3 States 1 day

So, after deciding to NOT run the marathon from finish to start all through the night on a gimpy ankle, I boarded a bus in Joplin, Missouri, and rode to Commerce, Oklahoma the the start line. We were treated to an awesome sunrise and temperatures chilly enough to make a jacket or long sleeve tee sound good, but not cold enough to warrant carrying one along for the race. Sunglasses were a needed item, and moi, who seldom wears cool shades, was styling in my Oakley wanna-bees aka Target 16.99 specials. But in the pic below, I was on the operating end of my Olympus.An army of friends from RunnersWorld made the trip northward to run in the inaugural running of the Mother Road Marathon, an event that topped out at over 200 runners between the three offered distances (5K, half, and full marathon.)Bobby focuses on the task at hand, while Linda and Sloan smile for the paparazzi. A sad day for me--Sloan announced that this was going to be her last marathon, as she was gonna only run half's from now on. I guess I won't get to run a full with her now. :-(


This time, I was running with my friend Susan, who was running her first marathon. She was nervous about getting it done, having missed her last couple of long runs.I assured her I could get her to the finish line (and helping her would help me, since I had figured I would be recuperating from the Arkansas Traveller from last weekend. Of course, my 100 miler stopped after 17 miles, but that's last week's story. 

There were lots of inspirational signs along the way, and some with nerdy trivia such as the one above.

I imagine Bonnie and Clyde traveled many many times on Route 66, as did Elvis, Madonna, Mickey Roarke, and Steve Urkel. _____________________________________________________
Each mile was marked with these tall markers, which could be seen from a half mile away. It helped a lot to see them, and to me, made the miles seem to go by faster. Nice to get mile one out of the way. It usually takes me a mile or two--sometimes 4 or 5--to get into a groove. This time, I felt pretty good from the start, but Susan was a bundle of nerves. I talked to her and assured her we would get to the finish--to just enjoy the moment and move the left foot and then the right foot. First marathon jitters---yup, she had that.Lotsa nifty signs. I forgot to take pix of all of them. No biggie, right?
I know people who would love to swipe this sign!

The sun was kind in the early miles, but turned on us later in the race.
We played leap frog with Dena and Linda early on in the race.
Quapaw, the last Oklahoma town we'd run through. Quapaw will be the first Oklahoma town we run through in the Mother Road 100 next month. I was impressed with all the crowd support along the way. Not huge crowds, but in every little town we ran through, there were folks out sitting in their yards or in lawn chairs on the town sidewalks cheering us on. They seemed genuine too. Of course, I heard we were almost there long before the halfway point.Out of one state, and into another. How cool to just run from state to state.
It was good to see this sign. Susan was doing great--in good spirits. We were moving steadily--not fast, but we employed the RFM concept (Relentless Forward Motion) and I kept a careful eye on our pace. All was well.
The nice thing about running through these little towns was that the quickie stores were convenient aid stops. I hit one up for Fritos and Advil. Another for Red Bull and a huge cup of ice.The best call of the day was this stop at McDonald's. Each time I made a pit stop, I had Susan keep moving, and I ran hard to catch her. This worked well, and kept us on pace for our finish.
Best tree of the day goes to this one in Baxter Springs, Kansas.

Here, we are approaching Galena, Kansas. It was really heating up--I am guessing into the low 80s at this point. We had just endured a mile long hill. It was a little too much to run, and we power-walked it. It seemed like the course was all either flat or uphill. I really don't remember many downhill stretches at all.
The original Wrecker Tater, from the movie "Cars." I have not seen this animated flick, but maybe I should.

Susan was waning a little during the next few miles. She stopped to stretch, and I have to say it did her some good. Each time after a minute or two of stretching, she would pick up her pace and we were staying just ahead of the pace we needed to finish in the time limit.After Galena, we got onto a some of the OLD Highway. It was two-laned, and had not been resurfaced in many many years. (It was, however, in better condition than most of the streets in Tulsa.) This section seemed surreal--I'm not sure why. maybe it was because the road was old, there were no modern signs, no houses to be seen, the vegetation looked old and dry, the sky was a little grayer. I liked it.
Somewhere along the stretch of the old road, we passed into Missouri. There was not a "Welcome to Missouri" sign, but soon after getting into a more populated area, I saw this road sign.From here, Susan was fading fast. I knew she wanted badly to finish, but she had really hit the wall. I had given her electrolytes, she had taken several Gu's, ate Fritos, drank a smoothie, had some ice water, Gatorade, and despite being only three miles away, was thinking of tossing in the towel. The continual hills were taking a toll, and any hint of a breeze was gone. It had clouded over a little, but the humidity seemed to soar. Then, she had a dizzy spell, and became a little nauseated. I had some sea salt, and I wish I had given here a dose of it earlier. I had her take a couple of pinches, and at her urging, I ran on to the finish line. I made her PROMISE to NOT STOP, and to NOT TAKE A RIDE to the finish. I ran as fast as I could to make the cut-off. I had my reasons. The cut-off was seven hours. I knew I could make it in by then, and I intended to claim my finishers medal and give it to Susan if they did not count her finish as official and not give her a metal. As soon as I crossed the line and they dechipped my shoe, I ran back out to meet her and run her in. The last half a mile was a gradual downhill, and by the time I made it to the top of the hill and turned westward, I saw her jogging up the hill. WOW! She had came back to life, and dug deep to get her marathon done. As we turned the corner, several of our friends came out to run us in. Celebration was in the air!!She had finished, and only 3 or 4 minutes over the time limit. The folks at the finish line hung a medal around her neck, and it was a great moment for her and all her friends.

And an ankle report--all went well. I did not tape it or wear my brace. I seem to be on the mend, but I am still reluctant to go out on the trails, but of course that won't last long. Prognosis for the Mother Road 100 looks good.

Three States, One Run

So, after deciding to NOT run the marathon from finish to start all through the night on a gimpy ankle, I boarded a bus in Joplin, Missouri, and rode to Commerce, Oklahoma the the start line. We were treated to an awesome sunrise and temperatures chilly enough to make a jacket or long sleeve tee sound good, but not cold enough to warrant carrying one along for the race. Sunglasses were a needed item, and moi, who seldom wears cool shades, was styling in my Oakley wanna-bees aka Target 16.99 specials. But in the pic below, I was on the operating end of my Olympus.An army of friends from RunnersWorld made the trip northward to run in the inaugural running of the Mother Road Marathon, an event that topped out at over 200 runners between the three offered distances (5K, half, and full marathon.)Bobby focuses on the task at hand, while Linda and Sloan smile for the paparazzi. A sad day for me--Sloan announced that this was going to be her last marathon, as she was gonna only run half's from now on. I guess I won't get to run a full with her now. :-(


This time, I was running with my friend Susan, who was running her first marathon. She was nervous about getting it done, having missed her last couple of long runs.I assured her I could get her to the finish line (and helping her would help me, since I had figured I would be recuperating from the Arkansas Traveller from last weekend. Of course, my 100 miler stopped after 17 miles, but that's last week's story. 

There were lots of inspirational signs along the way, and some with nerdy trivia such as the one above.

I imagine Bonnie and Clyde traveled many many times on Route 66, as did Elvis, Madonna, Mickey Roarke, and Steve Urkel. _____________________________________________________
Each mile was marked with these tall markers, which could be seen from a half mile away. It helped a lot to see them, and to me, made the miles seem to go by faster. Nice to get mile one out of the way. It usually takes me a mile or two--sometimes 4 or 5--to get into a groove. This time, I felt pretty good from the start, but Susan was a bundle of nerves. I talked to her and assured her we would get to the finish--to just enjoy the moment and move the left foot and then the right foot. First marathon jitters---yup, she had that.Lotsa nifty signs. I forgot to take pix of all of them. No biggie, right?
I know people who would love to swipe this sign!

The sun was kind in the early miles, but turned on us later in the race.
We played leap frog with Dena and Linda early on in the race.
Quapaw, the last Oklahoma town we'd run through. Quapaw will be the first Oklahoma town we run through in the Mother Road 100 next month. I was impressed with all the crowd support along the way. Not huge crowds, but in every little town we ran through, there were folks out sitting in their yards or in lawn chairs on the town sidewalks cheering us on. They seemed genuine too. Of course, I heard we were almost there long before the halfway point.Out of one state, and into another. How cool to just run from state to state.
It was good to see this sign. Susan was doing great--in good spirits. We were moving steadily--not fast, but we employed the RFM concept (Relentless Forward Motion) and I kept a careful eye on our pace. All was well.
The nice thing about running through these little towns was that the quickie stores were convenient aid stops. I hit one up for Fritos and Advil. Another for Red Bull and a huge cup of ice.The best call of the day was this stop at McDonald's. Each time I made a pit stop, I had Susan keep moving, and I ran hard to catch her. This worked well, and kept us on pace for our finish.
Best tree of the day goes to this one in Baxter Springs, Kansas.

Here, we are approaching Galena, Kansas. It was really heating up--I am guessing into the low 80s at this point. We had just endured a mile long hill. It was a little too much to run, and we power-walked it. It seemed like the course was all either flat or uphill. I really don't remember many downhill stretches at all.
The original Wrecker Tater, from the movie "Cars." I have not seen this animated flick, but maybe I should.

Susan was waning a little during the next few miles. She stopped to stretch, and I have to say it did her some good. Each time after a minute or two of stretching, she would pick up her pace and we were staying just ahead of the pace we needed to finish in the time limit.After Galena, we got onto a some of the OLD Highway. It was two-laned, and had not been resurfaced in many many years. (It was, however, in better condition than most of the streets in Tulsa.) This section seemed surreal--I'm not sure why. maybe it was because the road was old, there were no modern signs, no houses to be seen, the vegetation looked old and dry, the sky was a little grayer. I liked it.
Somewhere along the stretch of the old road, we passed into Missouri. There was not a "Welcome to Missouri" sign, but soon after getting into a more populated area, I saw this road sign.From here, Susan was fading fast. I knew she wanted badly to finish, but she had really hit the wall. I had given her electrolytes, she had taken several Gu's, ate Fritos, drank a smoothie, had some ice water, Gatorade, and despite being only three miles away, was thinking of tossing in the towel. The continual hills were taking a toll, and any hint of a breeze was gone. It had clouded over a little, but the humidity seemed to soar. Then, she had a dizzy spell, and became a little nauseated. I had some sea salt, and I wish I had given here a dose of it earlier. I had her take a couple of pinches, and at her urging, I ran on to the finish line. I made her PROMISE to NOT STOP, and to NOT TAKE A RIDE to the finish. I ran as fast as I could to make the cut-off. I had my reasons. The cut-off was seven hours. I knew I could make it in by then, and I intended to claim my finishers medal and give it to Susan if they did not count her finish as official and not give her a metal. As soon as I crossed the line and they dechipped my shoe, I ran back out to meet her and run her in. The last half a mile was a gradual downhill, and by the time I made it to the top of the hill and turned westward, I saw her jogging up the hill. WOW! She had came back to life, and dug deep to get her marathon done. As we turned the corner, several of our friends came out to run us in. Celebration was in the air!!She had finished, and only 3 or 4 minutes over the time limit. The folks at the finish line hung a medal around her neck, and it was a great moment for her and all her friends.

And an ankle report--all went well. I did not tape it or wear my brace. I seem to be on the mend, but I am still reluctant to go out on the trails, but of course that won't last long. Prognosis for the Mother Road 100 looks good.

Mother Road--the Marathon

Tomorrow morning at the butt crack of 5:00 I'll stumble out of a Best Western in Joplin , Missouri and board a bus to Commerce, OK to run 26.2 on Old Route 66. It is on 13 miles that the Mother Road 100 will be on in later in November. Luv me sum concrete!  I had a wild hair to run from the finish to the start, running all night, and then running the marathon in the morning. Seemed like a good idea, needing a long run and all. But 100% of my peers thought is was less than a good idea. My friend Kathy thought I should rest my foot/ankle and just run the marathon. Such a thoughtful friend. (I almost had her talked into running it with me!)

My thoughts and well wishes are with my friend Bill Ford, who is more than halfway through his 1st 100 miler at Heartland. Go Bill!!!

Testing the waters

This afternoon, Wednesday, I ventured out for a short run. My massage/torture lady along with the chiropractor she works with agreed that my foot issues were (in their words) a classic sprain. The peroneal tendonitis did not seem to concern them, although it certainly concerned me last Saturday! They did not tell me I could not run, but advised I stay off the trails for a while. Landing on sloped surfaces = bad. Landing on flat even surfaces = acceptable. So, I decided to test my ankle out.I walked a few steps, and broke out into a j o g.
Nothing seemed to hurt, and I promised myself to stop if anything got too ouchie.

Then, I passed a trail!! Oh, I wanted to go! I knew what was around the bend, and the dry creek that I would have got to cross, and the deep woods, the pristine single-track, the dips and crests, where I used to run fast. But I trotted on past.
The paved trail at the base of Turkey Mountain is a good place for a quick jaunt out-and-back. It's nice soft asphalt, as good of a paved surface that one could run on.
Along the sanitary treatment plant--not the best of Tulsa by any means, but it is still good to have a continuous trail around the Arkansas River.
I've been working with my new camera, and all the settings. I have to give myself a D- so far. There is not an instruction manual, not that I read or follow directions. The instructions are "built in" to the camera menu. Nearly every pic I have taken so far has had to muck light in it, and has been blurry. The "auto" does not really work. Different light settings make blue pictures. This bridge pic, well, at least one of the many I took, turned out.But I published them all in B/W, cuz I wanted to! Actually, even though it was just 4 miles, and even though it was a very slow run, it was a GOOD RUN!

I scored a 17%

This is not a post I really look forward to write. The good part is--it will be a short one!!

I was confident of finishing the Arkansas Traveller, or maybe I am such a good liar I actually believed myself. My ankle seemed like it was gonna behave. I had an issue of back spasms the Thursday before, but usually running helps my back pain, not vice versa. The couple of short runs preceding the weekend had went well. The elastic wrap-around brace seemed to make running with a gimpy ankle seem comfortable and safe. Running Wednesday night for four miles on the trails with this brace, I felt strong and comfortable, running over rocks with authority. All seemed well.

We tried to get out of town Friday early, but as almost always, work was hectic and we did not hit the road until 11:30. We did not make the pre-race briefing, but I have heard the rundown before. No worries. We weighed in, picked up my packet, and ate our fill of pasta. My wrist band reveals my weight!! (See, I AM a Clydesdale!!) Then headed out to locate the major aid stations to put them in the Jeep's GPS. It's a long drive from the start/finish to the Powerline, especially when you take the good paved roads. We drove nearly a hundred miles there and back--would have rather had that time for sleeping. I got my usual pre-race 5 hours of sleep, and 4:00 came way to early!!! Still, we made it to the race in plenty of time. I had my coffee, my Vespa, and my poopie time. All was going great! My new camera was lost--temporarily. Dana was using the iPhone to take pics, and it does not do pictures in the dark at all. After the race was over, we found my camera in plain sight in the Jeep. It was just as well, because taking time for photos would have hurt my time.So here's a nice picture of Lake Sylvia taken after the sun came up while Dana was waiting for me to finish my 16 mile loop.

I started near the back of the pack. I was running 10-12 minute miles for the first 5, and reached the first aid stop for my treat of crispy salty bacon and pancake wedges. Amazing!!!! Then, we had about a 3 mile climb to the top of Flatside Pinnacle. Then, my favorite part of the race--8 miles of sweet single track with about a 3 mile downhill to start with. I had averaged 13 minutes per mile for the first 8, despite the last 3 being a long climb. But instead of speeding up on the downhill trails, I slowed down. I was very tentative running over the rocks, and I swear I never remembered that section being so technical. Ten or more people passed me on this section. I wasted no time at all in the first three aid stops, taking less than 60 seconds total between the three. Still, I slowed down more and more. Checking my splits, I had some 16 minute miles, 18s, 19s, and a 21. I was sure I must have been in last place when I trotted into the Lake Sylvia crew station.The bottom of my bum foot felt like someone had beat on it with a hammer for a week. Running was just not fun. (I have since read that besides a slightly sprained ankle, I have Peroneal Tendonitis--an inflamation of the tendon the side of the foot that connects to the fifth metatarsal.) I decided to try to tape instead of wearing the brace, and broke one of my rules by taking off my shoe during a race. Dana taped it with some duct tape--all the aid station had--and I headed back out. Ouch. I ran a little and walked a little, and decided to take my shoe off again and take off the brace and tape to see if I could manage running without it. No such luck. Then, Dana drove up behind me and had the tape we used last week at FlatRock. I ran just a hundred yards and had to stop again. Either the tape was too tight, or my foot was swelling. This time, we tried just putting a couple of stirrup-like straps and wrapping the top way above the ankle. That was not really any better. By now, my average pace had slowed to 17:10 minutes per mile, and I doubted I could even manage an 18 minute mile on a flat smooth trail--and I had 83 more miles to go. Crap!!! I pulled the plug, climbed in the Jeep, and quit. DNF in my last four 100s!!

Dana was was geared up to crew all night, and was as disappointed as I was. She puts as much into crewing as I do in running, and having an anti-climatic stop like this just seems so sick to both of us. But really, I'm not beating myself up on this one. There was just no way it was going to happen.

So that nice belt buckle in the previous post....Nope.

So, what to do. We called our pacers and told them the news. Fortunately, we saved them from driving all the way from Tulsa to the sticks of Arkansas. We went back to the motel, and got there just in time to shower and check out without paying another day. Then, we headed home, but not before checking out some really nifty trails to come back to run!!! No, I did not go out on them, but we drove by and I drooled.

Good night

It's late. So much got a good nights sleep. Wish me well. Hope to have one of these blingy blings in hand come Sunday morning. Good night, friends.