Sylamore 50k 2013

            It’s hard to know where to start this long story. A preface to this race was a change in my training. I started climbing Cavanal 2000ft, three to four times a week along with my normal speed work and long runs. I was really training hard for Sylamore, and training to run hard for my first trip to this big event. 

The Tuesday before the race, I threw a bag of trash in the dumpster and fell to my knees as if someone has stabbed me in the lower back. I didn’t think too much about it, but it hurt a lot the rest of the day. The next morning, after a terrible night of restless sleep, I couldn’t put my own shoes on. So my eight month, almost nine month, pregnant wife had to put my shoes on, tie them for me, and send me out the door Wednesday morning. I went to an amazing chiropractor that same day, and that really helped. He told me I was getting old and needed to take some rest. I told him I had a 50k on Saturday morning.

            I loaded up Friday afternoon with my amazing crew (my wife) and headed to Allison, AR. You will not find Allison anywhere on Google Maps, but it is North Central Arkansas, and a long way from Poteau, OK. The payoff was great when the starting gun went off at 7 AM. We had about ¾ miles of pavement, and I was sitting in at 3^rd place right beside the guy that knows the trail better than anyone and knows how to win, Tom Brennan. It was good to talk to him the first few miles.  However, there wasn’t a lot talking at mile one where you cross a famous river crossing. It was really cold! My wife was waiting at the river and she said I was the only one who was crying about how cold it was, but it had taken me by surprise. I don’t tend to cross water in the winter when it is 28 degrees outside and snowing.   Yes, it was snowing going out of Blanchard Aid Station. I told Tom it was hard for me to focus on running trail when there was so much beautiful rock faces right beside the trail! This section of trail was really more technical than I thought it would be.

            I rolled into Blanchard Aid Station in 5^th place and I could still see the front runners. I also saw my beautiful wife with my aid! It was so awesome to have her with me at the race; she normally is running or with our boys. But she was there just to take pictures and hand me Gatorade, which was so awesome! At that point in the race, the snow flakes started coming down like crazy and it was pretty breathtaking.  My breath was also taken away by the chill in the air. I was cold and decided to pour my mountain climbing skills into the race by running the next hill pretty hard. I drew closer to the front pack and that would be the last I saw of the front guys because they poured down the next big drop. I am not the greatest downhill runner, and I didn’t want to run that fast that early in the race. So I let the front pack draw away. Then I saw them again next to the river. I thought I was close, but they had slowed for the ice that was on the rock next to the river. We had hit a flat area and a feeling cross my mind that a Panda Bear was going to jump out of the bamboo and eat me for breakfast! But then we hit the rocky, second big climb with stair steps.  

(Aid Station Didn't know it was even there)

(Turn Around)

            We rolled through another aid station. I didn’t even know that one was going to be there, and there was my smiling wife again! The trail had now become really run-able and there were beautiful views in that Central Arkansas forest I had never experienced. The next climb was not too bad, and I cruised to the top and started the approach down and came to some cross ties. I would say 95% of the time I trust the stability man-made trail steps, bridges, etc. So I stepped on a cross tie going downhill, and it rolled. I then made two more steps on the rolling cross tie and somehow didn’t have a big fall! I came to a few more beautiful waterfalls and some more amazing trails, and I saw the two guys from Memphis leading the way. Shortly after, I saw Tom running out of the turn around and I came in at 2:10, grabbed another bottle from my wife and some chicken soup, and out I went. Feeling pretty good, I stayed at the same effort for the next climb and came down to that ice patch again. I slowed down to go across it and got to the last step off the ice rock and slipped and hit the ground pretty hard. My back hurt immediately, but running the next flat mile wasn’t too bad. The smooth, big climb wasn’t too bad either. I started coming down that climb into the Blanchard aid station looking forward to seeing my wife and getting a new bottle. I knew I was in trouble because the downhill was pounding my back and I felt it though my whole body!

(Blanchard on the way back Pain on my Face)

            I got to Blanchard and told my wife I was in trouble. My body was killing me.  She told me Tom was two minutes ahead and 2^nd place was one minute ahead of Tom. She said that she thought maybe she shouldn’t have told me this because it could have discouraged me. But it didn’t by any means. It meant I was going just as fast as they were at the turn around, but I knew I would not be making a run away the rest of the day. It sucked because I worked so hard to make it to the starting line healthy and I trained hard to do well, and then I had a crazy little injury that brought the race to a slow stroll through the woods. That is what the next five miles turned into for me. There were not many hills, but there was the technical area that was very similar to most climbing areas like the ones in Fern, AR and Lake Lincoln, AR. Those climbing areas are hard to walk around, let alone run, just as that section of Sylamore is. It was so great to get to the cold creek because I knew that I was finished, and it felt pretty darn good to cross this time. I ran pretty well on the smooth last mile on into the finish. My Time was 4:36 and I finished 4^th place (around 170, 50k finishers and 210, 25k finishers. Wow what a turnout!).

(Finish Line)

 I was, overall, not too beat up. But my body just wasn’t 100% at the race. I am really looking forward to another return to run a much faster race at Sylamore 50k. It was one of the most beautiful sections of trail I have ever run on and the big crowds of runners are going to draw me to this race many more years in the future!

            My wife and I drove for two hours after the race, and then stopped for dinner. Good times!

Ouachita Switchbacks 50k 2013

          The week of my race started with four Cavanal summits, 8,000 feet total. It wasn’t much of a taper week for me, but the beautiful summit vistas are so inspiring.   Jed Kirby also talked me into going to the track and doing some speed work with him on Tuesday. It was a great workout, and hopefully will pay off with a great day soon to come at some other trail races in the Winter Schedule.

            This was the first showing of the Ouachita Switchbacks 25k/50k, and I hoped many of the legends like Paul Turner or Stan Ferguson and their crew would be there. So I was disappointed I didn’t see them at the start of the race. But I am positive they will find their way to this race soon. It is put on by Tom Brennan, and it is perfect. Everything from the food, aid, to the finish is exactly what you would expect from a top par race. But the actual course and challenge are what will make this race grow! Tom tried to get a federal permit to make the race a legitimate race.  It was crazy, the hoops they wanted Tom to go through to get the race legit, so he opted to make the race donations only so he didn’t have to get a permit. I really feel the race would have had the same turnout, fee or no fee. Most people came for a challenge, and speaking for the majority of the racers, I would say that they were challenged beyond what they had expected.

            The race started at Pashubee Trailhead on the Ouachita Trail. It’s a great place to start because there is a lot of parking, and you get a little flat area to warm up with instead of starting straight uphill. Tom and I had run this a couple months before to measure the distance and elevation of the course. So at 8:00 a.m. we rolled out heading west on the trail. This was going to be the first showing of my dog Jesse to the Trail Racing World. I thought it would be a good small race to take her to. She so loves the forest, and I knew she was ready for the challenge. I held her until Tom said go, and then put her down and jumped out in front. The first two guys ahead of me were already going the wrong way, which I thought was funny.  I heard Tom yell, “Follow the dog!”  I was in front for about 200 yards and heard someone say, “Coming around!” and Aaron Ochoa from Tulsa went flying around me.

I immediately went into my game plan mode, which was to fight the urge to chase a lead pack all day! When I noticed no one else was coming around me, I set into Aaron’s pace, which felt great at the time. I have run what has felt like a lot of miles with Aaron in the forest, so it was good to be moving along with him. I was talking to him and he said, “Dude aren’t you doing the 50k?” I said yes, then he said, “Well why are you talking to me and running this fast?”  I went on to tell him I was taking it easy and I told him about my training this week. I said I didn’t plan to run too hard and that I just wanted to have fun today and enjoy the great weather. I told him I was a little worried it might get hotter later and that I wanted to knock out some miles early if I could. 

A month before the race, Aaron had run Eagle Rock Loop with me, and he was amazing with my dog Jesse. He loves dogs, and Jesse is becoming one of his favorites. She is a Toy Fox Terrier and she loves to run! She goes crazy when I walk out the door and she sees me in my running shoes. The night before the race, Aaron and a few more people came over for a pre-race pasta dinner. There we told stories, rock climbed in the garage, and Aaron went on to tell me to take Jesse and see how fast she could run.

Creek Crossing in the Fall photo by Shannon Duncan

Two miles into the race, it was Aaron, Jesse, and I alone hopping over rocks, creeks, sticks, and leaves. We came through the first aid station to see Tom and Bryan Hoover cheering us on. Tom yelled, “You guys are on a record pace!”  Since this was the first year for the race I thought Tom was just joking, but later he told me he was serious because of how fast we were moving along. I didn’t feel like I was working hard at all, and that is always good. We hit the first creek crossing and I jumped, then hopped, then splash! The last rock didn’t hold me, and thankfully it was just a foot in the creek, not my whole body!

 Campsite on the OT

            The next quarter of mile was one of the best camp sites on the OT. A picture doesn’t tell its story or give it justice. It has just about everything. If you are a camper, you would understand. This is also where the climbing really started kicking into gear. It climbed steady for the next few miles, but knowing what was ahead, I kept my pace in high gear. One of the first things I came to is an incredible rock glacier. This thing is 500 yards long, 50 yards wide, and it just seems out of place in Oklahoma. This would be about the only place I stopped on the 25k out and back course. I stopped because every time I cross that point, I am in awe of the placement of this spectacular rock on the side of a mountain in Oklahoma! 

Rock Glacier on the OT

As I continued to climb up the mountain it was thankfully still feeling easy.  Aaron had fallen behind and Jesse was right on my heels, loving every step. I hit the Red Spring; a life saver of water supply in the hot summers on the OT. Here I smelled a camp fire and knew the next camp site was occupied. They were cooking breakfast and it smelled great! They said hi with a strange look on their faces, like most campers in the middle of the forest do when they see me running through their camp site. I couldn’t chat though, with an up pace long run on my agenda. I then came into a section of monstrous pine trees, and the big trees brought smooth, fast, beautiful trail as I continued to climb. Finally, I came to the crest of a great downhill that went into a big saddle between two of the mountains, and then the Switchbacks began, all 30 of them, to the top of Winding Stair. I stopped in the middle for a quick bathroom break and I decided to run the entire mountain to the top. It was 10 degrees colder here, and another 10 degrees colder than that due to the wind-chill.   At the top was the turn around, an aid station, and a stack of rocks eight feet tall marking the highest point on the OT. Tom Brennan and Chris Montgomery went all out to get Gatorade, water, and cookies to the top. Wow, those guys rock!  My time at the top was 1:34.

 Winding Stair Fire Tower Look-Out

           

           

            I re-fueled and headed down the hill trying to save my quads. Before I got to the steep downhill, I was surprised to see David pretty close to the turn around. I was also glad to see Jed up close to the front looking strong. I then got back in the saddle and started the next climb. Near the top, I saw Kasey, my third cousin, on his first trail run. It was also his first run further than 13.1 miles, and he was having the time of his life. He went on to finish and have a great time. I was super proud of him! He is only 20 years old! I went on down the mountain past the other racers coming out, only slowing for the rock glacier and saltine peanut butter crackers for me, and water for Jesse at the Big Cedar Trailhead aid station. I came in for a long 25k of 18 miles with a time of 2:56.

OT and its Rocks

            I got a bowl of water from Tom’s mom, and we started off from the Pashubee Trailhead heading east now. The first three-quarters of a mile felt like solid rock and like the bottom of a creek. Then the climb started. This climb I hadn’t done since 2009 with some friends on an overnight hike. That hike was crazy fun with my father and close friends. I remembered two other climbs, both led to the Mena Lodge on top of Rich Mountain, but the Switchbacks were only taking in the first climb.  During the race I got to what I thought was the first summit, but soon found out the climb was about to start. Not only did the climb start, but the effort of up pace running started its toll on me. I was thinking after all the training this week maybe the 25k was a better idea. But I kept up the effort, finally got to the top of the mountain, and found lots of rocks and hard running over the top. At last, I got to start downhill, and it felt better. I also go to hear the great music of Tatur Aid Station, and this got me fired up enough to get down the mountain and get some aid. 

Views East of Pashubee Trailhead

I fueled up again and Jesse didn’t eat anything. I then took off running and Jesse didn’t come with me. I stopped and yelled at her and she just looked at me. I thought she was done and hoped she would be able to finish after I hit the turn around and came back to the aid station. Half a mile later I heard a blazing noise and saw Jesse fly past me, happy to be running with me again. She couldn’t stand that I had left her I guess. So we had some rough rocky running for another mile, crossed the Kiamichi River and hit the turn around. Jesse was super pumped to turn around, and she was now pulling the pace. It was great for me to have someone to chase, even if it was a dog.

View of the Valley below Pushubee Trailhead First Climb

            I saw a trail beside the rocky creek bed I had just ran down on my way out, and kept thinking: “Man I wish I would have seen this smooth trail beside this rock bed on the way out!” My feet were feeling the rocks. My Brooks TrueGrit 2 shoes were great, but I was just wearing down. I saw John from Tulsa right before I got to the aid station, and I had a lot of time on him. It took the pressure off, but I knew I had to keep the pace up to stay in the lead and get over the next mountain. This climb was steeper, but seemed easy because it was shorter. Near the top was the rocky trail again and I lost a lot of effort to run trail on the rocks. I was super happy to finally start the path on the downhill because I knew the race was almost over.  Jesse was still pulling and doing a great job. We stopped at a creek crossing with just half a mile of trail to go, and I washed my face while she was drinking it up.  I got my Headsweat visor wet and said: “Let’s do this Jesse!”  We had just 3 switchbacks and 100 yards of trail to finish. Jesse was so pumped, and the crowd went crazy for her as she ran to the finish area!

I finished the 50k race in first place at 5:48! I like to think I could have gone faster if I was taper and going at race pace, but I was really happy for the effort I made and the technical trail that I had run.

Tom asked me if it was a hard race. I told him it has to be the hardest 50k in OK, AR, and TX for sure! I hope he puts the race on again, and I am so glad for the people that came out to run. I’m also pumped for my cousin Kasey for his first trail marathon, along with Sean Nichols and Zack Duncan who I heard did great. I heard Zack ended up lying on his back at the top of Winding Stair with a Cookie in his mouth. That is funny stuff!  My hat is off to Jed. I know he had a full week of training going into the race. He won the 25k by 13 minutes, and he still had gas in the tank!

Athens Big Fork Marathon 2013

            For history on the race you can go to the website for the course info!  I will sum it up with 9,200 feet of elevation change and 26.2 miles of running everyone’s GPS comes in at 27 miles.  You run up 8 mountains turn around and do it again backwards.

            Race morning my amazing 7 month prego wife decides to pack up with Stihl and go hike over 10 of the mountains for around 12 miles and I am guessing 5,000 feet of elevation gain.  We leave out of Poteau and made the famous stop at Daylight Doughnuts for the normal mountain run pre-food.   We then headed to big town of Big Fork, AR.

            The race is held in some of the best scenic area’s around Southeast Oklahoma and Southwest Arkansas.  The race is held on an old postal trail from Big Fork, AR to Athens, AR.  This trail runs north and south and they didn’t think of taking the easy path they took the shortest path.

Picture Taken by Tatur Running

            Race time 8:00am and they are never late and they never get in a hurry.  Big turn out this year and was super excited and was very well rested for this race.  I hadn’t trained the best but was feeling super good because I had really tapper for this race and absolutely love running in the Eagle Rock Loop area.

            I took the lead from the beginning and not sure what our pace was but it was just a good steady pace for the first 3 miles are flat.  We hit the trail where Kristin, Stihl, and her dad started at the trailhead and were ahead of us.  I was still in the lead and I planned on running the first mountain it is not to bad of a climb and always feeling good on the first mountain.  Got to see my hot wife at the top of the Mountain and I was pumped because I love my son seeing me in the front of a huge pack, make me feel like a stud.  Then we hit the first aid station and Tatur is probably one of the best aid stations in trail running!  Loud music, any type of food you can think of Oreo's with peanut butter & M&Ms on top. We then crossed the Little Missouri and started the second mountain.  We had now formed a front pack and a second pack, with Chris from Denver, Cole from Tulsa, Tom Brennan from Poteau the Course Record holder.  I think I head the lead for the next 4 mountains with Tom taking the lead on a couple of the downhills.  Then we came into the Big Shot Aid station 17 mile fun run turn around.  Blaylock Creek was rolling pretty good and it felt great to get my legs wait and then get some new fuel at Big Shot’s Aid station.

Tatur Racing Picture

            I pointed the trail out to Chris and there he went as the other 3 of us went on to hit the aid station.  I was the last out of the station and I couldn’t see any of the guys.  So I had to hustle to catch up with Cole. The forest service had cut some dozer paths to help with a forest fire but had caused some serious confusion for the ABF Marathoners.  I was chasing Cole and looked up and he was on the dozer trail and I was on the single track running trail and I was now about 50 yards from him but we were running the same direction.  He looked over at me and it was pretty funny the look on his face.  But he then came back into my trail and was still in the back of the lead back and that is where I stayed as Chris had really started climbing Brushy Heap like a mad man.  I just tried to hang in with the pace as it started to feel like I was racing.  I settled in at the back of the lead pack and looked at my watch after I came over the 7^th mountain and looked like I was on pace to hit my goal of 2:15 for the turn around.   We hit the dirt road and we all ran together to the turn around where the Texarkana Group working the aid station was cooking Chicken Noodle Soup, my favorite on a trial run!  Had a full cup and filled my Gatorade and hit the trial with the rest of the group.

           Chris gave up the lead to Tom on the road and Tom started pulling the pace, Chris was looking strong behind him.  The first climb out of the aid station Chris that was looking super strong and I was thinking earlier in the race that his guy might leave us all anytime but he started falling off the pace.  To me this was meaningless because with the hard climbs at this distance, anything could happen in this race.  I was still enjoying but feeling the pace.

            I hung in there for the next couple of mountains and Cole took the lead and started pushing the climbs.  He hit the top of Brushy Heap and then just blazed down the steep side of the mountain with Tom into Big Shot aid station.  I had 8.5 miles left to go and I got to see Stihl, he had left his mom and ran with a fun run group to that aid station.  The race director told me that he was going to give Stihl a ride back to the finish line.  I then saw Kristin and her dad and it was good to see them making it so far and they still had to turn around and go back to the trail head, “WOW,” one in shape Momma!

Thankfully Tom and Chris got fuel and this gave me chance to make up a little time in the aid station, still no Chris but the next 3 climbs were big and there was plenty of racing ahead.  I remember Tom leading out of this aid station and I felt the pace slow but I would try to speed up to pass him but it was feeling to hard to get around him so I hung in rear a little longer and then finally took the lead but wasn’t trying to push the pace any just keep up the effort.  I then got to the 13^th mountain which has previously been a tough mountain for me past races at ABF so going into this race this year I wanted to push up it.  The next climb I paid dearly.  I slowed down the push and Tom caught me ¾ of the way up the mountain.  I said, “your looking good.”  He said “I feel terrible” this is when he started running!!! Yes don't know what the grade was but it was not running grade!   I felt as he was very upset at how bad he was feeling so he just started running like a man on a mission to kill the rest of the race.  He then pushed to the top and blazed down the backside into Tatur aid station I could see Tom run straight through the aid station and looking back I should have done the same but I was on pace for a great PR and didn’t want to blow up.  I also had decided to run the last mountain before the race and I did until ¾ of the way up the hill and I had to use the men’s room so I lost a couple of minutes there but was one of those I had to stop moments!

I kept running over the top and popped out on the what usually feels like the forever dirt road and started trying to make up some ground with the smoother terrain.  I surprisingly felt good and keep pushing the pace for the each mile.  When I hit the payment still no Tom until I topped the hill and there he was but it was to late to make a chase for the man that owned the course and he never been beaten at ABF Marathon.  He is a legand on the trail and he had a bad day and I couldn’t hang with him.  I told my wife that it didn’t matter if I had gotten 20^th place because I was almost 20 minutes faster than my Personal Record on the Course so I was super happy and it was great to have 3 other great guys to run with this year! I got second place and my time was 4:32

Hope this makes you want to get out and run some trail!  Have a great day and thanks for reading!
                            http://www.athensbigforkmarathon.com/

St. Jude’s Memphis Marathon Dec. 1st 2012

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Trip started Friday afternoon and this trip was with my oldest kid. Carlos Garcia.  He is 17 years old and is from Spain.  He is living with us for the next 6 months and he has been in the States and with us for 4 months.  He is a great kid and he loves to go.  So when I asked Carlos if he wanted to go to Memphis he said “YES!” 

            So we loaded up in the New Nissan Versa I bought and hit the road!  I-40 felt like I was in the movie CARS with all 18-wheelers on the interstate!  We stopped at a great burger joint in Russellville to break and the drive!

            This would be my second running of the St. Jude’s Marathon and I remembered the course being pretty flat and pretty fast.  Three years ago it was like 25 at the start and this year was the opposite.  It was very warm, but I wasn’t to worried because I wasn’t racing.  I was doing my first big marathon pacing and I was a PACER.  And I was a little nervous because I had ran Tulsa 13 days before the marathon and I had done a 5 hour forest run with Tom 7 days before the race.  So this would be 3 marathons in 3 weeks, and my legs were feeling pretty bad at the end of the run with Tom. But they were feeling pretty good for the race!

             I worked the expo and that got me excited to pace because so many people were running there first marathon.  Also one of the most exciting things was seeing Donald Trump’s Son at the race because their foundation had donated 20 million dollars to the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital!  WOW that is so cool, and topping that off the Hero’s and other runners had raised 7.6 million dollars!

           
            Ok onto the race again,  it was warm start and we were off pretty much dead on pace 7:26 per mile to cross the line under a 3:15!  We hit the next 2 miles a were a little ahead of pace but I was not to worried about it.  Memphis crowds were awesome!  They were so pumped to be outside cheering for the runner.  Around mile 3 we came back by the stadium and I was getting the crowd screaming for our pace group.  We had a big crew and we were nailing the miles!  Jon and I were the 2 pacers for this group and we came in at the half with 40 seconds in the bank and I thought this was great but we didn’t need to hit any more miles any faster or we would start dropping people.  And that is what we did at mile 16, they started dropping like flies, and we had hit some wind and hills.  But the worst thing was that the temperature was moving up into the 70s and this is not good for marathoning.  I have a history of doing terrible in the heat.  I started feeling this heat when we turned at mile 20 and we had the wind at our backs.  We only had about 2 runners with us at this point and one of them said wow it got 10 degree’s hotter when we turned.  I then started feeling worse, so I hit another GU.  I probably should have hit 3 or 4 and then started hammering the power aid.  Because when I hit mile 23 I told Jon that I was hitting the wall.

            I was wrong it wasn’t the wall , it was a huge brick wall. I handed my pace stick to Steve the last runner that was with us and told him to stay with Jon and get in under 3:15.  I then fell 14 minutes off pace and I limped in for a 3:29 finish.  I feel 14 minutes off pace in 3 miles!  WOW what a day!  Never know how your body is going to do in a race.  I feel like I helped the runners a lot by telling them to relax, drop their arms.  I also told them about fueling and everything else during the race and had the time of my life running in support of so many runners!  I wish I could have finished on pace though.  It was rough and not as rough as the next 2 hours after the race because I was throwing up and I couldn’t keep liquids down.

I was glad I had Carlos there to help me find my way back to Poteau!

Tulsa Route 66 Marathon 2012

2012 Tulsa Marathon

My third running of the William Route 66 marathon and I was excited to run this year!  One day before the race started and we were in the car driving up to Tulsa and I was thinking about how the weather had been amazing all week!  Everyday of the week would have been a great day for marathon it was 30ish in the morning and warming up to around 40ish in the mid morning and very little wind.  That is perfect weather for me to run a great race and the weather was looking a little worse for Sunday morning in the 40s and winds picking up to 15mph around 10am.

I wasn’t going to let that worry me to much because I had trained hard and was ready to race!  My legs were feeling pretty bad at the first of the week because I hadn’t been running as much. But this is always normal for me a week before the marathon.

So it is still Saturday and my wife is on a mission to get some of her Christmas shopping done and I was glad to sit outside in the beautiful sunshine and weather. So I set the seat back and had a good cat nap, then onto the Expo I went and it seemed like forever since I had been to an expo because I haven’t ran a marathon in a long time because of the dang hot summer!  The Expo was fun I went running after a parachute dropped prize and could have jumped and got it but didn’t want to steal it from a little kid!  I then waited in line to get a picture with my wife in the photo booth and that was fun, always fun getting in a closet-like space with my wife.

Then we went back to the mall and I entertained shopping for a little bit, which was a mistake.  I didn’t enjoy it and probably should have stayed off my legs I probably walked 2 miles in the mail and saw so many over weight people, it was truly sad, I guess I don’t get out that much but it was shocking in that moment to see so many in one place.  Anyway got to get out of there and got to meet up with my good friend Weldon that lives in Tulsa and we always stay with him and go to dinner with him the night before the race, thanks Weldon.  He also drops us off and picks us up from the race, and that is really awesome!

Ok enough about life and on to racing!  Marathon morning was great weather was looking good got to the race same time as always.  Gun goes off at 8am and we are off. Mile one Tom is right beside me and it was like, “hi.” He said your looking good and we ran together for the next 9 miles and it was great to have Tom with me at the beginning of the race.  I told him at mile 5 that I was kinda feeling funny at mile 2 and 3 but he said that normal and I was feeling great from the rest of the time with Tom, he broke the wind for me a couple of miles and was great company.  He dropped at mile 10 to go run with Chris Montogomery.  And I had Weldon with me at this moment.  He was on his road bike and we were cruising down Riverside and he didn’t know if he was suppose to do that or not but no one said anything to him.  It was kinda of frustrating because he was not pedaling and I could hear every once in awhile that he would hit the breaks to slow down.  The wind was pushing him a lot and it was pushing me but I was still having to put out a lot of effort to run the pace I was running. Weldon said at one point “is this rights it says we are going 9mph” I told him yes we are going pretty fast right now.  I hit the half at 1:23:30, He continued with me until we got to the end of Riverside and then he went to head back to get his truck and camera to meet us at the finish.

This is really when the marathon started for me, because up to this point it had been pretty easy but when I turned up to go into down town Tulsa the uphill became hard and the wind.  I looked at my watch going up one of these hills and saw a pace of 7:15. My slowest mile at this point was into the wind at mile 6 or 7 and it was a 6:42 with Tom breaking some wind.  The slowest mile I had in 2011 was a 7:00 and in 2011 I ran the second half 12 seconds slower than the first half.  But this would not be true for 2012 because I couldn’t put together any strong miles against the wind or the hills that the second half had to offer.  One of the great things about this section was that I was still passing people and I hadn’t gotten passed yet!  So I was still running pretty strong even though my pace had slowed.  Then I hit a really slow mile against the wind and a girl comes up beside me and I get behind her to let her take some of the wind.  Then I hear, “always running with a girl,” and it was Tom standing on the side cheering me on.  I hung in for a tough couple miles and then got into Tulsa Campus.  I was flying in this area last year and it was hard to be running about 20 seconds slower per mile in this area somewhere in this area or before this area was mile 20 and I was really wanting to rally because I looked at my watch and did the math and knew I could still PR.  The wind in TU just really discouraged me and I was just trying to hang in there.  And that is what I did for the next 4 miles and then I got to mile 24 and Tom pops out and runs with me again up a big hill which was a huge help!  And then I pressed on to pass 2 more people at the finish with a time of 2:58.  A couple minutes from a PR but I was super happy with this run and any Boston Qualifier is a good day when I hadn’t ran well all of 2012!

My legs were pretty good and my toes were tore up pretty good!  But it was great!  My favorite part about the trip was driving back at Sallisaw on top of Backbone Mountain seeing the Sun Pop Out and shining on Cavanal the World’s Highest Hill!  I am ready to start running that dude and getting to top more often!

I love where I live and love to run where I live!

Rails To Trails Winter 2012 Magazine

Click this Link to View the Article

Pretty Pumped that I get to be apart of a small part of this running community in Poteau, OK.

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything on this Blog in almost a Year!

I am currently about to put some of my Race Data on the Blog and then start Blogging about my Adventures from this point on.  Help me not forget all the fun I have out in the wild and pushing my body to the limits!