Well, my fifth marathon is over! I finished in 7:40:56. I was hoping for better, but that's just about what I expected. I could have saved about 15 minutes, I think, if I hadn't had to make two bathroom stops, but I did, so there you go.
The good thing was that I kept a good pace and never got really tired. I did my 1:3 minute run/walk ratio pretty much the whole way, and even increased my ratio to 2:2 for the last mile or so, and ran in the final 0.2 mile. I wanted to beat my LA time, which I did—by about a minute and a half, which really doesn't amount to much, but the big difference is that I feel fine and didn't get injured (except for many blisters on my feet).
Full race day report, with pictures, is here.
I had a lot of fun, but I think this is going to be my last marathon, unless I can get strong enough to finish in seven hours or less. Which isn't likely at this point. Maybe next time, I'll do a half-marathon.
But it was good to go out with another Honolulu, and have a good race.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Friday, December 07, 2007
Honolulu!
So here I am in Honolulu! The marathon is only two days away!
I feel... not entirely ready, but close enough. I missed my last long run, an eight-mile run I should have done last Sunday. I'd strained my back carrying some wood up to the woodshed, and decided I'd be better off letting it rest and recover rather than possibly straining it further by bouncing on it for a couple of hours. I felt a bit guilty about "slacking off," but my back feels pretty good now, so I expect it was for the best.
I have a room on the seventh floor of the ResortQuest Waikiki Beach, right near the entrance to the park where the marathon finishes. It's still dark at the moment, windy and wet after several weeks of storms, but I can see groups of runners out heading down the street toward the park for a morning run. Too early for me! Although the marathon itself will be starting at 5 am, and it's 6:20 now. But today, I'm exhausted from yesterday's long day of travel. I didn't even get to my hotel until nearly 10 pm (Hawaii time, after midnight my time), and then wanted to get something to eat and unwind a bit before going to bed. And I'd drunk a can of Coke on the plane, and was too caffeinated to sleep until hours later. So I haven't gotten much sleep yet, but I got up early anyway, planning to nap this afternoon if necessary and go to bed early tonight, so I can be ready to get up at 3 am on Sunday to go do the marathon!
Today, I plan to take it easy. If the weather's like this all day, I may not even stray far from the room! Things I need to do either today or tomorrow: go to the Expo, pick up my race packet, scout out the location of the start of the race and decide whether to walk or take a shuttle there Sunday morning. I'd prefer to walk, if it's not too far and I'm sure I know where I'm going.
Marathon in two days!
I feel... not entirely ready, but close enough. I missed my last long run, an eight-mile run I should have done last Sunday. I'd strained my back carrying some wood up to the woodshed, and decided I'd be better off letting it rest and recover rather than possibly straining it further by bouncing on it for a couple of hours. I felt a bit guilty about "slacking off," but my back feels pretty good now, so I expect it was for the best.
I have a room on the seventh floor of the ResortQuest Waikiki Beach, right near the entrance to the park where the marathon finishes. It's still dark at the moment, windy and wet after several weeks of storms, but I can see groups of runners out heading down the street toward the park for a morning run. Too early for me! Although the marathon itself will be starting at 5 am, and it's 6:20 now. But today, I'm exhausted from yesterday's long day of travel. I didn't even get to my hotel until nearly 10 pm (Hawaii time, after midnight my time), and then wanted to get something to eat and unwind a bit before going to bed. And I'd drunk a can of Coke on the plane, and was too caffeinated to sleep until hours later. So I haven't gotten much sleep yet, but I got up early anyway, planning to nap this afternoon if necessary and go to bed early tonight, so I can be ready to get up at 3 am on Sunday to go do the marathon!
Today, I plan to take it easy. If the weather's like this all day, I may not even stray far from the room! Things I need to do either today or tomorrow: go to the Expo, pick up my race packet, scout out the location of the start of the race and decide whether to walk or take a shuttle there Sunday morning. I'd prefer to walk, if it's not too far and I'm sure I know where I'm going.
Marathon in two days!
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