And we hit 17!

The marathon is 78 days away and I still cannot mentally fathom running 26.2 miles for fun.  But come to think of it, I couldn't fathom running 13 at one point and now 13 is nothing!!

Today was the start to conquering the demons.  On the way to our run this morning it was raining and overcast.  The sky over usually sunny Diamond Head was dark and the rain didn't dissipate as we got closer to our run start.  As we started our ascend of Diamond Head the rain began to fall harder.  I don't run in the rain had been my mantra for many years but today I embraced the rain and said, "the rain will keep me cool and from over heating and dehydrating...just don't step in any puddles!"

So I ran hard up that first hill and kept my mind strong and focused.  A quick glance at my Garmin showed that I was hitting a nice pace of 10 minute miles and I decided to see if I could keep that pace the entire run.

When we got to triangle park I stopped to fix my sock that had fallen off my heel and bunched at my toes and to take a gel.  I wanted to try a new fueling strategy--fuel before I needed it.  I ran the next few miles strong--the ascend up the front of Diamond Head to Kaimuki Middle School and down to Kahala to Kalanianaole Highway.

I was nervous about the highway because the rain was falling hard and the sun was shining.  Sun reflecting off of a wet surface meant crazy visibility for drivers and we were running with our back to traffic for the next 5 miles!!!  I wanted to keep the pace fast so that we could spend the least amount of time running this way.

Jumping over the puddles on the wet sidewalk and road was not fun and neither was the busses, cars, and bikes whizzing by us.  We passed the two beach parks and ran on to Holy Trinity Church which would be our turn around.  On the way we ran past running friends and other friendly runners who seemed happy to be out running.  It amazed me to see so many people out in this horrible weather pushing themselves, talking story, enjoying time with friends.  Amazing!!!  The rainbows that decorated the sky also gave us a lift.

On our run back the rain continued to fall and we were now sprayed face on by the cars whizzing past us.  We ran past our Grey Group and gave them high fives.  We had an uneventful run back to Kahala and as we turned left by the Gas Station and Golf Course we were still running strong.

As we got to Kahala we were surprised to see one of the Japanese Billionaire's parcels of land decorated with new statues (they weren't there before) and even more surprised when we saw him inspecting them.  Mike stopped to take a picture of him because it was almost like a celebrity sighting!  At this point the rain dried up and the harsh sun slowed us down a bit.  This stretch back up to triangle park is one that challenges us more mentally than phyiscally even though the ascend to the park is also tough.

Once at the park I gave Mike some pep talks and mantras and we set out to conquer Diamond Head.  We were doing totally awesome on time--keeping our 1o minute pace and a full 15 minutes ahead of our 16 miler a week ago.

At the base of Diamond Head I felt strong and decided to run up hard. We did so at a 9:15 pace and once at the top we cruised down finishing at the Queen Liliuokalani statue which is the Marathon Finish Line.  16 miles done, time to spare we added a cool down walk/run to make it a strong 17.