Thoughts on Pumpkin Holler

The hay is in the barn; an appropriate cliche for a race in rural farm country. After Saturday I will tune up my neglected Trek, re-focus on cycling, and run only when I feel like it. No Turkey and Taturs this year.

31 miles, with hills. The longest run in preparation for Pumpkin Holler was...wait for it...15.5 miles: Flatrock. At peak I ran 22 miles back to back. But I'm not going to worry about the length. If it gets bad I can slog through it like a turtle. Six hours in the middle of nowhere is a blessing, may I never forget it.

Trail Zombie has been posting fantastic pics on his blog. The Illinois river is running, the leaves are turning and the weather forecast looks great. There is only one question I need to be asking myself now: when I hit a wall, and it is sure to happen, what decisions will I make, in terms of hydration and fuel intake, to climb over it?

Autumn sun (10/8/12)

It is one of those autumn afternoons when the sky is a deep azure, the air is crisp, and the sun turns everything it touches into gold. Shorebirds hunt the rivulets in the shadow of Turkey Mountain, yellowing leaves of the cottonwood flutter along the banks, dark pockets of the forest are pierced by rays of brilliant light. Today I need no reminder of why I run.

It was New Belgium's Red Hoptober for the recovery. This a great Fall seasonal. It has a smooth, almost creamy feel, with piney hops, toasty backbone and a dry finish.

Cheers!

Treasure hunting North of the border

Looking fresh...

not quite so fresh...

kinda pathetic...

Flatrock is in a town just North of the Kansas border, which meant I had a chance at finding brews unavailable in Oklahoma. But would these little small town package stores carry anything besides Bud and Keystone Light? Not to worry, Blue Sky Liquor in Caney had five varieties of New Belgium. Further down the street, Jo's liquor (the size of a closet) had Free State, Odell and New Belgium. Cases of them! Something tells me I'm not the only Okie to come through here.

Odell is one of those consistently solid breweries. I have yet to try anything that wasn't memorable from these guys. St Lupulin is a summer seasonal, a hoppy "extra" pale ale. It goes down nice and easy; grapefruit juice followed with a bite with and just a wee bit of malt underneath. This is basically a lighter version of their IPA.

Cheers!

The Not- So- Flatrock 25k 2012

25k races begin to gather. The 50k began one hour earlier.

It was an overcast and cool morning at Elk City Lake; a great day for racing. I started out fast, knowing there was a climb at the beginning of the trail that could have some congestion. The trail weaves in and out of massive limestone rock formations along the lake and the Elk River that feeds it. There are no huge climbs on the course, it's just relentlessly up and down; from one creek bed to the flat volcanic top back down to the next. The views of the Lake from the top are extraordinary.

There's not much to report in terms of the nuts and bolts of getting this race done. Good stories seem to come from races that don't go as well. Two or three runners passed me in the first mile and I passed two runners after the turn around. I was able to keep my pace fairly consistent throughout and avoided hitting any walls. I stayed hydrated and took two shot blocks every ten minutes after the first hour. It definitely helped to have my own fuel rather than relying on the aid stations (although the aid stations were well stocked).

This is one rocky trail! I kept up my target pace for the last three miles, but it took everything to stay focused on the rocks to avoid a face plant. Before I knew it, I was back where we started, finishing in 7th with a time of 2:32.

A big thanks to the German Shepherd who appeared out of nowhere to pace me between miles four and five. Not sure of his real name or who he belonged to, but I dubbed him "Kip" due to his penchant for cutting corners and disappearing into the woods, only to reappear further down the trail.

The race director, Eric Steele, puts on a great event. The trail was well marked (of course it helps that there is only one trail!). He had a team ringing cowbells and cheering all the finishers as they came through. Somebody was very nice to me as I fell the ground in dramatic fashion (having my ever so predictable post- finish line leg cramps), saying all the right things and responding sympathetically to my incoherent babbling about how tough the course was.

One day I will be back for the 50k.

From the Table Mound Overlook. The trail follows the opposite shoreline.

In the present moment

“Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.”

 - Thic Nhat Hanh

Amen. I'll try to keep that in mind as I run the beautiful Elk River Trail at Flatrock tomorrow. No matter what happens, it will be a good day to be alive and running. One foot in front of the other, repeat.

Family hike

On Sunday we took Sophie out to Turkey for her first hike. She rode in the Baby K'tan carrier, which is basically a wrap you can tie multiple ways to carry your baby. I think this is the "explorer" position. For a mile the K'tan was comfortable enough, but we'll get something a bit more supportive for longer hikes.

I had forgotten that the Keep it Wild races were Sunday afternoon. We made our way up the hill to the yellow trail and watched the bikers speed on by.

All these new sights, sounds and smells were a bit overwhelming, I guess.

A drinker with a running problem

So goes the Hash- House Harrier motto, one that aptly sums up my Saturday. McNellie's brought in the new season with their third annual Harvest Beer Festival. The plan was to run the six miles there, "earning" my beer, and to run back, eliminating the need for a designated driver while getting in some fatigue/ delirium training in for my 50k at the same time. So efficient.

I was surprised to see the Midland Valley Trail repairs finished and open again.

The trail leaves the river at the Brrridge and takes you due North as the river curves to the West, becoming a wonderland of asphalt and concrete as it skirts freeways before dumping you onto third street just East of the Blue Dome district.

The festival was much more crowded than last year, and this was still early afternoon.

If you follow the Thirsty Beagle beer blog, you'd know that brewing companies are sprouting up left and right in Oklahoma these days. At least four of them were pouring at the festival. More competition in our state can only be a good thing, although I still think we need to make it easier for out- of- state craft breweries to do business here.

This is the owner of Anthem Brewing out of Oklahoma City. Golden One is their sole offering at the moment, but it was a quite refreshing, if a bit unusual, take on the Belgian style. I'll be looking for this one at McNellie's.

Dead Armadillo Brewing, also out of OKC, had a number of brews to try: a good vanilla porter, a great IPA and a stellar black IPA. Unfortunately, they won't be putting anything on the market until early next year.

Those Dead Armadillo t-shirts are pretty sweet, but Black Mesa Brewing has the best logo bar none. Not only does it have the elevation profile of our State's highest point, but includes one of my favorite quotes from Tolkien. Can't say I remember much about any of their beers though.

I tried more beers than I can remember, and only one was outright crap (a pumpkin stout). Coop had an excellent Farmhouse Ale. Choctoberfest was very good.

Good weather, good run, good brews. You can't ask for much more than that. Cheers!