Central Park Group Long Run

Time: 117:53
Distance: 28.31 km
Pace: 4:09/km
Map

We used Columbus Circle as the meeting point for this long run and had at least 15 people show up. It just so happened that Meagan and I were the connecting points of most people in the group. We were running pretty easy for the first 40 minutes and were just about to head up the first of the Harlem Hills when David Nightingale and I hit the front. With just a little injection of pace the group splintered into men and women.

The guys continued on and the pace gradually quickened, but never got out of control. It was great running with Jerry, Jay and some members of the Urban Athletics team through the park. Eventually the group got smaller as guys returned home or ran off to work. Jerry and I made a few smaller inner loops to fill the time before he took the train back to Queens and I continued back to the hotel.

My run was probably just over two hours and closer to 30 km, but I didn't time the section from the hotel to park.

Pancho Villa Runs

Time: 66:34
Distance: ~9.6 miles
Race: 15:22, 4th

W/u: 22:46 for ~2.5 miles
Indie 5k
C/d: 28:28 for ~4 miles

My hopes and dreams for the revolution were crushed this morning when Pancho Villa could only manage a 4th place showing at The Running Event's Indie 5k. Retailers and vendors were on hand to crown the best of the washed up in the running industry. I thought today was going to be my day when I woke up mustache and all, but it wasn't meant to be. The revolution will have to live on elsewhere.

Lee and I were up early and over to Zilker Park by 6:15 am. We didn't know what time the race actually started but knew it was around 7:00 am. It was a pretty relaxed atmosphere as a handful of vendors were setting up tents including Nuun, 2xU, Re-Gen, and more. Meagan arrived soon after and the three of us warmed up around the park. The pace on the warm up was slow and the chats were lighthearted. Lee and I want to start our own apparel company called trAchE (pronounced trash). It would be made out of all recycled goods but of the highest quality that we could scrounge up.

I signed up under Pancho Villa due to my sweet 'stache and got in a few quick strides. While preparing to race I spotted Darren Brown and Kyle Miller (both formerly of UT and now run for Rogue Equipment in Austin) lining up near the front. Also there were Keith Pierce (2:20 marathon and Austin Marathon champ), Jerry Faulkner (2:25 marathoner), Scotty D (2:26 marathoner) and a couple of other guys who looked legit.

The race went off and I found myself in the lead for the first hundred meters. It wasn't that I was running faster, just that I had run the tangent. Darren soon asserted himself at the front and basically ran away from the field while Kyle Miller chased. I looked around and hoped that I could still win the fastest vendor award because the guy in third was definitely not a rep or brand employee (turns out he runs for RunTex).

The course was tough. The first time up the hill put a dose of reality in my legs. I felt labored and didn't know how things were going to play out. Somehow around the 1k mark I felt amazing. I had slipped back into about 6th or 7th, and in my period of feeling great, I took off. It was like I had rocket boosters. Seriously.

I've only experienced the feeling a couple of times in the past and it only lasts a few minutes. I pulled wide and moved up into 5th and then solidly in 4th. I was chasing and closing the gap of 3rd when the sensation wore off. It was only 400 meters of feeling fantastic but it was enough to distance me from some of the other guys.

My mile split was only 5:05 given the early hill, but I picked it up to hit two miles in 10:01. Over the next couple of minutes I could hear another runner slowly approaching. He had monstrously loud footsteps that just slapped the pavement with authority. I couldn't imagine who it could be. I was a bit surprised when on the downhill I was caught and passed by Jerry's Kids. He opened a small gap on me that I would close during the final uphill (the damn hill we had to run up 3 times). At the apex I now had a slight advantage about 600 meters from the finish. I wasn't going to be able to catch 3rd, so I shifted my focus to keeping 4th.

I geared up for any late charge that he may have been planning and took off the final 300 meters missing the 3 mile split but managing to hit the line in about 15:20. Jerry finished two seconds back. Keith was back at 15:28. In terms of the leaders Darren ran 14:49, Kyle 15:05 and third was Lorin Wilson in 15:09. Pancho Villa lost to a dude name Lorin.

I'm pleased with how I ran given that I'm using residual fitness from this summer. I've strictly been logging miles for the past month and like knowing I can still run sub-5:00 for a 5k race in a competitive field. I can also say that after a month of triple digits I'm starting to feel incredibly strong. I think that's why I had superman powers for 400 meters today. The strength is there despite not doing anything particularly fast.

In the end I was screwed out of the vendor award because I don't actually work for any one particular brand. The Genesis Agency writes my check and not Fuel Belt, Nuun, Balega, etc. so the race director/Competitor Group didn't want to give me the credit deserved. I'm not sure why, but I think Meagan was also passed up as they recognized Sarah Bowman as the vendor winner because, you know, New Balance writes her checks. Seems a bit like they're playing favorites to me.

Jerry Runs a Big One

Time: 84:08
Distance: 14.04 miles
Pace: 5:59
Map

I got up this morning and saw that Jerry's Kids was running the Quad Cities Marathon. I haven't chatted with Jerry in a few weeks but guessed that he would be shooting for mid-2:20s. I left to do my long run with the Queens athletes out at McAlpine and wasn't able to hit refresh every 10 minutes.

My run was fantastic. The legs were really fresh due to the light workload midweek and the weather started cool and dry. I was running with Futsum, Oscar, Benny and Simon for the first 4 or 5 miles and then the Ethiopian went to work. He was going 17 miles but I guess he was feeling frisky early on because by 6 miles we were running around 6:00 pace. Futsum kept at the pace until mile 9 when he decided to back off because now Oscar and I had gone to work. Benny lasted until mile 10 and it was down to two for the last 25 minutes. I felt good the whole way and a good hard long run is something that I think I've been missing in my training. This is not the type of effort I need every weekend, but it reminded how good it feels to finish up the last 6 or 8 miles of a long run at a good clip.

Splits: 7:19, 6:41, 6:34, 6:26, 6:07, 5:57, 5:49, 5:39, 5:33, 5:36, 5:43, 5:35, 5:31, 5:29.

After the run I went to pick up Meagan who made me guess as to what Jerry's Kids ran. I said 2:25 and she seemed a little disappointed at my guessing ability. He crossed the tape in 5th place with a time of 2:25:13. Great stuff. Congrats.

Midnight Streak

Time: 40:22
Distance: 6.04 miles

W/u: 15:36 for 2.00 miles
Race: 15:05 for 5k
C/d: 9:46 for .94 miles (yes, that's really slow)

My pops and Roger rolled into town around 3 pm this afternoon and greeted me at the running shop. I was busy with a customer but made time for the family. The trip from SD (San Diego, not South Dakota) to OK went well enough. After work, Meagan and I met up with the duo at the Embassy Suites here in Norman. Surprisingly, it's a pretty solid place that sticks out like a sore thumb on the northern part of the city. The best part of the evening was the "manager's reception" which is an open invite to guests to drink for free at the bar. I couldn't pass up my favorite type of beer, free, so I had a few Shock Top. I couldn't eat all that much because I was going to race the Midnight Streak at 11:00 pm, but I nibbled on some nachos, pizza and artichoke dip. Iron stomach.

After a quick trip to Starbucks for some 'feine, it was time to hit I-35 for a ride up to the OKC Fairgrounds. The Midnight Streak was taking place inside the state fairgrounds for I believe the 5th year. The race has had a few hitches in the past including a short course due to the lead vehicle not knowing the course. This year's race shaped up as being no different as my warm up led me by a couple of volunteers who told me to go in the wrong direction.

The start of the race was a little delayed due to the number of people still picking up their packets. A little over 900 people would finish the 5k race which is great considering it starts at 11:00 pm. I told Jerry's Kids that I was going out hard on our warm up, but he didn't seem phased.

The race went out as planned, but there wasn't any "k" or mile markers along the course. I was wearing Mr. Garmin but I was trying not to glance at him during the competition. The pace was quick from the start and after the first mile the field as down to Jerry, a high schooler and me. The course took us to a hairpin and by this time Jerry and I had separated from the kid. At almost exactly halfway there was a steady climb for about 300 meters, nothing steep but enough for my sustained effort to drop Jerry's Kids. I could tell he was a little uncomfortable from the start as he was grunting every now and then. Down the hill I increased the lead and continued to feel good until the end of the race. My splits were:

4:38.63 (a good opening mile), 5:05.94 (slow due to the hill), 4:59.35 (should have pushed harder with 1k to go) for 15:05ish total.

I placed 1st by 14 seconds and felt comfortable doing so. I should have pressed a little bit more around the 4k mile mark and I think I could have broken 15:00.

Losing my challenge to Kim Smith.

Pops after the race with son.

Meagan after the race with boyfriend.

Boomtown Days Half-Marathon

Time: 68:55
Distance: 13.1 miles
Pace: 5:16
Place: 4th
Money: zero
Kips: 3

The half-marathon is a terrible distance. I've always heard in comparison to the marathon that "it's half as far, twice as fun." Maybe so, but it's not when you're racing. I'll probably change my mind when I try to run a time goal the next time out in the 'thon.

Meagan and I showed up to the race about an hour before the start. The winds were calm, the temperature wasn't too high and the sun was out. The legs were feeling good from what I could tell on the brief 5 min jogging sections I had as a warm up. I figured that I didn't really need to warm the body all too much as I would be able to use the first few miles to get used to the pace.

During the hour before the race I was able to spot Stephen Ariga who placed in the top 5 or 6 last year at the Brookhaven 5k. He recently ran 14:50 on the roads in Texas so I knew he was relatively fit. As the race time approached I noticed two other Kenyans jogging around in full warm-up suits. I didn't recognize these two guys but one has to assume that they are fit and would be vying for the win. (Turns out they had run Hospital Hill Run the weekend prior and placed 6th and 10th respectively. ) There were a couple other runners that looked like they could be in the mix including Jerry's Kids, but I was mostly focused on the 3 Kips.

Mile Splits:
5:19 ,
5:09 (10:29),
5:19 (15:48/16:23 at 5k),
5:13 (21:01),
4:57,
5:19 (31:18),
5:26 (36:44),
5:12 (41:57),
5:26 (47:23),
5:06 (52:30),
5:18 (57:48),
5:20 (63:09),
5:46 (68:55)

Race Recap:
(Miles 1 to 5) The gun went off and 4 Kenyans formed a group at the front, 3 of them looked legit while one was a bit pudgy. Just before the mile the pudgy one started coming back to the chase pack of white guys that I had been running with. I was really relaxed but a bit wary of spotting the Kenyans about 10 seconds so early in the race. Shortly after the first mile I went to the front of the lead pack and attempted to keep the pace honest. I didn't want to let the Kenyans get too far out in front. They were running about 20 seconds ahead of Jerry's Kids, Jason McCullough and myself. There was a big downhill into some mist followed by a slight uphill somewhere before 5k which we passed in 16:23. I pushed the pace from mile 4 to 5 and in the process ran the fastest split of the day. The 4:57 mile may have been a mistake but at the time it felt fine. I dropped Jerry's Kids but he reeled me back in over the next mile.

(Miles 6 to 9) Jerry's Kids was running great through this section while I was struggling. The terrain was rolling and I was desperately trying to find a rhythm. Up front I could see the Kenyans battling it out and was hoping they were gong to start coming back to Jerry and I. During a section along a golf course where the splits fluctuated significantly, I could see one of the Africans had fallen off the pace. Jerry continued to run about 2 steps in front of me and I was just trying to stay within striking distance. At this point I definitely had thoughts that Jerry was going to drop me at any point.

(Miles 10 to Finish) Somewhere around the 10 mile mark I started to feel good. The hills had leveled out and I was running out of room to make a move on some money. It was time to run down at least $400 in the next few miles. I was going to have to make up about 40 meters late in the race. Totally possible but it was going to require quite a bit of focus. I still felt good aerobically and the legs weren't feeling too beat up from the hills. I think the body was just a little overheated and I was on the brink of going to the well as soon as I changed gears for the final mile. I planned on saving for a kick rather than having to race from longer out. In the final mile, I made a bit of a tactical error when I charged after 3rd place, closing the gap from 20 meters to about 8 in what I thought was the final 300 meters. I knew the right hand turn was going to take us to the finish but I didn't realize that we were still over 500 meters out. I got around the turn, couldn't see the finish line, saw a little uphill climb, realized I had gone too early and then settled for 4th by 7 seconds. That's an expensive 7 seconds.

I'm not too pleased with the outcome of this race or the way how I raced my first half. The race plan was to run conservatively the first 6 miles clicking off 5:15s before knocking it down to sub 5:10s. In hindsight, I should have gone out with the leaders. If I had I think I would have run a relaxed 2 miles, been a little pressed from 3 to 6 miles, recovered from 7 to 11 when the pace lulled and then fought for the prizes. Instead, I was constantly pressing trying to catch up and hoping the leaders were going to come back. In races like this there is almost always a point in the race up front where the pace slows and strategy comes into play. I wasn't in the mix to be a part of the slowing down process. Had I been with the leaders I think I would have gained more confidence the farther we got into the race. However, I was never in contention and frustrated the last half of the run.

The positives are that Kipruto Rotich ran 66:26 at Hospital Hill and Geoffrey Kiprotich managed 68:03. Today they ran 68:01 and 68:48 for 1st and 3rd. The negatives are that I ran like a bitch.

Dallas White Rock Marathon Relay

Part I Time: 92:57
Part I Distance: 16.19 miles
Pace: 5:44
Splits: 5:06, 5:14, 5:11, 5:28, 5:39, 5:33 (roughly end of 1st leg), 5:58, 5:56, 5:36, 6:10 (roughly end of Jilane's leg), 6:07, 5:30, 5:59, 6:24, 6:26 (roughly end of Meagan's leg), 5:32, 1:03 (for .19 miles or 5:27 pace)

Part II Time: 27:36
Part II Distance: 4.20 miles
Pace: 6:34
Splits: 7:14, 6:31, 6:07, 6:25, 1:18 (for .20 miles or 6:30 pace)

White Rock Marathon Video/Photo Montage

Team OK Runner Elite plus Aja who debuted in 3:23. Post race shot courtesy of David "320."

Team OK Runner Elite finished 3rd overall in the 5-person relay and first in the mixed open division.

Where to start? How about at the beginning that's always a good place. Things kicked off with a wake up call at 2:30 am when room 709 got a knock at the door. Scotty was closest and he answered only to find two young ladies dressed not all too scandalously, but they asked if he called. Presumably someone called an escort service and they mistakenly arrived at our door. I hope whoever called received proper attention.

When I really got up a little after six I slugged down some coffee and pinned the bib to my jersey. I was leading off the race and got to the start line with about 20 minutes to spare. I mingled around before jumping into the sea of people and squeezed my way toward the front of the race. Up front I could see some familiar faces that were lined up with the elite. I was surprised to see former California prep-star and recent winner of the '08 US Marathon Champs Fernando Cabada up there. He was joined by Fasil Bizuneh and a bunch of Kenyans.

By the time the gun sounded I had made my way to near the front and was able to run unimpeded for the first straightaway. I know I went out too hard through the first 800 meters as I was with a group of half-marathoner elites. I was hoping to run a strong first 6 mile leg and needed to settle into a rhythm quickly. There were a couple relay runners that were just in front of me that I tried to latch onto. I was feeling good for the first 3 miles but then started to struggle the next three. I wore a Garmin on my left wrist which took mile splits and on my right wrist I had a running clock on my Timex. For whatever reason the first mile on my Garmin synced perfectly with the course mark, but the second split was way off. According to the course mile marker I would have run a 5:45 mile (estimated) and at that point all the splits were a little off from my GPS watch and the course mile markers. What that means for the satellite technology or the marathon course, I don't know.

Marathon leaders racing around White Rock Lake. Photos stolen/borrowed from C. Lowe's FB page.

Just before the 5 mile mark there was a steady incline that put me in the tank. I had just closed the gap between me and a Mexican looking relay dude, but I was not feeling the wind and was having a hard time getting into a comfort zone. The hill allowed me to close the gap even further but cresting the hill the guy gapped me again and I was pretty much thinking that I had a 20 miler on my hands and not the 6 mile leg I was running. I didn't back off but not being able to relax due to the wind made my mind wander. Soon I smelled the musty scent of the Kenyans who were in the process of walking me down just beyond the 5 mile marker. I was surrounded by a group of 8 or so "Munyans" and a few other guys trying to latch onto the group. I'm pretty sure I was also walked down by a couple of the lead women half-'thoners which just added insult to my misery. Luckily I was almost at the relay exchange zone and was able to slow down.

I handed off the green slap bracelet to Jilane in an exchange area that deviated just slightly from the course. There was a little fiasco that occurred once she was on her way back to the course, but it wasn't as bad as what happened in the men's half-marathon race when an athlete took a wrong turn and finished 6th. It's hard to say who's fault it is when something like that happens.

I felt much better on Jilane's leg because I was able to back off the pace. We were still running a dip under 6 minute pace so I was still getting a good long run. The wind wasn't helping anybody on this day, as breezes were consistently in the 20-30 mph range with gusts in the 40s. I had to use the bathroom around the 9 mile mark so I jumped in/out of the port-a-potty in a hurry. I tried to catch up to Jilane as quickly as possible so that I could block the wind around the lake. She ran a strong leg and I felt comfortable dropping a 5:36 mile to catch back up, but I still wasn't feeling great. Jilane handed that green slap bracelet off the Meagan for the third leg.

Meagan and I started the leg with the wind at our back and I was feeling comfortable. I ran ahead to use the restroom again and then caught up to help pace. As I was running down Meagan I noticed a high schooler 20 meters back from a sexy Santa slut. I clipped past the elf ho and made my way back to Meagan's side, but not before I had to yell at her for not running the tangents. We were running on a left hand bend and Ms. Meagan thought it wise to run 15 feet off the curb as we approached the 12 mile mark. She quickly fixed her tactics before we turned back into the wind where I allowed her to draft off me. As much as I would have liked to see Santa slut again, I didn't want to go through the embarrassment of being rolled up on again. Coincidentally, if Santa had rolled us, it would have been within a quarter mile of the last time we got rolled up at White Rock Lake. The section from mile 13 to the end of Meagan's leg was absolutely brutal. The wind was a bit cold off the lake and there was nothing to block its wrath. I attempted to gear up mentally knowing that the exchange zone was near and my 5 mile race with Scotty D would be on.

Meagan finished up wanting me to run harder which I guess meant she was feeling good. She passed the bracelet to Scotty D and I felt the pace change immediately. At first I tried to gap him, but that last for 2.5 seconds when I realized the wind was at its peak and I was nearly 15 miles deep. I fell a stride behind Dizzle and started to draft for about a 800 meters when we made a turn and the wind was at our back. The wind's push felt great for about 800 meters and then we had to turn back into it. I made it about 100 strides before I called it a day and told him to start getting after it. I stopped my watch to end Part I of my workout. I stood by the side of the road for about a minute before starting Part II at a very slow clip.

The marathon leader's just before the 19 mile mark. Photos stolen/borrowed from C. Lowe's FB page.

My shoulders were tight probably because of the hunching into the wind. I couldn't believe how sore they had become just from running, it felt like I had played a day's worth of football or baseball. I must have jogged about a mile to the cheers of spectators telling me good and relaxed I looked. Aerobically I felt fine, but I was mentally discouraged from running in the wind. I knew that Team JJJSM would be waiting at mile 20 for me so I needed to forge ahead and get to the next exchange zone. As I trotted along I looked back and saw a marathoner named Jason who was having a terrible time fighting the wind. Being the humanitarian that I am, I picked up the pace and told the guy to just draft off me. I felt better having a new mission of getting this guy through the roughest section of the race and closer to the finish. When we were leaving the lake the second place female joined our group and it wasn't until after the race that I realized it was Liza Hunter-Galvan of New Zealand. She was not enjoying the wind either but her performance was respectable considering the conditions. I think I deserve 2.5/26ths of her paycheck because that's about how much I paced her during the race. I even handed her a cup of water and offered a Clif shot around the 19 mile marker which was significant because the Hooter's girls were there.

Scotty finished his leg well and passed the stick to Jerry who closed things out for our team. Jerry is coming off his win at the Tulsa Marathon and despite not running much the last few weeks he's still in great shape. Scotty and Jerry brought the team average down quite a bit over the last two legs and closed the gap on the two relay squads ahead of us. The team performed well with a finishing time of 2:30:09.

I got to the 20 mile mark in 2:03:30ish according to the big clock but that included a couple pitstops and a whining break. Overall my performance was not what I really wanted but I'll take it with the far from ideal conditions. I have a better idea of my current level of fitness and will look to fine tune things in the coming weeks/months as we approach the Austin Marathon.

Also of note was Aja Clark's stellar 3:23 performance in her marathon debut. She ran a smart race and qualified for Boston in the spring. Meagan will soon have a recap of her and Jilane's pacing job during the latter miles of Aja's race. See above link for Jilane's commentary on the former Sooner's performance. Other Normanites that fared well were Jenny Graef in the half with an 8th place finish time of 1:24:36 and Andrea Larabee's 10th place in the full with a time of 3:09:17.

Duck Pond Crew

Time: 91:02
Distance: 13.33 miles
Pace: 6:50

I took charge for this morning's run and rounded up Norman's finest for a spin through Sutton Woods. I invited a group of runners to join and I was pleased with the turnout. The group included Jerry Faulkner, Adam Cohen, David "Carrot Top" Wrenn, Cole Crosby, Andres Gonzalez, Stephen Pyle, Josh Heimbach and Andrea Larabee/Jenny Graef (kinda). Noticeably absent from the run was Scotty D, but that is a tale for him to share. We started just after 8 am and headed over to the softer surface for a few loops. I wasn't too concerned with the pace given the excessive celebrating that took place last night at Logan's. In case you live under a stump, OU won the Big 12 Championship in typical fashion by becoming the first team to ever score 60+ points in 5 straight games. Our defense might be decent but the offense is unstoppable. Sam Bradford took control and never looked back. Speaking of Sams and continuing to ramble, I made a new friend last night by the name of Sam and he was sure to supply the tequila shots. They weren't Patron shots, but after a certain point it doesn't really matter. The splits on the run go a little something like this: 7:58, 7:26, 7:31, 7:16, 7:17, 6:20 (I was catching up because I had to pee), 6:37, 6:40, 6:26, 6:21, 6:24, 6:17, 6:15, 2:09 (.33 miles).

There was a good buzz this morning. It was great that those who came were just as eager to run with others as much as I. I miss the days of running along the Blackstone Blvd in Providence with a group of 20, clipping off the miles and taking control of the roads for an hour during the afternoon. This run doesn't compare to the Brown days, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

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.