Redding Marathon

Inauguration Weekend in DC and I decide on election day morning to run a marathon in CA. Ever since I moved to the DC area in Dec 05, the one think I wanted to see was the 09 Presidential Inauguration. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I booked the ticket but all I know is I got a damn good deal on a country flight to CA (even though I had three connections plus a 2 hour drive to get to my destination).

After a flight from DCA to MSP then onto PDX, I finally arrive in MFR (two hours ahead of schedule because the 10:30am flight from PDX to MFR was delayed because of wx and there open seats so I was able to get on that flight). From MFR I still had that 2 hour drive to Redding to deal with but with Mt Shasta to look at, Sirius radio to listen to and clear skies the whole way there made it that much easier.


I arrive in Redding, go to packet pick-up and then head to my hotel. After a little relaxing, I decide to try on my race shirt and boy am I ever glad I did. The sleeves on the long sleeve shirt were more like a Capri shirt for my arms. It came half-way down my arm. I immediately grabbed the shirt and raced to the packet pick-up to try and exchange the shirt before they closed. Now for me, I truly believe you should get the shirt size you request when you register unless there is something wrong with the shirt. So in this case, the race director agreed with me and she stated that at the end of the race, if there were any Larges left over I could have one - fair enough. So from there I head on over to get some dinner and this little mom-pop Italian restaurant.

I know better than to gorge myself the night before but it is kinda hard not to when they bring out this big ass salad followed by this big ass meal along with all the bread you can eat for $12. So after gorging myself, I head off to check out the Sundial Bridge, where the marathon will end.


The bridge was pretty cool to see at night. Here is a article about the bridge from some native hippies: http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2006-07-21/article/24689?headline=Calatrava-s-Sundial-Bridge-Puts-Redding-on-the-Map



After playing tourist for about 45 minutes, I headed back to my room to get some sleep. I get to bed at a decent hour and then about 4am, I'm woken up to what sounds like a suitcase being bounced down the stairs outside my room. I figure it is some dumbass going to the airport who broke the first cardinal rule of travel: don't pack what you can't carry. A few minutes later I hear some banging and then some yelling. At this point I get up open the door and see some teenagers banging on the door a few doors down from my room. I ask, "can you be any louder", and one of them replies "yes, but we will keep it down." Well they don't keep it down and after a phone call to the front desk, the night manager eventually gets them to settle down. Come to find out their friend passed out from too much drinking and locked them out. So what better way to get a passed out drunk to wake up than to bang on the door at 4am and wake other people up in the hotel rather than go to the front desk to ask for help. Maybe it is true - the best nuts come from California.

6am comes a little earlier than expected since I couldn't really get back to sleep - maybe it was the 3 hour time difference and the internal clock was saying it is 9am - time to get up.

I eventually make my way to the Sundial Bridge where we are to take a bus to the start of the marathon at Shasta Lake Dam. After finally arriving there around 7am, I stay on the bus because we are on an exposed ridge where the wind is just howling. About 7:50 I make my way outside to face the elements and get ready for the start of the marathon. About this time I realized that something didn't quite feel right about my shirt - after trying to figure it out I realized it was on backwards. After a quick adjustment I made my way to the startling where I see this guy who looks familiar. Come to find out he had run the Little Grand Canyon with me in Sep 07. He seemed to be a little miffed how I remembered him and he didn't remember me.

At 8am (plus a few extra minutes to figure out a Timex timing watch), we were off. The first four miles were all down hill except for that short stint across the Shasta Dam. For some reason I was quite talkative and start running with Scott (his first marathon) and also wound up running next to another first timer - this kid, fresh out of rehab and sober for xx many days (I forget now) who seemed to think he was gonna sprint the 26 miles.

I tried to hold back but with that steep of a decline it was kinda tough (its blurry but you can make it out). From 1250+ feet to less than 650 ft in less than 4 miles.
From there it followed the Shasta River and was basically flat except for that little bump around 15/16 which seemed a lot steeper than the map indicated.


Everything was going great, I felt great, then around 20 Scott fell off and then about 21 I started to slow. I kinda had a blister in my left foot that was starting to develop. I've never had a blister in a race before. I was running in a pair of the new UA Revenant shoes but I was also running in a pair of never used/washed socks before. I had run over 150 miles in the shoes to include a marathon and hadn't had a problem so I pinned this developing blister on the sock(s). So around 22 I started hitting the wall but I managed to keep plugging away.

The next 3.5 miles was all about survival and not letting anyone pass me. As the miles ticked down I could see the Sundial Bridge just above the trees. I started doing math in my head (which is never good) and was wondering - if I could see the bridge then my GPS must be off.

Well at 25.5, I was hurting and instead of turning right to run across the bridge and finish we turn left and run into a botanical garden for about 1/4 mile before turning around and running back towards the bridge. As I approached the turn-around, my mind just quit on me even though my legs were on the verge of quitting. As I saw some runners approaching the turn-around I sucked it up and started running again and then kept a steady pace to cross the line in 3:21:54. My goal was 3:20 but even up to mile 19 I was on pace for a 3:15.

Scott, whose goal was 3:30, finished in 3:28. Not too shabby for a first timer, he also got a kiss from his wife and newborn at mile 18. As far as the sober kid, we passed him as he hit the wall on that little bump around mile 16. He was never seen again but I think I saw him cross close to 4 hours.

While it wasn't exactly an ideal outcome, I was able to knock off another state but it was also my second consecutive 4th place finish in my age. I was hoping that what happened in BTR (great race/BQ) would continue in RDD but it didn't.

Some "proof" glamor shots from the race:





































Next up: El Paso, TX.

First Light Marathon (Alabama)

I didn't sign up for the First Light Marathon until 31 Dec and the only reason I signed up for it was I needed to use a NWA coupon and it gave me a chance to check out my condo in Tallahassee.

I'll spare everyone the boring details and skip right to the starting gun. At 7:30 the starting gun went off followed by the PA system spitting out one of the classic hip-hop songs of all time: 69 Boyz - Tootsee Roll.

My goal for this race as with most races is 3:15 but I had a more realistic goal of less than 3:30 but closer to 3:20. I hit the 11 mile mark at 1:17 and change. Why is mile 11 significant? I ran 11 miles last week in 1:18 and change and that training run gave me a little hope that I could get a PR in this race.

At the half way point I was 1:33 and change. For some reason I thought this race was flat but from mile 10 through mile 22 it was (up) hill after (up) hill.

I crossed mile 17 at exactly 2 hours. If you are doing the pace math in your head I'm starting to slow down a bit but the hills were starting to take a toll on my pace.

At mile 21, I can begin to feel my legs turning into lead pipes. The next four miles would be all about gutting it out. As I approached mile 24 I noticed someone in front of me that I would not expect to see on the course at this point - normally I'd see him chilling at the finish line - Chuck Engle. Chuck was walking off some cramps or so it looked like cramps.

I was starting to do some math in my head and I figured I would finish in 3:11 to 3:13. Well at mile 25 the thought of even running a 3:15 was in jeopardy as my left hamstring knotted into a ball. I tried to keep running but at a much slower pace but eventually I came to a stop. I must have stopped for close to a minute but then I decided you can either stand here and let 25 miles go down the drain or you can suck it up and start running again.

That last 1.2 miles seemed like 3 miles. It wasn't until I saw the finish line clock (3:13:02, 3:13:03, 04, 05) that I was able to relax knowing that I was gonna break my marathon PR and was heading back to Boston*.

3:13:21 (unofficial), 15th overall, and 3rd in my age group.

Previous PR 3:15:02

* - I doubt I will run Boston again but just qualifying again and this time w/in my age bracket was a huge accomplishment.

B&A Marathon (Maryland)

Given what happened this week at work and what I put in my body since Wednesday (10 pints of beer, 2 glasses of wine, Long John Silvers, Taco Bell, Red, Hot & Blue, and Nachos) I was not prepared mentally and to a lesser degree physically for this marathon.

Last time I was not mentally prepared for a race was after my Grandmother's death back in Aug and I had my worst performance in a marathon.

It was a cold (upper 20s/low 30s) but sunny morning with temps expected to climb into the low 50 so I decided to run in shorts (which is very unusual for me because I like to be warm when I run).

I'll skip to mile 13.1 - 1:36:16 - three minutes off my First Light Marathon pace. At mile 17 I was 7 minutes off the previous pace - I lost a few minutes getting a rock out of my shoe and fighting the Clif Shot (couldn't get it open and had to stop and take off my gloves - but it was the first time that I didn't get my face covered in chocolate Clif Shot).

At mile 19 I was done. I just couldn't continue running so in essence I quit - that was the first time that has happened in a race. My legs felt fine - everything felt fine but my mind was so overwhelmed I think it just shut everything else down.

For the next 7 miles I did a combination of walk and painfully slow jogging. I'd say it was 70% shuffle, 30% walk. I was somewhere around 20th place when I "quit" and after that I lost count of the number of people who passed.

At mile 25.2 (approx) I said to myself lets try and run the last mile w/o stopping. I did and in the end I crossed the line (chip time) in less than 3:37. It is frustrating to know that 2nd place in my age was 3:17 and 3rd was 3:25. If I could have held on past 19 - I might have had another age award but today was just not my day.

Next few races: Cherry Blossom, Boston Marathon followed by Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon six days later.

Boston Marathon (2008)

It has been a while since I have posted a blog - so it is about time I recap Boston, OKC Memorial City, and Sunburst Marathons.

For this blog, it will focus on the title: Boston Marathon. 21 Apr 08

For the second consecutive year, I got to run Boston. I thought after getting a 3:15:02 when I was 34 y/o (2006) and "cheating" to get into Boston I would never qualify again. Well, miracles do happen and after getting a BQ (3:13) in Jan 08 at 36 y/o, I just had to run Boston again.

This year Katharine joined me and that was a nice bonus to the weekend. Too bad, we didn't get a chance to meet up with everyone I thought we would meet up with but oh well.

Onto the race, after the rain and wind of last year's race, this year's weather was nearly perfect. So perfect that I overdressed (I knew the clouds were gonna break and it was gonna warm up but sometimes I don't listen to the weather weenie inside of me) and didn't take in enough fluids.

Through mile 22/23 or so I was on a pace for 3:08 which would have been a PR. But since I didn't take in enough fluids, I cramped and cramped bad finishing in a very disappointing 3:25.

Since I can run again next year, I'm determined to break either 3:15:59 or 3:13:25 next year. I just didn't run a smart race wrt to fluid intake.

OKC Memorial Marathon (Oklahoma)

I ran this marathon one week after Boston - 6 days to be exact. I had never run a marathon on back to back weekends. I was sore all week from Boston (soreness from cramping) and could barely walk on Wednesday (hadn't felt like this after a marathon since I can't remember). Thursday is hockey night and Sat was traveling day. So I didn't have much time to get ready for the race.

My goal was just to finish and take it easy.

As part of my 50 state goal is to run marathons with special theme/meaning. This race matches that - it is a sad/somber theme but also a race for hope and moving on.

I had never been to OKC before so that meant I had never visited the Murrah Federal Building/Memorial. I arrived into OKC Sat morning, checked in to the hotel, stopped by the expo and then made my way to the memorial. It is a touching memorial. It was there that I was reading the mementos family members left on the fence that I saw a poster/poem for Julie Welch. I didn't know nor do I have a connection to her but what got me was our birthdays were four days apart. I read the poem for her, found her chair and then decided to run the race for her. There was a table at the expo that one could go through the list of people who perished during the blast and run in the race in their honor. So after visiting the museum (that was tough/emotional at times viewing some of the personal effects) I made my way back to the expo and got a name tag for Julie Welch.

Race day came around and I awoke to temps in the low 50 with rain. I knew it was gonna rain so it came as no surprise.
The organization at the start was abysmal. There were family members in the corral holding umbrellas to keep (family member) runners dry and the only way into the corrals were from the back of the pack so when the gun went off people pushed the fences out of the way and entered from the sides.

Off we went on a rainy (decreasing) and windy (picking up) day. At about the 3/4 mile point, this older gentleman (Jay) asks me what pace I'm gonna run and I say 3:30 to 3:45. So to make a long story short, I run the next 22.25 miles with Jay. Jay started to feel the effects of the pace we were on and I lost him at mile 23 (but meet up with at the finish line party).

Good thing I ran with Jay because after I lost him, I got this crazy notion to run fast the last 3.1 miles and I was doing fine with that pace until 25.8 when I could feel my legs begin to cramp so I pulled it back (which is hard to do) and finished in 3:41. Not a bad time considering that walking was literally a pain 72 hours earlier.

Off to South Bend but this time, I'm giving myself a month to rest up.

Sunburst Marathon (Indiana)

Once again, a themed type race. This one is all about college football and Notre Dame. I'm not a ND fan but I love college football so it balances out. The selling point of this race is that you get to run through the tunnel at ND Stadium and onto the field where you finish at the 50 yard line.

I arrived into South Bend at 11:30pm - race start is 6am. I'm gonna be working on 9 hours of sleep over the last two days (late hockey game on Thursday). Good thing the hotel was 50 yards from the packet pickup and 75 yards from the start line. So I get up at 5, shower, get my packet at the College Football Hall of Fame, go back to the room to drop off the t-shirt, etc and then get to the start line at 5:40. I guess I could have slept in for a few extra minutes.

5:55am roles around and the race director decides to become a weather man and tell us that the temperate is 70F! 70F with humidity that is probably over 90% (it is usually more humid in the morning before the sun rises). Great and the forecast calls for warming conditions until the cold air moves in behind the front. But at least we have overcast conditions through most of the race (the sun finally comes out about mile 19/20).

So off we go, at mile 3 this woman (forget her name - she called me Mark later in the race so I guess that make us even) asks me how my Garmin is doing - apparently she has the new one and wanted to see if it was on with the old one. Since we were on about the same pace we started to run together until mile 15 were she went for a bathroom break. After she dropped off and since we were already past mile 13 I made my move (the point in the race were I see how many people I can pass). By mile 19 I had passed 12 people and I was feeling good and was hoping to finish in about 3:23-3:25 but then by mile 20 I was zapped of energy.

At mile 20 I was up to 17 passed with only 5 repassers. After about a 1-minute walk break I got back to running. Around mile 22, there was a procession of geese with their goslings crossing the street/course in front of me. (most of the course was run along the St Joesph River). As I approach this procession, I'm thinking this is gonna be fun. After a little hissing and neck bobbing they clear the road and I pass them by.

By mile 24, I'm up to 21 people passed with still only 5 repassers. Not bad - I stopped counting because at mile 24 the 1/2 marathoners merged with us and I couldn't keep track of who was who but I know I wasn't passed.

At mile 25 we enter ND campus and there is the golden dome in front of us and the stadium to the right. I don't see Touchdown Jesus. We make the turn into the stadium and then into the tunnel (with the ND fight song playing) and exit the tunnel back into the sunlight and onto the field where you have probably about a thousand spectators (other runners (1/2 and 5K) and family members) cheering everyone on.

As I approach the finish line, I start doing the FSU tomahawk chop and the announcer notices and asks if that was a tomahawk chop over the PA system and then he sees my shirt (FSU) and says yes it was Michael Mills from Arlington, VA with a 3:27.

Hatfield McCoy Marathon (Weat Virginia)

On Friday, 13 Jun, Katharine and I got in the car and made our way to Williamson, WV, a short 8-9 hour drive from the DC metro area. Along the way, we stopped at what appeared to be the only normal restaurant in Covington, VA, Cucci's. After a "delicious" meal and some more driving; we arrived at our B&B shortly after midnight. After a short nap, I was up at 5:45 and out the door at 6:15 to catch the shuttle van over to the starting area. I can say that I've never started a race in the parking lot of a grocery store but this is a small race in a small town and you have to use what places are available to you. I got to the race start and was all decked out and ready to go by 6:44. I also talked with Chuck Engle for a few seconds before the race and he gave me a few "pointers" about the course and the hill around mile 8 and then how it was all pretty good from there on out.

At 6:52, I felt a huge rumbling in my gut and I looked at the port-a-potty and thought there is no way I can get in there and make the start of the race so I darted into Food City and made my way to the bathroom where there was no waiting/no line. That rock in my gut turned out to be an explosive BM. Now, I don't normally write about such events but mentally I was not feeling too well about what just happened and thinking it might happen again at some point over the next 26.2 miles. (I could only have imagined what would have happened if I would have had the "Sloppy Cucci" the night before.) After I cleaned up I got back to the start at 6:58 and at 7am we were off.

The course was rolling hills through neighborhoods with lots of scenery but not your typical southern front yard with cars up on concrete blocks. Somewhere around mile 2/3 I started running with Lisa who was from the northern VA area. She was running her 37ish marathon and just had a child 9 months earlier. We ran together through mile 17 when she slowed down a bit to work out a cramp.

So anyway, I hit the hill at mile 8 which in reality started at mile 2. By the time I got to the top of the hill, I was running a 10:30 pace. After cresting the hill it was down hill and the few folks that I had gained on during the hill took off and before you knew it we were alone on the course.

By Mile 13 (about a 1:44 split), we passed one runner in front of us and then caught up to Lisa's friend around Mile 14 and then we got passed by a runner who ran by us like we were standing still around 14.5. About this same time, it started to rain which was a nice bonus since I like running in the rain. By mile 17, Lisa dropped back and then we hit the part of the course where the road turns to gravel. After walking a short distance because I didn't really want to fight small rocks and slippery conditions going up a short hill I crested the hill and was off to running a again. Around mile 18, I was looking around not paying attention to the sides of the road when I hear a commotion to my right. I look over a see something big in the woods and then I realized after a few seconds this large animal (I thought it was an animal - what else could be that big making that much noise in the woods be?) was a guy just finishing a BM and was wiping himself. He yells out in his Scottish accent, "I'm not a bear."

Shortly thereafter, he catches up to me just as we go over the swinging bridge. What an experience that was running across the bridge with someone else (bouncing and swaying) but he put a little distance between us and soon the bouncing motion of the bridges settled down and it is a nice smooth run over the remainder of the bridge. At mile 19, I grab a gel from the aid station and I'm off again. By this time, I have passed three runners (since 13) and I see a few others in front of me to include the guy who blew by me around 14.5. So I set off to catch them and by mile 22/23, I catch the guy (the guy who blew by me) just as we encounter a pretty step hill at mile 23. I know I'm stronger on the uphills and I would put some distance between us on the hill and sure enough I put a huge amount of time between us.

Around mile 25, the course begins to flatten out and I spot another guy in front of me but this time, he is "wounded" in the sense that he is stopping to take short walk breaks (about 5-7 seconds) and I realize I'm gonna catch him too. He is wearing headphones and has no idea I'm gaining on him until he turns around during one of his walk breaks and sees me 30 feet back and decides to start to running again only to have me pass/blow by him with ease. And to make it worse for him, I pick up my pace just a tad to make it appear I'm running just that much faster than he is. He tried to stay with me as I went by but his burst of speed didn't quite last too long and he fell back.

Just after 25.5 I made the turn onto Hwy 119 and the final stretch. I did a quick peak behind me and I saw nothing but cars and fast food restaurants behind me. I make the turn off of Hwy 119, cross the bridge and see Katharine waiting for me at the end of the street. She finally sees me and I then I see her struggling to get the camera out all the while, while holding a phone to her ear. She manages to get a few pictures off as I run by and wave. No time for kisses in this race.

I continue towards the finish line, give the Hatfield and McCoy re-enactors a high five and cross the finish line in 3:27:55. The volunteers clip off my chip, give me a wet towel and then another volunteer asks me how old I am and I almost said 37 but then realized I have a few more months to go before 37 and finally spit out 36. She then hands me a 1st place trophy for my age group! It was a total surprise considering how slow I ran (wasn't going out to run fast - just take it easy) and how I stopped at four historical markers to read about the Hatfield & McCoy feud. I finished 10th overall and 1st in my age. Not a bad day's run considering the warm, semi humid and rainy conditions.