12/19/11

Hawaii – part two

Oahu – The Honolulu Marathon
Nate and I left Walter with Gramma and Grampa on the Big Island, and flew to Honolulu for the marathon. We had dinner with some friends and went to bed early. The race started at 5am, in order to beat the heat of the day. 
Honolulu Marathon
We both got up early and set off for the starting line. Let me tell you, if I had brought my running shoes, I'm pretty sure I would have jumped right in to that race. There's some great energy at the starting line of a marathon. The national anthem, fireworks, and a nervous crowd of 20,000 people – I was tempted to run in my flip flops! But instead, I wished Nate luck, kissed him goodbye, and sent him off running. 
Honolulu Marathon
Honolulu Marathon
He looped around and I gave him another cheer at mile four before heading back to the hotel. I treated myself to coffee and a stroll along the beach before going to meet him at the finish line. I ended up standing next to a woman, also waiting for her husband to finish, and also missing the race because of a stress fracture. We had a nice chat. :)
Honolulu Marathon
I'm happy to report that Nate finished the race with a time of 4:52:48! That crazy, huge crowd of runners slowed him down a bit, but he came in injury-free and ready to enjoy the rest of our vacation. He swears he'll never do it again. We shall see. Time has a way of changing your mind.
Next up, Maui...

2 comments:

Nate said...

Totally doing another one.

Mom said...

Totally OK with your finishing one in your life!! Good job in this one.