Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HvpV9FKvrZ8LVUEL7

BEFORE MY START:   My 12^th race of 2022 was the Prickly Pear 5K on Sunday, March 12 at McAllister Park in San Antonio, put on by the San Antonio Road Runners. .  This was my 2^nd race of the weekend after doing the Helotes Beer Garden 5K the day before this one.  There was also a 50K and a 15K.  The 50K started at 6 a.m., the 15K at 8 a.m, and the 5K at 8:30 a.m, so I got to sleep in a bit, even if we did have to set our clocks forward on Sunday morning for Daylight Savings Time. McAllister Park is conveniently about a 3-mile drive from my house. I arrived with a little over 30 minutes to go for the 5K start, so got to see the 15K folks get started.  The 50K folks were long gone by then.  I had already picked up my packet the day before so I was able to chat with friends and get a few photos before the 5K start.  By the way, it was darn cold too.  Mother Nature once again brought in cold weather for our weekend racing.  We had plenty of sunshine and no wind, thank goodness, but that darn ‘feels like 33’ temp at the start of the 5K – BRRR!  I can’t imagine what the 50K folks must have been dealing with at 6 a.m. with no sunshine, and probably even a colder temp.

ON THE COURSE – All the events were trail runs. Since I live so close to this park, I run in it a lot and am familiar with both the park’s off-road paved trails and the natural trails. The start was in a dead-end parking lot directly across from the restroom area near the Optimist Pavilion in the park, near some soccer fields. We started on the parking lot pavement for less than a minute and then were on the natural trails, passing a playground area on our right. I did not look up the 5K route before race day but after we got started and made a left turn to go in the direction of the golf driving range that is next to the park, I was pretty sure then what the route would be, and it’s a pretty tough course with quite a few rocky areas along the way on the trails, and single-track trail most of the way, so not much maneuvering room.  After the ‘start trail’ we came out onto the paved off-road trail and went down a steep, short hill to near the golf driving range that was ahead, on our right. We were not on the pavement long. A left turn took us back onto another trail, which we followed and then crossed over a part of the paved trail and got onto another trail. Jones Maltsberger Road was on our right. Following this trail, we crossed over one of the park roads, then back onto trail, crossed another park paved road, and then headed on a trail that took us onto another small portion of the paved trail.  This took us past the police substation near the park, where we accessed yet another trail. From this point, it was pretty much trail all the way with going by the ‘dam’ on our right, then on a trail that took us near the youth baseball field on our left. We proceeded on this trail until we came out on the paved road just up the road from the lower soccer fields adjacent to a large parking lot . Crossing this street, we were on pavement again, turning left, passing a small pavilion area on our right, then back into the parking lot area, right turn, and across the finish line.  Challenging course, and for a slow guy like me, really could not pick up any speed. Also, of course, being the klutz that I am, it would not be an official trail run for me without a fall, lol, and I took that tumble a short ways past mile 2.  Thankfully, since I run so much in this park, I am well-practiced, lol, in how to fall, so no harm done, just two minor scrapes on my knee.  Surprisingly, I finished 5^th out of 12 in my male 60-69 age group, with a chip time of 47:55.  The first guy in my age group finished in 30 minutes and change; how he kept that pace on those rocky trails, wow…way to go.

AFTER MY FINISH:  Thankfully I had brought some warm stuff to change into after my 5K, so that was the first order of business, get this wet stuff off in this cold air. After getting comfortable again, I enjoyed some post-race Kiolbassa sausage wrap and some post-race goodies, courtesy of the vendors/sponsors. There was a variety of various nutrition bars, chips, crackers, etc. and even beer nice.  Enjoyed post-race chatting with lots of friends and getting some post-race photos.  Since there were 3 events for this one, finishers from the various races were coming in off-and-on for the whole time I was there. I heard our MC announce that the Top 6 people for the 50K finished in 4 hours and change, wow.  I don’t think dogs were allowed on the courses for this one, but it was a dog-friendly event for the before-and-after; several doggies there and they were quite happy to see me, lol with my doggie treats.  

Epilogue –   A very nicely done 5K. It was a bit of a challenging course, but also an enjoyable one, especially as the participants I was near at any given moment chatted with each other, encouraged each other on, and general participant camaraderie, nice. I can’t speak for the 50K and the 15K, but hopefully those participants enjoyed their outings too.  I would do this one again – hopefully without a tumble this time, but I doubt it :p – and would recommend it to others.  I would also recommend Mother Nature clean her act up and give us better weather next time, lol.  Very nice finisher medal, unique age group award for those placers, and a really nice quality race tee. If you have not done this one before – I did once before a few years ago – give it a try, you might find you enjoy some trail running or walking.

MUCHO THANKS TO:  All the people that made this one happen for us: San Antonio Roadrunners and all their volunteers out there for us;  Park police out there for our safety on the park roads we crossed over; all the many sponsors, vendors, and others who supported the event; our MC, Anthony Zamora, who did his usual great job; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much!       

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6wW7s1KzNTCcf29x5

BEFORE MY START:  My 11^th race of 2022 was the Helotes Beer Garden 5K held on March 12 in Helotes Texas, – Old Town Helotes, the historic part of this little city. Put on by Soler Sports – Race Director Lisa Soler – this is a very popular event that features several breweries post-race and free samples of their wares, and several other kinds of vendors.  The event had a very nice turn-out for a cold morning, with 622 total finishers. And a cold morning it was.  After a pretty mild weather week, Mother Nature once again sent us a weekend cold blast.  Temp at the start was in the upper 30s, which is cold for we South Texans, and considering that on Thursday when I did a training run it was 74 degrees. Crazy Texas weather. Thankfully, we had a bright day with lots of sunshine and no wind so that helped. I dressed in a few layers and brough a dry base-layer shirt to change into post-race. Race start time of 8 a.m.  The staging area was in a grassy area alongside of Old Bandera Road just a bit down from where the old Soler Sports store used to be.  I arrived with about 30 minutes to go to start time and got a few photos before I peeled off my outer layers and was ready to go at start time. The race started exactly on time at 8:30 a.m. 

ON THE COURSE – The usual course for this event was not used since some closures of those streets this year was not allowed. Thus the route we took had us exiting the off-road field area and then making a right turn onto Old Bandera Road.  We went up to a traffic circle, did a loop around that and headed back onto Old Bandera Road. We then proceeded down a long incline/hill, and then it was uphill to just short of being in front of the El Chapparal restaurant. We did a turn-round at some cones and then back the way we had come out. We reached the traffic circle for a second time where we made a right turn, proceeding on this road (I forget the name of it) that took us past a school and a church.  When we reached a turn-round on this road, we went back the way we had come out.  Back at the traffic circle again, this time making a right turn and heading down towards Highway 16 (I think it’s highway 16) to another turnround  Then back to that darn traffic circle –  which I think I can describe by heart now, lol – and then onto Old Bandera Road again, taking the same route we had started out on -going down that first incline, then up again to the turn-round near El Chapparal, and then back to the start/finish line.  We had 5 total turn-rounds on this course.  It sounds pretty boring, but actually it was not at all. I actually liked this course better than the original one.  A couple of the hills were a long climb, but not as steep as the original course, and the good news about all these turn-rounds is you see a lot more of your fellow runners and friends along the way, which made the participant camaraderie really great, with lots of cheering each other on.  I behaved this time and took all my walk breaks (because of this darn spinal arthritis, can’t run nonstop anymore) and even a couple extra ones to get a couple more photos.  I ended up with a chip time of 39:50, 14^th out of 19 in my 60 – 69 age group and met my 2 primary race goals: finish standing up and no ambulance waiting for me at the finish.  Anything I get after that – age group award, finisher medal, whatever – is a bonus, lol.

AFTER MY FINISH – One heck of a party after the event. It kind of reminded me of the Scallywompus after-parties, but a bit on a smaller scale. It was really nicely done. I got out of my wet shirts and put my dry ones on and then had a wonderful time wandering around, taking photos, sampling some goodies, and chatting with friends.  I finally left around 11 a.m. and the party was still going pretty strong. As noted, this is a very popular annual 5K.  

Epilogue – Very nicely done by Race Director Lisa Soler, Soler Sports, all her volunteers, and iaap with the timing and results. The age group awardees got a really nice placer medal. Very nice quality tech-tee race shirt too.  Several people also wore costumes for this event – I believe there was a costume contest – and some of them were quite inventive and very amusing. Besides all the breweries representing their products, there were also many other booths with various kinds of goodies and there was a food truck on location too that was doing a pretty brisk business.  As for the course, as noted, I actually like this one better than the original; it seems more ‘user-friendly’ and appeared to me to get more participants interacting with each other with all those out-and-backs and turn-rounds. I would definitely recommend this race to others and most certainly will do it again myself. MUCHO THANKS TO:  All the people that made this one happen for us: Lisa Soler, Soler Sports and all the many volunteers and people involved with laying out the course, packet pickups, etc.; the police officers (I think there were two) on the course for our safety; iaap for the timing and results; all the sponsors and vendors involved who donated /were out there for us – including the Top Sponsor, Stout House of Helotes, where pre-race day packet pickup was; a nice place to go, very friendly environment with very friendly staff;  our music and sound guys, and our MC; and anyone else I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much!      

Photos are here:

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

BEFORE MY START: My 10^th race, and 2^nd race of the March 5-6 weekend, was the LFR Memorial 5K Run held on March 6 in Shavano Park. This race was in memoriam of Lisa Starr Rosenstein (LFR), who passed away on May 2, 2021 in a tragic hit and run accident while out on her morning run. The course was held in Shavano Park as this was her neighborhood where the tragedy occurred.  Race start time of 8 a.m., with the start and finish from the grounds of a local Shavano Park business building just down from the corner of Lockhill Selma and De Zavala Road. A nice turnout for this inaugural event, as 400+ registered. There was also a nice turnout of  employees/police officers and firefighters/EMTs from the Shavano Park Police Department and the fire department. There was a pre-start ceremony with speakers that included Lisa’s father, if I remember correctly, and also Mayor Nirenberg.  The weather cooperated for us – no cold and no rain, but we did have a bit of wind, with overcast skies, 65-degree temp and humidity around 77%. I arrived on-site with about 45 minutes to go and got a few pre-start photos.   

ON THE COURSE – Out-and-back course. From the building where we started, we turned right out of the parking lot and went about 1/10 of a mile up to the corner of Lockhill Selma and De Zavala Road.  We turned right on De Zavala, proceeding down a hill, then up a hill, turning right into one of the Shavano Park neighborhoods. This is a very nice neighborhood with wide streets, really nice homes, and lots of room for everyone.  We wound around the streets in this area, going to our turn-round point and then came back the way we had come out.  This course has a bit of everything; small incline to Dezavala starting out; downhill and then uphill to the turn into the neighborhood; both flat places and inclines on the way to the turn-round point and back from it; and then downhill-and-uphill on De Zavala as we headed back to the finish. As we turned into the finish to head to the chute, we also climbed a very short incline – kind of like going up a ramp for the disabled – just before we got to the finish line. This is a very well-thought-out course laid out for us by Tony Garcia, and included a bit of everything, lol.  After doing the day before this one a 5K that also included some hills, my legs were feeling this one, lol.  So I just took kind of relaxed for this one and took a couple more walk breaks than I usually take to get a few more photos. I ended up with a chip time of 41:09, 8^th out of 16 in my 60-69 males group. I might have finished faster, but the people pushing baby joggers on the course refused to give me a ride when I asked. 😉  All good though; I met my two primary goals – finish standing up and no ambulance specifically waiting for me at the finish. 😊   After I finished, I got a few finish photos of some others on the course I’d been interacting with.

AFTER MY FINISH – Got some water and enjoyed a post-race bagel. Had a nice chat with two EMT techs at the event while enjoying my goodies, and we shared some stories and laughs. Then I wandered around getting a few more post-race photos and chatting with other participants.  The wind really started kicking up too, after we finished.  So glad that did not happen while we were on the course! Anyway, lots of smiles, lots of goodies, lots of laughs and – as my running friends who have known me for a while can tell you – lots of photos taken.

Epilogue – This 5K had a really nice turnout for an inaugural event. I don’t know if everyone who registered showed up, but there was a really nice crowd of both runners and walkers. The course, as noted previously, was really done well, very participant friendly as far as the route and space for everyone to maneuver, and a really nice area to be in. From my viewpoint, everything seemed to go very smoothly. I don’t know if this will become an annual event but I sure hope so, it is really a very nicely done 5K. Very nice quality tech-tee race shirt and a nice medal for all finishers. Race Director Lisa Soler and her crew of people helping her organize this one really did a fantastic job. 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; Lisa Soler/Soler Sports and her crew for getting this one all put together; the people at Crossfit Optimistic, where pre-race day packet pickup was held; Tony Garcia for the course; and all the police officers, firefighters, and EMTs who supported this one; and, of course, to Lisa’s family members, who were a big part of this one; and so so sorry for your loss. . If I missed anyone involved, my apologies.  Thanks to everyone who made this one happen for we participants!      

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZsydmbsXjf6aSzr49

BEFORE MY START:  My 9^th race of 2022 was the Chocoholic Frolic held on Saturday, March 5, 2022 at the grounds of River City Community Church.  This venue, long ago, used to be the Verizon Amphitheater grounds where concerts and various other functions were held. I saw Aerosmith in concert here, way back when. Race start time of 9 a.m. Weather was cloudy/overcast and pretty windy, with a temp of 65 degrees at the start time. Forecasters predicted it might drizzle on us a bit, but that did not happen.  After we started the sun actually came out, making for a warm, humid run/walk.  I arrived with about 45 minutes to go until start time and got a few pre-start photos.

ON THE COURSE – The 5K started exactly on time. We ran on asphalt surfaces, with the route taking us on a kind of winding course through the church parking areas. We started near the amphitheater on the grounds.  Our first mile took us down a long but not-too-steep hill.  We then made a turn onto one of the parking areas and did a little winding around that.  This took us out to one of the church parking lot access roads. After going along this road we made a turn and did an out-and-back on another road. Going to the turn-round we went right into a wind that was gusting off-and-on – like a big invisible hand pushing against your face; made for some tough running at times. This would be the way it was for just about all the course, as we threaded around the church parking lots and access roads, sometimes with the wind at our backs, sometimes with it right in our faces. Even so, I was just happy it was not cold; I am not a fan of cold weather and this was the first race I did not have to dress in layers, after doing for 4 weeks in a row before this race, 4 weekend 5Ks that had temps of around 37 degrees at the start. Yeah, give me this 65-degrees anytime over that cold stuff. I felt pretty good the whole way and did my usual run/walk thing, taking photos during my walk breaks. I don’t go fast, averaging about 12 – 13 minutes per mile. Used to be faster (10 min miles) but this prostate cancer treatment (radiation, injections, etc) I am currently getting has slowed my body down a bit as I deal with it. So, slow or not, just happy I can be out here at all. For this one, I was on track to finish at around 37 minutes; but along the last half-mile there were a few horses with their colts along the way, watching us proceed along, so I took a couple extra walk breaks to get photos.  These were horses penned near the local Retama Horse Racing stadium, so I wonder if, as race horses, they were watching us and thinking “Huh, these humans THINK they are running” lol.  Anyway, extra stops affected by time, but what the heck, I had fun, and I met my two primary goals when I do a race:  finish standing up and no ambulance waiting for me at the finish. I ended up with at time of 39:10, averaging 12:34 per mile.  After I finished, I stood near the finish line and got a few photos of others coming in.

AFTER MY FINISH – Got some water and enjoyed a post-race Krispy Kreme chocolate donut, and just relaxed for a few minutes.  After that, enjoyed wandering around, chatting with friends, and getting some ‘after’ photos.  No age group awards for this one, awards to the overall finishers, if I remember correctly.  I was surprised they did not have awards for the Masters overall winners too, but I don’t think they did. I may be mistaken on that, though.  Anyway, enjoyed my post-race time with current friends and made new friends; lots of smiles and fun for me.

Epilogue – They had a pretty nice turn-out for this one. I’m not sure how many actual finishers there were, but it was quite a large crowd at the start line. I am estimating maybe anywhere between 100 – 300 participants. Very nice finisher for this one and a very nice long-sleeved zip-up pullover shirt too. I would do this one again and would recommend it to others.

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; Race Roster for the timing and results; Mary, our contact person for this event and I think the overall Race Director; the pro photographers out there taking race photos – much better than mine,  I am sure, lol – and our race director Tony Garcia, who gave us a new course route this year which, in my opinion, is mucho better than the old one, so I hope they keep using this one. If I missed anyone involved, my apologies.  Thanks to everyone who made this one happen for we participants!     

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.