maui run for the whales 1/2 marathon

i had planned on going home to l.a. for the surf city meet up when i found out i had to go to maui for work. while i mourned the opportunity to meet a bunch of great folks, i really had no option since work was <i>forcing</i> me to go to maui <img alt="biggrin.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif"> my disappointment was assuaged when i found out that a 1/2 mary was to be held the weekend i was there <img alt="banana.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/banana.gif"><br><br>
i'm currently training for the fly pig marathon in may so a 1/2 worked out perfectly. the week of the race was really intense with conferences and lectures all day long and i ran only 3 times. i was worried the humidity would be a problem as well as the rolling hills of maui since i haven't done too much hill training. the night before the race, my colleagues and i went out to an italian restaurant so i could pseudo-carbo load.. and unfortunately, i ended up really sick from dinner. the morning of the race, i considered not even running because i felt so terrible.. but i decided to gut it out.<br><br>
the course is a fairly challenging one with 2 steep hills and rolling hills throughout. the course also runs along the beach and volcano fields.. it was a gorgeous day. the humidity wasn't too much of a problem.. i think i distracted by 1) my effort to keep from hurling and 2) the whales that were swimming by.<br><br>
in the end, i enjoyed the race as much as i possibly could given the circumstances and also when i was not by the side of the road puking or dry heaving. i had really hoped to break 2:00 for this 1/2 mary but at the end, i just wanted to finish. miles 9-11 were the toughest when i truly felt like i was running out of steam. i was throwing up GU, water, gatorade.. everything.<br><br>
my final time was 2:01:30. i'll take it <img alt="biggrin.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif">