After that, I have had a knee injury, surgery, a complete recovery, and setback that basically stopped my running altogether. Then in June of last year, I decided to do the RunnersWorld-Tulsa Urban Adventure--a 4-lap 100 miler on roads and sidewalks around midtown Tulsa. It was freakishly hot (97 degrees for the high) and very humid, and my buddy Mitch and I both refused to quit and after 40 hours, we crossed the finish line. I really walked 85% of it, but the encouraging thing was my knee was no worse after being on my feet for nearly two days straight. I started running a little more here and there, and began to feel like I was a runner again.
I decided I wanted to do another 100, and Prairie Spirit and I had unfinished business. On November 1st, I weighed and tipped the scales at 202. I dusted off my Lowe It iPhone app, and started counting calories. Every morning I had Thrive shake with almond milk, every lunch was a grilled chicken sandwich no cheese no mayo, and I ate a sensible dinner. In 5 months I lost 30 pounds, and running has gotten easier. My training has been less in miles, but more in elevation. I mostly don't run unless there are hills to climb. I ran the Ouachita Switchbacks 25K which had crazy long climbs, and got a couple other 29 milers in. March 12, I ran the LandRun 50K, which also had a few hills. I wanted to see how well I was moving after 25 miles, and wanted to run with my pacer Travis Jennings. Five of my fastest six miles were my last five miles. Although I did feel quite depleted after the run, I felt good about my overall energy levels.
Travis and his lovely wifey Shorty was crewing me. They had a little bit of everything. These pineapples were a must at the next few stops. They seemed like rocket fuel. From Welda to the turnaround, I was on a high. I was passing quite a few people on the run, and then they'd catch up a little on the walk. Then the run I'd leave them behind. These run sections were actually kind of fast for being 40-45 miles into the race. I had quite a few 14 minute miles and even a couple of 11s in this stretch.
Travis and crew were waiting for me at Iola. From here, it was 48 miles to the finish. Travis had been taking notes on who was just ahead, and what my pace should be. I came in slightly ahead of a 15 minute/mile pace.
Shorty had me a Sonic hamburger waiting for me. Lots of mustard and pickles.
And then we were off. Travis and I covered the next 10 miles at a decent pace, but it was slowing down. We met Jeremy, who was not going to make the cutoff at the turn around. Kinda bummed for him.
It got dark, and cold. My pace slowed to a 16 minute/mile and then slowed some more. that should have been no problem, except that I seemed to be spending too much time at the crew stops. It seemed like we'd NEVER get to Garnett, and I had slowed to a walk. a sleepy walk. When we got there, I went into the train depot building to get whatever hot food they had. They were encouraging, and told me I had plenty of time. I sat down and ate a warm cup of potato soup. I must have been there a long time because that mile split was almost 43 minutes.
We headed out, and I was freezing. I put on my wind shell, and zipped it up over my mouth. Once I started shuffling, I got too hot, and took it off. Then a bit of wind came up so I put it back on. We got passed by a lot of people through here. Sometime around 5:00 am, Travis spoke up and said we might be getting into trouble with the cut offs. He said we had 4 miles to get to Richmond, and 45 minutes to get there. We had to be there by 6:00. And then we had 2 hours to get to Princeton and that was another 8 miles away. I couldn't believe it--but I was not processing my thought very well anyway. I was falling asleep on my feet.
Then it hit me--I was about to run 80 miles and come home with nothing but a DNF. I woke up. I suggested we do intervals--run 500 steps walk 200. So we did that, and I don't know if it was the fear of not making it, or what--but the run segments were pretty darned fast. Travis looked on his Garmin and said we were clicking out 10 minute miles during the run segments, and 14 minute miles overall. This was working!! We kept doing 500/200 all the way into Richmond. When we got there, Travis said he looked at it wrong and actually had until 7:00 to get there.--but we still had to go 8 miles in 2 1/2 hours. I felt we had a little breathing room, but we still needed to hurry.
I suggested to Travis that we switch to running 200 walking 100. That seemed to work well. We started passing a few people. Maybe 4-5 on the last few miles. I'd see someone down the trail, and I'd pound the 200 running steps, and power-walk the walking 100. We seemed like we had fresh legs. It was actually amazing.
I wanted to run in hard from a half mile out. Turns out the steepest incline on the trail was the last half mile. SO, I waited until I was less than a quarter mile out, and I hotdogged it in from there. A lot of our friends had came back out to cheer us in. I high-fived everyone as I passed, and sprinted in the last 200 yards
This is a good race for a first timer, and for someone wanting a flat fast course for a PR. For me, it was about redemption.
I am in awe of Travis and Shorty. They gave their whole weekend--Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to help a friend. They are so giving., and I doubt I would have finished without their help. Travis memorized probable paces and splits in several scenarios. He was a wealth of knowledge, and told me inspirational stories throughout the night. He never sang though, but he did play quite a few songs from his play list.
And what is next for me? Well, another 100 for sure.
