Backpack & running bag stuffed. Gone for almost a week but packed light – shorts & swim trunks, heading to Hawaii. Marathoning & a volcano hike top my itinerary – crazy excited!
DIA monitors decked in ‘Bronco Orange & Blue’ – classy, Denver…NFL home team support.
Direct flight, yes. 8 hour flight, ouch…that’s a loooooong time to sit.
Sleep? Read? Heck no. Watched ‘Alien Sharks’ as we flew over the Pacific – no land past California, only ocean for 5 consecutive hours. Tried to keep my mind alert…the more it wandered, the more I thought of downed flights over large bodies of water. Must be an old-person thing…never remember being worried years ago when I lived in Russia & traveled trans-Atlantic quarterly for work. LOL>
Landed in Maui – no issues, greeted with palm trees & humidity…in January. FAAANNNTASTIC!
Car rental pick-up, condo check-in followed 45 minutes later in Wailea. Opted for a non-hotel stay in Maui – liked the option of having a kitchen available for meals. Highly recommended.
Quick belly fill in nearby Kihei; shut-eye came quickly.
Woke early Saturday to sunshine, bird calls & tropical coloured flowers – Aloha, Hawaii! Unpacked my Newtons & a pair of shorts, stepped outside – ready for my first island run. Plan A: don’t get lost. Ran south to Makena, where all man-made roads eventually dead-end in La Perouse Bay. Lotta resorts, lotta golf courses, lotta money.
Morning sight-seeing goal: the Ocean.
Wailea Alanui to Makena Road, south on Makena Alanui, then back on Makena Road. Hilly run along ancient lava fields. Heat kicked up just past Big Beach in Makena State Park. Got caught up in the scenery; forgot about Sunday’s marathon. What taper, huh? 10.2 miles is a lotta steps, day before a full marathon – yikes! #onlyliveonce
Shower, $150 Foodland spend, late breakfast of fried eggs & POG (Hawaiian juice addiction), then a shoreline drive north to Lahaina – for bib pick-up & a proper sit-down lunch. Hula pie at Kimo’s did not disappoint 🙂
Afternoon plans: kickin’ back, napping on the sand & beach time – then caught the Cardinals-Packers overtime finish.
Food, fun & football – good Day One. 5am start tomorrow, marathoning state #48.
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- 8 hours ’til my Hawaiian adventure begins!
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- January morning run: 10.2 miles of oceanview
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- Double Canoe Hokule’a
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- lunch in Lahaina Harbor
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- Kimo’s infamous Hula Pie
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- kickin’ back/napping & beach time
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- Puamana Beach, off Honoapi’ilani Highway
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- food, fun & football – good Day One
Island FM KHEI 107.5
Flight booked — this is really happening. Super excited!
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Fri, 15 JAN16 UA1736 DENVER, CO (DEN) 11:45 AM MAUI, HI (OGG) 3:50 PM
9 more 2015 marathons — busy Fall season — then only 3 states left next year: Hawaii in Jan, Illinois in April & Steamboat Springs CO in June…and I’m a full-fledged 50 Stater!
Up early thanks to summer solstice & Alaska’s midnight sun. Packed bags, checked out of hotel & drove to the designated marathon bus pickup on 10th street by 6:30am.
Lot going on in my head listening to other runners on the bus. No Alaskans – most everyone flew in for today’s race. All states were represented except Mississippi & Rhode Island. (This stat was announced over and over and over – HA!)
Bused to Bartlett High near the mountains. Today’s run on both road & trail would be void of peeps until approx 4 miles from downtown Anchorage. From mountains to ocean (Anchorage is actually on the water – who knew? :))
Felt a bit tight from my previous day’s ice climb but mentally was ready to run! Star Spangled Banner preceded by Alaska’s state song, then bang we’re off! The course initially followed road. I quickly tagged a runner running my pace & stayed close for more than 8 miles. Race route diverged to trail. Picked up my pace initially then dropped off.
Felt good for 12 miles – averaged 8:08 minutes/mile, then started tightening up.
And of course gotta mention the mosquitoes – Alaska’s unofficial state bird 🙁
Not just a mosquito – SWARMS of mosquitoes. Water station volunteers sprayed down runners with repellent. Started dreading all off-road running. Mosquitoes in my mouth, under my goggles, in my ears – smaller than those in the lower 48 but so so many. Have been spoiled living in Colorado where the Front Range is virtually mosquito-free because of our elevation & arid climate (standing water is a luxury & uncommon after May/June snow melt).
Hit the wall near mile 20. All of the ‘I told you so’ folks can now say ‘I told you so’. No I didn’t taper. No I didn’t relax days before my race. Yes I went ice climbing. And yes, I paid for it.
Would I do things differently? Maybe. But boy did I enjoy ice climbing! Super fun!
My worse race time of the year but I DID finish & complete my marathon goal. Hobbled over the finish line & was directed to the medic tent. Downed 3 oranges while my right knee was wrapped for a possible ligament tear (similar injury that sidelined me in April). UPDATE: Only a ligament strain, no tear. No running for 6-8 weeks.
Walked around a little, decided I wasn’t gonna die so located my rental & drove downtown for lunch. A deep tissue massage at Sheraton’s Ice Spa an hour later helped make everything better. (Thanks Volker!)
On January 12th I started this journey at the Quicker Quaker 5K in Lafayette, Colorado — running in 8 degree temps & snow flurries. Fast forward 6 months. Finished 9 races including 4 half marathons, a 10K with 54,000 participants — and a full 26.2 mile marathon in Anchorage, Alaska. Super empowering!
Thanks to many friends & family who encouraged me during my training. Very appreciative of everyone’s support.
Congrats on completing your Alaskan marathon!!! You inspire me everyday with your awesomely amazing goals, even more so with your actual completion of said goals! Most people have all these great ideas and wishes and dreams of what they want to do, but such a small percentage actually complete them, so go you!
What’s next? It’s summer & the mountains are calling. Expect to see a flood of hike pics thru October.
6/22/13 HAGA, K R 4:55:28 477 Louisville, CO, USA
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- bused to Bartlett High-Anchorage for Marathon start
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- tatted up & ready to run 26.2 miles
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- 2013 Marathon SUCCESS!
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- bearded, fit & rockin’ a farmer’s tan
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- ligament injury (again) but MARATHON FINISHER!
