~75 mins.
10 miles
Despite not getting to bed until 2:00 this morning, several intrepid members of our party reconvened at the hotel-motel-Holiday Inn at 7:30 on Sunday for runs of various distances. Scotty and Jordan planned to do 16, as did Jilane (although her plans changed significantly when she chose to count the 3.75 miles she ran back from the bar the previous evening toward today's mileage). Aja and Kristi were looking for 10, and I was good with 10-12 as well, so without further ado we set off in search of some country roads.
After pounding the pavement and dodging some Sunday morning (read: church-bound) traffic for two miles, the road gave way from asphalt to soft, smooth, almost clay-like dirt. Within minutes we had nothing but cornfields to our left and amber waves of grain to our right; I couldn't have painted a truer picture of rural Oklahoma if I'd tried. The scenery was stunning in its simplicity, and for miles upon miles our only companions were of the bovine variety. That said, as the mileage crept up the temperature gauge followed, and just before the girls' 5-mile turnaround we found ourselves in desperate need of water. Luckily we spotted a large farmhouse under renovation just off our dirt path and decided to take a peek-a-loo around the grounds in hopes of finding a water hose. We made it no more than 20 yards onto the property before three large, angry and surprisingly agile canines came bursting forth from behind the house, no doubt with the intent of chasing us down and mauling us until we were dead. Let's just say I don't think any of us have sprinted as fast in recent track workouts as we did in the next 30 seconds, and if it weren't for the electric fence on the edge of the property I doubt I would be typing this today.
By comparison, the rest of the run was fairly uneventful. We finally found that water hose around mile eight at a church/school on the edge of town, and at this point our minds were focused completely on the Holiday Inn pool and a few rounds of apple juice from the continental breakfast. To be honest, I still felt relatively fresh and would've liked to add on a few more miles, but by the time we made it back to the hotel I was content to rest and relax while we waited for the boys. Overall, this run was great fun with good company and the perfect way to cap off our stay in Enid, America.
52 mins.
7 miles
15 mins. core
Another day, another hot and windy early morning run. Fortunately we didn't have to deal with it for too long, as we needed to make quick work of this jaunt before preparing for a busy weekend. A few laps on the grass track and a big loop through the surrounding neighborhoods took up most of our time. Jordan and I parted ways near Andrews Park, he to do a few strides at the track and me to book it home for some core work and a shower.
The beautiful bride and groom, Mr. and Mrs. Stuart LisleThe rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent at OK Runner, where business was rather slow until (naturally) the moment we needed to leave for Cat and Stu's wedding. Jordan managed to help a few customers while knotting his tie (multitasking and salesmanship at its finest), and by quarter of two we were on the road. Destination: Enid, America for the holy matrimony of Cat and Stu (cue the "Princess Bride" scene: "Mahwege. Mahwege is what bwings us togeva today. Wuv, twoo wuv...").
L to R: Kristi, Aja, Jilane, me, Jess. I heart these girls.Due in no small part to Jordan driving 20 miles over the speed limit, we arrived at Emmanuel Baptist Church with plenty of time to spare before the 4:00 ceremony. After taking our seats with the likes of other OU former teammates such as Kristi and Coleman, Jilane, Aja and Jess, we were ready for the show to begin. And what can I say, it was beautiful. Cat looked gorgeous. Everything went off without a hitch, and before we knew it Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Lisle were walking back down the aisle from whence they came to the timeless croonings of Justin Timberlake's "My Love." Classic.
Team MJ: reunited and it feels so good
After a few, er, detours, our party headed over to the wedding reception. Like the wedding, this was also gorgeous and tasteful, if a bit sweaty due to it taking place in a largely unshaded backyard at 5pm. The bride and groom timed their 8pm departure just as the storms were rolling in, which both cooled things off and sent the rest of us scattering to our respective locations for the night. From there, we did what any sane group of people would do when faced with the prospect of a long night in an unfamiliar small town: we hit up the local pub. Callahan's turned out to be a fun spot, though regretfully none of us received the memo in advance that it was 80's night, and we happily spent the rest of the evening catching up with friends and throwing back a few cold ones. Great times all around.
.
Enjoying the corner booth at Callahan's
~75 mins.
