First Half of Week

Monday I ran a four mile loop, from downtown to 11th & Riverside, through Newblock Park, north to Owen Park, past the center of the universe, and back to the start at 3rd & Boulder. Boy, it was hot!

Tuesday I was out in the heat all day at a substation in Allen, Oklahoma. I barely made it back in time for the group run. We did four miles on the river parks trails. I finished the run with Chris and Lisa. Again, it was a scorcher, and we were definitely feeling the heat.

This morning I ran alone, starting from Veteran's Park. I did a seven mile loop that I hope will be part of one of our group runs. It rained overnight, so it was cooler, but it was very humid. I went north on the trail to 4th Street, over to the center of the universe, north to Fairview, west on Fairview, past the Kennedy Mansions,

south on Country Club Drive and through Owen Park. As I entered Owen Park, I passed the oldest house in Tulsa.
From the park I went south on Quanah to 1st St, west to Rosedale, south to Newblock Park, and then followed the trail to Riverside and Southwest Blvd.. From there I followed the River Parks trail to 21st, and back to Veteran's Park. It was a pretty hilly route, but I enjoyed it.

Click here to see a map of the route.

Kindness

Thursday I did 4 miles at noon and another 6 in the evening from the store. The evening run was tough because of the heat & humidity. I did 4 of those miles with Larry, but then had to walk some while he went on ahead.

Saturday I was out running at 4:40 a.m. First I did a six mile loop that included Woodward Park. At about 5:30 I saw Robert and some others on 15th Street measuring the Tulsa Run course. Then I met the group at 5:45 and we did a nine mile loop that went to the center of the universe and back. I ran with so many people it would be hard to name them all, but I do remember talking to Larry about kids, and it turns out one of his daughters and my oldest daughter were good friends in high school. Small world, isn't it! I received a lot of razzing from people about last week's hilly route, but the scenery seemed to make it enjoyable enough to make the hills bearable. They did mention that Kathy's non-hilly route seemed to be rather hilly itself. After a brief stop at the center of the universe, we headed back south on Boulder to Veterans Park. That was the end of running for most of the group, but a group of six of us headed out again. I stopped at five more miles, but the others kept going. Patty was going to try to get in a total of 20, and since she hadn't started when I did, she still had a few miles to go. My total was 20 miles for the day and 43 for the week.

The highlight of the run was seeing Dana and Teresa after the run. They knew I had started before them and were concerned that I hadn't returned. That's just like them. Dana has always been an encouragement from the time I started running with the RunnersWorld group. I still remember my first marathon, running up that hill to the finish line with him cheering me on. It sure helped! Well, on Saturday he refreshed me with ice cold water and Diet Coke. Ahhh! That's just what I needed. Thank you Dana and Teresa for your kindness!!!!

Midweek Account

Sunday pastor Barnett preached his last sermon at our church. He is going up to Michigan to pastor Calvary Bible Church in Kalamazoo. May God be with him. He gave a thought provoking sermon, with one of his main texts being Romans 14:12, "... each of us will give an account of himself to God." It made me wonder about my life. I know my sins are forgiven by the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross, but what have I done with the treasures I have? Have I obeyed the command of Christ to "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven?" Do my words and deeds make people's thoughts soar heavenward and give glory to God, or do I say and do things that point people to mundane, or even worse, trashy things? Have I invested my time and energy in things that have eternal value, or have I frittered away my time on things that will soon fade away? Have I been bold enough to share the gospel with others who may not know the joy of having their sins forgiven through faith in Christ, or have I neglected that duty and privilege? I was thinking about these things on the way to work this morning when I called to mind the words of the hymn, Rise Up, O Men of God."

Rise up, O men of God.
Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and soul and mind and strength
to serve the King of Kings.

I should probably end this blog entry here, but I will go on to lesser things for the moment. I did not run Sunday, as is usual. Nor did I run Monday because my quadriceps were still incredibly sore from Saturday. Tuesday I finally ran at noon. My quads were sore at first, but they loosened up about a mile into the run. I ran from downtown around Swan Lake and back, just under five miles. Tuesday evening I had a fun time running with the RunnersWorld group. I started out with a visitor from Indiana, a nine year old boy named Jason. He was only going a mile, so I ran with him until the 1/2 mile post and sent him back while I continued on with Alicia, who is relatively new to our group. She is a fast runner, and she used to run cross country in high school, but the heat kind of got to her that evening. After about three miles at around a 9 minute pace, she had to walk a ways. With a half mile to go, we sped up to about an 8 minute per mile pace and finished strong. I enjoyed the run and hope Alicia keeps coming out.

Oh, and at noon today I ran to Veterans Park and did four sets of pull ups on the soccer goals and push ups, and then I did sit ups and inclined push ups on the picnic tables in the pavillion. Then I ran back to work. It was incredibly hot!

Saturday's Report

First for Thursday: At noon I jogged down to Veterans Park and did pull ups on the soccer goals and push ups and then jogged back downtown. I'll count it as 3 miles.

Thursday evening I ran with the group, starting out with Ken, but he slowed after one mile so he could take pictures of the group. I continued with Brian and Vicky, with Chris and Lisa not far behind. Brian and I did seven, while the others did six or less. Brian pooped out after 3.5, and we walked quite a bit. I finished with an 8:00 and 7:40. At the end Vicky and I sprinted to the finish. It was a really fun day of running!

Saturday we had a pretty good turnout considering that a large portion of the group was at Mohawk Park. I arrived early, helped Brian and Kathy set up, and then did a four mile loop through Woodward Park and around Swan Lake. I got back just in time to give instructions to the group and then we headed out toward 15th, then on the trail to 6th Street and back. I ran mostly with Keri and Curtis. Curtis' Garmin said it was 4.33 miles.

From there we did the four mile loop through Woodward and around Swan Lake, which was a beautiful run in spite of the hills. Then Stefanie, Curtis, and I ran the loop backwards to make sure all had made it in. I'm calling the total for the day 16.3 miles at an average pace or around 9:30. Total for the week was 45 miles.

After the run there was a Cross Fit group starting their workout at the soccer goal. They invited me to do their workout, so I did, but I pooped out on the third and last round. I was in the midst of the last set of 50 meter lunges and I felt like I hit the wall. So I called it quits and went back to my car and drank a bunch of Gatorade. Then I drove off to pick up the water jug that Kathy had left out by the trail. I sort of felt like I was drunk driving. So, when I got to the water jug, I laid down on the trail, poured water and ice all over me and just stayed like that until I felt halfway normal. I'm sure I will be sore tomorrow!

Midweek Update

I ran an easy four miler at noon on Monday from downtown and then on the Midland Valley Trail to 25th Street and back. At 25th I ran into Jim, so I ran back with him. It felt like an easy paced run, but it was actually a little faster than I thought at about 8:30 per mile.

Tuesday I ran pretty hard at noon, the same four miles, but this time a little under 8:15 pace. In the evening I had a good six mile run with Jim, Chris, Lisa, and Lisa's brother (sorry, but I forgot his name). For me it was going to be an easy run, and I felt pretty good. Started off at a 9:20 pace, and then sped up pretty much each mile from there, averaging just under 9 minute pace. My last mile was right at 8:00 pace, and I felt pretty fresh at the end. Not at all like last Thursday when I could barely finish the run. Like Coach Kathy says, "sometimes you have good days, and sometimes you have bad days." I think Jim and Chris enjoyed the run too. It sort of pushed their limits in the last mile or so, but that is good. Lisa and her brother turned back a little early, running five miles. They had a superb run as well. After the run, Brian, Ken, Glen, and I went to the hospital to visit the motorcyclist who crashed by Turkey Mountain on July 3rd. He has a broken back, and is paralyzed from just above the waist, but he will soon go into rehab. Hopefully he will fully recover.


Today (Wednesday) I decided to do a five mile tempo run from downtown and around Swan Lake. I saw Joe heading the other direction on 19th Street with his regular running partners. I was a bit tired, and it was a hard and hot run. Still, I managed to average an 8:10 pace.

Thursday I will slow down the pace, and maybe I will skip my noon run. I'll just see how I feel tomorrow.

My Happy Pig

For the meaning of the title of this post, you will have to see the previous post. It has nothing to do with weight. My happy pig, Sarah, is now in India on a missions trip. In the first picture Sarah is playing air guitar, and in the second picture she is getting a henna tattoo.

In the next two pictures she is teaching a Bible verse to some kids, and then she and Tim Martin are helping lead worship.

The next pictures is from a dramatic presentation that they made at a school, and then a picture of the group of girls that went on the missions trip.

The last picture is a reminder to hydrate well. It is hot and humid in southern India at this time of year.

The Pig of Happiness

We have a book sitting on our coffee table named "The Pig of Happiness." It is a great book, so I thought I would post it here.
































My daughter Becky bought the book for her sister, Sarah, last summer when Sarah was on a youth missions trip to Camp Barnabas last year. Camp Barnabas is a camp in Missouri for special needs kids. Sarah spent her time helping with a couple of autistic kids. Below is Becky's inscription to Sarah.



This summer Sarah is in India on a missions trip. She gets back July 18, which is one reason I won't be going to do the Midnight 50k on the 19th. In my next post I will include a few pictures of Sarah.

Running Report for the Week

I didn't run this week until Thursday. Tuesday I canoed 16 miles down the Current River in Missouri from Baptist Camp to Akers Ferry. Thursday at noon I did 5 miles at a brisk pace. It was hot and humid, and it took a lot out of me. Thursday evening I did 6 miles with the RunnersWorld group. I ran most of the way at a relaxed pace (about 10 minutes per mile) with Chris, who may be training for a triathlon, and Lisa, who is training for a marathon, and with Brian. With a mile and a half to go, I let them go ahead while I got a drink. The last mile I was pretty fatigued, so I walked a lot with Brian. Back at the store I drank probably four or five cups of water, then I ate handfuls of grapes, and a couple of pickles. Then I drank pickle juice and then some more water. Then when I got home I ate a bunch more grapes and drank a bunch more water. I didn't stay for the nutrition clinic, but I did eat hot dogs at home. Nutritious meal, right?

Friday I did 3 slow miles. When I got to a red light, I did push ups until the light turned green. Must have done a total of at least 50 push ups. At Veterans Park I did pull ups on the soccer goals.

Saturday was the Poker Run. I showed up with several others at 5 am to help set up. Wished I was still in bed. The marathon group did 3 miles and then the 5 mile poker run. I ran some with Ken, but he was having some bathroom issues and told me to go on ahead, so I caught up with and ran with Linda, Rachelle, Sandy, and Jennifer a ways, then at the water break I went on ahead and caught up with Deon, Lisa, Jason and a couple of others, then I went on ahead back to Veterans Park. For the Poker Run, I ran with Lisa Butler for about a mile at a pace that I probably could not keep the whole way, so when I picked up my first card, I let her go on ahead, and I ran with Tom and Bill until the turnaround. At the turnaround a young girl forgot to turn around, and by the time I thought about going after her, it was quite a distance. I kind of sprinted until I caught her, and that about wiped me out. On the way back, I ran some with Aaron and with Rita. I didn't stay for the prizes, but Patty, Kathy, Craig, Paula, and I put in some extra miles, going through Woodward Park, around Swan Lake, back to Veterans Park and then some more on Riverside. Total of 14 miles for the day and 28 for the week.

It was a pretty fun week.

Weekend Report

Saturday I ran with the RunnersWorld Marathon Training Group. Started out at 5:40 am and ran three miles alone - through Woodward Park and around Swan Lake. It was soooooo humid! I about died and really didn't want to run with the group after that. But I did run 8 miles with the group, and then Joe and I ran/walked back to make sure everyone was in, which added a couple of miles. Total of 13 miles for the day, 43 for the week. Paula and her daughter showed up as we were just getting ready to leave, and I considered doing another 6 with her. By that time the humidity seemed better, and I almost decided to go with Paula, but Joe talked me out of it, luring me into eating pancakes served up by the Lyons Club of Brookside. Joe, Ken, Kathy, and I all went for pancakes. It was a fun morning.

On the fourth of July my nephew, Parker, swam in the preliminaries of the 50 meter freestyle in the Olympic Trials. He, along with the other swimmers, was given one of those fast Speedo suits that cost over $500. He swam a PR and beat a few guys, but still didn't make it past the prelims. It was a good experience for him, though.

My daughter, Sarah, is now in India on a mission trip. I don't have a whole lot to say about the trip, but the photo is of her in India.

I won't be there for the Tuesday run. I will be canoing on the Current River. I guess I can count that as cross training. I probably won't get in too many running miles this week.

Fourth of July

I missed running with the group on Tuesday and Thursday because I've got relatives in town, but I still managed to get in some miles. Tuesday and Wednesday in the early afternoon I did a loop around Zink Lake , which is about 4.4 miles. Thursday at noon I did the same loop, but started and ended downtown, so it made the distance be 6.5 miles. It was hot every day.

Thursday night I met with a group at the parking lot at Turkey Mountain. Trail Zombie has a good blog entry about our run. It started with helping a guy who was in a motorcycle wreck. (See Ken's blog for more details). We (Vicky, Ken, Brian, Bill, and Glen) ran about 4 miles on Turkey Mtn. Then I did about another 6 on paved trails with all but Brian - also Kathy was with us on the paved trails. I've decided I need to get a brighter headlamp. The one I got was from Walmart, and I got it last year for Ken's birthday run. I haven't changed batteries since then, so maybe that had something to do with the light being a bit dim. Ken took the picture below. Apparently Kathy didn't put on enough bug repellent, and she is being bit by a big one.


I enjoyed running with the whole group, but I think the highlight of the run for me was running with Kathy. It has literally been months since I have run with her, and it was good to run and chat together. I'm looking forward to pacing her at night in the Mother Road 100, and this was a good practice run. I also plan to pace Brian in MR100, but that will probably be during daylight hours.

I hope everyone has a happy holiday!