I received an email today to register for the 2012 Honolulu Marathon - and guess what!? I'm already registered!
I'll be blogging more closer to the date with training updates - especially for my 165 mile bike ride. The longest cycling race I've participated in was last year - the 2011 Honolulu Century Ride - a 100 mile cycling event.
Its a perfect day for running a marathon, its currently 0901 - about 4 hours in the Honolulu Marathon (starts at 0500) and it is nice and cool outside, breezy and its cloudy as well!
This may not be the perfect day for people who want to go to the beach, but it is a great day for marathoners - no rain as well!
I've been ill the last 3-4 days and I was hoping for a quick recovery - unfortunately, that isn't the case.
This would have been my 4th consecutive Honolulu Marathon...
I am really disappointed, I didn't fully train 100% or even 75%, or even 50% for this race, but its still a race I would have been able to complete - had I been healthy.
People ask me why? or how do I run marathons? It's quite easy actually... A marathon is one of those things that you do not experience until you do one. You mind might tell you its hard, its easy, its crazy... but until you actually experience the actual marathon through the movement of your body, you will not experience many things... the race itself, the people cheering for you, the communitas if you will with other racers - pushing each other to get to the ultimate goal, no matter at what speed.
When I mean pushing - not literally - its actually illegal to receive any kind of physical aid to propel you forward. With that said, when you run with a large group of people it really motivates you... whether it is pacing with someone at your speed, going a little bit faster because you don't want this person to pass you, saying kind words to someone ahead of you who started walking (or vice versa), the experience of the marathon is one I enjoy - no matter what time I finish.
The sweat running down every orifice of your body, every part of your aching body doesn't compare to the feeling of crossing the finish line. I still get emotional after crossing...
Yup, I am not exactly sure what is going on with me recently... but I apparently like to wait until the last minute to start training.
With the Honolulu Century Ride, I had about 5 weeks to train for the event and yes... the Honolulu Marathon is coming up and I will have 6 weeks to train for the event.
It shouldn't be too bad hopefully, I just need to be focused and ready to work!
I can't believe it, this will be my 4th Honolulu Marathon.
Yes! I paid for 1 picture and 1 picture only. It was rather pricey and shipping was $4.99. Are you kidding me?! Anywho a picture is worth 1000 words, so they say...
I can't believe I did it and I really can't believe its over. Many "Mahalos" to everyone for your support to the cause I ran for this year. There are a lot of people affected by Leukemia & Lymphoma and thanks again for showing your support. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Team in Training has raised over $900 million since its inception to fighting blood cancers and we won't give up until a cure is found.
This is my 2nd marathon and I improved my time by over 2 hours. I walked the first marathon in Dublin and I am looking forward to the marathon again next year. The hardest part of the marathon wasn't the running, it was the weather. It stayed dry until the gun shot at 5AM and the rain came pouring down. I ran the 1st 10K slow and I expected to pick up the pace, but it never happened. I was running with blisters for pretty much the whole race. I have about 4-6 blisters on each foot and I am very proud of my time given the circumstances.
On that note, I would like to say a special thanks to Buffy Whiteman who is a part of the Team in Training team and ran with me between miles 24-26 (up Diamond head). If it wasn't for her words of encouragement and pace, I would not have crossed the finish line under 5 hours.
I didn't expect to get emotional, but there I was crying at the finish line and crying again when I saw Buffy at the tents.
Some people say, "I can't do that or that's impossible". I know with the support of my family, friends and the community that anything is possible. That is why I have signed up for the 2009 Honolulu Triathlon.
Well, since the marathon I have eaten Carls Jr., Zippy's, Taco Bell, Fried Chicken from Safeway. Ha! I deserve it! :)
I've been having knee problems since last week and this past Saturday when I ran, it was really painful. I've been icing it for 3 days and taking ibuprofen and my appointment with a sports medicine doctor is on Thursday. I think my knee is seriously messed up this time. No fear though, I will complete the marathon one way or another. I owe it to everyone who has shown their support.
THIS HOE IS TIRED Yes! I am exhausted! I've been running, cooking my own meals for breakfast and dinner, cleaning, fund raising, and trying to do more fund raising. I will be selling Jamba Juice coupons soon as well as getting my eBay store organized so that all proceeds from the items sold this month will go directly to Leukemia and Lymphoma.
@ Home I've been spending a lot more time at home. On M-W-F (work -> yoga -> home), on Tu-Th (work -> home). I guess this is for 2 main reasons, saving money and saving money. Spending a lot more time at home, I have found various things to keep me company. I have been playing more XBOX 360 (mostly RPGs - currently playing Eternal Sonata, just finished Lost Odyssey). OMG, so yeah I'm in love with TV. In the morning before work, I enjoy watching the Today Show. I normally watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert (I am in love with the 2 aforementioned shows). On Tuesday, I watch American Idol. On Wednesdays, I watch Top Chef, America's Net Top Model, sometimes the result show of ANTM. Fridays, I watch The Soup! SNL on Saturdays! On Sundays, I watch Desperate Housewives. Besides TV, I've been cooking every night for dinner. I've also been reading all my magazines. I subscribe to Popular Mechanics, Surfing, Entertainment Weekly, The Honolulu Advertiser.
Weekend SATURDAY Whew, where do I begin? I woke up Saturday, ate a bowl of cereal, Venus wasn't ready to go surfing, so I ran. My knee is still giving me a little trouble.
Then I went to register for the Honolulu Marathon! I got there at 8:45 and registration started at 10:00, and I was like #30. It was early registration this Saturday and Sunday, and locals pay only $30. If you wait until normal registration, its $80 for Kamaaina. After that, picked up Venus, then we went surfing, caught some awesome waves, it was high tide and yeah... I was out there for almost 2 hours. The board I am riding now is 8'9", the shorter the board the harder it is. Most people start on a 12', and hopefully soon I'll be on a shortboard. Baked in the sun for a couple of hours. After baking in the sun for an additional 2 hours, its Waikiki Spam Jam.
Waikiki Spam Jam This is an annual event where they close 4 blocks of Kalakaua (and you know that's a busy street) and it turns into a block party until 10PM. There are 2 music stages, one on each end. TONS of Spam-affiliated food.
Street at 4pm (it didn't start until 5 - last year over 20,000 people attended) Spam Merchandise (I almost bought a SPAM t-shirt!) Spam Mascot (I wanted to bite him) Spam - Hula Show (they were awesome, they did 2 numbers... so cute the kids)
After that, we went to Hula's for 1 drink. Then sat on the beach and watched the sunset. And guess what? I was on TV?! That's me in the Blue... in 3 shots (0:20, 0:35, 0:39)! :)
SUNDAY Guess what? Surfing! Well, before that Venus came by and I made an awesome breakfast, then off to the beach for more sun and surf! Got home at 6:30P, did laundry, watched Desperate Housewives.
Yup a great weekend. If you've read all the way here, I'd suggest book marking my blog as soon I will stop automatic emails of my posts.
