Oklahoma! Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain!

Everyone at the OKC Marathon got a good dose of Oklahoma wind. Yes, it was grueling on the way back, especially coming over Claussen, which seemed to go on and on. But, we had a good race for the first 15 or 16 miles. It got a little rough in Nichols Hills on the way back but we still had some fight left in us but once we hit Claussen and the wind was relentless, it was really hard to keep running...so we didn't. That was the longest 4 mile stretch but I kept thinking about some others in our group ahead of us who were trying to get a 4:15 and I prayed for them that they could achieve their goal. I lost anyone I was running with on Claussen and I was torn between waiting for them or pressing on to do my best and I decided to press on because they had told me to do that if they dropped back and I would want them to do the same if the tables were turned. So many people were walking on Claussen, it seemed that the only ones running were the relay runners.

Once I got to the 25th mile, I told myself that I had to run, especially since my pace had dropped off so much that there was a possibility that I wouldn't break 5:00. Actually, up to mile 24, I was still on pace to finish at 4:45 but I slowed down so much that I was going to need to pick up the pace to even break 5:00. Turning on Broadway and seeing the finish line down the street was such a relief. I kept my eyes focused on the finish line and pressed on and hoped that my Garmin was right because it looked like I was going to be several minutes under 5:00. Crossing that finish line felt so good. I ended up with a 4:56:38 which is a PR for me.

Even though the last 10 miles were so tough, it was a great weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed the pasta dinner, hearing the speakers and seeing all the RW runners. I especially was inspired by Amy Palmiero-Winters, the amputee:http://www.seeamyrun.com/ and I thought about her pushing that wheelchair all throughout the race. It was so great to run with friends and to meet some new people (Lauren) and I learned that Lauren is the sister of someone my daughter swims with at Booker T. Having Lauren's parents cheer for us all thoughout the race was so incredible, I can't thank them enough. And it was great to reunite after the race and gripe together about the weather and how hard the race was. Getting a PR was very rewarding, my next goal is a 4:45 but it will be in the fall and I haven't decided where to run yet. I am going to do the Aquarium 1/2 marathon in a couple of weeks and try to finish in 2:00.

Thanks to Joe and Dave too for coming over to OKC to cheer us on, it meant a lot.