Earlier this year, I ran my first ultramarathon. It was gorgeous and an adventure as much as a run. I loved every minute of it! The scenery was unparalleled, the people around me were friendly and awesome. My knees were shot by the end, but I don't regret a minute of it.
Because the Honolulu Marathon is iconic and local. I chose to run it. It's the marathon portion of the original Ironman race. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Also, they have a killer locals rate and I'm a frugal girl. ANYWAY... I changed the way I trained for this race. I started training around two months beforehand rather than the four I had trained before. Instead of running a half marathon or more every weekend for two months like I did for Seattle, I worked my way up from 3 miles, adding two per weekend and planned a half marathon the month before. I never ran more than 15 miles and did not hit a wall. Oh, and before you ask, yes I took screen shots of the race photos so they still have watermarks. At $37 per photo, I'm cool with crappy Paint jpgs.
The Honolulu Marathon begins in front of Ala Moana Park at 5 AM. I can't even call that "bright and early". It was pitch black out. We woke up at 330 and walked the two miles to the start line. See? Local. Easy. I love easy logistics. We joined about 20,000 other runners standing and stretching in the middle of Ala Moana Boulevard. The countdown happened and the first runners were off! We were in the middle somewhere and it took another 8-9 minutes before we reached the start line. During that time, a fireworks display lit up the night, crashing overhead and making me excited for the run to come. I mean, I vaguely felt bad for the people living next to the park. I've been known to lose my mind over loud noises when I am trying to sleep. Sorry fancy condo people!
The fireworks were a great start to the race, but it didn't get boring after that. We ran through downtown Honolulu, dodging slower runners and walkers who had started with the early groups. My calves were tight and not into the early morning run. I started an audio book and lost myself in a story of champions. Soon, I found myself running through City Lights on King Street. There was a giant Santa, shirtless, hands up in shakas (or hangloose signs for all you haoles). Aloha to you too, sir! Palm trees wrapped in lights lined the streets. Pretty cool!
Soon I was climbing Diamond Head while the sun rose around me. It was absolutely beautiful! There were so many places I wanted to take pictures. Photo taking while running leads to blurry pictures of nothing though. So I only got a few. The lens may have been a little sweaty, my bad.
Before I knew it, I was at 10 miles. I settled into a run walk routine to keep my body focused. Run four minutes, walk a minute. Run four minutes, ooh the mile marker is just ahead, keep running until the mile marker, walk a minute. My book was captivating. All around me were runners of all ages, shapes and sizes, people dressed in costumes, and others with matching running atire. Among my favorites were two young men with grass skirts and coconut bras, A girl dressed as Sailor Moon (complete with bright yellow wig!), a middle-aged woman in a traditional Japanese dress running barefoot, and several Japanese couples in wedding attire.
Time seemed to melt away and I found muself in Hawaii Kai at the turnaround. I was on the home stretch. There were so many amazing spectators in Hawaii Kai with chopped up bananas, orange wedges, grapes, pretzels, candy, etc. that they were offering to tired runners. I was beyond impressed with the encouragement, generosity, and enthusiasm. It really does mean the world when someone is out there telling you that you're doing great. I ate a 2" banana section, one grape, and an orange slice. That was my nutrition for the whole race. I like to run fasted. So I hadn't eaten that morning. I guess I had a few small cups of Gatorade along the way.
My book ran out as I was beginning to tire around mile 21. My strategy the whole time was not to think "one mile down", but to think "only 25 miles left". So, at that point it was "just over five miles to go, no big deal. We can do this!" I switched to one of my super perky dance music playlists. I'd make sure I ran to songs with the perfect run cadence. I'd walk when my body wasn't feeling it. I didn't let myself drag though. I always found a point to walk to and started running again as soon as I reached it. In the meantime, here's Mike with his tongue out likely because he stepped on a small rock.
I crested Diamond Head on the way back and forced myself to run the entire downhill. I was exhausted at this point. I'd been running for about four and a half hours. I had some long blinks that indicated my body was over it. The photo below sums it up. Can't you just feel the aloha?
I dashed down the hill, walked a few moments, and ran again. On the final flat stretch, I forced my tired legs to get me to a particular telephone pole. I could then walk for three poles before running to that bus that was blocking the intersection two or three blocks ahead. When I got to the walk point, I realized that wasn't a bus! It was the finish! I picked up the pace and ran the rest of the way through.
This was the first race I've done where no one I knew was waiting for me at the finish line. Usually Mike either runs with me or meets me at the end. This time, he hurt his leg a week prior and ended up walk-jogging the whole marathon, barefoot because he's a crazy man. The marathon committee provided showers at the end, which was unbelievable! I picked up my finisher shirt, sat on the ground and stretched for a few minutes. Oh, and when I say "sat" I clearly mean sprawled on the ground grinning like a maniac.
It probably took me an hour on my wobbly legs to make the 2.2 miles home. I sat down a bunch of times and finally made it to a Biki (bike share) station to rent a bike for the remaining 1.5 miles home. I had time to shower and relax for a minute before heading back to the finish line to cheer Mike. It was fun to watch the finishers. There were a handful of elderly runners, a man in a hand-pedaled recumbant bike, and a bunch of high school boys supporting an injured comerade across the finish line. So inspiring!!
Of course, I looked down at the tracker right as he ran past, so I only took a picture of his back. I ran to catch up, which actually felt less bad than I would've thought. I ran the race in 4:42:32 which was about 35 minutes faster than my previous race. I'm not injured. All in all, I feel really successful and proud of myself. Mike finished in 7:41 on a hurt leg without shoes. He's pretty cool.
