Clear Creek Whitewater Kayak - Clayton, OK

 Clear Creek - April 2022

 

Alarm Clock went off at 5am – snooze, snooze and then get the eyes cleared to open up the river gauge… All Blue!!!  If you know what I am talking about there is a website that shows all the rivers in Arkansas and they were Blue, which means to big to float, which means little creeks are flowing wild and free and it is time to go boat something crazy!

 

I text Albert and he texted me back at 6am, and said, “I am on the road to check levels around Clayton, OK. Yes, OK as in Oklahoma…. There is one river on the Ozark River Pages that is in Oklahoma and it is in Pushmataha County.  Pine Creek- South of Clayton and it dumps into the Kiamichi River, which is all part of the Ouachita Forest.

 

Pine has a huge water shed and it goes when the storms form in lower southeast Oklahoma.  I have ran Pine at many different levels and with much rain it turns into a raging river, not a Creek.  It has broken my paddle in half, left me with broses, scrapes, and even a boat pin in Spring 2022, (that is another story in itself).  My first-time down Pine I felt I had left Oklahoma and entered this weird state I had never visited.  The rock cliffs were breathe taking and the rapids were intense and full on demanding.

 

I got my coffee, bagel and out the door I went, chasing Albert to Clayton, OK to find something epic, and it wouldn’t be Pine Creek.  It would be just on the other side of the ridge of Pine Creek Water Shed. All the water that fell to the north of this beautiful ridge formed Clear Creek.  My buddy Jake said, “Pine is like the main vain and there are all the other little run offs that have so much potential and adventure.” Little did I know what wild creek I would see. Clear was one of the jewels that I never seemed to get the stars aligned for me to get the unlock its mystery of Power, Beauty and Wild Whitewater.

 

Albert planned for us to meet Charlie in Clayton, Charlie had some car trouble and had to back out of the trip, and the water was falling out quick so we decided to make our move.  I didn’t know the history of this creek. Understanding now that Heath Day discovering this creek and unlocking the rapids, and usually taking several guys into the gorge at a time.  Scouting rapids ahead as another sets safety with a rope.   Well not today, it was just Albert and I and as we paddle the slow current in beginning I was asking questions to Albert. “When was the last time you boated this? How many times have you boated this?”  Albert and Jake are my boating buddies, you trust them with all you got when you hit the crazy stuff.  You would go after them and they would come after you, that is a fellowship like a brotherhood that is priceless.  They lead you into crazy stuff and pull you out when you mess up.  They teach you the lines, the way of the river.  Sometimes they could boat all day and never say a word to each other.  Just finding yourself and finding beauty in something that is so powerful.  I usually have God on my mind the whole time I am boating, of his beauty and power.  And never did I feel closer than I did on Clear Creek a chilly spring morning in April 2022.

 

We had a few down trees to portage around and then we start to get into some rapids that are blind drops which is not a big deal until you take a bad line into the drop and wish you could hit the brakes and back up and pick a different line.  The moss on the rocks is so green and the deeper we get into the gorge the bigger the rocks grow from the sides of the cliffs.  The trees are coming sideways out of the hills and the water is no longer running into the gorge it is falling over the rocks making tons of water falls into Clear Creek.  Rapid after Rapid, turn after turn it gets super narrow and you have to be so quick on your turns and picking your lines.  Which is much easier chasing someone that knows the river and you are on their 6-o-clock.

O-Gorilla is the first big rapid and I had seen a few videos on YouTube but always the videos don’t give it justice.  Before we get to O-Gorilla there is a must catch eddie on river right.  Eddie is dead water formed behind a rock or tree that you can dart into and come to stop.  I ask Albert, “what is the betta if I miss the eddie?” And he says, “just go with the flo, maybe a left boof stroke and then stay kinda right to the bottom and a big eddie on the right, just don’t miss the eddie!”  So we catch the eddie and climb up on the edge of this massive drop into a scary looking hole, which then narrows into a split which if you go left it looks to have a good chance to slam you against a rock wall. Right is a faster shoot to some bigger rapids into the right turn into the eddie.  It takes almost 15 mins to climb down with a safety rope and camera to video Albert make the first drop.  He goes a little right of the boof rock he wanted to hit and works out ok but tosses him off balance and he is upside down going into the narrow, not a big deal if he rolls his kayak up. But if he doesn’t, he is going to go for a bad swim, at this point I am close to tossing the rope just to having it out there close to his boat if he were to swim and he rolls up like a pro… I scream, “YEAH, YEAH MAN!”  as he shoots down the next rapid.

 

Albert climbs up to set safety for me and I look over things again and look and look. Look enough Albert finds a good angle for a picture of me looking some more!

 

The betta on the line is cross the current into the river left eddie and then peal out and drive straight with a little right angle off the rock book in the center.  I get fired up just before I make my turn into the current. And then 1 second later your already into the drop with no time to correct or think.  I am coming off the boof rock with a left angle not a right angle, and I don’t remember having much time to think about anything but leaning back as the rock on river left seemed to be getting super close to me.  I hit my paddle on this rock and tosses me upside down.  I am turned the wrong way upside down now to do my right-handed roll.  My left side is not so good, (need to work on that!) so I switch under water and roll up.  And my first thought is, “where in the heck am i?”  Then I see Albert, and I know now that I am going down the river backwards and have time to turn just before going down the shoot into the next rapid.

 

1 of the big 3 down with many no names in the middle that should be named are big!

Next up Sideways Slide? Something like that, we take a good look and it and it is straight forward and I get turned sideways in the top and go down a shoot backwards and turn to go down the bigger drop/slide correctly! Which that thing is fast and fun!

 

Big 3 and now we are to the 3^rd… Boof Bounce and Slide

Boof Bounce and Slide had to be scouted and I watch Alberts line, and then I hike up and know I need to be a little further left than he was.  But looking at it from a big rock in the middle of a 100 yard long rapid and looking at it from your kayak from the top you’re just thinking. “Where is my line, am I on it?”

I nail the boof, I would say a 6 foot drop over the hole of water below into some current which pushes me right over the middle viewing scout rock which I somehow hit with the front of my boat.  Not a ton of water in this area it is all down below me about 10 feet and I slide slow using my core to keep my bow of my boat pointed right which is uphill.  I know if I get turned river left that the current is going to grab the front of my boat and flip me or twist me into the wall and do who knows what with me.  As I slide down, I remember there being a hole at the top of this flume and I think I slide right into it.  It grabbed the back of my boat and pushed water into my boat and hit the back of my life jacket and at this moment it felt just like Rockin Roller Coast at Disney World… It was like a shot out of a canyon, I couldn’t see anything and was just at the mercy of the river and never had I felt so powerless.  It shot me to the bottom and it was one of the craziest rapids I have ever ran in my life!

 

The rest of this run was still wild with narrow shoots and lots and lots of rocks! We had one portage because there was a huge D-Rock in the middle of the rapid and was very glad we didn’t run that one.  Can’t wait to make another run at it or Crum Creek but for sure would like another wing man next time, aka Jake!!  - Oklahoma Whitewater Bucket List 

 

 

Jack and Jill Marathon 2019

Jack and Jill Marathon 2019

I have let myself down and the folks that follow me over the past couple of years by not sharing my adventures. Not sure if it has been from all the issues I have had or not meeting my goals or just my inverted side, yes I have this side to me sometimes!

            

The end of 2018 was packed with many let downs. First was my second sinus surgery and worst of all vestibular neuritis – say that fast 5 times! 

Vestibular neuritis is an inner ear disorder that may cause a person to experience such symptoms as sudden, severe vertigo (spinning/swaying sensation), dizziness, balance problems, nausea and vomiting.

I could go into this topic for a complete blog post but I will cut to the details.  I couldn’t drive for three solid weeks and couldn’t ride my bike for about six weeks, life changing!!!   According to my specialist I will have to deal with this for years to come, but I have advanced rapidly in my therapy.  But I’m still fighting symptoms!

December 2018 I ran Dallas White Rock for the third year in a row and I ran a Boston Qualifier for 2019 with a time of 3:08, however registration was already closed for 2019. And then I found out that Boston had changed the qualifying time to a 3:05 for my age group!  After I finished this race I was so dizzy I could barely walk but despite this I felt like I had the perfect day with a strong finish!

Without my winter training on the bike or running I put on some weight, 192lbs NAKED!  The heaviest I had been in my life.   Inspired by Beach Body Leader, Juleah Brooks I started writing down my weight and watching what I ate a little closer and also thinking of how daily working out is so good for my body, mind, and soul.  Shout out to you girl for inspiring so many and keeping to the plan!  It is the same plan I have, you write down a goal and chase after it!

I love running the OKC Memorial Marathon and was glad to get back out on a new course.  My run was ok but I really didn’t have the fitness needed, however it was great in my training block leading up to the Jack and Jill Marathon.  Then I moved back to my love of Mountain Biking. I had skipped many bike races in the fall and the spring but I just couldn’t miss my favorite Ouachita Challenge 2019. Even though I didn’t race well, I knew this was a good building block for me moving forward to fitness goal and getting closer to a BQ, Boston Qualifier.  I had managed to work my way down to 173 lbs – ALMOST A 20 lb DROP!

Sorry for the long background, but I felt it was essential since I haven’t been blogged about races in a long time stemming from the frustration of no motivation, drive and all kinds of sickness.

Jack and Jill Marathon – Northbend, WA –  July 2019

We got off the shuttle bus at the top of the mountain at 6:28 am and the race started at 6:30. I ran to get in the port-a-jon line, but Kristin said heck with the port-a-jon and headed to the woods.  Then we still had about a ¼ of a mile to run to get to the start, my mind was racing as I didn’t want to miss the start.  I wasn’t so much worried about missing the start as they have chip timing but the dilemma is you head into a 2.5 mile tunnel a little over ¼ mile into the race.  I didn’t want to get trapped in the back and have trouble passing in the tunnel!  Yes I did say 2.5 MILES of tunnel, so bring a headlamp if you run this marathon. Starting temp was 49ish and in the tunnel was around 45ish.  It was amazing but I didn’t have gloves and was only running in a singlet.  I loved not worrying about my pace at the beginning of the race because of the tunnel.  It was very quiet with footsteps echoing throughout the tunnel.   The footing was small gravel and dirt and 90% of my training is on the Frisco Trail in Poteau, an old railroad trail, which is the same surface. But this old railroad path was 26.2 miles going down a mountain dropping 2500 feet.  So yes downhill the complete way with only a 15 foot climb at mile 8!

We came out of the tunnel and dropped our headlamps and I hit the first aid station and felt like I was flying.   I then begin to look at my watch wondering if it would find satellite soon and start giving me some accurate mile splits.

I hit the 10k mark at 6:30 average pace.  The last few 5k’s I ran were at 6:15 pace so this was a little scary but I could tell my heart was low and my pace was doing ok.

There were not a lot of runners to talk to so I was just took in the amazing views of the trees and mountains on this overcast morning. 

Half Marathon Marker 1:28:30, I missed a box of gels they had and I was little sad because I was really wanting a couple. Thankfully I had 5 packed but I knew if things went south I would start slamming them.  The sun began to break through the clouds off and on, and you could feel the temps change. Often running from the sun to the shade would cause a drop of 8 to10 degrees. When you would curve into a massive forest and hear waterfalls and the water running or crossing a bridge would have to be my favorite parts of the race!  Over this gradual descent you would always be looking at the next corner, curve or forest.  It really helped to keep my mind off of (this hurts, you didn’t train enough, you could blowup any second!)

Mile 20 (The Wall) – We dropped into a couple steep hills that were short and this was when I knew my quads were totally trashed!  I had been looking at my splits around 18 and I knew I was slowing, but with my training base of miles this was sure to happen.  The next 3 miles my mind was in a place of “you got this” and my body was like “no you need to slow down!”  I lost about 30 seconds per mile from mile 20 to 23 and if I was looking at 3 more miles at this pace I wasn’t going to qualify for Boston with a 3:05. I needed just about 7 minute per mile pace and with a 7:28 at mile 23 my mind was beginning to see Boston 2020 slip away!  But my running buddies before the race said, “Take your mind to your happy place,” a place that says, “You got this!” I begin remembering the past few months of training and my mind took me to long runs with Stevie & Jenny Chitwood and my amazing wife Kristin. Thinking, “Stevie could only run about 5 miles at a time last year and he is going to be right behind me today in his first full marathon!  Knowing that the hardest devoted fitness chicks in Leflore County would be kicking my shoes as they put in the work and miles to be major veteran Boston Qualifiers! Picturing an early morning run with my son Stihl on the Frisco Trail and how he wanted to race the last ¼ mile and I couldn’t beat him no matter how hard I tried!  Pounding miles with gallons upon gallons of sweat! My mind said, “You might not get this chance on that trail with this weather to get a BQ, so forget it and run!”   I somehow got my body to give me 3 hard miles!  But not without the most pain I have had at the finish of a marathon, mostly because normally I would slow down.

 

Mile 26 – With 2 tenths of a mile to go there was a lady standing on the corner right before the mile 26 sign. She said, “You are amazing, “Your almost there, you got this!” she was screaming. I couldn’t see the finish line and my watch mileage had been all over the charts from the beginning with the long tunnel!  But that lady was my hero. Because as I finally turned the slow long last corner I saw 50 different state flags flying and lots of folks cheering.  The announcer said, “Josh Snyder, Poteau, OK you just qualified for Boston Marathon!

After the marathon we went to Seattle and hung out. We had plenty of laughs at how blown up my quads were! We drove our cool rental Jeep onto Washington State’s Ferry and into the Olympic National Forest.  We spent several days hiking, cliff jumping, cold water soaking, waterfall hunting, fishing, ocean gazing and my wives favorite detour from the plan, Off ROAD JEEPING!

 

It is so pretty in Washington I can’t explain it.  The mountains are steep and the tree’s are huge!  I could sit in the wild and drink coffee for hours in Seattle’s outer regions.

My wife is the best planner for a vacation and has had the details for this trip nailed down for months. Plus she writes training plans and is probably the most driven, amazing women I know! I love you and thank you for planning such am amazing trip that would take me 10 blogs to explain the adventures and memories we made and I can’t wait to make a million more with you! Happy 16^thanniversary!

Run for the Red 2017

Run for the Red,

Haven’t’ blogged in awhile, really due to lack of motivation to focus on a goal.  Starting 2017 I trained hard getting ready for endurance MTB season and had a few good races until I tried to run my 8^th annual Athens Big Fork Marathon (that is still the hardest marathon in the US!)  It was rescheduled to the middle of my MTB Races and I think it caused a down effect to my legs, lungs, and soul.  Soon after I hit Boston Marathon chasing my beautiful wife and I thought this would be easy and I soon found out my legs were shot!   Then another race soon after burning the candle on both ends and boom I was out of commission for almost 2 weeks.  Live and Learn - Always Learning seems to be my slogan these days.

On to the Race: As we arrived to NYC for Run for the Red 2017 we rented a car and I get to drive in NYC - yes I am not ready for that but I got a Ford Fiesta and I was putting it on the floor testing the rental to see what it kind of of power it had!  Kristin has 3 GPS units running at the same time in minutes and I am trying to SYNC so I can get some Ed Sharron jamming over the Fiesta Top of the Line sound system to ease my nerves!

Next day we hop in the Fiesta and hit the interstate heading to the PA and right before we stop and hit the Appalachian Trail (a dream Kristin has had to run and hike on) so we got a pre marathon shake out on the AT and it was really amazing and the weather couldn’t have been better!

Roll into the small but big town of Stroudsburg, PA to a super nice High School where they hold the running expo - super laid back and small - love it!  But my stomach was upset because I was standing at the computer to sign up for the Full Marathon and really really really wanting to sign up.  My wife was not telling me to sign up and not telling me not to sign up.   My mind was saying you can finish another marathon and was also seeing Kristin running leaving me at mile 15 in Boston marathon.  Two problems with this:

1.     I haven’t been training or running pretty much at all!

2.     Kristin is just running too stinking fast!

The lady told me there were 2 spots open and I thought, “I have to do it now it is a sign!”  Then she picked up a stack of 200 bibs she had open for the race and laughed.

I DID NOT SIGN UP!   So proud of myself the next day of the race, because dropped K-Jo off at the start and I was still thinking I could hop out and run bandit.  But I resisted and drop back down the mountain to finish line and lined up for the 5k and took off having a great time until they turned to go back to the finish I kept going backwards on the marathon course getting a lot of funny looks and people saying, “You are going the wrong way!”  I ran to mile 17 fixing cones on the racecourse that some redneck ran over and saw my wife running super strong at mile 17.  I jumped in the woods to drop the big Dunkin Donut coffee I had drank so I could keep up with her!   She was killing it and I was already covered in sweat but now we had a head wind which felt great as I picked up the pace to stay it her!   The course is so pretty the whole way!  I ran to the finish with her and she got another Boston Qualifier and she earned it!

 

You can just step up to marathon and get a Boston Qualifier pretty sure even some fast guys would agree with me!  You have to work for it and I may have been in pretty good biking shape this spring I didn’t train for a marathon and my body showed me and told me that I didn’t train for marathon this spring.  Kristin and some others in Poteau Area have worked hard and you can see their results but as I am getting older it is not just about hard work.  It is a training plan that you can enjoy and most important get to the starting line healthy and not beat up!  Kristin did this for 2016 and 2017 she is getting faster even with her age!

She ask me at Bar Nine was next and I told her I really didn’t know but going to get a race or races to sign up for and then start with a plan!   She said, “I will write you a plan!” 

So plans are coming soon and you can bet there will be some longer days coming and lots of elevation!  A new training buddy I am pumped for is Scarlett just moved up a size on that bike!  Which means I don’t have to break my back to hold her and she will be killing me as she rides the bike and I run!  Lots of swimming work to help the body recover, core workouts and rock climbing!  Looking back at when I was strong and what I was doing more of in my work-outs!

Kristin love you and proud to have ran with you and have such a great weekend with you!  PS what out for cracks in the sidewalks in NYC!

Athens Big Fork Marathon 2016

 

            8am Big Fork Community Center and it is raining stead temp 38 and forecast is more rain and temp slowly dropping every hour. “Snap,” we take a quick picture and ready set go we are off in the cold rain!  ABF is always the first week in January which is awesome because anything to help burn some calories after Christmas and New Years is a go in my books!  But 2016 the first Saturday fell on Jan. 2^nd which is where I will start my story will begin.

            January 2^nd – 8:30am at the Womble MTB Trail Head – with some of the best guys I can imagine including my 11 year-old son!  18 of us unloading getting our gear on getting tires set to the perfect air pressure.  A few of the ladies had already used the woods so I took the wet wipes for a stroll in the woods and came back after doing my duty.  This is when my good friend Josh leaned next to me and said, “Dude did you crap on yourself?”  I then looked at my left foot nothing, then the right foot, ohhhhhhhhhhh there it was!  I had stepped in my wives poop, yes human poop, not dog poop!  Not a big deal but I would have 2 flats that day with one major break down where I would have to smell that smell off and on during the adventure!   That was free and had nothing to do with ABF but I should have been running ABF Jan 2^nd and then resting Jan 9^th so I could be fresh for Tom Brennan’s OT 50k Switchbacks.

Working on some Poteau Trails

            Taking off slow was the plan and that is what I stuck with going out slower than I had ever gone at ABF, I normally don’t look at my watch going out but this year I did after the 7^th mountain to see I was moving slower than normal.  And the course record holder taught me a trick early when I started racing.  On an out and back course you can look at your watch when 1^st place goes buzzin by and you can double the time when you get to the turn around with a little math.  So I did this with 1^st and 2^nd place and I was 12 minutes behind and I was having a great time at the warm aid station at Athens.  A group from Texarkana always has a great time and have a great aid station and the rain didn’t slow them down they had a fire blazing!  They ask me where I was from and I told them Poteau, OK and they were going on about how someone from Poteau usually wins or several guys in  from Poteau in the front.  I went on to tell them I might try to catch them because I was freezing cold!  So that is what I did I started running to warm my body by running hard.    I went on to move into 2^nd place about halfway back and then 2 miles to go I saw 1^st place!  A part of me was mad because now I had to run hard to try to run him down.  I started picking it up but with a mile left to go he looked back and it was one of the most memorable moments of my trail racing.

            Chris Block went on to look back 20 more times in the next mile but the 6:55 pace for the last mile wasn’t enough to wrap him in.  As we crossed the finished line he looked back and gave me a few choose words and then gave me a hug!

            I love this race and as for now it is my staple marathon I you will see me at this race hopefully 20 years from now with my streak going of finishing the hardest marathon on the planet but one of the most beautiful at the same time!

Running with Venom

Texting Sam in July that I am going to be 20 minutes late from a family outing to meet him for our run.  I arrive at the house at 8:10 ready to run about 40 minutes later than I would have preferred to leave for a run up Cavanal Hill.  I ask Sam if we could run the 7 mile loop on the road and then I saw his Dog, knowing he wanted to run the trail.  I then implied for us to put the dog in the back yard or the garage.  Sam had previously done both of these things leading to great disaster and costly damages!  So Sam said, “I am running the hill!”  I didn’t hesitate, I love that mountain in my backyard the challenges it brings, I grabbed my head lamp and off we went!

Cavanal Hill- Worlds Largest Hill in my back yard and it is 3.5 miles to the top with a little 2,000 feet of elevation!  The first mile I blazed though the woods and over a couple rock drop cliff areas with about 800 feet of elevation gain of climbing.  We were climbing this first mile and I was about 8 minutes into the run and I was killing about 1 horsefly per minute of running wishing I had a shirt on and listening to Sam laugh as he bragged about putting on some Oil that was keeping the horseflies away from him.  I though to myself I need to stop worrying about the horseflies and watch the trail.  Hoping many rocks getting darker by the second.  I then scream grabbing at my ankle!  Sam yells, “Snake” I yell back, “it just BIT me, what kind is it.”  Next words Sam’s mouth were evil but true! “Stay Calm” knowing he was about to tell me it was a rattlesnake or copperhead.  He said, “it is a BIG Copperhead.”  I then scream louder and pretty sure I was jumping up and down!  Sam then goes CrossFit style on the copperhead dropping rocks on it as I was tying my headband around my ankle.  Next thing I know I look up and my dog is nose to nose with that Snake and Sam is yelling at her!

I then begin the long mile down the hill hurting more and more with every step, wishing Sam would speed up at times and wishing he would slow down at times. Our headlamps are on now and we can see the trail better than what we could see just minutes before when it was dusk.  I stopped at one point to feel my heart and it was beating threw the roof!  Not sure if it was from the snake or from the adrenaline going through my body.  We made it to the flatter area about 300 yards from the house and Sam took off to get my family warned and things ready to get me to the hospital.  I figured I would do what I normally do after a run, jump in the pool, figured at this point it was get rinsed off and cooled down a little and for sure lower my heart rate!  My wife comes running out and Sam is sprinting up the trail yelling for me!  I yell back that I am in the pool and they are shocked that I was taking a dip in the pool.

I jump in Sam’s truck and off we go to Poteau Hospital, my wife and kids are on there way to papa’s and glandma’s so she can drop the kids off.  Stihl my oldest is crying & my youngest Scarlett is laughing saying “daddy……. Snake….. bite….” I try to call a doctor friend and text him hoping to find out what to do.  Then I call another good friend, Dautis that was bit just 2 months previous. No luck from either friend, the pain now is starting to settle in the foot and it hurting pretty bad.  Arriving at the hospital I get to see a good friend, Brandy who is a nurse.  I then get the foot up and start the long process with Poteau on how they didn’t really know what to do with the snakebite.  They wanted to get me in an ambulance and take me to Fort Smith and I wouldn’t do it!  I then start throwing up every 5 to 10 minutes in extreme pain.  Get some more pain meds in me and K-Jo and I are off to Fort Smith.  They didn’t help much over there either. The Doctor tried to put me in the waiting room as I was filling a barf bag and the head nurse said I have a room we can get him in.  I finally held down an anti-nausea pill long enough that I stopped throwing up and now was moving out the other end every 20 minutes… Couldn’t believe that much fluid was in me!  I hit the famous 6 hour mark and they sent me home.  This is when the swelling started.  It was 3 in the morning now and I fell asleep for 3 hours.  Waking up to a wife that was worried sick about my leg as over the next 24 hours it would swell to the size of a 400 pound man’s leg would look.

Prayers and loving friends taking care of me kept me sane through the pain.  The next 3 days I would only get out of bed 7 times.  You will see me in the pool in extreme pain to get in there but probably the most relaxed at had been in 3 days and also my first half redneck bath!

I am writing this exactly 6 weeks later and wow what a 6 weeks it has been!  I have never been hurt very long over the past 7 years and if I had a running hurt I would fall to biking and always work through it. Would I go from fast to not as fast, yes but never was I not able to do what I love, running, biking and playing with the kids outside. 

A good friend of mine, Jason Waymire shared one of his struggles with me, “Josh I had to find who I was because I was a different person not being able to be active.”  This is so true to what I have been going through the past weeks.  I am still having trouble and pain. Swelling when I take off running or biking.  Not swelling when I am running.  So trying to find the medium is where I am at for now.

I hope that if you have been injured you are staying strong to get back at it and fight to do what you love!  I love the outdoors and hope to not be scared of the woods or snakes!  This 2015 year started out with a dream ride at Queenwillamena 105 miles and 16k of elevation, thinking I could go do anything!  Then down and out with a big surgery on my nose coming back to do another huge ride to my Grandmother’s House of 163 miles! To snake bitten and out for the rest of 2015 season!

DON’T GIVE UP!

Boston Marathon 2014

Boston Marathon 2014

            When signing up for “the Boston Marathon 2014,” I knew my wife wouldn’t be going on this trip and didn’t look at the calendar until it came time to get my plane ticket and it would put me flying out 2 hours after our Church Easter Service which I lead the music so I couldn’t miss nor did I want to miss the biggest service of the year service was pretty amazing!  So I jumped in the truck and flew out of XNA Rogers, AR and made my flight just in time.  I arrived at my Hotel at 11:00pm to stay the night with Matt Aguero my long time marathon buddy.  They changed the rules this year and said you have to pick up your race bib and chip in person with an ID because of the increased security.  I emailed (BAA) Boston Athletic Association probably 3 to 4 weeks prior to the race not knowing if I could get on the bus to get to the race without a bib, let along get an official time or even this year get scanned with a metal detector before getting into the start of the race.  My wife would call me crazy for trying to go and race without a bib, but soon after the BAA emailed me back and told me to call them on Tuesday 6 days before the race.  They then told me I could pick up my bib the morning of the race at 6am at location that I wouldn’t tell anyone and that I wouldn’t tell anyone that they were handing my bib out after the running expo had closed.  It happened to the lobby of my hotel, small world and I began to think the stars were aligning for me to run a great Boston Marathon.

            This would be my 3^rd Boston Marathon and for the 2 previous years I hadn’t ran well, the course, crowd and weather seem to be perfect but I hadn’t even qualified for Boston at Boston Marathon which meant thousands of runners had passed me previous years.  This Race was to be different because I was having an the best spring I had ever had with many top finishes in 50k trail runs, Trail Marathons and in the peak training ran just a few seconds slower than my half-marathon PR on a very hard course at the Vike-Hike Half-Marathon to out kick another racer to finish 1^st place at a 6:14 overall pace with 700 feet of elevation gain.  This means a 6:35 to 6:45 pace at Boston should be a breeze right?  And if I were to run much slower I might not catch my plane back to home!

            Matt Aguero usually trains and runs 2 marathons per year, 1 spring and 1 fall, and he is the most consistent runner I have ever seen with splits training and race times!  I took his training for Boston Marathon 2013 (bombing year) and didn’t run well.  So I looked at my past training from my PR at Tulsa marathon on a hilly course, which was cross training and doing many races and applied it to my 2014 Boston Approach.   I would hope for the best I got pretty beat up after the Vike Hike it was all concrete, but what got me worse was a sinus infection and a bad case of poison ivy which would lead to a trip to the Doctor and the nurse getting to give me a shot in the butt!  I hate shots, as the nurse said, “for a guy that runs marathons you sure scared of a little needle.”  This would lead to clearing up my sinus mess and clear up the P-Ivey.

            A week later at starting line me and Matt would have to wait in line to get into the start of the race as they were scanning runners with metal detectors, guards with 243 assault rifles standing on the building tops everywhere!  Then before I knew it there was a moment of silence for the victims the previous year and the gun fired to start the 2014 race.  I turned to the guys next to me and ask if they put sunscreen on and one of them said, “looks like we are setting in the tan lines for the summer today, have a great race bub and by this time we were finally moving as I started about 4,000 to 5,000 runs back from the starting line.  This is also what the BAA would guess my finish place from my previous qualifier at Tulsa Marathon with a 2:58

            I would cross the line and think of the victoms of the previous year and think of my wife and brand new baby girl walking right through where the bombs seems to be way to soon after she has passed in the explosion points, even though it was an hour later!  And I would start my fast pace of 2 super fast downhill miles at the start of the Marathon.  Whatever pace you want to run at Boston it will be about 30 to 45 seconds faster at the first 2 miles because they are fast and everyone is stinking fast!

I would soon hit a crazy wall at mile 11 as I was setting in a perfect pace but I couldn’t breathe and my ears were feeling blocked and my sinus system was just failing.  I would push on holding pace knowing it wasn’t good but hoping it would pass.  Every marathon has a moment sometimes hopefully short but a moment that feels like wow this stinking hurts but hopefully passes so you can press forward.  But this wasn’t going anywhere and wasn’t going to get better.  The level of effort to the production of pace felt like a steam train that was burning up all the coal and starting to burn on the left over fly ash at mile 15. Pressing this pace with no air wasn’t that hard until my legs said they were done going with out blood and air flowing to them!

            This would be the start of not a death march because I would keep running at all cost with now the thought of missing my plane that was to leave 2 hours after my planned sub 3-Hour-Marathon.  I would hope the best for now just making the plane.  It would be the hardest my body as pushed through pain.   Sad when you have the best crowd cheering you from starting line to finish line, 26 miles streets lined with cheering fans and tons of  “Boston Strong” sign everywhere! I had my name and Heb. 12:1 on the side of my arm on each side which would leave a pretty cool sunburn tattoo on my right arm!  But the crowd wouldn’t just scream for Meb USA Boston Champing setting a new PR and retiring from Marathon racing but would cheer for the Okie with Joshua on his arm with the wheels falling off!

Wesley College (all girls halfway mark and they scream so loud!)

I finished at a rough 3:35ish and wow what a day feeling as medical folks were trying to take me to the medic tent and I told them I didn’t have time to go to it. 

I walked through the madness of a marathon finish and leaned against a rail trying to give my body a rest as a medical student said you need to get in the wheel chair and go to the medical tent.  I told him my flight was leaving in 1 hour he said from, “you better get going!”  And I did, I soon a volunteer if I was going the correct way to get to my hotel and get my bag because they didn’t check bags at the finish now.  She tried to turn me around and I told her she was wrong.  She said, “where are you from? Because I am from Boston.”  But I didn’t take her advise and glad I didn’t I stopped at the next block and ask again and my hotel was right, “thank God I am going to make my flight.”  I was feeling sick as I would walk what seemed to be 50 yards and then have to stop and lean against the wall or whatever I could find as I felt I was going to throw up on since I had crossed the finish line.  I came into the hotel room and there was Matt he had ran an amazing time and finish 190^th out of almost 40,000 runners, truly an amazing marathoner with a 2:35 finish! WOW I told him I was not doing good and hadn’t had a good day and he said sit down I said I have to get my bag and go there was not time to change clothes it was get to the airport!  He walked me out and helped me get a taxi!  Thank you Matt you are an amazing friend!  I then would take off my shoes and put on a different pair of shoes.  Why do taxi’s crack the windows? Saving gas? Because it was hot in that taxi and then when hit the tunnel going under the water you smell all the exhaust from other cars and it was enough to put me into a cold sweat and you know what comes next!  Yes Matt the good friend he was had given me an extra check bag that he had picked up at the running expo for me!  Told him the night before I didn’t need it but my head was buried it in now throwing up 2 Gatorade’s, 2 gels and a water!  The taxi drive was screaming and pulled over super fast and rips the door open to see a nasty taxi but it was all in the clear check bag and I held it up like a trophy and he was so grateful it almost made me smile.  But I still was hurting and continue my 50 yard segment stop.  Got into the airport got my ticket process going and ask the airline agent for a bag and she said we don’t have any and I told her I just threw up in the taxi and she found one really fast for me!  Remind you I now am wearing flip flops, a race jersey, short shorts and backpack in one hand and an empty K-mart bag in the other hand.  And if you want sympathy from TSA you never get it. But if you walk in like you had just finished the hardest marathon in your life they will rub your back, help you get your stuff checked even walk you to the bench with your shoes!

I no looked at my watch and still had 30 minutes so I walked into the food court and bought a water from McDonalds because they didn’t have a cup of ice water so spent $2.78 on 16 ounces of water and drank it.  I then sit down and put my head down on the table.  This was the finally the point where I felt like I stopped moving since I crossed the finish line.   Sat there until I figured I better change closes in the bathroom another 50 yards and head to the gate, which was about 50 more yards.  I sat at the gate and looked at Starbucks thinking I needed another water but it was past my range it was 100 yards!  I didn’t really care that a bottle of water was going to cost me 3 bucks at this point it was just I didn’t think it was worth the effort of 200 yards!  So then I got a text from Josh Wiersig that said he was praying for me because he had checked on me early and I texted him and told him I was hurting bad!  He said “I am praying for you.”  Well I know God had answered his prayer as I sat at the end of line as I always do waiting to get on a plane a man handed me a 1.5 liter bottle of water! He said, “you looked like you needed this I saw you come in earlier and something just told me to buy you this.”  Then the flight attendant saw I was hurting and got me a whole row to myself to lye down in.  She soon would place her hand on me and I jumped and cramped. She said, “was checking to make sure you were still alive!”

            Still don’t know why I didn’t run well at Boston, could be sinus troubles, could be I was over trained, or wore down from so many races this Spring?  I plan to go to Boston again when my wife gets her a BQ and we plan a longer adventure together.

In the mean time another Marathon another day! Sign up for a race and get out there and TRAIN!

Meb Winning!