So Kevin, one of my neighbors who speeds walks the marathon asked me if I have been training for the marathon. I honestly run/walk 2x a week but not long distances. He warned me that since its getting closer to doomsday I need to work on my mileage. OMG yes 26 miles, what was I thinking. I looked at the my Runkeeper app and honestly I have only been running 1-2 miles. I seriously need to train!
To motivate me to run longer I added more races. Call me crazy. I signed up for 808 Race Hawaii 2017 BioAstin Marathon Readiness Series. This is a set of 5 races leading up to the Honolulu Marathon. I told myself why not. Spending money on my health, enjoying the outdoors and running somewhere other than my home turf should be fun. Yes, I am crazy.
So the first race, was the Boca Hawaii Norman Tamanaha 15 K (9 miles). I have ran 8 miles and hiked 16 miles before so I was confident I could do this. I had less than 2 weeks before the first race and I did walked/run a little more... Yesterday before my volunteer shift I picked up my packet at Boca Hawaii and took advantage of carb loading eating lot of yummies. I ate a chicken bagel sandwich from This is it Bakery, Korean fried chicken baa and lobster macaroni and taters from Bao Tao'n and donuts from Dunkin Donuts. Yes I was a fatty. As I prepared for my race the night before. I realize how unprepared I was and started to get nervous. What was I getting myself into? Couple days ago my daughter and fiance got sick and I may have gotten their cold or maybe my allergies was acting up because I was coughing and had a running nose. I got my stuff prepared and went to bed before 10pm.
I got up at 3am, did my normal routine: check my BP, take my BP meds, allergy med, hydrated, drank coffee. Eventually I got ready, I wore my Run Rest Repeat shirt from Old Navy, My No Excuse Mom hat, and Yelp wrist band. I had my breakfast of turkey, cheese tortilla. I was too nervous to eat, but knew I would get hungry. I brought frozen blueberries with me and nuts. I also had extra battery pack for my phone, lip balm. I almost forgot my sunscreen and socks. I headed out to Kapiolani Park but I was confuse on where to park. Eventually I found my way and joined the racers. I felt odd, like I was not in the right place. I had no one to talk to, but I people watch till they called the "walkers" to check in. Since my pace is about 15 minutes I placed myself in this category. We were allowed to start 20 minutes before the "runners". Raul from Boca Hawaii gave his speech and we were off.
1 mile - I am doing good. I "ran" most of the way.
2 mile - slight incline on Diamond Head. I "ran" and enjoyed the beautiful surf. I saw the aid station and got a water and Gatorade, then dumped the weird juice and got more water.
3 mile - steeper incline on Diamond Head. I walked because the runner started to past me and got intimidated.
4 mile - downhill so I started to "run" till we got to Kahala Mall and realized I was half way through. I hydrated with 2 cups of water at the next aid station.
5 mile - its getting hot! I started to slow down again. My right heel ached a bit.
6 mile - wahoo 1/3 more to go. I kept my pace barely walked but I know I was slow
7 mile - I see bikers. I want to ride a bike back. I walk/run most of the way.
8 mile - wahoo, 1 more mile to go. This is where I started to get emotional. I started to think about how close I was to the finish line, how busy it has been at work. How hard I have been working these past few weeks and to do something like this, I am crazy, but even though work is hard, and running is hard too I was enjoying this crazy race!
I held back my tears and completed the 9 miles. I was so happy that I did my first 15 K and by myself. I drank 2 cups of water ate a brownie did some stretch and digged out. I was about 8am. Might as well go home and eat. I ate donuts, left over chicken, kale and scramble egg.
Official results: Top 24 walker, top 12 female in my age group, total time: 2:13:53, pace 14:24 minutes/mile
Come to think about it, I think this is my faster then my last GAR results!. I've come to realized that running is a therapy. It can be tough, but it also takes practice, patience and persistence. I must be crazy to be enjoying this! Now to make sure I do my stretches and massage row.
To motivate me to run longer I added more races. Call me crazy. I signed up for 808 Race Hawaii 2017 BioAstin Marathon Readiness Series. This is a set of 5 races leading up to the Honolulu Marathon. I told myself why not. Spending money on my health, enjoying the outdoors and running somewhere other than my home turf should be fun. Yes, I am crazy.
I got up at 3am, did my normal routine: check my BP, take my BP meds, allergy med, hydrated, drank coffee. Eventually I got ready, I wore my Run Rest Repeat shirt from Old Navy, My No Excuse Mom hat, and Yelp wrist band. I had my breakfast of turkey, cheese tortilla. I was too nervous to eat, but knew I would get hungry. I brought frozen blueberries with me and nuts. I also had extra battery pack for my phone, lip balm. I almost forgot my sunscreen and socks. I headed out to Kapiolani Park but I was confuse on where to park. Eventually I found my way and joined the racers. I felt odd, like I was not in the right place. I had no one to talk to, but I people watch till they called the "walkers" to check in. Since my pace is about 15 minutes I placed myself in this category. We were allowed to start 20 minutes before the "runners". Raul from Boca Hawaii gave his speech and we were off.
1 mile - I am doing good. I "ran" most of the way.
2 mile - slight incline on Diamond Head. I "ran" and enjoyed the beautiful surf. I saw the aid station and got a water and Gatorade, then dumped the weird juice and got more water.
3 mile - steeper incline on Diamond Head. I walked because the runner started to past me and got intimidated.
4 mile - downhill so I started to "run" till we got to Kahala Mall and realized I was half way through. I hydrated with 2 cups of water at the next aid station.
5 mile - its getting hot! I started to slow down again. My right heel ached a bit.
6 mile - wahoo 1/3 more to go. I kept my pace barely walked but I know I was slow
7 mile - I see bikers. I want to ride a bike back. I walk/run most of the way.
8 mile - wahoo, 1 more mile to go. This is where I started to get emotional. I started to think about how close I was to the finish line, how busy it has been at work. How hard I have been working these past few weeks and to do something like this, I am crazy, but even though work is hard, and running is hard too I was enjoying this crazy race!
I held back my tears and completed the 9 miles. I was so happy that I did my first 15 K and by myself. I drank 2 cups of water ate a brownie did some stretch and digged out. I was about 8am. Might as well go home and eat. I ate donuts, left over chicken, kale and scramble egg.
Official results: Top 24 walker, top 12 female in my age group, total time: 2:13:53, pace 14:24 minutes/mile
Come to think about it, I think this is my faster then my last GAR results!. I've come to realized that running is a therapy. It can be tough, but it also takes practice, patience and persistence. I must be crazy to be enjoying this! Now to make sure I do my stretches and massage row.
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