Arkansas / Oklahoma Double......States 48 and 49

The Wednesday before the run I had the shot in the SI Joint....again - it was

 not as painful as I expected however it didn't help either. I drove to Cincinnati on Thursday to stay with my son and he and I were going to get some Christmas shopping done and go to dinner as soon as he got out of class. While we were at dinner he said to me...."what day do you leave for Hawaii" and I told him Wednesday December 10th and he then informed me that he thinks his finals are finished on Tuesday so he would be able to go.  I was so excited but also had to remind him that "I TOLD YOU SO" all through the summer before classes even began, and if they were not over by then if he simply emailed the professors and asked to take them earlier odds were favorable. I didn't harp on that point but I did have to make it. So now Im thinking - not quite 3 weeks out....how much is airfare going to be! I was pleasantly surprised that his ticket was actually about $20 less then
 mine.  I was able to book all the same flights but our seats are just close, I
am hoping someone will trade with us.  He will have to drive to Columbus right after class on that Tuesday and we will fly out early am on Wednesday.
Now to this weekend, i stayed at Tanner's apartment and he said he would get up and drive me to the airport Friday morning...yes it meant leaving his apartment at 4:15 am! He wanted to have my car for the weekend too and it would save on airport parking cost. I flew into Springfield MO and had a 2 hour drive to Cotter AR.  The weather all week had been calling for pretty much 100% chance of rain. On race morning the weather then started to look like it would hold off until around noon or 1:00pm.
The start and finish was about a mile apart and the run took place on a road that travels along the White River- It was cloudy to start but temps were in the high 40's and windy. It was an out and back twice- I made it to the half way mark and then the rains came. It got windier and I was getting cold.  I passed an aid station and asked one of the volunteers if they had an extra trash bag and the guy working the station was wearing one and gave that one to me. The volunteers were great and aid stations were nicely placed but there wasnt any type of crowd support except for the aid stations....and no beer stations! It continued to rain and the winds would kick in and I was glad to have that trash bag! I hadn't been running much and knew I was doing a double so didnt want to go to hard but also wanted to get done at a decent time so I could make the 4 hour drive and get to packet pick up for Rt 66 before it closed at 6pm.  I also thought if I go faster I will get dry quicker but then I would remind myself I was driving for 4 hours so wouldn't be able to stretch and after the run on Sunday I would be flying home that night.  My hamstring,hip, glute on the right side would get a little tight so I would try to kick it up to stretch it out, as I did this my toes, calf and anterior tibialus would immediately turn to pins and needles. I hate this!!! So onward I would run so that I could wake it up. There was about 4 miles left and the rain had stopped and you could see a little bit of sunshine behind the clouds so I ditched the garbage bag....I jinxed that one!!! Within 10-15 minutes the rain and winds came back stronger then ever.  I started to run 2 utilities poles to 1 utility pole until I got it done. I got on the shuttle right away and got back to the starting line and grabbed some dry clothes. They said the shower was just around the corner and I had a few extra minutes to spare to grab a quick one but I went around the corner to 5-6 different doors and never found the shower. I found a restroom off the gym and changed into something dry. They had some pizza and sandwiches so I grabbed a bite to eat and took it with me and off I headed to Tulsa.
The drive to Tulsa was in the pouring rain...it rained so hard at times it was hard to see out the front windshield.  My clothes were drenched so I decided to crack the windows in the car and turn the heat on high and full blast and placed my wet clothes on the dashboard to dry. I thought I can deal with the smell to get them dry because I could only imagine what they would smell like after being in my suitcase until Sunday night!
I made it to the pack pick up in plenty of time, stopped and got my marathon maniac corner wrist band as there was a special tent for maniacs and 50 staters at this event.  I then stopped over at the 50 states booth to see Clyde, Kelly, Steve and some others.  I didn't stay long because I was so ready for a shower and just wanted to stretch my legs.
The start of the race was walking distance from the hotel and this race again finished at a different location then the start.  This race didnt start until 8am so it was nice to be able to rest a little bit extra.
Weather forecast was calling for rain again here all week but it looked like it was going to totally stay
away for the day! It was however cloudy and the humidity was 90 percent! I was hot and thankful that I brought a singlet to wear.
In the beginning of the race I come upon a guy running in the lampshade from A Christmas Story...I ran ahead and jumped off to the side to get his photo...this was awesome!! I guess he has been running it the past couple years.  I knew by mile 4 this run was going to be a blast when I came upon the first aid station with amazing jello shots....I grabbed two and they were strong but in a tasty way.  Wasn't long after and I saw some folks out in their front yards with red solo cups, I have learned that when folks are in their front yard drinking from a red solo cup during a marathon this typically means they have beer somewhere....I have also learned if you ask they love to share it with runners!! I got my first can of Miller Light here and found that even though running with a can of beer still foams off the top it is not near as heady as a bottle...After 2 shots and a beer I could feel a buzz already, I am sure it was due to the high humidity levels and some dehydration going on. I was also hurting some from yesterday's run so I was glad to see up ahead another jello shot station!! They also had cherry bombs here. I drank a cherry bomb and grabbed 2 more jello-shots. I wanted a spare because I didn't know what the second half of the course was going to bring. I had a jello-shot and stuck the other in my pocket and ran on. About a mile or so later I came upon a guy who was really struggling and trying to do some stretching....so I stopped and said...you look like you need a jello-shot? He said yes I do...so I grabbed my spare out of my pocket and told him I took an extra at the last station for emergencies and I think this is an emergency....he agreed and thanked me as he ate the shot.
Up ahead were some other folks drinking from their red solo cups and I stopped and said "where is the cooler?" One of they guys pointed to another and they acted surprised by what I asked and then I had to say in plain terms..."where is the beer?" The girls then giggled and said on the back of the truck...would you like one and I answers please!! Here I got a bottle of Coors light....this is when I made the realization about drinking and running from a bottle verses drinking and running from a can.
The humidity and wetness did cause my arms to start chaffing and the Vaseline was not doing the trick. I had brought my marathon maniacs head buff and finally had the bright idea to pull that on the arm that was feeling the worse and tuck it under my bra for an instant sleeve!! It helped!!!
I never remember what mile is what and heck anymore I don't even wear my Garmin...but it was really cool when we got to the Rt 66 sign!  On the second half there were quite a few folks set up with beer stations and I would just drink the baby cup instead of asking for a full one...by now I was feeling a good buzz and it was helping the time go by much faster. At a blue moon station I ran into my friend Dennis and we chatted for awhile - he was on a run walk ratio and I was on my own run walk ratio- the whenever I feel like running I ran when I didnt I walked. The foot and areas with pins and needles tend to be prevalent when I walk but I also wasn't able to run as much as I hoped. Before I knew it the sign to take the Center of the Universe detour was in front of me...signs counting it down...400 Feet...200 feet ahead then the turn sign. It was only .30 miles extra to take it and you received a little coin and a nice big glass of ice cold beer from a beer wagon at that turn around.  After the detour there was just about a mile to go. The hotels offered 3pm check outs for runners which was amazing!! However, being an 8am start time and having ran a 5:10 the day before and all the pains I have been in and was in I really worried about making it back to the hotel in time...plus we had to find the race shuttle to get us back.  I finished and was honestly shocked that I finished in 5:49. Not a good time but considering the circumstances I wasn't expecting that. I did go through the finish line quickly and headed to the marathon maniac area to get my maniac medal...i didnt go into the special area because the shuttle was there ready to go and I really wanted to be able to shower before heading to the airport.  It all worked out perfect, got the hotel, showered headed to the airport and had plenty of time to grab a wonderful buffalo chicken sandwich and boarded to Atlanta then onto Cincinnati. I arrived at 11:30pm and Tanner came over and picked me up...he surprised me with my favorite Beach Club from Jimmy Johns.  We got back to his apartment and stayed up talking for an hour or so and I needed to get a count on my race I am hosting on Dec 21st so that I could call and order the age group awards and stop and pick them up at the amish place on the way home the next morning.
I can't believe that I have now finished 49 States!!! Plus DC....plus US Virgin Islands - I still don't know how many total marathons/ultras I have ran without looking though. 2.5 weeks and all 50 will be done! WOW!!!