Honolulu Marathon Re-cap

I can't believe that a week ago I was STILL running in Hawaii :) It has been go, go, go since I got home on Monday night, including two 12+ hour days at work. I did pretty well with the sunscreen because I don't have any color for that bright yellow orb in the sky!

The run was great, but HARD! With absolutely no humidity during our training, and probably a high of 60 degrees on our long runs, the weather alone was a huge factor. I am proud to say though, I never though I couldn't or wouldn't finish. The thoughts of "why the H-E-double hockey sticks am I doing this" did cross my mind a few times. Here goes the re-cap....

Wake-up at 3 am (do people actually do this?) to be prepared for a 3:45 am meet time. Some yummy oatmeal and some G2 and I was ready to go. Met up with the team (in the dark) at the hotel for a few last minute tips from our coach Ellen, so chatter and a nice, loud GO TEAM! Then it was a hike walk to the START line. It was like being in a foreign country. There were 25,000 registered runners and 2/3 of them were from Japan. There were people of ALL ages...and a lot of young children. (Which I have a huge issue with a 4 year old running 26.2 miles!) At 5:00 am the fireworks went off over the Pacific Ocean and it was time to go! We ran through Downtown Honolulu, past the old palace and wrapped back around towards the start line. By the time we had clocked 1 mile, I was dripping in sweat! We needed a quick potty break (from the good hydrating we had done) so to the port-a-potties we went. Man, runners can be foul! Yep...you know what I mean. We hit the pots labeled "MEN" since there weren't any in sight and we needed to GO and didn't feel like waiting 15 minutes. Maybe that was the problem:) Perhaps the one labeled "WOMEN" smelled like roses, but I doubt it!

Back to the course we cruised passed our hotel and through Waikiki. The sun was starting to come up when we passed the Zoo, and started up Diamond Head. Along the way we met up with Coach Kevin, from Minnesota. Who couldn't love a coach in a coconut bra, grass skirt and a dinosaur hat!? He told us about the snow in Minnesota and how the dome had collapsed. Man, it sucks being in Hawaii! Soon the wheelchairs came roaring past us. Then we saw the Kenyans...yeah, they only had a mile left to run (we were 9 miles in). Although they looked amazing, they looked like they were HURTING.

Over Diamond Head we saw Erin and Coach Ellen. We were now running towards the highway out and back. (This was the part I feared!) Soon we ran into another TNT runner from Hawaii running her 1st marathon and a Coach. Chatter of energy was brought on and there were smarties given out. I love me some smarties....but passed, I can't eat just one! There were CRAZY costumes out there!

We were on the highway for quite awhile until we hit a loop. AKA the Costco loop. Our Inspiration Dinner speakers gave us the advice to remember our Costco cards for a clean bathroom, hot dogs and pizza along the way! At Mile 17 there were two men down. The ambulances were running like mad. I later heard that there were so many people needing assistance the ambulance would pick up one and still have 5 or 6 people in cots to come back to. Then it was back to the highway. Along the way we passed multiple Marines, in full gear. Talk about humbling!

Mile 22 brought us to the nice houses of Honolulu. They were BEAUTIFUL! We also saw the smarties coach....this time he was carrying a 25 pound bag of ice. Just to lighten the load we took a handful, mine went down my pants to ice my hip which was beginning to hurt like heck. All three of our feet were killing us. I was beginning to think that amputation would be a serious option. Mile 24 and we saw Coach Ellen again. Only 2 miles to go, we were going to finish this! All we had to do was get through Diamond Head, again.  Mile 25, Coach Kevin. We were HURTING.

We were walking, it hurt to run, but I knew we could finish STRONG. So I rallied K and T to run the rest of the way. We were pushing through pain and sweat.We could see the FINISH line, and we were about 30 seconds from the 7 hour (gun) mark. Turning to the girls I said "we don't want 7 hours on our finish photos...come on!" Those girls pulled it all out, and we finished with 6:59:54 on the gun time! Our "official" time was 6:33. (by Garmi....who doesn't count potty breaks ;) ) We left it ALL out on that course.

Kristy completed her first marathon and Tryna her 6th. I am so proud of these girls! It was so much fun to train with them, and then complete 26.2 miles of Hawaiian fun with them. The rest of my mentees finished also, and I am so proud of them. No one gave up. We were all heroes that day, finding a cure for cancer one mile at a time!

ALOHA!

Last night was our last track night as a team. It didn't hit me until I was walking down the stairs at Olde Town Pizza. We will most likely be the last Winter TNT season, so it was even more sad. Six months of hard work training, time given and new friends and on Sunday it will show.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Honolulu! The excitement is mounting. Due to my HIGH anxiety of flying, I may be hitting Gustavs (at the airport)  for a beer. Yes, at 6 am. We get to Hawaii at 11 am, and have almost two days to spend enjoying Honolulu. The race starts at 5 am on Sunday morning. I signed up for runner tracking on Facebook, so I can be followed on that.

My goals for Honolulu:
-To not get sunburned
-PR....I am hoping that I might get a little faster than my 1st marathon time
-Have fun!

Send-Off

One thing I love about Team in Training (ok, there ALOT of things I love about them!) is that we know how to throw a great send-off party. This is when we get ALL the details of our trip, our race jersey and our tickets for the Inspiration Dinner and Victory Party. Almost the entire team was there, and it was great to see everyone in "real" people clothes. (I stole this pic from Tryna....thanks girl!)

(These are our AMAZING coaches....Janeen, Kevin and Ellen. We are bummed that Janeen and Kevin won't be joining us in Honolulu, but I am sure they will be entertained by the texts, photos, videos and other great messages they will receive while we are on the trip. Ellen will be our "official" coach with TNT and Erin will be our staff. )

We heard how great (and tough) the course will be. How crappy scenic it will be to climb Diamond Head at mile 23, but hey...it is all downhill from there. The temperature will be a feels like I am in hell warm (roughly) 80 degrees. Other interesting facts about this race that there is about 80% Japanese "running" the marathon. This is because in Japan if you complete a marathon you get a decreased insurance rate. In Japan you need to qualify to run in a marathon, so they come to Honolulu. We were told not to be surprised to see people smoking while running, some having picnics in the middle of the course and some creative costumes.

The course has had sponges to "wipe down" with along the course, unless I am severely desperate I think I will pass. Apparently they reuse them. (Note to self: do not drink from the sponge!) I can only imagine where some of those sponges have been used. Ewww. I am hoping they will have runner tracking. (It makes it easier than texting through out the course.)

After all of the details and most people were leaving, our great hosts Kevin and his wife Becky showed off the fabulous bling collection. After seeing the medal for Ragnar, I am about 85% sure I am going to do it this year! Their medal collection is great, and inspiring!

Only 7 1/2 more days until I get on the plane. I am still not sure how I will deal with my anxiety through the flight (I HATE flying!). Kristy and Tryna promised they would make sure I get off the plane though. The excitement is building though, and I can't wait to hit the pavement with my teammates!

Conversations....

 The beginning of the run began with talk of sitting on the beach with one of these beauties! Mile 4 brought the talk of food, drinks and all things yummy! We have determined that the "suck" level of the run will be determined on how quickly we get to the food talk. The sooner it comes in, the crappier the run. We had a 20-22 miler on the docket for the day. It was COLD and misty outside, and the route was FULL of nasty hills! Once we hit that finish line, those cold, fruity drinks will start to be consumed!

 As the suck factor increased, Nip Guards came into play. Words that shouldn't be repeated were uttered. Terwilliger Blvd. is not fun, especially when you know that you still have to do a hill to Tryon Creek State Park.


Soon the topic of hot men arrived. This somehow allowed time to go quickly through the uphill battle going back over Terwilliger. Men in tight white shirts and blue jeans carried us further and inspired us beyond imaginable! Ahhhh, Tim.

 And then of course the People's Sexiest Man was on the topic. Which then lead to talking about Matthew and that Southern drawl. Of course we had to talk about what we would do if Matthew were our running coach, and would it be effective? Con census was no, it would be too much of a distraction! But it wouldn't hurt to have him help with form!

And just to add some laughs when we were getting too excited from the hot guy discussions we had to calm the conversation with thinking about Margaret Thatcher (on a cold day). We still had 4 miles to go. Ugh....this was when we needed to pull it all out. So we hit the Steel Bridge and the East Esplanade. I was pretty sure I was running through quicksand. Once we got back to the West side of the river I had to walk, the hills had taken all the energy I had. But I finished with 20.25 miles under my belt for the day. Now onto taper!!! YEAH!

Thankful

I am thankful for SO many things! This is my favorite season of the year....I love Thanksgiving. Not only are the colors outside beautiful (if even only for a few days!) but it is usually more calming than the hectic Christmas season. Thanksgiving has giving me MANY memories that continue to come around each family get together. Thanksgiving has always been a "fight free" day in the eyes of my mom. This "restriction" itself led to some interesting discussions, but never any fights....usually laughs were plentiful. So in the spirit of the season, here are a few things I am thankful for!


I am thankful for my LEGS! Yes, they are thunder thighs, but in a GOOD way. Strong, muscular and full of energy, just like thunder. By the years end these legs will have complete TWO full marathons and THREE half marathons as well as a variety of smaller races. These legs will have gone (hopefully) over 1000 miles.

I am thankful for THE SUPPORT OF MY HUSBAND. Without him, I wouldn't be able to train, fundraise and complete my races. Seeing him at the finish line of the Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon with tears in his eyes brought tears to mine. Hopefully he knows what his support has meant to me.

I am thankful for MUNCHKIN. Nothing pushes me further than her smile and admiration. 20 miles into the marathon and I got to run WITH her! Pride overflows when I hear her say that she wants to run "like mama." Having her see me finish a race brings me such happiness. Someday I can't wait to either finish with her or watch her finish.

I am thankful for MY PARENTS. Their continued support in so many ways reminds me of what being a family is about. Unconditional support and strength. Mom has been at all but one race this year, and it has meant so much to me. They are always willing to help out and watch CB when needed.

I am thankful for WONDERFUL FRIENDS AND FAMILY. They have supported my efforts with fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They have given an outpouring of support both mental and emotional.

Hopefully there are many things you are thankful for this holiday season!

Going the Distance

18.53 miles....and NO rain! The morning started very dark (it is true, it is always darkest before the dawn) and pretty chilly. But not too far in I was ripping my long sleeve shirt off and tying it around my waist. I can't wait until I get my sleeves this week! We started the team run at Grant HS again, and got to run through beautiful NE Portland.

Our first loop took us down to the Rose City Golf Course and down to 82nd (and beyond). On the way back T, K and I hit up the golf course restroom. (Thank goodness for Bill who directed us to the rest room, where we could catch some tv and actually take a rest.) Then back up a very steep hill. Beautiful trees and some crisp air took us back up and something to talk about. There are some gorgeous houses and the trees were all turning. Unfortunately, there were also LOTS of wet leaf piles. I have a little fear of those piles....never know what is going to pop up out of them! Gummy bears waited for us at the aide station back at the HS (gotta love TNT gummy bears!!!)

The next loop took us up to Lloyd Center. Gotta love when you can smell some special "weeds" while you are running outside and about 100 feet from the doors and windows of the house. We also ran into lots of people blowing the leaves from their front yard (I wonder at this time, what is the point?) Note, I hate inhaling nasty smells while running (and yes, this includes food!) Owie was a word heard quite often! Once back to the aide station we only have 6 miles left! YEAH.

Then came the hard part of the run. Going up 33rd to Skidmore. YIKES. Pretty big hills, and Garmi wasn't turned back on. So we had to go with K.'s distance! The hill was killer, and I was getting wiped. It was about this time that T. started singing to us. We went through a few songs and even had a group sing. If anything we were going to be able to laugh about it! Back at Grant we made an executive decision to finish up the run around the track, we really didn't want to hit anymore hills. So around we went, and T rocked it by completing 2 more laps than K and I.

A busy week ahead, and a strong 15 miler this weekend! Only 33 days left until we run along the coast of Honolulu. And then pedicures and cold, fruity drinks! I love running :)

I'm Back

I never thought that taking a week and a half break from running would do me good. It was the BEST thing that I have ever done for my body. My body was so incredibly burnt out, and being stubborn doesn't help so I continued to push it and my body finally said "ENOUGH!!!" With a 5 miler set for today I was a little scared, but the moment my feet hit the track it felt soooo good! I NEEDED that break to get back my running mojo back.

We did a half mile warm-up, then hit Terwilliger Blvd. For those not in the Portland area, it means "Pill Hill" a steep hill that goes up, up, up and more up. (The best part is the down, down, down....) I ran a 10.2 min/mile of descent hill work. It felt great! My body felt great while running again. Another 5-6 miles tomorrow. Oh I am so happy to be back!