Route 66 Marathon Race# 15

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Sunday, November 22, 2015
Time: 4:54:51
Overall Place: 1204/2587

 The Route 66 Marathon was a race that I had been looking forward to since I put it on to the schedule way back last November, and it did not disappoint.  This is a first class event which went beyond what most marathons can boast about.  It was the 10th anniversary and was also an event that over 2500 Marathon Maniacs, Half Fanatics, and 50 Staters marked on their calendar as the event of the year. 

 

It was a long drive for us which was just over 1000 miles, and I believe we pretty much held the record for the longest drive to the event.  On this trip because we were driving, I was able to bring Heidi and we also had the pleasure of taking Jennifer.

We began the weekend on Thursday November 19 when we picked Heidi up at her work and left for Omaha which is where we wanted to spend our first night.  The problem was that we received our first snowfall of the year which started the night before and coupled with the wind we were even wondering if it was safe to drive.  The mini storm if you want to call it that lasted about 60 Kms south of the city and then we had beautiful driving conditions from there on.  We made it to Omaha around 10:30 and checked in for the night.  The next day we got up, had our free breakfast at the Super 8 and looked forward to about a 7 hour drive to Tulsa.  We did not take the Interstate Highway because our GPS took us a faster route down mostly a two lane highway.  I really believe it was slower but we did get to see a lot of nice rolling countryside and some quaint little quintessential  American towns.  It was really neat watching the temperature gauge in the car start at around minus 3 in the morning and move all the way up to plus 20 by the afternoon when we arrived.  Ah yes, summer again.

We found the Convention Center quite easily and decided that we would pick up our race packets before driving further to where Heidi’s cousin Barb lived.

 

 

 

The Expo was nice and they had a lot of displays and booths for the runners to see the latest and greatest in running apparel and other things runners like.  This race also had a speaker series so I was looking forward to spending some time on Saturday getting to hear some of the speakers.  There was one topic on bloggers that I wanted to hear on Friday at 5:15 so we all took that in which lasted till about 6:00. After that we headed to Bixby Oklahoma which is suburb on the south side of Tulsa which ended up taking us about 55 minutes.  Our GPS did not take up the fastest way and sometimes I wonder about her.  Her name is Susan and yes we frustrate her sometimes by not going the way she says so it may be payback for her to give us a slower route.  We were very fortunate to have a place to stay for this trip and I never realized that until after I had booked our entries into the event.  Heidi has a first cousin that lives in Tulsa so it was nice to have homey accommodations and Heidi could spend some time getting reacquainted with her cousin.   

We arrived at Barbs house and it was very nice to see her again and have a little bit of a reunion of sorts.  We also got to meet Barbs roommate Bella who is a very good looking Golden Retriever.   After meeting we quickly became friends and enjoyed each other’s company for the rest of the time we were there. Heidi and I were in one room and Jennifer took another room.   We had a great supper and were introduced to some southern cuisine which was very new to us in what they call it.  When you have a BBQ in the south, it means that you are going to get some smoked meats and other fixings.  It can be anything from ribs to brisket to sausage or pulled pork, very different from how we think of something barbecued.  It was most delicious and we quite enjoyed it.

On Saturday the plan was for Heidi to spend the day with Barb, and Jennifer and I were going to the Expo to hang out for the better part of the day.  There were a number of speakers that I was looking forward to hearing so I was looking forward to the day with other likeminded people, many as crazy as myself in the enjoyment of running.  I know it seems hard to believe but there are other people in this world that are even crazier than myself and we all belong to the club known as the Marathon Maniacs.

  

Main Maniac

From left to right

Chris Warren, Steve Yee, Maniac, & Tony Philipi

These are the original Maniacs who started the club

In fact there are over 12,000 members in this club alone and many who have run far more marathons then me.  By going to as many races as I have this year, I have come to know many people from all parts of the country.   Many of these other people were coming to Tulsa so it was nice to reconnect with many of them again.  Jennifer and I had also planned to run with Bart Yasso, who works for Runners World as the Chief Running Officer, but unfortunately we were not able to make the connection and we went on our own little shakeout run.  At around 3:30 we headed back to Barbs place and out for our pre-race dinner.

 Barb had picked out a restaurant called Russo’s which had Italian food and was very good.  After supper for desert we decided to take in some American tradition at Sonic.  It is a drive-in restaurant that serves fast food and we delighted in some Ice cream.  We had a great timer and laughed ourselves silly.  After supper we went back home and visited till we went to bed for the night.  It was a good day.

Sunday arrived at 5:15 for Heidi and me so that we could prepare for the race which started at 8:00.  For Jennifer there was no way her day was going to start before 6:00 and we were told very clearly that she was not getting up with us.  We had our usual pre-race food for breakfast which for me is a bagel and banana.  Heidi was also kind enough to surprise me with a large container of milk.  Being the good husband I drank it all and paid for it in the first ten miles.  Heidi thought I like milk before a race and I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I prefer water or PowerAde.  Milk sits very heavy on the stomach.  Oh well the issue has been resolved. 

We said our goodbyes to Barb and headed to downtown Tulsa at about 6:30 where I had done some research in finding the best location to park.  It was about halfway between the start and finish lines which was about a mile apart.  Tulsa is interesting in that the downtown is not really all that developed yet so they have a lot of big parking lots to park the car and we also parked for free.  If you don’t have a hotel next to the start/finish line, it’s nice to have the next best thing which is to park close for free.

We found our way to the start line which was Coral B.  It is interesting that we had B because there were a total of four Corals and we were in the second highest.  There was a very good reason for this.  Because there were a lot of Maniacs, Half Fanatics and 50 Staters in this race they are typically slower so the times in this race reflected that and there were a lot of slower runners than us.  In order to get seeded in a race you have to provide your projected finish time, so it is on the honor system and they place you accordingly. 

The race started with the first coral getting the gun and about 5 minutes later we moved up to the start and received our gun.  It was quite a display of pomp and circumstance with a big confetti machine showering the runners with the confetti.  The first couple of miles were quite cool to run in with the temperature hovering around the minus 2 mark.  I had throw away clothes so I knew I could keep warm at the beginning of the race and then start peeling as the race went along.  A lot of runners use this process which leaves a lot of clothes to get picked up for self-help stores.  Jennifer and I ran together with Heidi until we reached the first hill around a mile in and then we left Heidi.  I knew there would be hills on this course but you never know how hard it’s going to be until you hit hill after hill which really takes its toll over the course of the race. 

We ran through some very beautiful neighborhoods which the race director enjoyed showcasing.  It’s interesting how a race will try and show you the best parts of the city in an urban marathon.  Jennifer and I knew right off the bat that we were not out to set a personal best so we paced ourselves so that we could enjoy the run at a little slower pace.  At about 19.5 miles Jennifer wanted me to go ahead and finish on my own and to not wait for her, so I left her and she finished about 10 minutes after me.  She just needed to go her own pace and sometimes that is hard to do when two people are running together.  I did have the opportunity to take in what is a part of the uniqueness of this race.  They have what is call the Center of the Universe detour.  It is about a third of a mile extension to the race about a mile from the finish and you get a special little medal for completing this.  This race is also known as the shortest Ultra Marathon in North America.  One of the things that also set this race apart which is unusual for a marathon is that they have a lot of beer stops along the way.  I’m not sure how good or bad this is for a runner but is seems to be quite a hit with the runners.  Probably one reason for the slower than normal times.  In fact Heidi actually experienced something that she was quite unaware of.  About nine miles into the race they had some Jello at one of the stations and Heidi thought she has had other things on the course and they seemed good so why not Jello.  What she didn’t realize was that these were Jello Shots, made from Vodka.  Not being a person that indulges in alcohol it didn’t taste great to her and decided that she would never have that again.  She only found out what they really were after the race when we told her.  Well everyone finished their race and I have to be honest, it was the hardest race I have ever done, but we all finished, and we all gave our best.

 

 

After the race we packed up the car and drove to Sioux Falls which was about a ten hour drive.  This is not typically how I like to do it but because we did not have a hotel close to the finish we could not shower.  Barb lived the opposite direction and time did not allow us to go back and clean up there.  I know, I know, not what you want to do after a race, but we needed to get far enough so that we could make it back to Winnipeg by Friday after noon.  It really was a nice drive though and we got to our hotel just after midnight.  The next day we arrived home safe and sound after having completed number 15.

Now to rest for three weeks and then it’s off to Dallas where I will run number 16.  Yes, I will be flying which also means I will be doing it solo.  I just want you to know that this trip was planned way before Heidi was asked to come up with the church Christmas program.  More on that next race. 

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Race #14

Indianapolis, Indiana
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Time: 4:12:34
Overall Place: 1909/3997

 

I can only describe this weekend as monumental, pun intended, which exceeded all of my expectations.  Going into this weekend I must say I was a little apprehensive because I was doing this trip all alone, but was totally up for the adventure.

The weekend started for me on Thursday morning to catch an early flight to Toronto and then a second flight into Indianapolis.  The flight to Toronto was leaving at 6:20 so I wanted to be at the airport by about 5:15 which meant leaving home at 4:45 for the almost half hour drive.  The only problem was when we went outside to the car we had a flat tire, great.  Nice start to the weekend.  We decided that we would call a cab and then Heidi would also call for CAA to fix the tire.  The cab came within about 5 minutes and off I was.  Heidi later got the tire fixed and I got to the airport so all was good.

The flight to Toronto was really nice.  I didn’t have to do any driving.  I just got to sit back and relax and let someone else do all the work.  The timing was perfect to arrive in Toronto for breakfast in the airport and still have plenty of time to get to my gate for the next flight. For breakfast I managed to find a Timmies and have my favorite Bacon Bagel Belt and large white milk.  Breakfast all taken care of I walked for what seemed an eternity to get to the next gate which was located on the ground floor of the farthest corner of the airport.   What happened to me while I was waiting for my next flight made my whole trip.  I had just finished talking to Stephanie on the cell phone and I was sitting beside a gentleman who was waiting for a flight going to Columbus, Ohio.  We got to talking and he asked me where I was heading and I was able to tell him about all my marathons and the purpose of my trip.  I mentioned to him that I was raising money for an organization in Winnipeg that meets the needs of the homeless and less fortunate.  He had mentioned to me that he had just come from Winnipeg and we were actually on the same flight, which I didn’t know.  He asked me if the organization was Siloam Mission?  I said yes it was.  He said he was driving from Bothwell, just outside of Winnipeg, and heard their commercial.  He asked me if he could give me something for Siloam and I said of course and would be happy to pass along what he gave me.  I didn’t look at the bills he gave me right away and we said our goodbyes.  Turns out he gave me two US fifty dollar bills.  I was quite moved by this gentleman, that he would want to just give a stranger this much money for an organization he knew very little about.  What a way to kick off the trip.

The flight to Indianapolis was uneventful and short so I made it there with lots of time left in the day.  The next challenge was to get myself downtown to where the hotel was.  I didn’t want to rent a car because it’s too expensive to park downtown and everything was happening within close proximity to the race which was in the downtown area.  Indianapolis has a good transit system and as a part of this they have a shuttle that takes you downtown from the airport. I ended up within short walking distance of the hotel.  The hotel was quite unique in that it was an old renovated block.  Not sure what it was used for before, but the inside was just gorgeous, and very comfortable. 

In the late afternoon I went for a walk to the convention center where they had the race kit pickup and the expo.  The expo was very nice and had lots to see. 

The thing I like about this event is that they had a speaker series, and you know how much I love listening to people talk about running.  The speaker they had on Thursday evening was Bart Yasso who is the Chief Running Officer for Runner’s World which is a great running magazine.  He had a story for just about every race he had done and there were a lot of them.  He is kind of an ambassador for the magazine and gets invited to all kinds of races so that the directors can get their races some publicity.  He was so good I went to listen to him the next day as well, and yes hear the same stories.

Later that evening I walked around the downtown area some more in a nice warm 23 degrees Celsius.  There was a little bit of drizzle, but it didn’t seem to matter, it was such a beautiful evening.  Indianapolis has a really well developed downtown area which is full of life and vibrancy. 

Circle Center Mall near the Convention Center.  They had a great food court.

You can just feel the energy that this city gives off.  There are lots of things to do for whatever entertainment you are looking for.  I made my way back to the hotel and went to sleep for the night. It was a good day.

 Friday morning I woke up and went to have breakfast in the hotel. What I appreciated about this hotel was that I was late for breakfast because I needed to sleep a little longer and breakfast only went till 9:00.  I went downstairs at about 9:25 just in case I might be able to get a little bit of food, and they were more than welcoming and didn’t rush me out to get cleaned up.  I like hotels that include a breakfast buffet in the price of their stay.  After breakfast I packed up and walked to my next hotel.  That’s right I had to check out and go stay in another hotel a few blocks away for the second night of my stay in Indianapolis.  This trip was a little more challenging to plan because I couldn’t get three or even two nights in the same hotel without having to pay up and arm and a leg.  The hotels were either full or way out of my price range.  One of the reasons for all the problems was that the Colts were playing in Indy on Sunday so all of the Denver fans were coming into town.  Anyway I made it work and the second night was right at the finish line which was really nice, except that I had to check out before the race started because they wouldn’t allow a late check-out.  They did however make their shower facilities available so that I had a place to clean up after the race before I could get to my next hotel close to the airport.  After I checked in I made my way down to the expo to listen to the lineup of speakers that were presenting.  There were five speakers that I stayed for which took pretty much the entire morning and most of the afternoon.  What a great way to spend the day. 

I also met a couple of other runners, two ladies from Albany Georgia and we hung out for most of the day talking about running.  They were also very interested in the Fifty States Club and were able to talk about a lot of the same races that we had previously done and the ones coming up.  There are two races coming up in January and May which we are going to get together again so that will be a lot of fun. 

 

In the evening I had planned to have my pre-race meal at the mall that I found in the downtown area and then walk to my favorite restaurant of all time, White Castle for a slider.  After that the plan was to see a basketball game from the professional team in Indianapolis the Indiana Pacers.  The ticket was quite reasonable at $23.00 so I didn’t mind spending that for a highly entertaining game. 

 

After the game it was back to the hotel and off to sleep for the night.

On Saturday I didn’t have to get up until 6:00 in the morning for the race at 8:00.  I had no problem getting a wakeup call as I am very dependent and rely heavily on a good source for the wakeup call as I will tell you about a little later.  I don’t hear at night because I don’t wear my hearing aids so I need something quite loud to wake me up. 

I took care of all of the pre-race preparations and headed down to check my bags in to the storage area that they had set aside for other guests in the same predicament.

 

It was a beautiful morning with the sun shining and a temperature around plus 7 with an expected high in the low teens by late morning.  We lined up at the race start together with the half marathoners.  Altogether there was about 5000 marathoners and around 8000 half marathoners.  They had corals for the faster runners to about a 4:10 finish which was a little odd so I got stuck in the everyone else coral.   My plan was to get in with the 4:30 Pacer so that I could have a nice slow start and maybe pick up the pace later on in the race.  I did this last year in Des Moines with the same Pacer and it worked really well. 

The start is right at the bottom and the half way point at the top.

The first part of the race went through a lot of the downtown area and slowly moved further out into the residential area.  At just over 7 miles the half marathoners split off and headed back to the finish while we kept going further out into the residential area.  We passed by many monuments along the way which is where the race gets its name from, the Monumental Marathon.  As I said my strategy was to stay with the 4:30 Pacer, but for some reason this group never caught up to me because I was running at a faster pace than this group.  I was feeling really good because I had a nice three week break since the last marathon.  I felt strong so I ran a very steady pace and decided to see how I would feel once I got to the half way point.  By half way I came in around a 2:06 so I thought if I could keep up this pace I would have a real shot at getting a PB (personal best), in the states they call it a PR.  I kept up the pace that I needed only slowing down at the water stations, which were about every 1 ½ to 2 ½ miles. 

Hard to believe this was November



I couldn't resist taking a couple of pictures along the course.

It was a beautiful course and quite flat unlike some races they call fast and flat, where they lie, this one was quite flat.  There were only two hills which were really insignificant.  With the pace that I was maintaining I was able to catch the 4:15 Pacer.  I also knew that the 4:15 Pacer had started the race about 3 minutes ahead of me so I knew that if I could stay with this pacer I would have a PB in the bag.  At about mile 23 I started to tire a little and by mile 25 I let the 4:15 pacer go taking just a few more walk breaks but still maintained a pace fast enough so that I would not lose too much time.

 

 

I finally rounded the corner onto Washington Street and with the finish line in sight I ran for the finish line and came in about 2 ½ minutes faster than my previous best. I really had to work hard in those last three miles but was happy to get a new best time.  My plan was to give my phone to someone on the finishing stretch to take my signature shot, but I was chasing a PB so I opted not to stop.

 

 

After the race I went to the workout facility in the hotel and did my stretching and then took a shower.  I felt good after this and went to the downtown area and had some supper.  My next plan of action was to grab the shuttle to the airport and then go to the hotel via another shuttle.  Sounds like a lot of work to get to the hotel but the airport/downtown shuttle is an express shuttle and they don’t stop in between.  I got to the hotel and checked in and this is where it gets interesting again.  I had asked for a wakeup call for 4:15 to catch the 5:00 am shuttle to the airport to catch the 6:05 flight.  This was a very efficient plan with more than enough time to make it everywhere.  The only problem is that I never received the wakeup call and only woke up because I had to go to the bathroom which was t 4:45.  No time for a shower and only enough time to pack my bags and get to the lobby.  If I would have missed that shuttle I would have been in big trouble and probably would have missed my flight.  Your probably asking why not set your phone, well I did, but I can’t hear it when I’m asleep.  Well it all worked out anyway and I made it back home.  What a great trip it was and filled with lots of adventure.

Running with a purpose - Siloam Mission

Well, two more weeks and it’s off to Oklahoma for the Route 66.  A race I have been looking forward to for a long time.  Not sure if I have ever mentioned this before but really look forward to the next marathon when I’ve just finished my last one. Running is fun!