"This parade sucks" - Tulsa Route 66 Marathon 11/21/2010

The title comes from a sign I saw during my first official marathon and OH BOY did I screw the pooch on this one.  My training went well leading up to this race.  I ran 4-5 times a week and, until it got colder, I rode my road bike for cross training.  There was likely some yoga and core synergistic workouts from the P90x program as well.  Up to this point, I had used the Nike+ system which I would highly recommend for a beginning runner with an affinity for Nike shoes, like me!

As my luck would have it, Harry Potter 7.1 was released at midnight Thursday before and you bet I was there.  To add to that, the night before the race, typical OK winds picked up their efforts and continuously made a high-pitched whistling noise through the hotel door.  So, race morning I woke up with a bit less sleep than I prefer.  I downed my pre-race breakfast (at this time it included 3 Clif Bars) and had my coffee.  At this time I weighed in at 185+ depending on how much I ate a particular day.  I later learned that each pound you gain/lose can be estimated at 2 seconds/mile on your pace, but I digress. At race start the temperature was at a humid 65 degrees and the wind was gusting up to 25 mph.  I carried a fanny pack stuffed with my world famous honey burritos.  Most embarrassing was the goop of Vaseline that I had (and still have) to put on my nipples to prevent chafing and the dreaded bloody nipple syndrome!  The stains have persisted and that shirt is virtually ruined!  This race had the worst pre-race ceremonies I have seen so far which included an Indian drum/dance ritual that clashed with the feel of the race.  But whatever.

The course went out on several loops crossing the starting area a couple of times making it great for spectators who can move a few blocks to see their beloved athletes every hour or so.  Coming through the first time, about mile 7, I knew I was screwed.  Helen had a Star Wars themed poster that said "May the force be with you" and my parents had two digital devices each recording my progress.  There was also a fire-breathing guy and miscellaneous cowbells which is surprisingly appreciated when you are suffering.  But that was the problem, I was already suffering.  I was carrying an 8:20 pace and it hurt.  Not good at mile 7 of a 26.2 mile event.  I persisted, of course.

I continued running and periodically munching on my burritos (3 I think) with a plan to have them done by mile 15.  The somewhat ironic moment came about mile 12 and is why I have since abandoned the honey burritos.  As my mother had warned, the breathing required for a marathon does not coexist well with eating solid food.  I choked, on the run.

This year, the race had a commemorative detour to a place called the "Center of the Universe."  Running the 0.3 mile detour earned you some extra hardware.  I decided to take it since my time was already looking pretty bad.  I didn't expect to be given the commemorative coin  in the middle of the race to carry around.  Thank goodness for a fanny pack. It was funny to hear people talk about completing an "ultra" after they took the detour.  Personally, 26.5 doesn't count.

Regrettably, the marathon course met back up with the half marathon which had split at an earlier point.  It was about our mile 15 and their mile 10 putting my group with a considerable slower group of halfers.  This bottleneck was angering and was probably the only complaint I have about the course.  About a half mile in, there was a plethora of emergency workers and sirens rushing to a particular spot on the course.  As I passed, I finally saw a runner laying in the grass with a defibrillator hooked up to him getting CPR.  That was beyond disturbing to see.  Worse, it was later announced that that guy, a 27 y/o CPA from Tulsa, died during what was his first half marathon.  Along the last 10K of the race, I met up with a lady who I ran with during the Hogeye Half five months earlier.  She helped me to maintain my pace for the rest of the race and, I will admit, was an excellent wind block for me when we had head winds.

My first marathon finish was anti-climatic.  I was glad to be finished but I think I missed that overwhelming joy that you are suppose to experience.  I finished in 3:38 for the 26.5 official miles I ran giving me about a 3:35 for the marathon.

I think this race is great for first timers; they give you a special bib and medal to commemorate your new achievement.  They also give an event cotton shirt and then a technical shirt if you finish.  Hooray for t-shirts!!  The medal was a neat spinner (like on a car).  I do plan to go back for some revenge in the future.