tulsa run.

The Tulsa Run began in 1978 with a challenging and scenic course running through the best of downtown Tulsa and the scenic River Parks. 32 years later, this Tulsa tradition is still going strong and each passing year only adds to its interesting history.

saturday morning was the tulsa run.  the only time i have participated in this event was in 2008.  the course is approx. 9.3 miles (15k) and runs through the hills of midtown and down the river.  the biggest challenge though is the monster hill right after the eight mile mark.  it's like a sucker punch right at the end of a nice run.  the first year i was not prepared and thought i might die.  this year however i ran the hill last week and was expecting the burn.  i strategically walked on two, short, steep parts of the half mile hill to conserve my energy and run the remainder of the run through the finish line.  it worked like a charm.  my butt is sore today but it's the good kind of sore.  the kind where you know you worked out the day before but can still move and function perfectly - you just get a little reminder occasionally.

the weather was chilly at the start line but the wind made it cold.  tera, my run partner, and i met before we went downtown.  we were running around and the sun was shining so when we got to the parking lot we made the dumb split decision to leave our jackets trash bags in the car.  whoopsie.  we definitely should have worn those to keep warm before the gun.  oh well.  we survived.  lesson learned.  once we got near the start line, we crammed ourselves in the middle to try to avoid the wind.  perfect solution.  once there, i spotted my friend and her mother.  i had so hoped i could see them so it was a really nice way to start the run. 

i have worn a garmin forerunner while running for years.  it is a form of security blanket.  i like knowing how far i've run, my current pace and my total time.  it helps me to speed up or slow down, depending on the length of the run.  well, the worst thing happened yesterday - i thought my garmin died.  r.i.p.  i tried to start it about 10 minutes before the gun and nothing happened.  nada.  it didn't even pretend to turn on.  at first i thought my fingers were too cold and i just wasn't pressing it down hard enough but after several attempts, i had no luck.  i felt like i was running the blind.  in a way this brought me anxiety but in another way it was nice.  i just ran.  i forced myself to just run and not worry about my pace.  i ended the run with a chip time of 1:31:01.  i guarantee you if i had had my garmin, i would have ran at least 2 seconds faster.  dangit.  oh well!  that still left me with a 9:46 per mile average pace.  i'm happy with that time.  i had hoped to beat my 2008 time and i did it by two minutes.  score!  i plugged in my garmin when i got home and nothing.  i was sure it was gone.  i repeated this over and over throughout the afternoon with the same result.  then randomly i plugged it in last night and it worked.  like normal.  i've even turned it on today and it seems to work perfect.  i'm going to test it out before i buy the same thing again but i'm a little worried.  i do not want this to happen for my next run, my first marathon run.

mr. h brought james down to see me run.  the thing is, i didn't know exactly where he'd be so i had to be on the lookout from about mile 5 on through after the 6 mile mark.  luckily he's awesome and i saw him twice.  he had the camera and was trying to get some pictures.  i know it would be difficult to track me while also watching james.  when the race was over i asked how the pictures were and he said that he got several of me running away.  i didn't stop for a photo op or kisses.  i was running!

but he did manage to get my reaction when i first saw them:

and running off:

and signaling that i'd see him after the turn around:

after the turn around and 6 mile marker, i had my eyes peeled again.  i waved and called for james as i passed but this is the only picture that was taken:

i don't have the perfect run picture but i appreciate the thought.  i know there are so many people and i know how hard it is to multitask with a toddler.  kudos to mr. h.  james had a good time watching all the people and took a long nap after the run festivities.  my run partner is the skinny girl in the purple.  she actually spotted them at the first pass.  i was even looking on the other side of the street but i'm super lucky and got to see this guy.  twice!

tera and i finished the last three miles of the run and got our bottle of water and snickers bar.  we waited at the finish line to cheer on our friends that were still running.  it feels so great to hear you name as you run.  i love how it makes me feel so i like to return the favor when possible.
this week's saturday run was nice.  next week i'm on to a 22 mile training run.  the tulsa run was a nice break in the normal training runs.  it was nice to run and cross a finish line.  my next finish line will be after 26.2 miles.  i look forward to that feeling again.