I had a plan. Run the NYC marathon on Nov. 5th, finish the Route 66 100 miler on Nov.11 and 12th, and then finish a triple with the Warda marathon on Nov.18th. Two out of three completed would be the outcome.I boarded a plane for Laguardia airport on the morning of November 3rd.I am pumped about running my first NYC marathon. Only problem is I am already fighting a head cold. I think to myself this could get really intersesting. On the flight to NYC I am on the very last row of the plane. Good news ,I'm close to the head. Bad news I feel every bit of turbulence from Houston to NY.Seated next to me is another runner. We talk for a while about our experiences. This would be her first marathon. She asks me if it was my first ,and I tell her that this was my first NYC marathon but that I had completed other marathons before and that she was going to do great.I'm greeted at the airport by my best friend from High School days. I would spend Friday night at he and his wifes home and then take the train in to the city Saturday morning to pick up my packet. I stayed on the island Saturday night to catch the shuttle bus to Staten Island Sunday morning.A bit of info. If you want a good deal for staying in Manhatten go to applecorehotels.com and get a sweet deal for a room in a decent hotel. I stayed at the La Quinta just up the block from Madison Square Garden.

Race Day: Got up at 5:30 and walked to the NYC library to board the buses to Staten Island.The wait in line wasn't as bad as I expected.I had a sleeping bag with me I had purchased at WalMart on Friday in Bethel,CN. The bag would become sweet as I waited with 10,000+ other orange corral people on Staten Island before the race started. The wait on Staten Island was 3 + hours. I spent the majority of the time "sleeping" in my bag until race time.I line up as close as I can to the 4:30 pace group. Once the line up parade started to the Verrazano Narrows bridge (not sure of the spelling) I strip out my cheap sweats I had bought along with the sleeping bag at Walmart.What you leave behind all goes to the homeless. If you ever do this race I highly recommend buying a cheap sleeping bag to leave behind. I was the envy of the crowd while waiting, because I was literallly the only one within our radius that was lounging in comfort. I owe this to the guy I meet at Ollie's noodles near 42nd street, on Saturday, who gave me all the pre-race scoop.Whoever you were, thanks dude.Words can"t describe the start. As Sinatra's "I Did It My Way" is blaring the mass of humanity surges forward. My first few miles were right on pace as I weaved in and out of people. I was fighting cold chills due to the head cold and a very low grade fever,but doing great. The two "highlights" of my day, before the finish in Central Park, were coming of the Queensbourogh bridge after mile sixteen, and falling flat on my face near mile 19. I apparently hit a spot in the road,or a cup, and I sprawled . Thanks to trail running I controlled the fall fairly well and jumped back up.I pushed really hard the next mile to trick my body into believing nothing had happened. I don't know what came over me other then sheer adrenaline from the fall, but I got back up relly pissed and started running .Not jogging but running at what I would guess what was about an 8:30pace for a little less then a mile.Not smart, but man that was some short lived fun passing people. Another bizarre thing happened too. I started chanting,only to myself at first,but then I did it outload. Over and Over Ole, Ole.So a few people during the NYC marathon were passed by a "crazed" man full of passion singing "ole" as he passed them. Oh that I could have carried that burst of energy to the finish line, but I folded like a cheap pup tent somewhere at the infamous 20 mile wall . I'm not talking a slow down but a complete meltdown, and the glorious thing that will probably freak some people out I didn't care at all. This was about the sheer joy of the journey alone. I stuggled up the grinding gradual uphill of mile 23 before you enter Central Park.The atmosphere in the park is stirring.People will high five you as you run by. I Troted home to a soul satisfying 5:13 marathon in the what to me was the third greatest finish of any of the 20+ marathons I' finished.The two greatest for me, Pikes Peak 2005 and Warda 2006.

Arcadia, OK. Saturday NOV. 11th. From Central Park to a lonely forsaken strech of Route 66 in rural Oklahoma.My thoughts to self, "Go home Alan you have no business being here today. Cut your losses and live to fight another day. No I am here , I will tow the line and I will not back down!." I have spent the night before in a motel in Edmond, OK. The whole Friday night was me coughing my head off. The head cold I fought in NYC has moved into my chest, thank you very much . I have payed for this race and driven 7+ hours on the most boring road trip devised by mankind. That's a nice mesquite,look there's another mesquite. Any moment now I'll see Dorothy fly by with a toranadoe up her a$$. I have truged my way through a 100 miles before on trail with two awesome pacers to get me home This was my attempt to complete 100 on road without pacers. I am here and I will embrace the journey. In the end I will not make the distance,but I certainly didn't come up short. I would let this stretch of highway do what I intended for it to accomplish.To strip me bare once more of all the false pretense of life so I could better embrace what to me is real,the ones I love and my faith. This run would have it's laughter and pain . The first few miles of the 100 miles were an out and back out of Arcadia,OK. The weather was absolutly perfect during the day. I felt really good thru the first forty miles. Actually right on my goal pace to fininsh around twenty eight hours at best and at least make the thirty hour official cutoff time. I began to use different ways to entertain myself as I troted along. I would observe and began to catagorize the various forms of road kill I encountred.This was humerous until THE MOMENT. I am trotting along and there is swollen dead racoon in the middlle of the lane nearest me. I observe Mr. Racoon. I observve car cresting hill coming towards said Mr. Dead Coon. I think oh good God in heaven don't let what happen what I think I'm about to see happen. Like a slow motion picture car nails coon perfectly and we have perfect splatter..I get very mildily spewed mostly on and near my shoes.I try and keep down the days goos and assoorted other trail food and keep moving. I LOVE THIS STUFF !! That was the first highlight of this particular journey .I trot into the aid station nearest the forty mile mark. Aftter getting my food. I ask the volunteer where do I go. She says down the hill and around the corner. So I jog down this steep hill thinking this was the way to continue. No kidding, just as I get to the bottom of this hill, in the middle of this forgotten town, in the middle of deadsville, a lady comes out the side door of a building to my left and she says," in here". I'm thinking the biggest WTF? in the history of mankind. It then dawns on me the volunteer thought I was wanting to "use the facilities". I didn't want to take a $h!t. Now I'm mad, but also laughing so hard, I AM about to pi$$. I jog back up the hill trying to keep from laughing my a$$ off. I say with a laugh in my voice to the volunteer. " Which WAY do I get the **** out of this town. I didn't need to GO which way do I go!"She says,"Oh I'm sorry just go straight up the road." I indeed am finding this to be the wierdest 40 miles of my life so far. I get to 50 mlies in tact but getting cold. At this point 5 people around me quit. I ask the volunteer at 50 miles how far until the next aid station (ie forgotten town). She says ten miles.I'm dejected on the inside. She asks me, Where are you from? I joke with her and say," ****, I've just come from ****!" She says, How are you doing?. I reply "I am about to rip off some sub 6 minutes miles." She says,"Your funny everyone else has been grumpy."I smile and trot out the station alone. Somewhere around mile 54 it was like a switch was turned off in my body .This was the rapid onset of cold and fatigue. I just kept getting slower and my body started shivering.I guess it was in the mid 30's by now and the wind was starting to pick up. A car passes me around mile 58 with flashing lights in the dark .I wave him down with my LED and glow stick and bail out at the onset of hypotherma.I logged 58 miles and kept a sense of joy in the journey Disappointed that I didn't finish. yes, But I had spent the day in beautiful weather, part of the night under incredible views of the stars, and spent hours thinking about certain friends who have helped me on my journey. I am a man blessed beyond compare. My body hurt but my soul was getting revived.

WARDA,Tx Nov.18th The "final" leg. This is home. Not in the sense of Warda being my hometown. But,home in the sense that this place represents why I love to run.I ran a 50 miler here last year. Not many ran the 50 miler last year,and needless to say this ploder was the last one in.I couldn't comprehend the graciousness of Damon and his family. It was a beautiful thing to be a part of. I showed up this year to get across the line. I know some people think, don't you care at all about your times? That's a different goal for a different race. These three races were about nothing more then the journey,pure and simple. I carried a piece of paper in my pocket to the starting line. On it were written 4 words. FEAR, ANGER, SELFISHNESS and the greek utterance "TETELESTAI". I took out the piece of paper and placed it under a rock by a fence post that I hung my warm up jacket on. I knew from last year that on every loop we would run through the barn that is on the property. I took my drop bag to the barn away from the rest of the bags. I needed to be alone. I stayed in the barn for a little bit and talked to the horses.It's really wierd that a horse would become my mental ally to find the strength to make it 26.2 miles on legs that were trashed. As I talked to Mr. Horse,I said "well this is it my beautiful friend I hope to see you again three more times today." I walked back out of the barn to the start and began the marathon. There are no stories I have to share for the miles I ran. I got to the barn on each loop alone. Stopped quickly said hello to my friend and carried on. I love this place. The fields, the twists and turns, the cattle, and this barn that had become my sanctuary at the end of a life affirming journey. Tears were now in my eyes as I said my THANKS for the perfect place to finish this. I started the last loop. All is a forgottn about that last loop. I was lost deep in thought. My legs simply moving me forward at a snails pace. I got within the sight of the finish and ran in. I walked over to the rock I had left by the fence post.I took the paper into my hand waded it with all my strength in a ball.Symbolicly in my mind I dropped it to the ground,but I didn't want to trash my hosts property so I stuck it in my pocket. I took the rock and threw it as far as I could into the pasture.I uttered quietly to myself the last word I had written on the paper and I WALKED AWAY!....