Hibiscus Half Marathon
Today I ran the Hibiscus Half Marathon. It was a perfect morning for running in Hawaii; cool and overcast with intermittent drizzles. Most races here start unbelievably early, this one had a 5:30 a.m. start time and I had to pick up my timing chip by 5:00. I bounded out of bed at 3:30 (I thought the alarm would never go off), made some toast with almond butter and banana, and drank an iced coffee. I drove a few miles to the start and enjoyed the local college radio’s “after party” show, there’s nothing like some bassy dub step at 4:30 in the morning! I picked up my timing chip easily and then proceeded to wait 20 minutes in line to use the bathroom. The smaller races here never have porta-potties, so all the ladies were waiting to use 3 stalls in a public park bathroom…. great!
I made it in and out in time and hopped in the starting lane. I tend to always start too far back in the pack, I like to give myself some room to breathe. This came back to bite me today because I felt that I had to run the first 1.5 miles much slower than I would have liked to. We circled around Kapiolani Park and headed up Diamond Head, running up the biggest incline of the race during the second mile.
- Mile 1- 9:09
- Mile 2- 8:49
We plateaued up on Diamond Head road and got a glimpse of the ocean and the early morning surf. I felt myself getting into the groove and passing the herds of people in miles 3 and 4.
- Mile 3- 8:19
- Mile 4- 8:03
The race headed down Kilauea Ave., through Kahala and out onto Kalanianaole Hwy. I was feeling so strong and so surprised that the pace I was holding was relatively comfortable.
- Mile 5- 8:10
- Mile 6- 8:16
- Mile 7- 8:09
The turnaround came around mile 7.5 and we headed on Kalanianaole back towards Diamond Head. It felt so good to be running and the thought occurred to me that I may have been too conservative in the first half of the race. There was nothing I could do about it, so I decided to just push harder in the second half.
- Mile 8- 7:56
- Mile 9- 7:57
I drank gatorade at every other aid station, rotating with water, and ate a gel at about mile 9. Those things are golden, a little sugar and a little caffeine really go a long way! We started coming back into Kahala, down Kahala Ave.
- Mile 10- 7:51
- Mile 11- 7:56
Towards the end of mile 11 and beginning of mile 12 we starting climbing Diamond Head again, the last hill of the race. After getting to the top was the glorious downhill into the finish at Kapiolani Park.
- Mile 12- 7:35
- Mile 13-7:17
- .1- 35 sec.
According to my Garmin I finished in 1:46:03, an improvement of over 2 minutes from my last half marathon in March. I am really happy that I improved, and I really felt that my training paid off for this race.
While I feel good about my performance, there is a nagging feeling that I could have done better, pushed myself harder. I ran the first half of the race in about 55 minutes, while I ran the second half in about 51 minutes. That is kind of a huge negative split and if I had that much steam in the end, I could have picked it up from the beginning. The good thing is that I get to do it all over again in two weeks when I run the North Shore Half Marathon in Illinois. I will be looking to beat my time and be under 1:45 there!
Manana Trail
The idea of trail running has been stewing in my mind for some time now, but I keep finding excuses to keep putting it off. I don’t have trail running shoes, and why buy them if I am not sure if I will use them? I might hurt myself by falling or twist an ankle, and put my road races in jeopardy. The inclines…..
Then graduate school ended, and I made a proclamation to do the things that I put off because I didn’t have enough time. This coincided with the delivery of a Runner’s World Special: The Trail, which had an article entitled “No More Excuses”, which I am pretty sure they published just for me.
- Excuse #4: It’ll disrupt my training or race schedule
To which they say, “On the contrary, mixing in wilderness workouts with your regular road or race training can make you stronger, more well-rounded, and even healthier. Plus, you’ll never get bored. At the end of the day, you can run longer and have fewer aches and pains on the softer terrain of trails. What’s more, even though trail running is easier on your body, it will actually strengthen neglected parts and work a wider range of muscles.”
- Excuse #5: I don’t have the right gear
“For your first few outings on the trail, you don’t need much beyond what you’d wear on the road: seat-wicking clothes and running shoes. Road shoes are fine for a short run to see if you like it, if you end up wanting to spend more time on the trail, it’s worth investing in trail shoes.”
The article voided my excuses and pushed me out the door. Last weekend I ran some trails up on Tantalus mountain, but I am still trying to find a good route up there, so I will talk about it later. Today I headed out to Manana Trail, which is above Pearl City on the Leeward side of Oahu. To get there you take the H1 and get off on the Pearl City/Waimalu exit, turn right on Moanalua Rd. at the end of the ramp, right on Waimano Home Rd., then left onto Komo Mai Rd. and follow it until the end and park on the residential street.
The trail starts out nice, wide, and wooded.
You do a little climbing, a little descending. It is nice and shaded, but look out for the tree roots. Eventually you emerge onto the top of the ridge.
And as you proceed along the ridge, the trees give way to grass which allows for amazing views of the summit, Waianae Mountains, the ocean, and Pearl Harbor.
This open grassy section was so cool to run through because it is very atypical of most mountain ridges, which are either covered in trees and/or ferns. There was also no huge elevation gains or drops and it made for very nice running.
After about 2.25 miles there is a really nice covered picnic table, then at 2.5 miles the part of the maintained trail ends and the trail has much more ups and downs as it snakes along the ridge towards the summit. I went beyond the sign for about .5 mile and couldn’t run on much of the section. I also fell pretty hard on a descent because I was wearing my road running shoes (the only injury I sustained was to my arm, so it’s all good). If I go any further next time I will be sure to have proper trail running shoes, but the 2.5 mile out and back, making it about 5 miles total was totally sufficient and enjoyable.
I love, love, loved this trail and look forward to running on it again soon!
Tech-Free Tuesdays
“The television went from being a babysitter to a mistress. Technology made it easy for us to stay in touch while keeping a distance. So we just stayed distant and never touched, now all we do is text too much.” – Sage Francis
Being in school kept Tim and I glued to our computers sun up to sun down. We were constantly having to research, study, or write. Granted not ALL of our time on the laptop was spent actually doing the schoolwork we were intending to do (thank you blogs and facebook), but all of this work, and procrastination from work, was a necessary evil that resulted from being in college and graduate school. I lamented this situation and felt the need to “unplug”, but always had something to work on.
Well, now that Tim and I are done with school we have implemented something I’ve dreamed about doing, Technology-Free Tuesdays, one day of the week where all after-work hours will be void of computers and television (we don’t have a t.v., but we do watch shows sometimes on Hulu). These days will remove the buffer of the laptop, and make us break out of our habit of coming home and plugging in.
Yesterday was our first tech-free Tuesday, and it was a nice evening. We did some reading.
And made a feast; quinoa, marinated and baked tofu, bean salad, and roasted kabocha squash.
We spent time out on the lanai, just sitting and watching the clouds go by. We went to bed really early. It was nice. I am envisioning more evening walks, or frisbee in the future. Tech-free Tuesday will give us a chance to break the stronghold of the internet, something that I allow, but feel disconcerted with.
I would like to apply the concept in a stricter sense, too, because yesterday after work I did run on a treadmill with an ipod, but baby steps. I can easily take my runs outside, sans music and garmin. Maybe I’ll devote Tuesdays to hitting the trails, the possibilities are endless, and I am excited.
Do you feel tied to your computer/laptop? Does it bother you to be on the internet so much? Have you come up with any solutions to this issue?
Resurrection
Wow, it’s been a while. My last post was in November, more than 6 months ago. My extended hiatus from blogging was a mirror of my life as a whole- I’ve felt like I have been on a hiatus from living. Now I am being a tad dramatic, but being in graduate school and teaching full time really hasn’t left me with a lot of extra time.
Well I graduated on May 11th and can already feel the tides of change. I have more free time, more mental energy, and more motivation to get out there and live life to the fullest. I want to continue blogging in an effort to chronicle and inspire my new found free time. I want to fill this time with adventures in the physical and outdoor type.
I have already been to the beach more in the past two weeks than I have since January… sad I know, but like I said, things are changing. I have explored some hiking trails that I have never been on. I went on an epic kayak/hike adventure out and to the top of Chinaman’s hat.
I have a renewed spirit and sense of adventure that I would love to share here. Instead of writing to-do lists of school work I need to finish, I am writing to-do lists of excursions. Here are a few things I plan to do in the near future.
- Hibiscus Half-Marathon- Honolulu, HI- May 27th
- Visit Boulder, Colorado in June
- North Shore Half-Marathon, Deerfield, IL- June 10th
- Hike Konahuanui (the highest mountain in the Koolau range)
- get into trail running so I can run…
- Xterra Freedom Fest 10K Trail Run- Kualoa, HI- July 7th
- go to the beach!
- kayak
- try CrossFit
- train for the Honolulu Marathon
It is going to be a great summer and a great beginning to life after graduate school!
Day of Birth
Today I am thankful for my parents. It’s my birthday, and I am greatful that they brought me into existence.
Love you Mom and Dad!
Although it’s my birthday, today will be fairly normal; teaching, running, not much else. I celebrated over the weekend when Tim took me out to this amazing restaurant, Town. I wanted to enjoy the evening and not worry about depicting the culinary adventure. The written recap will not do it justice, but here goes- ulu soup, arugula, mac nut, mandarin orange, and goat cheese salad, kabocha risotto, and root vegetable gnocchi. All of it tasted so fresh and amazing. It was a great birthday treat.
Have a good beginning to the work week, it is a short one with a holiday on Friday. I am looking forward to camping this weekend!
A Step Forward a Step Back
According to my training plan, I was supposed to run 19 miles this weekend. But, after a whole week off from running I felt that I needed to step back my ambitions and go for something in the lower teens. I was just not feeling ready to run 19 miles, but I think next weekend I will be there, so I essentially swapped weeks in my training plan. No big deal.
It was a cool, overcast, and intermittently rainy morning, which made for a comfortable run. One downfall was that my iPod shuffle died after 3.5 miles! I swear that thing has issues, I charged it for such a long time last night. I should probably bring it into apple or just get a new one. This was my longest run without music and it wasn’t that bad, but I definitely missed it. I feel like I run faster with some musical motivation.
14 miles in 2:04, can’t complain. I felt a bit slower than usual, but I think after this past week and upcoming week I will get my fitness back to where it was before taking a break. I’d like to see my average min./mile to be under 9.
This morning’s post-run smoothie was a special one! It was my first use of the giant shipment of pumpkin I received yesterday.
Blended to perfection:
- 1/2 cup frozen pumpkin puree
- 1/2 frozen banana
- 1/2 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1/3 cup yogurt
- 1/2 cup soymilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon maca
- A big shake of cinnamon
Today I am thankful for upcoming life changes. Within the next month several things will change for me in different facets of my life, and I welcome this changes with open arms and am thankful that they are coming soon.
Pump Me Up
Today I am so thankful for my mom.
Because she birthed and raised me? No.
Well yes, of course. But more importantly I am thankful for my mother for sending me 15 pounds of pumpkin for my birthday!!! Best. Present. Ever! Thank you mom!
I was home this afternoon, minding my own business, when there was a knock at the door. It was the mailman with a package from Amazon. I hadn’t ordered any books and Tim loves shopping online, so I assumed it was his package. I let him sign for it, all sad and dejected, then the heavens opened up and I saw MY name on the package. IT WAS A PACKAGE FOR ME! Did I mention how much I love mail? It was super heavy. I was scanning my memory, had I ordered books? No, I hadn’t.
I threw the heavy package up on the counter and ripped off the tape like a crazy person. I was ecstatic to find that I had received a whole case of pumpkin in the mail. There was no note or signifier of who sent this package of wonder, but I instantly knew- it had to be mom. I knew because several days ago I sent her a text message that said, “I know what you can get me for my birthday, pumpkin.”
Sure sure, we have pumpkin in Hawaii, somewhere, but I don’t want to buy a can of pumpkin for like $10. I’ve been checking out Costco where I would be able to find large quantities of pumpkin for a decent price, but they do not carry canned pumpkin. WTF. So anyways, thank you mom for the amazing birthday present.
Half Full
Today I am thankful for half-days at work. Getting done with work early and having half of the day to myself is the most amazing feeling. Typically, Monday through Friday I switch onto survival mode; wake up, eat, try to teach 6th graders something meaningful all day, walk Griff, run, eat, prepare for the next day, sleep. I have pretty much the entire day planned and devoted to some task. Half-days in the midweek give me a chance to relax and recharge, while also getting things done that I don’t have any space for in a full day.
Take today for example. School let out at 12:30. I went to the library and got some goods- cook books, a novel, and some research for an upcoming social studies unit. I took a nap. I made a gourmet smoothie. Usually I am not even home by now, and I was able to do these extra things that I don’t have time for, but make me so happy. To top it off, later I am going to go on an 8 mile run around a crater, overlooking the ocean. Not a bad day.
Speaking of running, I am really getting back into the groove of hitting the pavement. I had an easy 4 miles Monday, 5 miles with some faster sprints tucked in yesterday, and today a longer 8. It feels so good to be back running after a whole week off. I find myself trying to make up for lost time, so I am running more miles than is on my training plan this week, trying to build up my endurance again. My body is feeling good, so hopefully it is adapting to the added mileage. I also want to make sure I cover some distance and get used to running again before my long run this weekend- 19 miles!
And, as of today, I am officially registered for the 2011 Honolulu Marathon! Wahoo! The race is 38 days from now, so I am focused on training and having some successful long runs as I build up to 20 miles, then taper before the race.
Taking on the Challenge
Happy November! I love November; Thanksgiving, my birth month, the new year right around the corner. It has so much excitement and good feelings around it.
This morning I read about Tina’s Be Thankful Challenge at Carrots’n'Cake and thought it was a great idea. Each day of November she is going to blog about something that she is thankful for. I love this concept- sometimes I get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that I don’t take the time to stop and appreciate what I have. I am also a hardcore goal setter, which can put my focus on the future, anticipating what’s to come and planning what I need to do to get there. This takes my focus off of the present and sometimes prevents me from being greatful for what I already have.
So, here it goes. Day 1, I am thankful for the beach, and my close proximity to it. There is no better place for me to relax and recharge at the end of the week tha
n where the ocean meets the sand.
What are you grateful for in this month of thanks?
Run for your lives!
I’m baaaaaack.
No, not from the dead. I am back to running! Yay!
I had it in my mind that today was the day, it had to be the day. I have not run for a whole week, and if I am going to continue training and run the Honolulu Marathon in December, I knew I had to get back in the swing of things. My foot was still feeling achy and painful yesterday, but when I woke up today it did not hurt at all! I went the whole day, Halloween parade and all, without any aches or pains. It was looking very hopeful for me. I took Griff for a mile walk to test out the waters, and still no pain!
This evening I ran 4, happy, elated miles. It feels so good to be running again. My foot felt good throughout the run, but I am icing it right now to ward off any residual soarness.
I hope you all had a good Halloween. We had a carnival at the elementary school today, which was super cute. Imagine 400 kids running around in costume, it was pretty awesome. I’ll leave you with a picture from my Halloween outing on Saturday (this is not me), you don’t get much more authentic than this.
