Race Recap: Route 66 Marathon - DNF

Race: Route 66 Marathon
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Date: Sunday, November 24, 2013

Saturday, November 23, 2013: Travel/Expo Day

Better late than never!! Well, as I had alluded to in this post, I had just gotten out of my walking book after a stress fracture in my left ankle about a week prior to this race. I had done no training of any sort and just thought since I was in town anyway (my husband was doing the half marathon) that I'd just go ahead and try to get as far as I could. I mean after all the running adage goes: Dead Last Finish/Dead F$@#ing Last > Did Not Finish > Did Not Start...so I figured starting was at least better than not doing so.

We left home really early Saturday morning to do the 7 hour drive to Tulsa. It had snowed in the days previous and since I was driving I wasn't sure if we'd make it to the expo in time or not because I don't do well with snow. As it was the drive was relatively clear and we arrived at the convention center without any problems. The expo was a typical race expo, nothing I needed to take pictures of but i did meet up with an online friend and fellow Half Fanatic, Deanna, and her family/friend for our first face to face meeting.

The silly things online friends do when they first meet! ;)

After we met up with Deanna and chatted awhile we finished walking around the expo and then proceeded to check into our hotel across the street. The weather was still pretty brutally cold and the thought kept running through my mind if I really, really wanted to try to do the race or not. I could really opt to stay in the room nice and warm the next morning while the hubs did his race and just meet him at the finish line later, but no I talked myself into at least trying.

That night we joined the 50 States Half Marathon Club for dinner at a nearby grill. I'm a new member of the club and it was the first time I had met almost any of the members. Luckily, a couple of my room mates from Center of the Nation were also club members so I did know at least 2 people there.

50 States Half Marathon Club pre-race dinner.

Sunday, November 24, 2012: Race Day

We woke up to a brutal 14°F, breezy day. I had questions early on as to whether I'd be able to tolerate the cold and finish or if my ankle would hold up for the race. Still, I got ready and bundled up in layers to head to the start...

As we headed into Maniac/Fanatic Corner, a special area set aside for members of the Marathon Maniacs and/or Half Fanatics to meet at the starting area I met up with a couple of running friends from online and previous races...

Dee Dee and I

Theresa and I

We also took the group MM/HF photo. I believe there were a few hundred of us there!

I'm about 1/3 of the way from the left near the middle in a yellow visor, next to the hubs with a blue knit cap. The funny thing is that there is a lady, Gwen, 3 people over to my left who I knew from online and was trying to meet and we never saw each other this whole weekend.

As the race started I knew within a half mile that I was already in trouble. I had planned to walk the marathon but tried to do some light jogging off and on. Within the first half mile my ankle was already hurting, but I kept on going sometimes limping and braving the cold and the wind. By the time I hit mile 7 or so I was sweating and because my windbreaker had no ventilation I had beads of condensation inside the jacket that were literally freezing due to the cold temperature. By the time I hit mile 10 I knew I was done. I could try to push on to the half marathon point or just call it quits. By this time both my ankles were hurting and I could barely keep from a pronounced limp. Just before mile 11 was a relay exchange point with a shuttle that would bring runners to the finish area. I decided to bail at this point. This would be my third DNF for a full this year (MAD Marathon in Idaho at 20 miles due to medical issues and the Turtle Marathon in New Mexico at mile 1 due to illness). Believe me, as cold and as miserable as I was I really didn't care. 

I made my way back to the hotel via two shuttle buses and warmed up. The hubs was already there but hadn't stopped by Maniac/Fanatic Corner to pick up his special Half Fanatic finishers medal so we cleaned up and packed and I drove him back to the finish so that he could get his medal. 

Hubs medal.

We ate a late lunch at the Spaghetti Warehouse which is right down by the finish area and headed home on clear roads. All in all I can't complain because even though I didn't come home with a medal, I did give it my best effort and doing ~11 miles with no training and just out of a walking boot is still a good accomplishment on a personal level.

What I liked about this race:
Maniacs/Fanatics Corner and the specialized medals were a bonus...I'll have to come back and finish it next time to get these medals. The course, at least what I saw of it, was nice and not too hilly.

What I did not like about this race:

The COLD!! Fourteen degrees is just too cold for me. I need to do this race when there's a hot spell but that's hard to determine in November in Oklahoma. Past races I've seen people dressed for at least cool if not warm weather, this year's race certainly was out of the norm, I think.

Would I do this race again:

Yes! I want one of those specialty medals!! lol! It's all about the bling!

Finish Time: DNF at about 11 miles.