Sunday, December 28, 2014

An impromptu 3.2 miles

Driving home on a winding road along a hillside, I hit a chug-hole in the road, which for a second I thought knocked my back out of whack. In the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of something silver whiz by me, and it zigged and zagged before exiting the road  over the edge of a long steep drop off. I pulled over to inspect my tire, and as I feared, the silver passer-by was one of my hub caps.


Fortunately, there was a wide shoulder and even a place to pull completely off the road. Most folks would have just let the hubcap go, being down what looked like a 100 foot deep ravine, but not me. I still ha\d my running stuff and trail shoes on from my morning run, and took this as an adventure.  

The only way down was too steep to walk, but I descended holding on to any small tree I could find and using tree bases for solid braking places for my skidding feet. I really had no clear idea where the hubcap was, and with the still plentiful snow cover, it could have skidded under a drift. I quickly became more interested in the culvert at the bottom.


A second culvert went under a nearby railroad track. I'd like to see these after torrential rains. 


The long passage under the road above was spooky. I am sure I am a little to much of a chicken to pass this way by night. But maybe not--I DID visit a 100 year old cemetery with Satan on one of the tombstones once. A pile of wood (maybe firewood), some old discarded clothes, and several empty milk jugs and 2-liter bottles made me wonder if some modern day moonshine aka meth had been cooked here.


Climbing out the other side, and taking a picture it looks more like a mine shaft entrance. I decided to follow the boulder strewn dry creek bed for a while as it seemed like a trail of sorts. My path was flanked by towering inclines on both sides with old growth trees, dead-fall, and briers. 


Less than a half mile south, I came to a huge overhang--a shelter from a heavy rain or snow if one were stranded here. Feeling like I might be exploring where no one had explored before, I had that idea dashed by crumpled Bud Lite cans littered. Oklahoma rednecks.


Finally, the creek bed was intersected by a 4-wheel drive road which led upward and eastward. I stayed in the creek bed which showed signs of wheeled and foot traffic. About a quarter mile later, the road/trail headed out of the creek bed. That was good--maybe. Getting back to my car before dark was a concern, but climbing out of the cry creek brought the setting sun back up over the horizon. I followed, and the route seemed to bend back toward my car. 

One last climb, and I could tell I'd made a big loop--one I would like to do again. Another hubcap quest when the snow melts.


When in doubt, always follow a power line. Someone will ask me where this is, and if asked privately, I'll tell. I have a few friends who know this area, and we seem to agree to be a little secretive as to this location.


I passed by an area where there was a lot of dumped trash--a particularly disgusting sight which is all to common in Oklahoma. You see odd things dumped in the woods, and this was no exception. 

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Turkey Snow Day

Saturday morning--a "lazy" day for us--meaning we did not get up at 5:00 am as is usually the case for Dana, or 7:00 am as is usually the case for me. I had to make a quick run to 71st/Yale by 9:00, and when I got back Dana was up thinking about breakfast.
Coffee first and foremost, and these home made cinnamon rolls that had raised all night. And no, I did not eat just one.

An unexpected snow was falling, and to my surprise, the gal who hates cold weather wanted to go to Turkey Mountain to run some trailz in the snow.
Jake caught on real quick that there was some talk of running, and left no doubt that he wanted to go. We headed up the hill to the pond on the Blue trail where Jake could get a swim. He did not waste the opportunity, although it was a quick dip.


Running in the snow on the trailz is a real treat. I'd say there was a good two inches, but the trailz were just cold wet mud.


Somebody was having way too much fun this cold winter day.


We took the Blue to the Possum Skull, then cut up to the Ridge trail. At the end, we turned around and headed back--good for 3.6 miles, although it seemed like more. 


Everything was warm, except my shoulders. I had a polar fleece on, and it caught the snow, and the melt saturated me from the top slowly down. Dana had grabbed an overhead tree branch and covered me with snow. (It snowed more on her than me though.)

Another group was running at 2:00 led by Brian Hoover. I wish I could have joined them, but we had to cut it short. Even if it seems crazy, if you are a runner or hiker, you should visit Turkey Mountain in the snow.


Wednesday, December 24, 2014

100 miles is the new marathon

100 milers are the new marathon. I have been saying this for the past year or so, and it's true. 10 years ago, I only knew a few people who had even ran a marathon. In the RunnersWorld group, marathon runners could have been counted on one hand. Now, it takes both hands and both feet to count the 100 mile runners. 

Stan Jensen's website Run100s.com lists136 100 milers, and there are a few more not even listed on his site. There are 36 states that have at least one 100 miler, and there are 7-100 milers in Canada. A few 100 milers not listed on his website are the Barkely Marathon, Rouge/Orleans 126.2, and the Lost 118. Visiting RunningintheUSA.com turns up several others races of various distances of 100 miles or further.

I am kind of a nerd, but I did some counting. According to Run100s.com, California has the most 100 mile races with 17. Utah is second with 11, followed by Colorado with 9.

Oh heck--here's the list.
California                      17
Utah                              11
Colorado                        9
Florida                           8
Arizona                         6
Texas                            5
Washington                  4
Pennsylvania                4
Kansas                          4
Nevada                         4
Georgia                        4
New York                     3
Alaska                          3
North Carolina             3
Virginia                        3
Minnesota                    3
Ohio                             3
Illinois                          3
Vermont                       2
Arkansas                      2
Idaho                            2
Wyoming                     2
Oregon                         2
Alabama                      2
Wisconsin                    2
South Dakota               2
Oklahoma                    1
Kentucky                     1
Indiana                        1 
New Hampshire          1
New Mexico               1
New Jersey                 1
Hawaii                        1
Montana                     1
Wisconsin                  1
Iowa                           1

Add in the races not listed on Run100s.com and the dozen or so 24/48/72 hour runs and there's over 170 100 milers. I guess I should step up the training.



Saturday, December 20, 2014

Taft Lake at dusk

Driving home from Muskogee, for the second time in the past two weeks, I drove west on HWY 16 past Taft Lake. Two weeks ago, it was just past sunset--a sun that was unseen for the duration of the drizzly dismal dank dark day. I drove around the lake because it seemed to call to me, and I was hypnotized my the mysterious aura around the shoreline, but took no pictures.

But this day, about the same time, I was prepared. The skies were gray as they have been for so long. Muskogee had drizzle, and it seemed I would have a replay. I took a few pictures, but the mystique was just not there. So I cheated a little and changed a setting on my camera to take B/W pics.

I stopped near what I call the Hangman's poll,and got out of my truck to walk for a while. I do not know the history of this lake, and spent about an hour this evening trying to find something of particular interest. Nothing. Except that in 2005, a record 35 lb 15 oz channel catfish was caught by a Muskogee man.

This ladder over a fence led to the old earthen dam for this lake, the largest of three man-made lakes in the vicinity.

When was this lake built, and why? Perhaps it was a water supply to nearby Taft, an old mostly black community, with a population of 250. Taft once had a couple of businesses in it's short downtown(?) area, but those old buildings are mere shells of what they once were. Most are burned or torn down, and the remaining are vacant. 

On the southern end of the lake, the well maintained road leads by what was once a small park area.

Old forgotten picnic tables are covered by graffiti and unruly weeds, but Winter has beat the weeds down for the tables and they'll  live another season.

Taft is home to the Jess Dunn Correctional Facility, a minimum security prison. I did not take the picture below--it came from Google.
From a PDF published at www.ok.gov, I found this information on the prison. 


"The Jess Dunn institution was originally constructed in 1930 and used as a mental hospital for black patients only. Through the years, the institution has been used as a tuberculosis sanitarium, a juvenile girl’s facility, and a juvenile co-ed home. In April 1980, the facility was transferred from the Department of Human Services to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC). Jess Dunn Correctional Center is a minimum security facility located in Taft, Oklahoma." 
"Jess Dunn served as warden of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary from 1938 to 1941. Dunn was killed in a shootout that resulted from an offender escape attempt on August 10, 1941. Also killed was a sheriff’s jailer (a former OSP officer) and 3 of the 4 offenders involved in the escape attempt. The remaining offender was later executed for Jess Dunn’s murder."


I have since found out that there are two geocaches at Taft Lake--both practically where I was standing taking pictures. There are also no less than 18 geocaches along a 10 mile stretch of old Taft Road. Another blogpost....

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Half and Half Marathon


Sunday was my last race for the year-- the Half and Half Marathon. My running has been a far cry from year's past due to much unwanted off-time due to my gimpy knee and my workload quadrupling. Life just gets in the way I suppose. But this race was a joyous and fitting punctuation to a so-so year or trail running for me. 

Kathy Hoover and Derk and Barbara Pinkerton--the RunnersWorld Tulsa Trio--put on this third year event on my home course--the Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness. This race incorporates all of the easier trailz and they are strung together using sometimes slightly technical connector trailz. Yes, they are HILLS--it wouldn't be called Turkey Mountain if if were a pancake, now would it?

This race has a uniqueness to it in that there is a road half marathon and a trail half marathon going on simultaneously. One can choose either, of do both for a full marathon. I suppose someone could also say they ran two halves, although most would rather lay claim to a full in my way of thinking.

I was pleased that the line for the dirt running far outnumbered the road running. I think people are getting smarter. How can ANYONE say the pavement was more fun than the trailz???


RD Kathy Hoover goes over announcements. I was not listening.


I meandered to the back of the pack--sizing up my competition. Here was a couple I bet I could outrun. Johnna and Wilma hammed it up for the camera.


The gun sounded, and the trail runners went west toward LipBuster and the roadies followed some pavement--heading across the river I think.


Brian Hoover and I were running together. It is a rare thing that Brian runs a race, and we've possibly never actually ran a race together. Brian posted the following on his Facebook page.
"I am ashamed and amazed to say that I have a friend who I have never ran with in a race. He was one of my very first "running" friends when I took up the sport back in 2005. He has helped me tremendously in getting the Tatur club up and running and keeping it going. We have traveled to over 50 races together and have seen a lot of amazing things together. Yet for a variety of reasons, we have never run a race together. That will change on Sunday Dec. 14th as Ken TZ Childress and I will run the trail half of RunnersWorld Tulsa's Half and Half Marathon together. I look forward to it my friend. Maze Runner and UKahnDuet."
Brian and I met by chatting on Runner's World's (the magazine)  public forum. Back in 2005, I went by the handle of Mazerunner, and had posted a long menu of races distances I had on my schedule.  A chap named Ukahnduet rattled off the names and locations of my races, and I figured out we had probably knew each other from races we'd both ran. We've been friends ever since.



Any race at Turkey Mountain that starts in the main parking lot starts out with some climbing. This race really only had two tough climbs.

I was trying something new. I used KT tape on my knee, and I must say it helped a LOT. I had no knee pain or discomfort during the race. I actually forgot I even had a knee problem. Now, two days later, I still have no knee pain or discomfort. Not saying it's well, but it seems like the run with the tape actually helped the overall condition of my meniscus.


We were near the back of the pack. We started slow, and stopped a couple of times to fix caution tape that had been moved.


There was no hope of us catching this guy. Justin Franklin scorched the course, winning the half trail.


Katie Ochoa was blazing too, but paced herself perfectly to with even splits enroute to a marathon win.



Brandon had his A-game, and finished 4th overall in the marathon. Brandon took a little easier and cruised on in for a 5 hour 26.2.


Two more fast chicks we could not catch. Jana and Theresa never cut us any slack. We tried, but just could not run them down.


Team Bement rolls along. Jason and Sue Ann have ran EVERY race in the Oklahoma Dirt Trail Series.


Our quest to catch Wilma and Johnna fell short as well. Jeremy tucked in with them, and finished a marathon (his first) to go along with his recent Pumpkin Holler 50K finish.


Johnna smiles for a passing race picture. Scott Smaligo was stationed at the figure 8 intersection directing traffic. Scott took all of the pictures of the runners in action seen here .


Arnold was on a quest for bonus miles. He ran the course once before the race to check course markings, and then started late, but caught and passed Brian and I.

And my stab at being political, a tree hugger, and a Turkey Mountain advocate. Should the Simon Outlet Mall be plopped down on the western part of Turkey Mountain, part of the Half and Half will have to go right through the mall. The above is an artist's rendition of the mall, and my rendition of the race course.


Ukahnduet (pronounced YOU CAN DO IT!) kept plodding along and managed to pass a few runners to keep us out of last place--not that there's anything wrong with being last.


I even stretched it out for the last 50 feet or so to give the appearance of actually running. I finished in 3:51:58, and we were almost 30 minutes quicker on our return trip than we were going out. I attribute to not stopping on the way back to fix caution tape, not lollygagging as much at aid stations, and there are more downhills on the way back. CLICK HERE for full results.


Brian has a 30-some-odd day running streak, and always posts a sweatie selfie after his runs. I got in the picture on this one. His post:
"Sweatie Selfie #33 - weight loss 34 lbs. Ran the in RunnersWorld Tulsa's Half and Half Marathon. Ken Childress and I ran the trail half. We had a blast as we took it really slow so we could check and fix the trail markings as we went. 13.1 great dirt miles in the books. Felt good to run instead of being stuck doing the chip timing."

Now on to future things.I have been likened to Santa Clause more than a few times lately. Surely it's JUST the beard, right? My belly does not shake like a bowl full of jelly.  I am not jolly. The beard may be going soon. Maybe after Christmas.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

A step closer to the plundering of our urban wilderness

A lot has happened since I last posted about the stupid idea for an outlet mall on Turkey Mountain. Simple Simon Properties quietly put their ducks in a row for a couple of months, and then dropped the bomb this past week. This nauseating video tells the tale.

NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |
And all the people interviewed are just SOOOO GLAD to have this in Tulsa. I'm so happy for you all (said by me in the most disgusted sarcastic voice ever.)

If that was not bad enough, check out 30 seconds that hit the editing floor.

NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

A self proclaimed mountain biker and hiker plans to incorporate a nice buffer zone between the mall and Turkey Mountain. Can't these people realize--THIS IS TURKEY MOUNTAIN!!!

My friend Cleo dug up a couple of old newspaper articles that clearly outline the intentions of the city for the area. One article is from 1980, when the park was officially opened. (Double click on the articles below to enlarge them.)


The other article is from 1988, after much of the land had been purchased.

A group of mountain bikers, trail runners, and nature enthusiasts have banded together to form the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition. Bookmark this site tulsaurbanwildernesscoalition.org. There will be a lot of valuable information here--news both good and sad, and ways you can voice your concerns, protests, and ideas.
Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition also has a Facebook page. You can do a search on FB, or click here if you wanna go there now. Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition Facebook page

Here's another snippet from the past dealing with the city's vision for Turkey Mountain and particularly the Mooser Creek Watershed. There is hours of reading, but this brief paragraph voices the original intent for the area. The longtime vision for Turkey Mountain
Obviously the powers that be have tossed these ideas into the trash can.

What can you/we do? Bob Doucette spells it out. You can read his latest blogpost here.  Proactive Outside

Monday, December 8, 2014

update

I have not been a very diligent blogger lately. I have been a border-line work-a-holic, which brings in the bacon, but I'm usually too tired to eat it. My running has tapered down to an even nothing. I am not training for nothing, and I have no big grand races on my calender or even in m,y bucket list.

My knee is better, but seems to take a slight backwards turn the day after any kind of run/hike/jog that lasts more than three miles. That being said, I am gonna try to run with my Tuesday night friends tomorrow, and I am signed up to run a half marathon on trailz this Sunday--the Half and Half., Go ME!

I have always been one to diagnose myself, and in the past few years II have gotten away from running in pronation control shoes. Could that lack of build-up on the inner heel have caused my knee to tweak slightly inward and I have effed it up? Maybe. So now, I am trying to wear only shoes with some motion control.

Can't have much more motion control than you get in hiking boots. These little gems--Asolo Fugitives--have been my faves lately.
There is absolutely no danger in rolling the ankle inward, or rolling an ankle at all for that matter. I did run and walked what amounted to about 10 miles in the unofficial Barkley Book Fair last Saturday night. Ten miles was further than I have been in a long time, and it seemed good to stop after the first three laps.

So now, I am leaning more towards hiking. I subscribe to BackPacker Magazine, and all the amazing trailz that trail runners see, hikers can also see--just at a slower pace. I still have a burning desire to see new trailz and go places I've never been. I suppose everyone eventually slows down. :-/

Sunday, November 16, 2014

23 runners brave .23 inches of snow

With a forecast of an Oklahoma white-out (which can mean as little as a dusting of snow) my buddy Brian Hoover put out the call on FB:
"Snow Run. Come join us at 11am for a fun run in the snow. All paces welcome. We will run/walk/play 3-5 miles, make snow angels and have a snowball fight. Then we will all eat a hot lunch and tell lies. Meet at 11am at the main Turkey Mtn parking lot at 6808 S. Elwood Tulsa OK 74132 bring warm clothes, any type of shoes and a camera phone to take pictures. Please post here to RSVP."

A buncha peeps RSVP'd and we had about 23 snow bunnies show up. Getting all of this group scrunched up enough for a pic is about like herding cats, but somehow someone snapped a quickie and then we were off and running shuffling.


The roads were fine, and the trailz were still mostly dirt, beginnings of mud, and some were powdery sand with powdery snow to make brown powder. We could have made chocolate colored slushies (that might have tasted better than Quik Trip's).


I led the group, and the zombie-shuffle was a good pace.


We stopped at major trail intersections to let everyone catch up. Most of the conversation was centered around Brian and how he has dropped 23 lbs in 15 days. The real answer lies in that little adjustment knob on the underside of the scale. Just a 1/4 turn of the knob knocks off a couple lbs, and he only has to adjust it once a week to drop 7-8 lbs a week.


I stepped on a mound of red ants, and did my best to shake them out of my skin tight tights.


This pic was taken after the run. Honest--I think we made it out of the woods with everyone, although this picture does not prove it.

We ended up with about 3.5 miles. In my books, I earned 3 strips of bacon, and pecan pancakes. And that's just what I had!


There was no blazing speed on our run so it was only fitting that we'd have no blazing speed on our brunch. That was all good, cuz we swapped stories, run plans, and serious ribbings for nearly three hours at Cracker Barrel. But what else could we do on such a snowy day?