The Black Toenail Society's first Sunday run

A noble group (minus John Nobles) ran 6.8 miles on Turkey. This was the first "official" Sunday training run for the Black Toenail Society, the Ultra Training ensemble at RunnersWorld. These weekly runs will happen every Sunday in training for Three Days to 100K--although I take trainees for other ultras as well. The plan is to run with the TOTs, especially since they're a lot of the same people anyway. A perk, is I'll get my miles ramped in the process as well. :-)


From left to right, Jason, Jana, Wes, Steve, and Meredith joined me for a scheduled 6 miles. Seemed easy enough.

I had came prepared to scratch my way around on ice. Made sense what with the ice storm we've had for the past two days, and the nighttime low of 28°. Pictured above are 10 #10 3/4" hex sheet metal screws with 5/16" heads systematically inserted into my Hoka One One Stinson Evo Trail shoes. (Luv em--I'm on my third pair, and I'm THRILLED that RunnersWorld is now carrying them!!)  I chose heavy duty slightly longer screws for the extra thick soles, thinking they'd stay in--the Hokas have a pretty soft  marshmallowish sole--but I played it safe and kept the insertions at the outer perimeters of the shoe. No likey ouchie things poking my footsies.

This ingenious preparation, however, was useless. Seems perhaps the ground was still too warm for ice to stay frozen, and we were treated to soft slightly muddy trails. Hokas are mot the best mud shoes, and the hex screws were not a factor.


But ice on the trees WAS a factor in our run. We were parting the branches as soon as we lit out. Turkey has taken several hits in recent years. The ice storm of December 2007, the fire of 2010, the drought years of 2011 and 2012, and high winds from micro-bursts and tornadoes has left all of the mountain with an population of struggling and dying trees. It's just nature's way I suppose. The strong trees survive, and the week ones lay over. In places, the trailz were completely missing, buried by tons of ice on the twigs and branches of victimized trees. But it was a fun adventure plowing around and through them. In an eerie way, it was beautiful.


TOT regular Bill McKee met us at the north end of the mountain, and offered his picture snapping skills so good old TZ could be in the group pic.


Maybe it's just because it different, but even the more drab sections of the trail seemed spectacular.

Post by Ken TZ Childress.

When the alarm went off at 6:30, I wanted so bad to burrow down under the covers and skip the run--which of course as a group leader I won't do. But seeing the mountain on ice made this such a great albeit slow run.

TATURs party at the annual Christmas get-togetheri

The Christmas party like no other was last Tuesday--and you missed it (unless of course you were there--logical, right?) If my ciphering serves me correctly, this was the 8th TATUR Christmas party, and we're gracious to the Westport Apartments for letting us use their clubhouse again.

This picture was swiped from the talented Matt Carver

There was the usual finger foods, a veggie tray , cookies, yummish peanut brittle, two red velvet cakes, and CARAMEL BROWNIES!! We had BBQ catered in, which was also outstanding.


But the real reason for coming is to witness the awarding of the Silver Spuds. Our TATURs, who have had amazing years running, or just being awesome.

This picture was swiped from the talented Matt Carver

Stormy, Edward, and I along with newly drafted presentationist Russell handled the distribution of the trophies that outshine even the Oscars. Justin Franklin wins "Best Performance In A Race". He won Turkey and Taturs 50K after being talked into bumping up to the 50 instead of the 25K. He also smoked the course at Half and Half last weekend, and ran more ups and downs at the Lipbuster Challenge than anyone else.

This picture was swiped from the talented Matt Carver

And for "Newcomer of the Year, the Oscar Silver Spud goes to Phillip Berry.

This picture was swiped from the talented Matt Carver

Scott Smaligo takes home "Most Improved TATUR. Danielle Martin earns the "Comeback Kid" award. Matt Carver wins "Most Improved TATUR" although Stormy deemed him the best TATUR movie producer. I would agree.

Lori Enlow won "Female TATUR of the Year", for finishing Leadville again, winning Pumpkin Holler 25K, and for being an awesome volunteer. Lori even brings her entire family out to work aid stations. She and her fam helped for 24 hours at Pumpkin Holler after her 25K victory, and they even brought 3 generators out for our aid stations to use. (That's a BIGGIE in my books!)

This picture was swiped from the talented Matt Carver

John Nobles won the "Male TATUR of the Year" for being tough as nails in gutting out a finish in the Prairie Spirit blizzard of 2013. John also is heavy into the volunteer scene.

That concluded the Silver Spuds, but there was one more award to be given. It needed to be something exceptional--if possible even better than a Silver Spud. So this year, the Pink Spud was created and awarded to Kathy Hoover.

This picture was swiped from the talented Matt Carver\

Besides running everything, helping hundreds of people get off the couch and into running, race directing I don't know HOW MANY races--she ran and finished THREE 100s IN THREE CONSECUTIVE WEEKS!! Arkansas Traveller in 29:12, Heartland in 27:38, and Pumpkin Holler in 26:59. You read right--every week was faster. I think she was surprised with the Pink Spud, and she certainly deserves the honor.

Some people had to work the next day, and the crowd dwindled somewhat. But a good crowd stayed and just chilled for another couple of hours. We had the building until 10:00 though, and had to pack things up and call it a night.

This picture was swiped from the talented Matt Carver

Stormy polishes off the LAST BEER, so the part was over.

This picture was swiped from the talented Matt Carver\

Even in the darkness, Edward is a ray of light to those around him.


And me--I ate too many of those caramel brownies. I had an incredible sugar buzz, and gained all 10 pounds I have spent the last month trying to lose. Merry Christmas.

my favorite pics from the Half and Half Marathon (Trail Version, of course)

I posted a photo album on Facebook with 497 pictures. They can be viewed HERE. But this post has my favorites. I took a few pics pre-race before heading to my course marshaling location.

Ignore the legs. The pic is for the gaiters. Tom Robinson always goes for style.


Brandon and Cameron Plate--the phenom kids. As usual, Cameron has his game face on, and Brandon sports a smiley face.

My race duties consisted of directing traffic at the Funky Intersection, a name Roman and I came up with. The Snake Loop is utilized in the trail race. The runners come up the Jelly Legs Trail, run the west side of the Snake Loop, then north on a straight-as-an-arrow trail that bisects the Snake Loop to the north end, and then back on the east side of the loop, and they return to the intersection where they headed north--this time turning south. Confusing? Basically, it is sort of a deformed figure 8. It was well marked and had signs with arrows, but it needed a traffic director because if one runner went the wrong way, everyone behind him/her would follow.

I took the opportunity to snap lots of pictures--526 of them to be exact.


I missed getting winner Justin Franklin the first three times he passed through. He was just too fast! But I caught him on his last passing. At this point, he was around 10 miles into the race, and was a mere 64 minutes into the race. Do the math--sub 7 minute miles on trailz.


I liked this picture because it was one of many long trains of trail runners. On one particularly long train, I put the camera down and got 23 high fives as they passed.


Mile 10, and taking it to the house. Everyone seemed to be having a blast.

Not all my pictures were of runners. When it slowed down, I took a few of the surroundings.

Frozen bike tread marks, and my long skinny legs.


Follow the pink.



A perfect day to run. Yes, it was in the high 20s at the start, but it warmed up nicely as the sun did it's job.


Do you see the deer?


I don't mind people tossing litter near the aid stations, or in this case by my post, but tossing them out on the trail is NOT COOL. I pulled course markings, and picked them up for you litter bugs.


That-a-way.


The day before when marking the course, the trailz were damp, and 95% mud-free. But hundreds of pounding feet whipped the mud to the surface--not to mud-fest conditions, but slick and splattery in places.

Thanks Russell Bennett for this pic

Barbara helped me pull course markings after the race, and it's once again, a clean mountain. Thanks to RunnersWorld-Tulsa for putting on what in my opinion is Tulsa's best marathon.

Half and Half Invitational

Sunday morning, I ran the farthest distance since October 5th. The Half and Half Marathon scheduled for next Sunday makes a provision for volunteers who want to experience the thrill of the trails by having an "by invitation only" run the weekend before.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
Ten of us gathered at the Turkey Mountain parking lot to take on 13.1 miles on the trailz, and another 13.1 miles on the paved bike trail.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
We left out at 9:03 by my watch, and headed up the Powerline trail and quickly tucked into the woods for the climb to the top of the mountain.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
As I posted a couple of days ago, the trailz of Turkey Mountain are blanketed by 4 inches of snow, but there had been a little melting and refreezing, and most of the trailz were packed down by runners and a few bikers.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
Heading down the north end of the mountain, we turned and headed west for a ziz-zag route that wound back to the old upper parking lot.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
The peaceful water of Pepsi Lake.

From the upper parking lot, we headed west following the trail nearest 61st Street all the way to the Pipeline trail. Our group of 10 had evolved into one speedster (Derk), a moderate paced group of Kathy, Russell, Barbara, and Jason, then the rest of us (Roman, Cindy, Edward, Chrissy, and me.) Roman, Cindy, and Christi wind through a green area. These plants look like jungle foliage, and stay green all year long.


Part of the trail runs through an old abandoned home-site, and years ago, the settlers had planted a lot of pine trees. This is a beautiful area, and we stopped for pictures and hydration.

Roman has high spirits. There is never a shortage of conversation when running with Roman.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
I had heated up a little, and pocketed my stocking hat. I had dressed perfectly, and managed my core temp by zipping and unzipping my jacket.

This trail is in the area where the developers scraped the vegetation several months back. Most of the natural weeds have grown back, and a trail has been re-established. I think this stretch is still pretty, although I still liked it the way it was before.


pic swiped from Barbara Pinkerton
The turnaround (mile 6.5ish) is at the Westside Y. The group ahead of me were in the midst of a curling tournament, and I made a tactical move and bopped in and out and was temporarily in 2nd place! Woo hoo!! But that was short lived. Still, I was running well, and my knee and ankle were holding up fine.

I was soon passed by Barbara, Jason, and Russell, Roman, Christi, and Cindy caught up and we stayed together for a few miles.

We paused for a second at Jake's Pond for a quick pic before taking on the Snake. Running the course in reverse, we ran the east side of the Snake, right through the middle of the Snake Loop (on a trail I call Deer Run), and then the west side of the Snake to Rock City and then to the switchbacks of JellyLegs.
I had met the TOTs at 7:30 before the race and only one showed up, but being the fearless group leader that I am, I led our twosome of a group on a 3-ish mile super-easy run. That extra mileage was beginning to put a damper on my overall efforts this day.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
At the parking lot (mile 13.1), Kathy was regrouping and deciding if she or if anyone was gonna go on. That added element of doubt sucked me under, and I stopped at the halfway point ending up with around 17 miles for the day. This is progress though, since I had almost stopped running altogether. Last weeks 10 miler with this 17 makes me think a 20 miler next weekend would be about right.

Kathy, Barbara, Cindy, and Russell continued and got a hard earned 26.2 miles under their belts. Way to go!!!

Turkey in the snow

I read on Facebook friends plans of running on the treadmill in order to get their miles in when it's cold, and especially when it's icy or snowy. I say, there is no better time to go outside for a run. Apparently, there were a few who agreed with me Friday. Geoff, Russell, and Chris, along with my buddy Jake met at Turkey Mountain for a few slow miles on the trailz.

 
Jake led the way, and we meandered up to the top of the mountain before deciding exactly where we wanted to go. As you can see, we weren't the first ones out. A few runners or hikers had plowed through the snow, as well as a mountain bike.

We then took the Bunny Trail north (renamed the Snow Bunny Trail) and exited to the upper yellow after a mile and then headed north.

AT the Spider, without trees to block the north wind, it was a bit nippy, but most of the way we were comfortable. I had on a light tech shirt, a fleece Patagonia shirt, and a Gortex jacket, and a thin pair of tights, and was plenty warm.

 
I have a pair of Saucony Razors with built in gaiters that are dreadfully uncomfortable, but great in the snow, and they kept my feet warm and dry. Jake is just tough, running barefoot the whole way.

From the Spider, we headed down the pink trail all the way to the creek bed, and then turned north to run the west edge trail around Pepsi Lake.

Pepsi Lake is not much more than a puddle. This pond when full, is over 20 feet deep. I bet you could wade across it now.

 
Geoff practices his best bad-ass face, and Russell impersonates a zombie.

My Canon had a dead battery, so I was taking my gloves on and off to take pix with my iPhone. Somehow, I must have selected a B/W filter, but I like the pix.

 
Russell took pix, as did Chris. I bet we looked more like a amateur photography club that trail runners. Russell took this one.

Chris always takes uber-colorful shots--with a filter or a little photoshop enhancing. Other than our clothes, there was plenty of white and gray--and not much else.

 
After 5 miles, we felt a little tired but satisfied. Russell captured the zombie shuffle in action. We hung out at the parking lot and discussed calling the cops on a group of obnoxious drunk kids who were yelling and pushing each other around like they were fighting, all the while passing a fifth around. I am sure they drove there, and Chris said they had wrecked one of their cars on Elwood when he was driving in. Another of their cars was blocking the main drive around the lot. I hope the cops hauled them all in. Other than that, it was an awesome outing. You really should see Turkey Mountain in the snow. It's amazing.