Tulsa Run race recap

Good morning folks!

Happy Monday!!

I'm sure hoping this week goes better than last week did!!


Last Saturday, I ran the Tulsa Run 15k. This is the 3rd time I've run it, the 2nd time I've run it as a Pathways coach and possible the 1st time I've really enjoyed it!  The weather was perfect. It was cool when we started. I wore shorts, a short sleeved Nike shirt and arm sleeves. There was a chilly wind that made me wish I had worn gloves, but I pulled my sleeves down over my hands and was fine after we started running. I dropped hubs off for the 5k and went to Fleet Feet Sports Tulsa to find my group. After a fee group photos and final bathroom stops, we made our way to the starting area. As coaches, we were there to pace the runners if they wanted/needed it, but we encouraged them to do their own thing as it was their race. We came up with pacing strategies and split up based on our project pace/finish time. My plan was to run around an 11:45. The gun went off at 9 am and we were off!!

The first couple of miles were all down hill. It was my goal to keep them from going out too fast. The course flattened out and thinned out some when we got to Riverside. We had trained with intervals, but I don't run a set interval when I race. I advised them of  that prior to starting and they were ok with that plan. We walked through the first water stop. They were doing great! We were planning to walk the next water stop, which was at the turn around, but there was NO WATER!!  What?? We took a quick walk break, about 30 seconds and then resumed our pace. There was no water at the next water stop either. WHAT?! We kept running. At the 31st street plaza, one of my runners and I actually ran over to the bathrooms to get a drink at the water fountains. We continued north on Riverside for another mile, then we turned onto Boulder Avenue. At Veteran's park, there was a water stop that still had water.....hallelujah!!  I knew I would need water before we started up Boston hill. The last 2 miles were all up hill!!  We headed up 18th street and then turned north on Boston. I felt myself starting to pick up the pace a little bit because I knew that we were almost done. Because this race is a Tulsa tradition and close to Halloween, people often run in costume. There was a group of 6 women dressed as cave women ahead of me. As soon as I saw them, I knew that I had to beat them. And I did!! 

My finish time was 1:49. Not my best 15k time, but better than last year!!  But, I had so much fun pacing the runners. They stayed with me the whole way and ran with minimal intervals!!  I was so proud of them!!  Their goal was a 2 hour finish time and they surpassed that by about 10 minutes!!  Pacing is my biggest concern as a coach because I don't feel like I am consistent enough, but I was consistent when it counted!! 

We got really cool spinner medals but I would have preferred a less flashy medal and water on the course/food at the finish. The Tulsa Sports Commission did a better job than last year, but they still have room for improvement!!

Now, on to the Route 66 half marathon next month!!

The rest of the day was uneventful. I rested, relaxed, watched college football and movies. All in all, it was a perfect Saturday!!  Yesterday, I didn't feel well and we were busy winterizing our camping trailer and moving it to storage for the winter so I didn't get any food prepping done. I'm planning to run 3 miles at lunch today so I should be able to get some meals prepped tonight after work. I'm also going to start Insanity again tonight. I didn't think that I had seen any results because I didn't get ripped abs, but I definitely had more flexibility, better balance and could tell a huge difference in my endurance when I did it the first time. I'm hoping to see even better results this time around!!

Ok, that's all for now. Have a wonderful Monday!!