Fiesta Fandango

Well, Fiesta is officially over once again and it's time to return to some serious running.  Before that happened, I ran the Fiesta Fandango ~2.6 mile run along the parade route for about 700,000 adoring fans!

thanks to Tom Lake for the pics

Viva Fiesta!

Well, today is an official holiday in San Antonio - Battle of the Flowers, and Fiesta has been raging for the past week.  On Wednesday, I attended Corynation - the cheapest, raunchiest Fiesta event.  And it was FABulous...

Saturday, I will run the Fiesta Fandango 2.6ish mile race - in front of the Fiesta Flambeau night parade vanguard.

During Fiesta, there is a LOT of crowning of 'fake' royalty.  One of the 'kings' is El Rey Fido - and this year, it was DINGO!  Unfortunately, it was a different Dingo (the one with the tiara on the right):

While my Dingodog was happy that a fellow Dingo achieved such fame, she did comment, "C'mon, now, who is the REAL dingo?"

Training like a Kenyan

So, Cheruiyot set a new Boston Marathon record - I think he does his altitude training primarily in Kenya.  Other Kenyans altitude train in Japan and Mexico.  My buddy, Joe (who is not Kenyan), finished Boston today in 3:23:41.  He does his altitude training on Torcido (Alamo Heights) and the Japanese Tea Garden hill (Brackenridge Park).  In order to launch my bid to beat Joe [reality speaking - this will never happen - I could barely run one mile at that pace], I have decided to do some altitude training in Patzcuaro, Mexico in June.  Or you could just call it a spontaneous vacation.  But, the opportunity arose, and it had to be seized - in the name of training, of course:

Fiesta mission 10k steeplechase

Wow, it rained this morning.  I spent 30 minutes trying to avoid high water crossings in an attempt to arrive at the race start.  And then I just slugged the run - really, not my best effort.  Perhaps it was close to my worst effort.

Here's the start - I'm the one in the green poncho in the middle - wondering why I got out of bed.

Then, I ran it.  Not only was it slick, rainy, and muddy, but there are also 4 bouncy (suspension) bridges out and 4 back - the fluids in my head kept bouncing for awhile after each bridge and, by the final 2 bridges, vertigo kicked in and I had to shuffle along until the world stopped bouncing and spinning.

But I did manage a half-hearted crazy chicken pose - check out this guy saying "which way should I bolt to escape that crazy running chicken?"

And afterward, I changed into some dry gear and tried to recover - tried being the operative word.

After the run, there was an out-of-town couple (St. Louis) who needed a ride back to downtown - they were in town for a convention.  So, I rediscovered my back seat (it didn't seem right to put one of them in the hatchback trunk) and headed out to bring them back to downtown.  Of course, with my terrible sense of direction, I got a bit lost trying to get around a 3-train crossing.  So, I showed them all of the parts of San Antonio that they really did NOT want to visit.  They really appreciated it, though!

In other news, I'm planning fun trips to Mexico in June and Big Bend in January, instead of working on my house.  I figure that the opportunities are here now, and I'm taking them.  I can hire folks to work on the house when I'm old.

Thanks to Tom Lake for the pics.

Fiesta and taxes

Happy tax day!  I love to watch people furiously scramble to make it to the post office to mail their tax returns by midnight.  It never makes sense to me - 1) this is not a surprise date - it is 4/15 EVERY year (or later, if it falls on a weekend) and 2) this is 2010 - file electronically and save the gas.  Of course, I filed my tax return back in January, which is why I can only shake my head in bewilderment.

In more pleasant news, today is officially the first day of Fiesta - San Antonio's special week-long holiday, with tons of events, fake royalty, and cascarones.  I will kick off the celebration with the SARR Fiesta 10k down at the Missions this weekend.  Then, I will start planning my non-running Fiesta events.

My new project - making YOU adopt this pup

'Zack'

Here's his online personal:
Zack is a male, approximately 6-month old Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. He is being fostered in a home in San Antonio after he experienced a rough beginning to life. He was rescued from an irresponsible owner who confined him on a short chain to a fence, often forgetting to give him water or food. Fortunately, a Good Samaritan (who is now fostering him) persuaded the owner to give Zack a chance for a better life.

Zack is very intelligent and loving. He is still a baby who gives kisses and thinks that his mission is to spread love in this world. He is very friendly to other dogs, cats and to people. Zack loves toys and games. He has lots of youthful energy and he will be a powerful dog, therefore he needs lots of training, attention, time and patience. He loves to stay in a crate and barks only when needed. He is fun to have around, loves walking on leash and does not pull. When Zack is being walked by his foster mom, he always checks to make sure she is behind him and he listens to commands. Zack would be a great running companion. He is not yet completely housebroken, but is quickly learning from the older dogs in his foster home. Zack has a distinctive coat ... darker brown along his spine, a bit of his tail hair goes against the grain of his coat, indicating a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, as well as possibly some Pit Bull Terrier.

I will be getting Zack neutered and vaccinated on Tuesday, April 13 - then, he'd like to join you in your good home!

No race weekend

Yep, really.  There are a couple of races in the area, but instead, I will work overtime and sneeze.  and sneeze. and sneeze.  My mortal enemy, oak pollen, has returned, and I can't wait until May when it's gone.  Apparently, this is the worst it's been in 25 years - even one of my cats has watery eyes.  Here's the info:

http://www.kens5.com/news/consumer/AHH-CHOO-Oak-pollen-creates-perfect-storm-for-allergy-sufferers-90049477.html

"Oak pollen peaked Sunday at 40,000 grains per cubic meter."  And my sinuses felt every one of those grains.

Traditional? Easter weekend

Saturday, I ran the 4 Kay 4k downtown.  It was a nice run, but a strange distance.  So, when I rounded the corner at my regular pace, thinking I had about another 4-5 minutes of running to go, I was smacked by the finish line.  I sure could have run that race a lot faster if I had paid attention to my distance.

On Sunday, I ran a nice 7 mile run with friends - heading downtown, then back up the River Walk to Brackenridge Park, where we checked out the crazies who were camping there.

And Sunday evening, I headed out to the Pegasus bar for drag queen whipped cream wrestling.  It was fabulous.  Perhaps the most impressive part was that they actually whipped an entire garbage can of whipped topping from scratch - in the sun!  We had a great time cheering on the queens and dodging flying wigs coated in whipped cream.

Thanks to Alexis for the pics!

Today, which would be the holiday Easter Monday if I still lived in Germany, I went to get a routine shot.  I ended up getting stuck a total of 4 times in both arms before the shot was successful :(  This has happened in the past, and the nurse said that my muscle is very dense.  Yeah, that sounds like me - the one who shirks on strength training and certainly does NOT have the physique of a body builder?!  I sure hate needles.

Crazies and Next Ups

Last night, we ran through Brackenridge park and gawked at the crazies setting up camp for the weekend.   I snapped some pictures - and then ran away.  (I'll post those later.) So, with the crazies safely contained within the park, I'm heading downtown for a First Friday We Run a Tab run with these guys:

In keeping with my strict training regimen, we will run from bar to bar in the downtown/King William/southtown area.  Which is terrific preparation for tomorrow's race, the NCAA 4Kay (part of the NCAA Women's Final Four here), a 4k race held downtown bright and early in the morning.  And I'm sure it will feel very bright and very early.

At least I can warm up the route tonight!