1. I had a full day today. It started early--6:00 am. I got up and gargled some coffee, and stumbled out the door to head to Jenks--sight of the Aquarium Half marathon. The plan was to pace my friend Pat to another PR. I thought he had a 2:30 in him, and he was sticking with the 2:45 plan.
Lots of friends at this one. Sandra and Derek joined us pre-race. Derek ended up running about half with us before picking up the pace a bit.
We were using the interval method--running 2 minutes and walking 1. Pat is a fast walker--faster than me usually. We had 2 beepers, and the second was set for a 1/1 interval--just in case we needed to slow the pace a little more. Pat ran strong--at a pace that would bring a 2:30 finish. But at mile 8, he had cramping issues in his calves. I was sure it was an electrolyte imbalance, and called my friend Susan to meet us in a mile or so with some salt. She did just that, and it might have helped Pat a little, but he still was hurting a lot.
This years course looked crazy on paper, but was a fun and interesting course. Instead of two out-and-backs way down Riverside, the course had 5 out-and-backs and you saw runners ahead and behind you all day. The course looked kind of like an octopus--I called it the Octopus Run.
I told Pat every inspirational story in the book, and he did pick up the pace the last mile. Not sure if he just wanted to get it over with, or if the competitive juices were kicking in. His goal was 2:45--a decent PR. He finished in 2:44:21, and is still cussing me. (Oh shaddup. You love me, Pat!)
2. After eating some breakfast with Pat and Sandra, I headed home to change and go to Mayfest. This is a festival in downtown Tulsa, where artists bring their wares to show and sell. There are funnel cakes, corn dogs, and beer, as well as live entertainment. This year, a friend Catherine was creating a 10x120 mural in chalk. I wanted to see for myself if she was as talented as I thought she might be.
Turns out, the chalk competition was a bit unbalanced. Several of the competitors came with a gel backing and paint brushes, and then a sealer to bring out the color. Hmmm....was this fair??
I voted Catherine's the best due to content. It was a running mural, highlighted by Bodi, the amazing corgi trail guide. (Pics swiped from Cat's Facebook page.)
3. I attended Cherokee Elementary School from 1966-1971. Recently, as a result of some cost-cutting measures, Cherokee was one of several schools closed. The students will be relocated to other schools. I really don't care all that much one way or the other, but it was sad to hear that the old school was soon to be gone and possibly torn down.
Through Facebook, I heard they were having an open house for nostalgic folks like me. I just had to go. My Canon had a very low battery, so the B-camera (Olympus) was used for the rest of the day. The next several pix are a bit on the fuzzy side.
Cherokee is a very old school. This is part of the newer building.
I remember the old red brick building. This 3 story (and a basement) structure was the original school house. No air conditioning. We sweat a lot while sitting in small wooden desks lined up in rows. The old steel radiators popped and creaked on cold days, and if it was really cold, we just wore our coats. This building was torn down and replaced with a more gooder one. A boring one. Now kids wouldn't have to walk up 3 flights of stairs to class. (This pic snagged from Cherokee's website.)
The gymnasium. I remember many assemblies here, four science fairs where I received awards in 4th thru 6th grades, winning it all in the 6th. I sucked at gym. I was always the next to the next to the slowest kid. I don't remember the fat kid, but I do remember Bobby Pace, who was crippled. I HATED running.
Over the years, they changed the classrooms. Gone are the wooden desks. The black board is gone. In 5th grade, technology stormed Cherokee. They brought in cassette recorders and played us lessons or readings on a small tape. Very cool. Now, there are computer labs and such. But the kids iPhones no doubt spank the school computers in performance.
Speaking of spankings....these 2 men gave me more paddlings than my mom and dad combined. Mr. Goff was a strict, stiff necked, old fashioned disiplinarian. I never really liked him, although I did make good grades and he assigned me to work the film projector. Still, he beat my butt several times a year, and he swung a mean paddle. Mr Morgan I swear lifted you off the ground with his paddle. I tried my best to stay clear of him, but I seemed to find myself out in the hall at least once a week.
Yup, these halls. Some teachers would just send you out in the hall. Whew!! But darn it!! Mr. Morgan would just happen to head down to the teachers lounge for a smoke, and he would paddle me for being out in the hall. Still, I think he was a good natured guy. Maybe I am a better person for all the paddlings I got......NAH. Mr. Morgan used to get on to me for cracking my knuckles. He also told me to quit walking and running like a duck, and that I would be crippled by the time I was an adult. That's like someone telling a runner to quit pronating!!. It's just how I run.
The principle's office. Mr McGuire was feared by all the boys. My first trip there, I cried like a baby. He sent me back to class without paddling me. (Rumor had it he had an electric paddle!!!) But my second trip there, I dot swats. No electric paddle, but his paddle had pencil sized holes in it to increase the sting sensation. It worked.
One of these lockers was mine. I broke a handle off of one. It just came on in my hand. I fretted over that for most of a year, sticking it back on. each time I used it. I figured the paddling for that would certainly kill me. Funny, we did not use padlocks back then. Stealing was not a problem.
My standard haircut worn for most of my early school days. This is a second grad pic courtesy of Tonya, another classmate and Facebook friend.
6th grade here. I was a good looking boy scout, huh?
I ran into Jeannie Baty (her maiden name). She's on the left, and her daughter is with her--looks just like her--they could pass for sisters. Jeannie was a twin, and her sister Joyce and I were in the same class almost every year. Joyce lives in Dallas now--would have been cool to see her.
While visiting with Jeanie, my brother Kevin surprised me. He was up from Texas, unbeknownst to me, visiting our mom and dad. He came by for the same reason I was here--to revisit old memories. I wish we could have spent some time together this weekend, but it's Dana's weekend to work, they had dinner plans, and I'll be in Tahlequah all day tomorrow.
After leaving, I drove to the back to see the old playground. What was once all black-topped, now was overgrown with grass. But the monkey bars were still there--just like they were back in 1966.
4. Driving up to Turley, I noticed Lake Yahola was brim full. The last time I looked, it was drained for maintenance. It is such a beautiful body of water, I stopped by for a pic or two on the way back home.
A view to the west. The very slight hiss in the horizon is Turley Hill, where as a kid I did a lot of hiking and exploring. I would love to go back there--might find some trailz.
I run the perimeter of this lake occasionally. It's almost a perfect 5K around the lake on a chat road. Seems just like trail running but it's pancake flat. Always a good place to take a sunset or sunrise pic.
5. I might have ran at Yahola, but my grass was out of hand. The front yard was not too bad, but the back yard was taking over the world.
I am embarrassed to say, mowing the yard, I found an old truck. That's bad. How does one mow grass that tall??
With my redneck super high suspension tractor of course. The huge weeds and small trees I mowed down, I piled up burned them.
I used a gallon of old lawn mower gas and a match, and sent a whoosh so loud and high into the sky that my neighbors though the end of the world was really happening!!
6. While playing in the fire, I heard my dogs baking maniacally around on the east side of the house. It was a weird bark--kind of like one of them was hoarse. In fast, Jake had just about lost his voice due to barking like a mad dog at something. I first thought he and Rocky had found a turtle. They can spend hours barking away at a turtle, who just closes the door and ignores them. A little closer, and it looked like they had it upside down, and it had it's legs and head out and was fighting back. But I quickly saw that they were mauling a kitten! I quickly snatched it away, and took in inside the house trying to comfort it. This was a wild kitten--probably had never been handled by a human, but it liked me better than the dogs! I bathed it with warm water, looking for injuries. It does not seem to have any.
It is still unsure of whether it likes us, and I think it is only about 4-5 weeks old. It hides every chance it gets, but it can sure tear up some canned food.
We really do not need another cat, but you watch. Dana will mother this kitten and we'll be a 3-cat family again.
Tomorrow, I'm running the Pumpkin Holler course. 31 miles. A few friends will run the whole way, and many more will bit off a good chunk of it for their long run. Should be fun. Lotsa good pics, I hope.
Lots of friends at this one. Sandra and Derek joined us pre-race. Derek ended up running about half with us before picking up the pace a bit.
We were using the interval method--running 2 minutes and walking 1. Pat is a fast walker--faster than me usually. We had 2 beepers, and the second was set for a 1/1 interval--just in case we needed to slow the pace a little more. Pat ran strong--at a pace that would bring a 2:30 finish. But at mile 8, he had cramping issues in his calves. I was sure it was an electrolyte imbalance, and called my friend Susan to meet us in a mile or so with some salt. She did just that, and it might have helped Pat a little, but he still was hurting a lot.
This years course looked crazy on paper, but was a fun and interesting course. Instead of two out-and-backs way down Riverside, the course had 5 out-and-backs and you saw runners ahead and behind you all day. The course looked kind of like an octopus--I called it the Octopus Run.
I told Pat every inspirational story in the book, and he did pick up the pace the last mile. Not sure if he just wanted to get it over with, or if the competitive juices were kicking in. His goal was 2:45--a decent PR. He finished in 2:44:21, and is still cussing me. (Oh shaddup. You love me, Pat!)2. After eating some breakfast with Pat and Sandra, I headed home to change and go to Mayfest. This is a festival in downtown Tulsa, where artists bring their wares to show and sell. There are funnel cakes, corn dogs, and beer, as well as live entertainment. This year, a friend Catherine was creating a 10x120 mural in chalk. I wanted to see for myself if she was as talented as I thought she might be.
Turns out, the chalk competition was a bit unbalanced. Several of the competitors came with a gel backing and paint brushes, and then a sealer to bring out the color. Hmmm....was this fair??
I voted Catherine's the best due to content. It was a running mural, highlighted by Bodi, the amazing corgi trail guide. (Pics swiped from Cat's Facebook page.)3. I attended Cherokee Elementary School from 1966-1971. Recently, as a result of some cost-cutting measures, Cherokee was one of several schools closed. The students will be relocated to other schools. I really don't care all that much one way or the other, but it was sad to hear that the old school was soon to be gone and possibly torn down.
Through Facebook, I heard they were having an open house for nostalgic folks like me. I just had to go. My Canon had a very low battery, so the B-camera (Olympus) was used for the rest of the day. The next several pix are a bit on the fuzzy side.
Cherokee is a very old school. This is part of the newer building.
I remember the old red brick building. This 3 story (and a basement) structure was the original school house. No air conditioning. We sweat a lot while sitting in small wooden desks lined up in rows. The old steel radiators popped and creaked on cold days, and if it was really cold, we just wore our coats. This building was torn down and replaced with a more gooder one. A boring one. Now kids wouldn't have to walk up 3 flights of stairs to class. (This pic snagged from Cherokee's website.)
The gymnasium. I remember many assemblies here, four science fairs where I received awards in 4th thru 6th grades, winning it all in the 6th. I sucked at gym. I was always the next to the next to the slowest kid. I don't remember the fat kid, but I do remember Bobby Pace, who was crippled. I HATED running.
Over the years, they changed the classrooms. Gone are the wooden desks. The black board is gone. In 5th grade, technology stormed Cherokee. They brought in cassette recorders and played us lessons or readings on a small tape. Very cool. Now, there are computer labs and such. But the kids iPhones no doubt spank the school computers in performance.
Speaking of spankings....these 2 men gave me more paddlings than my mom and dad combined. Mr. Goff was a strict, stiff necked, old fashioned disiplinarian. I never really liked him, although I did make good grades and he assigned me to work the film projector. Still, he beat my butt several times a year, and he swung a mean paddle. Mr Morgan I swear lifted you off the ground with his paddle. I tried my best to stay clear of him, but I seemed to find myself out in the hall at least once a week.
Yup, these halls. Some teachers would just send you out in the hall. Whew!! But darn it!! Mr. Morgan would just happen to head down to the teachers lounge for a smoke, and he would paddle me for being out in the hall. Still, I think he was a good natured guy. Maybe I am a better person for all the paddlings I got......NAH. Mr. Morgan used to get on to me for cracking my knuckles. He also told me to quit walking and running like a duck, and that I would be crippled by the time I was an adult. That's like someone telling a runner to quit pronating!!. It's just how I run.
The principle's office. Mr McGuire was feared by all the boys. My first trip there, I cried like a baby. He sent me back to class without paddling me. (Rumor had it he had an electric paddle!!!) But my second trip there, I dot swats. No electric paddle, but his paddle had pencil sized holes in it to increase the sting sensation. It worked.
One of these lockers was mine. I broke a handle off of one. It just came on in my hand. I fretted over that for most of a year, sticking it back on. each time I used it. I figured the paddling for that would certainly kill me. Funny, we did not use padlocks back then. Stealing was not a problem.
My standard haircut worn for most of my early school days. This is a second grad pic courtesy of Tonya, another classmate and Facebook friend.
6th grade here. I was a good looking boy scout, huh?
I ran into Jeannie Baty (her maiden name). She's on the left, and her daughter is with her--looks just like her--they could pass for sisters. Jeannie was a twin, and her sister Joyce and I were in the same class almost every year. Joyce lives in Dallas now--would have been cool to see her.While visiting with Jeanie, my brother Kevin surprised me. He was up from Texas, unbeknownst to me, visiting our mom and dad. He came by for the same reason I was here--to revisit old memories. I wish we could have spent some time together this weekend, but it's Dana's weekend to work, they had dinner plans, and I'll be in Tahlequah all day tomorrow.
After leaving, I drove to the back to see the old playground. What was once all black-topped, now was overgrown with grass. But the monkey bars were still there--just like they were back in 1966.4. Driving up to Turley, I noticed Lake Yahola was brim full. The last time I looked, it was drained for maintenance. It is such a beautiful body of water, I stopped by for a pic or two on the way back home.
A view to the west. The very slight hiss in the horizon is Turley Hill, where as a kid I did a lot of hiking and exploring. I would love to go back there--might find some trailz.
I run the perimeter of this lake occasionally. It's almost a perfect 5K around the lake on a chat road. Seems just like trail running but it's pancake flat. Always a good place to take a sunset or sunrise pic.5. I might have ran at Yahola, but my grass was out of hand. The front yard was not too bad, but the back yard was taking over the world.
I am embarrassed to say, mowing the yard, I found an old truck. That's bad. How does one mow grass that tall??
With my redneck super high suspension tractor of course. The huge weeds and small trees I mowed down, I piled up burned them.
I used a gallon of old lawn mower gas and a match, and sent a whoosh so loud and high into the sky that my neighbors though the end of the world was really happening!!6. While playing in the fire, I heard my dogs baking maniacally around on the east side of the house. It was a weird bark--kind of like one of them was hoarse. In fast, Jake had just about lost his voice due to barking like a mad dog at something. I first thought he and Rocky had found a turtle. They can spend hours barking away at a turtle, who just closes the door and ignores them. A little closer, and it looked like they had it upside down, and it had it's legs and head out and was fighting back. But I quickly saw that they were mauling a kitten! I quickly snatched it away, and took in inside the house trying to comfort it. This was a wild kitten--probably had never been handled by a human, but it liked me better than the dogs! I bathed it with warm water, looking for injuries. It does not seem to have any.
It is still unsure of whether it likes us, and I think it is only about 4-5 weeks old. It hides every chance it gets, but it can sure tear up some canned food.
We really do not need another cat, but you watch. Dana will mother this kitten and we'll be a 3-cat family again.Tomorrow, I'm running the Pumpkin Holler course. 31 miles. A few friends will run the whole way, and many more will bit off a good chunk of it for their long run. Should be fun. Lotsa good pics, I hope.
