Author Archives: Scott D.
REVIEW: REVEL CANYON CITY HALF MARATHON
Run on Canyon City!
RACE: REVEL Canyon City Half Marathon
DATE: November 15, 2014
LOCATION: Azusa, CA
DISTANCES: Half Marathon/Full Marathon
START TIME: 7:00am
WEATHER AT START: 54° Partly Cloudy (Half Marathon)/ 38° Partly Cloudy (Full Marathon)
FINISHERS: 888 Half/ 625 Full
Time to REVEL and to run!
This was the inaugural running of the REVEL Canyon City Marathon/Half Marathon, the latest race in the new REVEL race series that also included REVEL Rockies (in July) and REVEL Big Cottonwood (in September).
AVENGERS SUPER HEROES & LAS VEGAS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HALF MARATHONS: POST MORTEM
Hi Everyone,
Sorry for the delay in these post mortems. This past weekend was a blur of running and travel and it’s taken me just a bit to catch my breath… both figuratively and literally.
And I’ll be “blogging poetic” about this past weekend for the next week or two, as there are plenty of stories to tell.
It really was the craziest and most fun weekend of racing I’ve ever done.
I’ve already “post mortemed” about my first race of last weekend, the REVEL Canyon City Half Marathon; you can read about it here.
So, here are chapters 2 & 3 of my running trilogy. Read the rest of this entry
REVEL CANYON CITY HALF MARATHON: POST MORTEM
Hey Everyone,
REVEL bling!
So, the first leg of my crazy half marathon “trifecta” is in the books.
This morning I ran the inaugural REVEL Canyon City Half Marathon.
And I had a blast.
Meeting up with several of my running friends, we trekked down the San Gabriel Mountains in Angeles National Park on a beautiful fall morning.
I have to admit it was rather difficult to rein things in and not pick up my pace as I made my way down the mountain. I had planned to run an 11:30 pace, but came in at 11:00 min/mile (guess my tortoise pace had a little hare in it after all).
But I felt at ease and not tired at all as I crossed the finish line and grabbed a neat piece of race bling. Read the rest of this entry
REVEL CANYON CITY HALF MARATHON EXPERIENCE: HANGING AT THE EXPO
Hey Trippers!
So, my crazy “3 half marathons in 33 hours” weekend has officially arrived.
Race outfits are laid out and ready to rock; bags are packed for Anaheim & Las Vegas; GPS and iPod shuffle are charged and primed. As am I.
First up is the inaugural REVEL Canyon City Half Marathon in Azusa, CA kicking off tomorrow morning at 7am.
But today, I was at the race expo in Monrovia. And not only did I pick up my race bib/shirt, but I also volunteered for a shift handing out tech shirts/swag bags to the racers. It was a lot of fun gabbing with the other runners and helping them get their race prep on.
Here’s some images from the expo:
Let’s get ready for the Canyon City Cha-Cha!
Run on!
COORDINATING CONUNDRUM…
When it comes to prepping for a race, I do have a bit of runner’s OCD… okay, heaps and heaps of OCD. Just ask my girlfriend.
Just packing a few items.
The night before a race my inner “Rainman” comes out as I make certain I have a place for everything and everything is in its place.
My clothing is strategically laid out (with my bib already attached) and all of my racing necessities are assembled like a running survival kit.
It’s quite a sight to behold… in a funny/mildly disturbing way. And from what I hear from my fellow running friends, I’m not alone in my race prep obsessiveness (crazy loves company).
With that in mind, this weekend’s festivities (3 races in 33 hours in 2 different states) should be something bordering on a Benny Hill skit (for those of you sadly not in the know of Benny Hill, you can insert the Three Stooges or Marx Brothers… please tell me you know them). Read the rest of this entry
BRING THE TORTOISE, LEAVE THE HARE…
Tortoise vs. Hare. One of Aesop’s classic fables about how slow and steady can indeed win the race.
Wanna race?
For a competitive guy like me (big surprise, I know), my default speed is “full tilt boogie.”
Mind you, when it comes to racing, my boogieing full tilt still means I’m finishing in the middle of the pack… but maybe just a little more to the front of the middle than normal.
I like to test myself, to see exactly what my limits are and find out how I can push beyond them.
So, obviously it can be a bit difficult to purposely take my foot off the gas… even when it is the wisest move. Read the rest of this entry
BRING ON THE CRAZY!
Let’s do it!
When I first planned out my races for 2014, I decided to undertake an incredibly ambitious schedule.
I was going to run 14 half/full marathons in 2014. “14 in 2014″… get it?
Well, as the races started adding up and falling into place schedule wise, I saw that one weekend in particular was going to be a tad challenging… perhaps even a wee bit insane.
On the weekend of Nov. 15th- 16th, I was going to be running not one, not two, but three half marathons. That’s 39.3 miles of racing in just 33 hours (and in two different states). Read the rest of this entry
WINNER: THE BIG SQUEEZE STRIKES AGAIN
Hi Trippers!
Squeezy squeezy!
Thanks to everyone who entered “The Big Squeeze Strikes Again” contest. And whether you put your socks on left foot or right foot first (or for the life of you can’t remember) we all manage to get dressed eventually.
Drum roll please.
The winner of a FREE pair of PRO Compression marathons socks or calf sleeves:
Katie Gehrand
Congratulations and here’s wishing everyone comfy calves in their next race.
And for those of you who didn’t win, you can still score 40% off at the PRO Compression website. At checkout just enter the code: BLG14
And be sure to check in to Tripping The Kenyans later this week as I prepare for my journey to run 3 half marathons in 33 hours.
Run on!
CONTEST: THE BIG SQUEEZE STRIKES AGAIN
Hi Trippers!
Get your squeeze on!
I hope everyone had a good Halloween weekend and enjoyed that extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning (sometimes it’s nice just to “fall back”).
It’s time for another giveaway at Tripping The Kenyans and it’s a good one.
The fine folks at PRO Compression want to deck you out with a FREE pair of marathon compression socks or calf sleeves.
I started wearing PRO Compression calf sleeves during races and the marathon compression socks afterward for speedier recovery. And it’s really helped me bounce back quicker. Read the rest of this entry
YOU CAN LEARN A LOT IN 5 MILES…
Hey Trippers!
My smaller running group today… and I’m perfectly hidden in this photo.
Today was a short 5-mile run with the T2 gang. And attendance was a little light because a bunch of runners were off doing other races, including some of my friends running the New York City Marathon tomorrow (Good luck gang).
As a result, our pace group “Road Kill” was unusually small: only 5 people, instead of the normal 15-20, trekking today through Griffith Park during intermittent rain.
By all estimates, it should have been a very basic and forgettable run.
Not at all… it was a very memorable run. But not because of the run, but because of the conversation I had with a teammate.
I spent the majority of the run getting to know Jason (not a new T2 runner, but a new runner to our particular pace group) and his story is nothing short of awe inspiring. Read the rest of this entry
DEFERMENT DILEMMA
Call it in the air!
When the coin is tossed before a football game, the team that wins the toss has to decide if they want to receive the opening kickoff and go right on offense. The other option is to “defer” and wait to get the ball to start the second half. Deferment is considered by many coaches as an effective game strategy.
And the same can hold true for running races.
Sometimes it’s a good idea to defer and run another day.
Obviously if you’re injured, taking the time off to heal is the right prescription every time.
But there are other reasons to defer a race.
And this fall I’ve deferred races. Not once, not twice, but thrice.
In August I deferred the Madison Half Marathon; in September it was the Ventura Half Marathon; and yesterday I deferred the Santa Barbara Half Marathon (technically I transferred SB to another racer, but it’s the same principle). Read the rest of this entry
REVIEW: LA ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HALF MARATHON ’14
RACE: Los Angeles Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon
DATE: October 26, 2014
LOCATION: Downtown Los Angeles
DISTANCES: Half Marathon/5K
START TIME: 7:00am
WEATHER AT START: 61°/ Partly Cloudy
FINISHERS: 7762 (Half Marathon)/ 1264 (5K)
This year marked the 5th running of the LA Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon as thousands of costume-clad Angelenos lined the streets near the Staples Center for a pre-Halloween romp through the city streets. Read the rest of this entry
WINNER: CANYON CITY CHA-CHA
Hi Trippers!
Less than three weeks away!
A big round of thanks to all of you who entered the “Canyon City Cha-Cha” contest.
I’m looking forward to running down the mountains near the Angeles National Forest and into the foothills of Azusa. And I can’t wait to see which of you gets to join the festivities “for free.”
So without further ado… okay, maybe just a little more ado. Ado. Ado. Enough?
The winner of a FREE entry into the REVEL Canyon City Marathon/Half Marathon is:
Christine Rodenbo
For those of you who didn’t win, you can still save some bills on registration. Each of you is eligible to save up to $10 on November 15th’s inaugural running of the REVEL Canyon City Marathon/Half Marathon.
LA ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HALF MARATHON EXPERIENCE: POST MORTEM
…and we’re off!
Just a beautiful morning for a run in downtown Los Angeles.
Over 9,000 runners (many clad in costumes) took to the streets for the LA Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon/5K.
I caught the Metrorail at Universal City in the wee hours this morning and rode it down to the Staples Center, chatting the whole way with several energetic (and sleep deprived) runners.
As my third race in as many weeks (Long Beach Half on Oct. 12 and Santa Monica RunFEST on Oct. 19), I wasn’t certain how I’d approach this one. I struggled at Long Beach and had a good run at Santa Monica.
And with an uber-busy running November just around the corner, I really just wanted to have a solid race and a fun time. Read the rest of this entry
LA ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HALF MARATHON EXPERIENCE: EXPO TO GO
Hi Trippers… or should I say “boo”!
Halloween may not be until next Friday, but I’ll be running scary (and wearing pumpkin orange…just the color, not actually dressing up as a pumpkin) this Sunday for the LA Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon.
I spent Friday afternoon walking through the expo at the LA Convention Center gathering my bib, tech shirt (ugh, it’s a white shirt) and some various running swag. A fun time, as always.
Just a few photo highlights for you to peruse:
We’re looking at good running weather for Sunday morning… 60 degrees and partly cloudy as we all scamper past the Staples Center, loop around the Colosseum and run through the streets of downtown LA.
Have a great weekend and a “post mortem” will be coming on Sunday to let you know how things go.
Run on!
Tripping The Kenyans 