A busy weekend it was indeed. I ran 32 miles over the two days--all at a leisurely pace. I really intended for that much alone on Saturday, but I'm happy with the 20 that I ended up with. The 12 on Sunday were all on trails and were steady and I never felt beat down. It's time to taper now.
Two miles into my Saturday morning, and the sun peeked out of a tree.
Tulsa has hundreds of pelicans who have decided to winter here. I thought they were coastal birds, but the three miles around Zink Dam seems to be to their liking.
Love my running friends. Mitch and Arena are my every day running buds. I enjoyed running a few miles with Rosa, and with a little luck, we might be able to get her on the trails.
I saw Arnold midway through my morning run. It was his 48th birthday, and like most of my ultra friends, he was out to run his age in miles to celebrate. I would liked to have finished up with him, but breakfast seemed more enticing.
Basically, I ran home after eating. I intended on running 30 for the day, but my pace had slowed somewhat, and the wind I was running into had increased--it was cold. I decided to tuck into the woods when I reached the northern end of Turkey Mountain, search for a geocache (which I did not find) and snooped for ideas for this years Barkley Book Fair. While the leaves are off, it is possible to see a lot of rock formations from a distance that are otherwise hidden.
Such was the case with this cave. I thought I knew every nook and cranny on TM, but this day, I made THREE discoveries!!! This crevice goes back 30-40 feet into the earth, and is a narrow hallway.
It actually gets dark near the back, and the only way I could see what was there was by taking pictures. Good thing there was not a mountain lion waiting for me there. (or a bigfoot!!!)
Taken from near the back of the cave.
The next cave was a twin to another cave on the mountain. It's not deep--no passages or anything, and really is more of an overhang. It would serve as a shelter from a storm, and has a great view of the river. Might be a good place for an aid stop for those unfortunate Barkley night runners.
I have read for years about the rune stone carvings on Turkey Mountain. I have found some old carvings that are decades old, but Gwen is supposed to be centuries old. I have been within five feet of this carving many times, but never "looked up." I am convinced this is indeed centuries old. I am also even more fascinated with the lore of Turkey Mountain.
I continued on, and was amazed to find a huge wall of patterns eroded by dripping water.
There is a story in these rocks. When I have time, I will find it.
I had to climb up the face of this, as going back down would have been far more treacherous.
A short careful climb put me onto a trail where we run by every time we go to Turkey. I have been right by much of this hundreds of times and passed it by unknowingly. I suspect Eldridge knows some of the mysteries of this area--I need to find him.
Sunday morning, I ran with the TOTs again. This is the fast group led by Stormy. They looked wiped out, and had finished over six miles at this time, whereas we had finished four in that same time frame.
But tell me our group doesn't look fast! Deon is blazing down the hill--faster than the speed of stationary.
I ended the day with 12 miles, and spent the remainder of the day relaxing. Life is good.
Two miles into my Saturday morning, and the sun peeked out of a tree.
Tulsa has hundreds of pelicans who have decided to winter here. I thought they were coastal birds, but the three miles around Zink Dam seems to be to their liking.
Love my running friends. Mitch and Arena are my every day running buds. I enjoyed running a few miles with Rosa, and with a little luck, we might be able to get her on the trails.
I saw Arnold midway through my morning run. It was his 48th birthday, and like most of my ultra friends, he was out to run his age in miles to celebrate. I would liked to have finished up with him, but breakfast seemed more enticing.Basically, I ran home after eating. I intended on running 30 for the day, but my pace had slowed somewhat, and the wind I was running into had increased--it was cold. I decided to tuck into the woods when I reached the northern end of Turkey Mountain, search for a geocache (which I did not find) and snooped for ideas for this years Barkley Book Fair. While the leaves are off, it is possible to see a lot of rock formations from a distance that are otherwise hidden.
Such was the case with this cave. I thought I knew every nook and cranny on TM, but this day, I made THREE discoveries!!! This crevice goes back 30-40 feet into the earth, and is a narrow hallway.
It actually gets dark near the back, and the only way I could see what was there was by taking pictures. Good thing there was not a mountain lion waiting for me there. (or a bigfoot!!!)
Taken from near the back of the cave.
The next cave was a twin to another cave on the mountain. It's not deep--no passages or anything, and really is more of an overhang. It would serve as a shelter from a storm, and has a great view of the river. Might be a good place for an aid stop for those unfortunate Barkley night runners.
I have read for years about the rune stone carvings on Turkey Mountain. I have found some old carvings that are decades old, but Gwen is supposed to be centuries old. I have been within five feet of this carving many times, but never "looked up." I am convinced this is indeed centuries old. I am also even more fascinated with the lore of Turkey Mountain.
I continued on, and was amazed to find a huge wall of patterns eroded by dripping water.
There is a story in these rocks. When I have time, I will find it.
I had to climb up the face of this, as going back down would have been far more treacherous.
A short careful climb put me onto a trail where we run by every time we go to Turkey. I have been right by much of this hundreds of times and passed it by unknowingly. I suspect Eldridge knows some of the mysteries of this area--I need to find him.
Sunday morning, I ran with the TOTs again. This is the fast group led by Stormy. They looked wiped out, and had finished over six miles at this time, whereas we had finished four in that same time frame.
But tell me our group doesn't look fast! Deon is blazing down the hill--faster than the speed of stationary.
I ended the day with 12 miles, and spent the remainder of the day relaxing. Life is good.
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