2014 Great Aloha Run/Walk #6

I went to bed early at 9:30 because I knew I'd have to get up at 3:45 to get ready to leave by 5:00 to get to the Aloha Stadium where we'd be boarding a shuttle to the Aloha Tower starting line in downtown Honolulu.

Unfortunately I woke up at midnight and couldn't get back to sleep.  I finally gave up at 3:00 and started preparing for the morning ahead.

Art woke up and checked the weather map.  All those green colored rain indicators did not bode well for our walk.  I packed my rain poncho.

We picked up our friends, Dave and Diane's daughter, Kristin who is also a teacher and headed out toward our adventure.

That space ship looking building is the Aloha Stadium.  The queue to the boarding point stretched forever, but the shuttle buses lining up on the left came in a steady stream.

We arrived at the Aloha Tower well before the 7:00 start time.

The rain did not deter anyone from coming.  I've never seen it so crowded.

We couldn't even see the military jog by at the beginning.

The Star Spangled Banner was sung followed by Hawaii's anthem, Hawaii Pono'i.

No rain.

So far so good.

The starting shot boomed out and the crowd surged forward.

We saw a few costumes on the way.

There were quite a number of people encouraging us along the way and we hadn't even walked two miles yet.

We saw a sign saying that this was the 30th Great Aloha Run.  The 8.1 mile GAR funds a lot of important charity organizations in Hawaii.

It started to drizzle.

Just as it started to rain a little more heavily we came to the viaduct.

My rain poncho got to be a little too warm.

It was great to be sheltered from the rain.

When we got to the four mile half way point we felt pretty confident that we'd be able to finish.  Kristin said her back ached a bit.  The back of my knees were hurting a little.  I'm glad I took a couple of Motrin before I left the house.

Art was perfectly fine, just disappointed that he couldn't run.  He almost bounced with energy.  Normally, he'd already have been done with the race by now.

When we saw the 7 mile marker, we were ecstatic!

And then....
There it was!

The Aloha Stadium!

It was still drizzling a bit, but we never had the downpour that we were worried about.

The cloudy skies probably made it a more comfortable walk.

The astonishing thing is we didn't need to use the bathroom during the entire race.

There were lots of port-a-potties, but we never used them.  We were hoping that would cut our time considerably.

Last year our walk time was
2:48:32.

Art's run time last year was
01:15:36.

This year our walk time was
2:35:55.



We went to collect our Finisher bananas, treats, water, t-shirts, etc.

There was such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.    We found our car and headed home where we all took naps.

 Yahoo!

Back-Up Brother

All my life, I've been grateful I have a brother to watch my back.  He's always been there to help me if I need him.  I just have to be careful not to take advantage of him because he won't let me know if it's too much.

Art's cousin, Renee was scheduled to walk with me for the Great Aloha Run (Walk).  However, her doctor has told her that she should not participate in something this strenuous because of her knee problem.  It is 8 miles.  She felt terrible having to back out.

Art and me at last year's Aloha Run

So I asked Dennis if it was safe for him to walk with me and if he'd want to.  Yes, it's true.  I'm such a wuss that I don't want to walk 8 miles for almost 3 hours by myself.  I do not consider that fun... unlike Art who would run 26 + miles all by himself if I let him.  Dennis has gout, but it's under control.  Still, his joints are weakened so he shouldn't push himself.

"Sure," he said, "I'll do it."

And he's training right now.   My sister-in-law, Nancy says he's walked three miles.  OK... that's a mile more than what I've practiced.  I've told Dennis that at the first inkling of pain in his toe or my knees, we're going to stop and have breakfast somewhere.  Art can come pick us up with the car.

Then again... I'm not sure I can trust Dennis to stop.  There's a free Aloha Run Finisher t-shirt at the end and he might be coveting it... just like Art.

2012 Great Aloha Run Sign Up

We've lived in Hawaii for three years now and we've done the Presidents Day Great Aloha Charity Run (Walk) three times.  In 2009, I walked with my friends, Diane and Dave.  In 2010, I walked with Art's cousin, Renee.  Last year I walked with Dave because poor Diane was ill.

Photo taken by Dave

This year, everyone I asked said they couldn't walk with me.  My brother has gout and everybody else has knee problems or other health issues.  Art is planning to run (of course).  He always does and wanted me to do the walk so that I would get out there and train for it. He was even willing to (heaven forbid) walk with me.

Sad, but true... I am a lazy exerciser and it takes all of Art's perseverance to get me to exert the energy to push myself to get in shape.

Well... I told Art I wouldn't be doing the Run/WALK because I sure as heck don't want to get up at 4:00 in the morning and walk 8+ miles by myself! And I didn't want him sacrificing his run for me.

The deadline for the early entry is this week and I was secretly, happily, relishing the thought of sleepily waving goodbye, or maybe just opening one eye, or maybe no eyes and just wave to Art when he left for the Aloha Run in February, 2012.

The phone rang today and I saw Art talking to someone.  Why was he looking so excited?  Did we win something?

Nope, it was cousin Renee!  She said that despite her sensitive knees, she wanted to try the Aloha Run and would train for it.  She said she'd even bring a cane or Nordic sticks to help her.   Aaaack!  What?  I don't get to sleep?  Did I tell you I'm not a morning person?  

But you know what?  I'm just so in awe of the fact that Renee is wanting to make this effort despite the challenges she'll have to deal with.  She's put me to shame.  I will be doing this because Art went straight to the computer and signed me up before anybody could change their mind.

I've put my brother on standby (to pick us up) in case either of us can't finish.  However, Renee says we're going to Finish no matter what.

Wow!  I'd better get out there and get myself in shape.

The 2011 Great Aloha Run (Walk)

Yesterday was the last day for the early sign up for the 2011 Great Aloha Run. It will be held on February 21st. It is 8 miles.


I walked my first one in 2009 with our friends, Diane and Dave. Diane (my grade school through college buddy) ended up with black toes which did not recover for a year.


With Diane and Dave unable to do the Aloha Run the following year, I thought I had a reprieve. Nope. Art managed to recruit his cousin, Renee to walk with me.

I managed to finish, but I was really, really tired.

Yes, I admit it. I'm out of shape.

This year, Renee injured her knee and is unable to walk. Art insisted that I should do it for this worthy cause. I said I'd be happy to donate the money without walking.

He said he would walk with me instead of running to better his time. "No," I said.

He called our son, Jon and told him to convince me. Jon said I need to do two things with my life, learn to drive farther and exercise. He said I'd have two months to train and needed to get back in shape.

I said, "How nice to talk to you, Jon. How is your life going? Here's Dad."

"Call Diane," said Art.

"My toes are finally better," said Diane. "I'll have to get better shoes this time. OK, we'll walk with you."

"What???"

"We'll do it with you," she reassured me.

"What???"

OK...You have to understand that Diane has been doing Curves. She's been exercising. She looks great. I don't want to get off my chair.

Sigh...

Looks like I'll have to get on Mom's treadmill.

Sigh...

Honestly though, isn't it nice to have friends who are willing to walk 8 miles to make you happy so you can keep your husband happy?

More to Life Than the Past... Aloha Run #2

I wasn't thrilled about taking time away from my genealogy project. However, I promised Art a while ago to take part in the 8 mile Aloha Run.

We went to pick up our racing bib and tracking chip on Saturday.


We got some fun freebies like luggage tags and water bottle holders at the Runner's (and Walkers) Expo.


We got up at 4:00 this morning and drove out to the Aloha Stadium. The traffic was bumper to bumper for an hour.


We met Art's cousin, Renee in Honolulu. Since Art was planning to run, Renee volunteered to keep me company. The entrance fees for the race help to support Hawaii charities.


The sun was just coming up when first the elite runners took off and then the military troops showed their running style.


Then it was bumper to bumper again to the start line where our racing chips would be activated. They said this was the most runners they'd ever had with a huge influx of Japanese tourists coming to take part.


It was still dark so I barely recognized our Honolulu mayor, Mufi Hanneman waving as we went by. That's the Aloha Tower in the background. Hence the race name, Aloha Run! The race is from the Aloha Tower to the Aloha Stadium.


Walking under the viaduct for about 3 miles was a blessing because it kept the heat of the sun away from us.


Over the bypass was fun but at the three mile mark, my knees started to hurt. By the 5th it was killing me. By the 6th, I was ready to strangle Art.


By the 8 mile mark, I was ready to kiss the ground if I could bend my knees.


We entered the Aloha Stadium toward the finish line. Excuse me... I thought the 8 mile mark was the finish line. However they routed us AROUND the stadium adding another 100 miles to our walk.


After crossing the finish line, Renee and I went to pick up our Finisher t-shirts. Unfortunately, they ran out of the Mediums we ordered. There were only Large. How could they run out? I know we were in the last groups of finishers but there WERE people behind us.


Art's finishing time was 1 hour 19 minutes just as he predicted. I believe Renee and I took 3 hours and 1 minute. However, we had a great time catching up with each other's lives and participating in a great cause.

Art took me to Big City Diner for the biggest club sandwich you ever saw and I inhaled it AND a couple glasses of diet Coke.

Now... back to my project!