Route 66 Marathon

The marathon is over and I have survived.  Survive may be the key word for the day.  The morning started off nice and early before the Sun rose into the sky.  I met up the Brenda and Melissa shortly before the race began.  Brenda would be running the 1/2 marathon and Melissa would be running her first marathon.  This would be my 4th marathon.  The gun sounded and here’s a few videos of the start.

The course this year was quite different compared to last year.  Many of those dreaded hills at the tail end of the run last year would be addressed early in the race this year.  Many people mentioned that the course would not be near as hilly.  I do somewhat agree with not as many hills but I have a realization that my normal training route around Norman does not challenge me with a plethora of landforms.   This will have to be something for me to work on. Perhaps find different routes that allow me to practice going up and down hills.

Barefoot Runner

Melissa Smiling and Waving

Little B running to the arms of Richard

Interesting Color Choice Today

I started off running the first 4 miles with Melissa as we wound through downtown Tulsa.  Finally, I waved goodbye and sped off to go finish my marathon PR (sarcasm).  It was around mile 15.  Reality hit me right between the eyes or actually on the right side of my neck.  The 4:15 pace group passed me and then I see Willie www.seewillierun.blogspot.com  .  It’s a pretty big deal for Willie to pass me because I had no business whatsoever being ahead of him.  He’s a faster runner.  Which means?  I was going too fast.  I had failed to run a smart first half of the race.  I had not kept within my limits.

Right at mile 15, just as the pace group and Willie were leaving me in my dust, my right side of my neck began to cramp, badly.  This is not an uncommon experience for me.  It signals that I am too dehydrated and lost too much salt.  So, I bolted into the next water station.  I began chugging any gatorade cup in sight.  As I was leaving I felt my forehead and I could feel a thick layer of salt covering my entire frontal lobe.  Even scarier, I had stopped sweating.

I continued logging miles but going through periods of pain.  Most of the last half of the race, I could not look down or to the side without running the risk of another horrible cramp.  To top it off, I started cramping around my stomach area.  This was the first time that I did not know if I would finish the marathon.  Really was hurting that bad.

My solution was stop at every medic tent and eat Pretzels, Gu, Jellybeans, and Gatorade.  I even ran with a 32 oz. gatorade bottle part of the way.  As I ran through mile 23, I had to start picking objects down the road and force myself to run to that spot and then repeat as necessary.   I was attempting to run the last 11 miles under severe cramping conditions.

Finally, I turned the corner and mile 26.  Only had .2 miles left.  I had no speed left and my neck cramp was still acting up.  Even still, I got choked up as I saw the finish line.  This was not the hardest marathon course that I have run but this was the first time that I had to overcome such physical ailments.  I had never been so close the brink.  My moxy was tested to the “nth” degree and I made it.  My time was way off but I didn’t care.  I had survived.  I had beaten the course!   I have plenty of running memories but this one ranks way up there.  At this moment of writing, I am more proud of this slow marathon time than any of the other three marathons.

Brenda had a great 1/2 marathon run.  Melissa wasn’t too far behind me.  She made it.  Her first marathon.  She battled the same elements as I and survived.  I am super proud of both friends/runners.  I am truly blessed.

I have asked them to document their Route 66 experience and will post that on the blog really soon.  I will also post more pictures and videos as they become available.  For now, I leave you with a random Asian Santa Pic below.

Asian Santa

Checklist

Less than 2 days away from the Route 66 Marathon.  Here’ goes my checklist.

• Haircut
• Shave
• IPOD Loaded and Recharged (main song..Estasy of Gold)
• Garmin Fully Charged
• Race Shirt Selected
• Jelly Beans Bought
• Carb Meal #1
• Continuously Drinking Water

Now all I have to do is run 26.2 miles on Sunday.  The weather appears to be nice on Sunday.   I hope it stays cloudy and cool instead of clear and sunny.  Wind should not be a factor.  Am I nervous?  Yes.  I’ve trained hard but I am still trying to shake off a physical struggle leftover from the OKC Memorial Marathon.  After I ran that race, I was in a “Zombie” state for several days.  Definitely do not want to repeat that.

Anyway, I am super reflective tonight.  I am so blessed to have wonderful family and friends.  I get to witness another close friend finish her first marathon.  How awesome is that?  Awesome!!!  I am so proud of my running friends/friends.  Running truly is a wonderful sport that I enjoy.  Including when i run 26.2.

This will be my first repeat race since i’ve been running just over a year ago.  On a side note, I have registered for Dallas White Rock Marathon.  That gives me three weeks recovery after Route 66.

Will this be my last post before the Marathon?  Who knows, I have a lot to say right now.  Will take tons of pictures throughout the weekend.

Appreciation of Life

Let me paint the current picture in my house.  I am reclining on the chair watching my little girl twirl in the middle of the living room and watching me little boy roll a car on the table nearby.  Watching my two kids play is wonderful.  I have truly been blessed with so much in life.

As you can tell I am super reflective tonight and have a tremendous appreciation for the simple things in life.  I tend to get this way as a big race such as a marathon gets closer.

I am majorly stoked about the upcoming race.  The challenge that appears before me is welcomed.  I plan to do everything I can to overcome the challenge.  However, I do know that my success and failure is not based upon completion of the marathon or not.  My success or failure is based upon effort.  I have seen and heard of a lot of running buddies that became injured or disoriented during a race and become unable to continue.  That sure doesn’t make them failures.  A failing attempt would be no attempt at all.  Don’t get me wrong, I am confident and have all intentions of finishing.  I’m just a little nervous because I have intentions of running a little quicker by my standards. In past marathons I have paced myself to survive.

I also have two close running buddies doing the race on Sunday.  Brenda will be running the 1/2 marathon.  She has run several 1/2 marathons before.  However, she’s had to overcome two ankle rollovers and a car wreck to make it to the start line.

Melissa will be running her first marathon.  I tell everyone that Melissa is an animal (in a good way of course).  Her athletic ability combined with her will to succeed does make her somewhat of a running animal.  If I finish before her, I will be anxiously awaiting her final straightaway to the finish line.  Only people that have run a marathon truly understand how hard it is to run a marathon.  They really do not understand how hard it is to train for one.

In case I do not update my blog until after the race…….I will post a brief post telling whether I finished and my time.  Later on I will give the details once I have traveled back to Norman.  I’ll have plenty of pictures of myself, my friends, and family.

Adios…..ready to kick on Route 66.

Countdown to Route 66

In just a few days  I will be using my kicks on Route 66.  It’s been quite a journey to get to this point once again.  One of the most rewarding aspects about a marathon besides finishing it is the process by which one gets into marathon shape.  This level of running can only be maintained over a short period of time for most individuals during a year time span.

This will be my second time running Route 66.  This training period has been quite different for me.  I’ve looked at it as an experiment.  This time around I have stuck with the training schedule and did some cross training.  Unfortunately the weather switched on me and I haven’t been able to cross train as much.  In the past, my training consisted of running massive amounts of mileage over the course of one week.  However, this time i’ve spaced my runs out and focused on rest as well as intensity.

So on Sunday we will see if the experiment works.  I am going into the race with two goals.  The first goal is to finish the race.  The second goal is a particular time.  I will not reveal that time because I do not want to set myself up for failure. If I simply achieve the first goal, I will consider the race a success.  Don’t worry I will reveal the time on a blog post after the race.

I’m especially excited about this race because once again I have a good friend running her first marathon.  It is such a big accomplishment to run such a long race.  Heck, just getting to the starting line is monumental.  Training and preparation takes a minimum of 16 weeks.  How many people stick with anything for 16 weeks?  So, needless to say, I will be anticipating her finish of the race.

As usual, the week leading up to the race has taken an emotional angle.  I get much more reflective and more appreciative of things.   My dreams become more realistic and I start visualizing parts of the race.  Mainly the finishing of the race.  Marathon running is such a battle.  People ask why do I run such a distance?  I usually tell them that I enjoy the battle.  The battle not with other runners but the battle with self.  I thrive on putting my body in a situation (race) that requires my mind to overcome the urges of giving up or walking.  Every marathon that I have run so far, I have some point in the race where i’m wondering “why I am doing these”.  Also, every marathon that I have run, I have went into survival mode where i’m simply placing one foot in front of the other.  Not even focusing on speed.

Interestingly, my training has allowed me to start thinking more along the lines of strategies.  For instance, I have been running a medium pace for about 8 miles before picking up my speed for the next 8 to 10 miles.  I am hoping for a similar scenario on Sunday.  My biggest concern is the last 6.2 miles.  I would love to have something left in me to finish the last miles with some level of control pace rather than survival pace.

Okay, I can tell that i’m all over the place tonight with my blog.  I do apologize.

Last night I went to the OKC LandRunner meeting and I heard an older more experience runner tell the group one of his many mottos…

Reach for your limits or they will come to you.  How true is that?  Marathons takes you to a limit few things can do.  I am so thankful for many aspects in my life and running enhances many of these aspects.

Goodnight.

Race for Hope

Greetings reader.  Today I ran the 12K Race for Hope http://www.okbtf.org/ .  The morning started out pretty much on time.  It was a beautiful morning until……the wind started blowing and the temperatures dropped.  Fog and mist soon followed the winds.  The beautiful morning was gone and replaced by a cold, dreary morning.  Interestingly, moments earlier Jason had mentioned how beautiful the morning was.   Don’t get me wrong, the day was not Beacon-like (Beacon Run from last year).

So me and the gals stayed in the car until the last minute, quickly warmed up and headed on down the road at the starting gun.

Staying Warm

The race started off smoothly.  The 5K runners were flying down the path and the 12K runners were a little slower.  Melissa ended up running with me and we played with our pace most of the way.  We did pick the pace up a few times just to make sure it was still there.  We finished about 1:13:00 which isn’t bad for me on a 12K.   Brenda was not far behind.

The best part of the day was hanging out after the race and talking with other runners.  Enjoy getting to know other people and hear they’re stories.  I am surrounded by such great and wonderful runners/people.

Did get to see Amber this morning.  Some of you may remember Amber from a few weeks ago when I posted about the Kelsey Briggs 5K run.  She is spearheading planning for next years run.  Anyway, she arrived to the race late and pretty much ran from driver side seat to start line.  I can’t tease her too hard because she is coming from a decent distance to run.  I did get a pic of her leaving the scene.

Amber Leaving the Race

One major thing missing today were her gold shoes.  Perhaps that is the reason she was running behind.  She had some story about those shoes getting caught on mouse trap paper.

I did snap another picture because it was too good not to.  Melissa was cold after the race.  I looked at her and could see that her lips were blue.  Really blue.  I took the picture but the picture does not do justice to how they really looked.

So there you have it.  The Race for the Cure.  I will post more pictures when they become available.  I will be posting a lot because I have lots on my mind this week as I head into Route 66 marathon.  I tend to get reflective as the big race gets closer.  Be sure to check the blog out Sunday night to see if I made it.

Feeling Blue?

Here are a few more photo’s from the race courtesy of www.okcrunning.org

Melissa and I finishing

Brenda, Melissa, and I after the race

Brenda Finishing

Running with the Stars

A major disadvantage of running for me is the waking up early.  I’m just not a morning person.  Running is one of the few activities where i’ll give up sleep to do.  An advantage of running beyond the health and mental aspects is getting to watch the sun rise in the east.  Fall has really had some beautiful and peaceful sunrises.  Just wanted to share that.

Made it over to Brenda’s house on time at 6:20.

As you can tell by the car clock in the picture, Brenda was running behind.  Do not want to make a big deal out of this, just wanted to visually document the occurrence to better get underneath her skin on the matter.

Had the person I was waiting on had been Richard (her husband), he would have been on time.  I’m just saying….

Anyway, made it to the race.  The atmosphere was pretty festive.  There were lots of college students involved with the race.  Seeing younger people take an active role in such events is encouraging to see.

The race started with a bang.  Literally, a sound of a shotgun.  Off the runners went.  My main goal was to finish the 5K and to not get hurt.  As of this typing, I think I achieved my goal.  I started off pretty slow for the first 3K until I gradually worked at a higher speed to finish the race.

There were lots of volunteers such as cheerleaders that kept us entertained and cheered the runners on.  The course was pretty fast with several downhill sections.  The final stretch of the course was uphill.

I ended up crossing the finish line around 26:02?  This was off from my best but it was interesting to see that I ran a close time whether I start slow and finish strong or start fast and die out.

The only draw back of the race was the only water stop was after the 3K mark.  However, the goodie back given to the runners before the race was really good.  Overall, a pleasant morning to run the race.  The race coordinators did a great job of creating a wonderful environment to race.  Especially enjoyed talking with other runners after the race.

I will be racing at Overholser next week.  Its one time around the entire lake.  It’ll be fun since it’s the very last training run before Route 66 marathon.

The Sun was not cooperating with the camera but you do see Brenda running  by and finishing strong.

The video below is of a new running buddy that we met named Michelle.  Not sure if she’ll ever get to see this video because I didn’t get to tell her where to check online but you never know.  She is from the Norman area.

There you have it.  Race for Hope is next week followed by my big race in Tulsa (Route 66).  Special shout out to Michael Coffman for showing up today and running just under a 20 minute 5K.  Sure wish you’d dedicate to training because you could be good.

http://www.okbtf.org/

http://www.route66marathon.com/Contact%20Us.htm

Rollin’ the Clocks Back

Training

Completed my final 20 mile training run of the fall marathon season.  The event was rather painless in the grand 20 mile run scheme of things.  The weather cooperated and Lake Hefner was beautiful.  Melissa also ran her final 20 mile run.

Now i’m in taper mode for the next three weeks before the date with Route 66 marathon.  I have plenty of training questions up in the air right now.  These questions will be answered when I cross the finish line of Route 66.  It’s similar to OJT or On Job Training.

Upcoming Races

Race with the Stars is a 5K race on November 7.

Race for Hope is a 12K race on November 14.

Route 66 is the Marathon on November 22.

Dallas WhiteRock is December 13.

Some of you who are close to me may be seeing Dallas WhiteRock on my blog for the first time in a long time.  I’m in deep thought about it and i’m leaning towards a yes.  It will be three weeks after Route 66 so the recovery time is manageable.  I will also still be in great marathon shape to run it.

Involvement

I have volunteered for the race planning committee for next years Kelsey Briggs run.  Its kind of amazing how things work sometimes.  I am ready to put in the work/effort to make next years race successful and to bring about Child Abuse Awareness.

Also, i’m in the infancy stage of putting together a running/bible study group.  It’d be a great chance for runners to talk about races and training.  Even more importantly runners will have a chance to work on a relationship with Christ.

Will keep you posted on both projects as they progress.

Rollin’ the Clocks Back

Finally, daylight savings time has arrived.   This made me think about time.  More importantly, what we do with our time.  I happen to like running.  No matter what you do with your time, do it with  a purpose.  Just like running with a purpose.  I hope to look back someday on my life and be able to say that I did the best with the time that I had.

Running Adventures of Brenda by oustan

more about "Running Adventures of Brenda by oustan", posted with vodpod

Missy’s Mishaps by oustan

more about "Missy’s Mishaps by oustan", posted with vodpod

Kelsey Briggs 5K Run

I ran the Kelsey Briggs 5K run this morning.  Here is a quick list of items to note…..

1. Great cause that is dear to me
2. Ran with my running buddies Melissa and Brenda
3. Met new people (Kim, Amber, and Phillip)
4. Pretty flat course
5. Saw a few LandRunners:  Roger Lemmons, Courtney Lemmons, Kelly Kramer, Jason Tilton, and Ron Kuykendall
6. Chilled out after the race and laughed which was much needed in my life

One final thought before getting into the pictures….I had no choice but to run this race.  As much as I thought about other races to run, I was drawn to this race (some would say convicted).  The cause was so powerful and I work in education.  Therefore child abuse prevention is a big cause to champion.

Now onto the pictures…Lots of pictures.

Public unveiling of Brenda 26.2 tattoo

Brenda is very proud of the 26.2 tattoo and even more so what it means to her.  However, the chill of the cold weather overrode her desire to show of her new tattoo.  Maybe next time runners.

Sneaking up on Melissa

After the brief tattoo unveiling to the running world, we were graced with Melissa’s presence.  Quick story about her, we called her earlier that morning to inquire on where she was on her trip to the Boathouse.  Ends up she was driving back home because she had forgotten her running shoes.  Not as bad as forgetting a timing chip though.

Melissa still gets really nervous before a race and that explains the story above.  Can’t wait to see how she gets before the Route 66 marathon which she will be running for the first time.

Orbitz Commercial

Here’s a really cool pic of Melissa and Brenda.  Love the sunrise in the background.  I also joke around about the orbitz commercial because Melissa and Brenda have two the nicest smiles around.  Both of these ladies are great running buddies and friends.  Many times they’ve heard my life story as we do training runs.  I’m starting to call them my running therapists.  It’s just so amazing how a sport like running and create such strong friendship bonds.

There goes the neighborhood

All was quiet at the OKC Boathouse until…..Kim enters the scene.  Kim is a good friend of Melissa.  It took about 10 seconds to warm up and feel comfortable with Kim.  It’s pretty obvious to see that nice people tend to surround themselves around nice people.

Another beautiful sunrise

Here’s a pic of Melissa and Kim.  I’m totally in love with the sunrise behind them.  I could probably count the number of sunrises that I have seen on two hands until I started running.  Now, I practically see one several days away.

Amber with her Gold Shoes

Melissa’s next friend to show up was Amber.  Once again another awesome person with a definite signature look…her golden shoes.  Not to be confused with a “golden ticket.”   This little gal ran in shiny golden shoes.  I should have gotten a direct picture of them to properly do them justice in describing them.  Amber was a big reason why I ran today even though she didn’t know it.  It was a chain reaction from a Melissa and Amber conversation weeks ago.  Amber discussed with Melissa about the Kelsey Briggs run that she is involved with which in turned brought me and Brenda into the mix by running the race.

Here's the Motley Crew

Here’s a photo of us all.  I do apologize for having my eyes closed.  Not the first picture I have ruined before.  Lets play…”Who doesn’t belong?”  Ding Ding Ding…that’d be me. I am surrounded by good-looking women.  I stick out like a turd in a punch bowl.

Having a group together like today really made the race extra enjoyable.  I laughed so many times this morning.

On to the Race–The race was an out and back race that started and ended at the OKC Boathouse.  The running path was a little narrow but the number of runners was kinda light so it was not a problem.  The hills were minimal and the weather was very cooperative.  The runners and volunteers were very friendly and helpful.  I started off at a medium pace and made it about a mile before I had committed a cardinal running rule.  Make sure your shoes are tied properly before running.  I had to stop and double knot one of my shoes.  After that, I settled into a fairly quick pace until the last 3/4 mile.  That was when I decide to dial it down to reduce the risk of injury.  I had proven to myself that I could hang a decent 5K time for myself and that was enough.  I’m starting to get into injury paranoid zone.  This is a zone where i’m freaking out about getting hurt or sick before I make it to the marathon.

Here I am finishing

Here I am finishing the race.  I’m under no pain or stress as I finish.  Special thanks to Phillip for taking this picture and many other photos for me.  Phillip was the silent hero today with his camera.  He took several pictures of us and of other runners.

Melissa has a 3rd in her age group finish

The picture to the left is of Melissa finishing in 3rd place for her age group.  Told you in earlier blogs that she is a “stallion” when it comes to running and competition.

Kim finishing right behind Melissa

Want to know the difference between Kim and Melissa?  3 seconds today.  That was the time differential between the two runners.  She looked good finishing and looked like she was having fun.

Golden Shoes

Amber comes in right behind Kim.  The golden shoes had definitely propelled her forward throughout the race.  Here’s a few Vids from the race I was able to take after I crossed the finish line.

Why yes, I have lot’s of pix and vids today.

Brenda and Melissa with Medals

Here’s a few pix of other people (LandRunners).

Roger Wins the Race!

Katie wins the Women's Division

Kuykendall...Way too fast for me.

Jason finishes 3rd

Picture from Monster Mash..Stopped by on way home.

Here are some random pics that I wanted to post on the blog.  The last two at the bottom are from the Monster Mash in Norman.  We saw that the closing ceremonies were still going on so we stopped and took a few pictures of Snoopy and a dog in costume.

To sum up the race and the day….Wow!

Next week, Brenda goes to the Tulsa Run.  Melissa and I stay in OKC to do our final 20 mile run.

Dog in costume at Monster Mash