Week in Review

Time: 498:24
Distance: 67.40 miles

This ended up being a lower mileage week which is probably a good thing. The body is feeling good at this point and I'd like to keep it that way. I got in some good runs with Meagan and was able to recover the body during a holiday week of travels. Now that "No Workout November" is over it will be time to start introducing some workouts into the schedule during December. Here is a tentative race schedule:

1. Dallas White Rock 5-person Relay (December 14)
   
2. Phoenix Half-Marathon (January 18)
   
3. Austin Marathon (February 15)
4. OKC Memorial Marathon (April 26)
   
5. Eugene Marathon (May 3)

All of those races aren't likely due to travel and potential cost, but I'd be pleased if I could do 3 of the 5. There will hopefully be other races between the stated race dates to make things interesting. I'm not sure if it would be realistic for me to run anything on the track this spring with the focus on longer races. Tarpy inspired me to look to the future race plans with his post. I'd love to see Tarpy take on the triathlon because I remember chatting at Campus Dance 2005 after he and Owen got back from sub-par performances at regionals and a frustrated P-tarp was adamant that he wasn't going to run another step again.

White Rock Lake

Time: 73:55
Distance: 10.08 miles
Pace: 7:22

Meagan and I headed to White Rock Lake from our hotel in Frisco, Texas for a jog around the lake. It is said to be exactly 15km around and has been the training/race location for Dallas. In two weeks Team OK Runner Elite will toe the line with a 5-person relay team. Today was an opportunity to get a preview of the course for the big race coming up.

White Rock Lake with Dallas in the background

We hit some decent splits running between the bike path and the road that circles the lake. I'm looking at splits of: 7:44, 7:16, 6:57, 7:09, 7:02, 7:06, 7:06, 7:11, 8:48, 7:06. Not really sure what happened with that second to last mile, I think the Garmin was acting up because it was low on battery.

This was my first time running at The Rock (it's no Alcatraz, the real Rock) and I was surprised by some of the houses that surround the water. Huge. Like plantation huge. The only other notable feature of the run was that today was the first time in quite awhile since I've gotten rolled on by another runner during a training run. I didn't know how to handle it as some lanky dude floated by Meagan and I around mile 2. That just never happens. Ever. To make things worse, another dude did the same thing less than a mile later as he tried to reel in the first guy.

Farewell to Mt. Pleasant

Time: 60:12
Distance: 8.18 miles
Pace: 7:22

If you couldn't tell by the pace I was running with a girl again. DeCoste has been putting in some runs at sub-7 minute pace and I need to get back in that club. I'm just having a little fun at the expense of Meagan right now. She is still pretty fit despite missing a few days of training with ridicuritus of the foot. I'd link people to the king of ridicuritus but I'm posting from my phone from DFW. Flight delays are great.

Anyway, the run was pretty standard other than the fox/coyote/wolf/Bigfoot sighting. We were running on one of the country roads and saw a dog like creature crossing the road. Maybe it was more ape like but either way it was pretty sweet. I tilted my head back and howled as we ran by the area of the woods we thought the beast would be but I didn't get a response. Meagan was none too happy about that move. I told her I didn't have to out run the coyote, just her. In the late morning we travelled to the mall Mecca of the world affectionately known as Dallas by the oil barons of Texas. That is all for now...

Posted from my phone

Rainy Black Friday

Time: 30:05
Distance: 4 miles

Yesterday while flipping through glossy adverts in the Dallas Morning News Meagan and I saw that Walmart was offering a bike and a helmet for $50. You know what that is... a helluva deal. The catch was that the sale lasted only from 5-11 am. Meagan's mom is participating in an angel tree gift giving group and one of the items on her 8 y/o's wish list was a bike. I volunteered Meagan to get up to go get the bicycle Friday morning which meant I would be going along too.

When we arrived at the parking lot to Walmart at 5:30 am the place was packed. Meagan knew that she was going to see a bunch of her schoolmates from high school and I was looking forward to meeting them all. The place was a zoo as we made our way to the back of the store in search of the bike. Luckily the $50 BMX plus helmet was not on par with the Tickle-Me-Elmos of a few years ago and there were plenty in stock. After lugging the box to the checkout lines and chatting with half of Meagan's graduating class we made our way out of the fine shopping establishment.

Given our early morning excitement neither of us were motivated to run. On top of all that it was raining and Meagan is apparently Kenyan because she refuses to run in the rain. I proposed the idea of taking the day off but then J-Ned (Meagan's dad) informed us that he just put in a few miles on the roads. We were out the door for a short run that was just long enough for us to get poured on the last 3 minutes. After a quick shower I made/ate a feast of leftovers which included a turkey sandwich with all the fixin's and cherry pie.

Thanksgiving Day

Time: 85:03
Distance: 12 miles

After spending a leisurely morning around the Nedlo household it was time for a run before giving thanks. Meagan and I took a spin out on the country roads of Mt. Pleasant for about an hour. The loop we ran had been paved recently so the footing was good on the black asphalt. I was feeling pretty good after our quick trip to CVS for me to pick up a razor so I could get rid of the Jason Kidd Jr. Guido-stache.

I dropped Meagan back off at the house around 60 minutes and then I grabbed the iPhone for the remainder of the run. I get no service in the Nedlo house so it was my hope to put a few calls out to friends and family while finishing up on the roads. I called my mom, Craigga (to wish him happy birthday and tell him his ma's a slag), DeCoste, Jilane, my uncle Cedric, Owen during the extra time out there. I thought about calling Tom but he was too busy beating his brother in a pointless duel race. My man DeCoste was the only person to pick up the phone during the run. I chatted with him a bit about overpriced road races and told him to wish his family a great day. I spent Thanksgiving with he and his family along with DaWeeman back in '05. (DeCoste's pops is a pretty sick ping-pong/table tennis player despite his lack of mobility).

I was pretty discouraged from the lack of Thanksgiving entertainment on the run so I decided to start pushing the pace. I threw in a surge with about 1.5 miles to run and hammered it home. It felt good to finish up with a harder effort at the end of today's jaunt.

In news back home in Norman, it looks like my training partner Jerry Lang (aka Scotty D.) dominated a field at the local Turkey Trot. The field included the likes of 7th place finisher Carrot Top (aka David Wrenn) and second place finisher Batman (aka Bruce Wayne).

Early Morning Travels

Time: 58:45
Distance: 8.13 miles
Pace: 7:13

Scotty came through huge time with a place to stay near the freeway and some early morning brew before departing to OKC at a little after 5 am. Things weren't as hectic as most would expect the day before Turkey Day. I ran into Cole Crosby (OU walk-on) as we made our way through security and had brief chat with him. Meagan and I met up at the DFW Airport and were quickly on the road towards Ft. Worth. It's possible that Ft. Worth is to Dallas as San Diego is to Los Angeles. I may be completely wrong because I was never good at those anagrams/palindromes/analogies or whatever they're called. Anyway, we headed over to a friend's house went on a run along some river that looked more like a canal. To say that the Trinity River Trail was (a) a river or (b) a trail is like saying San Francisco is (a) flat, (b) conservative or (c) free of homeless people. The run was still fun and Meagan's recap of the run includes some photos and is a bit more descriptive because she knew where were running.

Brookhaven Loop

Time: 38:32
Distance: 5 miles

Tonight I just ran out and back turning at Tecumseh Rd. Not a whole lot going on, but I did chat with Meagan on the phone during most of the run. The legs feel good and the late night staff meeting was tons of fun. Big sale at OK Runner through December 24th, buy one piece of apparel and get one for half off. You know what that is... a helluva deal.

Sutton Woods

Time: 62:48
Distance: 8 miles

In the morning I headed out the door and put in some time up at Sutton Woods. The streets were quiet and I was feeling good heading out to the 1.5 mile dirt trail. The quality of the dirt is above average these days since it's been awhile since it has rained. That will not be the case in a few weeks, so I have to take advantage now. On the return trip to the apartment I started feeling really and decided to throw in some final minutes of better running. I know the two mile mark and was just under 51 minutes (50:58) when I was crossing the street at Alameida and Ponca. The pace gradually dropped until 61 minutes when I thought about the conversation Craig and I were having yesterday about cadence/turnover. He asked if I knew what mine was when I was running fairly hard and I had no idea. He estimated it to be about 80 and I thought that would be about right. I know that when the Kips are running the marathon hovering around 5 minute pace or when they are blasting a 5k on the track 100 steps (single leg) is pretty legit. I was pleased when I rattled off 91 steps from 61-62 minutes during the run. Now if only my stride were 4 feet longer...

MNF

Time: 30:07
Distance: 4 miles

Once we shut down the store I suited up with my costume for a run over to Holly's house. He still had the remnants of Saturday night's tailgate lurking out on his back room and he invited Dizzle, Skolnick and myself over to help polish the stuff off. I jogged along the back route behind Westwood Golf Course to Holly's but needed to add on a few extra minutes which I found at the park by the Firehouse Art Center. The legs felt pretty solid this evening. The brew was pouring properly out of the keg and the pizza was cheap and tasty. The game was average at best mainly because none of us cared about the Saints and whoever they were playing. No complaints on the night.

I almost forgot to mention that the NCAA cross country championships were this morning and Galen Rupp had a victorious duel against Sam Chelanga. There are other recaps out there and you'd be better served reading letsrun.com or trackshark.com if you're truly interested in the sport.

Pick Him Up

Time: 58:58
Distance: 8 miles

I ran from the apartment over to Scotty D's abode and picked him up for a jog. I was feeling pretty good after a relaxing day spent mostly at Cafe Plaid. Dizzle and I ran from his house up Pickard where we spotted Scott Hollingsworth. We picked his half-tighted wearing ass up and headed towards my place. It was a convenient loop that encorporated all who partcipated. Just looking out for the sparse Norman running community.

Week in Review

Time: 668:00
Distance: 94.2 miles

Another solid week of training that has left me healthy and on the right track. I had a mini-workout on Weds. that left me with little to complain about. Norman caught a good buzz this week with some good football action and plenty of crowds around. I hope to continue with the miles and need to slowly start bringing in some workouts, but not until December. I think Owen and I have a "no workout November" policy in place for now.

Duck Pond Crew

Time: 100:03
Distance: 14 miles

This morning was the first installment of the Norman Duck Pond crew. That's a pretty lame name but it's all I got right now. Earlier this week I sent out an email inviting some runners to join up from the Duck Pond on Sunday morning at 8 am. I knew last night's game would play have an effect on the group and my expectations were low. We had a small starter crew of Scotty D, Connor, Stephen Pyle and myself. Our route took us to the west side, through a few neighborhoods and back to campus. Nothing exciting, but it was fun to run with people.

After the jog some of us went over to Cafe Plaid to mill around for a few hours. Scotty and I drank Kenyan coffee in hopes of becoming a little more Kenyan while working on a crossword puzzle. There was even a clue for a six letter word for "distance runners, perhaps" and we filled it in with "milers". Not sure if that was correct but we'll take it.

#5 OU vs. #2 Texas Tech

Time: ???
Distance: ~2 miles

Tonight Scotty and I packed up a couple backpacks and ran to campus just before kickoff of the big game. Our destination was Scotty Hollingsworth's tailgate along Lindsey. Running during football games is a great time with all the energy and excitement that goes along with the Sooner's 61-2 home record since Bob Stoops has been coach. It wasn't as cold as I thought it was going to be on the jog over and I couldn't figure out why everybody was bundled up sitting around the television. Soon after standing around in the shorty's I became frozen and clothing didn't seem to help my cause for gaining warmth. Luckily the tailgate next to Holly's had an over sized propane space heater gizmo that worked wonders.

At halftime Dizzle and I peaced out and headed to Kristi's for the remainder of the game but not before I made a dude puke. I was walking over to the bathrooms (read: port-o-potty) and this dude was standing awkwardly holding 2 beers (read: Keystone Lights). He yelled that he had a beer for me if I could just pick the one up off the ground that he was staring at. I picked it up and handed it to him, but he insisted that it was for me. I obliged and asked him if he wanted to "icki" (I'm not sure how to spell the Japanese word for chug) the drink. He begrudgingly agreed, but first we had to get to know one another. Our conversation went something like this...

Dude: Where you from?
Me: I'm from California.
Dude: No shit.
Me: Yea. Santa Rosa.
Dude: I'm from Talequah. My name is Aaron.
Me: I'm Jordan. Nice to meet you Aaron. We gonna drink this? I'm freezing (and have to pee).
Dude: Yea.
Me: Okay. You ready? (I start blowing the foam off the top of the beer and flick off the dirt).
Dude: Wait. Are you a runner?
Me: Yea. Why?
Dude: You look like a runner.
Me: Thanks. You ready?
Dude: Yea. Ok let's do this.

At this point we start drinking and when I'm 3/4 of the way finished a lady walks out of the stall. She looks at me and sees that I'm in the middle of an intense contest with my new overalled redneck buddy from Talequah, but that doesn't stop her from asking...

Lady: Hey, are you a runner?
Me: (Who are these people? And why do they care that I run. Nobody else does). Yea I run a bit.
Lady: That's cool. I run too. Do you run marathons?
Me: I'm hoping to start soon.
Lady: I run marathons. Well, actually I've done a couple half marathons blah blah blah.

Meanwhile homeboy with the overalls is puking his brains out next to the bathroom. I'm trying to pay him no mind but he's really getting into it. The lady is half concerned about him but more interested in talking about running. I finish up the conversation as quickly as possible and head off to the bathroom but not before thanking Aaron for the beer. Thanks buddy, I'll catch you next time.

Oh yea. The Sooners manhandled the Red Raiders 65-21! So much for the game of the century.

ESPN Game Day: OU vs. Texas Tech

Time: 72:00
Distance: 9 miles

I ran from the Lodge in to campus this morning to check out ESPN Game Day. It was a good deal. On my first trip through campus there were about 400 students packed onto the infield of the track waiting for the show to start. On my second trip back, just before heading home, the crowd had grown by a few hundred and the stereo was blasting classic dance jams. Just think of those 90s jams that they used infomercials to advertise. Remember?

A poor photo of the ESPN and OU crews.

The wind out of the south sucked running down Jenkins, but other than that the run was pretty boring. I stopped at one point to email Team MJ about the crowd and my run. I was looking for something to do other than run.

Cold Tempo

Time: 35:46
Distance: 6 miles

I got a call from Connor last night and he wanted to know if I would tag along on an 8k tempo run/time trial. I'm always up for a run, so why not? I was picked up at 7 am in the morning and we headed on over to the track along with Andres Gonzalez. It was quite cold on the track but at least the wind wasn't too real. The goal was to start out at 5:30s and cut down from there? It was too early for me to care and I'm too out of shape to get ambitious about working out.

I had a pathetic warm up of 8:25 around the track while the ESPN Game Day crew was putting down wires on the backstretch. I had a hard time feeling my face but I shouldn't be complaining because Tarpy and Owen have it colder than I. Connor was rocking out in some 1980s jazzercize capris that used to be his ma's. Pretty much this was a big deal.

Splits went as follow:
5:29, 5:24, 5:31, 5:29, 5:25 for 27:21 total.

Connor dropped at 4 miles because he has a "wu-wu." Andres fell back with 1200 to go. I finished solo since I'm a beast and can drop 5:30s. Huge fitness indicator. No cool down. No need.

River Trails

Time: 75:13
Distance: 10 miles

Scotty D. and I started out from the shop and headed down to some trails just south of town. I feel a little embarrassed that I didn't know about them until today. I had heard rumors from Sean McCabe about running on trails down by the river when OSU would stay in Norman for meets but never knew what he was talking about. Scotty tells me trails were created by rednecks and their A.T.V.s. We saw one hillbilly out there this evening with his truck driving through a creek.

The soft surface was great, but the wind was not. The return trip to OK Runner was miserable with the mangy wind in our face. It was hard to talk and at one point I may have drooled on myself, always a good way to cap off a run.

My Old Friend the Wind

Time: 43:11
Distance: 6.03 miles
Pace: 7:10

I was supposed to meet Connor this morning but he apparently sent me a text at 1:45 am saying that he wouldn't be able to make it. I didn't see the text until after the run so I spent the first few minutes running around the Campus Lodge parking lot freezing my ass off in the wind. The run itself was boring, cold and windy. Not a great one.

The running outside part of my morning was lackluster, but running in general is catching a good buzz. I was delighted to see that my good friend Eamonn "DaWeeman" O'Connor decided to get his fat ass back on the training block. Later in the afternoon I spotted that Mr. Patrick Tarpy also took a hint and opted to start cutting some shapes. Good times will be had all around. I predict DaWeeman will be injured in hours and Tarpy will fail to post 90% of the time.

Road to Nowhere

Time: 100:55
Distance: 14.87
Pace: 6:47

I met up with Holly along Brooks St. for a bit of a long run. I had the day off and was able to run later than normal around 9:30 am. It was good stuff as the temps were creeping up from the 40s into the 70s. I still made a regrettable decision by wearing a light jacket during the run. The top two Pub Run finisher headed over to Scotty D.'s house and picked that fool up.

Our group of three went out on Garbage Loop south of Hwy 9 and past the Norman Police Department firing range. There was no action on the day, unfortunately. We spotted a private gravel road with an abandoned farm house and a collective decision was made to run down it. We had high hopes of the road linking up with the other side of Cedar Lane, but it wasn't meant to be. The road curved back past a pasture of Clydesdale horses which were kinda cool in a Budweiser drinking kind of way. I was quite alert at the time because I was certain some farmer was going to come tearing through a field in his rusty pickup wielding a shotgun from the window. Luckily that didn't happen while we trespassed on the road that eventually just ended in a field of hay.

The return trip back into town was nice as the wind was at our backs, but this is when the jacket became a mistake. We were clipping off some pretty decent miles by this point and since I hadn't intended on running so long I was getting tired. The Scotts and I departed ways at Brooks and Jenkins and that's all she wrote. My splits were:
7:55, 7:18, 6:57, 6:33, 7:28 (picked up Scotty's hobbling ass),
7:02, 7:00, 6:46, 6:55, 6:49,
6:26, 6:12, 6:11, 6:07, 5:13 (partial mile) for 100:55 total.

In the evening we headed up to "breadstick" at McNellie's and set a date for the Blowout $450 Tab Party. That's roughly 100 beers for all to enjoy on Friday, December 12 at 7 pm.

Charging the Hill

Time: 65:37
Distance: 9.30 miles
Pace: 7:03

This afternoon/evening Scotty D. met me over at Brookhaven for a run. He worked as a substitute teacher for the day at Norman High managing a psychology class. I'll call it managing because I'm not sure if he teaches or lectures, but he did meet this guy's son. I picture his son being pretty squirly considering his father's response to an OU student about gun control included:

"I just want to point out that Kletter's 'easy access' to a vagina enables her to 'quickly and easily' have sex with 'as many random people' as she wants. Her possession of an unregistered vagina also equips her to work as a prostitute and spread venereal diseases. Let's hope Kletter is as responsible with her equipment as most gun owners are with theirs."

Anyway, our run took us down Rock Creek and out to the flats for a bit and then we returned to Bob Stoops' neighborhood for some easy hill running. There is a pleasant loop that is slowly being developed with million dollar homes (pretty crazy for Norman) and one revolution in roughly .88 miles or 1400 meters. Our splits for the 4 loops were: 5:50 (6:42 pace), 5:39 (6:28 pace), 5:25 (6:10 pace), 5:18 (6:02 pace).

I felt pretty good on the pickups and was happy how the pace dropped each time with little extra effort. My right hamstring loosened up over the course of the run and especially on the hills. I gave myself a bit of a massage upon getting back to the store.

Sutton Woods

Time: 69:33
Distance: 9 miles

The run this morning took me to Sutton Woods with Stephen Pyle and Connor Wann. This was the coldest morning so far this fall as the temps were in the low 30s. The pace was kept pretty easy for the duration. It was nice to run with people, but not at 7 am in the freezing cold.

The right hamstring is feeling pretty solid. Just a little lingering tightness from Sunday.

Starbucks Gold

Time: 60:03
Distance: 8 miles

I've been waiting quite some time for my Starbucks Gold Card to arrive in the mail and it's still not here. The Brookhaven Village 'bucks just got an order of cards, so I decided to purchase one in the afternoon. It's a $25 upfront fee that is a bit steep, but you get the first drink free. Naturally, I decided on the most expensive drink the baristas could come up with. After a few minutes of coffee making skills I was handed a quad venti extra hot breve white mocha with extra pumps of vanilla, whip, and caramel. Total cost would have been about $6.30. I don't even want to know how many calories were in that thing, but I had to take advantage of a free drink.

I met up with Scotty D. at the OU track after a bit of a Norman CART headache. The bus was late because the driver got into an accident and, then on top of that, he was required to take the passengers to the library so that the route could get back on schedule. The bus should be at the South Oval around 5 pm but instead at 5:15 I was at the Norman library. I pulled a superman when I jumped into the bathroom, swapped clothes and emerged ready to run (and fight crime). I jogged over to the track with my backpack on in about 10 mins. The run started around 5:30 pm when things finally settled down.

Scotty D. and I ran south on Jenkins and then made a route through South Base when we discovered the OU golf course was vacant. Luckily I had my headlamp and the loop we made along the fairways was a good change of pace. We may have been sprayed by a skunk at some point. A putrid smell seemed to follow us even after leaving the golf course.

The run was pretty slow and my hamstring was a little tight but it was good by the end of the run. I think that quad venti extra hot breve... was my kryptonite for the night. That thing wasn't too friendly on the stomach. Oh well.

I'll Take It

Time: 43:39
Distance: 6 miles

This was an easy morning jog from the apartment to get the legs moving. The body wasn't as sore as I thought it was going to be but my right hammy enjoyed the slow shuffle to start things off. By the end of the run I was feeling decent, not decent as in I was going to pick it up, but decent in that I could go to work and not hobble all day. Good things to come.

Week in Review

Time: 656:10
Distance: 97 miles

Woof! I think things got a little out of control towards the end of the week. The good news is that the body is feeling good, the bad news is that the body won't be feeling good if I keep this up. I'm not too alarmed about 97 miles because 80 of them were at a very easy pace. Sunday's pacing job was the only time during the week that I pressed. It's good to know that reaching ~100 isn't out of the question for the coming weeks and that I can find the time to do it. It just takes a few runs to and from a pizza parlor. Err 'za parlor?

Jerry's Kids at Tulsa Route 66 Marathon

Jerry Faulkner moments before his 2:27:19.

Time: 91:16
Distance: 16 miles

Yesterday evening Scotty D. and I traveled to T-town for the Route 66 Marathon. We jammed out to José Melendez in the mix with his Wild Workouts at Noon courtesy of the 94.9 podcast. The trip went smoothly and after some goulash at Connor's house upon our arrival to Tulsa, we were ready for some big time pacing duties.

Jerry Faulkner works at the OK Runner in Edmond and he was the reason for our trip up to the marathon. Jerry has a 2:32:xx pr to his name and an OKC Memorial Marathon title too. However, he has struggled his past few 'thons and requested a bit of help from his fellow Team OK Runner mates. The plan was to keep the pace even and under control for as long as possible. Scotty and I are both coming off injuries and weren't sure how things were going to play out, but I hoped to run either 10 or 16 miles. Why such the gap? Well, if you ran any distance in between you would be left way out in Jenks.

The race unfolded pretty much as planned. The relay runners were well ahead by mile two and all the high schoolers had dropped back from their ferocious opening 800 meters. Scotty D., Jerry, Tommy Manning (2nd overall) and myself settled into a rhythm about 25 seconds behind the marathon leader. He was a bigger dude and was lumbering along out in front with a huge target on his back. I felt good clipping off 5:40s for most of the way. Our splits were:
5:57, 5:43, 5:41, 11:33 (2 miles),
5:48, 5:47, 5:41, 5:40, 5:38 (57:33 at 10 miles),
5:49, 5:41, 5:46,
5:26, 5:28, 5:30 for 1:31:16 at 16 miles.

Myself, Jerry, Scotty, & Tommy

Dizzle dropped out at 10 miles shortly after we ran down the leader. Chuck Engle (3rd place) hung tough through 8 miles, got caught, joined the group and then faded starting about halfway, but still managed 2:35:06.

I was pretty committed to getting the group to 16 miles on pace to run sub-2:30. I broke the wind on the way out and maintained a steady tempo until about 12.5 miles when my right hamstring started tightening. I think everybody was hoping to make it back to Riverside feeling fresh because the slight wind (~8 mph) would help during the latter stages of the race. At about halfway Jerry started figuring out what he was going to have to run the second half to run under 2:30. While he was figuring 74 minutes, he immediately dropped the pace significantly which took me from a couple strides in the lead to a few strides behind. I was not feeling compelled to surge to 5:20 pace and the shift in pace shocked me a bit. I recovered the next 800 meters and made my way to the front by the time the course took us out of Jenks and back along Riverside. Despite only having two miles to run, the boost from the runners heading out was big and I'm sure Tommy and Jerry used it to their advantage. I was able to hang on to the pace until 16 miles, just before stepping off I wished Tommy and Jerry good luck and my day was done.

I shuffled back to the car with a sore right hammy, jumped in the car and Scotty and I made our way to the finish line. The final 4 miles of the race feature a few hills and we weren't certain if Jerry was going to maintain the pace. I think we were both a bit surprised when we spotted the all black Team OK Runner singlet round the final two turns with the clock eclipsing 2:26:xx. Jerry was going to have a huge pr and a much deserved one. A fist pumping Jerry (see photo) stopped the clock at 2:27:19. Great race. I guess he broke Tommy around 19-20 miles as Jerry was able to squeeze the pace down to 5:20s for the remainder of the race.

male participants
2117	Jerry Faulkner	2:27:20
666	Tommy Manning	2:30:55
2262	Chuck Engle	2:35:06
2146	Adam Cohen	2:42:59
1425	Tom Brennan	2:44:41

female participants
1022	Gail Brooks	3:02:46
1750	Elizabeth Travis	3:12:05
1378	Allyson Weimer	3:16:35
2074	Lisa Butler	3:23:26
1868	Katie Kramer	3:23:46

The post race festivities were fun in Veterans park. I chatted it up with a number of customers who had competed in the 1/2 marathon or marathon. Jerry was sore but in good spirits. He was chumming it up with a beer in one hand and a Gatorade in the other. Upon returning to Norman, Scotty and I headed over to El Cerrito for Gustavo's 63rd birthday celebration. It was a good outing and a great way to cap off a successful day.

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner

Earlier this week and mentioned that Meagan and I had made a little bet about my running health. It was 35 days ago when she bet me that I wouldn't be healthy on 11/15/08. Looks like she was wrong, and she has been punished for doubting me because she is the one who is hurt. Take that.

Anyway, the deal was that if I lost the bet, I would have to get rid of the nipple rings. However, if I won the bet I could get another tattoo. Since today is 11/15/08 I've been looking at some options. David Beckham has some pretty sweet ink, but so does this guy. He also has some pretty sweet piercings, maybe I could get a package deal. I have a lot to decide in terms of placement. There are traditional places to get tattoos like your arms and back. But, I kinda like the thinking of this guy. Pretty clever. I could get one on my ribs (of my ribs?), or on my head (read: Stephon Marbury), or even on my neck (read: Allen Iverson). We talking about practice? How about, not getting a job!

I'm clearly not decided on what to get, there are so many options out there. I need to explore this some more, I'm open to suggestions. Let's hear what you got.

Norman Crew

Time: 110:35
Distance: 16 miles

Connor Wann and I left from the Lodge around 8:30 am and headed toward campus is to pick up Scotty D. along Brooks. We wound our way up to Robinson and battled the wind the entire time. I wasn't expecting the temps to be in the upper 30s with a 15 mph breeze out of the northwest. I guess I should have looked at the weather before leaving the house. The pace was slow but we were having a good time and decided to hit up Sutton Woods. Someone must have recently put up markers and directional signs out on the trail, but we couldn't figure our why every mark read "1/4 mile." There didn't seem to be a starting or ending point, just a bunch of 1/4 mile marks. Probably just some brilliant planning by some douche at the mayor's office.

We enjoyed the wind at our backs on the return trip. I'm not sure if this run was best for our potential pacing duties tomorrow up at the Tulsa Route 66 Marathon. Oh well. Jerry Faulkner will be all over the place regardless.

Yo Jess, Where Yout At?!

Time: 54:16
Distance: 7 miles

Scotty picked me up at work this afternoon and we headed over to campus to kill some time at Starbucks. My Gold Member Card that I ordered sometime last week is still not here and I'm getting a little pissed about it. Anyway, I bought a couple Caffe Mistos which was a quality choice prior to the run. I had never had one before but the steamed milk softened the flavor of the coffee. Our plan was to meet Jessica Eldridge over at the track for a short run but when we got there she was a no show. For whatever reason, we didn't meet up and Scotty and I left for a campus loop. It was quite cold and neither of us had gloves. During the middle of the run we both decided to borrow a look from the Kenyans and we tucked our jackets into our shorts. The run finished back at the track and we ran about 10 minutes on the infield barefoot.

Afterwards we went to NY Pizza for some scoops and 'za. Still healthy. 34 days down and 1 to go.

Time on the Feet

Time: 40:07
Distance: 6 miles

This morning's run was nothing overly exciting. I put in a few miles before heading to work. The weather was great this morning with temps in the low 50s and the wind wasn't too bad either. However, I think there is a front moving in that will cool things off by this evening. Good thing Gus and I put our maintenance man skills to use yesterday and fixed the door at OK Runner yesterday.

Morning Nine

Time: 61:55
Distance: 8.79 miles
Pace: 7:02

I met up with Connor Wann this morning at the Lodge for a run through the streets of Norman. I first met Connor last year during the spring when I was trying to put together a relay team for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. He ran the lead off 10k leg for the OK Runner squad that took the victory by 20 minutes. Real competitive race, I know. Mr. Wann was a walk on for this year's cross-country team at OU that didn't fair so well at Big 12's. Did somebody say dfl?

Anyway, he wanted about 9 miles and so we ran through campus and ran on streets that I normally use during morning jaunts. The pace was easy and it was good to have company. He has since been released from the team, but he will continue doing workouts in hopes of dropping his 5k time. I think that the Downard/Kinley morning crew just picked up another athlete.

2 days.

Breadsticking Run

Part I
Time: 23:00
Distance: 3.48 miles
Pace: 6:37

Wednesday nights are breadsticking nights and the venue for our outing was Cici's Pizza on Main St. After I shut things down at the store I grabbed the iPod, jacket and headlamp and headed out on the streets in search of pizza. I ran through the neighborhood south of the golf course on Robinson. The streets were dark but I've been enjoying the podcast of a radio station out of San Francicso that I grew up listening to. It's nothing like the Euro savvy mixes that Keith or Owen bang miles out to, but José Melendez pays homage to old school Bay Area artists during his spinnings.

Once at Cici's I took down roughly 12 greasy slices of pizza along with some cinnamon rolls and brownies. Cici's pizza is kind of like Tom McArdle, sloppy at best, but it was worth every bit of my $6.50. Great deal.

Part II
Time: 21:05
Distance: 2.92 miles
Pace: 7:13

Around 9 pm I left our breadsticking establishment and proceeded to roll home. Literally. I was pretty filled up but I was still able to run longer and faster than Tom would be able to. What is wrong with that guy? He never runs. I looks like there could be a good match up in January out in Boston between an Irishman and a fake Englishman. Oh the good ol' days.

Speaking of days, 3 days.

WTF!? Garmin

Time: No time. 40 mins?
Distance: 6 miles

So a few days ago Ms. Aja Clark mailed back my Garmin charger that she nicked in DC. I charged the GPS up and was looking forward to putting it to use except that after a pit-stop the watch didn't restart. I was somewhere near 20 mins when I glanced down to see the 6:11 reading and knew that all was lost. I know the loop I ran was about 6 miles and that I needed to be home by 8:30 am to catch the 8:41 bus. I should have stuck with the trusty Timex with stiff buttons instead of trying to get fancy. Oh well, live and learn.

Give Me a Hill!

Time: 60:22
Distance: 9 miles

Scotty D met me over at OK Runner for a jog this evening when I got off around 5 pm. We ventured south through a couple neighborhoods and then headed down the berm where we ran looking for a back road. The pace was steadily increasing as the sun was setting and by the time we returned to the ostentatious with unnecessary columns, we were clipping along pretty good. We ran through to Robinson St. and then went in search of a hill in the Brookhaven 'hood. After a few wrong turns we finally found Hidden Hill and Northridge which both provided us with a long gradual effort. I would estimate that the pace got down to near 6 min. pace, but it was hard to judge due to the darkness. We looped around back waiting for the clock to tick to the hour mark before calling it a night.

After the run we headed over to Louie's west for $2 Blue Moons and an order of spinach dip. 4 days.

Summit Lakes

Time: 51:28
Distance: 7 miles

I ran from the Lodge and headed east of town to get out on some hills. I didn't venture far enough out along Lindsey to really start putting the hilly miles because I turned on 36th and explored a new sub-division. Kids were waiting to catch the bus into town as I looped around the Summit Lakes neighborhood which is basically your midwest edge of town housing development. There were few trees, wide streets and cookie-cutter architecture. I found Summit Lake which is more like a pond and it has a 3 ft. wide sidewalk around most of it. The training setting wasn't ideal but it was a nice change of pace. I'm not sure if I'll return to this neighborhood but the time went by quickly and the legs felt good.

Night Run with an Xmas Tree

Time: 44:37
Distance: 5.75 miles

Tonight Scotty D, Carrot Top and myself went on a run from OK Runner. All three of us looked a bit ridiculous with our headlamps and flashing lights. when we started out from the Brookhaven Village parking lot. Despite our best efforts to be visible a car nearly turned into us just as we were entering the Brookhaven neighborhood. The run took us down the hill on Rock Creek Rd. and to 60th where we turned around.

The run was good. The legs agreed with the easy pace. 5 days.

Partially Rainy

Time: 57:29
Distance: ~9 miles

This morning I ran from the Lodge in towards campus to meet Holly along Brooks St. We crossed paths around the bus stop on the south oval and then we messed around in the neighborhoods and on a Lloyd Noble Loop. It was a bit chilly this morning but, more importantly, it was raining during parts of the run. The wind started out of the south which was huge time because had it been out of the north the run would have been miserably cold. At some point during the run the wind switched to the east and the return route to my apartment was frustrating.

Holly was trying to get in a 2 hour run as he plans to run the Phoenix Marathon in January. I think shortly after he dropped me off it began pouring on him. Luckily he planned to sit around the house all day and drink coffee.

Week in Review

Time: 612:37
Distance: 86 miles

I guess this could be considered an above average week of training for me at this point. I hadn't expected to crack the 80 mark, but the body continues to feel good. I will hopefully back things off next week because Meagan and I have a bet going and it's quite important that I win. On October 13th she said that I would be hurt within 35 days, and now the magic day for victory is November 15, 2008. Meagan was pretty serious about this bet and wanted to put up something serious, so she suggested that if I was injured before 35 days I would have to get rid of my nipple rings. I thought about this for a bit and then with confidence suggested that if I'm betting nipple rings then if I'm healthy after 35 days then I would get another tattoo. Nipple rings vs. tattoos. The challenge. 6 days left.

T-town Shuffle

Time: 70:53
Distance: 10 miles

The crew of pub runners and myself stayed at Holly's last night and in the morning we decided to go for a little run. The run started out with Dizzle, Holly and Skolnick but it was quickly down to myself and the two Scotty's when someone's knee flared up. Holly showed us a run that wandered around the streets of Tulsa. I didn't realize how hilly the town was, but it was fun getting to run on hills again. Unlike running in Norman where you have to seek out hills, in Tulsa the hills just come to you. We ended up doing a half lap around LaFortune which is a site where a ton of walkers/runners come out to enjoy the outdoors and then we ran a few barefooted laps on a soccer field at Holly's old high school. The run was good and company was great.

McNellie's Pub Run

Race Time: 19:37
Distance: 4 miles (really more like 3.75)

Billy Grona, Stu & Holly post race.

Scotty and I arrived at Holly's house this afternoon where we prepared our stomachs for the McNellie's Pub Run. We met up with Spencer "Spenis" Hunt, Andrew "Skolnick" Call, Scott "Holly" Hollingsworth, and Jessica Eldridge for the race. We headed over to McNellie's Public House where we found several hundred runners and beer drinkers mingling around the entrance to the bar. The characters whom I was with wanted to do an actual warm-up for the race which seemed like a logical option, but terrible idea. My legs weren't tired from the run this morning but I was not wanting to run any unnecessary distance. I think we ran for a little over 12 minutes which could be called 1.5 miles.

Everybody got their costumes on before making the walk up to the starting line. Just moments before the race we spotted some potential hitters and spoilers of our sweep. We spotted Chuck Sloan, Ryan Ripley and Phillip West doing some strides before the race. Strides!? I mean seriously, this was really about the beer.

I should give a little background information about this Pub Run before proceeding with the post. First, Scotty D is the two time defending champion of the race. Second, this race is now in it's 3rd year, but has used different courses each time. Third, Holly is fit and can drink. The rules are fairly simple for those competing in the Guinness Challenge:

GUINNESS CHALLENGE 4 MILE RUN A special category for those walkers and runners who would like to drink their beer before the race is over! Guinness Challenge participants will have to FINISH three 12 ounce Guinness pints during the 4 mile run; one at each water stop and one at the finish line. Male and female Guinness Challenge winners will win $300 (1st place), $150 (2nd place), and $50 (3rd place) house accounts at McNellie’s Pub.

So now that is out of the way I'll get to the race. I lined a bit to the right next to a little older dude with a sweet 'stache and a "got beer?" camouflaged hat, while our Tulsa Run competitors were to the left. Sloan and Ripley got out well and were followed closely by an ambitious Skolnick. I was surrounded by some decent runners including Phillip West, Scotty D., Joel Stansloski, and Stuart Lisle. The first beer station was just after 1 mile, but I caught a glimpse of my watch and the mile mark which read 5:10. Normally that would be a pretty comfortable mile split, but considering it's the fastest (or fattest) I've run a mile in several months, things had the potential to turn pretty ugly. I had my doubts running in for the first Guinness, but luckily I was incredibly dehydrated and my mouth was nearly made of cotton. I was in a group of guys tied for 4th going into the drinking station and I emerged definitively in 3rd. Holly drank the first beer like he needed the nutrients to sustain life while Sloan managed his pint respectably. I had forgotten how thick a Guinness is and really had to concentrate between breaths to get my first beer down. I looped the turn-around cone and reeled in Sloan who was gagging uncontrollably. I immediately lost a bit of respect for this champion triathlete and mountain man from Montana.

Scotty and I just after the first beer coming up on a gagging Chuck Sloan.

Scotty and I were about 30 meters behind Holly at this point and were trying to string things out. Phillip West was right there in the mix with the two Team OK Runner athletes. I think Ripley made a strong push to catch the group of runners challenging for the prize money midway through the 1st and 2nd beer stands, but I can't confirm this. Ripley eventually finished 5th and out of the money, so did Sloan as he was back in 6th.

I, along with West, eventually caught Holly about a half mile from the 2nd beer station. We ran together for a little bit and then I felt the need to shake things up so I took off with a little surge to the front. I was a few seconds up by the time we hit the second beer stop. Holly's training served him well as he drank the second beer quicker than West and myself. He was back to the front with a 20 meter lead while West and I worked together to close the gap. As we rounded the turn near the pub I saw a large overpass that I was convinced was where the course would take us. I was sorely wrong as the lead police officers waved us on to the finish.

The third and final beer was 10 feet in front of the finish line. Holly had a good lead and was almost guaranteed the victory with a solid chug. I was in a good battle for second with West and it was going to come down to who could finish the beer the fastest. I was still hurting from beer number two when the finish line seemed to get thrown at us. Normally a runner wants the finish line to come sooner, but during this race I would have rather had the finish line be a half mile farther off. It was important for me to get second because our crew was relying on a sweep and no worse than a 1-2 finish for a lump sum bar tab of $400. I managed to hold off West and cross the line in second, actually I thought I had a shot at first when the first half of my last beer went down pretty well.

After crossing the line I felt some of the Guinness coming back up and I had the luxury of tasting beers number two and three in my mouth again. I spit my mouths contents out in a trashcan a little fearful of being dq'd but all was good. The team from Nompton safely claimed 1st and 2nd for the third year running. Unfortunately, we couldn't manage a sweep as Scotty was back in 4th, though considering his state of fitness 4th is very respectable. Our attention soon turned to the women's race as we were hoping for Jessica and Cat to finish 1st and 2nd because that would turn things into an $800 bar tab. Things didn't work out as well for the women as both Cat and Jess struggled after beer two. Oh well. Next year.

The rest of the night was a great time. We all enjoyed a few more Guinnesseseseses (Guinnessi?) but in a much more casual way. The laughs were enjoyable, the football was great, the food was good and everybody was happy to partake in the day's challenge.

Me feeling pretty unfantastic post race.

MALE GUNNINESS CHALLENGE

Place Name                   City            St Age Guntime Chiptim
===== ====================== =============== == === ======= =======
 1 Scott Hollingsworth    TULSA           OK  23   19:36   19:35
 2 Jordan Kinley          norman          OK  24   19:39   19:37
 3 Phillip West           TULSA           OK  26   19:48   19:47
 4 Scott Downard          Norman          OK  25   19:59   19:59
 5 Ryan Ripley            Tulsa           OK  24   20:23   20:22
 6 Chuck Slaon            the village     OK  31   21:14   21:13
 7 Brian McKinney         Tulsa           OK  37   21:20   21:18
 8 Cailean Carlberg       TULSA           OK  24   21:28   21:26
 9 Billy Grona            tulsa           OK  26   21:29   21:28
10 Joel Stansloski        TULSA           OK  23   21:38   21:37
11 Lisle Stuart           Oklahoma City   OK  25   21:45   21:44
12 Christian Ballard      norman          OK  36   23:20   23:19
13 Watson Aaron           Ponca City      OK  32   23:51   23:51
14 Andrew Call            Norman          OK  36   23:59   23:57
15 Stillson Darryl        Broken Arrow    OK  50   24:33   24:32

FEMALE GUNNINESS CHALLENGE
Place Name                   City            St Age Guntime Chiptim
===== ====================== =============== == === ======= =======
 1 Jennifer Johnson       tulsa           OK  31   24:22   24:19
 2 Lisa Butler            Tulsa           OK  35   24:37   24:35
 3 Lisa Oliver            Tulsa           OK  25   24:38   24:36
 4 Odell Catherine        Oklahoma City   OK  23   25:35   25:35
 5 Lisa Clark             Tulsa           OK  40   25:39   25:37
 6 Jessica Eldridge       broken arrow    OK  23   25:42   25:41
 7 Renine Stanloski       TULSA           OK  24   26:01   26:00
 8 Eichor Caren           Tulsa           OK  29   27:37   27:34
 9 Patricia Codenhead     Tulsa           OK  46   28:46   28:44
10 Janice Podpechan       Tulsa           OK  46   28:47   28:40
11 Muge Park              tulsa           OK  33   29:21   29:18
12 Kristi Perryman        Tulsa           OK  35   29:44   29:38
13 Staci Benton           TULSA           OK  41   30:55   30:49
14 Landrum Lauren         Tulsa           OK  23   31:20   31:01
15 Renee Chilton          Tulsa           OK  43   31:25   31:21 

What am I Doing!?!?

Time: 86:59
Distance: 12 miles

So this morning I planned on getting a few miles before heading off to Tulsa with Scotty D, however, it turned into a run of substantial distance. I ended up running over to OK Runner and picked up some stuff which is 6 miles away from my apartment. While I was there I got to chat with Tim who was running/walking with Lauren Pratt. Ms. Lauren is 8 mos. pregnant which tells you how fit Tim is. I may like running with girls, but pregnant ones? I think not.

I hoped that Scotty was going to be near his phone and perhaps out at Panera on my jog back to the Lodge. I put a few calls out to him but got no answer and figured that he might be on the roads. Just as I was approaching campus I got a call from Dizzle and he told me that he was indeed at Panera picking up some pastries and drinking coffee. If I had received that call like 7 minutes earlier that would have been me enjoying those pastries with Scotty. Instead I was hurrying back to my apartment to get off my feet because we have a big race this afternoon in T-town.

Running with Girls

Time: 35:32
Distance: 4 miles

I got off work a little early again today so I decided to go look at an apartment above Mr. Robert's Furniture on Main St. I one day aspire to be Mr. Robert because he owns a number of low priced apartments and houses in Norman. Basically, he's a slum lord and I respect that. Mr. Robert is Steve Calonkey's father who is a customer at OK Runner and often runs on the indoor track at night during the winter. Perhaps I will be living in one of his slums.

Anyway, I walked my way back to Campus Corner and enjoyed some coffee at Cafe Plaid before heading over to the track to meet Kristi for a jog. I put a call out to Owen on my walk and he was in a freezer at a liquor store buying booze for a Obama party. He told me I love running with girls and that's definitely true. There are people, like Tom, who claim running on rocky trails limits the speed at which one can run and therefore they won't get injured. However, the real reason why Tom runs solo on trails is because he's a loser and writes a terrible blog. I would rather run with people, have some good laughs and run slow, which makes girls good easy run training partners.

Kristi and I ran around campus south of Lindsey near the Lloyd Noble Center. I was telling her about the traffic last night and she informed me that it was actually the women who were playing. I believe the OU women are ranked #7 in the pre-season poll which means they should be pretty good this year. In fact, OU beat Western 132-36 last night. 132-36!!! Are you kidding me? That's a W by nearly 100 points.

Cool Morning

Time: 67:10
Distance: 9-10 miles

I got up and headed over to Scotty's house for a run. When I arrived Scotty was absent because he was helping his mom at a car mechanic shop, but there were plenty of cats about. The fluffy black one, Deek, greeted me with yellow eyes and a furled up back. He looked like the cat on a Halloween card, so I made sure that he didn't cross my path and ruin my day with bad luck. Scotty showed up seconds later and we ran along Pickard at a leisurely pace.

I was reading some articles last night and came across this from marketing idea from Reebok. It was a pretty clever display of ambush marketing in a sense by taking advantage of Nike's failures. Keith must be hoping the ploy works.

No Name Bugs Jilane

Time: 54:38
Distance: 8 miles

Scotty D and I met up at the track tonight around 6 pm for a run. My ears were just lowered over at Take 5 for Human Grooming so I was near by and Scotty is usually good for a jog. When I got to the track somebody was rolling out 400s and then I realized it was Sapp. Jessica Eldridge was at the track as well and she had just finished up some 500s. It was a great night for a run and an even better one for a workout. Chilly while standing, but warm when you got moving and, more importantly, no wind. Scotty and I ran down Jenkins, cut across by Lloyd Noble Center and then hit up the neighborhoods. I think the men's basketball team was competing in an exhibition game against the NW Dental School of Arkansas. I might be completely wrong, but there was action at the arena and that's the point.

Scotty and I finished back up at the track with some quicker laps in lane five. Our splits for the last three laps were 1:41, 1:37 and 1:37. Good stuff.

After the run we ended up at NY Pizza for a pitcher of Amber Bock. To our surprise Holly was there with a buddy and we got to talking about our strategy for McNellie's Pub Run. Basically we were discussing how to celebrate our victory and spend our tab.

Campus Loop

Time: 34:50
Distance: 5 miles

This morning was an uneventful campus loop run that felt good. It was cold enough that I put on gloves for the first time. Not too much else to write home about.

McNellie's Pub Training Run & Monique's Cafe

Time: 31:44
Distance: 4 miles

I got off work a little early today when Scotty D came by the shop. We made our way over to Holly's house for a little McNellie's training prior to breadsticking. Holly and Saker were sitting on the porch sharing some scoops when we showed up for the run. There was a big pitcher sitting on the table with something that looked quite a bit like apple juice, it was in fact leftover beer from a keg that was appreciated over the weekend. The flat beer had been sitting in the pitcher since Monday when the keg had to be returned to the liquor store.

Scotty D, Skolnick and I were the only ones who were going to run this evening so we headed out for a short jaunt. Skolnick poured himself a Guinness before starting towards Campus Corner for the first part of our run. It was pretty dark and none of us were dressed in neon clothing so things got real considering the amount of traffic and number of puddles. We took a spin past Monique's Cafe which is where we were going to be dining in a few hours for our breadsticking outing. The place was empty, completely deserted, not a single patron. We looped back by the house and Skolnick enjoyed his beer while Scotty and I tried to drink the apple juice substance. I put the pitcher to my lips, got one taste, spilled more down my shirt, gagged and then handed it off to Scotty. He did a little better than I, but not great. That was rough. Absolutely terrible. I'd rather take a hot shot of whiskey.

The second part of the run was more eventful because a dog started chasing us. It was a friendly dog and just wanted to play, so I tested him out. I took off in a sprint to see how long Mr. Bojangles could hang. The answer? Not that far. I smoked that fool. After watching my brash celebration, Fido trotted back home tired and humbled.

We ended up at Monique's Cafe around 7 pm hungry for some authentic Caribbean cuisine. A crew of 6 started off and it soon swelled to 8. The food was great, but when we arrived there were still no customers. None. Zip. Zilch. People would come, look in the window and then walk over to Victoria's a pasta shop next door. I had the chicken curry roti, Holly had the Caribbean jerk chicken and Scotty had something with pork. Everyone enjoyed the meal including Aldwyn Sappleton. Sapp, as everyone calls him, joined us which brought immediate street cred to our table. It's not everyday you get to dine with an Olympian. The only disappointment of the night was when a fat Jamaican lady with colorful clothing, and a gap between her front teeth failed to greet us at the door with "a wan irie likkle place."

New Nation

Time: 64:39
Distance: 9 miles

The news of a new POTUS got me out the door to meet Scotty D for a run on the streets of Nompton. The plan was for me to run through campus along Brooks and for Scotty to run up from his house on Pickard. Usually our timing leaves one of us having to turn on the route towards the starting locale of the other, but not today. We met at the apex, right at Brooks and Pickard. Our plan to leave at 7:30 am worked out perfectly this morning. The run up to the GT was fine with a strong breeze at our backs, but the lap on the outer loop was rough on the backstretch. The wind got pretty real as we were running back along the train tracks as it probably topped out over 25 mph. The rest of the run was fun and both of us were excited for Obama.

President Elect Barack Obama

Time: 48:27
Distance: 7 miles

Today was an exciting day for obvious reasons. Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States of America. Pretty sweet. Immediately following the announcement, I went outside to bury all of my guns and money and then I went to Wal-Mart to start stockpiling batteries, MREs and water. That is completely not true, but I know some members of a close family who basically were going to do all that. I mean, seriously!? The thought that an individual could bring the U.S. to complete failure within minutes of taking office is outlandish, but some people, fellow Americans, unfortunately have this belief. I know that at no point in my life will food, energy or water be a scarcity in the U.S., however for those who actually have those thoughts, I say it might be a good thing for their fat asses to go two weeks without food. They might look better afterward. Ha.

The run this morning was good. I ran from the Lodge through campus and around Pickard. The run was very similar to the one yesterday. The legs continue to feel good. Running in the LunaTrainer is sweet. It might be my favorite shoe of all time.

In the evening I suited up to go on a run but Gus and his "wu wu" backed out. He was feeling a little under the weather, or so he claimed, and we went home. I then followed the election on the computer and television for the rest of the night while making claims that Brooks is a racist company that doesn't hire people of color. A few days later I found this on FloTrack which backs me up.

Did you see any black people? I didn't think so.

Go Vote!!!

OK Runner Boob Night

Time: 38:08
Distance: 5.75 miles

Tonight OK Runner had a Ladies' Night Event which involved a lot of bras and stuff that guys don't know or care much about. Tonight was the reason that Gus and I were waxing the floor yesterday and buffing the floor this morning. I cleaned a couple toilets, vacuumed and washed the windows too. Anyway, tonight involved a lot of work to make the store look good to our loyal customers.

The guys (Craig, Gus and I) got to leave around 6:40 when all the women started showing up to try on bras and prance around topless. Craig headed straight to Louie's while Gus and I went down to the old Champion's Bar & Grille to put on our running costumes. I was running through Brookhaven a few minutes into the run questioning why I felt so good. I should have been tired but there was a little extra in the step. I realized that the wind was blowing at my back and that the turnaround would not be fun. I made it to the corner of Rock Creek and 60th in just under 20 mins. which is a few minutes faster than I normally make it there. I decided that I would just turn the run into a decent effort and try to make it back faster than the way out. I kept the pace clipping along up the hill and back into the wind and I made it back to the Brookhaven Village parking lot just over 18 mins. Overall the run was enjoyable.

Afterward, I went to meet up with Craig and his buddies at the bar and Gus soon joined us. We enjoyed the $2 Blvd. Wheats later into the night. I even got to show Tom and Bart (Craig's buddies) a couple bar tricks. The first was a bust, but the second involving hovering beer bottles impressed them thoroughly.

Nompton Run

Time: 48:40
Distance: 7 miles

This morning I took a brief spin through campus and ran to Pickard. I didn't have any particular route in mind but I just wanted to take things easy. The legs were feeling pretty good and the weather continues to be amazing. I ran in a short sleeve shirt which I took off the last two miles of the run. I am getting pretty pale these days and was hoping to maximize on some early morning pre-work tanning. Not really, but that's what the weather has been like.

Week in Review

Time: 314:45
Distance: 46 miles

I had two days off this week, but I'm not too concerned. I enjoyed most of the runs this week, especially the ones early in Washington DC. I would almost go as far to say that DC is the best US city to catch a run. San Francisco is a pretty sweet place to run, but DC has so many prominent places to see and there is Rock Creek Park. It's a toss up for the fall season, but I guess I'll give the nod to DC. San Fran would definitely trump DC in the summer time running scene. I haven't spent enough time to rank NYC, but I know the best place to run is on the roads in Central Park. I'd still give the nod to SF or DC any day.

Tacos al Carbon

Time: 50:29
Distance: 7-8 miles

Gus and I finished up with the first half of the wax job and needed to let the stuff dry for about an hour which gave us a perfect amount of time to go find breakfast. Our first thought was to visit our good customer and friend Lynn Do who owns Sunny Side up along Robinson St. We got sidetracked a bit and made a quick detour to Ozzie's because I had never been there. Well, the place was packed and not with people dressed up like they had been at church. The place was filled with fat people from Norman who were looking for a ton of food at a low price. I wanted to join them, but it didn't happen. Next we went by Sunny Side and the parking lot was spilling over into the liquor store beside it. Maybe Norman is also full of drunks who needed a fix on Sunday morning around 10 am, but I think the Addiction/Ariel wearing Lynn Do was simply making a killing this morning.

Gus and I drove on looking for some other place that could use our business. We thought that McDonald's or Braum's might get it but we instead turned on Porter and spotted a shitty looking diner place with an open sign. Turned out that those wankers forgot to turn off the neon sign because they aren't open on Sundays. At this point Gus and I were getting pretty dejected and we started talking about opening our own breakfast place, it would only be open on Sundays. That's as far as our business plan got.

We took a quick spin through Campus Corner and saw that the place was crazy busy. People were waiting outside of Turquoise to get a seat, Starbucks looked packed and there were no accessible parking places in front of Cafe Plaid. We tossed around ideas of Denny's (woof!) and Ihop (Meagan's dad would approve) but then thought those wouldn't be wise. We figured that since OU played a night game against Nebraska (OU won big. In fact, they put up 35 points in the first quarter and 28 of them were scored in the first 5:33. They were on pace to score 154 points at that juncture...in the first half) a lot of people stayed in Norman and were getting breakfast before driving back to wherever Sooner fans come from. This didn't help our cause.

Gus took a short cut near Lowe's when we spotted a Peruvian restaurant, Mamaveca. They looked open, they probably had huevos rancheros (Gus' order, not mine) and they weren't busy. Mamaveca got our business on this day and I enjoyed the tacos al carbon with steak. It wasn't your typical Sunday breakfast, but it was good nonetheless. Gus and I left pretty full and were ready to finish waxing the floor. It didn't take as long as I had expected and I was still full from the breakfast that was more like dinner. I headed over to Starbucks for the afternoon and read an old Runner's World magazine to pass the time. I was hoping Scotty D would show up because I knew he was all jacked up after watching the NYC Marathon. Looks like he went on a 100 minute run instead. I chatted with Owen and my mom (not at the same time) during my stint at the 'bucks. Soon it was around 4 pm and it was time to head back to the east side of town so I got rid of the t-shirt and put on the headphones.

So that was pretty much my day. The run wasn't that interesting or eventful. I started clipping along Lindsey St. and finished strong. The legs felt good, which is good.

Wax On, Wax Off

Time: 39:32
Distance: 6 miles

I had to meet Gus at the store today because it was our duty to wax the floor. The plan was to meet at 8 am, wax part of the floor, eat breakfast, wax the rest of the floor. I was out the door a little after 7:20 and it usually take me about 45 mins to get to the store so I had to come up with a shorter route and run a bit fast than what would have been ideal. I felt decent out on the really foggy roads which is unusual for Norman. It wasn't cold but it was definitely not warm with the dense fog. I made it to the store a bit quicker than I thought it would take me and I immediately went to the computer to turn on the computer. The NYC Marathon was taking place in the 5 boroughs of the city. I won't take the time to recap the race, but you can read Letsrun.com's coverage of the event and find results there. I will say that the Americans performed well on the men's side taking 6th through 10th and Kara Goucher debuted at 2:25:53.

Day Off

Time: zero
Distance: zero

Yesterday was the Ivy League Heptagonal League Championships held at Van Cortlandt Park in NYC. I don't have anything relevant to my running to post about so I will post about my alma mater. I thought the Brown men's team would get no better than 6th place, but predicted them to get 7th. They battled to a 5th place finish and were led by Duriel Hardy's 7th place overall finish. Ben True from Dartmouth dominated the race and broke the course record previously held by Brown's Chris Schille. The course this year was slightly different from years past but I don't think it affected times much because it just changed the location of the start and finish which are located on a big flat open field. I would recap the women's race if I cared, but I don't, so I won't.