Monday, December 17, 2012

Tourist Mode

Prior to the Honolulu Marathon, we were in Tourist Mode on the Big Island. Since we were only there for 5 days (and the Big Island is BIG), we stayed all 5 days at Arnott's Lodge in Hilo, on the Windward side. Doug Arnott runs a very, very, clean, quiet, and affordable lodge. Yes - he is THAT Arnott - of the Tim Tam cookie family.
The lodge is .25 miles from a small wading beach, 1 mile from this beach - Carlsmith Beach, and 2 miles from the blacksand beach with the Honus - green sea turtles.
What is a trip to Hawai'i without shave ice?
Hilo has the BEST farmer's market. On Wednesdays and Saturdays the farmer's market has over 200 vendors, selling fruits and flowers, pearls and Aloha shirts. I bought these anthuriums to take back to Oahu for my aunt.

Honolulu Marathon Report

December 9th, 2013 - Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA This was my second marathon, of the year, of my life. I had a great time, however... my time was not so good. I had anticipated running 5:00:00, but around mile 21 I hit the wall, and my right IT band told me that it wanted to walk the rest of the marathon. So I finished with a 5:44:00 appx. I think there were many factors in this, the first being that I forgot my salt tablets and Snickers bar. My fuel was some stuff I picked up at the Expo that I really did not like - some sweet energy drink of some off brand. The second being that I was tired from a week of being in tourist mode on the Big Island. The course itself is rather easy - flat, except for Diamond Head, but for an East Bay runner, this is barely a hill. And the heat was not an issue since the race started at 5:00 am. Even when the day got warm, the heat was moderate and not really an issue. Lastly, I think my training was slacker than what I was doing last June. I could have stepped it up in my runs, but I had been doing extra cross-training, so I just didn't have the time.
The lighthouse at the top of Diamond Head. Around mile 6, I think. Felt great, and the sun was still hiding....
This is me and Bong Ju Lee, the 1993 winner of the Honolulu Marathon. While visiting the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor the day after the marathon, Mr. Lee's proud father came up to me and insisted on introducing his very fast son. I felt it was appropriate to ask Mr. Lee's dad to take a pic of me and his son. Bong Ju Lee's time in 1993 was 2:13:00.
This is E and M, who are close friends with my Aunt and Uncle. They are hard core ultra runners who gave me a ride to the marathon. Since they are locals, they got to run the marathon for an entry fee of $26.20 - that is way cool! They also got us to start at the very front of the pack - which was exciting! I usually am starting in a corral in the back.... The Honolulu Marathon is classy - they start the marathon with real fireworks, like the 4th of July.