Bette L. Hall’s Running Journal

Only 11 hours and 11 minutes until the start of the Route 66 Marathon held in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

This year, they’ve added a quarter marathon. I’ll be running my fourth half-marathon. I haven’t been able to train properly to run the full marathon as I had hoped. All Races are USATF sanctioned and certified. ChampionChip timing will be used for all races. The Route 66 Marathon is a Boston qualifier.

I went to the Convention Center Expo this morning and picked up my packet. It’s now almost 9:00 pm and I just went through my packet and realized that my bib/number is not in my packet. Now I don’t know what to do. The expo closed an hour ago.

The weather is supposed to mild and sunny. Channel 2 KJRH will be broadcasting live.

I hope I can sleep tonight.

In case anyone is interested in tracking my times, you can go to Marathon Tracks and enter my bib number 4976.

Be watching for my post-race information and photos.

I’ve been involved with the Senior Olympics since 2001 and have participated in the Senior Games every year since that time.

I qualified for the National Senior Games 2007 in Louisville, Kentucky but was unable to attend. During 2008 I plan on competing at my utmost to be able to qualify for Nationals to be held in San Francisco during 2009.

The National Senior Games Association (NSGA) is the nation’s leading organization representing fitness and sports interests for mature adults. NSGA is the U.S. Olympic Committee’s official arm to seniors and functions in cooperation with the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. More than 250,000 mature adults are involved in training, competition, and education on a year-round basis.

Men and women of all fitness levels can take part in a variety of athletic and non-athletic competitions, including archery, softball, basketball, bowling, croquet, cycling, golf, tennis, racquetball, shuffleboard, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, Discus, Shot Put, Javelin, Long Jump, Triple Jump, High Jump, Pole Vault, hammer throw, racewalking, road race running, pickle ball, billiards, and weightlifting.

I would love to see the National Senior Games 2009 to be the largest event ever. To qualify for enrollment in the various events, you need to place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the local games during 2008. There are senior games in all 50 states.

See you there! Everyone 50 years old and older are invited to compete.

There is stil an hour left to vote for the river improvements.

Let’s help make our city a better place to live and the river area a better place for business and recreation. Better lighting and safety measures are more than important, they are necessary.

Runners, cyclers, and skaters flock to the river trails every Saturday and Sunday.

Here is a photo taken from the westbank near the 31st street pedestrian bridge.

I went for a training run down at the river this morning and what a beautiful morning it was.

The temperature was 60 degrees with 50% humidity. It was mostly sunny with a very slight foggy overcast. I couldn’t have asked for a better morning to run six miles.

For the past week or so, there has been new construction and remodeling done to the trail between 21st Street and the 31st Street pedestrian bridge. That doesn’t stop me though. I just reroute my run by crossing over the 21st street bridge and run on the westbank for a while. Then come back to the east side of the river on the pedestrian bridge. Using the odometer on my truck, I guaged the distance and found out that it’s 0.5 miles across the bridge. So, of course, to cross over and come back, it’s exactly one (1) mile.

I don’t mind changing my running route because improvements to the river trails and bridges have been long overdue.

Today I voted YES! to the other major improvements slated for the River Project. Two low river dams, two more pedestrian bridges, better public restrooms, enhanced lighting, picnic area, and better flood control are all in the plan for the river project.

“The result will be a river with a constant flow of water between downtown around 1st to the Jenks area at approximately 106th that provides for the multiple goals of recreation, aesthetics, flood control and wildlife habitat. If Tulsa County voters approve public funding, the private sector has agreed to donate $117 million to beautify the banks of the Arkansas River with picnic areas, parks, fountains and water features, safety features and more.”

I wish everyone felt as strongly as I do about the river improvements.

Vote Yes! to the River Project!

**NOTE**
Here are two photos taken at the Arkansas River Trail–one of the two photos is me running (actually walking at that particular moment) on the trail between 61st and 71st Streets. The other one is a picture of my two granddaughters on their bicycles between 31st and 41st.

I’ve been working 10-12 hour shifts this week and when Saturday morning rolled around, I just didn’t want to get up. I had originally planned to run the 10K Zoo Run, but I just couldn’t push myself enough when I awakened at 6am. I felt thoroughly exhausted.

I woke up again at 7:30 am and thought to myself, “I can still make it to the zoo in time for the race!”

But… I fell asleep again.

When I finally got up at 8am, I figured I could still fit a training run into my schedule. Racing was out.

But… I had absolutely no energy!

I sat around all day and did nothing.

So I ran 8 miles at the river today to make up for doing nothing yesterday. It seemed quiet at the river. My husband says it’s because everyone went to the Tulsa County Fair today. It could be because of all the new construction and blocked trails. But then again, maybe it was quiet because there will be a large turnout at the “Our River Yes” walk and run this afternoon.

Well, whatever the reason, it still seemed strange that not very many people were on the trails this morning

The next race on my agenda is the 15K Tulsa Run on October 27, 2007. Then I’ll be running the Route 66 Half Marathon in November. I wanted to run my first full marathon this year, but that’s not going to happen. With all the hours I’ve been working, I haven’t been able to train properly.

It is my goal to express my determination, perserverance, and competitiveness by always trying to do my best. I don’t want to just ‘finish the race,’ I want to reach higher and higher and faster and faster everytime my feet hit the pavement.

“If you aim for an eagle and miss, you hit a rock, but if you aim for the moon and miss, you might hit an eagle.”

Of course, I don’t want to hit an eagle. This is just an analogy to show us that we need to set our sites high–we need to reach for the stars and always strive to do our best.

I didn’t feel so good on the day of the Tulsa Hurricane Run - My back had been hurting and I felt just a general malaise - an undefinable feeling of debility or lack of health. Menstruation can cause a characteristic malaise in some women, however, that was not my problem that day.

I don’t know why I felt so weak and tired with a vague feeling of bodily discomfort. I told one of my fellow runners that it was just allergies and hayfever. But I really think I felt that way because of the medication I took for the allergies and hayfever.

Needless to say, my finishing time was embarassing.

“Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.”

— Edward Stanley: Former United Kingdom Prime Minister

Twice this year, I ran races that were of a different distance than what I have been accustomed to. The usual and customary races are the 5k, 10k, 15k, 20k, 30k, half-marathon, marathon, and ultra-marathon.

These races were both 5 milers and both were trail runs.

The first 5 miler was the Toe Stumpin’ Trail Run and was held in February. My finishing time was horrible and I swore off trail runs. It was not a good experience with the rain, rocks, mud and all.

The second 5 miler was the Aduddell Riverside Run held May 19, 2007. I have run many races on Riverside Drive and they were all road races. But unbeknownst to me, this was a trail run. There was a big difference between this race and the Toe Stumpin’ Run. This was a wider trail and it was paved! I loved the river trail run.

On Saturdays, there are always lots of runners, cyclers, and skaters along the River Parks riverside trail. Therefore, there were many people cheering us on, but two women cheerers really stood above the rest.

The first was an older woman cycler who looked me in the eye at about mile 2 and said, “I’m proud of you.” At about mile 4, a younger woman runner looked directly in my eye with a big smile on her face and said, “good job!”

Their statements weren’t profound, or any different than what most people say. The big difference was the smile and the fact that they both looked directly in my eyes.

Their encouragement was great. Both women made me feel good and I smiled through the entire race.

By the way, I completed the Aduddell Riverside Run an hour faster than I ran the muddy Toe Stumpin’ Run.

Could it have been the better conditions? Or was it the cheering women?

Maybe it was both.

Cinco de Mayo 5K Race Results and Photographs

May 4, 2007
Veteran’s Park
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Number of finishers: 409
Number of females: 192
Number of males: 215
Average Time: 00:30:56
Oldest Runner: 84 years old
Youngest Runner: 5 years old

Top 5 Males
1 Jason Lee Tulsa OK 32 16:31
2 Wade Floyd Graham TX 22 16:46
3 Ivan Hernandez Tulsa OK 21 17:07
4 Zach Chute Owasso OK 18 17:38
5 Rob Gallant Tulsa OK 44 18:09

Top 5 Females
1 Amanda Erwin Tulsa OK 34 20:07
2 Lacey Leifeste Tulsa OK 22 20:53
3 Holly Terhune Dallas TX 32 21:37
4 Jennifer Johnson Tulsa OK 30 21:49
5 Julie Skelton Claremore OK 34 22:02
__________________________

Grace McCoy 60 26:50

D. R. Cromer 65 28:20

Omar Franco 15 18:33

Jose Rodriquez 41 21:06

Grandmother and Granddaughter

Lorena Sublett 84 50:31

Isabelle Sublett 8 33:01

Cinco de Mayo actually means the fifth of May. However, the Cinco de Mayo 5K Run was held Friday evening at 7pm, May 4th.

Cinco de Mayo is a day to celebrate the culture and experiences of Americans of Mexican descent much like St. Patrick’s Day for the Irish and Oktoberfest for the Germans.

It’s a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride and commemorates an initial victory over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

Many cities in the West and Southwest of the US celebrate with fiestas, parades, dances, parties, mariachi music, and great south-of-the-border food.

The Cinco de Mayo 5K Run was truly a festive affair complete with Mexican food and drink–chips and salsa, Tecate beer, and two flavors of Margaritas. Music was also provided.

As far as the race goes, it was held at Veteran’s Park downtown Tulsa. The weather was very humid and it felt hot while trying to take the hills on this hilly course. The temperature was 76 degrees with 70% humidity, 25 mile per hour wind gusts, cloudy skies and expectations of rain.

What About My 2007 Training Calendar and Race Agenda?

At the beginning of the year I had high aspirations when I planned my running and fitness agenda and event calendar.

My training included such things as timed sprints, split runs, short local races such as the 5k, 5 mile, 8k, and 10k, cycling, Iron Yoga, hindu squats, and weightlifting. My training runs included running in my neighborhood, at the river, at the park, and running at the local high school track.

Mother Nature put a damper on my plans. Snow, sleet, and ice stroms tried to force me to stay indoors. We had snow all the way up to the month of April. We even had a freeze that probably ruined my 3 beautiful red crepe myrtles.

It started looking like spring around here with sunshine and a few days when temperatures reached the 60’s and 70’s. The crepe myrtles started getting leaves and little buds and then…

THE FREEZE ! !

The easter lilies, tiger lilies, and the cannas were poking through the ground in shades of green and then…

THE FREEZE ! !

Now my beautiful crepe myrtles look brown, dry, and dead and the lilies and cannas turned black and mushy.

Anyway, I didn’t mean to chase rabbits. Back to the issue at hand–Running.

Back in February I joined the YMCA. Since that time I’ve done very little road running. My great training plans turned to treadmill running with FitLinxx machines for cross-training.

In March the “Y” gave an incentive of a free T-shirt for anyone who worked out at least 12 times during the month. I was there 15 times during March even though I took a week off for spring break. I got my T-shirt.

The newest incentive is a quarterly competition during the months of April, May, and June for whoever gets the most fitlinxx points, burns the most calories, and lifts the most pounds. I guess they’ll probably give out t-shirts again.

I’ve gotten so wrapped up in my workouts at the “Y” that I’ve neglected my outdoor running. My last road race was the Wish Lemons 5K on March 31, 2007. The next one will be the Cinco de Mayo 5K on May 4th, 2007.

So you want to know what happened to my running agenda and training calendar?

They were put in the shredder!