Day Two Con’t

After showering, Reba and I decided to go get a mani/pedi, respectively. It was the most painful pedicure ever! Lol. However, the end result was beautiful toenails (that secretly cover up two black toenails later on)!

 After ward, we met Brittany for lunch. We go to “Da Big Kahuna” where I enjoy my first alcoholic beverage – a Mai Tai -- in Hawaii. J Then we stroll on down to a restaurant on the beach where we relax under the shade (Brittany and Reba were a little sunburnt). I ordered a my favorite drink, the Piña Colada, and it was delish!

The whole day was a relax-fest. We were super exhausted from the race and time change. We strolled along Waikiki’s “main strip” for shopping. And later on ate sushi for dinner. 

Sitting out on the patio was gorgeous and the atmosphere was awesome. And a normal bedtime of 8pm rounded off the night. 

Day Two – Race Recap

Our second day in Waikiki started off at 4am. This did not phase us one bit however, because it was 9am my time. I felt refreshed and ready to go. I had ~2 liter sized bottle of water and drank the entire thing before the race. We ate our pre-race breakfast (mine being a peanut butter energy bar). We of course took pictures before the race. See Brittany and Reba in Reba’s “transvestite pink” lipgloss. WOW. Lol.

Race jitters set in and so I drank more water and more water. Anyone see a trend here? I did make a pit stop at the restroom 30 min before gumtime. We lined up in the corral and it seemed like forever before we heard the foghorn? Usually a gunshot, but I don’t think they used one there. And then we were off. Brittany took off, leaving Reba and I behind trying to maintain a 10:00 min/mile pace.

Boy, was it hot. Boy, was it humid. I was feeling good until about mile five and then it just wasn’t fun anymore. We had made a loop twice in the shaded park and were out on the streets by mile four. The sun was suddenly glaring off the black pavement. We finally ran along the beach between miles four and five; ahhh, there was a nice breeze and something to look at. It was about that point where I thought “I would much rather be in that water than running beside it.” LOL. Never a good sign. After mile five it was hell. No holding back here. I started to need to use the restroom and the heat was taking all my energy out of me. Not to mention that my Garmin was telling me we were much further than their mile markers (in the end it ended up being .35 miles off). Not sure who was off, but it was frustrating nonetheless!

Go here to see the course!

The turnaround was the halfway point. I should have stopped to use the restroom, but the line was SO long!! I did not want to give up precious time as I was already losing steam halfway through! So I ate my mini-luna bar for a pick me up and drank MORE water. :D After the stop for water, I began walking about every 20 min. This is not good. Then I REALLY needed to go to the bathroom. When we were almost to mile nine, I ran off the course and shamelessly peed behind a tree. I felt so much better! LOL. Sorry if that’s TMI for anyone, but that’s a runner for you.

The rest of the race was not much fun as it was an out and back, but we did get to run past the same stretch of beach. More water, more breeze. I really wanted to jump in the second time by!

After much coaching from Reba (“Look how far you’ve come as runner since last year! You’re pace is so much faster! You’re doing great!”), we caught up to Brittany. We all three finished mile 10-12 together, received our boas, and walked/jogged/waddled to the finish line. Finishing never felt so good. Reba sent up a big cheer for me yelling “Give it up for my friend Kim who just set a PR!” and we crossed the finish line and received our kick-ass medals.

 Downing water, voraciously eating a bagel, and taking photos ensued after the race. We hailed a cab and went back to the hotel.

Notes about the race:

-I was unprepared for the heat. I had not trained in that kind of weather, and the weeks leading up to the race I should have run more outside.

-I do not recommend out and backs for race courses.

-Watch how much water you drink before!!

-Most importantly, I would not have made it through without Reba’s constant cheering me on. She never once left my side (except when I ran off to pee, lol) and I was extremely appreciative of her positive attitude.

-Even though, the race was a bust (in my mind), I did set a PR. I finished in 2:20:01, taking 3 min off my old time.

-It was in Hawaii! What could be better than that?!

Sorry, this was such a great picture of Reba and me crossing the finish line - I had to take a photo of a photo to show y'all!

Hawai'i -- Day One

I apologize for the lack of photos on day one. We really just relaxed by the pool/beach all day and shopped a little bit. Nothing to photograph really. : )

We did end up waking up almost every morning around 5am because we were not used to the time change. Here's our delicious breakfast at 7am. And of course we had to try the pineapple boat!!!

Ahhh.... R&R

Let's not forget our "reason" for coming -- the Half Marathon was the next day.

Laid out gear before crashing at 8pm... Lol

HAWAI'I -- The Beginning

Had to make a few stops to get there...

Hello, Denver! 

 

Hello, Phoenix!

Reba and I caught up at LAX and then met Brittany in Honolulu!

Sun setting on Waikiki. Our view from our hotel room.

 

It's only 8-ish there, but we are exhausted! And pass out.

So... I apologize for the delay... :-)

I have been so busy!!! No excuses, I know. So I'm going to try and do a mini series of updates. Otherwise I am just going to keep dragging my feet.

Going Back...

Hi friends!!

Sorry for the sabbatical from the blog world! If you didn't know, I was gone to Hawaii for a week!!! :D I would have blogged there, but there were several technology obstacles -- not worth missing out on the experience to mess with. So, it is currently 10:34pm and I would like to be to sleep by 11pm. Here's the deal, I will update fully on my travels and fun, but I am starting where I left off.

Thursday, April 7, 2011: I pulled out the ol' bike and took 'er for a spin.

She was dusty and needed air in the tires. Luckily, the ConocoPhillip's gas station by my house had free air! (I do not own a bike rack for my car, yet.. :D)

Thanks ConocoPhillips! :D

After getting her down my stairs (workout in itself), I did a 5 mile loop and had an amazing time!

I forgot how much fun biking was! Here are my stats (I have no clue how good/bad these are, lol):

Miles: 4.43 (I forgot to turn on the Garmin until about a half mile into the ride.)
Time: 23:59 min
Avg Pace: 11.1 miles/hour
Max Pace: 14.9 miles/hour!

Friday: Girls night @ Kiri's was a blast!! I brought bruschetta, shrimp and cocktail sauce (it was a Friday during Lent!) and wine! The bruschetta was a MAJOR hit! It was so easy to make, and I've had pictures on here before, so I won't bore you with more. Other guests brought guacamole, brownies, ice cream, veggies/crackers and dip, and other delicious stuff that I cannot remember at the moment. The best part was hanging out with the girls and laughing. We watched "Valley Girl" which made me feel like I was twelve again. We had fun by making fun of the 80's Nicolas Cage though. :)

Saturday: I got a haircut and colored it. The cut wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but it's at that weird length that there's not much TO do with it. Before and after photos:

PS: I hate taking pictures of myself. lol.

Oh, Saturday I also attempted a 10+ miler. Did not work out. Aaron graciously picked me up after mile 5. Haha 92% humidity and 70+ degrees does not fly with me.

Miles: 4.67
Time: 46:12 min
Avg Pace: 9:54 min/mile ----> Are we sensing trouble for the half yet??? :D

Sunday, Julie and I went for an eleven or twelve mile bike ride through the Pathfinder (Garmin died). But we had such a good time! It was nice to exercise next to your friend and be able to talk without being super winded!

Welp, better wrap it up for bedtime! I'm trying for bootcamp @ 6am tomorrow + kickboxing @ 5:30pm! Whew! Big day! I promise to update you on Hawaii, WITH PICTURES, soon!

Enjoy your Wednesday wherever you are! Look forward to sea turtles, losing toenails, race recap, rainforest excursions, and relaxing beach shots!!

Holy Moly Guacamole!

Happy Tuesday y'all! My day has been busy! I finished my first month of closing in my new job. Whew! I worked through lunch so I could make it to Zumba tonight! I came home and was prepared to run, but got in bed instead and turned on the laptop. Haha. It is SUCH a nice day out though! Secretly looking forward the thunderstorms... :D

I can't believe we're to the middle of the week! Friday Aaron and I ate Lanna Thai again (I had tofu instead of chicken in my spicy red curry). Then we left Tulsa headed to Dallas! While waiting in the airport we played "Phase 10: Dice." Such nerds but a good way to pass the time.

Kayleen and David, Aaron's parents, met us at the Dallas Love Field Airport late Friday. Saturday we cheered on Kayleen for her second race! She finished 2.76 miles in 25:56 minutes for an overall average pace of 9:23 min/mile!! Way to go Kayleen!

After, I tried to run my 12 miles on Aaron's high school track. Tried being the key word. Haha. Unprepared for the heat, I finished 6 miles (with many water breaks) in 57:18 minutes. Then we went out to Mexican food where I feasted on a Taco Salad and Chips and Guacamole! Holy Moly! :D

David, Aaron, and I finished off the day by playing a round of putt putt (Kayleen was napping). Here's a few pics:

Sunday, we had a delicious breakfast. Kayleen made a breakfast cassarole and muffins! My compliments to the chef! I got a copy of the recipe and hope to be able to use it soon. Aaron and I landed in sunny (but WINDY) Tulsa around 1pm. I ran 3 miles downtown while Aaron hit some balls at the range. Ahh, perfection. Then I headed to Inner Peace Yoga for training! I am a new receptionist there. Come visit me on Sundays (3:30 Yoga for Athlete's and 5pm Power Yoga), Mondays (7:30 Yoga Jam!), and Wednesdays (7:10 Deep Stretch).

I tried sushi for the third time in my life and enjoyed it! No pictures. You can always tell when I'm starved, because if I'm not I take pictures. Haha. Yesterday was a typical monday. Yoga Jam was fun! And today was stressful. But I'm looking forward to a stress-free week and weekend.

Friday- Girls' Night @ Kiri's
Saturday- Haircut and Color   (Any suggestions on the cut?!)
Sunday- Yoga

Only 10 more days until Hawaii!!! Check out the race I'll be running here!

Remember wherever you are and whatever you have- you are blessed! Make life what you want it to be! Good night!