Last year some time hubby and I decided on a whim to hike/climb whatevers up Kokohead trail/stairway/railroad. Everyone else was doing it so I figured I should to. I had some Half Marathons under my belt, was running every day, and training for a marathon. HOW HARD COULD IT BE?!!!
Well, it ended up being super hard and I ended up bailing the trail. I was off to the side, feeling sick and nauseous and told the hubby to go up without me. I had nightmares of him trying to carry me up or down, falling and killing us both or needing to be rescued by HFD. Not one to be to proud to bail I left the trail and ran up Makapuu Lighthouse instead.
A few weeks ago hubby asked me when I was planning on going back. He knows me pretty well and knew that I would want to try again. Anyhow, today being my first day of summer (no more summer school HOORAY) we decided to try again.
We got a very early start in order to beat the heat. I put on my favorite Lululemon Speed Shorts and the Lulu tank top that they gave us for the Honolulu Marathon. Mine reads, "Run Aloha, Live Aloha, Be Aloha, Do it Now!" I figured I'd need all the mojo that I could get and I was hoping upon hope that I wouldn't ruin two speeds shorts two days in a row. We left the house at 6:30 and got to Kokohead a little after 7. I didn't have any expectations except to get my fat ass up the hill. There would be no running, no bravada, just a climb to the top.
As we walked to the trail I kept my mind free and easy. No pressure, no psyching myself out. I trusted the fact that I have been doing a lot more strength training since the last attempt and I figured that if I didn't leap from railroad stitch to railroad stitch like the last time I would be okay.
And so we started slow step by step and when steps were missing I smartly moved to the side of the railroad and used the dirt path. Before I knew it we were at about the level we had to turn around at. We took frequent breaks, drank water and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. We watched the cute dogs sprinting up the trail and talked story with one another.
Finally we were at the "bridge." I had seen pictures of it but was not prepared to feel quite so frightened, especially since it wasn't as high as it looked in the picture. Ever so slowly I took step by step making sure that my feet were steady before moving on. When we crossed the bridge I did a sigh of relief and was ready conquer the steep incline. All the while in the back of my head I was thinking that if I made it up I would also have to come down the same way or get rescued off the mountain by firemen. :)
There were many different kinds of people going up, dogs, older people, college students, kids, people that were in shape (there was a man who thought he was a GOD, he walked right up the middle and made all of us mere mortals stop and move to the side for him), people outta shape. The diversity encouraged me. If these people could do it, so could I, right?!!!
As we neared the top we took more frequent breaks. I didn't want to push so hard that I got sick and couldn't finish so I concentrated on keeping my heart rate and legs feeling okay. The sun was starting to get higher in the sky and the sweat began to sting my eyes. I pushed on, determined.
1,000 stairs later we were at the top and I was so happy to have conquered my fears. As I looked down I could not believe that I had made it...and I could not believe I had to go back down! YIKES!!!
We hung out at the top of the crater and talked story with a really nice woman decked out in one of my favorite Lulu Speed Shorts who had the cutest dog ever. She recommended that we do Mariner's Ridge next and so of course we have it on the list to complete in the near future.
After doing some yoga poses (Bow and Frog) and loving the beautiful aina we call home we headed back down the trail. The trail wasn't so bad going down but the bridge portion was as scary as ever.
At the bottom of the hill I high fived my partner in crime and we tried to walk off the shaky feeling in our legs. I had wanted to follow up today's hike with a hot yoga session but the mister was not having it so instead we went to get Acai bowls and check out Lululemon. It was a great way to start my day!!!!
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