Our travel to Hawaii was uneventful and Mrs. Tortoise and I connected with our friends on Friday evening. Friday morning was spent at the Race Expo where I picked up my bib and bought a few items for myself and Mrs. Tortoise. Friday evening and Saturday evening were spent having meals with the crew. It turned out that only BumbleG and I were healthy enough to run the race. BumbleG has had a tough fall with some health issues of her own. She and I were going to complete it but time was not going to be n issue.
Race Day:
3:00 AM - wake up and get ready for the marathon
3:30 AM - meet BumbleG and walk over to the shuttle bus loading area. Ride to the start area. There were hundreds of people walking to the start as well
4:00 AM - arrive at Ala Moana Park and after a last pit stop line up in the 5 - 6 hour area of the crowd.
Honolulu Marathon:
Start: they start the race with a spectacular fireworks show. It was superb. We took about 15 minutes to get to the starting mat. I will describe our experiences in 5 km segments.
First 5 km - We were packed in quite snugly with the other runners and had little opportunity to adjust pace at all. There were hundreds of walkers and we were passing them for several kilometers. As it was dark, we were quite appreciative of passing the downtown Christmas Celebration presentation. The were two blocks of Christmas exhibits. We were both feeling good here and our pace was quicker than anticipated.
5-10 km - The crowd eased somewhat but the heat was starting to affect us. It was 74 F at the start and went up to the upper 80's with high humidity before we finished. We arrived in downtown Waikiki about the 9 km mark where our friends were waiting to cheer us. They did comment that we were a bit quicker than they anticipated. After a short stop to chat, we ventured on.
10-15 km - The hills start. The route winds itself around the base of the Diamond Head Crater. There were two long inclines here. Due to BumbleG's health situation, we had walked most hills in our training and we continued this pattern here. Thus we walked most of this segment.
15-20 km - The heat and humidity was affecting us and pretty much everyone around us. We walked a few short inclines and were running a 5 and 1 pattern otherwise. I felt lethargic and tired. I ate a Honey Stinger Waffle and took a gel. After awhile I felt better and was pretty much good for the rest of the race.
20-25 km - The day turned into pretty much a survival exercise for the rest of the race. Not only for us, but for everyone around us. I must say the volunteers and aid stations were excellent. They had ice cold Gatorade and water at each station. There were periodic misting stations. They alternated aid stations where one had ice cold sponges and the other cups of ice available. We took advantage of all these methods to beat the heat. There were also several spectators with hoses that were spraying us. Full marks go to the race organizers!!
25-30 km - pretty much the most boring part of the course - along a major road - out and back
30-35 km - this was better, somewhat downhill. We ran quite a bit of this segment. We also chatted with a number of other participants.
35-40 km - the first half of this was slightly downhill. We did pass medics tending to a man who had collapsed on the road. They were doing CPR. This was another reminder of the difficult conditions this year. They were dramatically worse than 2011. The second half was another long incline culminating in a nice steep section. We walked this part.
40-43.6 km - That was the distance measured on my Garmin - lots of weaving around other runners during the entire race. This was all downhill followed by about a km of level terrain going up to the finish. We did walk some of this. Again our friends and significant others were along the finish area to cheer us on.
Finish: After getting our shell lei from a volunteer, we stood under the cold shower area for a couple of minutes before proceeding to the area where we received our Finisher Shirts and medals. Then we had a few photos taken by our friends and I went back to my hotel for my chocolate milk.
This was a vastly different experience than my 2011 race. Time was not an issue, finishing was. I ended up feeling pretty good and was able to run my recovery run as usual the next day. BumbleG did have a tough time. But as I have come to expect, she worked her way through to the finish. I treasure her as a running partner. Overall, I had a great day!!!
Okay - 'nuff said! ( I planned on a short report!!)
