All about that pace.

Big Sur

Recent EntriesHomeJoin Fast Running Blog Community!PredictorHealthy RecipesRAtTLeTrAp's RacesFind BlogsMileage BoardTop Ten Excuses for Missing a RunTop Ten Training MistakesDiscussion ForumRace Reports Send A Private MessageWeek ViewMonth ViewYear View
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
200820092010201120122013201420152016
15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

Lakewood,WA,

Member Since:

Dec 19, 2008

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

  • 5k
    Resolution Run 5k:
    1/1/09 20:46 (6:42)
    1/1/10 19:33 (6:18)
    1/1/11 19:23 (6:15)
    1/1/12 19:33 (6:18)
    FSRC Turkey Trot:
    11/20/11 18:50 (6:04)
  • 10k
    Resolution Run 10k:
    1/24/09 42:40 (6:53)
    1/23/10 40:48 (6:35)
    1/22/11 39:40 (6:24)
  • 15k
    Resolution Run 15k:
    2/21/09 1:05:59 (7:06)
    2/20/10 1:04:15 (6:55)
    2/26/11 1:03:46 (6:51)
    2/25/12 1:02:26 (6:42)
  • 20k
    Resolution Run 20k:
    3/21/09 1:27:16 (7:01)
    3/20/10 1:26:46 (6:59)
    3/26/11 1:24:37 (6:49)
    3/24/12 1:25:27 (6:52)
  • 1/2 Marathon
    Grand Columbian 1/2 Iron Relay
    2007 1:58:29 (8:59)
    2010 1:39:07 (7:34)
  • Marathon
    2005 Portland: 3:52:21 (8:52)
    2007 Tacoma: 3:47:17 (8:40)
    2010 Eugene: 3:16:21 (7:30)
    2011 Boston: 3:25:28 (7:51)
    2011 Tunnel: 3:06:30 (7:07)
    2012 Boston: 3:53:56 (8:56)
    2012 Big Sur: 3:23:06 (7:45)
    2013 Tacoma: 3:41:25 (8:27)
    2013 Tunnel Lite: 3:07:33 (7:09)
    2014 Boston: 3:40:35 (8:20)
  • Ultra Marathon
    2013 Defiance 50k: 4:49:12 (9:18)
    2013 Steilacoom 50k: 4:44:06 (9:09)
    2014 R2R 51.9mi: 9:51:40 (11:24)

Short-Term Running Goals:

??

Upcoming races: Just pacing and volunteering this year. PRs coming in 2016?

St Paddy's Day 1/2 1:50 Pacer 3/12/16

Whidbey Island 1/2 1:45 Pacer 4/?/16

Tacoma City Marathon 3:55 Pacer 5/1/16

 

Personal:

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Heb 12:11

 

Favorite Quotes:

"Go out and preach the Gospel, and if you have to, use words."  - St. Francis of Assisi

"Life is short; running makes it seem longer." - Baron Hansen

"If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand." HD?

"Rule #1. Cardio - Zombies lead a very active lifestyle, so should you." - Columbus (Zombieland)

"A one that is not cold is scarcely a one at all." - Strongbad

"Running without hills is like motorcycling without corners" -me

 

Favorite Blog Posts:

Puke and pass

My epic Beatles for Burt blogpost

Vodka at an aid station?

 

Hot tips for winter running:

Screwshoes
Poor man's cleats. this works a LOT better than you would think! Very quick and easy.

LittleHotties
Are you cheap like me? Put those little hotties in a ziplock bag and use them again tomorrow!

Kickstart your dead Garmin
Hold down the reset/lap button and the mode button together to get your 205/305/310xt to restart if it won't turn on or if it freezes up.

Favorite Blogs:

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Brooks Adrenaline GT13-3 Lifetime Miles: 964.63
Shopping Cart Lifetime Miles: 9.60
Race: Big Sur (26.2 Miles) 03:23:05, Place overall: 133, Place in age division: 19
Total Distance
26.20

2:00am Salinas, CA
A $33 room at the GoodNight Inn doesn't come with a coffee pot or microwave so I had to ask the girl behind the bullet proof window to heat up the cup of coffee I bought at the gas station before bed. She was really nice and met me at the back door to nuke my stale java since it wouldn't fit through the tiny slot in the window. Funny story: Kym was sitting outside by the hot tub after I went to bed and some dude asked her if she was alone and wanted to go to a party. When she said "no, I'm here with my husband" he said "oh, are you on your honeymoon?". Seriously!? Honeymoon at the GoodNight Inn? Classy huh?
So, even though I got my morning coffe and other business taken care of, I was still kind of a basket case in the morning before the race. We needed to leave the motel no-tell by 3 so I could be a little early for the bus at 4:00am and that didn't happen so I was really worried about getting to the bus on time (miss the bus, miss the race, no exceptions). On the drive there, Kym was swerving around on the highway trying to pair up her phone with the blutooth in the rental car and I'm thinking if we get pulled over I'll miss the race for sure, even if there isn't a real DWI infraction. So now we're driving along in a slightly straighter line after a little arguing, but doing about 5 under the speed limit and someone is tailgating us. Just before we exited in Monterey, the tailgater swung around us and sped off in a State Patrol car! Ok we narrowly avoided missing the race in my opinion, and I'm now off to the start village in the yellow bus. Before the bus driver even got to HWY 1 she got lost and couldn't decide which way to turn at an intersection. Suddenly everybody on the bus is shouting different directions at her and now she is just as confused about where to go as I am worried about getting to the start on time. Eventually a very loud voice shouted from the back of the bus "Turn right! Trust me, I live here." and we got back on track. I ended up getting to the start village about 5:45 and had plenty of time for more coffee, a banana, a bagel, and a final POP stop while I waited. All that stress for nothing :)

6:45am Big Sur, CA
The first 6 miles is mostly downhill and I was knocking out 7 min miles without much effort at all. Then came the headwind! No, wait, I mean HEADWIND! It was blowing so hard it knocked me off balance a couple times. I plowed though it until the ascent to Hurricne Point started at mile ten. Then it was time for two miles with about 600' of elevation gain. Fortunately the road is very twisty and on this section we were shielded from the wind for the most part until we got to the top. Once I got to the top I wished the wind was only as bad as miles 7-10(it's all a matter of perspective). The descent from Hurricane Point was not the recovery I expected at all with the wind in my face again. The view was pretty incredible though! Just over the hill at mile 13.1 there was even a dude playing a Grand Piano. Another unusual sight was a herd of cows grazing in a field right by the ocean around mile 15. The second half of the course is a series of not so gentle rolling hills and the wind continued to blow hard from the north. It died down a few times or was buffered by the trees, but never for long and even the downhills felt like uphills with it pushing against me. My pace went from fast down and slow up to slow down and slower up. I never got sore, I was just winded, literally! This race was a huge cardio challenge and definitely the toughest course I've ever ran. Even so, I finished with a BQ and Marathon Maniac Status so I'm calling it a success! I was 30 minutes faster than Boston and felt so much better at the end. The finish area was very cool. I got my medal and got some pics taken by the race photo guy who said I was the best dressed on the course. Then I got a great free post race massage and headed to the B2B tent where I got another medal and a jacket for completing the B2B challenge. The medals are really nice hand designed clay things so they are a bit fragile, but very unique. They also had tons of food and free beer for the B2B finishers and their guests so Kym even got to come back and hang out with me. Everything they say about this race on their website is true. It should be on your marathon bucket list for sure. Now it's time for a nap before the post race party...

4:30 Monterey, CA
The post race party at the Marriott Grand Ballroom was first class. Lots of free fancy food; little salads in martini glasses, spicy thai noodles, coconut shrimp, mushroom risoto, beer, wine, live jazz and a slideshow from the race course. There was a time that I wouldn't have been caught dead in a place like that... I guess I'm one of them now. haha! I'll post some pics when I get home to a computer.


I love the look on the girls' faces in this shot. I think the one right behind me might be a zombie. They must have been 21 milers since this is about the half way point on the course. I still don't get why they have so many distances to choose from in this event. In addition to the marathon they have a 5k, 9 mile, 10.6 mile, 21 mile, and a relay. Passing all the walkers and shorter distance folks in the second half did keep the course from getting too lonely. Nobody likes to suffer alone :)


Sill feeling good after leaving zombie girl in my dust.


The gloves are off, time to get down to business...


Photo bombed by my beautiful wifey Kym. It was so great to have her there at the finish. We had an awesome wine tasting recovery week in Sonoma following the race :)


The finisher medals

Quote from the Monterey County Herald:
"Toughest double award: About 8 percent of the starters had run the Boston Marathon 13 days before. Boston was boiling hot and Big Sur was brutally windy. We're renaming this year's B2B challenge as Boiling to Brutal. Those who received the special B2B medal this year really earned it."

Asics 2150 2E Miles: 26.20
Comments
From Bonnie on Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 16:18:18 from 64.119.33.134

great job Mike, congratulations on your race!! I have heard that the course is really tough. Just for your information -- the 1/2 marathon (in November) is MUCH easier (course-wise) and the hotels might be a little better too ;-).

Way to tough it out!

From flatlander on Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 16:22:53 from 76.31.26.153

Great report, glad you were able to combine that second honeymoon with an o-dark-thirty scramble to the bus. Can't imagine doing a complete marathon in wind like that, congratulations on a gutsy run.

From Derunzo on Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 16:30:25 from 24.218.176.97

Nice RATTLE! Enjoy your honeymoon! Ha ha! Great race in adverse conditions!

From Dan on Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 16:43:03 from 24.209.83.20

Great report,the presence race report had me laughing, be sure to put on my places to stay. Nice windy race!

From Kam on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 07:29:22 from 68.66.163.179

Way to gut it out in the wind. It sounds like getting to the start was one of the most challenging parts of this marathon experience.

From JG on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 08:43:25 from 71.57.246.108

Great race & report! That is a fantastic time on that course ... not even considering the wind & the fact you ran Boston 2 weeks earlier! Congratulations!! I had similar wind the year I ran it ... your report brought back vivid memories of cresting Hurricane Point thinking it would be time to coast ... only to get slammed in the face with a howling headwind! :)

From Jake K on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 10:11:46 from 155.100.226.54

Way to go man! Glad you were able to recover quickly from Boston and run another very strong marathon!

From I Just Run on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 12:55:59 from 67.79.11.242

Ha ha... you could have run a 4 hour marathon and I would still have considered it a success with the excitment of the race report. A honeymoon suite for only $33...that's a bargin! Good run RT, glad you enjoyed it!!

From Kelli on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 18:44:42 from 71.219.98.16

I WANT PICTURES!!!

Great job on the race, so sorry about the wind. Wind and hills are a very bad mixture, but it looks like your super human powers pulled you through them both!

From Carl on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 19:08:26 from 24.19.78.45

Great race report... So, when are we getting a beer and pizza?

From JD on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 19:56:29 from 65.130.173.41

great job - two strong marathons so close together! one of these days you're going to hit perfect weather conditions on marathon day and it's going to turn into a sub-3 fest!

From Rob Murphy on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 21:17:47 from 24.10.249.165

Sounds like an awesome race.

Sounds pretty damn romantic. I don't know how you focused on the race.

Man I know what it's like to have to have your coffee. Good story.

From baldnspicy on Tue, May 01, 2012 at 14:49:16 from 167.164.3.140

You are one straight up, Harley ridin', Marathon killin' bad ass!! Way to go in Boston and now at Big Sur! Seriously strong performances and a true testament to your skills. My doorag is off to you!

From Andrea on Wed, May 02, 2012 at 10:14:46 from 72.37.171.52

Congrats on a great race!

From DLTheo on Wed, May 02, 2012 at 10:47:15 from 155.130.107.42

Great job on the double RT! Sounds like you had a fun time and a great experience.

From Preston on Fri, May 04, 2012 at 12:26:31 from 98.237.131.155

Mike, you are awesome, great race!

From rAtTLeTrAp on Sat, May 05, 2012 at 16:29:45 from 98.247.27.122

Thanks for all the nice comments everybody! It means a lot to me that you take time to read my blog and share your thoughts about my running adventures. I posted a few pics from the race now that I am back home with access to a computer. Don't be fooled into thinking I was enjoying myself on the course; they just have great photographers :)

From rAtTLeTrAp on Sat, May 05, 2012 at 16:32:52 from 98.247.27.122

@Carl - Fridays are the best time for a pizza run.

From Kelli on Sat, May 05, 2012 at 20:56:37 from 71.219.98.16

LOVE Zombie girl, I noticed her before you and your flashy outfit! And your wife is adorable.

From DLTheo on Sat, May 05, 2012 at 23:14:37 from 76.28.161.119

She's definitely looking directly at your brains. Good thing you stayed a-"head" of her.

From DLTheo on Sat, May 05, 2012 at 23:17:03 from 76.28.161.119

Where do you put your pictures online to be able to link them in the blog? Flickr?

From rAtTLeTrAp on Sat, May 05, 2012 at 23:22:45 from 174.253.194.64

Scott - You know what they say about zombie girls right? They're the only ones that will really love you for your brains :)

I use dropbox.com for my online file storage

From Burt on Sun, May 06, 2012 at 21:26:46 from 72.223.82.180

I've been trying to read this for a couple of days. I had the window opened on my laptop. In fact, when I before I refreshed it Preston was the last one to leave a comment, and there were no pictures. I'm a horrible friend.

But great job! You're a strong runner. And "other business taken care of." I know what you mean. You know I know what you mean.

From rAtTLeTrAp on Mon, May 07, 2012 at 20:25:25 from 98.247.27.122

Thanks Burt, next time I'll post pictures right away to keep your interest :)

I know you know I know you know what I mean.

From april27 on Tue, May 08, 2012 at 19:59:09 from 99.188.251.180

You sooo makeme miss running with phrases like boiling to brutal lol.

Add Your Comment.
  • Keep it family-safe. No vulgar or profane language. To discourage anonymous comments of cowardly nature, your IP address will be logged and posted next to your comment.
  • Do not respond to another person's comment out of context. If he made the original comment on another page/blog entry, go to that entry and respond there.
  • If all you want to do is contact the blogger and your comment is not connected with this entry and has no relevance to others, send a private message instead.
Only registered users with public blogs are allowed to post comments. Log in with your username and password or create an account and set up a blog.
Debt Reduction Calculator
Featured Announcements
Lone Faithfuls
(need a comment):
Recent Comments: