The Snake is upon us!

This Saturday we will have the third running of the SIX HOUR SNAKE RUN!!!!
This is a trail race on Turkey Mountain, all on easy trails, very little elevation change, a few rocks, a few roots, but nothing major. The idea is to run for 6 hours and see how far you can go. This year, we have also added a 3 hour competition. There will be awesome trophies for the top 3 male and female finishers in both the 3 and 6 hour divisions.The 1st 150 registrants will get an awesome Adidas tech shirt. (At this posting, the shirts are almost gone.)The course is a windy (snake shaped) trail that goes 2 miles out and back. You'll see runners coming and going all day.
There is an aid station about a mile out--you hit the same station a mile later but from the other side, and then on the way back, the same station again, and then at mile 4, you're at the start/finish where there'll be another aid stop. Turn around and run it again. Boring? Not at all. A lot of peeps who are new to trail running have ran a few loops without realizing they were on the same trail. Many people have swore there were 3-4 aid stations out there, and were amazed that the same people managed to be at all of them.

How far can one go in 6 hours?Mike Adams has won this competition the 1st 2 years, running 41 and 42 miles respectively. Several people have got a marathon distance out of it. (How, you ask, can one get 26.2 miles in 4 mile circuits? Well, near the end of the time limit when you do not have enough time to get another 4 mile out-and-back in before 6 or 3 hours, we'll have 1/2 mile finishing loops on another trail. You can run these 1/2 mile laps--as many as you can squeeze in--and add this mileage to your total.)

Aid stations---there are none better.In years past, there have been brownies, cheesecake, peanutbutter/m&m oreos, hot chocolate, hot soup, chili, burgers, beer, and of course the normal aid station staples.

If you have not signed up, come join us. You can still sign up at RunnersWorld and can also sign up on race day. $25.00 gets you a nice well supported long run on some of the nicest trails in this part of the state.

Oh, and I suppose I need to put out a shameless plea. We are in need of a few more volunteers for the aid station(s). In years past, as the race wore on and people ran what they wanted, a lot of them stayed on and helped out a little. But at the first of the race, we are really in need of a few extra bodies. with 150+ runners hitting the stops in large clusters, it is a little hectic. Once everyone gets spread out a little, it is easier. I will reward my helpers in some way....might be a TATUR shirt or another nice shirt of some sort, but I will take care of ya!
Thanks in advance!
TZ

bad dreams of crowds of people

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday....I have been in another dimension. One where I transform myself into a talking cyborg, one with a smiling face and a quick charming wit. Bounced around from person to person like a shiny steel pinball in a 1980s arcade machine.I'm referring to this years Home and Garden Show, an event with which I am involved every March. This years show was seemingly profitable--time will tell.
Hour after hour, the one who prefers the loneliness of the wilderness and dirt trails, stood on concrete for 11-12 hours a day, talking shop, culturing potential business leads, and manning up to the working world. (Yes, I do actually work from time to time!)
Sometimes, I truly felt like a nondescript face in a crowd. And now, loaded with a fistful of horizons, I prepare for a few weeks of chasing possibilities, and earning a some green. (Gotta finance my running addiction somehow!)

My running has been almost non-existent for the past week or so, and will not improve much for a few weeks. I do feel bad that I have not been the faithful blogger, and have not treated myself to a few short spirited runs to blow the cobwebs out. Whilst still thinking about running 2 or 3 or maybe 4 hundred milers, I will probably need to play some major catch-up with my training.

Check back here tomorrow for a preview of the SIX HOUR SNAKE RUN 2010 Edition.

Everyone who knows me knows I am non-human in the mornings until I've had my cup-a-coffee. OMG, there are few things better. As I have aged (not really all that old!!) I have become more and picky about the coffee I drink. I like the good stuff. Years ago, Folgers would do the trick. I tried all the different grinds, and found that freshness was important. One coffee maker made better tasting coffee than another, vacuum packed coffees were better, refrigerate the beans, etc. Then, I jumped to a deeper level of addiction. I began to grind my beans. Whole bean purchases from the super-market gave way to buying from Starbucks. Many times I have said, "Life is too short to drink bad coffee."Then, I began to delve into research of how the beans were roasted. One roaster supposedly makes a better taste?? Yup.Ok, call me a coffee snob. I are that.

The next step in coffee snobbery is the paying of attention to the working conditions of the coffee growers. This is something that takes a little research, and quite frankly can make little difference to the actual taste of a cup of morning brew. But because most coffee is grown in underprivileged nations, keeping an eye on the way workers are treated by their employers is just good karma if nothing else. I, given the opportunity, choose to buy coffee in which the coffee growers are treated fairly and are compensated fairly.

Wow....where am I going with this. (Hold on....I need a refill.)

I have found a coffee company that provides good coffee, has reports of the process of the bean and growers on their website, roasts a variety of beans in a variety of ways, and the best part....markets it in such a way that part of the proceeds goes to an account for a friend of mine to fund her mission trips to Peru. The coffee company isCleft Coffee. My friend is Jessica Gulley, a young lady in our RunnersWorld running group.

I ordered 2 lbs of coffee from here, and wanted to give it the crucial taste test before I hooted and hollered about it, and after a few mornings of the awesome brew, I am sold. If you wanna give it a try, I highly recommend it. It is reasonably priced, the website is great, and $2.00 of each pound goes to Jessica's fund....a very worthy cause. Click on the above link, or on the Cleft Coffee icon on the right column of this blog. mmmmmm...slurp......aahhhhhh.

Post Oak

This past weekend was grueling. I ran the Post Oak Trail Runs, doing a marathon on Saturday, and a 50K on Sunday. Doing doubles is not a new thing for me, although I always wonder sometime during the running WHY do I do this???? I was excited to give this one a go, for a number of reasons. One, it was new trails, to me anyway. Oh I had poked around on them a couple of times earlier in the year, but on both those days, it had been so soggy that running was nearly impossible. For this race, fortunately the weather had allowed things to dry up a little, although there was still a good supply of standing water and mud....but trail runners like that sort of thing, right? I would love to see an elevation profile, and I probably can produce one from my garmin. There were a few good climbs, but nothing near as bad as what I have encountered in my past 3 trail marathons. But the main reason I was running was because of peer pressure. I don't know how many times friends had asked assuming that OF COURSE I was doing this race. After all, it was in Tulsa, and it was on trails. DOH!! Why would I NOT do it?Saturday morning, we are lined up and ready to go. I was taking the early start for a couple of reasons. I did not want to have to hurry, and in taking my time, I MIGHT have a little gas left in the tank for the next day. I also wanted to finish in time to still get something to eat and have a beer, as the last stragglers often miss out on the food. And I hoped to finish in time to see a few more of my faster friends before they left.After a short jaunt on the road, we tucked into the woods. A lot of these were brand new trails. Others were old trails that had very little use over the years. A few weeks ago, they were so water laden, that I was dreading sloshing through them, but most were actually quite runnable. This trail took us to the top of the hill near the lodge, and over to Hamburger Hill.While this hill seemed like the highest in the race, it actually was not as high as Holme's Peak, which we had to scale later in the marathon, and twice on Sunday! Both hills offered a panoramic view of the Tulsa Area. The wind was brisk at the top, and there was no desire to linger while there. After circling the crown of Hamburger Hill, we sped back down towards the lodge parking lot and headed north on a gravel road. Shortly thereafter, the course cut across a field and onto a trail head, but the 30 or so people way in front of me missed the turn. I and a few other runners around me had a quick conference and since we saw no orange ribbons on the gravel road, we followed the orange signs and on to the trail. For a half mile of so, I was actually in 1st place!!! Of course, that was short lived.By the time I went by this pond, I had runners speeding by me. The starters who went at the regular time all caught me, and then the 25K and 10K people mowed me down as well. I passed nobody....well almost nobody.The course also had a fair share of gravel roads....not my favorite surface to run on, but it did allow for a faster pace which offset some of the swampy areas.Lots of ups and downs. And lots of rocks.None of the stream crossings were bad. No wet feet from these, but the feet were wet nonetheless from some of the soggy areas in the fields.And then there was Holmes Peak. This is supposed to be the highest point in 3 counties. (Higher than Turkey Mountain?? I wonder about that.) It was a nasty incline to the top, and a quick turn around with nobody checking to see if anyone cheated. The view was awesome. It truly seemed like you were way up towering over the Tulsa horizon. A great place to visit, and a good place to get down from since it was frickin cold.I am thinking everyone with a camera took this picture.Kristy, Curtis, and Charlie stop for a group pic. Then, they poured it on and I saw them no more.There's no missing K2....the man with the pants!The marathon Saturday had a out-and-back on a gravel road. This section reminded me a lot of Heartland. This section probably helped my finish time, but I did get a couple of rocks in my shoes.It also made it possible to see a lot of friends who were behind me since I took the early start. Vicky is all smiles....she always is. She did the marathon/50K double, and made it look easy.Jason was right on her heals, and they did their out-and-back and passed me about an hour later.After the aid station at the Botanical Gardens, we got onto an older well established trail that headed westward. This was one of the more scenic passes.Speaking of passes, fellow Tatur and friend Mike Adams blows by me, and went on to win the marathon.Not far behind him was Randy Ellis. Randy ran well both days, finishing in the top 10 for both events.And if these photos were not good looking enough, here's a very good looking picture.Tom was one of those that missed the turn early in the race, and he caught me somewhere around mile 12. We ran together for a while, and eventually when Jason passed us, Tom took off with him. Tom ended up beating me by 15 minutes. I will pay him back this Tuesday or Thursday.We saw Lisa while heading back up hamburger Hill. She was around 3-4 miles behind me at the time. But she caught up with me at mile 25 and left me sucking wind in her dust. She beat me by over an hour, since she did not take the early start.Many miles of the trails were just swatches mowed across a field. Whoever created these sections liked going by ponds. I agree with their trail selection.I had ran with Susan on the gravel road out-and-back and lost her when she kept running right up a steep incline where I walked. When I saw her again, she was a good 4 miles ahead of me.No, I did not stop for a rest, although it sounded like a good idea. I am thinking once the Botanical gardens finishes what they envision, this will be one amazing place.More of the tall grass area. By the second day, I had seen enough tall grass for a lifetime. My finish time for the marathon was 7:50 and change. But, I still felt like running another day. And this day was tomorrow.We received very nice finishers awards. I suppose you could attach a ribbon and hang this around your neck. But it will work just as well on my shelf of fame.Finally, if anyone ever needs some salt, my friend K2 will be glad to donate.

Day 2
50K
I left the house in a fog, having not drank my coffee yet, and I did manage to get my water bottle, E-caps, 5 Hour Energy, and the right shoes for the day. I forgot my camera though. (Turns out, I actually had brought it but somehow it ended up in the back seat??) I decided to run with my I-Phone, and put it in my pocket. When I stopped for my first picture, it was pretty sweaty and I ended up carrying it while running--a bad idea to say the least. Ten miles later, I passed my car and dropped it off. I had some bathroom issues early in the race. I had to make a very unexpected pit stop at mile 1.5. I was nervous about the seriousness of the operation, and retorted to wearing my pants like the kids do these days....you know, the sagging pants? But upon reaching the 1st aid station which had porta-potties, I was pleased to find that nothing was soiled. About 2 hours later, after I dropped my phone off at my car, I grabbed all the subway napkins I could find....just in case. Sure enough, at the top of Hamburger Hill, it hit me again. Let's just suffice to say that Hamburger Hill now has some special sauce. And 5 Subway napkins would have been a lot better than 4! But sometimes runners just have to be tough, no matter how gross that is. Actually, it again turned out to not be as bad as I feared, but I am sure I still had a smelly backside.

The course was a little bit different from the marathon the day before. I thought the course was marked fairly well, although I did find a place early in the race that I had to call to find out the correct way. Darryl, who had designed and marked the course came right out and showed me the correct route, and he thought maybe someone had moved some course markings. But after that, the 1st 25K went off without a hitch. The 2nd 25K was supposed to be the same loop, but in reverse. However, there for sure was one difference as we went a different route over Hamburger Hill. Also, at the halfway point, there was a bit of confusion as to whether we were to do a small half mile loop that the 25Kers were doing. Since my garmin said 15.55 miles--exactly 25K, it seemed to me that I was exactly half way done. They agreed and sent me back the way I came. Somewhere in the next 1.5 miles, things went awry. The course markings sent everyone out, across a fence, and then in a big loop over the northwest part of the property. Then, it led right back to the start/finish. We saw so many people who were confused, having been out and back, out and back. I know how my mind gets fuzzy in the later miles of an ultra, and I paid special attention to the turns making sure to go the right way, but upon getting back to the start/finish, I knew something was wrong. I had made the same mistake I had saw so many other runners make. I just did not want to get way off with no chance of getting straight and finishing the proper race and proper distance. I was told that I was off course, but no worries, to take another trail and go to the Botanical gardens, and then to Flat Rock aid station, and then back. About 8k?? So off I went, hoping to be on the right trails. The folks at the Botanical aid station sent me off on another trail. At this time, I was really in a fog. The distance to the next aid station should have been around 3 miles, but my garmin died 5.89 miles later, and I was still a mile or so away from the Flat Rock station. Bad markings? Tampered markings? Maybe I took a wrong turn?....I was sure confused. But I finally made it there although much later than planned. The remaining route to the finish was pretty simple. I am pretty sure I went over 34 miles, and I finished in 10:06. I am not really happy with my time, but considering all, it was ok. I am saddened by the fact that a lot of runners got lost, and maybe did not get the time they thought they could have. But for me, and for a lot of true trail runners, it's just bonus miles.

Criticisms? Well, running the course in reverse might have been part of the problem. Maybe things were marked very well for running it one way, but not so clear for running it the opposite direction? Maybe someone had toyed with the course markings--I strongly suspect that might be the case. Another thing, and this is not a complaint at all, but the aid station workers were just not able to tell the runners for sure where they needed to go....nor should they be expected to. I am sure a lot of the volunteers took a lot of flack from lost runners. Runners NEED to get off the back of volunteers when they get lost, regardless of who is to blame. Volunteers are like angels, and we should treat them as such. This, being a first time running, was bound to have a few bugs. The weather--snow, rain--cold temps--mud--all made it nearly impossible to do the necessary trail work, mapping, and marking that is so crucial to a successful event. So to all those who wanna still bitch....get over it. TRC will learn from this and put on a great event next year. The trails will mature, they will make course adjustments, and I bet the course will be flooded with appropriate ribbons next year. For those critical intersections, I suggest some chutes and barricades such as these, which have served the cattle industry very well over the years.And to keep runners from being tempted to cut the course when one trail runs close to another section of trail, a high voltage electrical fence should do the trick.

hair raising adventure

Trail running has taken me a lot of places, many places where I never would have seen. This morning, I ended up somewhere I never should never have been. I got up early for a quick 4-5 miler on easy trails on Turkey Mountain. I took the snake trail and veered off towards the Westside Y past Rock City, and wound around on some newer trails that came out near 61st street. At one point, I rounded a corner and passed an old homesite where an old well, or maybe it was an old septic tank--I'm not sure. I was doing a little exploring there, and thinking of taking a picture or two, when I heard something tramping quickly through the woods around 50 feet or so from me. It was a person, and they were bushwhacking quickly away from me roughly towards the road. I was startled to say the least, and headed on down the trail and it bended around on towards 61st street, and as I neared the street, I decided to step through some high grass to the road to see if that person had made it to the road. As I stepped over an old steel cable and through some large rocks, and on to the shoulder of the road, I saw the man crash through some heavy brush and spill onto the road. He looked up towards me, and staggered across the road and into the woods across 61st street. I should have went on my way, but curiosity got the better of me, so I went after him. I went just a little further from where he went into the woods to an old road, and stepped over a gate and headed south. I had never been there, and this hint of a road looked like it might be a good place to run, so I could check that out while checking on this old man....seemed like a good idea, right?

Well, the briers were relentless to my right where I thought the guy had went, so I kept on heading south and the road gradually curved a little downhill and to the east. I passed a small pond, and a trail lead to it and around it....a trail runners delight. Then, on the edge of a small clearing, I saw this old shack almost hidden in the scrub trees.I headed over that way, peeked inside, and stepped in. It had a dirt floor, a cot on the south wall, and pot bellied stove in the center. I reached for my camera to take a picture, and was setting the light settings for an indoor shot. There were a few empty cans of beans laying around, and I noticed a couple of them were unopened. I then realized the a can on the wood stove was half full, and the stove was warm!! I quickly turned around to leave, and I met a horrible face at the doorway!WHOA!! I nearly panicked, knowing I was clearly trespassing, and who knew if this guy had a gun, knife, or was ready to kill me for being in his house. Then, in a flash, I recognized this man. It was Eldridge! A man I had met on the other side of Turkey Mountain a year ago. "Eldridge! I said....It's Ken....remember me??" I was praying he'd remember and would be friendly and maybe understanding of me being in his house.
"Who? Ken....?!? Who the hell are you, why you in my place?"
"Oh, sir, I'm sorry....I didn't know, I was just running by, checking out some trails over here. I didn't know anyone lived here. I'm sorry....didn't mean--" He cut me off.
"Nah, don't worry about it son. It's nuthin. Nuthin. Don't worry about it. You that guy that I saw in the caves over on the east bluffs a while back, right?"
"Yeah, about a year ago." I was so glad he remembered me!! "How you been?" (How stupid a thing to say, I thought....like he would really think I gave a crap how he was....but actually, I was very curious about who this guy was and where he disappeared to that day after leaving that cave, and more importantly, why the entrance to that cave had vanished!
"What happened to you that day, after we got back out of the cave? You were there, and then the next minute, you were gone."
"Oh, I was there. I lived up here a long time....keep out of sight mostly. A man's gotta keep to himself roun here else people won't leave em alone." I processed that for a split second, thinking maybe back then I had just missed him as he had just slipped out of sight and kept silent. Today, he had crept up on me and I had not heard him approach the shack, although he did sound like a dinosaur tramping through the woods back across the road when I first saw him earlier today. "Son, that old well where you saw me cross the road a bit ago....well, that was where I grew up back in the depression days. My Pap and I, we built that well. That's where I growed up. Used to be our house there. That old well is all that's left over there. I still go over now and again....tryin to remember what I can. Gettin old and the memory's goin."
"You live here?" I asked.
"Hell no!!" Oops, I thought. Didn't wanna upset this guy. "No, I live here, there, and around. Where ever's the driest and that's hard to find this past winter."
"Ya ain't kiddin there," I chimed in. (That's good, Ken....get him talking about the weather. And quit trying to talk like him, Ken! Do you think that helps your cause??) "Listen, Eldridge, sorry again to come traipsing in here....I didn't know....I need to get on...I need to get on home and on to work." (I actually did need to do that!)
"Awright. Be careful out there, Son."
I left. I left without a "see you later", "good to see you again", "take it easy", or any other such cliche. I ran at a pretty good clip, made a wrong turn, and ended up almost to the intersection of HW 75 and 61st street, and instead of running home on the trails, I took the road home so as to get there asap.

Still, I would love to meet this guy and spend some time with him. This is the second time I've met him, and both times, the time has been brief. He has a story to tell, and I am still baffled about the disappearing cave entrance!

from daylight to dark

Since Christmas, there has not been a time that mud was not a big playa in trail running roun here. Of course, true trail runners relish the opportunity to play in the goop, and I am no sissy when it comes to a little splat splat action. Still, there is a thrill from running on firm but soft, dry but not dusty single track that is so therapeutic to a soul such as mine. But for now, just bring on the mud.

It was 5:30, the sun had been out all day, the north wind was hung somewhere between a breeze and occasional gusts, and I pulled on my next to the muddiest pair of trail runners, grabbed my camera and my headlamp and hit the trails. A trail that I had not traversed for a season had seen a little action during the heavy snow of this past winter, having endured a twisted and broken tree. It's always easy enough to re-rout the trail around a treefall.I love odd trees, ones that look like fierce scary monsters that come alive at night and do terrible things. I also love bright blue skies. It is medicine that I need. It keeps me alive.

An interesting rock formation on Turkey Mountain.

To my delight, there were miles of dryish trails, and if you hedged toward the rockier sections, mud was not in the equation at all. Still, the areas that are the usual slop pits did not disappoint.

Enjoying the afternoon with 3 of my friends--trees, blue sky, and the sun.

The afternoon slides away, and the sun reaches for me as if to say, "Bye....see you tomorrow!"And with a gentle sigh, she slips out of sight.


"Shoot for the moon....even if you miss, you'll be among the stars." Not sure who is credited with that saying, and it is possible I bobbled it, but I like it anyway.

Ok, I'll fess up....I played with photoshop a little on this one.

Funny how nightfall makes a muddy pond look so magical.

Odd things to see on the trail:At least there was no blood on the tongs.After running more than a mile from the Westside Y, I was running from across an open field into a slightly wooded area, and came upon this chair. Why? This was not on the edge of a fishing hole, not overlooking anything other than some scrubby trees, but I suppose it was a good place for someone to stop and take a rest. I opted to keep moving. A possible correlation between the pitch fork and rake a mile back? Hmmm....Lastly, me playing with my MyTouch camera-phone, with the help of a Princeton Yukon headlamp.