Honu - Hawaii 70.3 - My first half Ironman!

I like to just go for things, hence how 2015 ended up being the year I'd complete my first half and full Ironman. Hawaii 70.3 is popular here on Oahu in the triathlon community and so it seemed like a good race to participate in. Convinced a good friend from Colorado to join us at Hawaii 70.3 and we were set. 

3 bikes, 3 people in a small little rental car. Yeah, we pretty much rock. 

Before the race begins!

Before the race begins!

Honu. My first half Ironman. I was so dang nervous going into the race because of the swim. Could I do the distance? Could I do it in the cut off time? I was improving my swimming and I thought doing pretty good, but I hadn't really tested it. Let's be honest here... I was always a bit terrified of sharks. Thank goodness, the swim went really well and then I headed off to the bike, which also went really well. Where I started to fall apart was mile 7 of the run. It got to FRICKIN' HOT! Seriously, there is a part of the run they call HELLS KITCHEN! It is exactly what it sounds like..... black top, surrounded by lava rock, boiling you as you try and run through it at the hottest part of the day. I missed my goal time, which I am confident is because the heat got me. I remember to be a bit shocked to see my friend not far in friend of me, and thought he must be having trouble with the heat also.

When I arrived at the finish my husband and Garrett where there to greet me, which was amazing. As we walked away from the finish line I remember Garrett saying "Tom isn't doing well"... And I had no idea what he meant, until a minute or two later and I really looked at my husband. He didn't look well. Let's just say.... extreme cramping, throwing up and hours in the medical tent summed up the finish - but we all finished, all survived and all enjoyed the rest of the evening on Big Island (Tom maybe not as much enjoyed it!)

I also got introduced and completed a new distance that I would absolutely love!


We all survived (barely... cough, Tom, cough)! ....

Love this picture of my husband!

After the race we headed back to Oahu and spent a couple more days hanging out with our friend and just enjoying Oahu. Thanks Garrett for coming out and racing my first half Ironman with us! Glad I have such crazy friends who join in on my crazyness! :)

Next up: Diseyworld!

My next marathon in January 11, 2015 and it is the Disneyworld Marathon in Orlando, FL. I am SO excited! I visited Disneyworld years ago, before I got into running, but ironically at the same time the marathon was happening. I wanted to so badly run this race after being there and I am excited to finally be doing just that. 33 days until Disney!!

The time between the Maui Marathon and knocking off another state has been a lot of training - And lots of key races to improve my speed. And improving my speed it what I am doing! I am still working with the coach that I met in Louisiana back in January and I am beyond grateful for him and the team we make - It is making me so much better of a runner.

So what is the is between look like for this training period - Lots of fun things!

Trail running NZ

Well to start with shortly after doing the Maui marathon Tom and I went on a vacation to New Zealand for 10 days... Both the North and South Island. We did so many fun things - Mountain biking, bungee jumping, ice climbed on a glacier, rode in a helicopter, visited Hobbiton and so much more. We also squeezed in some trail running....


Trail running NZ

Trail running NZ

Trail running NZ

Trail running NZ

After coming back from New Zealand I did the Race for the Cure 5k with my husband and some friends - Where I set a new PR - This training period has been all about breaking PRs!

Race For the Cure - Time 27:51

 

A couple weeks after that I did the Kailua Surfriders 5k and broke the previous PR I had set a couple weeks ago. Not only that... but for the first time ever I placed in my age group - First place!! So exciting!

 

Kailua Surfriders 5k - Time 27:33

Rewarding myself with comfy pants and Starbucks after a long, chilly run in the pouring rain!

On Thanksgiving we did the 10 mile Turkey Trot, a 10 mile no watch race - I used a watch though because I was using this as a training run! Fastest 10 mile run I've done to date!! 9:36 pace!


After the Turkey Trot - Feeling good - Ready for pie!



 And most recently, the last 5k I completed! Sams 5k - On Dec 7th - Crushed my goal time set by my coach and beyond excited about this race. Another PR from this race in both the 5k and fastest mile! Overall pace of 8:35!! So exciting!! Hard work is paying off!


Sams 5k - Time 26:58

 

 



And on top of running - Lots of biking in this trainings series... Who can resist a ride on a good bike, which has finally been named - Shadowfax, nerdy and perfect. 

Quick snack break in the middle of my 40 mile ride.

Maui Marathon

 Marathon #5 for me may not have knocked off another state but it did knock off another Hawaiian Island and I learned so much from this marathon. First off, this race was brutal. Tough was an understatement for me. Hubby and I flew over to Maui Saturday morning, Sept 20th. We rented a car and spent the day exploring areas of Maui we hadn't been before and favorites we had. We drove the island, stopped at a local winery, had some tasty food, relaxed at the hotel and went to bed early the night before the race (7:30pm!) for a 2am wake up race morning.


View from inside a cave at Wainaps. Beautiful - Love it here!

Race morning came quick.... Up by 2am... Or I suppose finally pulled myself out of bed by 2:30am. Got dressed and ready - ensuring I followed routine and had everything I needed with me. Grabbed breakfast and we headed to the shuttle buses. The last bus left no later then 3:45am so we had to make sure we got there in time. We got to the buses around 3:30am and we were on our way. The buses drove us to the start line and dropped off us where we had to run the 26.2 miles to get back to the hotel.

The pre-race was great at Maui! Plenty of port a potties - which is always a plus. Any runner knows that a place with enough port a potties that doesn't require waiting in line pre race is pretty awesome! The Maui marathon also had some fruit and other stuff at the start which was a nice touch given how early we all had to make our way over and food options were limited unless you bought stuff the night before (Which we did) but it was still nice to have the option!



View from our hotel the night before the marathon - Breathtaking!

And it was so Hawaiian - Before the race started they had a fire dancer come out and perform which was pretty awesome! After that we made our way to the start line where a bit of a fiasco occurred. A drunk driver drove into the crowd of runners at the beginning. Luckily for all of us he was going super slow. He clipped one of the performers, a drummer and dragged him but luckily he sustained just minor injuries. Thank goodness. It was quite the adventure to a start of a race and I am thankful no one was more injured and he wasn't going fast!

About 10 minutes after the original start time of 5am we finally started. Right away it was super hot and muggy.... By a half mile in I was already sweating. Never a good sign. My coach and I had set a time goal of 4:40 for this marathon which was a small PR off of my previous time. I figured out my time goals for different mileage points. I ran a smart half, I banked a bit of time because I knew there was a couple miles of hills between miles 9 and 12. By the time I got done with the hills I was a couple seconds a head of my goal time. By the half marathon mark I was a couple minutes a head of time to hit my 4:40 goal. I was feeling good - strong. My legs felt great.

By mile 15-16 I started feeling what seemed to be a side stitch on my right side. I tried what normally works to get rid of it. Though, it was weird because I haven't been getting them recently and especially not that far into the run. I couldn't get it to go away... By mile 22 it had made it's way down my side and further into my lower abdomen. By this point I felt like someone was taking a knife and stabbing me and twisting it around while doing so. It was so painful! I couldn't kick it. So I'd stop and walk for a bit until the pain seemed to subside and then run again and then it would rear its ugly head again. So I spent those miles run/walking trying to keep the pain manageable. It was terrible.

And to top it all off it was HOT - Brutal. And the course had no shade. The sun was full blaze by the half marathon mark. I was saturated in sweat... So much so I could hear my feet squish in my shoes because of how wet they got. I did everything right - Fueled and hydrated how I should but I couldn't get rid of the pain in my side. But god knows, I was going to finish.

And finish I did. Almost 40 minutes past my goal time. Though somehow, with my second best marathon time still. I met my hubby at the finish line and found out he had a pretty brutal race himself and he also got his second best marathon finish time.

So far - that was not my best race. It was not my toughest set of races (3 marathons in 41 days beats that) but when the wonderful volunteer put the beautiful medal around my neck for some reason I felt like I had worked the hardest to earn this medal over others in the past. It was such a good feeling! Earned another medal, another race and learned a lot about myself along the way.

The course itself was beautiful - Amazing scenery and the course support was well done. The volunteers were great and I was thankful for their encouragement and random spectators encouragement along the way. The aid stations were great, well stocked and the volunteers were great. Maui put on a beautiful and well supported race. So far if I had to recommend a Hawaii marathon out of this or Honolulu I'd choose Maui in a heartbeat.



We finished!!

Finishers medal!

 

My first Triathlon - Tinman Tri!

A friend of mine convinced me to join the Tinman Triathlon and do it with her - 750m swim, 24 mile bike and 10k run. I was really nervous because I am a terrible swimmer... But after I swam the actual course for the Tri I felt so much better!

I  was SO thrilled with this race. I wanted to finish in under 3 and a half hours. I finished in 3 hours and 5 minutes! So stoked!

Some pics...

The night before - Getting ready

Before the start of the race

Transitioning!

Starting the Run




Finishing the run! Sprinting to finish!

 

Me, Gavin, Jessica 

Hubby and I!

The In between

What does the in between marathons look like for me? Running, running and more running with some cross training mixed in!

I started working with a running coach who I met at the Louisiana Marathon - Coach GP. He knows of my quest to run a marathon in every state. He also knows that I want to qualify and run The Boston Marathon. This is our focus as a team right now - How I can improve speed and stay healthy to be able to someday qualify for Boston. I have to say working with GP so far has been one of the best decisions I have made! Just about 2 months later and my time is already improving drastically in lower mileage events!

My next state/marathon is 4 weeks from today! I am very excited to be going to run in Green Bay and be able to run through Lambeau Field - It doesn't get much better for a Packer Fan!! I am hoping to come in under 5 hours for Green Bay which would beat my last marathon time by 26 minutes!

Beside training I've had some race to keep me busy also!

Great Aloha Run - 8 miles of running with friends :)

Haleiwa 5k - Set my new current personal best for a 5k here!! Finished in 28:04! Beat my last 5k time  by over almost a minute per mile!

Hapalua Half Marathon - A friend from work completed her first half!

Hapalua Half Marathon - Set another personal best for a half marathon here too! Finished in 2:10:51 -- beat my previous half marathon time by OVER a minute per mile!! Was SO excited!!

My first trail run! Did the Kaena Point 10k trail run - It was tough but fun!

Honolulu Marathon

After getting my medal and finishers shirt!

Honolulu Marathon officially made me a marathoner! We all have to start somewhere - So I started with a marathon on my home turf. I signed up for Honolulu, unfortunately after the awesome Kama'aina $1.00 per mile deal. Which, I won't miss for the following years for myself and my husband. Way cheaper - I mean who can beat $26.2 for a marathon entry fee?

Anyways!

Let's start with the expo. I have to admit I was a bit disappointment with the expo. Actually, more then a bit. For such a large marathon - I would imagine the expo to be bigger. Also I understand that a lot of Japanese run this marathon - but that doesn't mean the whole expo has to be Japanese focused. (I am exaggerating a bit, I get that). But I honestly felt like very little of it was focused toward the runner in general. But instead it was focused toward the Japanese runner. That being said the organization to pick up your bib at the expo was very well done - and I do appreciate that.

On the day of the race - parking is terrible for those driving in. Lucky for me my husband dropped me off near the start and he went on the hunt for parking. The shuttle the Honolulu marathon puts on though is brilliant. They will take you from the Honolulu Zoo to the start area, which is great if you can find parking down there as that is near where the finish is! I thankfully though, didn't have to utilize the shuttle this year because of my awesome hubby!

I ran into a fellow yelper as I was waiting for the start (Pictured above), and he introduced me to some marathon maniacs who he was friends with. It was nice meeting fellow marathon enthusiasts! As the start time neared the excitement was clearly in the air! One of the best things about this marathon was the fireworks at the beginning. It is so awesome to have that be your beginning to the incredible journey any marathon brings - and each one I'm certain brings it's own unique journey. It was also quite nifty to be running with fireworks going off in the background.

The course itself was mostly flat with the exception of Diamond Head. Twice. First go around not so bad. Second go around - cruel and unusual punishment so close to the end of the 26.2 mile journey!

The journey of my first marathon was certainly a good one. I had given myself an original time goal of finishing between 5:00 and 5:30. I secretly was hoping to finish under 5:00, but I was giving myself a "cushion" time goal. The first half of the marathon was cake! I was right on track to finish within my time goal. I felt AWESOME! But I was aware of what I needed to do to ensure I could finish strong. I didn't start out strong (Held around an 11:00 min per mile pace) all the way through mile 12 (Dropped a bit on the first go around with Diamond head). I took in water and gels according to planned. I was doing awesome. I felt excited, motivated, happy, everything all wrapped into one as I heard people cheering along the course. It is so cool to see random people cheering everyone - even people they don't know!

After the half way mark I did start slowing. But I knew I was still going strong! And then mile 18 hit. I don't feel like I hit a wall - I was doing good everywhere except my butt muscles and my feet. All the sudden they hurt. A LOT! I slowed, walked for a minute and then stretched. Stretching helped. But not a permanent type of help. I find myself struggling with my butt and feet (though more butt) hurting from mile 18 until the finish. This is where my time started falling. As the last couple miles approached I began to realize I wouldn't hit my goal time. Then I just started focusing on staying under 6 hours. I finished my mile 26 and of course the last .2 as strongly as I felt I could with a pace of 13:30 for mile 26. The last .2 miles it hit me - I had done it! So in true Jessica fashion  I started tearing up - which makes it challenging to run. After crossing through the finish line, receiving a shell lei, and then making my way out the finishers area I was greeted by my amazing husband and my boss! They were both so excited for me and endured my 26.2 miles worth of stink to steal a hug!

I didn't hit my goal time - I ended up finishing in 5:47:06. I thought I'd be a bit sad because I KNOW I can do better then that. But I wasn't. I FINISHED! I am officially a marathoner - and that is what matters. Now I have a time to beat (and I will)! I am proud of my time and myself!

After finishing I did find getting to the finishers tent to pick up my shirt and medal a bit confusing - but that could simply have been the fact that I was also searching for my husband and not paying attention to the signs. Though, even when we met up the signs didn't do a lot of good. When I did find the tent receiving my finishers shirt and medal was one of the best feelings. It was like another little reminder that I had done it! I wore my medal the rest of the day (Seriously)! Malasadas at the end of the marathon - perfect! I've never had a malasada taste so good!

Biggest shout out and the best thing about this marathon (Any, really) is the volunteers! Everyone was well organized and aid stations were constantly working well so that they always had Gatorade and water for all the participants. They were cheering everyone on, high-fiving and saying encouraging words. Without the volunteers - none of this is possible. I tried to thank as many of them as I could throughout the race.

I thought the little things they did during the course made a big difference. Of course like mentioned, aid stations with water and Gatorade were well organized and marked and always ready for the next runner to come in. The gel packs at certain aid stations is a great addition. Although I didn't personally use them as I carried with me what I needed - I know numerous people did and appreciated it! The biggest little thing that made a big difference: Sponges! I had never been so relieved to see a sponge in my life - and multiple times throughout the race - I was in heaven! These ice cold sponges were amazing to rub all over your arms, legs, face, squeeze on top of your head, stick down your shirt, whatever - just to keep you cool. It was certainly a hot and humid day for the race! The occasional misting was also awesome, but not as heavenly as those sponges!

All in all - this is a good marathon. My first of many and I loved every minute of it (except the last 8 or so miles, those were mind over matter moments)! I've learned a marathon is not just endurance it involves having incredible strength to push through those tough times and miles. I will always strive to be a long distance runner. I'm sure I'll have numerous more Honolulu marathons under my belt before I know it.

When I got home from the Honolulu Marathon I was greeted by a gift on my porch (Pic on left)! My awesome co-workers and friends had put together goodies (Wine, flowers, Epsom salt, other salt, peppermint soap) and left it there for me to find when I got home. Most everyone had signed the card and it was so awesome! They are all the best - and I appreciated this so much! It meant so much to me!

I had such great support for this marathon in general! I know it isn't just this marathon - but seeing all the support I had was simply amazing. One of my best friends, Lauren, started out the day before the marathon posting on Facebook that she wished she could be there for my first marathon (She is in CO). Then that evening another friend and co-worker (Shannon) sent out best wishes to me also. Then when I got on Facebook after the marathon I was overwhelmed by the amount of support that was there before, during and after the race. Shannon posted an update to my wall at the half-way mark - She was keeping everyone updated me on! My aunt then joined in and posted a 30k update! After I had completed it - My boss posted the first picture of me with my finishers medal and shirt! I had so many congratulations and other people posting supportive things on my wall it was wonderful! Friends and family called me and texted me shortly after to congratulate me also! My mom even tried calling while I was still running at the end because she was so excited/happy for me (Love you, mom!) THANK YOU EVERYONE - for all your support! It meant so much to me, I can't even put it into words. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Watch out Operation Jack Marathon (2.5 weeks away) - I'm coming for a PR!

 One down - 49 to go! (At least!)



Finishers Medal!

 

Honolulu Marathon - 2 days to go!

 

Wow! Where did the time go?

Don't get me wrong - I couldn't be more excited that the Honolulu marathon is just 2 days away! Okay - maybe a tad bit nervous too! But who wouldn't be for their first marathon?

Not only first marathon - but first of three in 41 days! (Soon to be Marathon Maniac!)

Tapering messes with you a bit though. It has been 3 weeks since my long 20 miler. I keep trying to remind myself that I need to taper to rest my body and allow it to be ready for the marathon on Sunday. But sometimes I catch myself thinking "It has been 3 weeks since 20 miles - how the heck am I going to pull off 26.2??" I know I got this though. Your mind is a powerful tool when running - and staying positive is the way to go!

I'm ready! I am so excited for all my training this year to pay off and to be able to call myself a marathoner! I am so excited to be able to color in a state on my map of the United States and mark it completed!

Running a marathon has always been on my bucket list. Running a marathon in every state has always been on my bucket list. Although, sometimes, before I really started running - I wasn't sure how possible it would be. But it is possible! I am going to do it!

26.2 miles - I got this!

(Off to the expo now I go!)

Jogging for Justin

 

Hubby is working back from a knee injury (He is hoping to be able to  run the Operation Jack Marathon on Dec 26, 2013) and he ran just over 8 pain free miles today! YAY!

Today we ran for Justin, we did a virtual run for a friend from high school who was diagnosed with cancer. All the proceeds from the race goes to help his medical bills. They had a 5k in Fort Collins (The facebook page said over 200 people came!) and they also invited people to run virtually. Tom and I drove over to Ko Olina and our miles went to Jogging for Justin!

This training run was awesome - fastest long distance I've run yet, and it ended with a light rain and a rainbow in the back ground.