During my racing hiatus I also gained a good 9 pounds. Through a super strict 1300 calorie diet and logging my food/exercise on loseit.com I was able to drop all the weight and get back to "racing weight" with 2 days to spare. It was super exciting!!!
When I signed up for the race my Sunday was free, however, a few weeks before the race @&#@ happened and I wasn't sure if I was even going to be able to run it at all. Thankfully my parents came through for me and I was able to do the race in spite of a hubby on a Business Trip and a 9 am baseball game.
The wake up call at 4am is never too tough when it means that I get to put my cute racing clothes on and run as fast as I can. Today's outfit was from the latest Lulu Collection. Mirage Pace Setter skirt (sold out!) and Pow Pink Swiftly Tank. It would also be the racing debut of my new Nimbus 14s.
The gang met at our usual spot and drove down to Ala Moana Beach Park. The excitement was in the air and the coconuts and grass skirts were a-plenty! Some pre-race highlights: the 4-5 month pregnant woman walking around in a bikini who finally put on a coconut bra and grass skirt, the two girls who hugged and clicked their coconut bikinis, and the call for "Elite Runners" who run sub 7 minute miles. :)
As we lined up for the start we were worried about the fact that there was no mat at the start. How were they going to give us our chip time? We figured out that it was gun time only at that point and it threw us off. I had planned to race this one hard. I had yet to record a sub 9 chip time and I figured that this was my best chance at it. So, as the gun went BANG I took off a faster pace than I normally would. I planned to stay at about 9:15 pace for the first few miles, speed up at mile 3, and go balls out at mile 4. 4.98 miles shouldn't be too hard, right?!!
I love racing for a number of reasons and watching the different runners is definitely one of them. We ran once again, with the woman in sandals and today we were surrounded with the coconuts and skirts, so it was crazy to say the least. I chose some people ahead who seemed to be running a good pace and used them as my pacers. Then I remembered to enjoy the beautiful scenery that I was lucky enough to run in.
The run was a familiar one as I have run on the course and train here as well. It's always beautiful out here and there's always interesting things to see: Surfers, SUPers, Runners, Homeless, etc. Watching everything always makes the run go by faster and today was no different. I monitored my time on my Garmin and was able to stay at the 9 minute pace that I wanted to for the first lap. I continued to feel strong and was breathing fine so I felt confident going into the 2nd lap. I picked up the pace at mile 3 and when I reached mile 4 I picked it up even more.
Since I was familiar with the course at the 4 mile mark I began visualizing the end. I knew I needed to make the last bend around the Park then head to Magic Island and run through the park as the map indicated that we received at Packet Pick up. Heading into Magic Island I turned on my kick and was able to pass a few runners. Glancing at my Garmin I was at the 4.5 mile mark and was ready to go balls out. Only problem? I could hear the beep of people's chips passing the mat but I could not see the Finish Line. I continued to push hard, look at my Garmin and get perplexed. In my head I knew that the map said to cut through the middle but the pack was going around the bend. Looking at my time I knew there was no way I would make my 45 minute mark, sub 9 pace. I was now over 5 miles and I could see the clock. It said 44 minutes and 45 seconds. I had juice left but there was no way I was going to get there. BAH!!!!!!
I crossed at 45:12 and had raced a hard, strong race. I was a little disappointed but not that much. It was still the strongest run up to date and I knew I had a lot to be proud of. I knew that my pace for a 4.98 mile would be over 9 minutes per mile, but the time on my Garmin was KICK ASS!!! I picked up my snacks (including a Jamba Juice) and since no one was on the massage table jumped on it too!
All in all it was a great race. I finished 116th over all and 9th place in my Gender/Age Group, 5th over all form Hawaii in my Gender/Age Group.
If you look at my splits that my Garmin recorded it was an awesome race for me!
Here's the route we were supposed to run. Instead of going straight down the middle we went all the way around. :(
After the race we took our pictures (bunch of hams we are) and I did another 2 miles since today was my scheduled 12 mile LSD. So, all in all ran a 7 miles, had a great time with friends, and was able to make it back home for the baseball game and Team Mom duties.
I am truly thankful for this life I get to live!
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