Post Oak Lodge Trail Challenge 10K

Saturday morning I got up early and traveled up to the Post Oak Lodge in the Osage hills northwest of Tulsa to run the 10k segment of the Post Oak Lodge Trail Challenge. Usually there are some pretty good vistas to be had but Saturday it was overcast and misty.



They had something for everybody. The ASPCA was out there for a 1.3 mile "dog jog."



The 10kers assembled in a field and off we went.



We ran through fields and woods and hopped across small streams.



This being Oklahoma we ran by oil wells and tank batteries.



I met running, geocaching, and blogging friend Trail Zombie at one of the aid stations.



In addition to being one of the nicest guys a person could know he is an ultra runner. He runs, and finishes races that upwards of 100 miles or more. Oh, and word of warning. If you are thinking about dumping trash on or vandalizing any areas where he runs, his smile quickly turns into a frown. Saturday, he provided me with a an adult malted sports beverage to revive myself.



You see I had just run to the top of Holmes Peak and needed a little reviving (all of you mountain state people please hold your snorts of derision. That hill kicked my butt.)



After finishing my sports beverage I headed on. Maybe the sports beverage wasn't that great an idea. About a half mile later I tripped on a rock and took my first trail run spill. It came as a great surprise and knocked the air out of me. Unfortunately I didn't even get any scrapes or bruises (except to my ego) to elicit any sympathy out of anybody.

So I finished and got my participant medal.



You can tell from all the mud on me that I had a great time.



The thing about running trail racing is that they give me energy. Here I am, the life of the party, at a gathering of family and friends that evening.



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February, Osage County

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A Day Off including Sams, a Bottlecap Bikini, and getting into a Major Squeeze

Friday was my day off so we Sweetie and I hung out together.

We went to Sams where I scored a new Canon camera.



It replaced my hard working but crappy Fuji which died earlier this week.



I have a little nicer Canon that I use a lot but I always carry a smaller camera in my pocket a. I also carry them in races and I'm running in a 10k trail run today and I need to have a camera to document the race and provide a reason for my very slow time.



Afterward we went to the new Blue Rose Cafe on the Arkansas River. It is the hot place to be in Tulsa right now. I think the photo above is of the "Blue Rose." And this must be her bikini.



It looks very uncomfortable to me, to say the least. Just studying on it a little I don't think that it is a very practical concept. It is unique though.



The food is very tasty. This is their Blue Rose Special burger. It has blue cheese and bacon on it.

Afterwards we went to Whole Foods. We are smart enough to eat before we go there. That had some championship bunches of flowers for sale there. Pics were free though.



Whole Foods in Tulsa is the place to go to see things that are rare in Tulsa but common elsewhere. Like knit caps. Know what I mean?

What I don't get is that the hotter the weather, the more people wear their knit caps. There was only about a third of the workforce wearing their caps at the store Friday and it was cold. Just wait until early August when it is will be 110F. They will all be wearing knit caps and flannel shirts. Can somebody explain this to me? I'm just a poor dumb Okie.

Eventually we went to pick up SuperPizzaBoy at school. The Occupational Therapist told us about a new gizmo that she had. A squeeze machine. Naturally I had to try it. WARNING, the pics below are not pretty sights.



I tried it on the minimum setting.



And I tried it on the max setting.

It felt great!! It is called a Steamroller Deluxe

Do you think that I might get one for my birthday?

How was your last day off? Hey retired people, you have days off also, don't be kidding me.

SuperPizzaBoy's Camera

I have been going through SPB's camera looking at the photos he has taken the last several months. These are some he took at Tulsa's Philbrook Museum at a gathering of family of friends in honor of his grandmother Nana's birthday.



That's Nana to the right, Sweetie, Me, and then family friends Donna and John.





I think the boy is doing ok with his camera.

Sweetie - Did you do this?

This week I was looking at photos at the Sweetie and SuperPizzaBoy captured with their cameras.



You see they both take pictures of stuff but they never download or print or anything.



But these photos taken at Carlsbad, California are not half bad.



So who is the photographer?



Way to go Sweetie!

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Soda and Cigars

Wall near downtown Tulsa.

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Ruby Tuesday at School

I took the dogs and my Diana film camera on a walk a while back and we went went to the neighborhood school. They immediately zeroed in on this...



There was other red there also.









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Lets Go for a Run

Lace up your shoes and lets go for a noontime run around downtown Tulsa. I brought along a recyclable film camera to document.

First up, ...



a Penguin? Yep, a penguin, in the lobby of the building housing my health club, that was part of a Tulsa Zoo fund raiser years ago. I like penguins but I have had nightmares about this one.

Here is a more manly sculpture in the same building.



Tulsa is the Oil Capital of the World, just so you now. At least it used to be.

Now on past the biggest retail establishment downtown.



Sadly it is our downtown porno outlet. Downtown Tulsa used to be teeming with all sorts of retail establishments. At least the owners keep the exterior nice and the building maintained.



I have no idea what this is about. It has lots of smashed aluminum cans in it. Maybe the commission required so much recycled content. I don't know.



I love Centennial Park just outside of downtown. I try and make a loop through it on all my runs. There are about five geocaches in and around the park. I have found them all but I'll tag along if you want to look for them.



This is the office building for our Mayor's oil and gas production company (Mayor Dewey Bartlett's family owns Keener Oil and Gas Company). You can see just on top of the building a solar panel. Tell me solar energy is a bad deal when oil and gas companies are taking advantage of it.





We are on the home stretch now. We pass the iconic Boston Avenue Methodist Church built in the 1920's. It is beautiful inside and out.



You have heard of Tulsa's giant Praying Hands? What about our giant Rabbit Ear TV Antennas?



Self portrait, look at that gut. It would give me at huge advantage in a close race at the finishing line. Of course they would have to lower the ribbon down from chest level for me to take advantage of it.

Where would we be without our pets?

From left to right, Rascal, Abby, and Ginger.

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Cute Scottish Redhead

We discovered this charmer during our excursion to the Tulsa Zoo last weekend. She was really sweet and friendly. It must have been because it was dinner time.

According to Wikipedia. The breed comes from Scotland. They are very hardy and can survive harsh weather. She was enjoying the sunshine along with us that day.

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Weekend Reflections - Boiling Sky

Williams Center - Downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma

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