Route 66 Marathon-Tulsa-Nov 21, 2021

Route 66 Marathon-Tulsa

November 21, 2021

4:49:53 479/937 Overall   3/12 in 70+

            The real marathon on this trip was my all-day flight to Tulsa. American Airlines flew me to Phoenix and then, after 2 postponements, announced that the flight was cancelled for that day. They booked me on a flight that would arrive Saturday night after the expo closed. While I was frantically trying to get a flight on my phone on Delta, Jodi was able to book one on United that would get me in at 11:30 that night. Although I had no suitcase (I did, of course, have my carry-on with my running stuff; this is why we coach to always pack this way) and I didn’t get to bed until after 1:00 AM, I was just glad to be in Tulsa!

            This marathon is the one that I was supposed to have run 2 years ago, but deferred because I found out I had some heart blockages and needed surgery. It was great to be able to make it happen this year. This race was also a reunion one for the 50-state club I belong to so I got to relax in their tent and stay warm and have eaiser access to porta-potties. (I was also able to go to their club meeting on Saturday to have the “official” ceremony where I was presented a replica of the plaque that I had earned in 2009 for doing a marathon in every state.)

            The start had 4 waves with each wave being treated to a unique confetti blast to set the runners off. Although the heart medicine slows me down, I still got 3d (of 12) in my age group, 70-74. I basically ran/walked with 5 minute run/30 second walk for the whole race. The weather was cool and overcast-great for a marathon. It was a bit windy and chilly and there were a lot of rolling hills, but it was a fun course going through a lot of neighborhoods (lots of tables with beer and Fireball) and even through their Woodward Park. We also ran through the campus of Tulsa University. I was close to 3 minutes faster in the second half than the first so I had a really good race feeling fine the whole way.

            After the race, I was able to relax in an easy chair in the 50-state area and have a burrito. I also walked over and stood in their “Center of the Universe” where you can hear your voice echo. It’s like the one at our Woodward Park’s “Compass” center. After I cleaned up and had a nap, I got to go one of my fav out-of-state restaurants, Cracker Barrel and have a steak dinner and great sides. My evening snack was an ice cream sundae at Braum’s.

 

            Looking for things to do in Tulsa on Saturday, I was treated to an extra special surprise when I discovered the #outsidershousemuseum (on Facebook). The original house used for the 1983 movie based on the book The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is now a museum to honor the movie and all involved with it. After years of being a residence, it was remodeled in 2016 to be just like the house used in the movie. It even has ones working there who were part of the filming and went to the high school shown in the movie.

            Personally, it had a double impact. First was that I was the librarian at Sanger HS when Jo Ellen Priest Misakian was the library tech at Lone Star School which was a feeder into SHS. It was Jo Ellen and her students who wrote to Francis Ford Coppola to suggest he make a movie of the book they had just read. When I told Mike who is a tour guide there about my knowing Jo Ellen, he texted her and the next thing I know I got a call from Jo Ellen and we got to talk about the house and our librarian history together. She had just been to see the house herself in September and received the key to the city and met S. E. Hinton for the first time.

            Secondly, The Outsiders which came out in 1967 was one of the first Young Adult novels. We studied it in my Child/YA lit class at San Jose State in 1975. I also met Susan at a library conference and have a copy of the book signed by her. The book was popular all the years (36) I was a librarian and many English classes used it as novel the whole class read and discussed. Also, Jodi and I got to see the play version of it presented by  Buchanan students about 3 years ago.

            The picture in front of the house is with the tour guides, Mike and Dana. Dana told me the incredible story of her and some girls friends who were in high school in Tulsa at that time. They managed to get into the hotel where the guys in the movie were staying and get to know them and spend some time with them. Talk about an amazing memory to have! Joe, who was an extra in the movie, is also a tour guide and shows off the many pictures he took at the time.

            There were a lof of future stars in the cast. Here is the opening of the Wikipedia article:

            The Outsiders is a 1983 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton and was released on March 25, 1983 in the United States. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno, California, and her students were responsible for inspiring Coppola to make the film. The film is noted for its cast of up-and-coming stars, including C. Thomas Howell, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, and Diane Lane.

 

This was Marathon #174; 34 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Marathon and trip photos; hold ctrl and click to go to Shutterfly:

VIEW ALBUM 

 

 

Boston Marathon 2021 and trip

 

Boston Marathon

October 11, 2021

6:19:21

            (This marathon was all about Jodi’s running it so this will be her writeup.)

            Boston Marathon was my 20th and final marathon finish while John finished his 21st Boston and marathon #173. John stuck with me the whole way, coaching and storytelling as much as possible. To be honest, I have been battling injuries for the last 6 weeks and the hamstring pain flared up during the very first mile and later included plantar fasciitis. I survived by getting my hands on IcyHot, Biofeeze, Tylenol and Aleve whenever possible while avoiding medical tents. I knew going into the race that this flare up was a real possibility but not starting and finishing was just not an option.

            We got to the bus pickup later than we had planned. This turned out to be a fatal mistake because our wave was already gone and then our bus driver got lost and made us 30 minutes late to the start. By the time we got to the start line we were already at the back of the pack. By the time we got through, a lot of spectators had already left. John worked hard at getting the crowds riled up so they would cheer me on.

            Boston is a beautiful course which was accentuated by the fall colors. Normally this race is held in April when the trees are bare. Much of the course is a huge block party for some of the neighborhoods so that was fun. Unfortunately due to my excessive walking and late start, the course was being taken down around us. Water stops, barricades and timing mats were being moved as we were coming through, which is a really frightening feeling. We are not sure if this is why our official time is not registered yet at the finish, but they were also folding up part of the timing mats there and they routed us over a different section. John is trying to get this rectified. But that feeling of turning onto Hereford and then Boylston and seeing the Boston Marathon finish line with John by my side was an experience I will not soon forget!

            The day after the marathon, Tuesday, we recovered by hobbling around Plymouth, Mayflower II, and Plimouth Patuxet with our CA friends, Julie and Steve. Weather and company was amazing!

            Wednesday, October 13 was an amazing Birthday hanging out with John and Nicholas. We started off with the Duck Tour where as a veteran, John got to sign his name and dates of service on the roof of the Duck. We then walked parts of the Freedom Trail. We stopped at the Beantown Pub, “the only place where you can have a cold Sam Adams while looking at the real cold Sam Adams” across the street. We even ran into our CA friends at the Paul Revere house, where I forgot to take any pics. (Thank you to everyone who sent texts, FB messages and private messages. It will take me some time to get through them but I’m feeling the love and I’m committing to be more intentional with my friends over the next year!)

            We started off Thursday with a tour of Fenway Park. The cool part is that the Red Sox team busses were boarding to head to Houston to play ALCS starting on Friday. Somehow, the media started talking to John, who ended up interviewed TWICE for local news Being a Giants’ fan, when asked who he thought would be starting Red Sox pitcher he revealed himself as an imposter because he didn’t know any of the names of the players! Nicholas and I were dying.

            In the afternoon we took the Boston Tea Party Ships tour and learned about the start of the American Revolution. Very interesting tour! Friday morning we drove to Salem, MA and visited the Salem Witch Museum and had a fun time strolling around historical Salem. These people take their Halloween decorations seriously!

            We continued our little road trip on into Maine, looking for lighthouses, fall colors and lobster. We stopped off for a visit with John’s cousin, John and Linda Duncan. John had stayed with them in Connecticut most of the times he ran Boston, but they had just moved to Maine this year. LOVED all the little towns along the way!

            The whole 10-day trip was a celebration of my son, Nicholas. We planned a trip to celebrate his nursing school graduation, now almost 2 years ago, but our previous plans were COVID cancelled. He has been a Patriots fan since he was a kid. So when we found out there would be a home game right after the Boston Marathon we had to make it happen! The game was against the Dallas Cowboys and just like the Red Sox game, it went overtime. I’m so excited we got to have this experience.

            The next morning, before we flew home we stopped for breakfast. While walking out of the restaurant, Nicholas ran into a Patriots player and said “Look mom, it’s Devon McCourty” while I pretended to know exactly who he was. I was impressed that Nick knew his team well enough to recognize this guy in street clothes who looked nothing like a football player to me. But it was a really neat way to end the trip!!

This was Marathon #173; 33 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Our Marathon and trip photos: VIEW ALBUM

Marathonfoto pictures:  VIEW ALBUM

 

Utah Valley Marathon

 

Utah Valley, Provo, UT

June 5, 2021

5:16:48 1109/1351 Overall   6/9 in 70+

Jodi: 5:16:49 1110/1351 14/28 in 50-54

 

            Jodi had eyed this marathon for a number of years and when they had a Black Friday special on it last year, she went ahead and registered us for it. It was advertised as a fast course with gorgeous scenery. It was a gradual downhill with amazing views, but the unseasonably warm weather (88 at the finish) put a damper on any thoughts of us trying to run a fast time. We decided to run this one together and encourage each other and enjoy the scenery. Here’s Jodi’s description of the run:

“My goal for Utah Valley Marathon was simple: finish strong. My entire training cycle focused on injury prevention and strength. I ran fewer miles at a slower pace 4 days a week and made time for weekly PT with Phil at Plan PT, weekly yoga at Blue Moon (wish I could go more) 1-2 times a week of strength training with SCE and Coach Ray, massage, and trying to conquer insomnia. I was really concerned when we arrived in Provo to see “near-record high temps” as I’m not a strong runner in the heat. Also the course is almost entirely sunny. John and I ran the entire race together. We hydrated well, used cooling cloths, carried extra water and just ran slower. The firefighters were spraying us with their hoses, people offered ice, sprinklers were on at various places, etc. I’m happy to report that I finished feeling strong and my hip and back were manageable throughout. Marathon #19 was my slowest but I was honestly just there to finish on the outside of the medical tent. Now to train for Boston 2021!” (This marathon was good practice for us running a marathon together which is what we plan to do at Boston which is in October this year. I qualified in July 2019-pre-stint and heart medicine-and Jodi is running for the Flutie Foundation for Autism. Join Jodi on her journey by donating here:

https://www.givengain.com/ap/jodi-volkman-raising-funds-for-doug-flutie-jr-foundation-for-autism/

            Jodi and I arrived in Salt Lake City on Thursday afternoon. We went downtown and to see the Mormon Temple and found that it is undergoing major upgrading that won’t be completed until 2025. We also saw the capitol building and then made the short drive to Provo. We ate dinner there and had authentic Japanese donburi. We found “K’s” on Yelp due to 5 star reviews and it lived up to its ratings. Cool story: Owner did mission to Japan and stayed 35 years; then he and his wife started this restaurant 3 years ago and she does amazing job with all of the cooking while he waits tables and greets everyone in Japanese.

            Friday morning we drove the course and saw that it is downhill and beautiful. The start is out on a country road near an old vacant school building. The biggest landmark was the row of porta-potties. We also drove around the BYU campus and saw their football field. The expo was across the street from our hotel so we got our bibs and looked around. One of the speakers at the expo was going to do his 500th marathon the next day; makes me feel like a slacker at 172.

            Saturday afternoon and evening we explored Provo a bit. We found a very fun mall with a woodsy theme where a teenage boy was doing his best crooning of singers from the 50s and 60s such as Sinatra, Elvis and Dean Martin. He was actually very good and we enjoyed the relaxing time listening. In the mall was an amazing indoor game and play area which included an area for surfing, a ropes course and a bowling alley. Great place for dates and kids! We ate burgers for lunch at a place that also had hatchet throwing alleys just like you would have for dart throwing; never seen that before, but the young people seemed to be enjoying it. We topped off our day with cheesecake at a speciality cheesecake place😊Our plane home on Sunday didn’t leave until late afternoon so we had time to drive to and see the Great Salt Lake. Quite a sight to see!

This was Marathon #172; 33 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Marathon photos: https://photos.shutterfly.com/album/1702012471115904

 

Wilmington, NC Marathon

 

Wilmington, NC

April 17, 2021

4:42:55 257/332 Overall   2/2 in 70+

I ran the Wilmington NC Marathon in 4:43:17 (4:42:55 on my Garmin), my post heart surgery PR by over 5 minutes and got 2d in my age group. It was marathon #171 and the 33rd state that I’ve done at least twice. The course was mostly flat with a few steep hills that you had to run up twice since it was two 13.1 loops. The race started at 6am in the dark (my wave was 6:10) and it was great running weather with 55 at the start, 64 at the end, but overcast and just a bit of cooling wind. I increased my running intervals and decreased by walking ones to see how it would go. I went from 4/1 to 5/.30seconds and felt good getting a lot of miles in the 10:30 and under range. My watch had me at 10:41 overall average. Thanks to Jodi who keeps me going with the early morning training and motivation. I missed having her on the trip, but this was going to be a full week trip.

            After an ice bath and burger & fries at 5 guys, I did the walking tour of a battleship from WWII, the North Carolina. Way more walking including going up & down a lot of ladders than I expected. Maybe not the brightest thing to do after a marathon. Lol But I saw and learned a lot and took some pretty interesting photos. After the tour I was looking forward to a Blizzard. I went to a Dairy Queen, but it was closed. Fortunately, they had another one in town, so I was saved!

            Since the race started at 6AM, it was 3AM in CA and I had had to get up at 1:30 CA time. I got a good night’s sleep Sunday night. The next morning I headed to Roxboro, NC which is near Raleigh/Durham and not far from the Virginia border. On the way there I stopped at Duke University and saw fabled Cameron Arena where the Blue Devils play basketball, saw their football stadium and even saw a women’s tennis team match in progress.

            I went to Roxboro to see Randy and Linda Pugh who I went to Calistoga High School with over 50 years ago. Randy and I played golf together whenever I was in Calistoga over the years. After Randy retired a few years ago, they moved to NC to be near their daughters and their families. It was great to spend time with them and catch-up and see where they live. Randy and I played golf at 3 different courses and had fun competing against each as we’ve done for so many years. One afternoon Linda took me to see Berry Hill in Virginia which is an old southern mansion and plantation. She also showed me Tunnel Creek Vineyards where her son-in-law works. It was a great time with them and a great week in North Carolina.

           

This was Marathon #171; 33 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Marathon photos: VIEW PHOTOS  

  “View Photos” link will take you to Shutterfly where you can sign-up for free account to view the slideshow. Hold Ctrl and Click “Enter” to go to website. The pictures will show the items that I mentioned in the write-up.

 

Callaway Gardens Marathon and Atlanta Jan. 2021

Callaway Gardens, GA 

January 30, 2021

4:54:00 57/76 Overall   2/4 in 70+

Jodi-Half 2:02:28 46/97 Overall  2/8 in 50-54

Jodi and I flew into Atlanta on Thursday and then drove south just over an hour to Callaway Gardens. We enjoyed dinner at Eatz on the Corner where we ate catfish and grits and shrimp and grits. This was the first of many fun meals that we enjoyed “down South”. Our shakeout run on Friday morning was in 32-degree weather and we got “badges” on our Garminss for running at a freezing temp. (Tollie Bibb who runs with Wascally Wabbits saw that and wrote in Facebook: “My wife and I love Callaway Gardens. We lived in the Gardens from January through April 1975 while in mission orientation for the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board which we served in for 13 years. You should see it in the spring when all the Azaleas are in bloom.” So, it was fun to learn that interesting connection.)

Fortunately, Saturday was a few degrees warmer at the start and settled in mid 40s most of the morning. The sun was just rising as I started at 7:30 to do two 13.1-mile loops of the spacious grounds of the resort. (Jodi’s half started at 8.) The rolling hills of the grounds include views of lakes, golf courses, and trees (barren in winter). I mostly did run/walk intervals of 4/1 but did adjust to walk up steeper hills and run when going downhill. My overall pace was 11:13, but most of my running segments were in the 10:15-10:30 range with some downhills getting down around 9. I felt strong throughout and finished feeling ok. It helped to have Jodi come out and run some of the last miles with me after she had finished her half and gotten some food and rest. 

In the post-race area, I got slices of pizza from one of the biggest pizzas I’ve ever seen and picked up my 2d place plaque. (I moved up from the 3rd I got there in 2006. Read the write-up from 2006 pasted below this one to see how things compare.) After an ice bath and cleaning up, I was hungry, so Jodi and I went to the nearby town of Pine Mountain and ate at Lubell’s. We had amazing chicken and dumpling soup and chili followed by home-made peach cobbler ala mode. I was revived and ready for our further adventures in Georgia.

Those adventures had begun with a Friday visit to the Biblical History Center in LaGrange. We took a self-guided walking tour that included seeing a sheepfold, a millstone for grinding, and a tree like those used for crucifixions. While in LaGrange we saw the home of the Callaways (who made their money in textiles) called Hills and Dales and the bell tower that is modeled on one that we had seen in St. Mark’s Square in Venice. We had lunch at Charlie Jones (we had to eat outside here), a classic 75-year-old hot dog joint. After seeing the statue of General Lafayette of Revolutionary War fame in the town center, we found a place for pasta called Mare Sol and shared yummy ravioli and a 3-salad sampler.

On Saturday afternoon we drove out to see the FDR Little White House. Because of his polio, FDR loved to come to the Warm Springs area and get some relief and enjoy the beautiful countryside. The museum included a large display of canes that people had sent him and a walkway with flags and symbolic rocks from all the states. We took in the view of the countryside that he loved at Dowdell’s Knob. For dinner we went to Steak ‘n’ Shake, a place we like, but do not have in Fresno.

Sunday, we drove into Atlanta after having breakfast at one of the numerous Waffle Houses in the area and throughout the Southeast. We toured the Coca-Cola museum which was great fun and included seeing the history of Coke and sampling some of the many variations made to be distributed in other countries. We saw the vault where the secret formula is kept secret. From there we saw Centennial Park and the large Ferris wheel which were both symbols of the 1996 Olympics. We did ride the Ferris wheel and got great views of the city. 

One of the famous battles in the Civil War was the Battle of Atlanta where General Sherman burned Atlanta to the ground (see Gone with the Wind). The battle is memorialized in a cyclorama which has a circular painting with 3-dimensional figures in the foreground. These cycloramas were popular in the late 1800s before moving pictures came along. So, I wanted to be sure that Jodi got to see this unique display (I’d seen it on previous trips); it also had been modernized and updated so I wanted to see the new version, too. While in that area of Atlanta called the Buckhorn District, we also saw many classic southern mansions. They are quite spectacular to see. For dinner we wanted steak and found it at a perfect place called Longhorn Steakhouse where the food tasted great and prices were reasonable.

Our flight home had been moved back to 5PM so we had some time Monday to go into Atlanta, but it was 37 with “feels like” at 27 because of the strong winds. We had breakfast of at Thumbs Up with eggs and amazing grits and homemade biscuits and peach jam. We went to check out the old Turner Field where the Braves used to play and found that it is now used by Georgia St. for its football and baseball games. We also saw the capitol and hoped to see the College Football Hall of Fame, but it was closed on Mondays. We walked a few blocks in that area and decided it was too cold to be walking around so we went to the airport early. We noted that even on Monday the whole downtown was like a ghost-town with few cars; the only people to speak of were the homeless ones.

This was Marathon #170; 32 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Marathon photos: VIEW ALBUM

  “View Photos” link will take you to Shutterfly where you can sign-up for free account to view the slideshow. Hold Ctrl and Click “Enter” to go to website. The pictures will show the items that I briefly mentioned in the write-up. Below is my 2006 story; that was a lot of states and marathons ago.

Hughston Orthopedic Hospital Marathon @ Callaway Gardens, GA- 1/29/06

This marathon was a landmark in 2 ways:  it was my 75th and the lst time in all these years that I won some hardware in a marathon.  I was 3rd in my age-group and won a plaque, so I was pretty excited to finally place after 25 years of trying.  If you go far enough way and find a small enough race….

When I checked-in to the Callaway Gardens resort property, the gal in her southern accent asked, “You came all the way from California to run this marathon?”  “I’m upgrading you to a suite.” So I had 2 rooms, 2 TV’s, and 2 bathrooms as well as a couch.  Wow!:)  Nice to have all the room, but a bit of an overkill.

The day of the race dawned with the rain pelting down.  By the time the race started at 8, the rain was a light, steady shower.  Temp was about 50 so they weren’t bad running conditions.  The course was over rolling hills with beautiful trees, gardens, and golf courses to see as we went around on paved paths.  The race consisted of 2 - 13.1 mile loops.  During the first half there were a lot of half-marathoners to run with.  When I started on the 2nd loop, I was starkly alone.  The good news is that it stopped raining & we even saw a bit of sunshine.

I ran 4:06:40 with splits of 2:02 and 2:04:40 and felt strong the whole way.  I walked only at some aid stations for 10-30 seconds and ran strongly the last 6 miles passing what few people I could find and having no one passing me.

After the race I drove to Atlanta and visited the Capitol, Coca-Cola exhibit, Underground Atlanta, and saw Georgia Dome.  On Monday morning I toured Turner Field and went to the Cyclorama before catching plane at 3 which actually left at closer to 5.  I got home 3 hours later than scheduled at 9:30 PST so I had lots of time to read.

For those counting along with me this was state #28.