Full Moon Run

Saturday night was the Full Moon 5K put on by the Full Moon Cafe on Cherry Street. This run draws out a lot of Tulsans and is very congested. Some people just show up for the band and the beer, for others it is a great night for exercise and reacquainting with some old friends. We typically say every year that we are not going to do this run again, but we do it any way. This year I was able to be part of a corporate team and get in for free. Bank of Oklahoma was one of the main sponsors and offered employees comp entries. What the heck, free entry and an excuse to race, who needs more.

The last several years race conditions have been miserably hot and humid, but for this year, the temps were in the 60's and not much wind. It made for a good run. Normally, I run it by myself or the kids do either the fun run or the 5K, but this year the Misses was going to join me. She also works for the Bank and got in for free. I am very proud of her to keep trying as she really does not like running that much, but jumps in from time to time. As for me, I had no idea how I was going to do. I was almost two weeks out from running a hard Marathon in OKC and my legs were still feeling it. I tried doing some accelerations on Thursday while running and my legs were not feeling it. I had actually thought about signing up my youngest son and just running it with him, but I thought I should at least try.

At the start, a lot of the same old faces were there, Mark Dolph, John Stukey, and Rob James among others. After fellow Tulsa Running Club board member, Shawna Simpson, did a stirring rendition of the National Anthem, it was time to rock. I started out with John Stukey and went through the first K at 3:30. I would have normally went out faster, but it was crowded and it felt like a decent pace. As I started towards 2K, I could start to feel the effects of the Marathon. At this point, I kind of lost track of my pace. One thing I do not like about Fleet Feet timed races is NO split callers. We turned around at 34th Street and started to head back. On the way back it felt like I was in a trance. Things were blurry and I did not have much energy left. I think my splits were 3K- 11 something and 4K- 15:15. I ended up at 19:32, 4:15 or so for the last K. This was the best I could do for the day and was glad to finish. Somehow I had managed to finish and not stop and walk. I finished 4th in my age group and 3rd in the Clydesdale division. I believe I was 34th overall and 29th Male.

I went back out on the course to find Julie and run with her back in. It took awhile for me to find her, but I caught up with her at the 4K mark. She had not stopped and walked at all and was heading in to the finish. The last 5K she did was the Sweethearts run and when I went back out on the course to run with her, she was crying. This time she was fine and heading in. She came in at 41 something and I was proud of her for not quitting. She was very excited about the run and was talking about doing more.

Overall our Bank Corporate team finished 3rd with my time being the fastest on the team. Our awards are supposed to be in by the 22nd of the month. I am very proud of my wife and all my Bank team members who came out and participated. Up next, the Aquarium 1/2 Marathon. I guess I am up for it? I am a glutton for punishment.
The start and a nice head shot of my daughter.
Julie and a friend with Wyatt getting in on the action.
After it is all said and done