Oklahoma Narrows

It was a gorgeous weekend here in Oklahoma and with my dad visiting, Gina and I decided we should all go down to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refugee. The temperature on Sunday reached into the mid 70s while we were hiking, it was hard to believe that we woke up to the low teens on Friday and a half an inch of snow. Without a cloud in the sky and the Superbowl to keep the crowds away, we had a great time.

We began by hiking the Dog Hollow trail, an eight mile loop through the prairie grasses and over a couple streams. Maia has such a great time hiking, I wish there was more trails around here to take her on. She sniffs the ground so intently and every so often stops just to make sure that the pack is all together. The rocky trails don't seem to bother her and she loves to hop over the boulders and wade through the creeks.

After stopping for lunch at the car, we went on to hike in one of the amazing spots of the park, the Narrows. There is no maintained trail through the Narrows, but there is a well established trail leading through the canyon. The first time we get to some water there is a little spot where Maia loves to swim and play fetch. She turns into a crazy driven dog and tries so hard to get the stick without getting in over her head. She stands on the edge of a rock and paws at the water trying to get the stick to move closer. It's absolutely adorable.

We kept walking further into the canyon, hopping along the boulders and through the creek bed. It is incredible. When I moved to Oklahoma I had no idea that we would find such a special place.

Again, I missed the goal milage I set out for myself a few weeks ago, even the lower modified goal I wrote last week. I think this week I'll probably miss the goal again. It looks like I'll miss it again by around 5 miles. I'm feeling strong and healthy during my runs and I'm really excited about running my first multi-day race. My January total miles is on track for the 2500 mile goal for 2008. I've added a "ticker" on the right keeping track of this goal.

Running moment of the week: Saturday morning I went for a 20+ miler out at Lake Thunderbird. About 8 miles in my toes caught a root and after a few stumbling steps where I thought I might regain my footing, I fell face first into the dirt. Boo-Ya! It was the first time I had fallen in a long time, too bad no one was there to see it. I'm sure the deer got a good chuckle in.

1/28 - 2/3
total miles: 56.8
time: 7:51

January miles: 213.7
YTD total miles: 243.4