Greater Roadrunner Trail 12 Mile

There's a race director who puts on lots of awesome trail races in Oklahoma. The courses are amazing and the post-race food is delicious. It's always a fun atmosphere and a great time. They added a new race to their series this year out at Roman Nose State Park. That's one of the state parks we haven't visited yet. I was so excited and really wanted to run it. Initially we planned to go as a family, stay in a teepee, and make a trip of it. Then Carter wanted to play soccer and he had a game that Saturday so I invited my group of running friends to see if they'd want to go and make a girls' weekend of it. Multiple were excited and on-board so I signed up for the race. Then as the weekend neared and I started planning where I would stay, they all ended up deciding not to go. I was a little bummed at first to be going alone, but then I got super excited about a 2.5 hour drive there and back to listen to my audiobook. The race was on April 30th. 

Sign at the entrance of the park.

They only had race day packet pickup so there was no rush to make it by a certain time the evening before. I wanted to arrive before dark so I could find the race start and make sure I knew how to get there from the lodge where I was staying. I arrived at the state park and as I drove down to the lodge I saw signs for the race which started just up the street from the lodge. I was super excited about that. I checked into my room and then decided to go on a short hike to check out the course before it got dark. I'm glad I did because it gave me a good idea of what to expect at the beginning and end of both my loops. There were a couple sets of stairs and a bridge to cross. The beginning section of the course had some decent hills but then it leveled out and was pretty rocky. For the most part it seemed like it would be mildly technical and mostly single track. The course was well marked so it was easy to follow on the way out but when I turned around there wasn't signage in one section so I missed my turn. I realized it but decided to check out what I thought might be the end of the loop and I was correct. The course was beautiful and seemed like it would be awesome. I was super excited and was pumped I could just walk or jog up to the start area from the lodge.

Pictures on the course during my hike the evening before the race. They don't even come close to doing it justice.

The view from my room.

My plan before the race was to eat a jar of overnight oats I brought with me. I had recently started intermittent fasting since I wasn't running in the morning so I stopped eating breakfast in hopes to speed along the loss of the excess weight I acquired while sick this winter. My body had adjusted really well to not eating breakfast and I didn't think about that. I wasn't hungry at all and forced down as much of the oatmeal as I could but probably got less than 100 calories in. I decided that would be fine and I'd just carry 2 Gus with me for the race. Packet pickup started at 5:30 am so I worried I needed to get there early. I can't remember exactly what I did, but I think I got there about 45 minutes before the race started and then I jogged back down and dropped my shirt off in my room. It warmed up quickly enough that I went ahead and dropped my warmups off too. Since I had time I ran a mile warm up which I hadn't planned on doing. After the race I was super glad I'd done that because I planned a 2 mile cool down to get 14 miles in for the day and I wasn't sure I would have had 2 miles in me after the race.

There were a couple women at the race start discussing the course and I shared with them what I saw from my hike the day before. Then a lady by me was concerned about carrying water with her and I encouraged her to put a water bottle in the pocket of her shorts. I had a water bottle in each of my pockets. The only aid station on the course was at the start/finish so at mile 6 in the race. Then we were off. The woman with the water bottle took off super fast up with a pack of men and one of the other women was running along right behind me. In trail races I always like to run the first half of the course in what feels a bit conservative because the second half always bites you more than a road race. Most the time I feel like I ran conservatively but still feel pretty worn out toward the end. During the first mile a guy in front of me went down and slid a bit down the side of the hill, everyone around stopped to check on him and he got up and kept going. I saw him in some of my race pictures and his knee was bloody but he looked fine other than that. I was having a blast and just doing my thing. My first 3 miles were 9:11, 9:00, and 9:17. The guy who had fallen was running along right behind me and it was nice to hear him. The closest person ahead of me had a nice gap so it was nice to know I wasn't alone.

One of the rocky areas toward the start of the loop.

There was a section where we ran out to a lookout point and around a bench and then back on a different trail. The view was absolutely gorgeous. Most of the race I was enjoying the view and appreciating how lucky I was to be out there. The really rocky sections had beautiful shiny rocks that looked like crystals. When we came up toward the end of the loop, I recognized it from my hike the day before. We had a nice clear packed dirt trail where you could pick up speed before you ran up the 2 flights of stairs and then out toward the grass. I was going up a hill as a guy came toward me and said "wrong turn". I though he was telling me I ran the wrong way so I turned around to follow him and told the guy behind me we were going the wrong way. Then the guy who told me "wrong turn" said, "No, I meant, I took a wrong turn, you guys were right." I should have questioned it more when I didn't recognize him as someone who had been running ahead of me. I'm really not sure how he took a wrong turn because this course was super easy to follow! My legs were burning a bit when I crested the 2nd set of stairs and I was thinking about how much more those stairs would hurt the 2nd time around on the next loop. Once we came off the top of the stairs we turned left and ran uphill in grass and then on a cart path to the finish line. So the entire last quarter-mile or so was all uphill which was fine on that first lap but I knew would be brutal the 2nd go around. Miles 4-6 were 9:23, 8:47, and 9:37. I went through the first lap in 56:02. 

Running out toward the overlook.

Going up the hill toward the finish of the loop I pulled ahead of the guy who had been running along behind me the whole way. Starting the 2nd loop I couldn't hear him anymore and I really missed him. It was hard to continue pushing without someone right there. The 10k started a bit before I finished my 1st loop so partway through the 2nd loop I started passing 10k runners. For the most part they paid attention and moved out of the way. There really wasn't room to pass because it was single track. There was one couple of women who were talking so loudly they couldn't hear me when I repeatedly told them I was coming up on their left and didn't move over so I had to slow down for a while to get around them. That was a bit annoying, but for the most part the passing was fine. I got to hear a woman offering water to a man near her who was struggling which warmed my heart. Miles 7-9 were 9:36, 9:16, and 9:40. I was really excited that all my miles were under 10:00 pace. Of course, I thought that too soon and mile 10 was 10:07. That mile was a bit slow and going into the next mile I could hear someone coming up behind me which gave me a little extra push. I decided to use that to my advantage and see how long I could hold him off and keep him from passing me. I have either gotten better at downhill running or this guy wasn't a good downhill runner because I'd pull away on downhills and it would take him a while to catch back up on the flats. I'd maintain my lead on the hills, so the downhills were what was helping me pull ahead. Crossing the bridge toward the end I could hear that he was really gaining on me and when I made it to the stairs, he had caught up enough I knew he'd pass me on the stairs. He didn't, but right as we crested the top of the stairs he came up beside me and went around. I would have gone with him, but I had nothing left. Had he been a woman, I'm not sure I would have been able to go with him, but I definitely would have tried harder! Miles 11 and 12 were 8:55 and 9:31, thanks to pushing to stay ahead of him. Then the last portion up the final hill was 9:47 pace. I finished in 1:53:46. I was pretty impressed my 2nd loop wasn't that much slower than my 1st loop considering I was running all alone for most of it. After the race I chatted a little bit with the woman who won and we laughed about the brutal finish. She said, "I ran that whole race and then people saw me walking up the hill at the finish." I was surprised she walked, I didn't walk at all, but I understood the feeling!

This is a flat section before going uphill and then over the bridge and up the stairs at the finish of the loop.

This is one thing I love about Oklahoma. I can run a 12 mile trail race through what looks mostly like desert, but then have a section that runs through pine trees.

The race was a blast! I was 2nd female and 7th out of 43 overall. I ran a mile cool down for 14 miles on the day to prep for my 25k at War Eagle in June. They had barbeque but I really wasn't feeling it so I drank a Ginger Ale, ate some watermelon, and took some pulled pork back with me to eat after I got out of the shower. I got back to the room, ate my overnight oats, showered, foam rolled, ate my barbeque, and then headed home. I enjoyed my audiobook on the way home!

Medal and award after the race.

What I Read: April

One more month of school and then it's summer reading time! I love the summer reading program so much along with the chill days with more time for reading! I'm definitely ready, 18 days and counting. 

Books:

• Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants by George W. Bush- I had this from a virtual event Magic City Books put on. Bush isn't a great writer, but this was decent. I liked reading all the stories of immigrants and their journeys. It made me want to read more about most of the people in the book. I even added a couple books to my to-read list.

• White Bird by R.J. Palacio- This graphic novel was the full story of Julian's grandma's (from Wonder) experience during World War II. It was so good. It was recommended to me as an adult graphic novel at a training on using graphic novels in the classroom and then I saw it at the kids' book fair so I bought it. I think older kids could definitely handle it and was surprised the librarian said it wasn't appropriate for children, maybe she meant that more as a teacher recommending to students. I think this is one parents would want to be involved in their children reading.
  

• The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty- This book was just like her others, hard to put down and I'd get sucked into it. It wasn't my favorite of hers, but very good.

• The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz- My mom recommended this one and I loved The Passenger so I was really excited. I didn't like it as much as The Passenger, but it was really good.
  

• Messenger by Lois Lowry- This was book 3 in The Giver quartet. I was disappointed in this one. There were parts of it that were interesting, but then the ending was awful. I felt like maybe it was mostly a set up for the next book. It didn't really stand on its own. 

• Even the Stars Look Lonesome by Maya Angelou- I picked this up at a used bookstore. I think I may have read it years ago when I read all of Angelou's books, but I still really enjoyed it!

• Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy- I told one of the librarians at the library by our house that every time I look at her pick shelf, she has books I've read and loved on it. Whenever she puts a book on it I haven't read, I check it out. We chatted about which books we've both read and loved and discovered we both always have an audiobook, ebook, and regular book going at all times. She recommended an audiobook for me. The next time I went to the library she said she put this one on her shelf with me in mind. It was so beautifully written and I loved it so much. It's set in a future where most animals are extinct due to climate change which was really sad, but if that wouldn't hit you super hard (like it did me because it just felt too likely), I would highly recommend this book.
  

eBooks:

• Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep- This book was part story of a trial and part story of Harper Lee after To Kill a Mockingbird. I loved In Cold Blood and didn't realize Lee helped Capote research for the book. I enjoyed this so much!
  

• The Austere Academy by Leomny Snicket- Book #5, still enjoy the humor and the writing. The storyline is fairly repetitive but I enjoyed the introduction of new characters with their friends at school.

• Something Blue by Emily Giffin- This was the sequel to Something Borrowed. It was from Darcy's perspective which I loved. I also enjoyed getting to see her transformation through this book. I actually enjoyed this one more because Rachel letting everyone step all over her was driving me nuts in the first book!
  

Audiobooks:

• An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn- This was Benedict Bridgerton's story. I loved the Cinderella aspect to the story.  

• The Rose Code by Kate Quinn- What I love about Quinn's historical fiction is that she bases her stories on real people and researches their lives. Then she fills in the gaps. This book was based on the female code breakers during World War II.
  

• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid- I loved Daisy Jones and the Six as an audiobook and I saw this had different narrators so I went with the audiobook. It was so good. I love it when authors pull characters from other books into an unrelated book. I loved that Mick Riva from Malibu Rising made an appearance in this book. Although this book came out before Malibu Rising, I read them out of order.

• The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg- I like that Berg often writes about older characters. This one was set at a 40th high school reunion and brought together many different characters by following their stories leading up to the reunion. I didn't like that the end of book skipped over a lot and then just picked up later. I liked this book but each time I read one of Berg's books, I'm hoping for it to be as good as The Story of Arthur Truluv and they never come close. She just seems to only have captured that magic once and her earlier work isn't as good and nothing that came after stands up to it.

• Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn- This may have been my favorite of the Bridgerton books so far. It wasn't can't put it down like the first one, but I think that was mostly because I now know the formula for her books so I know for sure what's going to happen and don't feel the need to keep going to find out. I also knew who ended up together at the end of this book, thanks to the spoiler that was the 2nd epilogue of the 2nd book. I was really invested in Penelope's story due to the show. They really make you love her in it. I also loved the unmasking Lady Whistledown storyline of this book. Now I can't wait for Eloise's book next!