Race Day Is Almost Here!

Race weekend is upon us. Normally getting this close to my big goal half marathon or marathon I start to feel some race jitters and nerves. Right now I'm just feeling super excited. I'm sure the nerves will come later but I'm enjoying the calm excitement right now. I know I've put in the work. I know I've worked hard. I have plenty of season PRs behind me to know I am in good shape. I've laid down a 41:49 10k which is an all-time PR, a 1:05:19 15k which was also an all-time PR because I'd never run that distance before, and a 19:45 5k which is the fastest 5k I've run since college. The training is there. I know I'm poised to have a good race. I have tapered, I've avoided injuries and illness, and I'm getting 7 hours of sleep most nights. It is so exciting for me to know I've put myself in a place where I could potentially beat my PR of 8 years in the half marathon. My fastest half marathon time was in my very first half marathon I ever ran. I've come within a minute of that time, but have never beat it. The race was perfect for a fast time with cool temps and a flat course. I feel pretty good about my chances of coming even closer to my PR on Sunday, if not beating it this time.

The Route 66 is an awesome race. The crowd support is amazing, the course showcases some awesome parts of Tulsa, there are thousands of runners every year so I always have people to run with, plus the starting line is about 10 minutes from my house. There are so many pluses for this race and it is one of my favorite half marathons I have ever run. The only downside is the course is challenging. It isn't super hilly but hilly enough that it isn't great for running a PR. I ran a 1:31 in my first half and then a 1:32 just a few months later at the Route 66 when I was in better shape, but the course slowed me down. So although I would love to say I feel confident in running a PR, I don't. I feel confident I can run a strong race and that I will give it my all on race day, I'm just not sure what finishing time that will entail and I'm okay with that. As long as I run as hard as I can, that's really all I can ask for. I feel pretty good about my chances of running a 1:32 and feel like there's a good chance I can run in the 1:31's, but I really don't see a sub-1:30 in the cards for me right now. No matter what happens I am confident that I can run under 1:35 even if I don't have a good race. I ran the 15k at the end of October in 6:58 pace and I would be stoked if I could finish the half marathon at that same pace. We will see what happens!

With the Route 66 being one of the biggest races in Tulsa and the most loved there has been a lot of press on it lately. I follow the race on Facebook so I see all the links and articles posted about the race. I just read this article about the founder of the race. In March he fell off a ladder and sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Reading the story brought back so many memories for me. Memories of fear, brain shunts, cerebral profusion pressure, and intercranial pressure. Reading the story I really felt not just for the family going through this terrifying time, but also for Chris and the long and frustrating journey he has ahead of him. I am so thankful for all the work he has put into making the Route 66 such a fun and amazing race. I am also thankful he survived such a terrible accident and is fighting for recovery. It makes it even more significant that Jeremy will be running the race after his TBI. There will be a lot on my mind when I step up to the starting line on Sunday and Chris will definitely be at the forefront. I will be thinking of him and his family with each step that I take and I am hoping he will be back at it next year for the 12th annual event.

As I thought about Chris and what an amazing event he worked so hard to create, I started reminiscing about the race over the years and all it has meant to me. 2006 was the inaugural race and Jeremy ran his first marathon that day. Thomas and I drove out to watch him run and I was hooked. I just had to run a marathon after seeing his race and feeling the excitement and atmosphere of the race. I ran my first half marathon the following summer and followed that up with a half-marathon at the Route 66. Then in 2008 I ran my first full marathon at the Route 66. I've run the race 6 of the past 10 years and Jeremy has run it 8 times. I've run it in good shape, in poor shape, pregnant, and postpartum. The race has been a huge motivator for me in so many ways and has brought me a lot of joy and satisfaction. Just for fun I thought I'd share our race results through the years with a bit of commentary.

• 2006- Jeremy's first marathon, he finished in 3:19:43. I loved watching Jeremy race and couldn't wait for the chance to run the race myself. It was crazy to me that Jeremy was running for long enough we had time to watch him start, go to McDonald's to eat breakfast, watch him at numerous points along the course, and then watch him finish. One of the big memories of this race for me was Jeremy running along around the same pace as a guy who was running in an orange banana hammock. I guess he lost a bet but Jeremy said no one wanted to run with him. Most people would speed up to pass him.

  

  Jeremy running ahead of the banana hammock guy.

  

  Jeremy finishing his first marathon.

• 2007- Jeremy's second marathon, he finished in 3:23:32. Thomas' first half-marathon and my second. He finished in 1:32:08 and I finished in 1:32:39. I remember Thomas passing me around mile 8 while wearing his shirt as a cape. I figured he would die when we hit the hills and I would pass him back but he rocked the hills and kept pulling further away from me. I was pretty excited to finish 5th overall female in such a large and competitive race.
  

• 2008- I ran my first marathon and Jeremy decided to run it with me. It was awesome to have him there with me! When we hit around mile 20 or so Jeremy started having stomach issues and had to use the porta potty. He told me to keep running and he'd try to catch up. He never did and I conquered the last 6.2 miles of hills alone. Back then the marathon course was flat for the first 20 miles and then the last 6 were all up and down hills. It was brutal. I knew from looking at the elevation map that it would be like that so I saved back a bit for the hills and was so thankful I had when the time hit. I finished in 3:40:05, qualifying for Boston. I walked back to see Jeremy finish and really started to worry about him. He ended up finishing in 4:27:31. He had to stop at the restrooms multiple times and had to walk some because his legs started cramping up. Thomas ran the half marathon, finishing in 1:34:40. He was late to the start because he was out watching us in the marathon which back then started before the half. He ended up having to pee on a tree because he didn't have time to go to the porta potties.
  

• 2009- Jeremy and Thomas ran the half-marathon, finishing in 1:37:31 and 1:43:05 respectively. I ran the most miserable race of my life, finishing the marathon in 3:58:04. While training for the marathon my goal was to break 3:40. Then race week came and I was sick. I refused to accept the fact that the marathon wasn't going to happen. I knew I should probably transfer to the half but was determined to run the full. I ended up having to walk in the second half and threw up as I crossed the finish line. I went to the doctor the next day and was diagnosed with bronchitis and a sinus infection. 

• 2010- Jeremy and Thomas ran the half-marathon, finishing in 1:35:55 and 1:54:41. Ty and I were in Topeka for Paul and Amanda's wedding.

• 2011- Jeremy and I ran the half-marathon together. He hadn't really trained and I again got sick the week of the race. Training for a half or full marathon at the end of November as a teacher is rough because you are putting in long runs and compromising your immune system right around the time when sickness starts going around. We finished together in 1:51:40. It was my first time running the race as a Cox rather than a Hurford.

• 2012- I decided just a couple weeks out from the race to do it. I was 32 weeks pregnant on race day and had gotten the okay from my doctor to run it before I signed up. Jeremy and Thomas hadn't trained for it but figured since their hugely pregnant sister was running, they probably should. Jeremy finished in 1:32:10, Thomas finished in 1:47:39, and I finished in 2:19:57 (with a couple restroom stops).

  

  I was large and in charge on race day, lol! Ty was pretty proud he got pictures of me switching to a short-sleeved shirt mid race. My belly was much more impressive bare, that's for sure!

• 2013- We ran the Jenks half-marathon instead. I can't remember what we had going on race day, but something conflicted so we picked a different fall half-marathon. I ended up being so glad as the weather was terrible that year with icy roads and miserably cold temps. All my friends who ran it said it was awful.

• 2014- I was pregnant with Elise and decided to just run one half-marathon earlier in the season to make it easier on my body. We all ran the Prairie Fire half-marathon in early October instead. Mom, dad, and I all volunteered at a water stop during the race and it was an awesome experience. Seeing it from the other side made me appreciate the hard work volunteers put in to make the race possible.

• 2015- This was Ty and dad's first time running the race! They changed the course this year so it started and finished at different locations. Instead of just the last portion of the race being hilly, the hills were more spread out within the race. Jeremy finished in 1:34:17, I finished in 1:35:43, Thomas finished in 1:57:00, Dad finished in 1:57:12, and Ty finished in a PR of 2:08:03!

• 2016- I'm excited to see what this year has in store for us! I'm hoping for a PR or at least a post-baby PR! Sub-1:35 here I come! No matter what happens I know it will be easier than 2012!