Running Around!!!

Tuesday ----82 minute run out towards Noble up the big hills!!!1 A nice challenge and nice weather in the low 60's with plenty of sunshine!


Wednesday---61 minute run at night out to a new development off of East Lindsey then I ran up into Summit Lakes then back home. It was short but I have been putting in some quality workouts and I needed one day of rest so I can put in two nice weekend runs then prepare for the Oklahoma Ultra Running Championships Trail 6 hour!



Thursday---Run on Sutton Trails and then a fast finish down Porter!!!  71 minutes and about 11 miles!!!  The morning started out at 62 degrees and has warmed up a lot to about 80. Kind of hot for fall! But that is Oklahoma!


Friday---75 minutes out on the OU campus. All the football tailgaters were coming into town so traffic was HORRIBLE!  I dropped off my rent check at the last minute and the run felt good but I am soooo ready for real fall! 89 degrees is not fall to me!  I am used to nice cool falls where light jackets and sweatshirts become the norm. I cannot even wait for cooler weather. Days of highs in the 60's and 50's will bring joy to me! And bring on the cold, the snow, all of it!

Run With the Dudes!

Sunday was a run of 13 miles with some of the dudes.  We all met at Connor's place then headed off across I-35 to a development that had a sweet little paved trail and a lake. We ran around the lake then headed back. It was a pretty simple run and I felt great the whole time. I enjoyed the run and I felt very good.  This week will begin the real graduate school applications and I am excited about the future with Ashlee and where we will end up.  I am very fit and really ready to run some competitive trail races.  I may not win every fast 5k but 10k and up should be a different story as most of my training has prepared me for the longer distances.  Ashlee and our cats have been doing Great and I am always excited to see what other fun things we can do when we are both at home together.  My father is doing great too and is becoming an ultra-runner too with all his stories of him running to stores and shopping while using his legs as the mode of transportation.  If we all were more conscious of our bodies and about natural locomotion, I think the planet would not be in such dire straights but what can you do when we have all made big mistakes and now we must all face the consequences.

Monday Run---- 76 minutes of allergies, dust, sun, and torture all out on the hills of Rock Creek!

Day Off--Rain and the Trail Run with La Sportiva Quantum!!

Today I will be heading to do a nice rainy trail run in Oklahoma. Perfect!  I love the rain and I love to run in it even more.  I ran easy yesterday for 78 minutes and about 12 miles out towards Porter ave and the hilly neighborhoods in that vicinity. Anyways, today is the day I begin to apply for graduate school and I am really looking forward to the Oklahoma National Ultra-trail championships October 22.  I hope I can run over 50 miles in the 6 hours!

Lake Thunderbird was very muddy. So muddy that my black shoes turned a deep red.  I zipped through the vast twists and turns of the gold and blue loops and got sucked down into the muck underfoot.  The run was 13 miles in 1 hour and 27 minutes. I ran fast but the slippery mud mounds found to be difficult as my new La Sportiva Quantums had trouble gripping the trail. Let me tell you about the quantums....These shoes are amazing. The lacing system is perfect as it synchs into the arch of your foot.  The shoe makes running uphill a breeze as the morphodynamic wedges help give your foot the propulsion needed to fly uphill.  The shoe has such a soft feel to the instep and yes the shoe provides similar support to that of the Nike Lunar dynamic control where the shoe's level of stability adapts to each foot-strike. The shoe was never truly tested because of the deep deep deep deep mud but the shoe still never became a big blob of muck and maintained a nice dry and smooth ride.  Overall, I would rate this shoe a 9.5 out of 10 with today's run though this shoe is the real deal. I so want to be on La Sportiva's side because the running shoes they are producing right now are absolutely insane. These shoes are almost too good to be true plus they look cool YES!

I was very happy with today's run. I do not feel sore and I had a great time running in the rain and muck of the Clear Bay Trails.  It was a great challenge and I feel like I am very fit. Fitter than I have ever been.  I am very excited about my trail running career and I hope it to bring great success to me and my family.  

Tuesday Trail Run!---Pollen!

I did a nice recovery run back to the OU xc course. And guess what?  Someone mowed the course so I did not need to bring a machete.  The run went well though the sun was beating on me at that 80 degree range. It is amazing how running in much cooler temperatures really allow for my body to recharge and run with greater ease.  I ran 3.5 loops of the course as I twisted up and down the soft clay surface.  I am planning on signing up for the Oklahoma Ultra-Running Championships in the Trail 6 hour division. I hope I can get a victory in my first ultra but to finish this feat feeling great will be my ultimate goal.  I am very excited about pushing the limitations of my body. Ashlee recently has been dealing with some allergies and is really feeling the sinus pressure all up in her nasal cavities.  I even have been noticing my lungs are stressed more with the allergens out on the trails.  I heard on the news today that the pollen counts will be the worst they have ever been this fall for much of the country so I think that means many of us are going to have to suffer through unfortunately.

My run lasted 76 minutes as  I perk up for a Thursday Lake T-bird trail run with my new La Sportiva Quantums.

Long Run To The Crest!

I ran on Alameda Road out towards Lake Thunderbird. It was hot with the sun beating down at 86 degrees and I felt like I was running some long all-day run or something as my legs felt very heavy. I ran up and down the various hills then traversed 72 street and ran by the most amazing stretch of Oklahoma Farmland I have ever seen. The rolling plains caked with black cows made the expansive landscape remind me of Jurassic Park.  It was a nice challenging run of 84 minutes and the development I ran to was AMAZING. A hilly tree-lined personal road just for me to run on was so peaceful. Anyway, I need to help Ashlee with our new game rental on the PS3...Happy Big Planet 2....Happy Trails!

OU Run for Diabetes 12:51 5k Mix-up And Trip To Austin, TX

First let me say...I had run the fastest 5k ever yesterday in 12:51. The problem: I was lead off course and cut the course and was disqualified because the stupid kids that ride the lead bikes lead me the wrong way. Thanks to disorganization and thanks to not knowing what was going on. Yes, I did not look over the race course perfectly but I thought everything was working out well. But heck, I was on pace for 14:50 and that would have been a nice finish. But oh well. You cannot always win even when you can run fast!

The Road trip to Austin was fun too though the drivers of Texas are by far the worst I have ever encountered in my 22 years alive.  They swerve in front of you, never use turn signals, speed up then slow down to a crawl, and are just rude.  Staying with Aunt Angie was a great time as we karaoked all night long to 2am.  We encountered Longhorn fans that gave us a slight tough time until I told them I was a guido and then it was all good and I met horrible people in Waco that ignored me as gasoline dripped down my leg.  All I wanted to do was to wash my leg but NO, these man working at the gas station just wanted to ignore me.  C'mon! Worst service EVER. I mean I am a human being and I do deserve to be looked at and taken care of. People just aggravate me and I know all the driving for Ashlee was very stressful too. When it was all said and done, I was so thankful to be back in Oklahoma.

Rain Makes the Corn Grow----

Image by Goulao

Friday I have ran to the bank and to the post office. I noticed the OU team coming back from a grass track workout.  My OK Runner hat has been a hero of late while in the hot sun and as a mop for the rain and sweat. I really like the old school look to it and heck...running in the rain is sooooo much fun. It seems to never really rain much around here and that sucks!  I love rainy days and when we have a day of rain, I take full advantage of it to run.

I signed up for the GRE today and so I can remind myself of when it is I signed up for October 28 a Friday at 8am but I need to be there at 7:30 am at a test center near Penn Square Mall.  I am excited to further that running career of mine and to get to the next chapter of my life.

I look forward to the future to have a more fulfilling job, a stable running and working career, and to be somewhere that fits well for both Ashlee and myself. Ashlee wants something different and I hope we find a great location to begin the next chapter of our lives together.  Norman is not a bad place to be. The tough bit is that the only jobs available are the ones that people do not want. Belmar outside service seems to be one of those jobs and though I have requested for a much deserved raise...I am skeptical of the club's methods. We both need a change. We need something that will provide great job opportunities, a new cooler climate, mountains to run up, and a community where people live to be happy and do not over-work the weak. Rain is a symbol of cleansing and with the rain comes my hope and optimism for just being treated right!  That is all we ask in life. TREAT US RIGHT!  If I am a better worker than someone else, pay me more or if I am promoted (ashlee) pay us more because that is a move that shows the company cares about the employee and that growth can be achieved.  People take too much for granted in this world and if I have learned anything that is productive, it is that the planet is fragile and if we do not treat it right, well it will come a time for us to suffer. What we are experiencing in the world today is that result of not treating the earth with respect.  If only...


Tomorrow I will run the OK RUn to Defeat Diabetes at the Norman Campus.  I think that any race that finishes on the grass of a College football stadium is pretty sweet so I am going to partake in a nice cool and possibly wet 5k. Sounds like a ball to me!

With my test the 28th, I will miss the Tulsa Run the following day but I have the chance to run in the Oklahoma State Ultra-Running Championships where I could set the 6 hour record and I am going to DO IT!  What A cool Cool record to have as I transition into trail running and potentially some borderline ultras