Honolulu Marathon 2014 Recap

Where to begin?  A marathon is long, so a race recap must be long, too!

We decided to eat a very early dinner and headed to Round Table Pizza at around 3:00 on Saturday. I drank lots of water and had three pieces of pizza - my normal long run fuel. Of course I didn't sleep much, but I had napped on Saturday and woke up for good around 2:30. Our alarm was set for 3:00. My first glimpse outside revealed wet roads. It was raining lightly and continued to do so the entire morning... with the exception of the times it poured!

Les got to ride with the cycling escort team for the wheelchair racers again and they were meeting at 4:00.  I spotted the cycling team from our room.  They gathered, then escorted the wheelers to the start, about a mile from our hotel.

After standing around in the light rain, it was finally time for the national anthem, an Hawaiian blessing and fireworks.  The wheelers were off at 4:55 and we runners were off at 5:00. It took me about five minutes to actually cross the start line and it was slow going. My one complaint is with the mass start. People that were planning to walk the entire time were mixed in with slow and fast runners. I did way too much weaving, slowing and stopping in my first mile but tried not to get too frustrated.

Mile 1: 11:56

Mile 2: 11:42

Mile 3:  11:22

Mile 4: 11:20

Mile 5: 11:00

Things started spreading out a little as we made our loop through downtown and then headed towards Waikiki. 

Mile 6: 10:53

Mile 7: 11:26

Mile 8:  12:37

Mile 8 was the first hill of the day - Diamond Head!  I also saw the lead wheeler coming back. I recognized the cyclist who was out ahead of him - our friend, Bill. What I didn't know was that Les was right behind the lead wheeler!  It was still dark, the cyclists had lights on, and I didn't want to distract him!  Les' wheeler got first overall!

Mile 9: 11:09

Mile 10: 11:01

Mile 11:  10:56

Miles 12 through 22 were the meat of the race. An out and back on the Kalanianaole Hwy.  I knew it was going to be tough and I thought I was prepared, but there were times when the rain was pouring down and the wind was grabbing my hat off my head!  There were times when water was dripping off my hat.  I was glad I wore it!  For the record - running in the rain is fun for about 2 miles. After that it's a long, soggy slog!

Mile 12: 10:52

Mile 13:  11:34

Mile 14: 11:48

Mile 15:  11:49

Mile 16: 12:38

I made a decision that cost me quite a few minutes, but it was worth it. Around mile 15 I noticed some rubbing on my toes. Soggy socks were the culprit.  There was a medical aide tent just before mile 16, so I stopped and applied some Vaseline. I did not stop or pause my watch, but when I downloaded the file, it gave actual moving time. I'll share the time difference at the end of this post. 

Mile 17:  11:59

Mile 18: 11:40

Mile 19:  11:20

Mile 20: 11:50

Mile 21:  12:26

Mile 22: 12:51 (my slowest mile!)

The final four miles!  I knew the route well and though I knew I would not get a PR, I was happy to be finishing. It was definitely the most challenging weather I have faced in my illustrious marathon career!

Mile 23: 11:17

Mile 24:  12:02

Mile 25: 12:47

Mile 26: 10:29 (my fastest mile!)

Mile .47:  5:13

Moving time 26.47 miles in 5:08:09, 11:38 pace.  My official time was 5:28:19, 12:32 pace. Good enough for 330 of 1089 in my age group. 3027 of 10307 female finishers. 8479 overall of 21,811 finishers. 

The perfect post meal snack - a banana in one hand and a hot malasada in the other!  And the beautiful lei provided by my awesome, number one fan and supporter!  Les also surprised me by scheduling a one hour massage at our hotel - a first for me and so awesome!!

I still want to take a good look at my times on my previous marathons.  I know I was much more consistent with my pace this time around, just need to get it all a little faster.  We are flying to Maui tomorrow - Les has been working and now it's time for some vacation!  I may not blog again until we get home.  Thanks for following along!