This'll be a shorter blogpost--I promise--I think.
A HUGE group from RunnersWorld rode to OKC on a chartered buss to run the OKC Marathon this past weekend. Coach Kathy organized the trip which included accomodations and a pasta dinner. The trip down on the party bus was actually more fun than the marathon itself.
The above pic swiped from Terrie. Thanks, Terr Bear. We goofed around all the way to the expo, and did not have to go through the hassle of find parking and then finding where in the heck we parked after ambling around looking at all kinds of nifty running stuff.
The pre-race dinner was good but not great.
Drinks and craziness followed, but that will wait for another tell-all post.
Marathon morning, the hopeful forcast of dry weather detiorated rapidly. Lightning was in the area, and the race was delayed for 30 minutes, and we should have reboarded the bus, but instead we found a vacant tent to hole up in.
Wave after wave of wind and rain blew through, and we wondered if the race would happen, but someone heard from a race official that the start would be pushed back 30 minutes.
Turns out, this tent we would visit later in the day, as it was right at the end of the chute in the finish area. After crossing the finish mat, getting a medal, a foil blanket, grabbing water, bananas, oranges, and a warmed over cheese burger, we would amble right to this tent and collect our finisher's shirt. The nice stack of boxes made a perfert bed for a sleep deprived zombie.
At about 6:50, I left the shelter of the tent, and hit a vacant porta-john. Then, I managed to find my buddy Russell who seemed to know where we needed to go. We were very near the end of the 25,000 -strong mob of wet runners. I am not sure if a gun went off, but a roar from the crowd and some distorted announcements told us the race had started.
I had my Canon with me--in a neoprene sock, in my Amphipod belt pack, and under my Icebreaker shirt. It was raining, and the camera is not water proof, so the pic above is one of the very few I took during the race.
Normally, I'd go snap-crazy, but this day with the rain, and because I was actually gonna run the race hard, the camera was hardly used. I almost always take a pic of the capitol building. Here, my buddy and former pacer Amanda stops for a pose. She was running with her mom (another former pacer), and Susan (a former pacee). Susan snapped the picture, and I shamelessly swiped it from her Facebook page.
Another usual photo-op is at Gorilla Hill. It is hardly much of a hill, but people sure talk about it. I ran every step of it. Here, Susan monkeys it up with a bunch of bananas.
I ran into Susan, and gave her a scare when I grabbed her Camelback and shouted "I want yo melon!!" This same thing happened to her for real last month in Dallas, when she was thrown to the ground by a crackhead who was intent on stealing her pack. Why she called it a melon is still a mystery. She was quick with the Kodak and snapped me before I got away. Thanks, Susan, for letting me borrow some pictures, and congrats for running another great half.
I hit the half marathon split at 2:18:09 by my garmin, and felf great at that time despite fighting a stiff north wind and intermittant rain. Once hitting Lake Hefner, nost of the remaining miles went north, and a tail wind would help. My pace really never slowed down much. I had a mile over 11 minutes early in the race due to peeing behind a buliding. Cost me about a minute. I had another 11 minute mile around mile 27, when I guess I had 2 walk breaks within the same mile. Every other mile was 9:40ish to 10:50ish. I ran alone, and kept my focus on running relaxed and keeping a decent pace. It was just me and the rainy pavement.
It was not a social run, and I do miss that, but it was nice to have a good spirited run (spirited for me anway). I finished in 4:36:11.
Not a PR, but I have not had one in that range for a few years. I have no need to beat myself to death trying to improve on that.
There were some tales of hypothermia, intense shivering, cold wet feet, and victory. All of my friends made it to the finish, and there were quite a few PRs to spread around. Dana ran the half, and finished in 2:57--a few minutes slower than her last but in much tougher conditions. She earned her Half-Fanatic status--something I bet she builds on. I was proud of her, although in my trance-like running mindset, I ran right past her in the early going of the race, and fortunately Pat flagged me down. Dana and I got separated at the start (remember the porta-john?) and I thought we'd just have to find each other at the finish.
My next marathon will be at a much more relaxed pace, and with my chatty friends. I missed that today.
A HUGE group from RunnersWorld rode to OKC on a chartered buss to run the OKC Marathon this past weekend. Coach Kathy organized the trip which included accomodations and a pasta dinner. The trip down on the party bus was actually more fun than the marathon itself.
The above pic swiped from Terrie. Thanks, Terr Bear. We goofed around all the way to the expo, and did not have to go through the hassle of find parking and then finding where in the heck we parked after ambling around looking at all kinds of nifty running stuff.
The pre-race dinner was good but not great.
Drinks and craziness followed, but that will wait for another tell-all post.
Marathon morning, the hopeful forcast of dry weather detiorated rapidly. Lightning was in the area, and the race was delayed for 30 minutes, and we should have reboarded the bus, but instead we found a vacant tent to hole up in.
Wave after wave of wind and rain blew through, and we wondered if the race would happen, but someone heard from a race official that the start would be pushed back 30 minutes.
Turns out, this tent we would visit later in the day, as it was right at the end of the chute in the finish area. After crossing the finish mat, getting a medal, a foil blanket, grabbing water, bananas, oranges, and a warmed over cheese burger, we would amble right to this tent and collect our finisher's shirt. The nice stack of boxes made a perfert bed for a sleep deprived zombie.
At about 6:50, I left the shelter of the tent, and hit a vacant porta-john. Then, I managed to find my buddy Russell who seemed to know where we needed to go. We were very near the end of the 25,000 -strong mob of wet runners. I am not sure if a gun went off, but a roar from the crowd and some distorted announcements told us the race had started.I had my Canon with me--in a neoprene sock, in my Amphipod belt pack, and under my Icebreaker shirt. It was raining, and the camera is not water proof, so the pic above is one of the very few I took during the race.
Normally, I'd go snap-crazy, but this day with the rain, and because I was actually gonna run the race hard, the camera was hardly used. I almost always take a pic of the capitol building. Here, my buddy and former pacer Amanda stops for a pose. She was running with her mom (another former pacer), and Susan (a former pacee). Susan snapped the picture, and I shamelessly swiped it from her Facebook page.
Another usual photo-op is at Gorilla Hill. It is hardly much of a hill, but people sure talk about it. I ran every step of it. Here, Susan monkeys it up with a bunch of bananas.
I ran into Susan, and gave her a scare when I grabbed her Camelback and shouted "I want yo melon!!" This same thing happened to her for real last month in Dallas, when she was thrown to the ground by a crackhead who was intent on stealing her pack. Why she called it a melon is still a mystery. She was quick with the Kodak and snapped me before I got away. Thanks, Susan, for letting me borrow some pictures, and congrats for running another great half.I hit the half marathon split at 2:18:09 by my garmin, and felf great at that time despite fighting a stiff north wind and intermittant rain. Once hitting Lake Hefner, nost of the remaining miles went north, and a tail wind would help. My pace really never slowed down much. I had a mile over 11 minutes early in the race due to peeing behind a buliding. Cost me about a minute. I had another 11 minute mile around mile 27, when I guess I had 2 walk breaks within the same mile. Every other mile was 9:40ish to 10:50ish. I ran alone, and kept my focus on running relaxed and keeping a decent pace. It was just me and the rainy pavement.
It was not a social run, and I do miss that, but it was nice to have a good spirited run (spirited for me anway). I finished in 4:36:11.
Not a PR, but I have not had one in that range for a few years. I have no need to beat myself to death trying to improve on that.
There were some tales of hypothermia, intense shivering, cold wet feet, and victory. All of my friends made it to the finish, and there were quite a few PRs to spread around. Dana ran the half, and finished in 2:57--a few minutes slower than her last but in much tougher conditions. She earned her Half-Fanatic status--something I bet she builds on. I was proud of her, although in my trance-like running mindset, I ran right past her in the early going of the race, and fortunately Pat flagged me down. Dana and I got separated at the start (remember the porta-john?) and I thought we'd just have to find each other at the finish.My next marathon will be at a much more relaxed pace, and with my chatty friends. I missed that today.
No comments:
Post a Comment