This inaugural marathon and half, was put on by the Ardmore, OK running club, of which Tim wa5yom is a member and instrumental in the race planning and implementation. He told me last November in Dallas about the race and invited me to give it a try. I told all my friends at the Lake Club about it and we sent 22 runners, a nice turnout.

The course runs basically from the north in Arbuckles due south to Ardmore along route 77, with a couple of side trips along the way.  It is billed as a fast, net downhill course, but that was not exactly true.

I got the shuttle bus to the start and waited with about 125 others doing the full at Turner Falls.  They let us wait on the bus til gun time, which was nice of them, since I was wearing a singlet and shorts.  It was 47 degrees and the wind was fierce, although out of the NW which excited the runners.  We figured we would have it at our back the whole way.  We were very wrong about this.

Net downhill or not, this course is mostly rolling hills.  I never ran up a long steep hill, but was always either going up or down hill.  There were few perfectly flat areas.  When the course stayed on Rte. 77 the wind was in fact behind us, which was nice.

I went out way too fast getting carried along with the downhills early on.  The 4^th and 5^th miles were steep descents.  I had planned to run 9:30’s and come in at about 4:10, but I was undone after 5 miles in retrospect:  8:55, 8:51, 8:43 (and I am trying to slow down!) 9:11 (quick pit stop by a tree) 8:00 (steep downhill).  I have no business being at 5 miles in 43:41, but that’s where I was.  I started worrying already.

I was at 1:31 at ten miles.  But by then I encountered some intestinal issues and was making the first of several stops to accommodate my distress. 

8:24, 9:51 (the first of these) 9:28, 9:16, 10:10 (wind) = 1:30:52. 

At 7 miles we went into one of those side road diversions that included one mile with the wind dead in our faces.  It was kind of fun heading into this side run with the wind at our backs and watching the faces of those who had made the turn and headed back toward us. I knew I would be in for a heck of a thrashing when I made the turn and sure enough, it was brutal.

The Saint had my car and met me for the first time at 7 miles.  Now that she is a good runner, she was able to run with me for a quarter mile or so and encourage me, while holding a cup of Gatorade, and then after 20 miles, a couple of small cups of beer.

Miles 11 – 15 looked like this:  10:47 (my 2^nd potty break) 9:11, 9:00, 9:14, 9:39 = 2:18:45.  My split at the Half was 2:00:44.

But now we are moving steadily uphill and I began to slow.  I stopped for the 3^rd and final time during the next mile (11:05) and you can see how badly I had deteriorated:  11:05, 10:01, 10:56, 10:53, 10:20 = 3:12:03 at 20 miles.  I would have been thrilled to get in with ten minute miles after this but it was not to be. We headed off into a local park that was very hilly and wind in our faces all the way out, and my pace just stopped being a pace, barely putting one foot in front of the other. Although I never had to walk, I went from running tens, to elevens to twelves, finally finishing in 4:33 something.  Tim told me later that park is his regular running route.  No wonder he is in such good shape.

The race finished at the beautiful Ardmore High School football stadium with one final lap around the track. All my Club mates who had run the half or full were of course finished by then and were in the stands to cheer me in, as were Tim and Paul F (who had himself a nice Half PR in 1:43).  They made quite a ruckus and spurred me into a nice finishing kick of around 14 minutes per mile!  I was very emotional at the finish since it was such a big deal to me to see if I could do this again, and so I was not at all disappointed about my time, just my bad start and poor race management.

One fun thing happened along the way.  Oklahomans are just sensational, and the volunteers were priceless, so kind and cheerful to everyone.  At almost 24 miles when I was hardly moving, I came upon an aid station with lots of volunteers all waiting expectantly for me to get there, big smiles on their faces.  I was not moving fast enough to be breathless and so to their surprise I belted out in the loudest possible voice:  “OKLAHOMA WHERE THE WIND COMES SWEEPIN’ DOWN THE PLAIN.”  This just amazed the volunteers and one woman without missing a beat sang back, “And the wavin’ wheat can sure smell sweet when the wind comes right behind the rain.” I was so touched by this that I thought, what the hell, and rejoined with “OKLAHOMA EVERY NIGHT MY HONEYLAMB AND I, SIT ALONE AND TALK AND WATCH THE HAWK MAKIN’ LAZY CIRCLES IN THE SKY…”  This blew them away and gave me such a lift the rest of the way.  I was so excited at that point to know I would finish that I told the Saint I hoped that last mile would never end.  Heck, at my pace it almost didn’t!

With all that I know about running the marathon and having done so many in the past, you would think I would have managed this better, but I reflected later on that it was like putting a Nascar driver into an old Plymouth Valiant. Naturally he is going to try to work the car beyond what it is capable of doing.  But I learned so much about what I can and cannot do and the wonderful opportunities ahead of me for lopping batches of minutes off this time and improving.

My Club mates and I had a ball at this race and we’ll all go up next year.  The Saint was her magnificent self, running alongside me and encouraging me, and we both had a great weekend. What a gift it all is.  Spareribs

Excellent, Ribs!  Great to see you back in the saddle at this distance.  You've got yourself a baseline against which to measure the progress that I'm sure will be coming.  With the wind and hills this definitely was not an easy one to start off with.

Beer at mile 20, huh?

I went out way too fast getting carried along with the downhills early on. 

 Hmmm...I wonder if the lesson here might be applicable elsewhere.

Oklahoma!!  I was already singing that tune before I got to that paragraph as you were describing the winds.   You've come a long way in recent months, and I am not surprised that you still have marathons in you.   It'll take a lot more than a bad ticker to keep you down Mr.Ribs!!    I especially like the beer at mile 20.   My DH was going to do that for me too, but he couldn't buy any - Sunday in Michgan before noon it is prohibited.   Dawg gone it!! 

Congratulations!!!

Hi Ribs,

What a great comeback and a great read! The Saint at 7, and again with beer at 20; a chorus at 24; and a crowd waiting for you at 26.2 - how great is that??

Welcome back!!

Jay

Ribs--so glad to see you back on the marathon track again.   This was just a little shakedown and I can see the next one with great improvements

Enke--Some people might think that singing show tunes would be a sign of incoherence

So Ribs is out there doing the jackrabbit start, drinking beer on the course and using the term "potty" in his RR. What is the world coming to? Next thing you know, he'll be tying his long-sleeved shirt around his waist and wearing mismatched clothes. *sigh*

Heh, good job on the comeback race. And I agree, there's no way I could belt out show tunes at mile 24. I'm lucky to remember my name! It's going to be fun watching you trim chunks of time off that 4:33 in the coming months.

Rib:

Thanks for the report.  it was a fun read.  I might just have to put this on my calendar next year,  If Tim is involved I am sure it is a GRETA event,  besides,  there is BEER!!!!!!!!

Well, I owe you $10. Drat!  

Nice comeback race.  I think 2010  - 2011 will set up as a nice race season for you!  Congratulations!!!