2016: A Tale of Two Years

2016 feels like two different years to me.  The first half I was going strong.  Six weeks into the year I did a reality check and I was consistently faster than I had been 12 months earlier.  I was getting Strava PRs like crazy.  We were living mostly in Hawaii, but I seemed to adjust pretty quickly to the heat and humidity.

In March I got my Hawaiian bike, Vita.  She and I spent many miles together.

Things continued going great into the Spring.  I ran the Ford Island Bridge 10k in April and the Bill Beauchamp 10k in May where I got 2nd in my age group.

We spent the last 2 weeks of May in Europe, which included mountain biking Mt. Etna and tons of walking and carbo loading.

Sometime during the summer I felt like someone drained all the energy out of my body.  In August I started training for the Honolulu Marathon.  I never ran more than 10 miles in the approximately 8 weeks that I "trained" for it.  Things were just off.  I had some knee pain, but I think I let it get to me more than it really was.  I limped along and probably could have recovered, but mentally I wasn't there.  I finally decided not to run the marathon and the relief I felt told me it was the right decision.

I had my annual physical this month and all my labs came back normal.  While this is good news, it's a little disheartening knowing the only thing wrong with me is that I am a 52 year old woman (ha!)  I have had some heart palpitations (no pain or dizziness, just extremely fast beating,) but my EKG showed no heart damage or previous heart attack.  My doctor felt this is hormone related (add it to the list.)  I'm doing my best to keep track of when these happen (which include during a bike ride, sitting at dinner, and during church.) 

My total miles for the year are lower than they have been in about a decade.  I am officially closing the book on 2016.  Tomorrow everything resets.  When I wake up I will have zero miles, the same as every January 1st.

Are you ready for a new start?  I sure am!

Winter Running Tips from a Californian

I've read several blogs with winter running tips.  I'm in awe of runners who run when it's 17 degrees outside!  As a California native and life long resident, with a few years of Hawaii running under my belt, I know I am spoiled.  I run outside year round.  I haven't owned a treadmill in over a decade.  Actually, I'm not sure why I had one in the first place.  There is really only one crazy weather factor I deal with (and I've dealt with it in Hawaii, too) and that is WIND.   So here are my tips for running in the wind:

Your pace is going to suffer when it's windy.  Think of wind like hills - speed work in disguise.  After a week or so of running in the wind, I am so over it.  But when it stops and I run the same route, running feels effortless (at least for a few miles.)

Dress accordingly.  Check more than the temperature.  Most weather apps have a "feels like" temperature.  Layers are really the only way to go.  Southern California experiences Santa Ana winds for many months of the year.  These winds are fierce and can often be very warm with single digit humidity.  Even for short runs, taking some water along is a good idea.

Walking is not only okay, it may be necessary.  Sometimes there are downed trees that I have to get around.  On Tuesday there was a wall of tumbleweeds in my path.  I had to climb over a short fence to get around them and I figured I might as well take a picture while I was at it.  I've had a huge wind gust literally take my feet out from under me.  When I feel like I'm losing my footing, I walk.

Plan your route well.  There are some routes in my neighborhood that are a little less windy than others.  We live in a hilly neighborhood so the wind whips over the hills and through the canyons in all kinds of directions.  I know if I go counterclockwise from my house that I will encounter the least amount of headwinds.  I took a different route on Tuesday and had crosswinds (10-15 mph, with gusts up to 40) the entire time.  I won't be running that route again in the wind!

Wear sunglasses.  Getting dirt and debris in my eyes does not make for a fun run.  I have a pair of sunglasses that have three lenses, one is clear and I wear them if the sun isn't up.

How windy is it where you live?  Any tips I missed?

Honolulu Marathon 2016: From the Sidelines

This is our fourth year to be in Honolulu during the marathon.  I spectated in 2013, ran in 2014, spectated again in 2015 (I did not write about it - blogger fail!) and DNSd this year.  Les has been on the cycling team that escorts the wheelchair competitors each of these years and he loves it.  The marathon starts at 5:00 a.m. and the wheelers go off at 4:55 so that meant a really early wake-up for Les.  I was awake at 3:00 when he was getting ready and didn't go back to sleep once he left.  I stood on our lanai and could hear activities at the start line about a mile away. It was calm and dry out, much different from 2014 when it rained the entire time!

I left our condo around 4:45 and headed away from the start line.  I wanted to get to Diamond Head road to see the wheelers.  Les said it would be the only time they would slow at all during the race because of the hill.  I had my phone and was keeping an eye on their progress.  I was still on Kalakaua Avenue when I heard whistles.  The lead cyclists were coming, which meant the lead wheeler wasn't far behind.  I cheered loud enough that Les saw me and I got a short blast from his whistle as they flew passed. 

I found a great place to watch runners go by.  The spectators were a big disappointment.  I was the only one clapping and cheering!  What is wrong with you people?  Don't you know how hard this is?  There was a big group waiting for a friend to come through and they weren't cheering for anyone else.  I moved less than half a mile to another location that had great support.

Lead wheeler Soejima Masazumi from Japan with his cycling escorts came flying down Diamond Head road towards the finish line before the sun was up.  This was his 4th consecutive Honolulu Marathon win and 10th total.  He finished in 1:35:35, almost 10 minutes ahead of his nearest competitor.  Not a record, but still blazing fast!

Les' cycling team left once their final wheeler finished.  Less than 30 minutes later Lawrence Cherono of Kenya set a new course record when he ran across the line in 2:09:37, more than a minute ahead his closest competitor.

I watched the female elites come across before heading back to our condo.  Brigid Kosgei of Kenya finished in 2:31:10.  Second place female was an American, Lindsey Sherf.  She finished in 2:34:04.

I knew Les was ready for breakfast.  The Honolulu Marathon does not have a cutoff time and the last person finished in 16:11:44, so I was not going to stay around for that!  There is a good crowd that does, but I'm pretty sure they weren't up at 3:00 a.m. There were 20,235 finishers this year.  It's crowded and messy!

So how did I feel not running this marathon?  I had zero regret.  Earlier in the week before the marathon I was a little sad that I wasn't running it, but as I watched the crowds I remembered how tough this marathon is.  There is one mass start and the first miles are so crowded.  It was going to be a hot one this year.  I think because I get to the experience the race through Les it's still fun without all the pain.  This isn't a course to get a marathon PR on.  I could have only hoped for a course PR.  But it wasn't in the plan this year and I'm okay with that.  My running is still way off and I don't know what 2017 holds for me - I'm hoping to be healthier, that we will be at home more, and my next marathon will happen when the time is right.

A Trail Ride that Summed Up 2016

Les and I are back on Oahu for our eighth and final trip of 2016.  We are staying in Waikiki since we moved out of our Hawaii Kai rental at the end of October.  I love being in the heart of this city for a few weeks but I wouldn't want to live here full time.  The Honolulu Marathon is Sunday and I'll have a full post after the marathon once I've processed how I feel about not running it.

We wanted to go for a mountain bike ride on our final morning at home.  We headed out and were on the trail after about a mile.  About a mile up the trail things started to feel a little off.  I could barely get up a short climb.  I told Les to stop for a minute and...

Yep, a flat tire!  Les is great at changing flats so I figured we'd be on our way in no time.  Except the pump that belongs in my bike bag was in Hawaii...

Once we realized that I wouldn't be riding anymore, Les said he would ride home to get the car.  I started walking my bike to the trail head to wait for him.

Les drove up and we loaded my bike in the car.  This is when things went really south.  Our car would not start.  After several minutes, Les decided he would run home to get our other car since I was still in cycling shoes.  When he got back, we tried getting our car to start, still with no luck.  We finally called our insurance for a tow (free up to 25 miles.)  I was ready to drive our drive-able car home when Les tried to get our car to start one more time and it finally did!

Running at Ala Moana park - he kills me on the bike, but I get revenge on the run!

We still have no idea what was wrong with the car.  We drove it again later in the day with no problems.  That's how I've been lately - some days I get up and have a great run, while other days I can't seem to get started.  I'm hoping 2017 will be better.