Oahu Running Season

Hapalua - April 9, 2017

I took a break from the Hapalua last year and took pictures of all the runners. This year my training has been decent, it was good enough though. My longest run was a 12 mile run a week before the Hapalua and I did it pretty fast at 10:28 per/mi pace. 

Proo drove E and I early in the morning. She dropped us off at 5:30 am for the 6:00 am start. I was ready. The chase began at about 5:40 am with the women getting a 20 minute head start. The men got a 10 minute head start. At 6:00 am the Kenyans were off and we started. I started quick weaving in and out and got to a 10 min/mile pace right off the bat. Then, I blitz the flat course going at 9:10 min/mile and even at sub 9:00 min/mile. I was stoked. My breathing was laboring and I decided to take it back a little, but not much. I wanted to save energy for the last 4 miles because those miles are all hills. I did. I slowed at about a 9:30 min/pace for miles 7,8,9. Monserrat was tough and I even had to walk a little at a 10:03 min/pace. But I made up time on the hill down. I had enough energy in the tank to finish the last mile in 9:07 min/pace. My official time was 2:02:55 at 9:23 min/mile. Not a PR, but close, very close. This year I really want to break 2 hours, but that will be hard. I have to do some miles under the 9:00 min/mile pace. 

Ted, who had the flu during the week, didn't have a strong time, but finished well before me. There was also AJ and Ryan, two really fast runners. I think Ryan finished in the top 100. E came in at about 2:40, Proo ran by him the last 3 miles or so. 

The Kenyan won this year, but didn't come in 1-2. A local guy beat one of the Kenyans.

Hibiscus - May 28, 2017

About 1 month after Ragnar, I trained a little, and seemed to be somewhat ready to run this half marathon. The packet pick up was at the Aston Hotel. I went on Saturday in the morning. I love to go to Waikiki and just hang out. After parking at Kapiolani Park, I walked to Aston and went up to the 21st floor.

After packet pick up. I drove home to relax. Fast forward to the morning of the 28th. I woke up at 12am because I couldn't sleep. I got ready by 4:00am. E stopped by at 4:30am, he was taking The Judge and I to the race. 

The Judge and I went to the start line and saw Deanna and Menchie. It's like they flocked to us. The race started and I had a good start. I was going about 9:30 min/mile. I hit Diamond Head hill like a champion. I was in peak form once I made the right at KCC. There was no stopping me. After the gas station, I continued at a 9:20 min/mile pace. On the way back to the gas station, I continued to run well. I struggled going up Diamond Head hill up the backstretch. As soon as I topped it out, I had to suck it up and go. I was beat by this point, but left everything out there. The sun decided to blast all its energy and I was sweating buckets. I finished strong though and came in at 2:03:07 about 40 seconds short of a PR. 

I couldn't believe how much I sweated throughout. E had all my stuff. I was so grateful and changed clothes in the bathroom. The Judge came in at 2:25:00, he was happy at his time even though he didn't train. The medal was big this year and the shirt was awesome too. We ate at Rainbow Drive Inn. I ate my chili dog and rice like I always do at Rainbows. The next big event is the Kauai Marathon in September. It is only 3 months away. I have to get my body ready.

Ewa Beach to Haleiwa - June 17, 2017

Ted had this crazy idea of running from Ewa Beach to Haleiwa. What a crazy idea! Although that was hard to fathom, it is doable with the right type of support. When Ted proposed the idea, I told him I'll find the support. Since E is still recovering from his injury and Proo doesn't do long distance running anymore, I asked them first. If they were free, they would probably say yes. After a check of their schedule, they were free. With the support team ready to help, the next step was to recruit runners. Ted asked Ryan and his friend who are super long distance runners. However, Ryan was doing the Seattle marathon the week Ted wanted to run, so he and his friend were out. I asked The Judge, but he has been working a side job painting. It looked like for a while it would be just me and Ted. Menchie was interested from the beginning. Ted and I had a discussion about whether it would be too much for her, but she had amazing success with her last few long runs so she was a go. It was us 3 for a while. Ted then asked Shirley who is a pretty strong runner. At the last minute, The Judge's painting job was cancelled and so he would join us for about 1/2 the run. 

We met at Ewa Beach Safeway at 4:10am and got off to a 4:20am start. E said he would meet us at Kunia Walmart for the first station. The first two miles were great, we went at a 12 minute pace and talked story. The hill from Ewa to Kunia was brutal and Erik's plan for the first station at Walmart was great timing.

After a great break where I stuffed myself with a lot of liquids, I felt amazing. We now had the hardest part of the run, the rolling hills of Kunia Road. The cool weather helped as we took care of business. E was stationed near the Lots for Sale sign at the next station. We tackled hill after hill. I was strong, but at the last hill before the Schofield guard shack (Lyman) I felt the pain. I guess the numbness of the pain got to Shirley because she fell. She was bloody and dirty so I texted E. He said he was at Foote Gate. I felt like it was just around the corner. The break was much needed and Shirley could clean up. We were around mile 12 already. 

After Foote Gate Darren joined us for a big energy boost to the group. It felt refreshing. I was weak going through Wilikina Drive and up Kamehameha Highway, but we would break at Jack in the Box because the girls had to go to the bathroom. I needed this break. 

After the girls used the bathroom, we tackled Karsten Thot Bridge and the hill that went up to the Kamananui Road. I was really feeling it now. I told myself no more hills already as it was too much. E and Proo met us after Whitmore for a much needed break.  

We continued to Dole Plantation and took a break at the bus stop. We talked about a long story. It was a good mood changer. We had more hills, GD more hills! It was also hot! I was sweating profusely. Times were getting tough, but I had a good run on the long downhill stretch. According to my gps we did those stretches under a 10 minute mile. 

At mile 21, we took a much needed break. But we still needed to run 2 more miles to the Haleiwa sign. We did our best, we were almost there. But I think E knew we were beat. He was smart enough to drive and break at 1 mile from the sign. It was a big help. We had about 0.8 miles to the end and we knew we could do it. We were yelling at the point that the end was near. 

Finally at the Haleiwa sign, we celebrated. It was amazing! Ewa to Haleiwa. We walked the last 0.6 miles to the beach park and I had to change. 

Kapolei to Kapahulu - June 22, 2017

After doing Ewa Beach to Haleiwa, we had so much confidence in our abilities that we wanted to do something even harder. Thus, Kapolei to Kapahulu. This route was projected to be 27 miles long, longer than a marathon. When planning the route, it became apparent we wouldn't need a support vehicle like the Ewa to Haleiwa run. Instead, we would take our breaks at the 7-11 and fast food restaurants along the route. 

As we prepped for the event, I encountered some problems. One major problem was the on ramp to Nimitz. We would have to go onto the freeway and cross the road to get down to Nimitz. This was very dangerous and threw a wrench into the plan. After discussion with Ted, he suggested we take Salt Lake Blvd instead. More rolling hills, but safer. Believe it or not, the same distance as Nimitz. 

With our plan in place, we decided to give it ago. The same people were projected to run the route; me, Ted, Shirley and Menchie. However, Shirley bailed so it became only us 3. We met at Home Depot at 4am. 

Kapolei was great, it was short lived as we took care of Kapolei in 3 miles, got to Renton Road and Ah Sing Park which was miles 3-5. When we got to Waipahu it was first light. On Farrington Hwy, we encountered a loose dog. It held a strong stance, but got scared as we neared him and ran away. We took our first long break at the 7-11 Waipahu. This was about mile 8 of the route. My legs felt super tight and I was preoccupied about it. But we pushed forward onto the Bike Path. I felt like stopping at this point for some reason, but continued on off the bike path at Best Buy towards the Pearl Kai gas station. I'd say we were nearing the 12 mile marker. Feeling weak, I had to eat something. I bought a not so good looking spam musubi and scarfed it down. Now it was the crux of our run; Salt Lake Blvd. It was still cool as the sun didn't fully come out yet. The 5 rolling hills were a bit much for me and my body was sore. Menchie and I had some positive thinking discussion which pushed us through to Wendy's near Nimitz. I needed to rest. I took motrin and bought a soda. Low and behold this is what I needed.

My body wasn't sore, but my cardio was suffering. We passed Nimitz, Keehi Lagoon and got to the Kalihi Street 7-11. I told Ted we should take a long break here so we have the energy to push towards Aloha Tower, Kaka'ako, and Ala Moana. The run after was hot, but my body wasn't sore anymore. We took a long break at Aloha Tower before making the final push towards Ala Moana and Foodland Farms.

This was about mile 24 now. Menchie said she was good and called her husband to pick her up. Ted and I took a long break at Foodland Farms and even ate lunch. After about 45 minutes, we changed the route to Kapiolani Blvd instead of going through Kalakaua. There was way more shade and the distance was a bit less. As I got to Kapahulu, I started walking, but sucked it up and got to the Kapahulu Safeway. We ate fruit at Safeway and tried to re-hydrate. 

Tamanaha 15k - August 6, 2017

Nothing much to say about the Tamanaha, only that this year was the first time I've gone to the event by myself. E didn't sign up this year. I went through my routine. I woke up early, at about 3:30am. I got to the Kapiolani Parking lot at about 5:20am. It went almost routine like. Since I haven't drank alcohol in a while, my body was in peak condition. Also doing those two long runs the past two months helped out. My splits were solid. I was running at the 9:25 min/mile pace. I expected to accomplish a PR which I did. My previous PR was 1:28:46. This year's PR was 1:26:53, 9:19 min/mile. I saw Ted. We waited for Steve who, even though out of shape, finished under 2 hours. We watched the keiki race which was the best part of the event. I walked to my car and went to buy kombucha and kim chee, two probiotics that I believe will help me live a healthier life.

Another running season! This will be my second to the last marathon running season, with me retiring from marathons in 2019. In the meantime, benchmarks must be met. I wanted to do every single half marathon on Oahu. I signed up for the Hapalua, Hibiscus, and Val Nolasco. I'm not sure if there are anymore half marathon's on Oahu. I think at one time there was a Hickam Half Marathon and a Windward Half Marathon, but those don't exist anymore. 

Van Nalasco - November 12, 2017

After my HMSA 30k debacle, I trained harder and was more dedicated. I put in miles and strength training. The only issue this weekend was that we were doing a backpacking overnighter from Poamoho to Schofield-Waikane. The 13 mile hike was going to test my legs especially with 35+ lbs packs. I picked up The Judge and Jana late and got there late. It was okay, because our chip would only start once we crossed the beginning. My legs were a little tight, but I kept a good 9:30 min pace. I was passing people like crazy. The race went as expected. I brought my water bottle this time which shaved off time. I got weak at mile 9, but continued on. Mile 11 was my slowest time as I hit the Diamond Hill and started walking. My legs were so tight, it couldn't move. But I finished strong and got in at 2:08. I drove my car to a closer spot in the parking lot and met Darren at the statue. We waited for Jana to finish. I wanted wine, so I drove us to Whole Foods. Breakfast was so healthy.

Honolulu Marathon - December 10, 2017

The running season comes to a close as I completed the 45th annual Honolulu Marathon. The event went off normal and I did my best. But I wasn't producing this year. Not sure why. Maybe I have to revamp my training for 2018. My time in Honolulu was 5:02:18. I started off well, but got cramps about mile 12. I tried to push which apparently I did until mile 20. But it fell apart and I finished after 5. I'm not down on myself because this was my 10th completed marathon and it is such a great accomplishment that I was able to get done. Looks like I'm going to do at least two more...Maui and Honolulu in 2018.