Camping with a Wedding Dress, Garbage Can and a wet Border Collie (or How to DNF a Marathon)

Time, the last two weeks, has passed quickly. Like when you're at concert for your favorite band, it slips right past you and before you know it the encore is over and you're left with heavy feet from dancing, a sore throat from singing along too loudly, a headache from the pounding music and a soul that doesn't want it to stop. If you were thinking you wrote down the set list so you could relive it later. Here's the set list from my last two weeks:

Set One
Pack It Up, Pack It In, Let Us Begin
Driving Song ->
Rocky Mountain High
Running On Empty
Let's Get Down To Business
Euphoria

Set Two
On The Road Again
Traveling Light ->
Highway 6 Revisited ->
I Know You Rider
The Long and Winding Road
Oklahoma

Encore
Running On Empty (reprise) ->
Fast Enough For You

Show highlights:

Set One
Pack It Up, Pack It In, Let Us Begin: Somewhat surprisingly, Carmen (our 92 Subura Legacy wagon) held all of our stuff we were bringing to Utah with quite a bit of space left over. Considering we were planning a week and a half trip from Oklahoma to Utah and back that involved getting married and camping, this was no small feet. There were over a dozen flower vases, several large cardboard signs, various other decorations, a wedding dress and my outfit along with a tent, two sleeping bags, three sleeping pads (Maia has her own), cooking equipment, food and dog packed into the car with us. We had just changed the oil, O₂ sensor and rotated the tires. Ready to go, we left Norman by 5 AM on Tuesday, May 13^th. The plan was to drive ~750 miles to Fort Collins, CO to stay with our friends the Thompsons.

Driving Song: We saw our last Oklahoma sunrise as an unmarried couple as we passed the Stillwater exit on I-35, the reds and yellows sending us on our way with an early wedding present. The skies were clear, the temps were cool and there was no wind, a perfect day to drive across the open prairie. We were in need of stretching our legs in Kansas when we spotted a sign for Lake Wilson State Park. The park is only ten miles north off of I-70 and features some nice trails on rolling hills adjacent to the lake. We were both very pleased with the park and appreciated getting to see some of Kansas away from the highway. Maia loved wading into the lake chasing after sticks. After a brief stop in Olathe, KS (home of Buffalo Bill) for lunch and a quick session of fetch, we headed west to Colorado.

Rocky Mountain High: Around Limon, you can start to the see the mountains. Shortly thereafter, you can see the madness that is "The Front Range". After paying $6.00 to drive the ten miles skirting around the NE side of Denver (true highway robbery) we braved our way through some heavy traffic and construction on I-25 to get to Fort Collins around 5:00 PM. Our friend's house was easy to find and after a first little apprehensive bark, Josh was Maia's new best friend, can't say the same of their cats though. The four of us went to a stroll around town, they made us dinner and we all had a good time catching up after not all being together for almost a year. We stayed up too late and awoke too early. By 6:30 AM the next day we we're on our way to Laramie, WY. There's not much to say about the drive across southern Wyoming, a little rain, some light flurries and Little America is still an oddity. We did stop at Bear River State Park outside of Evanston, WY and had a good stroll. From there, it's a short drop through Echo Canyon, over Parley's Summit and down into the Salt Lake Valley.

Running On Empty: From the time we entered the Salt Lake Valley, we had 48 hours until the wedding. In this time we needed to drop off Maia at doggie day care, meet the photographer, pick up Gina's sister, pick up the flowers, unload our car, pick up my brother and his fiancee, get a marriage certificate, meet Gina's family, buy a lot of alcohol, rehearse for the ceremony, eat dinner, arrange the flowers, make the final decorations, set up a portable PA system, carry 72 chairs a quarter mile into a field and create a safe haven for the girls to hang out before the ceremony so I wouldn't see Gina before she walked down the aisle. All this and I snuck in two quality runs in the foothills and one in Mill Creek. Hopefully Rob has recovered from the run in Mill Creek. I took him over the west side of Grandeur and down Church Fork then up the pipeline past Broad's Fork a bit and then back down to Wasatch Blvd. Erik Storheim and Rich McDonald where directing a race on the same day. Besides Erik, I also ran into Scott Jamie and Dan Margalit (math colleague).

Let's Get Down To Business: We got married.

Euphoria: EUPHORIA!


Set Two
On The Road Again: While we were packing the car, we hung Gina's wedding dress off of the rack on my groomsman's truck. He has a gigantic greasel with a stout rack over the back. As we hung it there we joked how tragic, but funny it would be if we forgot it and Eric was cruising down I-215, arm out of the window, Ned's ears and tongue flapping in the wind along with the dress. This almost turned out to be a reality, but luckily for us, when he got to corner of our street he noticed the dress hanging there. A few loose ends in SLC to take care of, opening gifts, talking math and packing and we were off again.

Traveling Light: Just you and I ... and Maia, a wedding dress, garbage can, tupperware set, large picture frame, leftover cheese and alcohol ...


Highway 6 Revisited: The route from SLC to Moab is primarily along highway 6. This is great drive featuring narrow cobblestone canyons, alpine grass lands and a tight river canyon opening up to Castle Valley and the Bookcliffs. The road stretches forever echoing the immensity of the desert. After grabbing dinner to go at Moab Brewery and some essentials from the supermarket, we drove another ten miles south of town on Kane Creek Boulevard to the Spring Campground by Hunter Canyon. It was hot and it was beautiful. In the morning we tried out our new stove, lathered on some sunblock and hiked up the Amasa Back trail. I think it was a bit hot for Maia, she kept seeking out the shade, even the smallest little bits behind tiny rocks. We followed the Colorado River out of town and up to I-70. At Hittle Bottom (a site of a previous misadventure of mine involving rowdy Canadians (are there any other kind?), PBR and hitchhiking) we found a boat put-in that is sheltered from the current of the river. We let Maia out to swim in the water. The water was colder than I expected and cooled my legs. Once we tossed Maia into the water, she lost her apprehension and kept diving back in for more. We took our wet dog back to the car and continued following the river to Grand Junction, CO.

I Know You Rider: We arrived in GJ around 1:30 in the afternoon. One of the reasons we stopped here was to check out the wineries in Palisades, CO, just about ten miles up the road from GJ. We found a Motel 6 (they all allow dogs), checked in and vegged in the air conditioned coolness. On the way out to Palisades we took the back roads and around some residential areas of GJ looking at the neighborhoods, just taking our time. We arrived at the wineries at 5:05 PM, they all closed at 5:00 PM. Bummer, good thing this is just our "Practice Honeymoon". That night we ate a nice dinner at Il Bistro on Main Street in downtown GJ. Gina ordered some beet cannelloni, which ate she half of and forgot to take the rest back to the motel with us. Bummer, good thing this is just our "Practice Honeymoon". The next morning we headed out over the southern Colorado Rockies, passing through Gunnison and Alamosa before staying at Lathrop State Park, the only campers there, our only company the cool Colorado rain.

The Long and Winding Road: I-25 again, open prairie and miles more to go. We cut across the NE corner of New Mexico, feedlots stuffed like the Walmart megastores where the cattle will be sold. There's a volcanic National Monument out there, we stopped by for a stroll but they didn't allow dogs on the trails so we turned around and kept driving. From the small US highway we turned onto a smaller New Mexico highway. We dropped off of a mesa, took a right onto another small New Mexico highway, crossed a bridge over a dry stream and were in...


Oklahoma: The plan was to hike up to the top of Black Mesa, the highest point in Oklahoma at an elevation of 4973'. The trailhead parking is only about 5 miles off of the little highway we were on, right next to the Cimarron river. It was 2:30 PM central time, but there was some question about what time zone we were actually in, when we set off on the hike (8 miles round trip) into a wind so strong we had to lean into it ("wind sweeps down the plain" ring a bell to anyone?). A little less than 2 hours later we were at the top, marked by an obelisque and no true "summit". Check out the video below of the windy view from the top. That night we camped in Black Mesa State Park, just ten miles or so down the road. There were a few people there, but the place was quiet and we felt good to be back in Oklahoma. The next morning was Friday and we were planning on making it back to Norman. After breakfast in Boise City the road became flat. We drove all across the panhandle past the miles of farmland and cattle. For a leg stretch break we stopped at Boiling Springs State Park outside of Woodward. Here some springs bubble up in the sands by the North Canadian River give the appearance of boiling water. Stepping out of the car, the humidity hit us hard. The springs themselves are kind of a let down, but we enjoyed the trails. Somehow I got us lost and what was supposed to be a half an hour walk turned into a hike of more than an hour. Oops, I told Gina that this wouldn't be the last time I got her lost (rule 5(?): when hiking, don't follow Matt). Back to the car, back to Norman, back to our house, a newly wed couple. Yippie-I-A!



Encore
Running On Empty (reprise): Those of you who are frequent readers of this blog (all two of you - and that includes me) know that I was planning on running the Andy Payne Marathon the Saturday after we got married and planning on breaking 3 hours. Well, plans be as plans are and we left the house early the next morning in time for the 6:30 AM start up at Route 66 Park by Lake Overhosler in OKC. It was overcast, but windy and humid. From the gun I went out fast, the first couple of mile markers must be off since I passed mile 2 in under 10 minutes. The marathon is small and already by the time we left the park to run 3 loop around the lake there was a large gap before the person behind and a narrowing gap between me and the person ahead of me. I passed him shortly after mile three and was all alone. I decided not to carry any water, big mistake. The east side of the lake was sheltered from the wind, but that just made it feel way too hot. Someone at an aid station around mile 7 gave me a bottle of gatorade to carry, this helped. I came around the first lap in 1:05:00, somewhere around mile 10. What was I thnking, this was way too fast. I came around the half marathon point in 1:26, already slowing down to 7:00/mile. I put in a few more of these then dropped down to 8:00/mile.

Fast Enough For You: I walked a bit and came around the second lap in 2:02, needing to rip out eight more miles at 7:00/mile to finish in under 3 hours. I just didn't have it in me. I DNF'd still three minutes ahead of the second place runner.

Running moment of the week: Thursday night I needed to hit the trails after two days in the car. I parked at the horseshoe turn in City Creek, ran up puke hill past where I'd be getting married in two days, over past the bobsled to the saddle at City Creek and back. Great run, in the epic battle of Matt versus the mountain bikers, I went 4-3.

5/12 - 5/18
total miles: 47.0
time: 7:27

YTD miles: 1076.8

Running moment of the week: Putting in the first half of the Andy Payne Marathon in 1:26. Cooler temperatures and lower humidity and I think I can break 3:00.

5/19 - 5/25
total miles: 24.0
time: 2:56

YTD miles: 1100.8

Sub 3:00 marathon?

Just a short entry this week, Gina and I leave tomorrow for SLC for our wedding this Saturday, May 17^th. I'll post some pictures of the trip and wedding next week.

One of my long term running goals is to break 3 hours in the marathon. It's not a goal I try for often, I've only ran a single road marathon. This year I decided I run the Andy Payne marathon and go for a sub 3 hour time. I've been kind of half-assed about my training, throwing in some speed workouts and tempo runs but not giving up the trails. Last Saturday I went up to Lake Overholser in Oklahoma City where the race takes place. I was planning a confidence boosting 16 mile run consisting of two laps around the lake at sub 3 hour pace, but instead after going out too fast and having 20 MPH headwind on the back stretch I ended up barely coming in at the right time for the first lap and then had to stop and eat some humble pie.

Running moment of the week: I got some Injinji socks as a door prize at 3 Days of Syllamo and I love them. Since then I've got four more pairs and use them both on the trail and on the road. On Sunday, I discovered one of the unavoidable downfalls of toes socks - if you randomly grab two socks out of your sock drawer, you only have a 50% percent chance of grabbing both a left and a right foot. On Sunday, I was running the trails with two right feet.

5/5 - 5/11
total miles: 53.7
time: 6:53

YTD miles: 1042.8 <- broke a thousands miles!

Oklahoma Trail Running

So what's trail running like in Oklahoma you ask? (OK, so no one's asked this, because no one reads this, but I'm going to pretend.) Coming to Oklahoma from Utah, I was pretty skeptical that I would find anything that I could remotely call trail running. However, I've been pleasantly surprised. Have I found mountains equalling the Wasatch? slick rock trails like in Moab? a 10 mile trail run from my door step with over 2000' of elevation gain? No, I mean come on, everyone knows that you can't compare Utah to Oklahoma. But that's not to say that the Oklahoma trail running scene is nonexistent. Here's a list of some of the pros and cons of the trail running scene in Oklahoma in comparison to Utah. Let's start with the cons.

Cons:
   

No mountains: This is the most obvious geographic difference between Oklahoma and Utah. Oklahoma is flat. Sure there's the Wichita Mountains in southwest Oklahoma and the Ouachita Mountains in southeast Oklahoma, but these don't even really compare to the foothills in Utah for elevation gain.
   

Humidity: In the summertime, it gets real sticky and hot here. Even at 6 in the morning in the middle of July it will be in the 80's and only getting hotter. The heat doesn't leave until the end of September.
   

Fractal trails: Most of the trails by Oklahoma City are designed for mountain biking and feature lots of tight turns. The trails windy back on themselves and often you'll be ten feet away from a section of trail you running on 30 minutes ago. As an extreme example, the trails at Lake Stanely-Draper just east of Oklahoma City feature over 12 miles of trail all packed into a single square mile!
   

A dearth of races: Because of the heat and humidity, most trail races here take place from December-April. The only ultras I can think of are: The DanMan, A-OK 50K, Lake McMurtry, Turkey and TATURs 50K and Chisholm's run (a fat-ass style 50K held at Lake Arcadia). Only one of these has a 50 mile option and there are no trail hundreds. (There is a somewhat annual road hundred called The Mother Road which takes place on historic Route 66.) All of these races are small and do not attract any national caliber runners.
   

An abundance of thorny and poisonous plants: In the summer, the greenery here explodes! It makes everything look healthy and full of life, until you realize the the sides of the trail are lined with poison ivy. Better be careful when you make a potty break (speaking from experience here folks).
   

An abundance of insect life: In addition to the plant life exploding, so does the insect life. There are lots of mosquitoes and gnats, but they don't really bother you too much while you run as long as you don't mind swallowing the occasional bug. The bigger nuisance is spider webs (I know spiders aren't insects but they're close, I'm a mathematician, not a biologist). There are some big spiders here that set up shop across the trails right around face level. If you're not paying attention, you'll end up wearing the web and the spider (they're big too). When you're all sweaty from the humidity it's a serious pain to try and pick the web off of your face (again, speaking from experience here folks).
   

Wind: This isn't really that much of an issue, especially on the trails. You just have to get used to 20-30 MPH winds being common. It's best to think of it as a training tool. In the summer, you'll actually welcome the wind as the mercury rises.

Before I start sounding like a complainer, let me list the pros:

Pros:
   

Solitude: Last Saturday I ran 17 miles out at Lake Thunderbird around 9 AM and only saw two people. This type of serenity is definitely not found by Sprawl Lake City on a Saturday morning. It's quite common to go hike here and see more deer than people.
   

Year-round trail running: So in the summertime the trail running in Oklahoma is less than optimal, but I think it's better than spending a cold morning post-holing in the immersion.
   

Scenery: Oklahoma really is gorgeous, just on a different scale than Utah. Here it's the little things, a muddy water creek, the sound of the cicadas, the unexpected vista, the rose rock and on the large scale, the open rolling prairie.
   

Variety: Oklahoma has a little bit of everything. The Wichita Mountains and Quartz Mountains in the southwest have rocky granite trails and hills, The Chickasaw National Recreation Area and Lake Murray State Park in southern Oklahoma gave some great trails by marshy lakes, southeast Oklahoma is the start of the 240+ mile Ouachita trail, northern Oklahoma is prairie land, Roman Nose State Park in northwest Oklahoma has a nice trail exploring a canyon and some arid dessert like views and then there's the panhandle which we have yet to explore.
   

No fees: All of the state parks and recreation areas in Oklahoma have no entrance fee. There is camping fee at some parks and Lake Arcadia does have a small trail-use fee.
   

Great community: The trail runners here are very friendly and put on some great races. The atmosphere is noncompetitive and typically have good food at the finish line (worth a mention: the chili at A-OK, the jambalaya at Lake McMurtry). The fees for the races are pretty low as well.
   

Dog friendly: All of the state parks here allow dogs to go everywhere. Most places have leash laws, but few people seem to care.
   

Lots of great races in neighboring states: The ultrarunning communities in the neighboring states are very strong. There are lots of great races in Arkansas (check out: Arkansas Ultra Running Association), Texas (check out: North Texas Trail Runners and Hill Country Trail Runners) and Kansas (check out: Kansas Ultrarunners' Society). So as long as you don't mind driving a bit, you can find lots of quality races and good competition.


If anyone is looking for more information about trail running in Oklahoma, they should check out the following running groups:

Oklahoma Trail Runners Association
Tulsa Area Trail & Ultra Runners

Anyone have anything they wish to add to the lists?

Running moment of the week: A Yasso 800 workout: 10 x 800 @ 2:56 on Tuesday evening while it was 84 degrees and sunny. At least there were wind gusts over 30 MPH. Sweet.

4/28 - 5/4
total miles: 62.0
time: 8:10

April miles: 256.9
YTD miles: 976.1