DreamBig 2013 - #21 South Carolina

STATE #21 - Kiawah Islands, South Carolina
Kiawah Island Half Marathon
Finishers: 2,590

December 12, 2013
Doesn't get much better than packing all of your friends in a car and going on a roadtrip! We wanted to have a full day on Friday at the beach, so Jack, Andrew, Hunter and I loaded up Jack's CR-V and headed for South Carolina. I think our plan was to just "get there". We stopped for a fancy dinner at McDonald's since it was the only place open on the way and probably got to Jack's house on Sullivan's Islands around midnight. After a tour and a beer, we all went to bed.

December 13, 2013
Since it was Friday, and none of us were officially off work, we hung around in the morning at the kitchen table and drank coffee and closed some things out online. Jack's dad works for Deloitte so we were messaging him on our instant message system letting him know we were safe and sound just hanging at the beach. It was a bit chilly out, but we made a nice little wander down to the beach - figured if we were there we may as well enjoy it. After playing around for a while, we made our way over to Kiawah Island where the packet pickup was being held. After getting our shirts, numbers and an ornament for my upcoming Christmas tree, we decided to take some pictures and then play some Frisbee golf before it got too dark. I am horrible at Frisbee golf but it was a lot of fun regardless. Instead of going out to dinner, we decided to make dinner at the house so we would all have time to rest.

Nerd alert - work day!

Playing on the beach!

This worked well - it was my 21st race - get it?

2nd race for Jack and Andrew - First Race for Hunter

The gangs all here!

Got me an ornament for my small collection

December 14, 2013
Race day! I was nervous - so I woke up early. Not only was the race like 45 minutes away but I had to make sure three boys were up and moving with race numbers pinned on and breakfast. (Just kidding, I'm too selfish for that). We got in the car and drove down to Kiawah Island and then sort of wandered around for a bit waiting for the race to start. I had expected it to be a lot colder and because it was still dark and a bit rainy, so I wasn't expecting it to warm up much. We wandered around for a while and hung out inside until people started moving to the start. It was quite a walk so we just sort of followed the crowds. At the start, I saw a guy wearing a Michigan State shirt and this was the weekend after Michigan State beat Ohio State which allowed Auburn to go to the National Championship game at the Rose Bowl. I made sure to thank him and his team.

Here we go!

Everyone's Bib Numbers 

Gatorade Chew's for the Win Prerace

We all started together but that lasted for all of about 2 minutes. I had run a 4 mile race a few weeks back with these boys and had tried to keep up with them and ended up gased by the end - lesson learned. The race made a big loop around the island going by all of the pretty houses and South Carolina wildlife. Around Mile 5.5, the course turned for an out an back loop and of course by that point, the race leaders were already coming back the other direction.

I actually really like out and back loops because it gives you something to look at as the faster people run by. The out and back stretch went over bridges and had gorgeous views to look at as we ran from island to island. It was also nice because I was able to see Andrew, Jack and Hunter all by going the other direction. The turnaround was at Mile 7.5 which was then even more fun because you get to run back by all of the people that you are faster than!

The course continued on through the neighborhoods and I don't remember there being too many hills until near the end when we hopped on a nature trail/bike course and the course started to do some rolls. It's always at the end I tell ya.

I crossed the line around 2:05 and all of the boys were already done. I joined them for a beer and some photo ops before we all limped back. I was asked to note that the ranking of the boys in the race went Jack, Andrew, then Hunter....and then me. It was Hunter's first half and Andrew and Jack's second half and everyone did so great!

All done with 13.1

Boys celebrating with a cheers

Snapchat announcement and my beer

Andrew and Jack's sock game strong

Official Race Picture - 21 states down, 29 more to go! #DREAMBIG

With our race complete, we head back to the house to hang around for a little while and clean up. While we were taking turns for showers, Hunter accidentally dumped an industrial sized snack mix on himself and then proceeded to just continue to lay in it and eat from all around him. Guess he had never experienced the race hungers before.

Hunter surrounded by the spilled snack mix

When we were all cleaned up, we went down the street to Home Team for lunch where we all ate like huge fat kids. BBQ nachos to start and then crazy plates of BBQ and sides. Andrew was not feeling to hot so I'm pretty sure Hunter and I finished off his food as well.

Home Team  BBQ

BBQ Nachos - eat back every calorie I burnt off running

Everyone needed to rest up for a while and the weather wasn't all that great so we went and lounged around while watching Toy Story 1, 2 and 3 (pretty much the only thing we allowed on TV all weekend - such grownups.) After naps, we decided to rally and pulled our act together and head up to North Charleston to a simple yet awesome little brewery called Holy City. At first our cab driver wouldn't let us out of the cab because the place is kind of hidden and it was dark and she didn't want us to get mugged. Nice lady. They had a Christmas Tree made out of kegs and lights that I just couldn't get enough of.

Keg Christmas Tree!

Andrew's pledge brother, Grant, met us for a beer before we went on our way to make it to our celebration dinner at The Ordinary which is a seafood restaurant in an old bank. We had an awesome meal and then tried our best to keep up the pace by going to a bar across the street to listen to some music, but once we all sat down in a booth we almost all immediately came very close to falling asleep. We called our same cab driver from earlier and head home even though I don't think it was even that late.

A not cheap raw bar treat at the Ordinary - worth it. 

We watched Toy Story... again until everyone went to bed.

December 14, 2013
The weather was fairly decent when we woke up so I made some coffee and went and sat on the sundeck at the house. Once everyone else woke up, we took the football and went out to the beach to play. Jack and I were daring enough to go in the water....like up to our knees... but it was worth it. I had an early afternoon flight to San Diego, CA for work and I didn't want to interrupt the boys day too much so I had Jack take me to the Charleston airport early and off I went! Such a fun weekend with the boys and a huge thanks to the Peard's for letting us borrow the house!

Doing our best to not be freezing - Thank Jack and the whole Peard Family!

21 states down, 29 more to go! #DREAMBIG

DreamBig 2013 - #20 West Virginia

STATE #20 - Huntington, West Virginia
Marshall University Half Marathon
Finishers: 1,103

November 9, 2013
I must say this was a very last minute unexpected trip. Most of my races are planned out almost years in advance but every now and then I am feeling wild and crazy and decide to plan a trip to West Virginia. I had some Delta points laying around so I booked a "free" flight up to Charleston, WV at the end of September and knew it would be a quick 24 hour trip - my favorite! A few weeks before the race, something kind of cool happened! One of my wonderful Kirkwood friends, Alex Ricke, has a girlfriend who works for Gatorade. He told her about my running and she sent me a box of Gatorade chews with a note saying good luck on your races! So basically from then on I pretended that I was sponsored by Gatorade and sent Alex a SnapChat of me before every race with my Gatorade Chew so he could show Katrina.

Y'all.... I'm totally sponsored...but not really

So back to the race - so I basically got a flight on points after realizing there was no better time to run in West Virginia. I took a midday flight up to Charleston, WV and then drove the hour to Huntington, WV where the race was taking place. I didn't quite know what to expect of the state but the drive was actually very pretty through some rolling hills and changing leaves.

I arrived in the town and Marshall University was having a football game. I cruised around the city for a little, possibly because I was a little lost, but finally found the building where the expo was taking place. You would have thought the race was a lot larger because the line to pick up your packet was crazy, After picking up my swag, I didn't have much more to do in West Virginia alone so I just went back to the hotel (the very fancy Red Roof Inn might I add) to watch the Auburn v. Tennessee game.

When it started getting late, I hunted down another fancy establishment called Fazzoli's for some high class drive thru Italian and on top of that I may or may not have gotten a #2 Double Cheeseburger Meal from McDonald's right outside my hotel. I thought about going up to Wal-Mart just to people watch and see if all the crazy things you hear about people in West Virginia are true, but then decided to just play it safe and stay in bed.

November 10, 2013
The chance of rain had been on and off all weekend, but I just did my best to stay positive. The temperatures were low since it was November but I wore long rights and long sleeves and had snagged a blanket from my Delta flight to keep me warm. As always, I went up to the race start far too early but wanted to make sure I had somewhere to park. After hanging out in my car for a bit and catching a little tiger snooze, I decided to wander around and look at all of the Marshall Memorials and go inside the stadium. I haven't seen "We Are Marshall" but you can tell what a huge impact that plane crash had on this town.

After some time, the sun came up and we all went to line up at the start. With a belly full of cheeseburgers and spaghetti, I didn't know what the outcome would be. The first part of the course made a huge loop around the stadium and then came back on to campus. It was through part of town but it was pretty dead and I was hoping I would get a little more scenery. We finally came up on campus and then cut over to a trail along the Ohio River which was very pretty. I was still feeling okay I was just a bit chilly and my tights kept falling down in the butt...nothing worse than some saggy tights, am I right?

First Gatorade pic sent to Alex and Katrina

Once we left the riverside, we head over to what looked like we were going to climb a mountain and I could see runners on a trail weaving back and forth. It was polar opposite of where we started and the nature entertainment had taken over my attention. We jumped on the Rittner Park Trail around Mile 7 which was crushed limestone and also crushed fall leaves! At a few points I felt like a little kid as the yellow and brown leaves fell all around me and it was hard to stay focused on the race. This definitely gave West Virginia some brownie points.

Once we got off the trail and back onto the normal streets, I was feeling good and noticed a pace group ahead of me the leader was dressed like a banana. I tried my best to pick up the pace and stay with them and was surprised to see it was the 2:00 pace team. I hadn't gotten anywhere near a 2:00 time since Atlanta in 2011. The pace team seemed faster than my little legs cold go, but I did my best to hang with them. We started back towards the way we came along the Ohio River and to the University. As hard as I was trying, the pace team just slipped away from me and the possibility of hitting a 2:00 seemed farther away but I was proud to be running a good race regardless.

As we reached the stadium, the full marathoners broke off to the right (bye suckers) and we continued straight to down 3rd Avenue and into the Marshall University Stadium. This was by FAR one of the coolest finishes. After entering the stadium, you run down the sideline of the football field to opposite 20 yard line. As you cut to the center of the field, volunteers are there to pitch you a football. I knew it was coming but I was so nervous that i wasn't going to catch the ball. Putting my nerves aside, I made a effortless catch (Gregg and Phil would be so proud) and took off down the field with the ball tucked under my arm to the goal line/finish line. Not only was it so awesome to run across the line, but I looked up at the official race clock and I had come in under 2 HOURS and I had broken my person record with a time of 1:59:21! I couldn't believe it! I guess the banana had been running faster than he should have been.

The shock on my face is priceless - under 2 hours!

After shedding a few weird little tears of joy, excitement, disbelief , or whatever - I went and grabbed some snacks and just sat down on the field and watched people finish. Another decade of races done. 20 states explored and only 30 more to go!

Official Race Pic - 20 states down, 30 more to go! #DREAMBIG

Here is the stadium in the back

Snapchat check-in - being so humble as always

After my meal of chocolate milk and bananas, I hopped in the car and head back to the Red Roof to shower. I didn't feel the need to dry my hair and just head back to the airport. After turning in the car, it was about 11:00am and I realized there was a 11:20am flight which would be a whole lot better than my original 4:00pm flight. The check-in lady told me it wasn't available but I went through security anyways and ran to the gate agent who didn't even think twice before letting me get on the plane (thank you Delta status). I hadn't even been in West Virginia for 24 hours when I took off from the airport and I was home in time to grill out and enjoy the nice Atlanta fall weather with Jonathan, Snel and Beard while they built a table out of beer caps. It was a weird feeling to be sitting in their driveway and knowing I had been in West Virginia running a race not even three hours ago. I swear - time travel is no joke.

20 medals...almost 20 bibs and still counting!

Snel and Beard making a super cool table

20 states down, 30 more to go! #DREAMBIG

DreamBig 2013 - #19 Colorado

STATE #19 - Denver, Colorado
Rock N Roll Denver
Finishers: 13,865

October 18, 2013
Cooper flew in from San Francisco and I flew in from Atlanta and we met at the Denver Airport where Vanessa, one of my good friends from my 2012 New York client, picked us up. It was still mid afternoon so she drove us up to Boulder while we eavesdropped on her recruiting conference calls. Since we didn't have much time in Colorado, Vanessa decided to take us on a scenic drive up to Nederland, CO. No matter how many times I got to Colorado, I will never get sick of the views along all of the windy passageways. When we got to Nederland, we stopped at a cool little coffee/candy shop called Train Cars Coffee that was built out of a bunch of boxcars. We grabbed ourselves some hot drinks to combat the fierce wind outside and then sat around for a few minutes before making our way back to Boulder. On the way back, we decided to stop and take some pictures because if it's not on social media it didn't happen.

So angelic - we know

After our photo shoot, we drove back towards Boulder making another stop at the Flat Irons where we could have hiked but...those boots weren't made for walking. So we returned home to Boulder to meet Justin, Vanessa's boyfriend (UPDATE Fiance) at their apartment. We chilled for a bit and caught up until we decided where we wanted to go for dinner. Boulder is super cool and has this little stretch through downtown with a bunch of little stores and restaurants along a pedestrian walkway. We settled on West End and has a bit of a wait so we grabbed some drinks and stood around lurking over people's shoulders so they would get the hint to finish up their dinner and scram. Vanessa is a severe lightweight - I'm talking like a few sips of a mixed drink light weight (ugh - so many stories, so little time) so by the time we got seated she was chatting up a storm - as always.

Flat Irons

Just cooling off a little...

We had our dinner and then wandered around for a little longer in the cold just to see what was popping but eventually made our way back to the apartment where Vanessa and Justin has graciously volunteered to host us for the night - SLUMBER PARTY!

October 19, 2013
Vanessa and I have one very large thing in common and that is a love for food. So of course, soon after waking up Vanessa had a brunch place picked out for the four of us nearby called Tangerine. It was bright colors and had awesome food of course. After brunch, Vanessa drove us to downtown Denver so we could go to the race expo and pick up our packets. Something seemed a little off about downtown and we soon realized there was some sort of zombie walk going on and people were out dressed up in full force -- or so we HOPE they weren't real!

Big Blue Bear outside of the conference center downtown

After grabbing our packets, Vanessa dropped us off at the Sheraton where we were staying for the night so we could be closer to the race start. The Auburn. v. Texas A&M game was on so we obviously didn't make any other plans other than sit on our booties and watch TV the rest of the afternoon. I mean...the city was under zombie attack anyways. The front desk sent up a gift at one point (aka "Thank you for living at our hotels in 2012") which was a little thing of chocolate. The Auburn game wasn't going so well - Texas A&M was ranked #7 and we trailed most of the game but somehow pulled out a 45-41 win. Also...at some point I got really excited and threw my little chocolate container in the air and they spilled everywhere.

RIP Chocolates...even though I ate some off the floor

After the game we took our chances and went across the street to grab some pasta from Noodles & Co. and then we took a serious risk and went all the way down the street through the zombies to Walgreens to pick up water and breakfast food. Have y'all ever seen a zombie event? People have like weapons and some people have red "X"s on them and then other people refuse to break character and get all up in your face. I don't do scary stuff so this was horrible. At least there was a pretty sunset though?

Honestly...I don't know if this is the sunrise or sunset....

We prepped all of our morning stuff and got to bed early and ready to run! (Zombieless)

October 20, 2013
The race started fairly close to the hotel so we were able to walk in the morning after eating our Walgreens breakfast. We had already decided pre-race that neither one of us was used to or ready for the altitude so we were just going to take it slow and enjoy the city. It was actually warmer than I expected it to be - but still really cold.

The first two miles of the race were rough - Cooper and I were both sucking air. How do people live at a mile up!? It was kinda cool because if I remember correctly, the race took us out to where the Denver Nuggets play and then over to the Colorado Rockies ballpark (Cooper now lives in Denver so he can probably correct me on this).

The course took us down through downtown and then out to the zoo. Most of the rest of the race was either winding through the zoo and city park or on an out and back stretch that I actually really liked. A lot of people don't like the out and back but for me it's like a solid 2 miles of people watching. When you go one way you're like "dang - look at all those fast people" and then when you are going the other way you're like "dang - look how fast I am compared to all those slow people". Whatever keeps your mind busy, ya know? I also remember at like Mile 8 I was singing to the people around me - or maybe I was just singing louder than necessary and they were in earshot. Same thing.

The last 2-3 miles took us down to Cheeseman Park which was BIG hilly loop where you could see where it started and sort of where it ended but all you could really see were the hills. Hills and altitude are so difficult. We hadn't been killing ourselves so we were able to use what was left in our legs to power through. I had heard the last mile of the course was downhill and that did hold true. The only issue was this was pretty much one of the few downhills on the course. As we started descending, my calves started cramping up and Coopers blisters on his feet started tearing due to the unfamiliar movement.

We both tried to sprint in to the finish but were struck by last minute pain and just limped across the finish line. It was still a little chilly so we found a big building to block the wind and stretch and eat our goodies We walked back to the hotel and changed so we could get over to brunch before the masses.

So Halloweeny of us!

Half #5 for the Coop

Official Race Pic - 19 states down, 31 more to go! #DREAMBIG

I had a midafternoon flight as did Cooper so got a ride to the airport and flew back to our respective coasts.

Rock N' Roll Old School Medal 

Brunch =)

Here is what over my bed looked like after race #19

19 STATES DOWN, 31 MORE TO GO! #DREAMBIG

DreamBig 2013 - #18 Pennsylvania

STATE #18 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Rock N' Roll Philadelphia
Finishers: 18,135

Once Upon A Time....

September 14, 2013
So, without going into too much detail - he's the situation:

The above letter explains the gist of what I did for my 18th race but in summary, I spent the month leading up the race fundraising for my dear friend Jeremy Maclin and his foundation that held a special place in my heart. By the day of the race, with the help of the Kirkwood and Auburn community, over a thousand dollars was donated to the Jeremy Maclin Foundation to assist with football camp scholarships and the purchase of school supplies for his back to school pack event. 

So check in tow, I jumped on a plan and made my way up to Philadelphia to run my 18th race. I didn't feel like spending an arm and a leg on accommodations so I pulled an Ashley and just made a quick 36 hour trip for the race. I landed early that morning and took the train from the airport to the city center and then walked to the Sheraton. 

The conference center wasn't too far from the hotel so once I had checked into my room, I wandered over that direction to pick up my packet. I had hopped to meet up with Jeremy for lunch or dinner in order to give him the check but because he had a game the next day at 1pm, he didn't have the most flexible schedule. 

The Auburn Tigers were playing Mississippi State so I found that it wouldn't be a waste of a day to just be lazy and watch the game for the afternoon and evening. Once I get in bed it's obviously very hard to get out, but after searching for some food options I finally ventured out to pick up some dinner and see if I could pick up any new Eagles swag as well.

A rather uneventful calm day usually results in a good race so I went to sleep hoping that would still be the result. 

September 15, 2013
Race Day! I woke up and ate all of my snacks, got dressed and then started on the long walk to the starting line. The race started over by the "Rocky Steps" and I will be very honest that I had no idea what people were talking about when they said this - like - no clue. 

I had a lot of time to walk and while doing so I saw a shirtless dude carrying two basketballs and realized I had seen him in some magazines - so me being me ran to catch up with him to see if I could get a picture. His names is Darren Weissman more commonly known as "Doctor Dribble". Darren is an inspirational athlete, NBA skill specialist, personal trainer and World Record Holder. He is most well known in the running community for running halfs and fulls while dribbling two basketballs the entire race. Wild, right? Check him out at doctordribble.com. So ya - I got my photo and then skipped along.

That horse thing...probably historic

Lining up

THE Doctor Dribble

The race felt like it started a little late or maybe I was just really early so I sat around and ate a breakfast bar and just people watched. Once the race started, I could quickly tell I would survive but it was going to be hot. My decision to wear my cotton Maclin TShirt was not a very good decision. I sweat like a warthog and the shirt was quickly just drenched. The first four miles of the race wound up and down downtown Philadelphia which was pretty cool. Right toward the beginning of the race a man was holding a sign that said "What the hell are you doing, Eagles play at 1!" I found it very appropriate. Around Mile 2, a little boy started chasing me from the crowd screaming "Maclin! Maclin!" and wanted to give me a high five! I could have really used these two people around like Mile 8. Regardless - I continued to wind through the city streets and made some out and backs before going back by where we had started (the Rocky Steps) at Mile 5. This was a mild downhill stretch but it was still hot and I was being a baby and starting to lose my mind. 

Out of place, but this is before the race...me just sitting around comparing people to ducks

Mile 5 until almost Mile 9 ran along the east shore of the Schuylkill River so we had a little shade and went under a few bridges and looking back it was great but I remember being very sluggish and just wanting to turn back. By the time we got to the turn around at Falls Bridge, there was finally a big crowd of people who had been unable to get down to the course to cheer. I refueled on water and Gu and then across the bridge and back to the finish I went. 

Running through downtown.... 

4 miles to go and I was shuffling - not just with my feet but with my music too. I tend to play this game where I know that a song is on average about 3 minutes so 3 songs is around 9-10 minutes which is usually my mile pace. So with 4 miles to go in the race, that means I have about 12 more songs to listen to (these are the games nerdy people play when they get bored running). Shuffling along, shuffling along the miles slowly but surely ticked by and then in average half marathon fashion, a HUGE hill approached and then we had less than 400 meters to the finish - the FINISH! I was pumped and did my best to kick it in.

This race meant a lot more than a lot of the others. Although I was there by myself, along with my normal #18 plastic number, I had a little swatch of paper pinned to my shirt that had the names of all of the family and friends who had donated to the #18for18 campaign. During the race when things got hard, I would just poke myself in my belly where I knew the names were pinned and remember this race wasn't just about me. 

After grabbing some treats, I went to go sit on a curb to cool down. Jeremy had texted me during the race so I called to catch up with him and tell him about the race before he got too busy with game day. He tried to get me a ticket to the game but with such short notice wasn't able to do so which wasn't a big deal - I'd find a way to go regardless. 

Official Race Pic - 18 states down, 32 more to go! #DREAMBIG

I had a cute mother and daughter take my photo in front of a fountain and then scurried back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the game. After checking my bag at the front desk, I hopped on the train down to Lincoln Financial. With no real plan, I walked up to the box office and said "gimme the cheapest thing you've got!" (Note: I once did this at the Cardinals game and they gave me a ticket for free - not the case here). The box office lady looked at me like I was a little crazy and then proceeded to give me a nosebleed ticket for $70 - oh and Jeremy isn't even playing (out for season for ACL tear). The $70 ended up being well worth it - if you've ever had Chickie's and Pete's chicken fingers and fries you may or may not agree they are worth $70. But after running 13.1 miles, it was the best thing ever. Paired with a nice cold Bud Light, I climbed the million of stairs to the last row of the nose bleeds -- like back against the cement last row -- and sat my food and myself down next to what seemed like your passionate, loud, Eagles bunch. As I was getting situated, I could hear them whispering "Man - check for a ring, check for a ring". Obviously not deaf, I bluntly stated asked if they were wondering if I was married. They were embarrassed but it was good icebreaker and I had a ton of fun hanging out with them for the rest of the game. The grandpa of the group was actually an Alabama fan but we made nice when he offered me a sandwich he had snuck in during halftime. We were entertained by a man beating and kicking the seats and running back and forth a few rows ahead for most of them game as well.

Walking into the Linc....and then ALL the way up

Best Nosebleeds ever!

Most Entertaining Fan Award

After the game, I said my goodbyes and went back to the hotel to pick up my bags and head to the airport to catch a late flight home to the ATL. Wish I could have seen Jeremy but business calls!

When I got home, something else happened that was long in the making but falls into this time frame. A friend of mine from Kirkwood High had contacted me about a marketing opportunity with Degree Deodorant who was interested in featuring me in one of their #DOMORE campaign postings -- well soon after this race these came out on Facebook and Twitter! Pretty cool!