Snake Run

Last Saturday was the 2nd Annual Snake Run on Turkey Mountain. The run gets it's name from a 4 mile loop that winds around the west side of Turkey Mountain in a snake shaped pattern. This trail section is fairly flat and offers just enough rocks, roots, and pitfalls to make it interesting. My goal was to just take it easy and see what happened. I had no idea of how many miles I wanted to do, but to do enough for a long run. I am thinking of doing OKC Marathon next month, so I thought this would be good training. It has been a long time since I have done a long trail run and did not know how my feet would hold up.

I started the day in 6th and let Bill, Mike, and Tom T. battle it out up front and I was going to run my pace. Tim Davis and Denny Wooten were also ahead of me, but I knew they did not plan to run all 6 hours. Tom T. started to fall off the leaders pace, but Bill and Mike were neck and neck. After awhile I noticed that Tom T. and Bill were not on the course. I knew that I had moved into second as Denny and Tim had dropped out. I knew a lot of the other runners were not too far behind me, so I knew if I wanted to stay in second I was going to have to stay after it. I rehydrated after every loop and stayed on top of my food intake and really did not have any problems. I did start to feel something in my right foot after 20 miles, but it stayed at bay for the rest of the day. I got to the point to where I thought I could get one more loop out as I had 42 minutes left and I figured if I did that, I would wrap up second. I finished up the last loop with just under 4 minuted to spare, but did not have enough time to do a 1/2 mile loop to add mileage. I knew I probably had second wrapped up and sure enough I did by one mile. I finished in second with 36 miles and third was Eric Moon with 35 miles.

The most important thing of the day was that my wife Julie did 16 miles. The farthest she had every ran was 6 miles and for her to do 16 was quite the accomplishment. If not for her knees acting up, she could have done probably 20 miles. Maybe next time.

Not to be out done, my youngest son Wyatt, age 7, did 12 miles. He is naturally gifted for running and I hope he sticks with it. He wanted to do another loop, but he did not have time. He came home unphased and played flag football until I made him come in and rest.

Overall it was a great day and a good time to see old friends and make some new ones. TATUR always puts on a great race and I look forward to running more in the future. Here are some pictures from the race. Enjoy!

At the check in to start another loop.
Paul Hall looking serious.
Julie and Wyatt checking in.
The studs, Bill and Overall Winner Mike Adams. Mike is in the lead.
Tulsa Trihead in the middle.
Good friend Paul Hall.
Me coming up the trail.

Shave and a Haircut

Lance Armstrong was humiliated yesterday by the French Anti-Doping Committee by having

clumps of his hair cut off for drug testing. It has been proven that hair samples are not very reliable for drug testing, but the French are bound and determined to prove that an American or just Lance is not capable of winning the Tour De France 7 times without drug enhancement. Lance

probably has been tested more than any individual in cycling or any sport and yet he has never tested positive. The haircut was so bad that he had to shave his head. This is ridiculous! I understand that by him coming back he has put himself under such scrutiny, but they do not go around cutting off hair of other cyclists. The reason, it is not reliable and will not stand up in court. But, they will do what ever they can to get his image in the media as a possible drug cheat.

Say what you will about him, but he is one bad mojo and a force to be reckoned with. I cannot wait until he is done with cycling as he says he wants to get back into Triathlons and do the Ironman. That will be awesome. After all he won the inaugural Tulsa Triathlon as a young man and has roots in it. As for now, keep moving forward Lance and stick to the French one more time!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I Love St. Patrick's Day. My great grandparents were from Tipperary County in Ireland and emigrated to the US during the potato famine. I love Irish dance, folklore, songs, and all about the native Land. Enjoy the day and remember your heritage!

Last Friday was Shannon's 10th birthday. She is now officially in double digits and I am not happy about it. The thought of my little girl growing up pains me, let alone her dating. Ughh!. I do not envy anyone who tries to take her out. At her request we took her to Texas Roadhouse and she had to sit on the saddle to get yeehawed at and get some free ice cream. I have seen some TATUR's do weirder things for a lot less.

I ran the St. Patrick's Day 5K on Saturday and ended up with a 19:10 and second in my age group. Weather was great and had a great time. I did not get any pictures as Will has the camera and he is on a GUTS Spring Break trip to Houston to work with Service International. He is to be back tomorrow night.

Next up is the Snake run this Saturday. I am going to take it is easy and see what happens. This will be a good way to get some miles in and maybe sign up for the OKC Marathon. Enjoy the scenes from Texas Roadhouse.

The misses!

New Ride

We have been talking for awhile about getting the misses a new ride and here it is. A Specialized Dolce Compact Elite. It has an aluminum frame with a carbon rear fork. This should be a good bike for her for whatever she wants to do. I hope that she enjoys it and really uses it to help her get into shape. We took it over to Riverside this Sunday and she rode 10 miles and even did a brick of a 2 mile run after biking. She enjoyed the biking, but hated the run. She may have a short lived Duathlon career. It is a cool color and should last a long time Enjoy the pics!Nice carbon forks!

Late, Late Report

It's been awhile since I posted and I am really late on my report for the Sweetheart's run. Julie did the 5K and I did the 10K. My goal was to run the 10K faster than her 5K, which may see kind of cold hearted, but I really wanted it to motivate her to run her best. Julie has done a few 5K's and really struggles to run on the pavement. I was just proud of her for wanting to run it.Here she is sleep walking as a warm up. I'll have to try this.
I can't believe the guy in the Harley shirt just farted!
Do I really have to do this?
Sprinting towards the finish. So fast that she was a blur. She caught a fellow co-worker at the end and passed her. Why?Me coming across the line. I had to pull up some at the 4K mark as my right lower hamstring tightened up really bad. I still managed a good time, 40:23. 12th Overall and first in my age group. And yes, I missed beating Julie by 6 seconds.
This is totally unrelated, but this a collage that my daughter did for a project on the 60's at school. I just thought it was cool and threw it in. Yes, you can do a report on the 60' s and not talk about drugs.

There are a lot of races coming up this month, St. Patrick's Day 5K, Snake Run, and March in Okarche Duathlon. I had better get rested and healed up so I can perform at my best. I hope to see you at the races!