Honolulu Marathon 07 ... a struggle every step of the way

Well the race day has come and gone... today the legs are tired... but overall I feel good... here is a recap of the Honolulu Marathon...<br>
We stayed at the Hale Koa hotel the evening before so that we could relax and so that I could get to the start without a lot of problems.<br><br>
Woke up to the hotel wake up call at 0230 ... got dressed and had a few granola bars and some water ... enjoyed the Ocean view from the hotel ...It was really cool to see all of the early risers getting up for the race... it seemed as if 60% of the balconies were filled with people enjoying the morning before they headed out to the race start.<br><br><br>
At around 0315 ... headed out to the start .... which was around .75 - 1 mile away from the hotel.... as I got to the banner for the 5-6hr pace I noticed how large the race really was going to be ...at 0330 thousands were lining the streets all the way back to the 6 hr banner ... it must have been at least .25-.50 of a mile from the start to the 6 hr banner.<br>
I walked up to the 2-3hr banner .... saying hello to a few coworkers and wishing them luck.... I grabbed a spot on the curb and waited for the start..... around 0425 ... I took the opportunity of the short restroom lines then got back into the pack to warm up the legs and get ready for the race......at around 0445 the rain started ... first a mist then the down poor ... it was off and on until the gun and fireworks ....as we moved forward trying not to trip on the discarded plastic bags we hit the start line just about 2 minutes after the gun....<br><br><br>
All went well as we passed mile one ....just over 8:12/mi pace .... settled in except for the waist camel bak I was wearing was bouncing to much ... I did get fixed around mile 5 (after it had taken of enough skin to prove to be a pain) .<br><br><br>
Mile 2 and 3 went by with out problems ... hit the 5k at around 25:00 ... not great but with in range for a 3:30 -3:40 final pace<br><br><br>
Mile 4-5 ... still strong ... no problems .... 7:58-8:09/ mi paces ... worked our way though downtown in front of the shopping district<br><br><br>
Mile6-7 .... slowed a bit near the Honolulu zoo ...as the crowd got thicker and the course narrowed towards the start of Diamonhead road ... still 9:14 and 8:19 for the two miles<br><br><br>
Mile 8-9 ....Diamond head towered to our left .... the road narrow .... raining harder now ... quite a bit of flooding on the inside left of the road forced us into almost a single file line of runners.... the GPS went crazy on mile 8 .... but readings say 11:30 (was for the distance of 1.15 mile) and then the next split of 8:36 which took me just past the 9 mile marker.<br><br><br>
Mile 10-11 .... as we moved towards the half way point I was still fairly strong .... these two miles no real worries accept the wet feet from the previous downpours ...... splits were 9:00 and then 8:28<br><br><br>
Mile 12-13 At the half and the legs were now starting to burn a bit .... earlier than i had planned or expected for that matter .... crossed the half in 1:53 ... still possible for a 3:40-3:45 .... but the doubts were creeping in to my brain.<br><br><br>
Mile 14-15 As we rounded through Hawaii Kai ... my legs were on fire ... my left arch started to act up ....this only furthered the doubts of the finishing times ... but now the possibility of a DNF ... started to rear it's ugly head ... mile splits 8:56 and 8:55/mi<br><br><br>
Mile 16-17 here is where I think we start to find out what we are made of inside .... with the foot problems ... the tired legs ....the weather ... and knowing that i had ten miles left to go ... it was hard to push on ... each mile seemed to be a struggle of not throwing in the towel ..... pushed out with splits of 9:06 an 9:52<br><br><br>
Mile 18-19 Well I normally do not walk through rest stations ... and normally since i carry my own gator aid ... I don't take on fluids unless I am out .... but at mile 18 I started to rely on the old walk run principles that got me started down the path of training .... I would run for about .75 .... then walk for .10 to .15 of a mile .... splits are high but finishing at this point is the priority as I entered into more of a survival mode ..... 9:22 and 10:35 (ouch)<br><br><br>
Mile 20-21 I called my wife (as I knew her and the kids were walking to the finish line expecting me in at around 3:30-3:40) .... I knew that that was gone .... but to hear her voice ... and know they would be waiting helped to spur me on .... however the walk run still shows in the splits as I struggled with the increasing fatigue in my legs ..... 11:09 and 11:55 per mile<br><br><br>
Mile 22-23 Again the cramping and the soreness of my left arch was causing me to walk more and more .... I got a call from my wife at this point .... she said that they were at the line and the clock read 3:40 .... I said that I would be in by 4:30 .... she said ... no way ... you better get running .... (Great now I have my family waiting in the rain ..... no pressure!!!!) ... splits 12:54 and 11:52<br><br><br>
Mile 25 - The last few miles I attempted to push trough the pain .... each stride was an effort .... as we turned towards the finish line I had remembered the words of someone before the race .... they said that you could see the finish line for over a three quarters of a mile away ... and that it was heart breaking ..... this was in fact a very true statement ..... split for this mile improved to 10:46<br><br><br>
Mile 26.2- I pushed through this last split as much as I could , even stopped for a few seconds to stretch a cramp out of my left foot ......finished of the split in 9:56 .....and a final chip time of 4:12:44<br><br><br>
While this wasn't my fastest race to date ... it is the hardest fought so far .... I worked for everything out there .... the humidity .... 90-98 % ... the temps .... 77-80 ..... quick downpours .... flooding on the course ..... and fatigue / pain proved to be enough to win over my training and conditioning .... However I have learned more from this race than the previous 3:28 PR ..... I now know what i can do when things go wrong.<br><br><br>
Final rankings as of today (they are still having results issues from the rain)<br>
Total finishers :20708<br>
Men Finishers: 10745<br>
My rankings - 2168 Overall 1657 Mens 257 Age<br>
My Percentages - 89.54% Overall .. 84.58% Mens ... no age percent yet<br><br><br>
As for rating the Marathon itself .....<br>
The expo and after party leave you wanting ..... the expo only had one clothing sponsor (Nike) and that was the only type of running clothing .....except for the sock guy ..... as for after the race... to say that it was chaotic would be an understatement ... the layout was impossible to navigate and the muddy conditions made it difficult to get to the booths for your shirt/medal and food ..... as for the food ... 1 apple and two cookies .... unless you wanted to pay ... and the medal was sub par at best.<br>
I think the worst part of the organization of this event is the fact that they cater to the private funded Japanese travel groups ... even to the point of private rest stops along the course ... private warm up and finish line facilities .... it's more than the fact of a language barrier which is what they state ... but a preferential treatment due to the fact of JAL's sponsoring of the race. That said I think I will attempt Maui next year in place of Honolulu.<br><br><br>
All in all not a bad race or result ... I learned so much this week about myself ..... now it is time for a bit of relaxation and cross training !!!<br><br><br>
Enjoy your runs and thank you all for your support this year !!!! <img alt="" src="http://www.coolrunning.com/forums/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;">