Sunday in Arkansas...State 16!

 

Arkansas, on March 5, was my second half this weekend.  So, this meant leaving Stillwater quickly after the first half and driving 5 hours to Little Rock.  Every time I got out of the car that day, I was a little stiff!

But I made it to the Expo, and it was nice to be at a big race expo.  Lots of vendors selling running stuff...and I only bought a pair of socks!  The Goodr glasses on sale were tempting, but I resisted!

I did, however, find a really good donut store on the way to the hotel and got two donuts...a lemon filled donut and a blueberry donut.  I planned to save one for after the race.

Then the fun began.  I arrived at my hotel around 6 and apparently was the very last person to check in because they had given my room away!  After about an hour or so, however, the hotel got me a room at another hotel, and they paid for it.  It was a much nicer hotel and saved me money, so it turned out really well!  This hotel also had a restaurant on the roof which meant I did not need to walk or drive to a restaurant by myself in downtown Little Rock.  The mix up definitely worked in my favor.

The view from the restaurant, even though I ate inside!!

The race did not start until 8, so I did not have to wake up super early.  And I was able to walk to the start about half a mile away.  The best thing about this start was that there were real bathrooms to use at the beginning!  Any time you don't have to use a porta-potty at a race, it is a plus! The race was a very fun race!  Lots of people running and tons of people supporting the runners throughout the town.  I didn't have time to explore Little Rock to really know what it was like, and part of the race was not in the most scenic part of town, but the people of Little Rock were awesome!!  There were so many people supporting the runners.  There were the regular aid stations, but there were also so many community groups passing out their own water and support foods, etc.  I saw lots of things I haven't seen before in races...mimosas, shots and communion!  I also saw men dressed as nuns, although at first I just thought they were tall ugly women!  And there was music throughout the race!  It was definitely a well-supported race.  And although the first half of the race was not the most scenic, it was flatter than the second half, so that was a plus! I went into this run thinking that I would be slower than Saturday since my legs were tired, but I ended up running about a minute faster!  My time was 2:24:27!  At the end of the race the music was "My God is Greater" and I sang along as I finished strong...right after I was given free lipstick!  

The start of the race

We ran over this bridge two times

After the race I had another quick clean up and check out...after eating my second donut.  Then I drove to Hot Springs for my massage.  Hot Springs is a National Park, but a very un-nature park.  It has a row of old bath houses on one side of the street and stores on the other.  And on the road were too many cars and motorcycles!  I had planned on soaking in one of the hot springs baths and getting a massage, but the baths were closed for repair, so I just got a massage at Quapaw Baths.  I also ate lunch at Superior Baths, bought soap and walked on the grand promenade. And of course, I filled up my water bottle with water from the thermal springs!  There was also a hike to an observation tower, but I decided against that so that I could start driving home.  

The Grand promenade

The fountains were hot water

This old bathhouse is now a restaurant

Traveling is fun, but after so much driving, and a long drive home, I was glad to be home and not driving anymore!  But it was definitely good to get two more medals to add to my collection and check off two more states!!

Oklahoma!! State 15!

 My first race of 2023 was part of a double half weekend for me.  This was the first time I had run two half marathons in the same weekend.  I had been running two long runs every weekend during my training, so I felt prepared, but a little nervous about how I would do.

The weekend was planned as a girls' weekend with my sister, but due to family circumstances, Jennifer could only stay for half of it.  But we made the most of it!  We left Memphis Thursday morning and drove straight to Oklahoma City with a brief stop for lunch at Slim Chickens in Arkansas.  The drive through Arkansas, especially right after leaving Memphis was nerve-wracking!  So many trucks on both sides of the road.  It was a relief to get past the trucks and finally make it to Oklahoma.  There was an immediate change between the two states.  Oklahoma was full of cows and casinos, and Native American land.  

After driving past all the cows and rolling plains, we reached the very busy and congested OK City during rush hour just in time for some pampering.  Since Jennifer couldn't stay for the massage on Sunday, we had facials on Thursday.  Followed by a steak dinner at Cattleman's Cafe in the Stockyards City section of OKC.  While waiting for our table, we found a store that sold cowboy clothes, Langston's.  I have never seen that many boots, cowboy hats, leather and belt buckles in one place!  

This was just the men's section!

The inside court of our hotel in OKC

Before heading back to our hotel for the night, we drove through the Bricktown section of OKC and got cupcakes at Pinkitzel Candy and Cupcakes.  The cupcakes looked a little fake, but we decided to try them anyway and they were very good!  Especially the strawberry cupcake.

Friday was our day to explore OKC and we started by making a stop at the OKC VW dealership!  This was not a planned stop but after a light coming on in my car about low coolant, we had to make a pit stop.  (Everything was okay, but they did have to top off the coolant.)

Our first real stop was the OK City bombing memorial.  This was not a fun exhibit, but very powerful.  They did a great job telling the story through the eyes of the people who were there that day.  At one point, a lady near us was crying and later was showing her friend where she was sitting in a picture of a memorial service.  It is a place that is needed to help us remember.  

There was one chair for each person who died in the bombing.  And the chairs for the children were smaller.  

Lunch was in Bricktown at the Old Spaghetti Factory.  We both had mushroom stuffed ravioli and it was the best meal of the trip in my opinion, right behind the steak dinner!

We explored a few more places...the Myriad Botanical Gardens (free admission that day!) including the crystal bridge.

We saw the Centennial Land Run Memorial...

We did not go to the skeleton museum but did see a car that may have been going to that museum!

The skeleton was looking out the back window!

We finished our OKC tour with a stop at a Route 66 site...the Milk Bottle Grocery.  A 350 square foot store that, to our disappointment, is now an appointment only nail salon.

After leaving OKC, we drove to Stillwater to pick up our bibs and get ready for our race the next day.  We ate at Hideaway Pizza, a popular restaurant in Stillwater.  We had pepperoni and mushroom pizza and fried mushrooms.  It was a mushroom kind of day!  

Sights we found on the way to Stillwater!

There is not much to do in Stillwater, so we went back to the hotel and watched the Netflix Alex Murdaugh documentary!  Very interesting and messed family!

Saturday morning dawned bright and early and a little cold.  The race started and ended at Boone Pickens Stadium on the campus of Oklahoma City University.  Jennifer and I ran the first three miles together and then she finished her 5K and headed back to Memphis for her son's final play in high school.  I finished my half and was happy with a post-surgery PR of 2:25:19!  It was a hilly race, small, but very well run.  They even called out my name when I crossed the finish line!

Waiting for the race to begin!

Jennifer after her 5K

Much of the half was around a lake

Amy after her half

After the race, I quickly cleaned up at the hotel in time to check out and hit the road to Arkansas!  It had been a fun time in OK, but the weekend was not over yet!! 

On the way out, I stopped at the first Sonic to get chicken strips and tater tots.  The tater tots were good at least!