Saturday morning's run started in a blur. I almost slept in, but made it to my group run. My coffee was good and I really wanted in in me instead of chunking the 1/2 cup and running with my buds, so I walked. After finishing the cup, I had decided walking was not such an awful idea, and jogging was not working all that well. I did visit with a few friends in that 1st mile or so including a good friend who is as far left as I am right....Mike Stelly. (Mike, I'd post your pic but the one I took was fuzzy, and all the other pics I have of you I have made you FAT, and tonight I don't feel mean enough to post them.) I walked until my Garmin beeped a mile, and then on to the top of this bridge before shifting into the zombie-shuffle.
Lots of dogs seen on the run today.
Lassie was trying to tell me Timmy had fallen into a well, but I've heard that line before.
Because the group run was an out-and-back, I got to see all my peeps as they were returning.
Great friend Chrissy rejoined the league of living runners this Saturday morn. It was so great to see her! Here, she attempts to display blazing speed. Hmmm....
By the time I had ran 6 miles, all of my friends had already made the turn and were heading back. I had no concrete plans. I had thought of meeting Jason and Lisa for some trail running later in the morning but they were dizzy (Jason) and sick as a dog (Lisa). So, I just kept running. I had my debit card, my cell phone, and my water bottle. Needed nothing more. Except some food, I needed that. McDonald's biscuits and jelly. Nothing else.
And some more coffee.
Nothing special about this building....I just needed something that said Sand Springs. Running from Tulsa clear over into the next sound....that sounds good.
Headed south across the Arkansas River but just before crossing, I noticed this trail going underneath it.
I bike over this bridge every Wednesday night, but had never noticed this trail. Hmmm.... The fuzziness from this pic is rain. Because of the rain, I decided not to head down this trail away from home, which actually was ridiculous since I already was 9 miles away from my car anyway.
From the bridge, looking west. More rain.
Looking east, towards downtown Tulsa.
It'sa coming down hard now!
So I found a dry spot under the bridge.
Waited for about 30 minutes for it to let up. Zombies do not melt in the rain, but my cell phone would have.
By the time the rain slackened, I was rested and decided to continue south instead of taking the short route home.
Somehow, the idea of running from downtown Tulsa, to Sand Springs, and then to Sapulpa made sense. There was a nice cloud cover, and the temps were in the 70s. Why not?
After topping my water bottle off at a Quik Trip, I turned off of the highway and ran 2 miles west so I could run on lesser traveled county roads. Highway 97 between Sand Springs and Sapulpa is a 2-lane road with a wide shoulder, but cars and trucks go by at 70mph+ and with the water on the road, I was not too crazy about that adventure.
For the next 7-8 miles, I ran in what almost seemed like the open prairie. I did come across 3 dogs that someone had dumped....a momma and 2 pups. They looked to be a pit bull mix, not exactly picture perfect dogs. The momma dog came right towards me showing her teeth. One of the pups came with her and he was friendly. I extended a hand to the pup, and the momma decided I was ok. The other pup stayed across the road in the ditch. A few cars whizzed by, and the dogs would not get out of the road. Sad, very sad. The look in the momma dogs eyes was a look of despair....like "what did I do wrong, what is happening to us?" She seemed to know her fate and that of her young was out of her control. The pup across the road in the ditch stayed crouched down, and I wondered is he had been hit by a car, and when I tried to cross, the momma dog growled and put herself between us, so I let well enough alone. I was 4-5 miles from anywhere, and there seemed to be nothing I could do, so I ran on. I looked back a few times and two of the dogs were still in the middle of the road, almost as if they had a death wish. No pictures here. Did not think about it at the time, and probably would have not taken any if I had thought of it. Sad.
Whew!! Was that a downer or what?
My next dog encounter was 2 miles later when another pit bullish mix. A well fed brown and white dog headed right up behind me at a quick pace. No growling, no tail wagging. 5 feet away and I turned to face it, and it darted away. No barking. was it going in for the bite and I thwarted the attack? And then about 3 miles later, I had a black lab come right at me with growls and gnashing teeth. I yelled and charged him, and he retreated. Man, was I ever in redneck land!!!
I eventually ran by Sahoma Lake, northwest of Sapulpa.
This was a nice surprise as I really was not sure where I was. I knew that eventually I would cross highway 33, and would take that into Sapulpa....finding this lake along the way was nice. After passing the lake, I ran out of water, and realized I should have looked at the campgrounds for a water tap. The sun had come out, and the temps scooted right up into the low 90s. I knew a store of some sort would be ahead a mile or two, and it turns out I was getting into trouble by the time I finally hit Sapulpa. And finally, I hit the highway right at the Sapulpa municipal golf course. I treated myself to a Gatorade, a couple of iced refills, and a bag if Fritos. The air conditioning was cold, and the PGA was on the smallish wall mounted TV set, so I watched a few holes as best as I could without my glasses. (They were so sweaty and I had nothing clean with which to wash them.) 20 minutes later, I was refreshed again.
Downtown Sapupla....ahh....running on the Mother Road!
One of the last shots leaving Sapulpa was the old glass plant. At one time, this was one of the largest employers in the area. Not sure about that today.
The run from Sapulpa back to my car near Downtown Tulsa was around 12 more miles. It was hot. I chose to stay on old HW 66, the old 2-lane road that goes by Frankoma Pottery. The newer highway had too many cars whizzing by at 70+mph, but it also had a few quickie stores. You guessed it, I ran out of water again. My friend Bobby had called earlier and asked if I wanted the services of a "male crew babe." Well, I had to make the call. Bobby rounded up some bottles of water, a big jug of Gatorade, some chips, and headed out to meet me. I was nearly overheated when I saw him, and what a welcome sight he was!
I know I'll be killed for posting this, but does he look good in a skirt or what? Bobby, you were a great crew babe!!! Thanks a million, and I owe ya!
Last dog encounter was somewhere after I left Bobby. A couple of weenie dogs felt the need to grind on my ankles a little. I outran them, but the sillies stayed right in the middle of the road and barked at me and a few cars had to come to a dead stop and hink until they budged a little for traffic to pass.
Bobby met me one more time to top my bottle off, and at that point I was about 3.5 miles from being done.
A nice truckload of clunkers traded for cash. GRRR!!!! What an idiotic idea!
T-Town in full view!! The finish is near.
At 36 miles, I still was not too tired to pass up some camera play.
I ended up with 37.2 miles, with stops for some breakfast, a rain delay, a few quickie stores, a 20 minute stop at the golf course, another 20 or so with Bobby, and I was at or near a 12 minute/mile pace when I was moving. Not a good marathon or 50K pace, but just fine for a 100 mile race. I needed this run and I feel good heading into the string of runs I have planned for the fall.
The 4th running of the Turkey and Taturs 50K/25K/10K is less than 2 weeks away! This is one of the most challenging 50K races in the area, and the ONLY one in Tulsa. This race has it all. Ya like nice flat single track trail? There are a few miles of that. You miles of trails under a blanket of trees? Yup. You like hills? T and T will not disappoint. You want a good short trail race that will get your heart pumping? Come do the 10K. Ran a few marathons and want to push your limits a little further? You have all the time you need to finish the 50K. You'll get a fantastic navy blue tech shirt with the above logo. This may be your favorite race shirt EVER!
