Report from a little run in 2012

I ran sort of an impromptu run today at Spavinaw WMA. I needed a good long run, and of course wanted to run it on trailz, and maybe someplace other than Turkey Mountain, although I love it here. A change of scenery is nice.

I posted this map on Facebook mainly because I wanted to do a screen capture for my phone, and talk of where this was and when I was going came up, and although I was not trying to take a gang of runners with me, some company was awesome. Scott Smaligo and Danielle Martin rode up with me and we took out running just after 9:00 am in 15° temps.

I had three layers of Icebreaker on my upper torso, and was plenty warm, sweated a little, but was never too warm. The sun was up and bright, and the skies were postcard blue, with only a hint of breeze a time or two during our run. I unzipped my jacket and removed my gloves to get the right body temps, and the cold was not a factor at all in my run. I'll call it perfect weather and good clothes.

I ran here last summer, and this seems like a super place to run long. It was today. I was a little concerned about there being deer hunters out, and later in our run, we did see quite a few pick-up trucks with dudes all camoed out. They all seemed friendly although one guy said (maybe kiddingly?) that he thought he had seen it all, referring to the oddity of seeing three runners out there in the middle of nowhere.

The course is mostly gravel roads, with a little dirt road here and there. The black lines on the map are good maintained forest service roads with places where the gravel was a bit loose and a bit large. I wore my Montrail AT Plus trail shoes, and they did me well, but the balls of my feet feel slightly bruised after 17.4 miles of these roads. Not complaining, just commenting.

It was DRY there, but early on, we did have one spot that was almost a mandatory water crossing. A good Kodak moment, and then we stepped around it.

I suspect there are around 20-22 miles of good roads like these, and several off-shoots which are not as well groomed. We took one such road/trail, and followed it for a mile thinking we would get a good view of Lake Spavinaw. My map showed it to be a dead end, but I still thought it might connect to another similar trail for a loop, but it did not. So, we had an out-and-back added which included a LOT of rustling through loose leaves. The game management folks just don't rake leaves.

There is another distinct feature to the roads and trailz here. The area includes Hills. We had 6 or 7 significant climbs on the run, and we talked about whether these were worse than Pumpkin Holler. I'd say close, but there are definitely more of them. Look at the course elevation profile down the page--or don't. I'll talk more about it when I get there.

I love running under the pines. It was nice to see something still green. I mentioned while taking pix that I loved doing so (and of course posting them.) I feel it's like throwing out bait--the next time we come up, we'll make a TOT run out of it, and pictures help sucker people in--hills or not.

This is hill number 4 or 5. We ran some of them, and would stop to walk the last little bit if they were real steep. I also use the take-picture excuse to catch a breather.

Danielle almost had Scott talked into walking across this fallen tree. It would have been about a 20 foot drop if he fell. No takers today.

At around mile 10, we ran through an area where a fire had cleared a large area of trees. It was still a beautiful area though. Not sure what these two were talking about--probably the fiscal cliff or something.

This is the start of a 1.5 mile gradual downhill. Fun.

Lots of little ups and downs to go with some of the longer climbs, but a lot of it was runable.

We finally came to an intersection where we accessed our pace/progress/time remaining, and decided to shorten our run. The big loop we had planned would have definitely been longer than 20 miles--maybe as much as 24, and Scott had a commitment at 3:00--so we lopped off the loop furthest west. This move dealt us a long steep hill which we discussed the possibility of there being a McDonald's or a QuikTrip at the top. I even thought we might see the pearly gates there, but we were all wrong.

With the map I had, I never felt lost. The roads marked were good roads, and we never made a wrong turn (while running anyway--I did miss a turn driving up here due to yapping and not paying attention.) Here, I KNEW we must be going the right way since there were TATUR PINK RIBBONS on the trees.

After running through a 2-3 mile stretch on the bottom of a beautiful valley, we had one more climb to get back to where our car was. This climb was followed by a very steep downhill that Danielle ran like a gazelle. Scott walked it, I jogged it, and Scott's walk was faster than my jog. My poor feet were sore, and I was to the point where I was liking the uphills more than the downhills.

This is the route we ran. The loop on the left would have been about twice the size if we had ran it. We might still be out there--ya never know.

And the elevation profile from my Garmin. I like looking at these, but they don't always tell the true story. I will not tell you this was a "relatively flat" course. But looking at this profile, you might think there were NO FLAT SECTIONS AT ALL. Well, there were. The first mile did not even seem hilly. We ran it all. Miles 2-4 were easily runable. Miles 9-11--another good fast section. And even though it looks like a killer climb, mile 14.5-15.5 was right down the bottom of a flat valley. It might have been a very gradual climb, but it was easy to motor even though we were all pretty tired.

This is a fun place to run. I wonder a little about whether we should have been there as I really don't want to interfere with a hunter and his prey. I'll check on the regulations before bringing a TOT group up. And when we do make the trip, y'all better come.

Mojo found

A friend tagged me today with a link to a video about Errol "Rocket" Jones, Trail Running Elder titled The Pleasure and the Pain. The title of course got my attention--anything with trail running in the title does this, but the "Elder" part really tweaked my curiosity.
Errol is a 65 year old 100 miler in the San Francisco area, with several 100 mile finishes on his resume including the Grand Slam. (Vermont 100, Leadville 100, Western States, and Wasatch 100 in the same year.)

Like me, he is in a three-year drought in his finish rate, and is not at all happy about that but he's training hard to right the ship. Errol made the statement that he can't imagine life without running, but knows that that day is coming. In the meantime, he is embracing the suffering, because the pleasure is in the overcoming. This is truth.

Not to go overboard in my comparison to him, but I am disappointed, aggravated, disgusted with my running decline. A nagging knee injury has sucked my mojo away, but the "want-to" has never died. I truly miss running with my friends. I know there will be a day when running is over for me--but that time is not now. I'm happy to say that in the past few weeks, I have laced up my trail shoes and have trotted out a few runs. I am nearly giddy like a new runner--the excitement is back! Rubbing elbows with new trail running friends both new and old, has rekindled my desire. I've recommitted to getting fit, joined a couple of Facebook running and fitness groups, and have spent a few hours snooping my favorite 100-mile-menu. :-)

When will I be back on top of my game? I do not know, but the first wrung of the ladder is January 16 at Ouachita Switchbacks where I'll be doing the 25K-ish run with an army of my trail-running buddies. And my 100 this year, when I pick it out, will be one that I am confident I can finish. I agree to suffer to feel the joy of buckling.

Shark sighting at the Polar Bear Plunge.

Some people have to do crazy things. Sometimes those things might be jumping into a swimming pool on January 1st--when the low temp was 28 degrees. It's actually fun when a few hundred friends show up to do the same crazy thing. And it's always even more fun to do it wearing a shark suit.

Picture by Chris Dial

Mitch Drummond and I were decked out as sharks. He was a little more famous being the Left Shark. I (as the Right Shark) was pointed out as a better dancer, but that almost HAS to be wrong, although I did flap my flippers around quite a bit. Actually, I was out of position here--being on the left. Maybe Mitch really was the better dancer. Tammy (in the middle) was to be Katy Perry, but had a wardrobe malfunction, having her costume just out of reach (actually on the other side of the state) so she was Katy Perry disguised as the blond gal running with the sharks.

Picture by Bland Bridenstine

 We tried to bull our way in to the costume contest, but were no match for sheer beauty like Jenni and Christal. 

Picture by Bland Bridenstine

We made three dives into the pool. Between each plunge was a little bit of running to get us spread out. That worked well except when we got to the water slides. 

Picture by Chris Dial

I went in head first for the first plunge. What a rush!! Our shark suits were actually pretty warm, and even soaking wet, they were warm--but HEAVY!! Between dips, I gave high fives and wet sloppy hugs to anyone foolish enough to get close to me.

Picture by Chris Dial

We had two choices--take the open slide, or the tube. It seemed to me that the tube sent sliders down much faster, and Mitch and I opted for that one. It was pitch black in the tube, and I landed butt down in the pool, and popped back up headless. Mitch helped me pull my head back up over my head. Up to that point, very few people really knew just who was in the suit.

Picture by Chris Dial

For the final plunge, we had to dive to the bottom of the pool to get our medals that they through out for us to retrieve. What a sick idea. It is nearly impossible for a shark to pick up a medal off the bottom of a pool having only FLIPPERS! But I managed, although it took a while.

Picture by Tulsa World

Mitch and I were the last two out of the pool, and a Tulsa World photographer was waiting for us--and we got a write up in the paper. The three of us had FUN. Thanks to Lifetime Fitness for letting TATUR put on this event at their marvelous facility. These are good times indeed.

Christmas in the Ouachitas

Friday (Christmas day) I had all the Christmas festivities behind me, so a couple of friends and I headed to the Ouachitas for a bit of trail running. Burning off a few calories is a good thing. Burning them off here gave us a chance to preview the area for the upcoming 

Ouachita Switchbacks 50K/25 that happens January 16. 

Michelle, Clint, and I parked at the Pashubee trailhead, which is also a campground with all the amenities--except electric hookups, Oh, and no water. And no outhouses--but there are lots of trees. ;-)

Michelle points out our destination. All three of us are doing the 25K in the race, so I wanted to do the other side of the course to see what it looked like. Kiamichi River--here we come. Wet water crossings are the best.

Click on the map to blow it up a little bigger. The race start is right in the middle. Everyone goes to the left, and the out-and-back is 17-18 miles--depending on whose GPS device you are trusting. For sure, it's a bit long to be a 25K--BONUS MILES!!!

So after a group selfie--we were off.

Blue blazes mark the trail. I'd love this job--doing trail maintenance, painting blue swatches, taking pictures--does it pay decent?

It's fair to say this trail is technical in places. Within the first .4 miles, we three dry creek bed crossings, and one with a little water. 

No problem crossing at this one, although there are several crossings (the Kiamichi River I bet for sure) that it's be best to just plow in and deal with wet feet. Better than slipping and falling, although that would make for lively conversation.

Lots of rocks covered with leaves. What looks like an easy leaf covered trail is really a trap. Lurking beneath the leaves are well placed rocks placed since the beginning of time waiting to stub your toe, and better yet, send you directly to the ground via a face plant.  It was risky running a decent pace. I call it trails by braille. We did our best to kick most of the leaves off the trail.

I saw this little pond on the way out, but did not get a picture. I was glad Michelle got one.

We got into a long climb pretty quick. We climbed 600 feet in less than a mile. Not much running--but we powered on up. Doing this section in the later part of a 50K will be tough. The trail flattened out for about a quarter mile, and went right through a briar patch. I bet sections like this require some trim work a couple times a year.

And then there are rocks to big to hide under leaves. Rock gardens come in all different sizes. There are healthy.

There are also sections like this on the Ouachita Trail/ I did a portion on the OT in Arkansas a few years back that was a solid mile of this except it was also nearly straight up.

Clint and I took a goat-hike onto this rock for a better view of the valley below.

I took the opportunity to strike a Captain Morgan pose.

We abbreviated our out-and back, climbing 1140 feet on the initial climb and 1445 for the trip. We logged right at 7 miles.

On December 25th, I added my final tick to my tick-o-meter count--raising my total to 117 for the year.

I am excited to go back next month to go from Pashubee to Winding Stair and back--taking on all the rocks, leaves, climbs, and water crossings. And I now--more than ever--want to do an end-to-end fast-pack hike. 

TATUR Christmas Party Recap

The 10th annual TATUR Christmas party was last Wednesday at My Studio (where Laurie Biby and Beyond Ordinary Life Photography operates.) It seems hard to believe that we've had our year end celebration and awards ceremony for ten years. As trail and ultra running has grown in popularity and our membership has grown into the hundreds, the level of talent now rivals that of the well known trail running meccas. We have our own ultra elites, and the group runs to the Wichitas and Ouachitas are identifying these trail systems as destination areas for trail runners nation wide. Suffice to say, I am proud of our group--proud of my friends.

We catered in pizza from Hideaway, and not knowing for sure how many TATURs would be there, I ordered 14 larges all loaded. We ended up with less than half a pizza left. There was, however, a ton of yummy side dishes and desserts leftover. A couple of pecan pie offerings made it home with me, but John Nobles took most of the rest of the desserts. We were well fed.

Brian Hoover is usually the MC of this event, but he got an early Christmas present from the Grinch--a bad case of the flu. So Stormy and I shared the awards presentations and the usual blah blah blahs. Tammy Cryer took this picture, and Facebooked it saying I looked like a peacock speaking to my flock.

The Oklahoma Dirt Trail Series was a huge success this year. The way the point series works is like this:
1. The Oklahoma Dirt Trail Series is free to enter. No strings attached.
2. You get points for finishing races, and also for volunteering in races.
3. You get 5 points for the first race you do, then 10 points for the next, then 15 for the next, and so on. There were 13 races in the series, so if you did them all, you would get 65 points for the last one in the series. Total all those points and you'd have 465 points even if you finished last in every race. Again, volunteering also gets you points.
4. You get bonus points for top ten finishes. Win a race, and you get 60 bonus points. Finish 2nd and you get 55 points. 3rd place gets 50 bonus points, and so on. Finish 10th and you get 15 points.
5. Pumpkin Holler--our signature race awards bonus points for the longer distances (100K, 100M, and 135 Mile.)
6. Men compete against men, women compete against women.
7. Early starts and dropping to a shorter distance counts but those are not eligible for bonus points.

Below is the schedule for the 2016 Series. There may be another addition and a date change, so stay tuned.

We had over 275 participate this year, and a few runners either ran or volunteered in EVERY RACE. Those crazies are SueAnn Bement, Jason Bement, Jeremy Wiley, Mike Rives, and Ken TZ Childress. They were awarded antique brass compasses.

Those in the top five in the standings were also recognized and awarded brass compasses as well. Those in the top five in the points standings were Jenny Bailey,  Tammy Cryer, Jana Graham, Krystal Brown, Zach Harris, Victor Brown, and Daniel Jennings.

And the winners of the Oklahoma Dirt Trail Series were Travis Jennings, and Sue Ann Bement.

Since our first Christmas party, we have awarded the amazing Silver Spud awards for TATUR of the Year, Most Imp[roved, and various other categories. This trophy is often given the most prized position on a runners trophy shelf. I myself have one to show, and no one visits my living room without having my shiny Mr TATUR staring them down.

Winning the Rookie of the Year was Tammy Cryer. Tammy is a cheerleader for TATUR. She like to stir up trouble and stirs us competitiveness like no one I have ever seen. She has completed everything she has set her mind to--which just shows she's stubborn. That will get you to the finish line nearly every time.

Winning Most Improved TATUR was a tie in the voting. Clint Green and Daniel Jennings both took home Silver Spuds for this honor. Daniel finishes in the top 4-5 in nearly every race he enters--often just a few minutes out of the lead. Clint has gotten back into running with a vengeance. He spends 98% of his spare time on the trailz--often heading to the Wichitas or Ouachitas, or Black Mesa, or Albuquerque, or Arizona. That's beside running a ton of our trail races.

Most Inspirational was an easy vote this year. Mike Rives is a decent guy--does a lot of races, volunteers a lot. But a green gremlinish looking creature lurks around him--sometimes hiding in the shadows, sometimes riding on his shoulder, and usually reeking havoc. This creature--Meego--gets into people's heads and makes them think they can do things that sensible people would NEVER do. Meego is bad at whispering things about races in your ear while you're at the computer and before you know it, you've signed up for a 100 miler. He hangs from the tents in aid stations encouraging you to take another shot of Fireball--or TWO!! It's no wonder that his bib number is 666. So this year, I say Mike had better share his Silver Spud with this little monster--or he might let the air out of his tires.

Jbob Jones won Most Beast-Up Feet. This trophy can be awarded for one who has endures massive blisters or toenail mutilation in a race, or for logging a LOT of miles, or for doing a significant string of races (which can also lead to blisters and missing toenails.) Jbob lined up six 100 milers in six consecutive weeks--and then went out to haul in the belt buckles,. He finished the first three with flying colors, but had an injury take him out of the Ouray 100m (a race that has a crazy amount of altitude to deal with.) Since then, he has been Mr Volunteer, and late in the year jumped in and ran well in a couple of races. 

Best Performance in a Race went to Justin Franklin. My money is on Justin every time he toes the line in a trail race. Justin won two very impressive races in Kansas this past year. He ran Prairie Spirit 100, and won it in 17:24--a 10:44 minute/mile pace. Then he ran 109.8 milers in the KUS 24 Hour race easily winning it. His performance at Prairie Spirit earned him the Silver Spud.

Female TATUR of the Year went to Jana Graham. Jana does nearly every race we have, and is usually top three. She is also a faithful volunteer when she is not racing. It was an easy vote.

Male TATUR of the year was a complete draw. Travis Jennings and Victor Brown both nabbed Silver Spuds for their outstanding years. Victor is a vibrant force in any race he enters, always finishing in the top two. ;-) He also is an ambassador for the Dirtbag Runners. He and his buddies John Nobles, and Justin Walker have worked hard at keeping the trailz blazed in the Ouachitas. 

Travis Jennings started his year taking third in the TATUR Six Hour Snake Run. He already had the trail running bug, and did every race in the series after that. He also spent HOURS volunteering. Pumpkin Holler 100 was his target, and he trained diligently for it--running long doubles every weekend. At Pumpkin Holler, with 90 miles under his belt, he stopped to rest at East of Eden and warmed himself in a chair beside as camp fire and went to sleep. He woke up and stood up--and one of the aid station workers said he didn't look so good to which Travis replied that he didn't feel all that good either. Then he fell face first into the fire. Aid station volunteers quickly snatched him out of the fire and smacked out the burning embers that had melted to his jacket. He had a minor burn on his chest--and the incident woke him up and he belted out his remaining miles in quick fashion. 

Both were deserving, and the vote was a draw. Happy to see them both win the honor.

Philip Berry then awarded another prize. He spoke of a volunteer who served selflessly at many an aid station, who rang a cowbell like no other cheering tired runners on, and spoke of an award that was five years in the making--and then called his girlfriend Sarah Crowley to the front. He summarized her accolades and as he fished a small box out of his pocket, said he thought he'd just ask her to marry him. 

Sarah was speechless, knelt down beside him, and by the kiss and embrace, I am sure there was a yes in there somewhere.  

Friends--it's been a good year. I'm sure we'll have a hard time topping it in 2016--but it'll be fun trying.