Author Archives: Scott D.
GOING NOWHERE FAST
On the fast track to nowhere.
After an obligatory rest day following the New Year’s Race half marathon, I hit the gym this morning excited for a maintenance run and a little speed work.
Now I can hear some of you out there saying, “Wait, you went to the gym to run? You don’t actually run on a treadmill do you?”
Yes, yes I do.
“So you must live in the Northeast where it’s currently -4 trillion degrees and wooly mammoths are roaming free. That’s why, right?”
SMILE AND SAY “CHEESY!”
Now that’s a camera!
An e-mail showed up in my inbox today that simultaneously filled me with excitement and dread.
“Race photos are ready for your review.”
NOTE: I’m not talking about the millions of smartphone pics and selfies snapped pre/during/post race by runners that will end up as Facebook or Instagram posts. That is a blog for another day. Today, I’m talking about the photos taken by the “pros.”
I ran the New Year’s Race half marathon on Saturday and the fine folks at Marathon Foto (one of the main race photo services) were on hand, snapping away like there was no tomorrow. And now those Kodak moments were primed for my perusal.
You see, deep down everyone wants a formal memento of their race experience. This is something you trained weeks or even months for and that moment is finally happening. How cool would it be to have a professional image of your accomplishment captured and framed for all to see… that iconic pose of you running triumphantly along the street and displaying perfect racing form.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? And it is, in theory.
RACE REVIEW: LA ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HALF MARATHON (10/27/13)
Trick or Bling!
The LA Rock ‘n’ Roll series hosted its 4th annual race this past weekend in downtown LA, featuring a Half-marathon and Mini-marathon (3.5 mile untimed run). Taking place on Halloween weekend, the race definitely brought out some wonderful costumes. I saw everything from a guy riding an ostrich, to several participants of Mario Kart and a plethora of superheroes (DC and Marvel). My hat is off to the lady sporting the Milla Jovovich “Leeloo” tape outfit from THE FIFTH ELEMENT…beware of chafing. The officials said there were 13,000 people running, although according to results board the half marathon had about 7300 finishers. The weather was overcast, but not too cold…actually really good running conditions. Here’s my review about the race’s various components…enjoy!
RACE REVIEW: HOLIDAY HALF MARATHON (1/15/13)
Snowflake bling!
‘twas ten days before Christmas and all through the race, the runners flashed smiles… no matter their pace.
For those of us who want to get in a last race before Christmas & New Year’s Eve, the Holiday Half Marathon is a good option. The weekend includes a 5K run/walk and kids fun run on Saturday, culminating with a half marathon on Sunday morning. Centered at the Fairplex in Pomona, the half marathon included about 6300 runners, many showing their holiday spirit. Runners clad in red and green dominated the field, many wearing the free Santa hats and jingle bells given out with your bib. Others donned elf ears and some (myself included) sported a pair of reindeer antlers hoping to run like Rudolph. One other thing of note was the inclusion of the Students Run LA group, which was comprised of thousands of runners. The SRLA group started 30 minutes after the other runners, but some of those speed demons still caught the main pack.
RACE REVIEW: NEW YEAR’S RACE (1/4/14)
New Year’s bling!
“Should old acquaintance be forgot”… now run! 2014 (the year of the horse, in case you’re wondering) is upon us. And it’s time to make immediately good on that resolution to run more and work off those holiday treats. The New Year’s Race (Half Marathon and 5K) takes place the first Saturday of the New Year and to make things even more interesting, it’s a nighttime jaunt starting in downtown Los Angeles. Last year’s race was the inaugural event and like all first year races, was plagued by a few course and organizational hiccups (aka growing pains). This year’s race featured 5,370 runners (1656 for the 5K and 3714 for the half Marathon) all raring to get 2014 rocking.
RUNNING WITH RODENTS
Putting my hands in the air, apparently like I just don’t care.
The other day I talked about the importance to me of starting a race with a great song. Well, I just finished my mix for tonight’s race and my “go to” song for the New Year’s half marathon will be “White Dress” by Parachute. The lyrics don’t mean much, but it has a great beat and it actually popped up in a dream of mine… yeah, sometimes it’s better not to ask.
But as I kill time waiting to get ready for tonight, I wanted to toss in an addendum and chat briefly about one song that appears on every one of my mixes. It is also the song that appears in my “last three mile” mix that I use when I’m hurting or need an extra push.
Now most people would think that the choice would be easy. Pick my favorite song of all time and crank it loud. Nope.
Or choose one that sends a perfect running message, say like Manfred Mann’s aptly titled song “Runner.” Again, you’d be wrong.
THE “NIGHT BEFORE” GEAR PREP
Dressed for success.
Tomorrow is my first race of 2014, the New Year’s half marathon in LA. That means tonight I get to go through my “night before race day” gear preparation. To non-runners who witness this ritual, it must seem like I’m experiencing an OCD episode combined with demonic possession. But to those of us who regularly run, the race prep is a sacred rite and part of the whole race experience.
Like the baseball players who don’t shave their beards during the playoffs or the football fans who refuse to wash their lucky jersey during a win streak (yuck), runners have their own superstitions or specific way of doing things that needs to be embraced… or at least tolerated.
MY TEACHER
Scott Boliver smiling, as always.
A few days ago I wrote about why I run, but I purposely left out one important detail, so I could write about it today. January 3rd marks the one-year anniversary of the passing of the man who was my running coach, my mentor and my friend.
On this day I want to tell you about Scott Boliver. I want to tell you about the man who taught me to run.
As I mentioned before, back in the fall of 2008 I was a lost soul looking for something to call his own. I signed up with the AIDS Marathon training program looking to re-invent myself and do something I considered impossible. When I showed up at Griffith Park for that very first training run, however, I wondered if I had the personal strength and dedication to see it through.
Then I met Scott… Coach Scott.
NAME THAT TUNE
Have music, will travel.
When it comes to running, the topic of music can lead to some heated discussions. Some runners refuse to listen to music, while others can’t take a step without first cranking their iPods to 11 and dialing up their own personal soundtrack (cue the theme to ROCKY). Music is a running subject that I plan to visit again in the coming months.
As for me, I have done runs without music and my iPod shuffle has also died on more than one occasion during a race. But when I hit the road solo or run a race, I prefer to listen to music. And I make a new music mix for each race (that’s my running OCD showing itself a little).
EXPOS EXPOSED
Bibs, T-shirts and running stuff galore… just ahead.
On Saturday, I’ll be running my first half marathon of 2014. But before I can attempt to PR, heck before I can even head to the start line or lace up my shoes, I’ve got to take care of the first important part of the race experience… the runners’ expo.
And I love it.
Imagine all of the enthusiasm and anticipation (and swag) for a race stuffed into one place; that’s what a good expo represents. The great thing is that everyone who goes to a runners’ expo is either a racer or racer tagalong who is every bit as excited about running as you are (you are in the midst of your people). Typically scheduled for the day or two prior to a race, it’s the first taste runners get of the race to come as they file through to pick up their bibs, T-shirts, freebies, as well as sample the products of running vendors and get a sneak peek at races to come.
Mind you, all expos are not created equal. At some smaller races, their expo (if you can even call it that) might consist of a dozen tents featuring a few local vendors peddling forgettable wares. Rather, let’s ruminate about the big boys, the expos that accompany the large races.
Read the rest of this entry
WHY I RUN
Heading for the finish line at the 2008 Nike Human Race
We all have our reasons why we lace up our running shoes day in and day out. For some it’s as simple as “I’ve always run.” For me, it’s far more personal and I hope you’ll indulge me.
In the summer of 2008, my life was not in a good place for several reasons. First and foremost, I had to endure not one, not two, but three family health scares in just two months.
My mother had a rare heart condition that required her to have open-heart surgery… fortunately she pulled through like a trooper. Just a few weeks later my dad learned he had serious blockage in numerous arteries (caught just in the nick of time) and had several stents installed to keep his ticker ticking. And then my brother (who was the jock of the family) went in to get his heart checked and they found something wrong. Fortunately, a re-test showed that it was a phantom reading. Bullet dodged.
BEING RESOLUTE IN 2014
“If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.” -Anonymous
And we’re off!
A chance to put forth plans to create a new and better you (version 2.0)… finally getting in shape, spending more time out of the office, finishing that damn novel that’s been stuck on page 7 since 2011. Wonderful plans that usually fall by the wayside come February 1st (or even sooner).
WELCOME TO TRIPPING THE KENYANS
I wasn’t smiling like this at mile 20.
Time for me to jump into the blogosphere with a site dedicated to those of us who love running. Who really, really love running.
Why a blog, you may ask?
Well, I was boring my family and non-running friends to tears as I went on and on about my running and races. Nothing like seeing that glazed over look appear on their faces whenever I uttered the words “I was running and…”
Tripping The Kenyans 