The Next Step

Honolulu:  I flew out here yesterday so just took the day off and rested (if you call sitting in a plane for 9 hours resting).  I got up real early this morning and did the standard loop around Diamond Head.  I probably should check out some other routes around the area but it is hard to beat that loop.  I added in several miles behind Diamond Head in a neighborhood that was very hilly so got a good hill workout in.  I felt good starting out but was getting tired about 11 miles.  Could have been from the hills or from the warmer weather (76, humid).  It rained on me for about a mile around the 7 mile mark but that was good since it cooled me down.

Heading down through Waikiki there sure are alot of homeless people.  Seems like is was worse than the last time I was here.  The park at the end of Waikiki was full and they had plastic stretched out between trees for shelter.  I also passed a couple of guys that were here the last time I was here.  They were in the same place.  It is very sad to be in someplace so beautiful and see something like this.  I know this is a complex problem but wish I knew someway to help.  I am involved in a group in Indy that helps with the homeless so know that it is a hard problem to solve.

1:46:01 (8:09 avg)

Honolulu:  Out early again this morning on the Diamond Head loop.  I ran out around Diamond Head then down the back side to Waikiki turned around and ran back.  It was warm (76) and super humid.  I was drentched with sweat when I finished.  I mixed it up some while running.  I ran a few sections around MP pace and then ran a couple of the hills hard.  Nothing structured just running by feel.  Felt pretty good this morning.  There were some nice views of the ocean this morning with the full moon.  Always nice to hear the ocean rolling while running.

1:28:45 (8:04 avg)

Honolulu. I had an early morning Conf call with the East coast so I didn't have much time this morning. I just took it easy but was a little tied this morning from not getting enough sleep. I have been feeling pretty good running lately so hope that continues. Going back home tonight and really looking forward to it.

47:38 (7:44 avg)

Got back from Hawaii yesterday then headed down to KY to run a 200 mile relay with some friends from high school.  Not much sleep the last few days so was tired heading into the event.  We were in the 2nd van so we had a lot of waiting to do before running.  The weather was rainy and cool.  I ran my first leg at around 8:00 pm at night so it was already dark.  I didn't feel the best and I was concerned about going out too hard because we lost one of our team members to injury so I was going to be picking up and extra leg and running 4 legs and a total of around 24 miles.  I went out pretty easy and tired to just run around MP for the first legs.  It was a hilly leg with mostly long rolling hills nothing real steep.  I was able to pass quite a few teams and finished up feeling pretty good.  After the rest of our van finished up their legs we grabbed a bite to eat and headed for some sleep.  We got around 2 to 3 hours of sleep which is pretty good for these events.

Leg 1 - 7.22 in 52:40 (7:17 avg)

2nd day of the 200 mile relay.  After not much sleep we got back out for our second legs at around 4 am.  I was the 4th person in our van so had to wait awhile before running.  My second leg was 8.02 miles and didn't know what to expect after not feeling the best yesterday and not getting much rest.  We miss calculated when the running before me would come in plus he ran his leg faster then we expected so when I went down to the exchange point to wait on him he was already there and I had to just through off the clothes and take off without warming up.  It was cool and windy so I just took off kind of easy to get loose.  I started feeling pretty good on this leg so I picked up the pace and ran faster.  There were a lot of rolling hills on this leg too and I just picked it up as I went along.  I felt great on this leg and it felt like I was running easy. 

2nd leg 8.02 miles in 53:58 (6:44 avg)

After everyone finished up there second legs we grabbed a light lunch and rested some.  Because of one of our running dropping out I would be running the 1st and 4th legs of the last van rotation.  This means that I would run then have about an hour and a half then run again.  I was worried about this because I was afraid that I would tighten up for the 2nd time out.  My third leg was short only 4.12 miles but pretty hilly.  After feeling good on the last on I decided to just go out pretty hard on this one and see how I felt.  At this point the lack of sleep and accumulated fatigue start to catch up with you.  I felt stiff and tight starting out but quickly got into a groove and picked up the pace.  I ended up passing a lot of runners on this leg so it helped to keep me pushing hard.  I was amazed when I can in with an average of 6:32 for the 4 miles.

3rd leg 4.12 mile in 26:56 (6:32 avg)

After the last leg quickly got back in the van and drank some Gatorade then tried to keep my legs warm.  At the next exchange I jogged around a little and continued to stretch.  It seemed like no time until I was back out there again for my final leg.  It ended up being about an hour and 10 minutes so I was able to stay pretty loose despite the cool temps.  My last leg was more hilly then the previous so decided to go out a little easier then see how I felt and pick it up from their.  The first couple of miles were hilly then it kind of flattened out.  I started off pretty good but was stiffer than I thought.  I was fighting my legs the whole way on this leg but kept pushing it as I went along.  I went into this leg thinking that if I could hold the pace under 7 I would be doing good.  The miles clicked off pretty good and I pushed it hard on the last mile to finish off all of my legs.  I was very happy to avg 6:45 pace for this leg.

4th leg 4.39 miles in 29:41 (6:45 avg)

This second day gave me a lot of confidence because I ran over 16 miles at an avg pace of around 6:40.  Plus breaking it up this way is seems to be tough especially when you have to go back out so quickly.  It was a lot of fun running the event.  We were not competitive as a team.  We ended up finishing in around 29 hours which is an average pace of 8:42.  We had some newer runners on the team that slowed down the pace but it was a great time and I was very happy with the way that I ran.  Now time to get some rest!!