Sizzlin' Sasquatch 2017

RJ and Summer Chiles put on this 3-day event each year where you can run 5K, 10K, half marathon, full marathon, or 50k each day of the Labor Day weekend. The race has grown a  little each year, and I can see it growing leaps and bounds in the future. This year they added a 24-hour team relay for Saturday, and I was invited to be on a team. So, my plans included a spot on the TZ Zombie Shufflers, and then running some distance the next day depending on how I felt.

I intended to get off work early and bring my camper, but delays at work and not having the camper up and ready made me rethink my plans so I set my alarm for 3:00 am and drove down supa-early for the race. I got there with time to spare, got my water bottle filled, stuffed my pockets with electrolytes and snacks, and headed to the prerace briefing. Our 5-man team included Lynna Gilstrap, Jamey Zuniga, Abby Ivey, and Clint Green. Another group of friends made u the team of Some Like I Thot--or something like that. They had Mike Rives, Leaha Kopp, Steve Zuniga, Alicia Bell, and Jeremy Harrison--a stacked team to say the least.

I chatted it up with friends, took a selfie with Chrissy--who was planning on a half for each day. The race started at 6:00 am--still dark and no signs of sun-up.  The course was 3.53 mile loops on trailz through the woods and across some grassy fields. You never ran more than a quarter mile before something changed--in the woods, up a hill, over some rocks, beside a pond, a screaming downhill-it was never boring.

Jamey ran first on our team, and Leaha was first on the stacked team. They stayed together for the first loop. I ran the second loop for our team and took off like a shot. Jumpin Jeremy tracked me down and I ate his dust for a few strides before he was out of sight. That was the last time we led the race against them.

The sun peaked out at me as I ran up the first of many slight inclines (I hesitate to call them hills--I'm like that.) It truly seemed like there were a lot more gradual downhills than ups, and I ran what seemed like a fast loop for me clocking a 42:10--an11:57 pace. That pace would slow as the race went on.

I only took one picture on the first loop as I was trying to do well for our team. I did take a few on the next loop. This is what most of the trailz were like. Mix in a few roots and rocks here and there.

Rocks like this. In case you ever got lost, once you reached this turn, you knew where you were at. (Yes, I ended a sentence with a preposition. Live with it.)

The last turn into the finish line each loop inspired running. There was always hooting and cheering from volunteers and even from opposing teams. I was 58:26 on my second loop. My legs seemed dead for the first mile, then I came around. Each loop I picked up the pace for the last 1.5 miles. Between my loops, I set up my camp--a small tent and a longer-than-expected blow-up mattress.  At least I had a chance of catching a nap between loops during the night.

My third loop was 46:19-an improvement-a 46:40. My fourth was 1:01:10. Fatigue was setting in. After this loop, I ate some dinner--absolutely delicious hamburgers and potato salad. There was also some drunken peach cobbler, but I did not go back up to get some. I heard it was amazing. I then decided to take a shower and try to catch a few winks. Between 11:00 and 2:00, I managed to sleep but it wasn't very restful at all. I rolled out of the tent, and somehow the order of the rotation had changed. No biggie, but I didn't know when I'd get to run again but somewhere around 3:00 my turn came up. Steve Zuniga (from the other Tulsa team) and I walked a loop. Then Cint took the next loop and I fell asleep in a chair. When Clint finished his loop, he said we were through there was no way anyone could finish the final loop in the time we had remaining and even if we did, we were not gonna catch the team ahead of us. He mentioned we had an hour and 10 minutes, and I just sat n my chair like a slug. I should have gone out on that last loop. Here I am--supposedly training for Cloudsplitter, a tough 100 miler--and I would not get out of my chair. But we did finish 3rd out of four teams. The Some Like It Hot team took 2nd, running 99.4 miles. I do not know how many loops or miles we did. The results should be finalized tomorrow.

I sat in my chair, kind of beating up on myself. I wanted to sign up and run something, but I also just wanted to go home. Maybe I'd just run a 5K and quietly leave. Then the RD, Mr. RJ Chiles came over to me and asked me if I wanted to get some points. These are big words--perked me right up. The points of which he spoke are Oklahoma Trail Dirt Series points. The Dirt Series includes 23 trail races across Oklahoma. You get points for each race you run or volunteer in, and bonus points for top 10 finishes. I do a lot of races. I RD and volunteer in a lot of races. I will never win the series, but I could crack the top three with a little luck. He told me that the marathon field was weak (like there was only one male signed up, and he had not arrived. It turns out that he did show up and dropped down to the half, and another marathoner took an early start and was not eligible for awards. So--it I ran and finished, I'd get the win-participation points and first place points. Now if someone says that's cheese, I would honor anyone getting points for an official race finish if they were the only finisher. Plus, I had run 17.5 miles the night and day before, and the temperature was gonna reach the mid-90s. Then he said if I won, I'd get The Yeti Cup. Now remember--I was still half asleep with no coffee. I heard Yeti Cup and thought of like The Stanley Cup--a huge monumental trophy coveted by many. I was out of the chair in a flash, getting my water bottle full, tieing on a bandana, plopping my headlamp on my noggin, and pinning on a race number in seconds flat.

Somewhere during the second loop, it hit me that the award was a Yeti Cup--not a trophy, but a stainless steel cup that keeps ice for days. I have several. It's a super nice gift, and yes I wanted another. I felt silly, but hey--the jokes on me and I'm sharing my folly with you.

Five laps Saturday, and now seven laps and an out-and-back. So doable. My attitude turnaround went like this. 

1. I now had redeemed myself (from my own self-scrutiny) and now felt good about my training.
2. I'd get some good points towards my Dirt Series total.
3. I'd win a race. (Of course, I would also have another DFL.) 
4. I NEEDED the miles as preparation for Cloudsplitter. I ended up with 43.85 miles for the two days and ran them sleep-deprived.

While Saturday was mostly cloudy and in the mid-80s, today was sunny and in the mid-90s. When the trail was exposed to the sun, it was rough. Due to nipple chafing, I ditched my shirt-so if you are easily nauseated, you might want to skip the rest of this blog-post.

I met up with Mike Rives after a loop or two. Mike is also on the Cloudsplitter team--there are eight of our group going out to run this 100 miler in Virginia in five weeks. Mike ran at least 7 laps in the relay and was now running 50K. His training is going well. We ran together for most of the day and nearly solved all of life's problems.

Here we are crashed out at the start/finish aid station eating a bite and rehydrating We picked u Abby, who decided to jump in on the marathon four hours after the start. She is RJ's sister and even if she finished into the evening, it was ok. She would run with Mike as he finished his 50K.

The three of us leave out after a much-needed aid station stop. I had three more loops to go. Mike had four. Abby had six.

Mike had acquired a healthy coating dirt-sweat. This mixture dries, and then is remoistened by more sweat and then more trail dust. Downside--it generally takes two scrubbings to remove it. Upside--ticks, chiggers, and mosquitos cannot bite through it.

My race went well. I handled the heat just fine. The race never seemed like a drudgery. Maybe it was the good company. Maybe I was just in a good place. I finished in 8:39. Strava gives me a 7:10 moving time. I guess that's their version of auto-pause. It's a slow time, although I was not pushing the ace except the last half of the last loop. That pace is adequate to get me to the finish line at Cloudsplitter, except Cloudspitter has easily 6 TIMES MORE elevation per mile. You will hear more about Cloudsplitter in future blog-posts.

Thank you, Chrissy Whitten, for staying after your race to help at the start/finish and taking such good care of us hot runners, and taking great pictures. Chrissy was second place in her half marathons Saturday and Sunday and got the win on Monday.

Nexxt year, I would like to see more of my friends here. I'd love to have Dana here as she would love these trailzz. And I want to run 50K/50K/Marathon for a total of 88.4 miles. Come with me--camp, run, eat, drink, sleep, repeat.

Cracked Hippies and the Red Dirt Shuffle

A couple of friends who were eager to get their feet wet in race directing revived the Red Dirt Shuffle and had this race last week. I was eager to run it since I had not been able to before and signed up for the half marathon.

Alicia Bell and Jesse Deanna did a good job of promoting this race at Lake McMurtry via social media, and there was a good turnout. A combination of unexpected circumstances led to Jesse having to step back, and Alicia powered through the administrative and preparation duties and pulled off a near flawless event. Michelle Bates, RJ Chiles, and Kathryn "Abby" Ivey helped in marking the course, while Mike Rives, Steve Zuniga, Jbob Jones, and Betsy Gerber helped out with the morning madness of registration and aid station setup.

I drove in from Tulsa and arrived uncharacteristically early and had plenty of time to hang out with my great friends. You can always count on Chrisy for hugs and selfies.

Both the half and quarter marathons started right on time. and within a half mile, we were spread out enough to settle into a good slow-run pace.

I ran most of the way with Johnna, although we caught up with Lynna, Jodee, Candy, and Gina and basically laughed our way through the woods.

Lake McMurtry has actually 5 different trails--two on the west side where we have out April run, two in the east side (we used the Red Trail) and then a new trail that connects the east and west sides. The Red Trail is a favorite for mountain biker since it really does not have any super steep hills, and practically no technical areas. It does have winding, twisting single track that is so fun to run.

We were treated to partly to mostly cloudy skies, and for a late August day, it was nearly pleasant weather for a run. Notice how calm the water is on this pond that we passed by several times--yes, we had no breeze at all and had no problems keeping our sweat glands active.

This race is not called the Red Dirt Shuffle by mistake.  Anyone wearing white socks went home with a permanent reminder of this race.

There was one aid station on the course that was at the busy intersection of a figure-8. We passed it twice on the first loop, and of course twice on the second. And this was no regular aid station--it was Meego's Cantina.besides the normal aid station food, there was adult beverages and PORK RINDS. Each time passing by, we seemed to linger a little longer. So it's safe to say that my DFL in the men's results could have been avoided were it not for staying for a munch and drink session. 

I saw only one snake, and he was a friendly chap. I picked him up and was going for a wrap around the arm picture when apparently he decided he did not want that picture floating around on Facebook. I settled for a ground shot.

There were plenty of wooden bridges including a suspended swinging bridge, which I forgot to photograph.

Thank you, Travis Owen, for this picture. I was finishing up the first lap with Johnna just ahead of me, but I am sure I looked just like this as I scurried to the finish line. I needed a beer and something to eat, and a PBR and a hot dog later, I was a happy camper. I finished last male but did manage to beat a group of women. I jokingly posted on Facebook that I pushed a group of women into a ravine and then cruised in to avoid the DFL. That wasn't really true, but because I thought it,maybe I would have done it. Hmmm......

I only had one fall and managed to break my fall with a sticker bush. It's all better now. Our finishers awards were these cool coasters. Now I have no excuse for having water rings on the end table in front of the TV.

The geniuses behind this race: Alicia on the left, Michelle hiding behind me, then super-hippy-Betsy, and Mike (who must have had Meego in time-out.)

Great event, Alicia and Cracked Hippies. You did good.

Birthday Bridge Repeats

Each year on or around my birthday I do a Birthday Challenge. It involves doing some sort of something a number of times corresponding to my age. It frequently involves running--I'm so one-dimensional. For my 50th birthday, I ran 50 miles with my friend K2, who's birthday is also in July and we are the same age (well--he's actually 17 days older.) We've done hill climbs, which ended falling way short of our goal. I biked my age once, which was not really a big deal. In 2011, for my 52nd birthday, we did 52 bridge crossings on the Arkansas River RR Pedestrian Bridge. Our mileage total, since the bridge is a 1/4-mile one way, gave us a perfect half marathon and it was 103 degrees when we started. It was a battle, but running on the shaded bridge is actually not that bad when a good breeze blows along the river.

Picture by Eva McCarthy

It's hard to come up with something different every year, so it was no surprise that this year would be another running event. This year I decided to go back to the RR Pedestrian Bridge but instead of doing 58 crossings, I’d do 58 out and backs. That would add up to around 29 miles, and that’s just what I needed in my training schedule.

I sent out a Facebook invite to 200 of my running friends, and the interest was high. 35 people confirmed they were coming, and there were about that many “maybes.”

This event was also significant because in the next few weeks the RR Pedestrian Bridge is being demoed and a new fancy schmancy bridge is being erected in its place. Our old bridge has decades of fond memories and it seems like once again progress is blasting away another piece of art and history. Having this running party gave a lot of people a chance to enjoy their bridge one more time.

Picture by Clint Green

I left in time to get there by 7:00 pm, but I didn't allow time to drag my huge-ass ice chest loaded with water, Gatorade, various beers, and ice .8 of a mile, so I rolled in about 7:10. There was already several people there--some waiting, and some had already started knocking out some repeats. I was thrilled to see so many friends showing up!!

Picture by Chrissy Whitten

One such friend was Chrissy Whitten. Chrissy and family recently moved to Tuttle, OK (130 miles away!) and she made it to my birthday run. Chrissy had 58 repeats dialed in, and she never misses her mark. I was honored that she came. :-)

Picture and shameless selfie by Clint Green

There was no formal start or finish. Some people had already begun, and runners came off and on through the evening.

Picture by Clint Green

I took a short break every 5 laps to fill my water bottle, and drink a Gatorade. A couple of times I had a shot of Fireball or a beer. I was not the only one who brought a cooler so there were enough refreshments to supply a small country. Clint caught me opting to run with a Dos Equis instead of my water bottle.

Picture by Johnna Ellison

My buddies BfkaM and Travis ran several miles together. I'd catch up, or they'd lap me and I'd hang with them for a bit,  eavesdropping and drafting all the while.

Picture by Eva McCarthy

This sort of thing is really FUN for me, but I was surprised at how many people told me it was the best birthday party ever. I don't know about that, but running with friends IS always enjoyable.

The following picture and quote were borrowed from Laura Bower's Facebook wall. She clearly illustrates the difference in desired ways to spend a birthday. :-)

Picture by  and quote below by Laura Bower

"Ideal birthday according to me: Sleep til noon. Spend all remaining hours wearing stretchy pants and stuffing my face with cake until I pass out, a contented smile on my buttercream frosting-coated lips and a defibrillator and my Last Will and Testament at the ready just in case 

Ideal birthday according to TZ: Run up and down the pedestrian bridge 58 times to celebrate 58 years, thus completing the world's flattest ultramarathon as the very picture of health, vitality, and questionable life choices. 

Gosh, I love being friends with psychopaths. Thanks, TZ, for letting me be part of your rampaging lunacy!"

You'd expect miserably hot weather the first week of August, but we have had a change in the weather pattern and the highs have stayed in the 80s. With a steady southeast wind, it was a near perfect night for running. When the sun went down, the temperature dropped around 10 degrees, and if felt like a late September evening.

I was sitting at 21 laps here. I am assuming BfkaM and Betsy had about the same. Once night fell, little by little people called it a night. More people rolled in even after 10:00, so up until midnight, there was a continual stream of runners on the bridge.

I stayed pretty steady as the temperatures dropped, but somewhere around 11:00, the wind died down and the heat and humidity raised their ugly head. I started mixing in a 100 step walk break per lap and stayed steady on the shuffle on the rest.

The spiders were out in full force, but they politely stayed on the side railing. This husky orb spider seems to have snared the moon.

Calm water formed a brilliant reflection of downtown Tulsa. This was the best of several of my iPhone picture attempts.

Picture by Justin Walker

Justin Walker aka Jwalk photographed the total downtown Tulsa area caught in a massive spider web!! 

Around midnight, the crowd began to dwindle. Despite being determined to finish what I started, the thought of quitting crossed my mind. I had entered the falling-asleep-on-my-feet zone--usually the beginning of bad things. I had run a few laps with Kathy earlier on, and I told her I was not here to practice DNFing. Spitting out things like that especially on social media is good reinforcement to NOT QUIT.

We finished the last bridge crossing in a sprint. Keep in mind that my sprint near the end of a long run seems fast to me, and would win no age group awards.

BfkaM had brought a huge poster for us to write our laps. 

58 times, I made a mark on this page. 

Kathy Bratton and Cameron Plate also completed 58. 

Chrissy got in 58, and then stayed and ran 13 more with me for a total of 71. 

Lots of other people ran over the half marathon distance. Thank you so much to all who came out!! 

My running friends are the BEST!!

My friend Jwalk summed it up like this: He said he loved the bridge, but this would be the last time he ran it. He wanted to remember the last time as the Birthday Bridge Run.

Short--very short vacation--and no running either

Every summer around our birthdays (Mine is July 27, and Dana's is July 29) we try to schedule our vacation--but did not all come together this year. Dana was able to get off work, but we had birthday celebrations planned by our kids over the weekend, and a grandson birthday Monday night--plus I had to work Monday. So, what could have started on Friday or Saturday for a 6-day getaway was reduced to Tuesday through Thursday. But having family time is awesome too.

Dana and I scored matching kayaks for our birthdays, and we were itching to christen them. I thought the Elk River at Noel, Missouri would be a good place to ease back into the sport. Honestly, I have kayaked twice and Dana once--but I still feel like an old pro yakking. We have Pelican Argo 100s, 10-foot sit-inside kayaks, and we were both very pleased with how they handled. We paid River Ranch Floats in Noel $20.00 to take us upstream to their 8-mile drop point. The driver unloaded us as well as some other kayakers and rafters, and he had no more pulled away when I noticed my life jacket was still on the bus!! I called the main office and the courteous counter clerk said she'd try to radio the driver, but made no promises since radio coverage is spotty. :-/ But five minutes later she called back and said the driver would be on his way back. It did take another ten minutes or so, but he brought it back and was so apologetic, even though I told him it was my fault. I was impressed with their operation. They seemed organized, and they sure helped us out of a jam.

The weather was absolutely perfect. As you can see, partly cloudy with big fluffy clouds taking turns giving us shade that kept our un-sun-screened legs from cooking much past medium rare.

There were occasional rapids and only a couple of passages where there were enough big rocks to make you fret. One such place had a huge tree that was ripped out from a past flood that was tucked tightly along the bank of a narrow swift turn. I took a conservative track to the inside bend of the river with swift but shallow water. Dana drifted to the outside and got wedged against the big trunk of the semi-submerged tree. In a split second, she was hanging on while her kayak was swept under the tree. She hollered out that she might need some help. I quickly beached my boat and ran across to do whatever I could as she managed to get her legs out. Her life jacket kept her high enough in the water that she was able to keep from being swept under the log. She tossed me the soft ice cooler and her paddle, and I grabbed the tow rope and we pulled her kayak across the stream to more shallow water, flipped it over, and reloaded things. All was well, but had we not got my life jacket back--and with me being a sorry swimmer, she would have probably been swept under the log into a tangle of submerged branches.

The only other bumps in the road were a couple of places where drub bottom. Good thing I had on my water shoes. 

Our 8.25 mile trip took us nearly 4 hours, and at times, the sun would come out, the water was still, and there was no breeze. 82 degrees, while wonderful for August, can still seem hot.

I could have gone a little further, but honestly, we were both ready to be through. Food had become a priority. Cotton Eyed Joes, known for great BBQ, also had great burgers. 

Kayaking was the only adventurous excitement on our trip, but we did have one other fun excursion.

We drove home through Bentonville, AR, and stopped by Ozark Mountain Bagel Company. I was taking a couple of pictures of the new store, and we must have been spied as we were ambushed by the owners as we entered the front door.

Bill and Sheila fixed us u with bagels and coffee to go (best bagels I have ever had too!) and a super cool Ozark Mountain Bagel shirt. We miss seeing our friends as often as we used to--but really, Bentonville is not that far away, and there are miles and miles and miles of awesome single track trailz here--and some good places to kayak too. More adventures are in store!!!