To the center of...

Saturday got to go back to the center of the universe right here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This time it was uphill all the way. Thanks Dave. I also found out that Tulsa has a portal to the center of the earth. It is located at the AMC theater, screen one, row one, under seat one. Under this seat is an ancient volcanic lava tube that leads you on a journey to the center of the earth. All you have to do to gain access to this ancient hole is pay the cashier your $10. For exchange you get a ticket and a cool pair of 3d glasses so you can experience this underground world in all it's spectacular beauty.

Here I am in my cool 3d glasses

I had planned on attending the mud run as a spectator. Had to change plans a couple of hours before going. When the daughter calls and asks us if we want to babysit and keep the granddaughter overnight we will drop everything and take her up on it. Sorry I missed everyone gettin dirty. Hope it was fun. The granddaughter wanted to go see the movie mentioned above. We had a good time.

Sunday morning we took her to Owen park where we had ran on Saturday. While there we seen a homeless guy taking a bath in the parks sprinkler. Probably one of the cleanest homeless people around. He was even brushing his teeth.

Oops, wrong house. That's my house. Here's the real one.

Susan and Katie

Spending Time with our Princesses

Thursday night Susan & I had the pleasure of spending time with our granddaughter Katie & our daughter Alicia. We are not prejudice or anything like that but we truly think we are blessed with the two most beautiful girls ever. Alicia who gets her looks from Susan but her personality from me is truly a joy to be around. She has turned out to be a good little wife & mom to our amazement since she was so shy & spoiled growing up. She works hard for her husband's family business and enjoys spending her free time with her daughter & husband and watching movies.















Now comes to our princess Katie.














She is 6 years old and so full of life and makes us laugh every time we are around her.
She is in the first grade and very smart we might add. She loves to read all the time and you won't find her without a book somewhere nearby. Last night we watched her for awhile because her parents had to go to the school for a parent meeting. Susan asked her what book she was reading now and she brings out this thick Nancy Drew type book which was several hundred pages long and Susan asked her if she really was reading it with those big words and she looked at her like she was silly and said "Yah duh!". She also likes to critique me when I haven't shaved my face because if I am the least little bit stubby she lets me know by saying "papa shave!". We were having a good time playing with her last night and when she saw her parents coming back from their meeting she said "I hope the teacher told them I was doing good". When her parents came in she asked them what the teacher said about her doing good and her dad jokingly said that the teacher didn't want her to come back because she was bad and Katie said "dad! are you kidding me!". We all got a big laugh out of that. This is why I wasn't running with you guys last night because our princess was needing us. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Confession

After running last night I had to go home to Susan and make a confession. I found out Michael is my son. I guess he will have to change his name to Michael Michaels. That makes Chrissy (his wife) my daughter-in-law. Welcome to the family Chrissy.

LOL ! Don’t panic people. Only joking.

What really happened follows:
I have to miss our normal Thursday evening training run so

I decided to hook up with Ken and Michael last evening and get

5 miles on the Turkey Mountain trails to make up for my lost night.

On the trails we met up with Brian and the speed demons coming

from the other direction. We stopped and chatted for a while.

They had a new girl running with them (I forgot her name).

She asked if Michael and I are father and son. We told her no but she

couldn’t believe it. She said we looked too much alike. She is

African-American so I guess we all look alike to her

(NO OFFENSE INTENDED).

Ticks – 0, Chiggers – 0, Bee/Wasp Stings – 0, Falls – 0,

Snake Bites - 0, Poison Ivy – will know in a day or two

Anyhow, see everyone Saturday morning bright and early.

Shhh! Don't Tell The Doctor

Susan got to get back into her running shoes but don't tell her Doctor.

She had a good day today and felt great so wanted to go out with

me this evening and try some walking. We joined Michael at

Turkey Mountain. She couldn't stand it and had to try some

running against Doctor's advice (but hey, it gets in your blood).

I think it about done her in as shown here:

No CPR required as she bounced right back up for this pose.Michael and I got into a race with this guy on a bike.
Where did he go? We must have left him in our dust. It was a nice evening for a run. Unbelievable for the middle of
August. Susan hopes she will not pay the price tomorrow
for running tonight. Where were you Brian and Ken?

The Miles Are Getting Serious Now

12 Miles running today. Almost half a marathon.
I think Ed must have had to slow way down to stay with me.
Thanks again Ed, great run. We had an average pace of 13:59/mile.

Mile 1 - 12:06
Mile 2 - 14:26 (stopped for a minute and talked to coach Kathy)
Mile 3 - 12:39
Mile 4 - 12:24
Mile 5 - 12:41
Mile 6 - 16:11 (hung out for a few at the Turkey Mountain water stop)
Mile 7 - 12:48
Mile 8 - 14:04 (getting tired now)

Mile 9 - 15:24 (getting drained of energy, walking some and watching the Riverside 5000 race)
Mile 10 - 15:06 (got to keep going)
Mile 11 - 15:21 (that darn hill at Harvard along the Creek Turnpike)
Mile 12 - 14:40 (gotter done, only 14 more to go for a marathon)
Ed had more energy than I did, he ran up all the big hills when I walked them. I'll bet he could have kept up with the Bean Team or Linda and Rachael (welcome home Rachael) who were nowhere in site.

I sure am impressed with Sonya. She is training to walk the entire Route 66 marathon. She is a super fast walker and continues to put in all the miles that the runners do. She always get done not long behind me. She would beat me walking for sure.

Went home and showered. Took Susan out for breakfast at Village Inn.
What a surprise, while eating we were joined by Kathy, David, Roman and Ken. Had an enjoyable visit with them.

Tuesday PR

Got a Tuesday pr. Ran 5 miles through the desert, no wait, that was the trail on riverside between 71st and 81st. That's the most miles I have ever ran on a tuesday so I'm chalking it up as a new pr. Kept up a pretty good pace with Ed, Linda and Jennifer Y. Great to see Jennifer Yeager back from out of town. I hear rumors that Deon is back in town.

Monday evening at Turkey Mountain, Michael and I were walking back up the hill to the parking lot after our run. It was slick out due to the mist. A bike rider was coming down the hill around a curve and he took a nasty spill right in front of us. He was ok but skinned up pretty good. Please be careful when biking or running when it is wet out.

Woo Hoo! New Sneakers

Woo Hoo! Got me a new pair of running shoes from RunnersWorld-Tulsa (free plug). Got me the Asics Gel-Nimbus. My feet are thanking me. Had four hundred miles on my last shoes. I didn't realize it but had worn through the insert on one foot and that was causing a blister. Ken helped me try on about 8 pairs of shoes before I made the decision to go with the first pair I tried. Could have saved us both some time and I wouldn't have had to make so many running trips in front of the beauty shop next door. I've always wondered what kinds of conversations they have about us crazy runners. I also bought me some new inserts for my old shoes so I could still use them on a rainy day or maybe on the Turkey Mountain trails.

Awesome weather today. Ed and I ran our eight miles together. Thanks Ed for keeping me moving. We carried our own water bottles (you gotta see Ed's blog for his) so we didn't have to stop at the water stops. We would pass some of the other runners (Linda, Jenni, Lisa, Jason, Marvin and dog) at the water stops then they'd pass us. At one point we passed Lisa and Kim of the Bean Team. They looked lost without their run leader Deon. Hey Deon, we want you back from Iowa. Jennifer and Rachael, we need you back also.

How many of you guys ran up the Woodward park hill? I for one had to walk it. Ed was feeling pretty good and soared up it like it was meant to be conquered.

After running, went with Ken, Kathy and Susan and refueled with breakfast at Duffy's restaurant 15th and Lewis (another free plug). Missed you Brian.

Time to rest.

Oops! and update on Susan

Oops! Went out too fast tonight and the legs paid for it.

Man oh man the weather was awesome tonight.
83°F feels a lot better than 103°F. Started out
running with the group and pretty much kept up
for the first mile. I first thought everyone had slowed
a bit but then realized I had started too fast. After the
first mile my lower legs tightened up. Had to slow down
to a snails pace. My legs finally loosened up at about
3 to 3.5 miles. Got my 6 miles done. Went home and ate
some awesome leftover homemade meatloaf and watched
Big Brother. Sorry you got voted out Jessy, but look at the
bright side, you get to go back home to Iowa and pump
some more iron.

Now a medical update from Susan:
"Hey everyone, just thought I would give you all an update as to what I found out this week from my heart Dr. I don't know much more than I did which is very discouraging. He is sending me for 2 more tests next week and after that he will slowly increase my heart meds to another 100 mg which will kick me in the rear. I am sure none of you had to experience taking heart meds. Let me tell you hopefully you all will never have to experience it! They make you very tired, you stay nauseated all the time, lightheaded etc. Now I will be taking in more dosage. Bobby will think I am totally useless LOL. The Dr. said if the added dosage doesn't help then he will send me to an electrophysiologist to discuss surgery. I think maybe the surgery wouldn't be so bad after all because then maybe I could come off these horrible drugs that are poisoning my body. He also told me I couldn't run (like I feel like it) until we can get my heart calmed down. I miss running with everyone so much but I will definately be at the finish line cheering everyone for the Tulsa run & Route 66 for those who are running in them. Everyone have a blessed rest of the week and please keep praying for me. Susan"

The Four Stages of Life:



















Yep! That about sums it up!

Making Your Own Toenail Necklace

Got in 4 miles Tuesday night.

Wow! What a turnout we had despite the heat.

click here --->>> Making Your Own Toenail Necklace

Mowing and Running in the Heat

What a pleasant surprise this evening.
Ken and Dana came out and ran with me.
We ran on the west side of the river for 3 miles.
















Down at the sewer plant they had the flame
throwers going. I think that would be a great
place to stop during a run and have a weiner or
marshmallow roast. You can feel the heat coming
off those burners as you go by making a hot day hotter.



















Have you ever wondered what your heart rate
would be while mowing your yard. I have.
So Sunday I strapped on my heart rate monitor
and went and mowed the lawn. It was between
120 and 130 bpm. It takes me right at an hour to
finish so I'm calling this good for crosstraining.

The heat is on

Wow! Can it be hot at 5:45am? You betcha.

I went home after running 10 miles today.

The wife said to get outside and ring out those

shorts. I had to take a photo of this as proof

that I must be dehydrated.

Speaking of hot, take a look at my new wife.
I traded broken Susan in for a new model.

Just kidding. Took Susan to the beauty shop
for a new doo. Hope this makes her feel better.
She goes back to her doctor on Wednesday.
Hopefully we will find out what the next step
will be to get her well so she can start coming
back out to run. She misses running and
everyone in the group.

Back to todays run. Gotter done. Kept up pretty
close with some of you guys today til about the
Center of The Universe. Shortly after there
Grandpa Ken (he got a new grandson on Friday)
caught up with me and we finished up the first
5 miles together. Roman joined in for the final
5 miles. At the pedestrian bridge Roman pointed
out that the American flag was limp. We didn't
have a breeze. Breezes were few and far between
today. My energy level got zapped about the 7.5
mile mark, guess I need to eat more Gu. Joe offered
me his spare Gu, but I passed because he pulled it
out of his sweaty shorts and said it was melted.
8.5 miles into the run I started feeling nauseous as if
I had eaten some bad Chinese food or Joe's sweaty,
melted Gu. My feet and legs hurt, can I really go
26.2 miles? I think I will let sick Susan baby me the
rest of the day. See some of you Monday evening and
the rest of you Tuesday evening.