Honolulu Marathon Race Recap

Last weekend I ran the Honolulu Marathon.  Although I had a great time, who wouldn’t in Hawaii? I wouldn’t say this is a bucket list race to run.

The start reminded me of Disney because it started very early at 5 am.  It was fairly close to our hotel so we were able to walk to the start which was great.  We headed right to the porta potties and I noticed they were designated as men or women.   This is the only race that I have seen that differentiated between sexes.  By the time we made it to the start the fireworks had already started.

We tried to make our way as close as we could to the beginning because we were told that a lot of people walk this race, because there is no time limit. We thought the race was going to start after the fireworks were done, but the race started while they were going off.  So right from the beginning we were set up for failure because there were already people in front of us walking or stopping to take pictures of the fireworks.  There were so much weaving in and out between people the first few miles that we ended up losing each other right from the beginning. It wasn’t until mile 4 where both sides of the street opened up so we were able to spread out a bit more.

There was not much entertainment throughout the course and very little crowd support. I knew there were some hills in this race that were going to be a challenge. Mile 7 was running up Diamond Head, and it was still completely dark out during this time.  It was a gradual climb for a mile or so. Needless to say, I was over this race.  I was listening to a podcast the other week and they were saying about not putting your headphones in until you absolutely had to.  I made it to about mile 10, and then I absolutely had to. My quads were screaming the whole time, which is rare for me to feel this type of pain. With every stride it got worse. I felt like I was carrying another 20 lbs on this 5 foot frame of mine…ouch! Finally the sun came out so I thought now that I can see maybe I will be able to pick up my pace a bit more, no not so much. The sun did not make things better, if anything it made it worse. It got way too hot, too quick! There were many times in the race I thought about stopping to walk, but I thought if I did, I wouldn’t want to start running again. So I forced myself to keep running.

I knew there was going to be another hill on the other side of Diamond Head around mile 22-23 then it was a downhill finish. Luckily this side was not as bad as the one in the beginning. After coming down the mountain I looked at my watch and I was making better time than I thought. I finally saw the finish line so I began to run as fast as I could. That sign is deceiving. It looked like it was a lot closer than what it really was. I could not get there fast enough.

 After crossing the finish line my friends were there to congratulate me on the other side for a job well done. We waited for my running buddy to finish then it was off for a celebratory brunch!

Even though I was sore the whole time while running, it ended up being my second fastest time, which I was very surprised to find out.  I just do not understand how I could BQ the other month in Chicago (that almost felt effortless, in a sense that I was not sore during the race), to struggling during the whole time in my next marathon. Oh and the next day, I felt completely fine, go figure!

Final Thoughts: This was a great experience and I am happy to have done it, but I have no desire to do this race again.  Too early, too dark for so much of the course, little to see during the course(mostly running in residential areas or highway), lack of entertainment and spectators, and too many walkers. Hawaii is definitely a bucket list vacation, not so much the race.  -L