it. I arrived with about 35 minutes to the start time, got my race packet, got myself ‘situated” and had just enough time to get a few photos before we started.  This was a fairly small event, with 67 finishers.  Timing and results done by local area race management company Athlete Guild.

ON THE COURSE – The event was held in Castroville’s city park.  The course was fairly flat with just one short up incline on the way out, followed by a short down incline. Since this was an out-and-back course, that became reversed, of course, on the way to the finish. We started on the paved park road which loops around the park grounds. We then exited the park into a nearby neighborhood, going to a turn-round point, and then back to the finish line the way we had come out.  Nicely thought-out course with wide roads and very little traffic.  I did my usual 8-minute run/2-minute walk thing – no more non-stop running for me these days, due to some arthritis – and took a few photos during my walk break.  Between the walk breaks and my after-effects from my cancer treatment I am currently receiving I ended up going pretty slowly, finishing in 40:05, averaging 12:56 per mile. Probably did not help my time either, lol,  when I did a couple of stops to treat a few dogs with the doggie treats that I carry with me when I go running.  What the heck, not like I am going to win anything, and I met my 3 goals: have fun, finish standing up, and no ambulance waiting for me at the finish.  All good!

AFTER MY FINISH: Got some water and did a short cool-down walk and then chatted with friends and got a few “happy finishers and supporters” photos, which did not take long as this was a pretty small race in number of participants.  Post-race goodies included boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts, and I did indulge in one. Since this was a smaller event, my age group was 60-99 male, so I was not even close to placing in it, as that group included  every ‘old guy’ there, loll, and some of them are pretty darn speedy.  No heartburn here, I never expect to win anything anyway. After I meet my main goals that I previously mentioned, anything after that is a bonus! I just enjoy running and doing races and being with my running and walking community people, old friends, current friends, and making new friends. I am definitely a ‘2F” runner – Fun and Finish.

Epilogue:   I have done this one before, so pretty much knew what to expect and it did not disappoint.  Very nicely organized, with a good course, lots of great people, and a nice goody back with a very nice quality race shirt. I would do this one again and recommend it to others.

MUCHO THANKS TO: Everyone that helped make this one happen for we participants; Athlete Guild, all the race sponsors, the ‘city powers’ that allowed us to have this live event, the police officer out on the course for our safety, all our volunteers, Race Director – I think it was Alli who was the race director for this one – and all the residents and drivers for their patience as we invaded their neighborhood for a short while. If I missed anyone, my apologies, thank you all so much, anyone involved.

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y2C7tBPLwY23tcJD9

BEFORE MY START – Race #2 of 2022 for me was the Winter Dragon 5K, held on Jan 23 at Pearsall Park in San Antonio.  The main event was a half marathon and there was also a 10K and a Kid’s Race. Start time for the half was 8 a.m., followed by the 10K at 8:05 a.m, and then the 5K at 8:10 a.sm. San Antonio had a ‘cold front blow into the area on Friday and Saturday, and the temps pretty much stayed in the upper 30s, which for we South Texans is cold, considering the temp was in the 60s just a couple of days before this, and the wind was crazy, which made it feel colder.  Race day Sunday got better, with a temp at race start times of 50 degrees, which is pretty much where it stayed the whole time, and no wind, which was a blessing. I the older I get the more I feel the cold – and the darn prostate cancer I am being treated for right now does not help either, I seem to feel the cold even more than I normally do –  so I had on a base layer with a shirt over that, and made sure to bring a dry shirt to change into after I finished. I arrived with about 40 minutes to go until my start time, picked up my packet, got my race bib on, and then got a few photos before my start.

ON THE COURSE – If you want to get in some MAJOR hill training, Pearsall Park, near Joint Base San Antonio Lackland Air Force Base is the place to me. The flat parts of this park are few.  These are no baby hills either.  The courses for all the events consisted of a combination of the paved trails and the off-road trails. For the 5K, we started from the main part of the park where the park pavilion, restrooms, an parking lots are located. We then went onto an off-road trail, flat for a bit, and the went down a very steep hill. Next, it was onto a portion of the paved trail for a while.  As we came up to where the water stop was, I saw runners ahead of me making a right turn and thought “Shoot” (well, it was another word that began with “S” but cleaned it up for the report) because I knew what was coming, as this turn would take us to a steep off-road trail that I had been on in previous events here.  And up we went.  But wait…we only went part way up this trail, which was pretty steep itself, and then made a right turn onto a whopper of an off-road trail. Good grief! Almost straight up. Once we got to the top of that, we made a right turn to go up  a VERY er steep trail composed of dirt and gravel..  At this point I was thinking my friend, Erik, the Race Director, had a warped sense of humor and a cruel streak in him. I thought for a moment about picking up a few pieces of that gravel to throw at him as I crossed the finish line. 😉  My second thought was “if this is the 5K course, I really feel sorry for the 10K and half people who must be getting bombarded with some of the even steeper trails in this park.” I walked most of the first part of this steep trail, and then did manage to run some of the second part.  We wound around the trail which took us back onto the trail we had initially turned on and went down the full-length of this trail – which is actually harder for me, because downhills are harder on my spinal arthritis than uphills are – and back to the water stop.  Here, we made a right turn, putting us back onto the paved trail, which took us to the 5K turn-round point. Then back to the finish the way we had originally come out – which meant that first steep downhill we had come out on was now an uphill for us on the way to the finish.  I did manage to run most of this last uphill. I FINALLY got to the finish line in 43:53 chip time, averaging 14:08 per mile. I’ll take it.   Happy to be done and I ended up 2^nd in my age group mainly because there were only 2 in my age group, lol. First guy in my age group finished in 36 minutes and change, jeez.  My friend Eli was first overall in the 5K in whopping speedy time of 22 minutes, with all those darn hill too, wowzer!

AFTER MY FINISH:  Got some water, did a cool-down walk, went back to my car and got into some dry shirts and then wandered around enjoying some of the post-race goodies – all participants got a nice plate of fajita chicken with assorted other items, and Shiner Bock and Alamo Beer had beer for finishers that wanted it – and chatted with friends and got some post-race photos.

Epilogue:  This is a challenging course.  Since I’ve done other events at Pearsall Park, I kind of knew what to expect.  With my ongoing treatment, I was not sure if my cancer doc would give me permission for a tough course like this, but he did. He is very supportive of me staying as active as possible through my treatment, telling me the better shape I was in, the better my body would handle things, and he also noted studies seem to show that active people may have have less side-effects than non-active people. He noted more and larger studies are needed, but those that have been done show good results. Well, yay then, and maybe it’s true, since for the most part I have had very mild side-effects. During radiation therapy portion of my treatment, I still managed to get seven 5Ks done during that time. Slow as molasses, but I got them done, lol.  This event is really well managed, with E-Dragon Productions – who are basically my friends Erik and Kristina – doing a great job, as usual. They put on several events during the year.  Local race management company iaap, one of the top racing companies in San Antonio, who also put on events – did their usual great job of timing and results.  Race packet is really nice, with a souvenir race medal in it, and very nice quality race shirt.      Really nice post-race food and drink goodies.  Tough course, but great satisfaction when you complete it.  I’d certainly recommend this one to other runners and walker who want a challenge and are physically able to handle this type of terrain.  It is probably not ideal for those with chair or baby-joggers, or disabilities that prevent steep climbs, both up-and-down.

MUCHO THANKS TO:  All the sponsors that supported this event; iaap for the timing, results, assisting with course set-up, and so forth; the San Antonio Park Police officers that were out there for us;  all the many volunteers that assisted with this one; e-Dragon Productions, of course, for providing well-organized events – even if you do find yourself swearing a little under your breath at them once in a while on the course 😉 –   and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FKmvtpx7vcLtp3xX8

BEFORE MY START – My 1^st event of 2022 was the La Cruda 5K held on January 1^st in Helotes,
Texas. Put on by Soler Sports, with timing and results by local race management company iaap, this event was founded by Race Director Tony Garcia and friends.  This event also happens to be held on Tony’s birthday.  This is a very popular event – the best New Years’ Day 5K in our local area – so had a really nice turn-out with 542 finishers.  The course started and finished in historic “Old Town” Helotes.  This event ha a very kind start time of 10 a.m., since New Year’s Eve is the day before, allowing people to sleep in a bit if they went out and celebrated the incoming year. The before-and-after finish area was a nice ‘garden-type’ area behind the building that used to be Soler Sports in Helotes. There were also a few businesses back here, such as a wine shop, an arts-and-crafts place, and others.  Old Town restroom was located here too, which was convenient, and there were also porta-potties, due to the large turn-out for this one. .  I arrived with about 45 minutes to go until start time and got a few pre-start photos.   As I was doing this, my friend Sally found me and gave me a ‘button” that a friend of hers had made, with a photo of me and my late running buddy Bernadette Beck – one of the first people I met in the running community when I moved to San Antonio, and we so many of the same local-area races for 27 years.  She was my “bestest” running friend and I loved her greatly. During the time of the illness that prevented her from being her active self and finally took her way too soon, at age 64, we talked every week on the phone. So thoughtful of Sally do to this, and when she first sent me a photo of it, my tears were flowing for sure. I wore the button the first time for this event and will wear it now in her memory and honor when I run, carrying my angel-friend with me in spirit. I miss her so much, especially at races, and find myself sometimes still looking around for her when I go to a race.  I thank God for my supportive wife, Gail, who has helped me so much in dealing with this. She is a very understanding woman, and I am so darn lucky to have had in my life two wonderful women like my wife, Gail, and my best friend, Bernadette, the woman I loved most in the world after my wife. May she rest in peace.

ON THE COURSE – We lined up on dirt-and-gravel off-road terrain and then proceeded through the start/finish chute onto a paved road.  We made a right turn that took us past a traffic circle and then went down a flat paved road to a turn-round point. I was feeling pretty good and did my usual 8-minute run/2-minute walk thing. I got to Mile 1 in in 11 minutes and change – way too fast start for me, and knew I was going to pay for that later on the hill part of the course. After making the turn-round, we came back the way we had come out. Back at the traffic circle, we made a left turn, went past the start/finish area, and then the hills began.  The first was a long down incline.  The second was a long uphill incline.  At the top of this, we made a left turn in front of a local church, proceeded down another hill, and then did a flat part of the course to our turn-round point. After the turn-round, we proceeded back the way we had come out.  This meant, of course, our downhill to the turn-round was now an uphill on the way back. The last part of the course on the main road that took us to the finish was a down incline, and then a last long uphill incline right before we made the turn to finish at the timing chute.  Very nicely though-out course, with very wide roads, so room for all, but dang, it sure does give you workout, lol.  As I expected from doing that first mile too fast, I paid for that by doing positive splits for Mile 2 and Mile 3. I ended up with a chip time of 39:02, averaging 12:34 per mile.   I’ll take it.  I am still being treated for my prostate cancer, so I am just happy I CAN still run.  This day was a good day, felt pretty well overall, ran fairly strong for me, had no issues, and thoroughly enjoyed myself, taking photos on my walk breaks and interacting with other participants along the way.  After I finished, I stood near the finish line and got a couple of photos of some of my personal friends and other participants coming in.

AFTER MY FINISH: – First thing, back into my dry shirt I had brought with me, and then get some water. Just sat for few minutes, relaxing and sipping my water and ‘draining”, lol, from the race. Then it was off to enjoy some goodies – I even allowed myself a beer today, I was feeling so good, and behaved myself, one post-race is my limit, per my doc.  Also enjoyed one of the Kiolbassa sausages that were being grilled up.   Then wandered around taking photos of the ‘happy finishers’, their supporters, volunteers, etc., chatting with friends and other participants, and enjoying the after-party.  My friend Sally also took a few moments to do a short ‘in memory” ceremonial for Bernadette – she was so well known in the running community, since she, like me, did so many races over the year, just about every weekend of the year.  All-in-all, this was a great way to start my running and racing year, with a top quality event, and “carrying’ Bernadette with me along the route. We all also paid tribute to race director, Tony, born this day long ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth – just kidding, Tony – with all the attendings singing Happy Birthday, and raising a glass to him. One of the best  ‘good guys’ around you could ever hope to meet, and I count it a great honor to be able to call him a personal friend.

Epilogue:  As noted, this is the best local area New Year’s Day 5K.   Very nicely thought-out course by Race Director Lisa Soler – another great person and personal friend – and one heck of an after-party.  Very nice quality race shirt; and finisher medal for all finishers – I do so many races, I have way too many medals, lol, so I gave mine to a couple who had pushed their little one in a stroller during the race, so the whole family would each have a medal.  A very nice relaxing venue for the post-race activities too. Lots of post-race goodies, water, beer, wine, various types of juices, fresh fruits – courtesy of another friend, Gilbert, who has the best fruits ever from his Farmer’s Market – and several types of freebie give-aways from various sponsors who had booths there.  If you are a local area runner or walker and have never done this one, you’re missing out!  Definitely give this one a try, you will not regret it. .    

MUCHO THANKS TO:   Race organizers Tony Garcia and Lisa Soler, and all their many volunteers that were out there for us for pre-race packet pickup and for all the race day activities. Thanks to all the sponsors supporting this event and to the local police officers out there for our safety. Thanks to our MC Anthony who did his usual great job, and thanks to our Sausage Griller and his crew for the great eats.  Also, many thanks to the Helotes residents and business owners in the race course area for their patience with 500+ crazy people- cuz you know, we runners and walkers really are crazy, lol; in a good way, of course – getting up and coming out to run or walk in their area. If I inadvertently missed anyone, my apologies, and thanks to all of you, also.

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bKmG5oD3EciPBYSU7

BEFORE MY START – My 48th race of 2021 was the Frosty Five 5K held on Dec 24 at 8 a.m. at Pearsall Park in San Antonio. This park long ago used to be a landfill, but the city renovated it into a very nice park with both paved sidewalk trails and off-road trails. It also has a LOT of hills – and not baby hills either – so a really good place to get in hillwork and a long run for those that want to do that. This event is a free event supporting Street2Feet, a walking/running training program for individuals experiencing homelessness, so several participants brought donations of gently used running/walking shoes, clothing and various other items and/or a donation to the cause, if preferred. Many of them live in the Haven For Hope facility in San Antonio. My friend Lana runs this program and does it quite well. There is also an annual ‘timed race’ 5K that is usually run in the downtown San Antonio area. Start time of 8 a.m. E-Dragon Productions, a really good local race management company, was the primary host for this event. They put on several good races over the course of the year from 5Ks up to half and full marathon distances. I do several of their events over the year. Before the start, I wandered around chatting with friends and getting some photos.

ON THE COURSE: The course had one off-road part, a trail going from the start and then down a large-and-steep hill that took us to the pavement trails in the park. Once on the pavement we went to a turn-round point, and then came back the same way we had gone out. This meant, of course, that the steep hill was now an uphill for us on the way to the finish line. Race directors can have a warped sense of humor, lol. I did manage to run the hill on the way to the finish. On the way out, after we started the 5K, I went down it at a very slow pace and walked a bit of it too, since downhills really pound my spinal arthritis back; unlike most runners, I much prefer an uphill to a downhill, lol. As usual, I did my 8-min run/2 minute walk method and took photos along my way. I surprised myself by actually doing pretty well for a slow old dog, in spite of the cancer treatment I am still dealing with. My garmin showed finish of 38:31, averaging 12:26 per mile, and Mile 3 for me, even with the uphill, was a negative split, nice. I’ll take it. After I finished, I stood near the finish line and got a few photos of some others coming in, many of whom I had run with on the course, off-and-on at various points.

AFTER MY FINISH: They had some nice post-race goodies, including my favorite type of cookie, oatmeal raisin. I scarfed down a couple of those real quick. Had brought my own water and zero-sugar Gatorade, so rehydrated with that. After a small time of ‘just relax for a few minutes after the run”, I then enjoyed chatting with friends and getting some post-race photos.

Epilogue: This is a very nicely done event, which I have done in the past. Lots of people in various holiday attire. A very nice course, pretty flat for the most part, with a few inclines and that large hill thrown in as a challenge, lol. Nice quality race shirt. Dog-friendly event too, which is nice. I made new doggie friends really fast when I handed out treats, lol.

MUCHO THANKS TO: All the sponsors of this event; our race hosts, E-Dragon Productions (my friends Kristine and Erik Burciaga, owners; they also do shirt-printing and they are the ones who do my “cancer” shirts for me; I love their work!); the park police officer that was out there for us; and, of course, all the volunteers that put this all together for us and were out there for us for packet pickup, getting everything set up, etc. Thanks also to anyone else involved that I may not have mentioned here. No event without all of you; you all rock!

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/x2tnsQMqHCvoTbJY7

BEFORE MY START:  My 47^th race of 2021 was the SJRC Jingle Bell 5K presented by Comal Independent School District.  Held in historic Gruene (pronounced GREEN), Texas, the event supported the.  This is a popular annual event, with a nice turnout this year of 697 participants. There was also a kids 1K event. There may have been some that did not show because the weather was a bit crappy; very overcast and temps in the 50s – not bad – but a cold wind was blowing really hard, making it feel much colder.  Brrr!  I did just about everything wrong, lol, getting to this event. First, I stupidly turned my alarm off went it rang; then about 15 minutes later my brain kicked in and said ‘get up, stupid, you have a 5K today.”  So then in a rush to get breakfast, feed my cats (6 of them), get my gear on, and get going.  I had read the day before the temp at 8 a.m. start time would be 68, so I wore a singlet; then, of course, when I got to Gruene, that darn cold wind was blowing. Thankfully, I had thought to bring an extra shirt to put on after the 5K, so I just put that one on over top of my singlet. Still chilly, but I was find during my run/walk. Also, with my late start from home, I was rushing around to get my  packet – the line for race day packet pickup was pretty long too, so that took a while – get my bib on, and get back to the start area, which took me a bit of time as I had to park way back in the lot since I arrived later than I wanted to. Finally, with about 10 minutes to go, I was in the start area, and managed to get a few photos before the 5K began.

ON THE COURSE:  For anyone who has done a 5K in Gruene, the course was the ‘usual’ one: Start across from historic Gruene Hall, make a right turn, then a short loop around a couple of streets, and then back onto the main avenue which took us past the mile mark and then a turn into a really nice residential area, where our only ‘hill’ was – an incline of about 6 inches elevation, lol.  We looped through this residential area and then back onto the main street we had started on, coming out onto that street that put us about a half-mile from the finish.  Going back to the start/finish area was challenging as we were now running straight into that 19 – 21 mph gusting wind, jeez.  Weather folks had called for scattered showers too, but thankfully it did not rain on us while we were on the course.  I did this one really slow – still having a few side effects from my cancer radiation treatments I recently finished – completing the 5K in 42:28, averaging a pretty slow 13:40 per mile.  Of course, it also probably did not help that, since I did not think I was going to win anything anyway, I made several more stops on the course than I usually do to chat and joke around with some other participants and to get a few extra photos, and I even made some dog-stops to give a treat or two to some of the dogs of the residents in the neighborhood we went through.  I also walked a bit more going into that darn headwind on the way back to the finish.   All that, of course, is not conducive to doing a speedy 5K, lol, but, what the heck, I had fun out there and enjoyed myself.

AFTER MY FINISH:  First stop – water!  Got some water, got a banana, relaxed a bit and enjoyed those – – ahhh, much better – then wandered around chatting with friends and other participants and getting some post-race photos, while waiting for the awards ceremony, as a speedy friend had asked me to get hers if she placed, since she had to leave right after she was done. Well, did not have to worry about that; after about 20 minutes or so after I finished, then the rain started coming in, and with that darn wind still blowing like crazy, it started to get pretty chilly.  The race organizers made an announcement that due to the weather being nutso – they did not put in those exact words, lol, but you got the gist – that instead of having everyone wait for an awards ceremony the results would be checked by the organizers and the overall and age group placers would get their medals in the mail.  After that, everyone cleared out pretty quickly – well, at least got to sit in their warm vehicles while the long parking lot lines slowly exited the area.  Being a member of the Y, I headed right over to the nearby New Braunfels YMCA, where I was able to take a nice hot shower – ahhhh, felt great – and then get into dry clothes, so AI did not have to drive home in my sweaty, wet stuff.  Very convenient.

Epilogue:   This really is a nice event that supports the SJRC Texas – formerly known as St. Judes Ranch for Children – a facility that cares for children and families traumatized by “ trauma, abuse and neglect”.  I take this one personally, as I have had a couple of family members who have been involved in situations like this, so I try to do this event whenever I can and have been a participant for the last several years.   The cause is a serious one, of course, but the event is also a fun one to do, with people – and dogs too, sometimes, this is a dog friendly event – in various types of costumes, Santa Clause and his elves are at the event too, and post-race goodies include sausage wraps, beer, various other drinks (water, energy drinks, etc) and a wide variety of nutrition bars, bananas, and other goodies. The race shirt is a nicely done long-sleeved shirt.  Course is nice too, pretty flat for just about all the way, so a good course to shoot for a 5K PR for those inclined to do so.  Definitely will continue to do this one in the future as long as I am able and would recommend it to others.

MUCHO THANKS TO:   Thanks so much for COMAL ISD for hosting this event, and to all the many sponsors, volunteers, and others who made this one happen for all we participants. Thanks to all the police officers who were out there on the course for our safety, having to stand in that darn wind until the last finisher was done. Much thanks to the Athlete Guild folks who did the course setup, timing, results, etc, and thank to the patience of all the residents of the housing our course took us through; there were actually several residents who came out to cheer us all on, very nice; a very friendly neighborhood area.   A very enjoyable outing, in spite of that wind.