Mother Road Marathon

I ran laps at the track last Friday morning and then drove to Wylie (near Dallas) and spent the rest of the day with my son and his family.  On Saturday morning, I drove up to Joplin, Missouri for the Mother Road Marathon on Sunday.  It stormed Saturday night but quit raining in time for the marathon.  I caught the shuttle bus at 6:05 to take me to the starting line in Commerce, Oklahoma.  Some of the roads were so blocked off by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol that they would not let the shuttle bus full of runners take the direct route to the starting line.  We had to detour through some other cities and did not get to the start line until 7:25.  The race was suppose to start at 7:30.  So, in 5 minutes, we had to get to the porta potty and the drop bag truck.  Luckily, the motorcycle cop who was to lead the race was in the porta potty.  So, they delayed the race 5 minutes.  There were just under 200 runners in the marathon and I have no idea how many in the half marathon and 5K.  The temperature was in the 60's and 70's and strong winds, luckily most of the time behind us.  The course went through the northeast corner of Oklahoma, across the southeast corner of Kansas and on into Joplin, on the old Route 66.  We went through five cities.  I ran the whole thing (although slowly), except for brief stops at the aid stations to take on fluids.  I finished in 6:16:20, a few minutes slower than the Tyler Rose Marathon the previous Sunday.  Maybe it was mental, but I seemed to have more pains and a tougher time.  In any case, I was 1st in my age group (the only one) and received a nice trophy.
After the race, I drove a 140+ miles down to Fort Smith, Arkansas and had dinner with an old buddy that I had went to school with at Subiaco Academy in Subiaco, Arkansas in 1956 and 57.  I have seen him since 1958.  We had a great time recalling those days, old girlfriends and classmates.
I spent the night in Fort Smith and then this morning, drove 40+ miles to Subiaco Academy, which is located in a monastery.  I went up to the lake, where we use to hang out and then to the monastery.  It is a beautiful place up on a hill.  My wife and I walked the grounds and were greeted by one of the maintenance workers and a member of the faculty.  We were escorted up to the Abbot's office, who heads the monastery and the academy.  We received a very warm greeting and had a nice visit with him.  He was a student at the academy while I was there.  Also, one of the Brothers at the academy was called to meet with us, because he was a student at the Academy when I was there.  It has been over 50 years since I was there, so I was due for a visit.
We drove down through the mountains in western Arkansas on our way back home.  It took a while, but the drive is worth it.  We finally made it back to Huntsville a little after 9 tonight.  At 10 p.m., I went to the track and ran laps.  I will sleep well tonight.