The morning of the race my alarm was set for 3 am but I woke up at 2:15 too excited to get back to sleep. I tried not to wake my sister while I scurried about the kitchen fixing oatmeal and a hard boiled egg. My ankle felt stiff, every once in a while causing me to step gingerly due to pain. I asked myself “can I do this? Am I being stupid? Nah. I’ll be alright.” Into the truck go the cooler with coconut water, bananas and my icepack and my basket with bathing suit, towel, a change of clothes, duct tape and my race number. Oh yeah! Don’t forget your shoes!
The drive to Kaanapali was long. Parts of the road were already coned off. Portable flood lights and porta potties dotted the road. Two cars in front of me were obviously being driven by tourists. The pali (the road over the cliffs to Lahaina) had them petrified and every time a car drove towards us in the opposite lane they slowed to a painful crawl. I was going ape shit, turned into a devil behind the wheel, jacked up on coffee and wanting to run. I flashed my lights, beeped my horn but despite there being numerous broad areas that could have been used as a turn out, the drivers plodded along, oblivious to my frustration. Luckily I arrived in plenty of time to get a parking space and warm up at the start line and even chat with some friends I ran into before the race.
Maui is a unique place to run a race. As we jockeyed for position at the 5:30 am, dark of night start line we were entertained by drummers and a fire dancer, twirling his flaming batons hazardously close to his manly bits and his grass skirt. Instead of a start gun, someone blew a conch shell and we were off. The course is flat and beautiful, running along the ocean for most of the route. Plumeria scented the air. The sky lightened by degrees, showing off misty cloud formations on top of the west Maui Mountains. Front Street was closed to traffic, kind of eerie in the dawn with closed shops and no flurries of activity as there usually are. Crowds were sparse along the route but those who were on the sidelines were enthusiastic, shouting cheers of encouragement and toasting us with their coffee.
I wore a huge silly grin the entire race. As I was closing in on the turnaround point I waved and cheered and high fived those who were already on their return. Some of them appreciated it, some gave me dirty looks. They were running much faster than I was and were probably hurting a bit more. It was at that point that I realized I hadn’t even thought about my ankle once. It didn’t hurt, it wasn’t stiff, and I was running and happy! I took my time at all the rest stops. I wasn’t going for a record after the last month of almost no running and recuperating from my injury. I kept missing the mile markers so I wasn’t sure of my pace but it felt right so I didn’t worry. The sun finally cleared the rim of the mountains when I had about 3 miles to go. It got hot quickly, windless, not very comfortable but I was still smiling, I was close to the finish. I sprinted into the finish with a guy I had been trading places with off and on during the race. He had been walking and I encouraged him and got him going again. I backed off at the last second to let him through the gate first. He was a young guy and I didn’t want him to feel bad about being beat by a 51 year old woman. He gave me a hug at the end and thanked me.
My sis was waiting at the finish line along with my medal, my race t-shirt and a much needed cool shower. I was happy with my performance. I did a slow 11 minute mile but I was 29th out of 80 in my division and in the middle of the pack overall. Total time 2:32:00. The winner in my division finished in 1:59 and I think next year I can do that, barring any unforeseen issues like weak ankles. But even if I do it slower next year I will still run it wearing a silly grin because that’s what running is all about for me.
The drive to Kaanapali was long. Parts of the road were already coned off. Portable flood lights and porta potties dotted the road. Two cars in front of me were obviously being driven by tourists. The pali (the road over the cliffs to Lahaina) had them petrified and every time a car drove towards us in the opposite lane they slowed to a painful crawl. I was going ape shit, turned into a devil behind the wheel, jacked up on coffee and wanting to run. I flashed my lights, beeped my horn but despite there being numerous broad areas that could have been used as a turn out, the drivers plodded along, oblivious to my frustration. Luckily I arrived in plenty of time to get a parking space and warm up at the start line and even chat with some friends I ran into before the race.
Maui is a unique place to run a race. As we jockeyed for position at the 5:30 am, dark of night start line we were entertained by drummers and a fire dancer, twirling his flaming batons hazardously close to his manly bits and his grass skirt. Instead of a start gun, someone blew a conch shell and we were off. The course is flat and beautiful, running along the ocean for most of the route. Plumeria scented the air. The sky lightened by degrees, showing off misty cloud formations on top of the west Maui Mountains. Front Street was closed to traffic, kind of eerie in the dawn with closed shops and no flurries of activity as there usually are. Crowds were sparse along the route but those who were on the sidelines were enthusiastic, shouting cheers of encouragement and toasting us with their coffee.
I wore a huge silly grin the entire race. As I was closing in on the turnaround point I waved and cheered and high fived those who were already on their return. Some of them appreciated it, some gave me dirty looks. They were running much faster than I was and were probably hurting a bit more. It was at that point that I realized I hadn’t even thought about my ankle once. It didn’t hurt, it wasn’t stiff, and I was running and happy! I took my time at all the rest stops. I wasn’t going for a record after the last month of almost no running and recuperating from my injury. I kept missing the mile markers so I wasn’t sure of my pace but it felt right so I didn’t worry. The sun finally cleared the rim of the mountains when I had about 3 miles to go. It got hot quickly, windless, not very comfortable but I was still smiling, I was close to the finish. I sprinted into the finish with a guy I had been trading places with off and on during the race. He had been walking and I encouraged him and got him going again. I backed off at the last second to let him through the gate first. He was a young guy and I didn’t want him to feel bad about being beat by a 51 year old woman. He gave me a hug at the end and thanked me.
My sis was waiting at the finish line along with my medal, my race t-shirt and a much needed cool shower. I was happy with my performance. I did a slow 11 minute mile but I was 29th out of 80 in my division and in the middle of the pack overall. Total time 2:32:00. The winner in my division finished in 1:59 and I think next year I can do that, barring any unforeseen issues like weak ankles. But even if I do it slower next year I will still run it wearing a silly grin because that’s what running is all about for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment