Half and Half
While the main purpose of the Tulsa trip was to visit my dad, I still managed to find a fun race to add on to the trip. The format of the event is what intrigued me - half marathon on trails or a half marathon on road or combine the two together for a full marathon. Of course, I had to do the full marathon. Might as well! And I wanted the two medals for the complete yin-yang of road and trail...
I'd been watching the weather for the entire week before the race. While Sunday - race day - always stayed consistent - sunny and cold, the temperature varied form a high of 45 and low of 28 to a high of 32 and low of 19. It was the days before the race that had me worried. That was ranging from cold and raining for both days to freezing rain to freezing rain followed by up to 7 inches of snow. Rain would make the trail portion interestingly muddy, but have no affect on the road half. Freezing rain or freezing rain and snow was a different matter. Since I was flying, I wouldn't be able to bring my Katoola microspikes, so would be unprepared for any significant amount of ice. I did bring some extra layers and spare wool socks just in case! Even the day I left, the forecast was looking treacherous for running.
Thankfully, the anticipated storm drifted south of Tulsa, providing us with blue skies, sunshine and dry trails. With the sun coming up as I was getting ready, I pondered wearing shorts - but the temperature was only 24 at that point. It might warm up to mid-40s, but that was in a few hours! Capris it would be. When we got to the race venue, it felt much colder then mid 20s. Yay humidity! I opted for double layered top, headband and gloves as well. I figured the trail portion was in the trees and I would be okay without my visor. As the assembled runners waited, I was second guessing the tank top over my long sleeved wool top. I felt very under-dressed compared to everyone around me. And I was waiting in pants and a puffy coat! At the last minute, I swapped tank for t-shirt, figuring that extra coverage on my shoulders would be good. I was still feeling under-dressed when I shivered my way to starting line.
Because of the half trail/half road format, there were two different groups at the starting line. Half like me had blue bibs, signaling that we would be starting with the trail half. We faced west from the starting line, contained by flagging. Directly across from us, facing east and on the other side of the flagging, were the road runners marked by their green bibs. We would be starting at the same time, running in opposite directions. There were plenty of high fives as we started, the trail athletes wishing the road runners the best. I was surprised at how slowly the race started given that there were plenty of people (most of the field) just doing the trail half marathon. Not knowing how narrow the trails were or how hard the passing would be, I quickly moved up before we entered the park. I wanted to be able to run my own pace on the trails. That turned out to be a smart move - the first real section of singletrack was a rocky, chunky climb. Wow. The trails had some bite to them! This was going to be a fun half marathon for sure. Within the first mile, I'd found my groove, working my way into the lead for the women. I was a little nervous about that - I did have another half to run after the trail fun after all.
I could have spent all day just running around Turkey Mountain. The trails were so much fun. Everything from smooth almost double track to chunky rocks and roots covered in leaves. I was having way too much fun running, not minding my pace or anything. Staying smooth, focusing on the trail when needed, but also allowing myself to get distracted with the possibilities around me. Wheels would have been a blast there.
With the cold temperatures, wanting to eat or drink was hard. I totally skipped the first aid station. I had my small handheld with Skratch and was making sure to take some sips every so often. At the second aid station, I got a high five from a polar bear and a small cup of water. It had warmed up enough that I'd taken my gloves off, but it still wasn't super toasty. A few more miles and we hit the turn around. That aid station was fully stocked - definitely manned by ultrarunners! Between all the runners in the Trail Half and the Half and Half I was running in 4th, just a few minutes behind 2nd and 3rd. I didn't know how many of them would be doing the full, so just kept focused on my pace. I also had about 2 minutes over the second place women - again, since I didn't know which race she was doing, I couldn't stress about that. There was a constant flow of runners from the turn around until almost the first aid station as we retraced our steps back to the start/finish line. One bad thing about out and back courses on trails.
It was at that point that I realized my shadow - a guy I'd caught about mile 3 - wasn't planning getting too far away from me. Since I'd passed him, he'd stuck on me like glue. About 3 feet behind me, just close enough to be annoying but not so close in interfere with my running. He wasn't much for talking either - one word replies when I tried to make conversation. And he wasn't the smoothest trail runner either. There were plenty of tripping behind me, including when he tried matching my polar bear high five! That was worrying me the most. Since he was having difficulty picking up his feet, I was worried about him actually tripping and falling into me. Luckily, it never happened. And as annoying as he was, I was able to just ignore him and enjoy the trail run. Perhaps him not being chatty was a blessing in disguise!
As we dropped back down to the start/finish line, my shadow told me to "go head and finish it off." As if he was going to let me finish in front of him as thanks for leading him around the trail course! Haha. I simply replied "oh, I'm only halfway done." Silence - then awed exclamations about me running that fast and still having another half to go. He did at least thank me at that point for letting him follow me, saying that I was the best trail runner he'd followed in a long time. Then he decided that since I wasn't finished, he'd sprint for the line and try to break 1:50. I ran through the line, letting the volunteers know that I was doing the Half and Half. At the tent with the drop bags, I stopped for a bit. Debated switching shoes to my road shoes - decided to leave my trail shoes on. Swapped headband for my visor - the sun was up and there was minimal shade on the bike paths. I also decided to take my long sleeved shirt off, thinking that it was much warmer then it really was. Good thing I kept my gloves. I learned the hard way many years ago to always keep my gloves. Then I was off for the road half. I was right about 1:52 including my stop, so maybe a BQ time was within reach. I should be able to run the road half faster then the trail half, right?
After winding around the parking area, the path dropped down to parallel 71st St to cross the Arkansas River. There were plenty or runners from the road races coming back up path, so it was busy. I gave a thumbs up to everyone heading back, knowing that soon enough it would be quiet. Then I stepped onto the bridge. Holy shit - the trees on the trail half had done a great job of blocking the wind! No wonder all the road runners looking kind blasted - the bridge was almost a mile long with an numbingly cold cross wind. And then the path turned north (?) and straight into the wind. I put my head down, focusing on little milestones and keeping a steady pace. I was regretting taking my long sleeved shirt off for sure and ended up putting my gloves back on with the next mile. I knew the first turn around was about 4 miles after the start of the road half. Just over two miles to go and I'd have the wind at my back. I was anticipating seeing some of the road full marathon runners coming back soon, but to my surprise the first marathoner was actually a fellow Half and Halfer. I'd caught one road marathon runner, so I was running in second place. The next Half and Half runner was one of the other women - about 4 minutes behind me at the first turn around
I was doing a good job of drinking my Skratch - but not such a good job of eating anything. Like an idiot, I'd put my Skratch energy chews in my right hip pocket. That's usually just fine, but I had my handheld in my right hand. Even when I swapped hands for a little to take some stress off my right arm, I didn't think to eat anything. Whoops. I'm not sure that it hurt to much - I've gotten a lot better at minimal calorie intake during long runs from when I was first running marathons.
I was enjoying the tail wind, but dreading crossing the river again. Not only was it the second largest and longest hill in the race, it was totally exposed. It felt like the wind had picked up as I crossed, gusts teasing my visor and pulling the heat from my body. Brrr. I was happy I had my gloves! The path tipped up a little steeper once we peeled away from the main road, heading back to the start/finish for the second out and back section. My handheld was empty at that point, so I dropped it in my bag. No sense carrying it! This out and back section was about five miles total and was more sheltered from the wind. We were right along side the edge of Turkey Mountain, directly below some of the trails we'd run in the beginning. I was trying to avoid doing stupid runner math, but knew my chances for running sub 3:40 were getting tight. I had a few spots in my legs that were getting stiff and my stride wasn't as fluid as at the start of the road half. My motivation was also starting to lag. I was missing the fun of the trails! Thankfully, the bike paths weren't concrete, but a crushed blacktop surface. Still hard, but not as hard as concrete would have been. I started setting small goals and avoiding looking at my watch. I knew the pace was slowing, but didn't need to be reminded of it. Finally, I reached the last turn around. Time to head for home! Second place had gained a little time back on me, but not much. Unless I had a complete melt down in the last two miles, I'd still win. I allowed myself to walk up the final hill from the riverside to the finish line. It was a steep as it had looked in the profile! Then the finish - 3:44:04. I'd actually run the trail half faster then the road half!
I really enjoyed the race. Even though the last out and back was a bit of a struggle, it was a fun event. The trail half was really well marked, with both pink flagging and directional arrows - yellow for out and orange for back so there was no confusion. The sense of community was there on both halves, with runners cheering each other on throughout the day. I know the numbers were down due to the weather - the prior years, the Half and Half marathon alone had over 100 people. The aid stations were fine for the cold day, well stocked with all kinds of goodies - if it had been hot, I would have needed more then my handheld due to the humidity. But the volunteers running the aid stations were on top of things. They had to stay out in the cold for hours and seemed happy and excited every time I ran through. And the food truck they had to feed the runners after the race was awesome. RUB BBQ - I devoured my tacos! The medal is really cool, with separate style for each half. I guess they keep the same medal for a few years to allow people to get both halves without needed to run the marathon. If I go back, I'll have to make sure that I go after they change the medal style!
I'd been watching the weather for the entire week before the race. While Sunday - race day - always stayed consistent - sunny and cold, the temperature varied form a high of 45 and low of 28 to a high of 32 and low of 19. It was the days before the race that had me worried. That was ranging from cold and raining for both days to freezing rain to freezing rain followed by up to 7 inches of snow. Rain would make the trail portion interestingly muddy, but have no affect on the road half. Freezing rain or freezing rain and snow was a different matter. Since I was flying, I wouldn't be able to bring my Katoola microspikes, so would be unprepared for any significant amount of ice. I did bring some extra layers and spare wool socks just in case! Even the day I left, the forecast was looking treacherous for running.
 |
| Overcast and cold - but no freezing rain yet! And trail runners don't have to worry about closed roads... |
Thankfully, the anticipated storm drifted south of Tulsa, providing us with blue skies, sunshine and dry trails. With the sun coming up as I was getting ready, I pondered wearing shorts - but the temperature was only 24 at that point. It might warm up to mid-40s, but that was in a few hours! Capris it would be. When we got to the race venue, it felt much colder then mid 20s. Yay humidity! I opted for double layered top, headband and gloves as well. I figured the trail portion was in the trees and I would be okay without my visor. As the assembled runners waited, I was second guessing the tank top over my long sleeved wool top. I felt very under-dressed compared to everyone around me. And I was waiting in pants and a puffy coat! At the last minute, I swapped tank for t-shirt, figuring that extra coverage on my shoulders would be good. I was still feeling under-dressed when I shivered my way to starting line.
Because of the half trail/half road format, there were two different groups at the starting line. Half like me had blue bibs, signaling that we would be starting with the trail half. We faced west from the starting line, contained by flagging. Directly across from us, facing east and on the other side of the flagging, were the road runners marked by their green bibs. We would be starting at the same time, running in opposite directions. There were plenty of high fives as we started, the trail athletes wishing the road runners the best. I was surprised at how slowly the race started given that there were plenty of people (most of the field) just doing the trail half marathon. Not knowing how narrow the trails were or how hard the passing would be, I quickly moved up before we entered the park. I wanted to be able to run my own pace on the trails. That turned out to be a smart move - the first real section of singletrack was a rocky, chunky climb. Wow. The trails had some bite to them! This was going to be a fun half marathon for sure. Within the first mile, I'd found my groove, working my way into the lead for the women. I was a little nervous about that - I did have another half to run after the trail fun after all.
I could have spent all day just running around Turkey Mountain. The trails were so much fun. Everything from smooth almost double track to chunky rocks and roots covered in leaves. I was having way too much fun running, not minding my pace or anything. Staying smooth, focusing on the trail when needed, but also allowing myself to get distracted with the possibilities around me. Wheels would have been a blast there.
 |
| On one of the easier sections of trail. I'm looking at the little arrow fastened to the trees, marking the course |
With the cold temperatures, wanting to eat or drink was hard. I totally skipped the first aid station. I had my small handheld with Skratch and was making sure to take some sips every so often. At the second aid station, I got a high five from a polar bear and a small cup of water. It had warmed up enough that I'd taken my gloves off, but it still wasn't super toasty. A few more miles and we hit the turn around. That aid station was fully stocked - definitely manned by ultrarunners! Between all the runners in the Trail Half and the Half and Half I was running in 4th, just a few minutes behind 2nd and 3rd. I didn't know how many of them would be doing the full, so just kept focused on my pace. I also had about 2 minutes over the second place women - again, since I didn't know which race she was doing, I couldn't stress about that. There was a constant flow of runners from the turn around until almost the first aid station as we retraced our steps back to the start/finish line. One bad thing about out and back courses on trails.
It was at that point that I realized my shadow - a guy I'd caught about mile 3 - wasn't planning getting too far away from me. Since I'd passed him, he'd stuck on me like glue. About 3 feet behind me, just close enough to be annoying but not so close in interfere with my running. He wasn't much for talking either - one word replies when I tried to make conversation. And he wasn't the smoothest trail runner either. There were plenty of tripping behind me, including when he tried matching my polar bear high five! That was worrying me the most. Since he was having difficulty picking up his feet, I was worried about him actually tripping and falling into me. Luckily, it never happened. And as annoying as he was, I was able to just ignore him and enjoy the trail run. Perhaps him not being chatty was a blessing in disguise!
 |
| Me and my "shadow" |
As we dropped back down to the start/finish line, my shadow told me to "go head and finish it off." As if he was going to let me finish in front of him as thanks for leading him around the trail course! Haha. I simply replied "oh, I'm only halfway done." Silence - then awed exclamations about me running that fast and still having another half to go. He did at least thank me at that point for letting him follow me, saying that I was the best trail runner he'd followed in a long time. Then he decided that since I wasn't finished, he'd sprint for the line and try to break 1:50. I ran through the line, letting the volunteers know that I was doing the Half and Half. At the tent with the drop bags, I stopped for a bit. Debated switching shoes to my road shoes - decided to leave my trail shoes on. Swapped headband for my visor - the sun was up and there was minimal shade on the bike paths. I also decided to take my long sleeved shirt off, thinking that it was much warmer then it really was. Good thing I kept my gloves. I learned the hard way many years ago to always keep my gloves. Then I was off for the road half. I was right about 1:52 including my stop, so maybe a BQ time was within reach. I should be able to run the road half faster then the trail half, right?
After winding around the parking area, the path dropped down to parallel 71st St to cross the Arkansas River. There were plenty or runners from the road races coming back up path, so it was busy. I gave a thumbs up to everyone heading back, knowing that soon enough it would be quiet. Then I stepped onto the bridge. Holy shit - the trees on the trail half had done a great job of blocking the wind! No wonder all the road runners looking kind blasted - the bridge was almost a mile long with an numbingly cold cross wind. And then the path turned north (?) and straight into the wind. I put my head down, focusing on little milestones and keeping a steady pace. I was regretting taking my long sleeved shirt off for sure and ended up putting my gloves back on with the next mile. I knew the first turn around was about 4 miles after the start of the road half. Just over two miles to go and I'd have the wind at my back. I was anticipating seeing some of the road full marathon runners coming back soon, but to my surprise the first marathoner was actually a fellow Half and Halfer. I'd caught one road marathon runner, so I was running in second place. The next Half and Half runner was one of the other women - about 4 minutes behind me at the first turn around
I was doing a good job of drinking my Skratch - but not such a good job of eating anything. Like an idiot, I'd put my Skratch energy chews in my right hip pocket. That's usually just fine, but I had my handheld in my right hand. Even when I swapped hands for a little to take some stress off my right arm, I didn't think to eat anything. Whoops. I'm not sure that it hurt to much - I've gotten a lot better at minimal calorie intake during long runs from when I was first running marathons.
I was enjoying the tail wind, but dreading crossing the river again. Not only was it the second largest and longest hill in the race, it was totally exposed. It felt like the wind had picked up as I crossed, gusts teasing my visor and pulling the heat from my body. Brrr. I was happy I had my gloves! The path tipped up a little steeper once we peeled away from the main road, heading back to the start/finish for the second out and back section. My handheld was empty at that point, so I dropped it in my bag. No sense carrying it! This out and back section was about five miles total and was more sheltered from the wind. We were right along side the edge of Turkey Mountain, directly below some of the trails we'd run in the beginning. I was trying to avoid doing stupid runner math, but knew my chances for running sub 3:40 were getting tight. I had a few spots in my legs that were getting stiff and my stride wasn't as fluid as at the start of the road half. My motivation was also starting to lag. I was missing the fun of the trails! Thankfully, the bike paths weren't concrete, but a crushed blacktop surface. Still hard, but not as hard as concrete would have been. I started setting small goals and avoiding looking at my watch. I knew the pace was slowing, but didn't need to be reminded of it. Finally, I reached the last turn around. Time to head for home! Second place had gained a little time back on me, but not much. Unless I had a complete melt down in the last two miles, I'd still win. I allowed myself to walk up the final hill from the riverside to the finish line. It was a steep as it had looked in the profile! Then the finish - 3:44:04. I'd actually run the trail half faster then the road half!
 |
| Yes, it was cold! Puffy coat went on right after the finish! |
I really enjoyed the race. Even though the last out and back was a bit of a struggle, it was a fun event. The trail half was really well marked, with both pink flagging and directional arrows - yellow for out and orange for back so there was no confusion. The sense of community was there on both halves, with runners cheering each other on throughout the day. I know the numbers were down due to the weather - the prior years, the Half and Half marathon alone had over 100 people. The aid stations were fine for the cold day, well stocked with all kinds of goodies - if it had been hot, I would have needed more then my handheld due to the humidity. But the volunteers running the aid stations were on top of things. They had to stay out in the cold for hours and seemed happy and excited every time I ran through. And the food truck they had to feed the runners after the race was awesome. RUB BBQ - I devoured my tacos! The medal is really cool, with separate style for each half. I guess they keep the same medal for a few years to allow people to get both halves without needed to run the marathon. If I go back, I'll have to make sure that I go after they change the medal style!
 |
| The yin-yang medal. Half for the trail, half for the road. Put them together and you get one huge medal! |
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