Mizuno Val Nolasco Half Marathon: Marathon Readiness Series 11.17.13

I've had a rough couple of weeks and wasn't at all sure that I was going to be able to run this race today!!  An injured IT Band from the 30K I ran two weeks ago acted up quite a bit and I wasn't able to get a run longer than 6 miles done!!!!  With the marathon only 21 days away I was torn.  Sit it out, run it, race it?  Well, I knew I wasn't going to race it and I also knew that for my own psyche I needed to get to the start of the race, start, and try to finish whether it was limping, crawling, whatever.

A busy weekend of softball practice, Noah's class picnic, and a UH Football game was also a concern.I made the last minute decision to keep my pre-race routine as normal as possible by squeezing in an early dinner at Bravo's.  It just makes me feel more at ease when I am able to eat my go-to-meal of Linguine with Spinach and Artichokes.

We left the UH Football game early to get home at a decent hour but I still did not get enough sleep. The 3 am wake up call came way too fast and I was still tired and groggy as we drove out to Kapiolani Park. Once at the Park the hot air and voggy conditions had me worried but with everything going on there was nothing to do but just do it.  I planned on running a 10:30-11:00 pace and see how it went.

The horn went on and we took off into the dark early morning.  Heading to Diamond Head hill I felt okay. The first mountain wasn't bad and so I felt like I was off to a great start.  As we rounded around the crater and down the road next to Kaimuki I took the hill very, very slowly still testing out my knee.  Once at the bottom everything felt fine and by mile 4 I eased into my pace and relaxed.  As we entered Kalanianaole I was a little alarmed to see Kawika Carlson heading down Kahala Ave.  YIKES! I was sooo slow I missed the lead runners!  WHen the heck does that ever happen?  A little sad I vowed to keep going but turned to Mike and told him, "We're soo slow!!!"  I had a few other choice things to say to him about how slow we were as well.

Kalanianaole had me worried for the mere fact that it is where I got injured a few weeks ago. So, today, I made it a point to run in the middle of the road, concentrate on my gait, and put the least amount of stress on my IT band as possible. My plan worked because as I rounded the turn-around at mile 7 I decided to go for it and picked up the pace.  We began to run a little faster but I was still thinking about my knee.  Kalanianaole went by fast and without incident.  All that was left was 5 miles and Kahala Avenue inclines.  I started feeling much more hopeful and relieved.

At Triangle Park with 3 miles left to go I still felt good, had no knee issues and wasn't fatigued at all.  I ripped open my new pack of Salted Caramel GU and let it rip.  :) Great taste and I will be sure to add this to my GU rotation (8 hours post-race no GI issues!).  I ran up the hill as hard as possible and decided to let it rip down the hill (not smart, I know but thankfully it went as planned).  As I ran out of Diamond Head and to Kapiolani Park I could taste victory and I was smiling from ear to ear and running as hard as I could.

As I neared the finish line I saw my friends and did TWO CHEERLEADING jumps for them (none of them caught the picture) and headed to the finish line.  I had done it!!!  What a relief!!!!

I learned a lot of lessons from today's run and am so glad I decided to go for it.  Completing my run today gave me the confidence that I sooo needed heading into the last stretch of the marathon.  I now know that if I treat my body well all will be okay.  And so I will plan out the last remaining runs from here until the big dance, test out more of my equipment before race day, and stay healthy, hydrated, and rested.  :)

Half Marathon NUMBER TEN is in the books!!!  :)