Hibiscus Half Marathon

We stayed at a VRBO (Vacation Rental by Owner) at the Diamond Head Beach Hotel while on Oahu.  At first I tried running along the path in Waikiki, but there were way too many pedestrians "walking with(out) a purpose."  Then I tried running around the 1.8-mile loop at Kapiolani Park, which was conveniently located right outside our room.  About a day or two before the race, I happened to see some signs indicating the roads would be closed for the Hibiscus Half Marathon.  I looked up the race on Facebook and they confirmed I could register on race day morning.  It was only a $60 entry fee, and the proceeds went to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  What a deal!

The day before the race, we had an amazing lunch.  The sushi restaurant we were going to was closed, so we tried the restaurant next door called Shochan.  The menu was mostly in Japanese, and our nice waitress suggested we try the Okonomiyaki served Hiroshima style.  It was a very reasonably priced meal ($8), and it was a fun experience (we watched the chef cook our meals on the grill).  Plus the food was mighty tasty.  So we went back for dinner (and got double veggies, double noodles, and double egg), and I was definitely fueled for the half marathon.

Lunch, before it got in my belly

I woke up at 4:00 am on Sunday morning and walked a half mile to the finish line/registration booth.  The race started at 5:30 am and I was home by 7:45 am.  I couldn't have asked for better logistics.  The course was pretty tough.  It was around the Diamond Head Crater neighborhood, so there were lots of hills.  Plus I was pretty sore from running a lot (7 miles, 7.7 miles, and 3.6 miles the three days prior to the race) and walking/hiking Diamond Head (6.67 miles the day before the race).  I figured that with the hills and humidity, I would be in the 2:00-2:15 range, but I had a sub-2:00 finish in the back of my mind.

I tried to keep a controlled, sustainable pace.  Of course there was some variance because of the hills.  Miles 11 and 12 were net uphill, and I knew I had to haul bootie on mile 13 to break 2:00.  The course was very well supported. I drank water or Gatorade at every stop. I should have brought a gel or something, but it's hard to be super prepared on vacation.
 
Mile Splits: 8:52, 9:25, 9:07, 9:05, 8:55, 9:05, 9:10, 9:10, 9:13, 8:50, 9:20, 9:12, and 8:20

Chip Time: 1:59:35 (9:08 pace)
Garmin Stats: 13.22 miles, 1:59:37
Overall Place: 412 out of 1,713
Gender Place: 123 out of 760
Category Place: 32 out of 176

I had Cliff take my "finisher photo" on our balcony.

 

This was my favorite photo on the race's Facebook page.