Questioned my judgement in racing when I went to sleep last night as I just raced Napa a week ago. I believe the root of my desire to race was to show my body (rib/side) that I was in charge.
It rained and rained and rained ALL NIGHT LONG in Kailua! The forecast for the race were light 5 mile an hour winds and it can rain all over the island and Waikiki remain dry. Yet I still didn't get a good night sleep. Pulled into one of the few remaining parking spots at the zoo at 5:15am and although it was dark, it seemed clear out.
Watched the "Chase Groups" start as we had a couple runner friends who were competing. The Chase Groups are elite athletes from Hawai'i who are allowed a staggered "head start", starting 25 minutes before the 6am gun start, and their goal is to reach the finish line for a 5k prize before one of the 3 Kenyans (the "chasers") racing.
Makai and I lined up a couple rows back with Steve and Kanoa on the sidelines ready to cheer us on!
1st uh oh: The rain came down a couple minutes before the start. Not nice rain drops that feel refreshing. The kind of rain that makes your shoes squishy.
2nd uh oh: Left my visor at home in favor of sunglasses. Didn't need the sunglasses once, where the visor would have given me some protection from the large rain drops entering my eyes. I don't like running with both...too many things touching me.
3rd uh oh: It's a long story, and I am accused quite often of launching into long stories, when I could get to the point, so the point is: I had a Garmin attached to my wrist ready to use it for my splits neatly written on my race bib. The Garmin didn't operate and for a couple miles, I didn't even have the time visible.
So what is a girl to do who is worried about pain? Legs that just put in a 50 mile week and a marathon? Has no idea what her pace is? And who is trying for a PR (my previous half was 1:33:36). I just ran. Ran on how I felt, not competing against anyone. It was actually VERY liberating although I don't plan on racing like that again for a very long time. I went into this race knowing that I was not going to compete for a place, but just compete against myself, because how many other 29+++ had run a marathon the week before? (Found out later there were 195 of us in the 29+++ age group that finished. That's a lot of "Moms" who like to race!) They surely had an advantage over me. :)
I did ask one man what our pace was between 1-2 miles and we were in the upper 6's which was a little fast, but nothing out of the ordinary. After that, I only saw my time at the 5k, 10k, and 15k marks. I knew at the 15K I was a little behind schedule but was hoping to be able to gain some of it back going down Diamond Head, but first I had to climb a mile up Monsarrat Ave. (I don't know the grade but it's steeeeeeeeeeep!!!) I pride myself on being a pretty good climber, but my legs were fatigued at this point so I didn't make up as much ground as I had hoped.
From the start until heading back into Waikiki I had a cute little girl "racing" me. I had tried to drop her a couple times, yet she would end up next to me a few minutes later and I'm not a big fan of hearing other people breathing next to me. Finally looked over at her and said, I think you are a lot younger than me and we are not competing. She asked how old I was and I told her I was 29, um, I mean I told her I was 41 and she said "You're in really good shape for being that old!". No, I didn't slap her or have any desire to, I just knew I was going to finish before that young whipper snapper and show her what us old ladies who have birthed multiple children can do! BTW, she was 30!!!
Nothing eventful about the race other than the puddles. Lots of them. I did get lots of shout outs on my skirt and I'm sure wearing a white tank top, that was soaking wet, drew attention to my adorable Lulu outfit in a way I had NOT intended. Heard the cowbells intended just for me, right before the zoo, and saw Steve and Kanoa cheering us on. Wanted to ask if Makai was on target but only managed to say that the Garmin wasn't working and I had no idea how I was racing.
The clock sped up as I was heading to the finish and despite my great effort to beat a 1:33, I clocked in at 1:33:08. SO close! It still is a PR and I will take it!! I knew I had placed in my age group and was fairly confident I had won it as I had tracked the 5 girls in front of me and they all looked like they didn't have to worry about grey hairs yet. And yes, I beat the cute little girl who called me old.
Makai came around to the finish area, looking quite relaxed like he had been waiting for me all day. The kid, who in November had run his first half in 1:31, and was aiming for a 1:25, had finished almost a full 10 minutes ahead of me in 1:23:13. He was the 16th finisher overall out of a field of 3000. I was 72nd finisher overall. There are no words to describe how proud I am of him. I'm also certain he has some God given talent and with his training schedule he is improving immensely.
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| Makai and I with our AG awards and dry clothes after the race! |
Ate a malasada. Got our age group awards and headed home to spend the day cuddled up in front of the couch as it's 9pm at night and still raining!
Tomorrow morning is the abdominal ultrasound. Prayers appreciated.
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