Where to eat in Tulsa....

If you are coming to Tulsa for Route 66 Marathon (or for any occasion, really), you may be wondering where you are going to fuel up!  I have a few favorites I thought I'd share with you - keep in mind you don't have to be running to enjoy my favorite eating establishments!  


You'll probably be arriving in town on Friday evening.  Most of the Route 66 Marathon  sponsor hotels are located downtown since that is where is start and finish lines are.  Downtown has some great eating options that you can probably walk to (or Uber if you are saving your legs for the big run day). 

So for Friday Night in Downtown Tulsa, you've got some great options: 

Into Middle Eastern faire - go with Laffa.   They are amazing, locally owned, and located at 111 N Main St, it should be a quick walk from any of the sponsor hotels.  I especially like their Tzatziki ( a greek yogurt based dip), their chicken & lamb Schwarama & Sweet Potatoes.  They also have a great cocktail list that I'm slowly working my way through!  The atmosphere is awesome as well.  They have some great Gluten Free alternatives as well. 

 
There are lots of other options as well - El Guapo for Tex-Mex, Elote (Mexican) which offers both carnivore and herbivore dining options, Phryme if you are looking for an amazing steak (a little pricey for me but definitely a treat), or Ti Amo for Italian cuisine.  These are just a few of the downtown eating establishments - do a google search for a complete list.  There are tons of choices!! 



Maybe you are looking for more "American" style food - then I'd walk over to McNellies - a pub locally owned.  They've got your typical pub food ranging from turkey burgers & sweet potato fries, to Fish & Chips, soups and salads and let's not forget they have over 350 beers for you to taste!  McNellie's is located off of 1st & Elgin.  My favorite there is a bunless turkey burger with the sweet potato fries.  

Running the 5k on Saturday and wanting to refuel afterwards?  I love a good brunch, whether it be on Saturday or Sunday!  A great brunch stop on Saturday  could nclude the Dilly Deli, which is located downtown and is again within walking distance of the start line for the 5k as well as the hotels.  

Dilly Diner is a flashback to an old fashioned deli - the ambience is lively, there is often a waiting list (but it goes quickly) and there is outdoor dining (weather dependent of course).  The have Manmosas (think of it as a carafe of mimosas) and they'll cook your eggs however you like.  They have everything from breakfast to dinner options! 

As for me and my Perfect Pacer, you will find us at Brookside by Day on Peoria.  You may have to uber there - it is about 5 miles from the start line of the 5k.  Definitely my favorite go to place to brunch.  Bloody Mary's, Mimosas, and again eggs anyway you please.  They will even make you an egg white omelette just the way you like it, biscuits and gravy and of course bacon. Again, they just don't serve breakfast - they have great lunch options as well.  Just don't plan on going there for dinner, because they are closed.  

As far as Refueling after the Marathon, they always put out a great refuel section! They have a great selection at the finish line, and then if you are a VIP or in Maniac Corner, you get quite the food selection as well!!  

And while I'll make pit stops at the finish line for a quick refuel, that night is where I'll really get my eating on.  So much so, I'll probably need a feed bag attached!  If you are still in town on Sunday night (You could always check them out on Saturday night as well), you'll find us at KilKenney's on Cherry Street.  

An Irish Pub with an Irish ambience.  Fish and Chips are always on the menu as well as Shepherd's Pie, Boxties, flights of beer to try, and a gluten free menu.  You'll find me in a corner with Perfect Pacer as we will most likely be drinking a dirty martini and I'll be eating my favorite - oysters to start with, and an El Diablo burger (minus the bun of course) with - Irish chips - of course.  They also have a great GF menu as well. 

There are tons of other restaurants on Cherry Street as well - from Hideaway Pizza to Smoke (a steakhouse), Roosevelts (steakhouse), two near salad restaurants, Jason's Deli, Chimi's (Tex-Mex), Mi Cocina (Italian) and a few others!  

Tulsa is great for a foodie - lots of locally owned restaurants for you to choose from!  

Happy Eats!  

Big News!

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I adore Route 66 Marathon and Half.  And for good reason - their finish line celebration is one of the best, those medals (which just get better year after year), the incredible expo, their swag bag and their team of directors is amazing!!  This year, Route 66 Marathon and Half are adding another feature - Ambassadors!  And I've been asked to be one!

Becoming an Ambassador for one of the best races I've been in is super exciting for me.  It's given me the motivation to get back to blogging, focus on training and clean eating and it's a great way for me to give back to the race I love.

I was reflecting back on the past Route 66 marathons and realized that I always get so excited about the training for it because we start training in the hottest months and then we run the race on (what it seems to be) the coldest day of the year!  Every single time!!  Cold weather to me just means I'll run faster because I want to get out of the cold.

I also remember the year, we helped with set up (which makes for an even earlier wake up than if you are running).

That was also a year we were running it as well.  We thought it would be fun to just jump in at the start line (since we were there helping set it up) at the beginning of the race.  Look closely in the picture below - front row - the tall one and short one in blue.

By the way, that was a bad ideal.  Don't start with the elites if you can't hang with the elites. 

That year was one of the warmer Route 66 race days.

Unlike previous years when we would run with wool socks on our hands and double thermal layers. 

 One of my favorite stops on Route 66 is Mile 9 (it's on Cincinnati).  It's quite the party - complete with jello shots, snacks and a great cheering squad which helps motivate you to get up that long uphill mile! 

If you are running Route 66, you have got to stop and appreciate all the stops along the way!  The People of Tulsa really go out of their way to cheer on all the runners and walkers!  It definitely makes it worthwhile to make this a destination run if you are not from Tulsa.  

Don't forget you want to sign up now for the Route 66 Marathon & Half here.  By signing up early, you get to personalize your bib!  Plus there is another rate increase on August 31st!  

Not ready for a Half or a full but want to run long?  Grab some of your friends and sign up for the relay!! 

Look for my training plans to be posted later this week!  Gotta go get my run in...

“Disclosure: I am participating in the Route 66 Marathon Ambassadors  program and have been provided with a Free Entry and VIP  in exchange for my honest opinions about the race.”

Tulsa's Best Kept Secret....

The other day I had the opportunity to visit a very well kept secret in Tulsa.  They don't want it to be a secret, so I told them I'd be more then happy to get the word out.  Did you know Tulsa actually has a spin studio?  

Not stationary bikes in a room with an instructor who learned via youtube videos - but a SPIN STUDIO!  In the heart of Brookside, on top of the legendary Brook, with windows overlooking Riverside and all that is Brookside!  It's awesome.  I hear that during the fall and winter, they turn the lights down low in the evenings, light some candles and get some crazy SPIN going!  

It's Physique by Moniques!  Meet Monique...

 She's pretty much a beast and feels the same as I do - don't waste your time - work your hardest, sweat your best!  She's bad A**.  

This is what one of the Spin classes look like.  And they have multiple instructors...
with a schedule that should fit yours.  You can check out their schedule below: 

And because I have a frustrated, wannabe photographer inside of me, I just couldn't resist this snapshot.  They have a place for personal training, weights & strength training, core, and a TRX room, complete with a rope!  I refer to it as the torture chamber.  :)

Their spin bikes are the top of the line new Schwinn AC Performance Pro spin bikes. Even the local bike clubs can book the studio for private training sessions during the winter!  Tulsa gets cold, peeps, come inside!!  They over a variety of options for corporate challenges, boot camps, personal training and event preparation.  They are great for the newbie cyclist to learn the basics of gear shifting and developing a little "saddle time".  What's also great - is that you can  book a personal training session with Monique, Alison or Carrie!

I met with Monique and Joy and absolutely adored them both.  Monique is very much like me - wants to torture you until you find your inner warrior and succeed beyond your own belief in yourself.  Joy is more quiet, she seems like she'll be the one who nurtures you along the way and always has a hug and high five for you.  But both women, are about empowering others, helping their clients find wellness and health and believe that it takes mind, body and soul to achieve one's best.  My kind of peeps!  

Go check them out - it's just like a yoga studio.  You buy so many classes or passes.  Only it's not yoga because it's SPIN.  It's going to push you beyond limits you have placed upon yourself and when you leave, you will leave sweaty and knowing that you left in the Spin studio.  And that's worth going for.  

To get the most up to date schedule and class cost, visit their website at here.  And when you go in, tell them Becky sent you.  

Weekend Fun

This past weekend was a weekend of friends, both old and new.  The Perfect Pacer's high school reunion (aka Buzzfest) was this past weekend.  Buzzfest was created with one of the graduates last names in mind (busby = buzz) and the year is always much a buzz about the festivities and celebration. I love it because we get time together, we get to see old friends (all his, but all that I love dearly) and we get to play.

This year, I was honored to be a cart girl and photographer.  This is our crazy crew -

I'm the rebel in black.   - Always going against the flow.

it was a sea of golfers at the annual Buzzfest Golf Tournament but the most handsome golfer was -

The Perfect Pacer of course. 

Festivities include a lot of time with friends.... 

and some night life...

 But most importantly,  some time with Perfect Pacer...

which doesn't seem to happen enough since the move.

I love Buzzfest.  Except, I don't run at all.  One day, they'll make a morning run and move the golf tournament to night - time.  Yeah, that's going to happen.

But for now, I will cherish the time with my bestie.  And all of our other besties.  

Route 66 Half & Marathon Recap

If you've read my blog before, then you know how much I love the Route 66 Half & Marathon.  From Packet Pick Up to Finish, they are the best organized race event I've come across to date.  Add that it is in Tulsa, which means we make it a huge family event on the Perfect Pacer's side and that it is always the Sunday before Thanksgiving makes it perfect for us.

This year, the event proved to stay true to the perfection set in place the year before.

We drove up the Thursday before the event - a lovely 7 hour drive made even more lovely with the 2 children in the back (said with sarcasm).

Friday was pretty laid back and I had a simple 3 mile run along Riverside Drive.  I love getting to see the whole town back the Route 66:

school sign along the marathon route

Friday night, the carbo loading began!  Complete with lots of family.  

Our father in laws famous goulash recipe with one of the SILs


Saturday was packet pick up along with Blogger Forum and Tweet Up (2 new additions to the Expo).

Since I love a good fashion find, I thought I'd share what I wore to the Blogger Forum and Tweet Up: 

Coach bag (gift), blouse (courtesy of local boutique), Old Navy Skinnies,  Caramel riding boots (Payless Shoe Source), necklace ($8, Bargarn Barn Boutique), Watch (borrowed from a daughter)

I continued the Carb Fest throughout the weekend with some supermarket Sushi (something I have never found at my local supermarket) and spaghetti with more family! 

Race day arrived early (duh) and of course, I woke up before the alarm (I always have fitful sleep the night before a race).  Did I mention that Chris had decided Friday that he wouldn't run this year?  His back has been so bad and the farthest he had been able to run with me had been a 7 miler two weeks before.  I was torn as to what to do.  I had never run a race without him, although I had run the distance without him during training.  

However, when we got to the expo, and he saw this: 

He committed (again) to the race.  (Who doesn't love a little bling in their life?) His exact words were "What am I thinking?  Of course I'm going to run tomorrow". 

We had our usual pre-race breakfast Sunday - oatmeal for Perfect Pacer, greek yogurt for me.  We don't eat a lot before we run, as we have figured out our fueling really happens the 24 hours before the event, not that morning.  Also, the lighter my stomach, the less GI issues I have during the actual race (remember how I despise port-a-potties).  

My SIL receives the Golden SIL award for getting up early and driving us to the corral (literally, she parks less then a block away from our start corral & she's done this for 2 years now).  We are pretty spoiled, and sat in the car until about 15 minutes before start time. 

This year, we were in Corral B (happy campers).  And not as frozen as the year before!

Once the start is sounded, there is weaving and bobbing going on to get to a position where we can run at our pace.  Which apparently was a little faster then ever before.  We ran 9:30s  for the first 7 miles and that's when Perfect Pacer's back decided it was done.  

We ended up having to walk quite a bit the rest of the way but we still managed to finish in 2:15.  It wasn't the 2:10 I had hoped for but with as much walking as we did,  it was a satisifying finish.  My thinking switched from "PR FOCUS" to "getting my partner across the finish line" at mile 8.  I ran ahead for a bit, then I'd wait for him.  I slowed my pace (which he had done so many times in our previous races to accommodate my turtle pace) and we pep talked each other to the finish line.  It is moments like those that re-enforce what we already know - that we are perfect for each other.  

PP kept telling me to go ahead (he knows how it will eat at me not to finish at my goal pace) however, we have never crossed a finish line without each other and I wasn't about to break that tradition.  After all, he'd never leave me behind. 

One of the great things about Route 66 is that most of his family comes out to watch our finish.  This year, Route 66 had an awesome App which allowed them to track each mile of our run so they didn't have to wait forever at the finish line.  They live within walking distance of the finish line and just walk over about 15 minutes before we cross.  

We also got VIP passes and were treated to some awesome food at the VIP tent!  

The whole family likes the breakfast!!  

So once again, it was a great Route 66 Half & Marathon event!  We saw friends along the route (PP even handed off a Fantasy Football payment to one at mile 4.5), had an awesome finish line event, got to spend some time with family and have already made plans for next years Route 66.  Which by the way, sign ups are now open and you can register here.


Side Story:  On the way home from dinner on Sunday night, we saw a female being escorted by a couple of cyclists with headlamps and a couple of people walking.  I jokingly said "surely she's not still running the marathon".  30 minutes later, we found out that indeed she was.  Another thing that sets this event apart from so many others is how Chris Lieberman conducts his event - when most race directors are in bed and the finish line is already packed away, this is how he responded to  a "later then usual" finish - you can read her story here and you can see how Route 66 stepped up to the plate here (scroll down to Nov 18th).

What's your favorite race event and why? How far would you travel to run?

BTW, fellow mommy bloggers:  

Free Blogger Opp Coach Giveaway!

 

Coachlicious Giveaway Event hosted by Mom Powered Media

Prize: Coach Madison Op Art Sateen Handbag

Event dates: 12/17 – 12/31

Free Blog Event! Sign-up here,BLOGGERS WANTED

Tell them runningwithjacksons sent you!