Happy Feet, Sac So Soft, and Sweet Cheeks

Has this ever happened to you? You ran a marathon, or an ultra. You noticed a hot spot around 15-16 miles in, but ignored it--I've done that plenty of times. You finish your race, sit down, think about a feeding frenzy or a cold beer, and then take off your shoes and socks to see the damage.

I love gruesome blister pics, and have even made videos of the draining of such blisters. A year ago I was experiencing such bad blistering problems that it was greatly hampering my long runs. One weekend, I needed a 20/20 back to back. I ran 20 miles on a warm Saturday morning, and had a dime size blister on the ball of my foot--just below the big toe. I had been taping, and using a blister powder, or it would have been worse.
Before running on Sunday, I tried this new concoction that we had heard about. Dana has taken this formula and tweaked it a bit making it even better. So, before I laced 'em up, I applied a liberal amount of this amazing paste to my toes and forefoot, and ran my 20 miles on an even warmer afternoon. After finishing, I took off my socks, and there were no more blisters, and my blister on the ball of my foot was GONE! Since then, I use this on every run of 15 miles or more, and have had no blisters--even from 100 milers.

Another great potion that Dana makes is useful when you have chafing problems down south. I will refrain from showing pics of said chafing to keep this rated PG!! Again, I have had races where I felt like I had shredded my inner thighs and the general area--feeling like I was walking raw hamburger.
This salve is applied everywhere you might think would chafe. If seems a bit messy during the application, but once you are suited up, you never think about it again. And you will never chafe. Should you forget, and have some irritated areas, Sac So Soft (for men) and Sweet Cheeks (for women) will soothe the burning associated with chafing.
Actually, the men's and women's formula is the same--only the name is different. But if you are opposed to sharing, having a men's and women's jar is helpful.
Dana is selling these wonderful products for $12.00 each (plus shipping, if mailed.) You can email her, message her, or let me know and I'll pass the order along. DON'T RUN LONG WITHOUT IT!

Two Rivers Trail

I worked a little on mapping the course for the 10.3K Warrior Princess Trail Run Saturday, and then I took a short jaunt on the Two Rivers Trail on the north side of Keystone Dam.This is a hidden gem--albeit a little gem. I had explored this trail a few years ago, and had almost forgot about it when doing my Trail Guide of Oklahoma Trailz. This is ~2.5 to 3 miles of mostly single track with a little bit of double track.This wooden bridge seemed to invite me into the woods, lovely dark and deep. The first 1/4 mile was nice soft groomed dirt trailz--what you dream about. But the trail got more narrow, and the undergrowth did it's best to be overgrowth. I was worried about chiggers. I can usually remove ticks before they get their bite, and I did pick off 3 of those crawlers.

The first mile basically hugged the shoreline of Lake Keystone, which was up and muddy due to recent rains.

After a mile, the trailz veered more inland, and I enjoyed a series of nice ups and downs--you know--the "relatively flat" stuff.

At one point, the trail ran alongside an outcropping of huge boulders--almost bluff sized.They were spaced out just right for some boulder hopping--no jumps no more than 4 feet, and I flew over them all. It was like 5 or 6 leaps of doom.Apparently, this "leaper" did not make it.

On the western-most part of the area, the trailz were seeing far less traffic, and I picked up my three ticks through here. I bet I am the first two-legged to have trod these trailz in months.

Back on some wider stuff, and some good climbing.

Just over and around a bend, and the trail dumped me out very near the wooden bridge and my car. I gave thought to hunting for more trailz in the hills north of HWY 412, but thought better of it, choosing to come home and scrub my legs. Hopefully, I rid myself of any hungry chiggers that were dangling around from my hairy legs.

Posted by T Z at 3:48 AM No comments:  Links to this post

Call it Tuesday Night Crawlers, call it the TOTs--but don't miss it.

If you have not been venturing out to Turkey Mountain on Tuesday afternoon/evenings, you are missing out!! The official "start" time is 6:30, which gives most everyone time to get here after work.


An unofficial group goes out ~5:30--these are peeps who want to get in a few bonus miles, or just need an earlier run because of at home responsibilities (whatever those are?? Have you seen my back yard???)
The early group likes to get in 3 miles, and sometimes it ends up being just a tad shorter. Because of someone goofing around with a new camera app and wasting a good 5 minutes picture taking, we only got 2.9 this week--but who's counting anyway?

We hustled back to the parking lot to get there by 6:30, and imagine our surprise when we rolled into the parking lot and saw an AID STATION set up for us?!? Kathy and her entourage from RunnersWorld came out and set up a full service aid station, and they plan on doing this every Tuesday evening!!! Where is the LIKE button?

With a crowd of ~40 runners, we divided into two groups, and took off for another hour or so of running. 
I led my followers to the red trail, but instead of the easy peasy short loop, we took EVERY offshoot on that side of the mountain, and I thoroughly got everyone turned around before illegally leading them up the FloFro trail. I did warn them to give wild-eyed bikers a wide berth, and true to form, a couple of peddlers came by and warned us that this was their downhill biking course. We were not there long, and it's not like we were a butterfly collectors group or a cub scout troop.We refueled at the nifty RW pit stop, and took out for more mileage. I promised some easier terrain, and overlooking the long climb to the top of Turkey, I made good on that promise. The bunny trail on top gives about a half mile of rockless twisty turny single track, before ending about midway on the upper yellow. We made our way home from there.

Channing turns on the jets as he nears the end of his run.
I thought we might have been the last ones in, but the slightly faster group was still out, following Stormy on every goat trail in the region. Rafael hung around to give me grief, as he always does. As I raised my camera to take his picture, he quickly ripped his shirt off. Aren't we glad??

Frisco 50 instead of OKC

Frisco 50 instead of OKC

Instead of running the Oklahoma City Marathon--again--I'm running the Frisco 50 near Springfield Missouri.
It's on a Rails-to-Trails trail--25 miles out and 25 back for the 50 miler. My friends Charlotte, Dennis,Caroline, and Kurt and Shelley are going. Dana is coming to run the half marathon. They also have a 50K, marathon, and an 8K--something for everyone.
The trail meanders through the country--running northish to the turnaround and then back.
The elevation chart looks interesting--they always do, but I bet this is a nearly flat course. Only the hill on the return trip seems like a walker.
They call it crushed limestone, but it looks like regular old gravel. Gaiters will be needed.
There are several bridges--some wooden, some iron.
This one looks cool--I hope the ties are not all that far apart!
Gotta pay attention crossing the roads. I doubt they'll have traffic control.
Shade. We'll need lots.
They say there is a brief paved section. Hmmm--ok.
Scenic trailz.
Scenic bridges.
Can't wait.
And getting another medal for my cluttered shelf--not a bad thing either.

Tuesday, 

Monday, 

Sunday, 

Tuesday Night Trail Running

Tuesday Nights are fun. It's my favorite run of the week--and I like them all. The group I lead is a moderate paced group. We'll run a good pace, but take breaks to make sure everyone stays up. I like to mix things up with some easy trailz, and some tough ones. Last week, we did a cave tour. This involved some tough climbing and a little bushwhacking, but we visited 4 caves. Here, about half of the group scratched their way up the side of a bluff to see two different rooms.

I had only my iPhone, and the pics of the inner chambers did not turn out--but that's ok. Anyone wanting to see these sacred places on the mountain should go see them.To me, it was interesting that ALL of the girls made the climb, and only a few of the guys did.
This is also where the petroglyphs are.

Last night, we went west. We took the western-most trail that sneaks in the back way into the Westside Y. I like this trail because so few people know about it, and the commuters on HW 75 probably are baffled at the line of runners in a place where they never imagined seeing someone run.

I took a bit of video on the way back. Hope it does not make you seasick!!


I am a bit of a rebel--I'd like to alternate Chandler Park in for some of our Tuesday Night runs. Any takers?

A change of clothes, a couple of choices of trail shoes, Nathan Pack overstuffed, water bottles filled, and the remaining coffee poured into that old stainless steel thermos from many Christmases past, and I was out the door. Oasis blared "What's your story morning glory" and I tore south on HW 75, easily 20 miles over the speed limit carried by my music. No need for the QT, although a pee stop would have been nice. I was anxious to hit the trailz in the Ouachitas asap. Any kind of loop would take more daylight hours than I had--but that's what headlamps are for, right? I switched to some Neil Young to keep my speed down--no need to get ticketed on the way.

I vaguely remembered the trailz where I had ran way too long ago--rocky switchbacks down to a dry creek that would most likely be a running stream. I remembered it bottomed out, and then musty have climbed to the crest of the Talamena Drive before heading down the other side. The plan was to string the Old Military Road Trail with the Boardstand, and then instead of heading back west on the Ouachita, I would head east to Winding Stair. At that point, I would either head north on the Horsethief Trail to Cedar Lake, or south on the Billy Creek Trail.--most likely the Cedar Lake route. Sleeping on a picnic table would have to suffice, since I was running light and not carrying a tent of sleeping bag. Depending on how I felt/slept, I would then head further east and try to make the Arkansas state line by the next evening. Somewhere along the way, I would need to buy more food especially if I did the feeding frenzy thing and ate all my supplies too early. I could refill with water at Cedar Lake, and/or streams if they looked clean--but I should have brought some aqua tabs--they were in my glove box I thought. (I drank from streams a few years back when I ran out of water on an unexpected hot day, and did not get sick.)

From McAlister towards Wilburton, I daydreamed, and almost dozed--running over a possum or armadillo, and swerved almost sideways before recovering. WHEW!!!! What a wake up!! I pulled over by a bridge and got out to stretch my legs, and pour a cup of coffee. There was no hurry, but I was certainly doing just that. Breathing in the unseasonably cool spring air and sniffing what was the beginning of pine trees brought the warmth of anticipation to my soul. I took a picture of this old iron bridge, and looked for the right angle to catch the bright blue sky between the rusty braces of the bridge. Burning 5 minutes, but feeling fully awake and alive, I continued on. Talamena State Park was less than 30 minutes away. Visiting these trailz was like seeing old friends. I remembered them, but some of the details were blurry. Running them again seemed like catching up with your buddies you had not seen for years. I was giddy--almost nervous although that seems weird--but ready to plow right in. Running solo--for 2 days, maybe 3, maybe 4. I suppose the unknown was what the jitters were about. There would be no cell phone service, and even if there were, my phone would die in a day or two. The possibility of danger made it more exciting.

....to be continued....

Killing time, new trailz, and celebrities.

Today I had a 4:00 pm appointment, and a 5:00 pm appointment. Both were in the Bixby area. The 4:00 was just a check-it-out something that was over in 6 minutes, leaving me with 45 minutes of down time. Just enough time to hunt a geocache. Haikey Creek--Garnett between 111th and 121st has several, and I headed there. The one I chose to hunt for made mention of some trailz--and you know how I like that!!!I looked only briefly for the cache though. I was more interested in where this trail went. Turns out, it was a dead end--not sure why it went 1/4 of a mile and stopped?? The cache was deep into the woods weeds ticks chiggers poison ivy land. I walked back out. Haikey Creek IS a good place for a run though. There are about 2 miles of chat gravel paths, and a bit of trail hidden here and there.

While walking back to my car, a couple made a beeline across the park to intercept me. They asked me if I found it?? They were geocachers, and spotted a kindred spirit. I told them that I did not, although had a good idea where it was. I felt like a wimp chickening out over ticks and chiggers--I AM TRAIL ZOMBIE!!! We visited a while about this cache and that and I knew they were bigtime cachers. It was a fun conversation.
I asked them what their handles were. He was Captain Cache, and she was The Beauty Queen from Mars, and together they were the team of CCATBQFM. He went on to tell me he was also known as General Disarray. He is the official Geocache reviewer in Oklahoma. I see his name on every cache description. It was like meeting a celebrity--kind of like meeting President. Heck, I was more excited meeting him that I would have been meeting the current president.

I told them about trail running, my blog, and the races we do. They knew all about the Snake Run, as a friend of theirs was caching during the Snake Run, and enjoyed refreshments from our aid stations, and was counted in the laps as Unknown Runner since well--he had no number. Actually, I LOVE THAT. We are of like minds--geocachers and trail runners.