So, some of you might know that this has been a big year for
me. Full of big runs and quite a few PRs. So every now and again you see where
your life is and you wonder how you got here. Anyone who knew me in let’s say
2007 would never have expected for me to end up where I am today. So? How does
one go from spending every weekend at car shows, being way overweight, and
having very little direction in their life end up here? How do you end up
married, spending almost every free moment running, and on a very upward tract
in your career? I know that the answer that you are expecting me to give would
be “go run”, right? That is something I would say. But rather I think it is
more complex than that, or maybe simpler. My life took a radically different
turn in one year, and that year would change the course of my life and lead me
to where I am today. While running was a big part of it that was not the only
factor. And a quick recap of some of the highlights show it is amazing how much
can change in just one year. So for this blog take a trip down memory lane as I
take you through the year that changed my life the most (so far) 2010.
So I have to set this up a little, for it to make any kind
of sense. So coming into 2009 I had fairly recently moved back to Tulsa (Glenpool
really) and away from my family in Bristow. Now I did not grow up in Bristow I
spend the majority of my formative years in Jenks. But my family moved to
Bristow after I left for college, and I moved there for work after I left
Stillwater in 2007. But the small town life of Bristow was just not working
well for me, so I thought moving back to more familiar surroundings would be
good for me. So obviously I was not super happy with my home situation. Then to
add to that I was in a new role at work but was not meeting that role with a
whole lot of success. And to top it all off I had fallen into the trap of overeating,
and spending way more money than I had to things I did not need or most of the
time even want. It was just a constant shuffle of things in and out of my life
like I was searching for something. And anyone who has known me for a long time
knows that this is something that I was known to do. I was always getting into
different hobbies and whatnot, just moving the pieces of my life around to try
and fill some void.
Early in the year I had been seeing someone, but that
relationship fell apart (and for the better as we were not good together at
all). So here I was spending a lot of time alone in this new big house and not
really knowing what to do with myself. Mostly I spend my time watching HBO and
falling asleep on the couch. Then my mother gave me a book, and that book was
“Born to Run”. She told me that this book meant a lot to her and had affected
her pretty powerfully. Now my mother has always been a runner, so just being a
kid of course I was totally against running. You know how stupid we are growing
up, anything that your parent likes is stupid. So I am not even really sure why
I agreed to read the book, but I had a lot of free time on my hands so I
figured what the heck. And if I am honest this book hit me hard. It really made
me question what I was doing and what was important to me and it seemed to me
that the people in this book had the same problem I did. They all had a void in
their life that needed to be filled, so maybe this was a way to do it. Now
remember at this time I am not running. So there I was sitting on my couch in
Glenpool and thinking I have to do something with my life so I decide that I
need to start eating better and get into shape if I want anything in my life to
move in the right direction. So I hatched a plan to run from my house to the
local Arby’s (honestly I thought of this a healthy food option at the time) one
mile away according the magic of Google Maps. Digging through my closet I found
some old mesh basketball shorts, a plain white cotton undershirt, and some crappy
old tennis shoes that I used to mow the lawn and headed out the door. About 15
minutes later I was at Arby’s and sure that I was going to die. I sat there and
ate something a caught my breath before making the trip back to the house. That
little run would greatly affect my life, but I promise I am getting back to
2010. So that run took place in October of 2009, I ran my first 5k at the Tulsa
Run at the end of that month. The Tulsa Run was the best race I could have
selected for my first not only because it is a blast and one of the biggest in
Tulsa, but because I remember often sitting at the finish line as a kid waiting
for my mother to finish. So there was a lot of personal connection to the race.
Soon after though I stupidly decided that I would run my first Half Marathon at
the Williams Route 66 in November. The hunger for running was growing but going
into the new year I needed to do something big. I mean I was losing weight and
feeling better, but I was still doing this mostly by myself and just felt like
I needed to move the needle in a big way. It would take something big.
Me finishing my first 5k phone in hand for music
The Medal from 2010
Notice the Styling white cotton Tee-shirt
At the beginning of the year I found what that would be, the
50k at Post Oak in February. I talked a little about that race last post, but
at the time I signed up I did it because I basically thought it would be
impossible. I have often been quoted as saying that goals are not goals if you
know that you can do them. That just makes it something you can do. I honestly
at this point assumed that I would try this, fail, and have to reset with
something else. I mean really how could it be possible to run ten 5ks in a row,
on trails, in the woods. Forget that I was reading about people running 100
miles, that was just in a book. This was for real and me that we are talking
about. I was never going to survive the race. But I had a more fundamental
problem right out of the gate, how does one train for a 50k? So like anyone who
doesn’t know where to start I turned to Google. Even though it was just a few
years ago, back in 2010 it was hard to find anything about training for an
ultra. But I eventually found a plan for a 50 mile run. I figured, well if I do
that I should be able to do a 50k no problem. But the program was full strange
language that I did not understand, like 4x1600 to TMP. I reached out to the
only place I could think of Runner’s World Tulsa. As a non-runner I had been
there several times over the years to get my mother shoes for a birthday or
Christmas or whatever. I was in luck when I call as Kathy the owner of Runner’s
World Tulsa answered and she took pity on me (or was excited about sharing the
suffering) and explain speed work. So I hung up the phone pretending like I knew
what she was talking about only thinking to myself, how do you run at a certain
pace? I mean at this point I had no gear, I was just keeping track of my
distance by running the same loops that I had mapped out on the internet. So I
did the only thing that I could think of and wrote all the parts of this work
out on a big legal pad and went to the YMCA to jump on a treadmill to do the
workout as prescribed. So basically I was being a big idiot but I was lucky that
I had good people all around who were eager to help me out, because I am sure I
looked like a professional running at my 11 minute pace and checking things off
on this pad. So finally a longtime friend of the family Steve Lee (an amazing
all-around athlete) came up to me and said, “what in the hell are you doing?”
After explaining my stupid plan, he told me that there was a group that
training on Turkey Mountain on Saturday mornings. He said this group would be
able to help me out and that they would be doing some training runs out at Post
Oak as well. It was clear I should hook up with them and see what I they could
teach me. And just like that TATUR (Tulsa Area Trail and Ultra Runners) became
part of my life. On the first run out there it was cold and dark (7am in
December) and I showed up late. Having no idea where they would be running I
just took off on the only marked trail I saw (great ultra-running tactic) and
hoped for the best. And when I somehow amazingly caught up to the back of the
group I ran into one Mr. Randy Ellis, one of the best runners and for sure one
of the best people you could ever meet on the trail. This running legend made
me feel welcome in the group and assured me that my dreams of the Post Oak 50k
were not stupid. It was just what a scared new runner needed to hear. To this
day I still look up to Randy as one of my running idols, and just an amazing
human being.
Randy During A Race
His book about running across the country. Oh did I forget to mention that?
Meeting the TATUR group was one of the best things that
could have happened. The whole group was all over my plan of running this first
50k, and many of them had already done that kind of distance or further. So
they became not only big supporters, but a wealth of knowledge. So with this
group behind me I completed my first 50k, and then soon after I was in all
kinds of ultras. The 6-hour Snake Run, Lake McMurty, and then what would become
a big goal for me that year the Midnight Madness 50 mile run. In preparation
for this I was doing all kinds of races and any other running event I could
find. One such event was taking part in Lisa Smith-Batchen’s quest to run 50
miles in every state in the US. I ended up running the entire 50 miles with her
while she was in Tulsa. Not only did I learn lessons from her that I still
quote to this day, but I also ended up with my photo in Runner’s World magazine
when they did a story on the run. So here I am only a few months into 2010 and
I have gone from a new runner to that ultra-guy who is at every local race. I
really came out of nowhere, but most of the people who knew me before just
figured this was the latest fad for Stormy and soon enough I would move onto
something else. Surprisingly it seems that they would be wrong on this one.
This is actually the flier from when she was in Tulsa
That is me in the Green Shirt (without beard)
So here we are into this story a little ways and still all we
have talked about is running. I promise that this year being important was not
just about running, there were so many other little things that happened that
year that seem like not a big deal and would turn into major events. For
example, early in the year while running a little 15k trail race in Eureka
Springs AR, a place that I visited as a kid but had not though much about
since, I meet a man named Shannon McFarland. We finished the race right next to
each other he burned me on a big downhill right before the finish line and came
in 10th and I came in 11th. I don’t know why but at that
time finishing in the top ten was a big deal to me. Anyways we talked for a
while after the event, he kept blabbing on about this half marathon in
Bentonville that I had to come up and run. I didn’t ever follow up with him
even though he seemed like a nice guy, and then it turned out we ran a bunch of
events through the next year without realizing the other was at the same event.
In fact, we would run our first 100-mile race together without even knowing it.
But eventually we got on the same page and now Shannon is one of my best
friends. This reintroduction to Eureka would also be important, but more on
that later.
It is hard to see but that is me in the Red and Shannon next to me.
We had not met at this point.
As I said at the beginning 2009 at my work was not going
very well, and moving into 2010 I was not doing much better. Running would
eventually be a great outlet to allow me to focus in on my work, but it started
as a big distraction. But during the year other things would happen that would
change my professional path. I was asked by my work to take part in a
professional leadership training class that the company (J-W Energy) was
holding in Dallas. It would be a four-part class taking place over four weeks
throughout the year. Basically you would go for a week of meetings in this
hotel near the home office, then we would come back a month later. I have
always liked these self-help type of classes, and it was neat but I didn’t
really think much would come of it. With the benefit of time on my side I know that
in that year I would make business connections that would rocket me through the
organization over the next few years. The curriculum itself would not be near
as valuable as the people that I was able to learn from. Also, my enthusiasm
for the opportunity came through and I made a good impression on group. By the
end of that year those business connection, particularly with a man that would
become my boss for a large part of the next 6 years Gene Gradick Jr, would be
some of the most influential that I would ever have. I continued to work and
learn from most of those individuals and we able to see that I was derailing
myself from my career path. With their guidance I really changed my work life
and have been blessed with a fair amount of success as a result.
Another small event that would become the major driver of my
life came from a small race I decided to take part in, on June 6th
2010. The race is not held any more but was fun and a neat concept. The race
was called the TATUR Estim8ur. In this race you would run on an unknown course,
any kind of personal timing equipment was not allowed. All you know before the
start of the race was the distance, 8 miles. The goal of the race was not to
win (or be the first across the finish line) but rather every runner is made to
guess what their finishing time will be and at the end whoever comes closest to
that time wins. So really it is anyone’s guess who will come out on top. To
make it interesting you place your estimated finish time on your back so other
can decide if you know what you are doing and run your pace. At the time of
this race I was racing a lot, so my running was progressing pretty well. As
such I was running much faster than I had planned and the next thing I know I
was the first runner to cross the finish line. This would have been my first
overall victory (had it been that kind of race) and I was excited about how
well the run went, but I was about 2 minutes ahead of my estimated time. Needless
to say I lost by a lot. At the end of the race I was hanging around and started
talking with the lady that won the race. She finished within two seconds of her
estimated time. We had a good laugh about the whole race, and how I crossed
first and yet she totally kicked my butt. As we talked I found out that on the
course she had ran into my mother and talked with her for a while. Well we kept
talked for a while, as I am quite chatty, but the whole time I was trying to
figure out if the guy she ran with was a friend or like more than a friend.
This question would not get answered that day rather we ran out of time. She
told me that her mother was in town and she had to meet her for breakfast. So,
before I knew what had happened she was gone and I was just hanging out by
myself again thinking about what to do next. I wanted to be able to talk with
her again but in all my chatting I never asked for any contact information. I
only knew her name, Brynna.
This was actually the banner from the previous year
After the race I actually ended up going out to my parent’s
house to spend the day. And I was distracted, I just couldn’t get this girl out
of my mind. I really felt like I had missed my chance to see what could have
come of us hanging out. So, then I did something I have never done before,
Facebook stalking. LOL, ok not really stalking but I looked her name up on
Facebook and sent her a message. At this time, I really didn’t know if she was
in a relationship or what, and pretty much just felt like a creeper for
contacting someone like this. Particularly someone that I had only just kind of
met. I am pretty sure this is a textbook runner horror story. You are a girl
and finish a race, then you talk to some weirdo just trying to be nice and the
next thing you know he is sending you Facebook messages. That was what was
going through my mind until to my great surprise she wrote me back. Soon she agreed
to meet up with me and go for a run. I know, total shocker, I get a girl to
agree to meet up with me and I still want to go for a run. I am basically super
romantic. Anyways we went for this run, and I was dragging her all over the Riverside
trails, until she finally told me that she was done with the running. So we
walked back to our cars, and spent the next hour or so talking in the parking
lot until she said she had to get home. She later told me that her sister was
waiting for her to call to make sure I didn’t kill her or something. So she was
gone again but not before your man got her to agree to plans for a second
meeting (still not calling it dates at this point) to not run but go to the
lake. And the rest my friends is history. We continued to hang out, and even
went on an official date finally to the Philbrook Museum like fancy people. And
she was able to slowly find out that I was not a causal runner and that I
basically embodied the difference between a runner and a jogger (as Dean Karnazes
once said, “The difference between a runner and a jogger is that a jogger still
has control of his life.”) and still she did not run away. But rather she took
it all like a champ and even went to the magical Eureka Springs with me for a
running weekend. And as we all know that is the true sign of love. If you take
someone to a weird place that you love for reasons that make no sense and they
love it too, then you have a keeper. She agreed to pace me for the final 10
miles of my fifty-mile race, and saw me at my most vulnerable. When you have
been running all night it is hard to put up an act. Anyways, the moral of the
story is that a few weeks ago I finally married that girl. For reasons that
elude me she agreed to all of this. Despite me proposing during the middle of
the Victorian Classic 10k in (you guessed it) Eureka Springs, with most of our
friends along for the trip.
Brynna Helping me at the end of Midnight Madness
Brynna and I right before the Start of the Mother Road 100
As for the rest of 2010, I would that year run my first
50-mile official race (despite having gone that distance with Lisa during her
50 mile run in Tulsa) the Midnight Madness, and by the end of the year run my
first 100-mile race. The Mother Road 100 from Baxter Springs, KS to Catoosa, OK.
I only ended up running that race because a good friend of mine and a very
gifted runner (and cyclist) Jason McGinnis had to drop out at the last minute
due to injury. I had been training to run the Williams Route 66 marathon in
Tulsa and had not run longer than 18 miles for a while. But I figured what the
heck and gave it a try. I was only able to finish with the help of some amazing
people like Kathy Hoover the wonderful owner of Runner’s World Tulsa, Ken and
Dana Childress who are masterminds of this kind of distance, Jason who came out
and paced me in for the final bit, and of course Brynna who drove around all
over creation to crew me for this mess. As of yet I have not bested my finish
from that race, crossing the line at 23 hours and 10 mins (maybe Western will
be the lucky race to make that time fall, lol). I was down for the count after
that race, in case you are wondering 100 miles on pavement is not awesome for
the feet. But the next weekend I was still signed up for the Route 66 marathon
and I hated to miss out. So I stayed off my feet for the whole week and then
jumped into the marathon just hoping not to die. I was somehow able to finish
in 3 hours and 38 minutes and received the “my first marathon” medal. Did I
mention that it was my first marathon? Yeah with all the jumping straight from
5k’s into ultra-running I had never got around to running a marathon so that
was my first. It was a great experience and I have made that race a part of my
running calendar every year since.
Jason and Brynna bringing me in at the finish of my first 100
Andy, Aaron and I before Route 66
I know that is whole rambling post has been a little
disjointed. If I want to be honest I wrote it over the course of several weeks.
I have been meaning to be a lot more punctual about my blog post, but with the
wedding and all the travel I just have not made time for it like I had hoped
to. But, if you guys will stick with me I am really going to try and keep
making an effort to keep this up. Just like this post I think it is very
important that we look back on where we came from when we get a chance. Who
knows what little things in our everyday life will have ripples that we will
feel years down the road. I would have never thought that getting overly
excited about running races would not only have given me some of my closest
friends, but would also lead me to meet my future wife. And if we don’t take
the time to appreciate the little things that happen and keep those stories
alive we could lose some great moments. I mean really one of the things that
made it take so long to write this post was that I had way too much to talk
about. Even just looking at that one year, if I wanted to write down every
major event that happened to me, this post would be 100 pages long. I encourage
anyone reading this today to look back and think, what was a year that changed
your life? I bet if you are like me, you might be able to pick one and talk
about a lot of big things that happen on year “x”. But the truth is that these
little moments are happening all the time, and even though we might have big
accomplishments in any given year (like running your first ultra) the big
movers of our lives are not those. Running that big race or buying a new house
might seem like a big deal at the time, but it is the chance encounters and
happy accidents that your will be talking about 10 years from now.
For the next post I will try and get back on track, but
until then Go Run Tulsa, you never know maybe this one will change your
life.