An update from Zombie-dom.

Ok, I am in the taper part of my training. All my long runs are done, and I am supposed to be in a restful state. Funny thing is, I feel like running--long--hard--up and down hills--in the heat of the day--or all night. It is 10 days until I tackle another 100 miler--the Kettle Moraine in Wisconsin. This is not he hardest 100 I have entered, but it will be the hardest one to date that I have finished--at least I think so. 99.9% of this race is on trails, which means no long no-brainer sections of road (paved or gravel) where one can put some valuable time in the bank. 30 hours for the time limit means I have to average 18 minute miles which includes pee breaks, aid station stops, pausing to take pictures, tieing shoes, throw up delays, sitting down to eat a sandwich, foot soaking in water crossings, stretching (ok, I never stretch), and poop episodes if I have em. Gotta keep moving--or covering ground--or putting the back foot in front of the front foot. Can I do this in 30 hours?? I do not want to fail.

The elevation chart is a scary sight. They always are.A close examination shows that the longish wicked looking climbs are only 100 to 150 feet at best. Running Lipbuster at Turkey Mountain is a little over 100 feet in .3 of a mile. The elevation chart here suggests 100 foot climbs over a few miles. Hmmm. Either it is not that big of a deal, or there are a lot more ups and downs than the graph shows. Truth is, one could make an elevation chart of the paved bike path at Riverside look like a snaggle toothed hillbilly by stretching it out. Still, the reported 12,000 feet is still over 2 miles of climbing.

I get to be in a new age group this time around.

Open 18-39
Masters 40-49
Senior Masters 50-59
Grand Masters 60-69
Great Grand Masters 70 & Over

Yippee!! I am a Senior Master!!

My last long run was a familiar journey. From QT in Jenks to NSU in Broken Arrow, and back. This is the 5th time I have run this route. At night, even though it is all paved, it is still a fun run. I ran it again with a lot of friends, although there were also quite a few new faces belonging to folks training for the Midnight Madness 50 miler that is coming up in July here in Tulsa. Still, I ran my own pace, pushed when I wanted to, and after being satisfied with my ability to maintain a profitable 100 mile pace for 30 miles, I slowed down a little and enjoyed hanging out with my running buddy K2.Ken finished his 30 miler and was in good spirits throughout the night. I believe he was encouraged by his outing.

Kirk and Charis stop for a water refill at mile 10.Kirk has gone from couch potato to ultra runner in just a year, and is running the 50 miler in July. This was Charis' 2nd or 3rd night run with us. Not sure if she is towing the line for the 50 or not.

I was very impressed with 3 friends. Laurie and Derek England showed up to crew the runners, and stayed out from 8:00 to nearly 3:00 am waiting for us with cold water and Gatorade and snacks.They recently ran their first half marathon and no doubt we'll snare them into trail running and ultras soon!!
And my friend Sonya also helped crew and shuttle runners back to their car who decided to bail out early.Sonya has a handful of half marathons to her credit, and I drop the hint to try trails every now and then. We'll win her over.
Thanks so much to these three, and to Brian who put this run together. Brian also did the crew babe thing, although if I posted his picture in the pretty pink skirt he was wearing, he'd kill me!

Of course, I have also been getting in a lot of trail miles as well.My trails on Turkey Mountain sustained a bit of tree damage from the tornado a couple of weeks ago. This tree is on a trail we call the Bunny Trail. I think the local mountain bikers made it and it is smooth, almost rockless, and is a sweet downhiller. But now, there is a nuisance of a tree across it.Kind of tough for a Senior Master to make it under it!

Right now, I am on a bit of a running streak, having run every day for almost 2 weeks. Someone needs to help me to understand the taper.

The little tornado that could

Last Thursday, I was not awakened by my alarm. My cats did a good job as a back-up though. Our power was off, and I quickly showered and left for work--not really late. I read Facebook, and the tales of storm damage littered my wall--so to speak. It seems that we either had some high winds around 5:00 to 5:30, or maybe it was a tornado. The reports of damage were amazingly near my house. I never heard any sirens, but I am a sound sleeper. Someone said on Facebook that the sirens went off, but should have never been sounded. But the damage reports rolled in, and in my opinion, we had a small tornado that skipped across Tulsa striking here and there, or maybe it was just strong straight winds--or both.

These are a few pictures of the RiverPark trail on the east side between 61st and 71st Street. This was just after the cone skipped past my neighborhood, and made its way to 61st and Lewis before demoing Ace hardware. Then, it did some tree work in Southern Hills, and then more in Lafortune park. (This little tornado does not like golfers!!) Then it headed east northeast and plowed into Brian and Kathy's neighborhood. Now the damage was not like some of the monster tornadoes that mow down everything in their path, but it sure chewed up some trees, and helped the roofing companies out.

One mile from my house, as the crow flies.1/2 mile away.Four miles Southwest.Two miles Southwest.Much closer to home--VERY close--Jake does not like tornadoes.Nope, not one bit!

Running Hope Through America, running with Dana, and running with friends.

A busy weekend. Saturday, I fully intended to get up at 5:00 and begin my 50 mile run with Lisa Smith-Batchen.Their planned route was 2.5 miles north on the Riverside Trail starting at 41st Street, and then coming back. Ten of these for 50 miles. That's a lot of pavement, although the new trail is some of the softest asphalt ever. Instead, I slapped the snooze, and got a couple of much needed hours of ZZZZs. I met up with the "Running Hope Through America" entourage at 7:ish, and chatted for a bit. I had forgot my camera (bad zombie!) so I returned home to get it. (Plus, I got a bathroom break addressed!)

The Jenks Aquarium Half Marathon was also happenin at the same time, starting in Jenks and running north to 45th Street. (Very close to the start of the Running Hope Through America.) My friend Kathy was running and pacing a young lady Amanda in her first half. (Amanda is 11 years old, and already had the Tulsa Run (15K), the Polar Bear Plunge, 8 miles in the Snake Run (in frigid temps and snow), and now was adding a half mary to her impressive resume. So, I parked where I thought I might see them, and VIOLA! There they were!!It was a cloudy drizzly day. A fog completely blanked Turkey Mountain, as viewed from across the river. And, on days like this, good pictures are few and far between. I ran with them from 71st to 45th where the turnaround was.Then on the way back, I met Sonya, who after a few months off, was power-walking her 2nd or 3rd half marathon.It was good to see her, as we used to run and powerwalk together a year or so ago on Tuesday and Thursday nights. So, I turned around and paced her for a few miles.

For hours Saturday. the fog hung on. This shot is of Turkey Mountain, or where it should be.
And this is a capture of old decaying tree limbs against a backdrop of fog and a lazy river.

After running Sonya back to where my car was, I drove back to the RHTA group. My plan was to run for 10 miles, and then come home to meet Dana to run on Turkey for a while. But I definately wanted to run with Lisa!!K2, always quick with the camera, snapped my mug as I strolled into the start/finish area of the Running Hope Through America.There were a couple of friendly faces hanging around the RunnersWorld/TATUR tents. Were these guys just there for the food?

It was an event littered with TATURs. Jason ran 20 miles with Lisa, Shelley ran 15 or 20, as did K2.Tom, why the frown? Tom should be all smiles. He was largely responsible for bringing this event to Tulsa, planning the course, and spearheading the aid stations. Were it not for Tom, this event might have happened in OKC!!Sister Mary Beth had just finished her usual 20 miles. She has ran every day with Lisa during her endeavor to complete her 50 in 50 in 60. Sister Mary Beth is 61 years old, and running 20 miles almost every day--WOW!!
I still had some spring in my step, and ran ahead to take pictures. Here, Kirk power-walks shoulder to shoulder with Lisa. He stayed steady, and finished 31 miles before calling it a day. This was Kirk's longest run to date. Rob ran the whole 50 miles, and this was his longest run in several months.

After a few miles with this crew, I headed back home to Turkey Mountain. Dana was itching to run some in the dirt (mud). Actually, the rainy conditions we have had lately only softened the trails, and actual mud was almost hard to find. The damp cushy trails were a treat indeed.She's ready to go ALREADY!And Dana is off like a flash. Now I had 12 miles or so already, and she was operating on fresh legs. I had my work cut out.(or my head cut out?)
Water crossings. One of the joys of trail running!!The color of the day was green. No new ticks today. It's gonna be an off year!

Well, Dana and I ran 7.5 miles--good miles--and then after a bite to eat, I returned third time to run with Lisa Smith-Batchen.Lisa was in the mid 40s of her 50 miler. I managed to get in a few more miles with her, doing the a brief mile out and back to find the group, and then another out and back to make her total.Lisa takes a brief rest, refuels, and then heads back out for her final 5 miles. Tatur Dave looks on. TD kept Lisa laughing with his quirky sense of humor, all while getting in 50 miles himself.The group could smell a celebration in the air. (Or did Tatur Dave fart again??)Oklahoma was Lisa's 22nd state. I have no doubt that she will complete her journey, and on schedule. Raising money for orphans is a noble thing to do, and what a noble way to do it!We assembled for a group pic after the event. (Special thanks to Tom Dorothy for this picture.) I was tired, and after running home, I ended up with 30 miles. Lisa has ran the day before and the day before, and would drive to Texas for 50 miles on Sunday. WOW! I need to get back out there and run.

What is up??

I have not been the busy blogger lately. No worries though. Things are great with me. I have been busy with work, which is a god thing. It's been harder to get my runs in, but the miles have been run. Last week, 76.5 miles was my total, with 40 of 'em on Saturday (which actually spilled over into Sunday.) 

There is a fighting chance that I'll score that copper kettle in Wisconsin in early June at the Kettle Moraine.



This next Saturday, I'll be running 50 miles with Lisa Smith-Batchen who is running a 50 miler in all 50 states over 60 days. She will be in Tulsa running on the paved bike trails on Riverside Drive.
My friend Tom Dorothy is organizing the event in Tulsa, and I am hoping lots of runners, Taturs, and friends come out to support this noble endeavor.

More timely blogposts in the coming days. I promise!

recurring dreams

Several times, I am in this same place. Driving in a place I remember from my past. It has rained for several days, and I think I can get home going a particular way, on an old road and across a long bridge across a lake that is actually a river dammed up. It seems I can make it across the bridge, but driving across, the road disappears.This is not a picture I took, but googling, I found this and other than the sky being blue, it is what I see in the dream. The road dips into the water, and I plow my car right into it, and slam on the brakes and try to back out of it.Then backing up, I somehow miss the road and panic sets in. I always wake up, and want to go back to sleep to finish the dream. What happens? this place is so familiar, but I do not know where it is. And, I do not know what this dream means.

Any ideas?