Aloha from Hawaii! Andrea's Hawaii 10k



All finishers received a rose when they crossed the finish line!!

 Aloha Wahines!

I competed in my first 10k on Sunday, March 6 while on vacation here in Hawaii. Ok, not really competed, but participated and finished. I was thinking during the race that I have not done a 10k race before - lots of 5k's, some 4 and 5 mile races, 20 Bloomsday runs (7.46 miles) and then half marathon and marathon relay - but nope, don't think there has ever been a 10k in there. Anyway, I knew while in Hawaii that I would have the 12 mile run to complete and months ago saw this run coming up. It was during the time we were going to be here and only about 30 minutes from where we are staying, so I signed up and prepared to do it. It was the 34th running of the Hawaii Pacific Health Women's 10k: http://www.hawaiipacifichealth.org/womens10k/. How fun to do a women's only race!!

Got up on Sunday morning at about 5:15, got ready and just before 6:00 headed out toward Honolulu. The race started at 7:00 and it was just beautiful out! It was in the low 70's and away we went headed east. Waikiki was behind me, the Pacific Ocean was to my right (with surfers bobbing out there waiting to catch some early morning waves!), and Diamond Head was on my left. We ran slowly uphill and on the other side of the small peak was the area known as Kahala. We ran through a very nice neighborhood with huge, beautiful homes and then looped around and went back down the last two miles the same as the first two miles. We had a few misty raindrops but mostly sunshine. It was such a good feeling to finish - I was pretty warm by the time I was done. I ended up with a time of 1:03:11. Not too bad! Guess it could be considered a PR since it is the only one I have ever done! :)  I finished 44 out of 185 in my age group and 387 out of 1650 finishers. It was great to get the rose right after crossing the finish line - very nice touch! However, if a race is all about the finishers tees, this didn't hit the mark! Check it out - just plain, white cotton and pretty plain logo, etc. Oh well...

Ok, so the race was a total of 6.34 miles. I knew it would get me at least 1/2 way to my 12 mile mark - now...what could I do to get in all 12 miles? I could run it twice - even thought about it during the race, but of course, that didn't happen. I did park 1/2 mile away and run to the starting area as I was worried about getting my number. Then had the 1/2 mile back to my car...ok, now we are up to 7.34 miles. I didn't feel up to it right when I got back to our place (my family had picked up some malasadas for breakfast, which are pretty much just a deep-fried donut - and they were yummy!) Finally, later that afternoon, I got my husband to go out for a 4 mile run. So didn't quite reach my 12 mile run but got nearly there. :) Even if it was broken up, at least I got in the mileage.

My runs here have been hot and humid and wonderful - and I am thrilled that I actually did something a little out of my comfort level while on vacation. Not so much the actual race, but the logistics, getting myself up early, driving myself there and finding where to go, etc. I missed my race buddies and had to go it alone but it was pretty cool to run a race here in Hawaii. A great memory to keep, even if I do have to toss the tee!