Saturday was our LAST long run for this session. Marathoners pounded out 22 miles, halfers ran MORE than their race day distance, and everyone was TIRED. Simone was less than amused when asked if she wanted to do another loop! But doesn't it feel great to know that our training is DONE? It is time to taper, time to rest. Take it easy, be nice to your feet, buy a new running outfit, go for an easy jog, take your dog for a run. All that is left to be done is run our race. And honestly, was the training all that bad? Mike seems to be enjoying himself. My gosh, what a chick magnet! (Must be the pants!)

Running the neighborhoods this session has been awesome. It seems that almost no one complains about the hills anymore, and hill running will pay of when we go to OKC. The moderate hills in OKC will seem like mere bumps in the road since we have trained on worse.

Some call it an eyesore, some say it looks like a giant hypodermic needle,but I say this is quite possibly Tulsa's signature building, one of the most recognized structures in our city.

The above time is A. T Z's running time after 22 miles. B. After 20 miles. C. After 10 miles. D. Just a pic he is saving to try to crop onto the clock in OKC as he crosses the finish line!

Monday night with Bobby's Bunch, the north wind returned. It was a cold gray dreary day, perfect for a run. Twas not the largest of crowds, and T Z was late so there was not the usual paparazzi fanfare that there usually is.But props to Sandra who just keeps getting faster and faster. Sandra ran 4 miles under 48 minutes, which is a PR for her. It seems every time she laces upher shoes, she is shaving a few seconds off of her personal bests. Despite that, I think maybe she was less than happy to pose for a pic.Had this lab been a little closer, Sandra might have borrowed his stick to break my precious camera! While photographing this canine, he bumped me with his stick. It was big, heavy, and waterlogged. Must have weighed 20 lbs!

Tuesday night has been cross-training night. Several of our group have been pumping a little iron, doing squats, lunges, push-ups, sit-ups, and sprints.Don't mess with Cindy!

Or Christal, who does her best Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation.

Roman demonstrates his cross training...lifting 3 lb sandwiches, and doing crunches. (Sorry Roman, ordering the bread toasted so it is "crunchy" does not mean you are "doing crunches"!)

Lively bunch, huh?Tuesday after the run, a few of us celebrated Stefanie's birthday. For a second, I thought Roman was picking up the tab!Sandra had taught us to "sign" a few words, and if the wait staff knew sign language, we might have been thrown out!!

Thursday was another "triple" night. It was our usual run, from anywhere from 3-8 miles. Also, it was a well attended session for the couch-to-5K group, which seems to grow in numbers every week. Quite a few of this group are run/walking, and some are beginning to stretch their running segments. That's how it all starts! :-) Also, Thursday night is the weigh-in for our BIG LOSER contest.

We had a few newcomers join us tonight.



Pictured above are Glenda (top left), Kate (top right), Amanda (bottom left) and Tanisha (bottom right.)

Our newest runner, Nate, came with his Mom Candice. It was awesome to see Candice again, and Nate is quite the little man.Dude, we'll get you out there running with us as soon as you get your running legs! :-)

Over 75 people weighed in for the BIG LOSER contest. T Z was sighted wearing heavy sweats and jogging for all he was worth. Rumor had it that he was needing to sweat off 5 lbs to save face and not be the brunt of Mike Stelly's cruel humor. But alas, despite running 8 miles, T Z went UP 1.6 lbs, and was fined 1 dollar! So go ahead, Mike Stelly, enjoy your moment.

While away, some VANDALS "peeped" T Z's car!! And OMG, it took nearly ALL NIGHT to lick all these bunnies off!!!

And as it seems, when we run, we EAT....Big Loser contest or no. And some people will lie about anything just to get CAKE! Kathy turned 48 years and 10 months old today!

Happy Trails, everybody! See you Saturday morning at Helmerich Park for an easy six!