Santa Came Early

Since the Thornton YMCA pool has been closed for maintenance, we have been going to the Owasso YMCA to get some laps in. I am on vacation most of this week, but have to go in on Christmas Eve off of my vacation because my boss if freaking out. I will be there about 5 or 6 hours and not with my family, but they will not have to go in. Funny how that works.
The kids enjoy going to Owasso better as they have a water slide and fountains. I don't like it as well as they only have two lap lanes and kids and people who have no concept of what the laps are for. The lifeguards do not do a real good job of policing the lanes. Once there was a huge lady taking up both sides of the lane. She wearing a hat and I could not figure out how she could swim and wear a hat, but I soon realized that that she was so huge that she stayed afloat an was in no danger of her head going under the water. I asked the lifeguard if he could talk to her ask to either move over or get out. She was just doing some float stroke and was only staying in the deep end. She was not going anymore than about 5 yards in her deep end. He did not want to talk to her, but he finally did and she got out and sat in the circular water area for the kids. Unfortunately my kids had goggles on and saw what was underneath and have needed therapy ever since.
Will had a double header basketball game at the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club in BA. I have not been able to go to any of his games since I work nights, so it was a real treat to do so. As it happens, Julie had to work late, so I had all the kids. There first game was 6 pm and they another at 8 pm with an hour in between. They lost the first game, but Will made a 3 pointer and had some rebounds. In between times, we needed something to do and I suddenly realized that I have deprived my kids of Foosball and pool. Stuff that I grew up on.
After kicking their behinds at Foosball we ventured over to play pool. When I was a kid I spent most of my time in the pool hall. Not the best crowd to hang around with, but I really loved pool. I had several books by Willie Mosconi and my own pool cue at age 13 and could beat adults 3, 4, or 5 times my age. I realized that the kids had never ever played. Here is Wyatt looking sharp.
Shannon is zeroing in on the stripes. We played a couple of games and it was time to head in for the second game. This game was totally different. Will had 8 points, several rebounds, and some broken up plays. His team won by over 20 points in this game.
At work on Friday, my lead got me a special gift. A Paul Stanley KISS Mr. Potato Head. Being that I am a proud member of TATUR and a childhood KISS fan, the gift was quite appropriate.
In the mail today I got another Christmas gift of a Louis Garneau Thermal Cycling Jersey, Windproof Skull Cap, Nashbar Tights, and Long Finger Cycling Gloves. So, what better thing to do but go for a ride. I have not rode on the roads for a few months and I do not have a Mountain Bike. I have rode the trainer during all this time, but the ride today kicked my behind. It is amazing how different the trainer and the road is. Just a few months ago, I was doing 60 mile rides for fun and today a 26 mile ride was all I needed. It did not completely wipe me out like an Ultra, but I felt every minute of it. It was nice to be out again as I did not have any cold weather Cycling gear until now. It is supposed to be warmer tomorrow and maybe I can squeeze a ride in between storms. One thing I did not miss was most of the Tulsa drivers. All I can say is, God Bless all of you in a hurry to where ever it is that you need to go.

On a side note, I heard on the radio that the individual that hit the elderly cyclist and killed her earlier this year, plead guilty and is getting 7 years in prison. I am not for sure if this is justice or not. He was late for work, an illegal, and went on to work and did not even stop. Seems like more should have been done. My prayers and sympathies go out to the family.

Every Kid Needs A Bike

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20091220_11_A17_IzayaC1263

Ford Ironman 2009 on NBC

The big Daddy of them all, the Ford Ironman is showing tomorrow on NBC from 4:30 pm EST to 6 pm EST. Be sure and check it out. One of these days, I will be there too.

New Balance Promo Video

Awesome New Balance video about some Mountain running studs. I love my NB 100's and some of those trail shots are some trails I ran this last summer in Leadville. Great promo.

Happy Anniversary!

My how things have changed. It has been awhile since we had ran at Turkey Mountain and I thought what a better way to celebrate our anniversary than by a trail run on Turkey, but it has really changed.
They now have restrooms at the trailhead. I do not understand the concept for this as behind this is one gigantic port-a-potty. I guess this is for the ladies and to keep the freaks from freezing in the wintertime when they are trolling.
This is a view of the Tulsa skyline, but this area last summer was a gravel parking lot as they were putting in a new paved parking lot.
On the South side they have cut off the beginning of the Red trail and made it paved to connect to the East side. They also put in these new stone rocks.
Kind of looks like Moab.
This what we look like after 18 degrees and 9 miles of trail. This was a cold outing, but it made sure that you kept moving. I have always said it is one thing to be in shape and it is another thing to be in Turkey Mountain shape. Having not ran trails and hills in a long time, I was definitely not in good trail condition. After the run I looked like this.

Dogtired.

Today is our 19th wedding anniversary and it has been a wild ride going from Illinois to Kentucky to Kansas and now Oklahoma. We have been through 4 kids, several dogs, and numerous jobs. This journey has taken me from being careered focused and out of shape to qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I am now on a new adventure to tackle the triathlon world. This journey is never ending and I hope it never does. The search for who I really am has taken me far beyond what ever I had thought I could do. I owe my life to my wife, kids, and what endurance sports has given me. It has given me my life back and much more. So, Happy Anniversary dear and here's to many more.

Beautiful Day

Today was a great day. The morning was kind of dreary and humid with a little rain. Not too bad temp wise and a good time to head off to church. Enjoyed a great kids musical at Rhema and then headed to QT. When we came out of QT, the sun was out and I knew it was going to be a great day to get a run in.
Normally I would have opted for this, but temps were around 52 degrees with a light south wind and made for a great afternoon run.
I was able to wear shorts again for the first time in several weeks and headed out the door. It has been three weeks since the Route 66 Marathon and qualifying for Boston, so I decided to hit it a little harder for the first time in awhile. I decided to do about a 10 mile and throw in some Marathon pace miles. The following were my splits:

Mile 1: 8:06, feeling pretty good.
Mile 2: 8:02, cruising and decided to start picking it up.
Mile 3: 7:23, running good.
Mile 4: 7:08, definitely at Marathon pace.
Mile 5: 7:01, going a little faster than planned.
Mile 6: 7:16, really starting to feel the lack of speed work.
Mile 7: 7:22, I was hurting and decided to start backing it down.
Mile 8: 8:02, in recovery mode.
Mile 9: 8:04, a few hills on this mile.
Mile 10: 8:07, glad to be done.

It is amazing how easy it is get out of race shape. I have been swimming, biking, and running over the last three weeks, but without any speed work, it really shows. I am also about 7 or 8 lbs. heavier than I like to be. I chalk this up to Thanksgiving, slacking off after the Marathon, and trying new things in my diet. I have went back to some Paleo and switched back to Vegan. I am not for sure what works best yet for me, but I will keep trying.

I can honestly say that I am feeling more and more like a triathlete. I have been strictly a runner over the last four years and have added biking in the last year. Swimming has been a whole nother animal. Thanks to some good coaching from Duncan and tips from good friend Rob Chance, I have been able to improve to the point that where I think I can handle the swim in an 70.3 Ironman. I am still slow, but I have recently taken about 2 minutes off of my 1,000 yard time and I am actually at the point to where I can say that I look forward to the next swim. I have absolutely hated it, because I was not any good at it. Taking it up in my forties has been a real challenge, but I do not quit easily. I am eyeing the Lonestar 70.3 in April. It is the same weekend as the OKC Marathon, but I have done that twice and have already qualified for Boston. I think the beach at Galveston sounds pretty nice. Before too long, I will be swimming like this.

Nice Surprise

Came in to work Monday to find all of this.
What happened to my office?
Mock Finish Line.
Confetti on the desk.
I don't think that was me.
I have the greatest group of people that work for me.

Route 66 Marathon Race Report

It has been a crazy week and I am late getting this report out, but I ran the Marathon on Sunday, Julie had surgery on Monday, we went to Illinois on Tuesday for Thanksgiving and drove home yesterday. That is a full week.

I was looking forward to the Marathon as it is a hometown Marathon and I can sleep in my own bed. I have ran the race all 4 years and I did not want to miss it. I had only made one long run of 21.5 miles at the Mock Marathon since the Leadville Marathon in July. I knew I needed more training, but I had been running well and did not have anything to lose.
I showed up at the race and had to deal with this yahoo. This Brian Hoover of TATUR and Runnersworld fame, the best running store in Tulsa. Brian was also doing the Marathon and so was a lot of his training groups that meet on Saturdays in the same location at Veterans Park.

After I talked to Brian, I had to make my way through this mess. I had waited too long and barely made my way up to in between the 8 & 7 minute pace markers. After the wheelchair people took off, We were able to scoot closer. I was having trouble with my new Garmin as I was trying to put in a quick workout course for the Marathon and every time I did, it would shut off. I was hoping that this would not be a sign of a really bad day. A Marathon can be a great experience as well as a long day.

At 7:30 AM, we were off. We were lead off by the classic police car and some of the 1/2 Marathoners took off at a faster clip than I wanted. I hit the button to start my Garmin and it just re-set to zero, which is what the other button is supposed to do. I did it again, same thing. I tried it once more, ditto. So, I decided that as long it would hold out, I would just look at my pace and use that.
Another shot of the start.

Michael Wardian and Zac Freudenburg were racing each other for the Guinness Book record for a Marathon pushing a stroller, which Michael already owned at 2:42. They had made a deal to look at each others kid as they did the Marathon. Great teamwork! This is at the 10K spot.
Mark Dolph on the right coming through the 10K marker. He keeps getting faster and faster. I think he ran a 1:19 at age 51.
Here I am at the 10K mark. I felt pretty good at this time and my split was 42:31. I was headed to the West Side and then downtown. I wanted to go through the half at 1:35 and see what I had left on the second half. I made it through the downtown at 15K 1:08:35. As I was heading downtown, I saw Pete Orban already heading to Riverside, what a stud.

The downtown part was a little hilly, but not bad. Somewhere on Denver I met up with the slower 1/2 Marathoners. This got pretty congested. I passed one older guy and he muttered, "you suck." Come on, I'm busting my tail here! At the water stop on 11th, people were stopping or slowing down and I almost plowed a girl over to try and get some water. This continued as I headed south on Riverside.
On Riverside I hit the half at 1:35:17, pretty close to where I wanted. I was still running on the opposite side of the street for all the congestion I was hitting. At about mile 14, I started to feel it a little. Nothing major, but I knew I was going to be a pushing it on the second half. Once I lost the 1/2 Marathoners, it got pretty lonely and boring. My pace started to slow and I thought it was going to be a long day. I was still running about a 7:25 pace, but I was slowing down as we were heading into the wind. I saw the stroller guys heading back at just past 51st street and Zac was in the lead. I ran to the turnaround at mile 20 and I thought I could maybe make up some time up as I was out of the wind, no such luck. I was still able to run around a 7:55 mile, but it was a chore. I kept everything going and I finally hit that spot where I knew I was going to finish.

Here I am just coming to the mile 26 marker and I was able to pick it up a little. My last two miles had been over a 8 minute pace, but I was heading home and I knew I was going to make it under 3:20 and qualify for Boston.
This is the chute for the finish and I hit it pretty strong and crossed the line at 3:17:46, well under the 3:20:59 for Boston. There were 3 guys that finished ahead of me by no more than 30 seconds in my age group. Oh well.

It is too bad that Boston closed on Nov. 13th, but at least I am in for 2011. I ran a pretty good race considering I had not done much Marathon specific training. I know I can do even better, but I am really happy with the result. The weather was perfect and I could not have asked for anything better. Zac did break the stroller Marathon record by 10 minutes and also won the entire Marathon. How cool is that! The Route 66 Marathon is one of my favorite races and I look forward to next year already. Results can be found here.

Day After Marathon

This what I will probably be like on Monday. I love this video!

New Balance 100 Shoe Review: Updated

I have ran for awhile in the New Balance 790's, but like a lot of things, they must come to an end. I have really enjoyed the 790 shoe for its low profile and feel on how I can grip the road. This is the shoe that Tony Krupicka used to wear and what Kyle Skaggs wore to win the Hardrock 100 in a new course record. New Balance decided to stop production on the 790, so it is relegated to the past.
They have decided to focus their attention on the MT 100. This shoe had a lot of input from Tony Krupicka and Kyle Skaggs and personally I think it is a big hit. I have about 50 miles on them and they are performing well. I do not think that they grip the road that well, as they are a little stiffer than the 790, but overall I think it is a better shoe. It has better breathability with better rock guard protection. The support around the heel is higher, but the main fit around the foot is definitely a thinner material, almost like the Addizero. I have yet to do a longer 20+ mile run in them, but I am sure that they will hold up well. I thinking about tackling the Rocky Raccoon 50 miler in Feb. and this is the shoe I would wear. I would give them a 4 out of 5 and hey, with a retail price of $75, you cannot beat the price.
This Sunday is the Route 66 Marathon, but I will not be wearing the MT 100 for that. Instead I will be wearing the Asic Hyperspeed. I originally wore them during the OKC Marathon and they performed well. They have a real good fit and feel with a low profile. After all, this is the same shoe Ryan Hall wears. Not that I will run like him, but I think I am in good company. We are three days away and I cannot wait. It is going to be so much fun and the weather should be just right. This is my fourth year running it and I have had my best Marathon times here. An added bonus this year is that Michael Wardian will battling another guy, Zac Fruedenburg, for the Guinness Book record for a Marathon time for pushing a jogging stroller. Michael already owns the record, but once he found out it was going to be challenged, he wanted in. The record is 2:42 and some change, that is incredible! This weekend is going to be a blast!



Well, I finished Rocky Raccoon in my NB 100's and they performed flawlessly. I had absolutely no blisters or any hot spots after running a 50 mile race. I had concerns about the higher back in the heel was maybe going to rub, but it was not even an issue. I heard from so many people how their feet were raw and hurt from the roots and sand, but I came through without a hitch.

I know that the new 101's are supposed to be out in October and they are supposed to address a lot of the issues, such as the higher heel part of the shoe. As for now, I will continue to run in the 100's as my shoe of choice. On or off the road.

Deer Cycling

Words do not do this picture justice. The thoughts around this are endless. I know a lot of Redneck hunters back home that have never done this, or that I am aware of. This may be a new type of cycling or training for the Ironman. Did he hit the deer on his bike? Is this a new transit system for animals? My guess is, this is the best way to spot an Oklahoma DUI driver that lost his license.

Mock XC

Saturday morning I had the privilege of running the 4th annual Mock Marathon. I have ran all 4 versions of this with the Runnersworld gang and each year it keeps getting bigger. It was amazing to me this year to see all the different people from the other running stores come out and do it. The course has changed again this year and we venture downtown a lot in the first half, so it was good to see what kind of hills were on that part of the course.
We started at 7:30 am, the same time as the real Route 66 marathon. I wanted to go slow as I have not done a long run for awhile. I started out running with Aaron Ochoa and we were going about a 8:40 pace. We were joined by Curtis at about mile 6. I have never ran with him before, but got a chance to talk to him while running the rest of the course. He has done several other races and is looking at getting under 4 hours on Route 66.

The downtown piece had a few hills, but overall I did think it was too bad. The worst is on Cincinnati, but other than that, I think it will very doable for a PR. The second half is flat on Riverside. We went through all the downtown part together and once we got on Riverside, we lost Aaron. Curtis and I hung together until about mile 19, when I said I wanted to drop some faster miles at the last. I did the next mile at 7:08 and the last one at 6:56. I felt really good and I know I am in good condition for the Marathon.
Later on that day, we went out to check the Cyclocross races at Chandler Park. I have read about them, but had never actually got a chance to see them. The bikes are slightly different than a road bike with different tires and brake set ups. The cool thing about it is that it is on grass with hills and obstacles that you have to dismount and carry your bike over. It really reminded me of trail running. This is the start of the Cat 4's, Masters, and Single Speeds.
They had a kids race that I entered Wyatt in. Here he is at the beginning. It was a real short course and he was disappointed it was not longer. His comment was that he could have ran the whole thing.
He ended up with second place and got a medal. He is really athletic and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for him.


I really hope this video turns out as there was this kid on a single speed that did not dismount on his bike and carry it over the barricades. He actually jumped both the barricades with his bike. It was truly awesome and I am sure the video does not do it justice.

Tulsa Run Race Report

Saturday was the 32nd edition of the Tulsa Run. Being a BOK employee, I get to run for free. Joining me this year was Julie and several of my co-workers. Most of them were going to walk to walk the 5K, but hey, at least they got off the couch. Julie had decided to do the 15K. She had planned on training for it, but she did not do much running in October. I figured it was going to be a long day for her.
Here is a few of them at the start of the 5K. From left to right is Shane, one of my Transit employees, Cheryl, who works with Julie, and Tracy, who is one of my leads. This was Shane's and Cheryl's first 5K. I warned Tracy about wearing her Tulsa Run shirt for the race, but she didn't listen. You cannot wear the shirt until you have actually done the race!

I was very fortunate this year to start up front due to the kindness of Runnersworld. I have been on their race team for a number of years and they were allotted 10 slots and I received one. It was kind of neat being up front as we did little tiny loops to warm up in front of the masses. It was kind of like being on display at the circus.

I ended up about second or third row behind some of the tiny elite Kenyan girls. They were very petite, but quick. I am pretty sure I have ate bigger sandwiches than what they weighed. The countdown started at we were off at 9 AM. I had just got a Garmin 305 on Wed. and decided to wear it during the race to try and pace my self. It worked out really great during the first 5K, which is where I normally go out too fast and pay for it later. I stuck right on my 4:00 pace per K for the first 6K. As we came down on Riverside, where it was flat, I started to fall back. This is where I should have been able to kick it in, but instead, I just got slower. I guess I have not had enough longer tempo runs. I went through the 10K at 40:45 and knew my goal of sub 60 was gone. I kept a pretty even pace up to the Denver hill, but knew that would drop me back even further. I hung in there and pulled out a 1:02. Good enough for 121st overall. I even managed to be the top runner for the Bank this year and pulled us into a 3rd place for Corporate teams.
Here is the first female coming across the line. I think she finished in 50 something.
One of the great things of the Tulsa Run is that is either around or this year, on Halloween. Clark Kent ran the race this year and flew across the line. He is pretty fast, sub 60!
Here I am coming across the line. I was sure glad to be done. I have a ways to go to get sub 60. I hung around afterwords and drank a soda and talked to the kids. They were getting fussy holding all our gear, so I told them to go take the stuff back to the Jeep and I would go back out and find their mother. I headed back out on the course and the looks on peoples faces when I was going back out was priceless. I did a slow jog and saw several people still coming in, Bobby, Ken, Kathy, and the Runnersworld group. I was starting to wonder how far I was going to have to go back and in between 11 & 12K I found here. She was so glad to see me. I stayed with her the rest of the way as she slow jogged and walked it in.
Here is she coming into the finish. I am so proud of her for not quitting and accomplishing her goal. She was not last and she even beat one of the celebrity runners. With some training and dedication she can do a lot better. No matter what, she still did 9.3 miles.
Glad to be done.
Here we all are after the race, except for Wyatt, who was hanging out in the port-a-john.

The Tulsa Run is a great race with a great race director. The course is really tough with all the hills, but it so much fun to come out and see the excitement. I really hope that this sticks with the people at work who did this and this will lead them to a more healthy lifestyle. I will see what happens next, but I may throw myself into the Route 66 Marathon in a couple of weeks. Who knows? The results can be found here.

Race Across The Sky Movie Review

I had the privilege of watching the premier of the Race Across the Sky movie last Thursday on the big screen. It was an one night nationwide showing of the epic Mountain Bike race in Leadville, CO last August. It is 100 miles on an out and back course that pitted Lance Armstrong against 6X champion Dave Wiens of Gunnison, CO. Having spent a week in Leadville this past July and raced the Trail Marathon, it was so nice to be able to see some of the old sites and sounds of Leadville. Ken Chlouber puts on all these races since first putting on the Leadville 100 trail race I think in 1983. Since that time it has morphed into more trail races and a MTB race. The MTB race has drawn in Tour De France winner Floyd Landis in 2007 and Lance Armstrong in 2008. When Lance raced here last year he finished second to Dave Wiens. Lance credits the race as the reason why he came back to race the Tour De France this year. I know Lance does not like to lose and this got the competitive juices flowing again.
A hundred miles is a long ride no matter what, but when you throw in the Leadville factor it is huge. Leadville sits at 10,200 elevation and is a challenge to anyone. The altitude did not bother me that much, but climbing uphill was very hard to get enough air. On the downhills I could clock off sub 8 minute miles, but I did a lot of walking on the hills. Those that can keep trucking uphill, my hat is off to you.

The MTB race starts downtown just like all the other races and heads out to the Twin Lakes area and up Columbine Pass which is just above 12,000 feet. It was funny sitting in the theater and hearing everyone ooh and aah when they announced how high it was. The Marathon I did went up Mosquito Pass at 13,100 feet. Everybody was in Parkas and it was cold. The MTB race was no different as it started sleeting on them and it was freezing up the top of the pass. The lead pack of riders was about 7 or 8 people and splintered once they made it to Twin Lakes at the 40 mile mark. Lance at that point took off and never looked back. He shot through the aid station and separated himself from the rest of the field. The most impressive thing was watching Lance pedal all the way up Powerline trail on the way back when everyone else, including Dave Wiens got off and pushed their bikes up the trail. Lance made it back to Turquoise Lake and had a flat about 7 miles from the finish. He made a feeble attempt to put some Co2 into his back tire, but decided to just ride it in. He barely made it in on the flat and finished in a new course record. Dave Wiens managed to hold onto second and break his course record time from last year. From this point it was truly exciting to see the rest of the pack struggle in to beat the 12 hr cutoff. The stories and struggles that people have went through to make the start line and the finish is truly inspiring. My family and I fell in love with Leadville and cannot wait to go back, I am not for sure it will be for the MTB race though.
Overall it was a good documentary and one that I would recommend to anyone. I was a little more excited about it as most of the areas and scenery I had been to and seen in person. From what the website is showing they are having an encore showing on November 12th. I would recommend you go and check it and maybe it will inspire to push your limits of endurance and see that you can do a lot more than you think.

Woolaroc 8K Race Report

On Saturday we headed to around Bartlesville to run the 29th Annual Woolaroc 8K throughout the Woolaroc ranch. This course had the reputation of being very hilly and it did not disappoint. It is about an hour drive from Tulsa, but it is very well worth it. We made a morning of it and had a blast.
Woolaroc was the getaway for Frank Phillips of Phillips 66 and Conoco Phillips fame. The name is a combination of Woods, Lakes, and Rocks, hence Woolaroc. The ranch in its current state is about 3,700 acres and has numerous wildlife that roams free throughout the ranch. One of the docents told us that they used to have Giraffes and Camels, but they could not adapt to the climate. It was quite the site to see.
The race started at 8:30 and we went to the west side of the parking lot and kind of scrunched in between the cones. I ended up being in about the 3rd row, which I do not normally do. I was surprised there was not a lot more fast runners as they offer cash for first, second, and third. Pete Orban was there along with Mark Dolph and several college age runners, but none of the other fast Tulsa runners.
And we are off. We headed out and curved around the lodge. I hit the 1k at 3:38. A little faster than I wanted, but I felt good. We then cross the dam and for almost a K we had a hill. My next split was right at 4:00. After that it was either up or down the entire time. I do not think that there was a flat spot anywhere on the course. I wanted to bag it so bad after 3K, but I kept going. I think I hit the 5K at 20:12, but everything was a blur. I made my way back to the lodge and the last half K is uphill to the finish. I hit the tape at 32:49, which is not where I wanted, but not bad for the course. I finished 19th overall and second in my age group.
Here I am receiving my 2nd place award for my age group. They gave us a cool Woolaroc buffalo bag with a pin for our placement.
Here is Mark Dolph after receiving his award.
This is a beautiful shot looking out over the Osage Hills and yes, they were hilly!
They also had one of the best Museums I had ever been in. I thought it was never going to end. The amount of Western, Indian, and local artifacts was unreal for something local. Frank Phillips was quite the collector.
I am a big Theodore Roosevelt fan and they had the saddle he wore for the Rough Riders reunion on display. Awesome!
Like I said, on the ranch were all kinds of wildlife. This is a Sika Deer. He was not too happy with me as he was very protective of his females.
This is one of his brood. She was not bothered at all by us being around.
Not for sure what this is. They had Zebras on the ranch, but I guess this was a cross between a Zebra and a horse. ?????

I can't even imagine getting gored by this. Those bullfighters are nuts.

It looks like Wyatt is not too impressed with his playing.
Belle Starr. If you look close, you can see that Belle has a bit of a bladder control problem.

This kind of sums it up, Thank God for such a beautiful day with the family. The results of the race can be found here.