A number of my friends have asked why I'm not planning to do anything this New Year's Eve so I thought maybe I'd just post the basics of it here.

Last New Year's Eve was difficult for me.  I went solo to a party that was nearly all couples and I had somebody far away in my heart.  At midnight the couples all enjoyed their kisses while I stood on the patio staring absently at the sky and wondering if I would ever get to share a New Year's kiss with the woman I was thinking of.

A lot has happened in the year since that night.  2007 has been a very intense and difficult year for me.  It has seen some of the highest and lowest times of my entire life.

As this New Year's Eve approaches I find myself in a whirlwind.  I'm having to accept some very painful truths in one of the most important relationships in my life.  At the same time I've very recently met somebody very interesting and I'm wondering where that might lead.  And Dana will be leaving Hawaii for good in a few weeks to go home.  Even though she doesn't think so, I will miss her.  :)

So under the circumstances I don't think I really want to spend all night reflecting on 2007.  I think I'll just put it, and me, to bed early tonight.

See you all next year, I'm expecting great things in 2008!

-B-

We interrupt this extensive, and some say tedious, recounting of last week's trip to bring you a training post. 

After Honolulu Marathon 3 weeks ago (you remember it well, I know) I took a few days off, had ONE run, then got laid out by a cold that stopped my training.  Just as the cold subsided I took off for Boston and, honestly, I didn't run at all during the trip for various reasons.

Yesterday, however, I decided it was time to get back in the game.  So last night I took a short, but fast, run around the neighborhood.  I'll talk more about this in my upcoming training posts but training for L.A. Marathon will be somewhat different than training for Honolulu was.  My focus is different, I don't have my group to train with or worry about, and my goals are different.

This morning I got on the bike and took a nice fast ride.  It felt good to glance down at my GPS and note that I was turning a pretty comfortable 22MPH.  I still have some work to do to get back into bike shape but this morning's ride was strong and fast and I know it's only going to get better.

This afternoon Winter League softball resumed.  My team lost, which was disappointing, but I had a good game, 4 for 4 at the plate and made several plays in the field (at 2nd base today).  Felt good running the bases and swinging the bat.  One especially nice thing...my back has been feeling good for the last few weeks.  Two massages have undoubtedly helped that situation. :)

Tomorrow morning - another run.

Feels good to be back on track with my training and I have a renewed optimism for L.A. Marathon.

-B-

So Thursday night after arrival we gathered at John's parents place.  Patricia's dad was making fried pizza's - apparently a DiGiacomo family specialty.  I'd never tried them before but I have to say...they were DELICIOUS.  It was also gratifying to see how nicely the two families melded together.  They seemed like they'd known each other for years.

After I took Patricia's parents back to the hotel I settled in for a good night's sleep.  Friday was going to be about last minute preparations and then the rehearsal dinner.  Most of the rest of the wedding party was arriving on Friday as well.

Friday morning arrived and I was reminded that this was Massachusetts in December.  This was the scene that greeted me (notice my rented blue Vibe in the first photo):

John and I dropped Patricia and her mom off at a day spa for some relaxation then went to do some last minute shopping (Guest Book?  Check.  Pen for guest book?  Check.).  Couldn't resist a stop at Barnes and Noble!  After picking up the ladies at the spa we went to a little bar and grille that John knew for lunch.  The chicken caesar salad was delicious and Patricia's mom took a nice picture of Patricia and I:

Little did we know that Maureen was sitting at the bar at the time.

Afterwards we headed back to the Eddys' house to do a little pre-wedding food preparation.  Laura, Melanie and Maureen were there already - Melanie and I set about making the stuffed dates while the others took on meatballs and other dishes.  We did manage to not eat all of the food on the spot - thank goodness.

Food prepped - we returned to the hotel and got ready for rehearsal dinner.  The rehearsal dinner was at a place in town called the "Gardner Ale House".  As you might imagine, they have a lot of beers there.  They also have some delicious steak tips!  Our gang had a private area in the restaurant and the group had grown with other arrivals to town including Kristin and Duane, Laura and Melanie, John's sisters and others.  A couple of photos from the rehearsal dinner...

(Patricia's parents in front, John and Patricia in the back)

(A delicious salad)

(Maureen and I)

(Laura and Melanie)

After the rehearsal dinner a bunch of us headed back to the hotel for a bit of an after-party.  Patricia and the gang went to her room and Maureen and I were on our way to join them after she dropped her coat off in my room when we came across the Jerry Springer Wedding from Hell.  On the way through the lobby we overheard the desk clerk say "911" and something about the parking lot.  Peeking out the windows we saw a big guy sort of dragging a smaller guy across the parking lot towards the front door of the hotel.  At first we thought they were scuffling, but then we could tell that the big guy was actually dragging the little guy away from something; like he was breaking up a fight.

Then we heard a commotion down the hall and looked to see a different guy being pushed down into a chair by several women who were trying to calm him down.  Apparently he was bleeding from being kicked.  "Tyler" was pretty angry and kept trying to get up to go after whomever his opponent was but the ladies wouldn't let him and kept trying to apply a towel to his wounded head.  Maureen and I went upstairs to the balcony area, which seemed a bit safer perhaps, and watched for a while as Tyler screamed how he was going to rape the guy's whole family and struggled to get out of the chair and resist their efforts to tend to him.   Eventually he calmed down though and just in time...four Gardner police cars and at least one ambulance arrived. 

Note: One young lady, who appeared to be Tyler's girlfriend was among those tending to him.  You really learn a lot about somebody's character in times of great stress and while I realize we were seeing Tyler at his worst it would really concern me, if I were her, if my boyfriend's thought process in such times goes to "I'm going to rape his whole family!"  That seems like a guy who may have some anger management issues.  I think I'd be reluctant to get into an intimate relationship with somebody like that.  He may be a wonderful human being when he's sober and not bleeding from the head, but apparently he has at least a glimmer of a monster in him that the right combination of alcohol and adrenaline can bring out.

Eventually the situation was handled and dispersed so we joined the party in Patricia's room.

The revelry went late and along the way I managed to win $7 and one British pound in a pool that I'm sort of embarrassed to explain.  Let me just hasten to insist it was beginner's luck.

-B-

Long, Long Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

O.K., it was a week ago in Massachusetts.  But with all that snow on the ground it felt more like Hoth to this Hawaii boy.  Our story starts with a flight from Honolulu to Atlanta.  Delta actually was one of the least expensive options so despite my previous experience with them I opted to give them a shot.  Glad I did, they did well this time.

Dana dropped me off at the airport on Wednesday and I got to upgrade to first class on the long flight to Atlanta.  "It's 15,000 frequent flyer miles sir" the Delta agent said, warily.  "No worries, I have more than 90,000 in my account and I'll get 15,000 more by St. Patrick's day" I replied.  The upgrade was worth it, nice comfortable seat and decent food (for an airline).

We arrived in Atlanta without incident and I made my way to the gate for my flight to Boston.  Checked in at the gate, had plenty of time, so I strolled down the terminal to a coffee place to get some hot chocolate.  Hot chocolate secured I wandered back to the gate, plugged in my laptop to charge, struck up a conversation with a nice young lady from South Carolina who was headed home to Texas to see her family for the holidays and waited for them to call my flight.  After a while I happened to glance up at the display over the gate and it said: "Flight 668 to Boston has been canceled."  Pardon me?  Canceled?

They were sending everybody down to the Delta customer service desk to make other arrangements and as I stood in line I thought maybe I'd call the "Medallion Service Center" and see if I could do this by phone instead.  Before they picked up my turn in line came though.  The lady managing the line would take your boarding pass, scan it with the computer and then direct the bearer to either the counter agents or to a bank of phones on the wall that linked directly to Delta customer service.  When she scanned my boarding pass however, she said "Oh, you've already been booked on the next flight."  She printed a new boarding pass, handed it to me with a smile and sent me on my way.  I was a little surprised, as I think the folks behind me in line were, but as I walked away I saw that printed prominently across the top of the boarding pass was "SkyMiles Status: Gold Medallion".  Heh.  Guess that finally paid off.

I went down to my new gate, saw I had about an hour to wait, and settled in to do a little people watching and just relax.  The crowd grew steadily as other flight 668 refugees arrived most of them apparently on standby.  I almost felt a little guilty that mine was confirmed.  Almost.

New one on me:  The gate agent comes on and announces that this flight will be delayed a bit because...they don't have any flight attendants!  It took almost 40 minutes for the crew to arrive, but once they did boarding proceeded as normal and we finally got under way.

Good Neigbors: I ended up seated next to an interesting fellow who travels around playing "World Fusion" music.  We chatted about our travels - he spent 10 months in Zimbabwe for instance - for much of the flight.

At some point I fell asleep on the plane and I woke up a short time later to hear the pilot announcing that due to bad weather at Logan that we were currently circling Providence, Rhode Island and might have to do that for up to another HOUR.  There was even the implication that we might have to just land at Providence.  Frankly I was fine with that, I just wanted to get on the ground.  I wasn't sure it would be that much longer a drive to Gardner, MA from Providence anyhow.  As it turned out after circling for a while the pilot announced that we'd been cleared to land at Logan.  So in we went.  Happy?  Not so fast.

We got on the ground, and there we sat.  They didn't have a gate for us!  All of the gates were full of planes getting de-iced.  So on the tarmac we sat for a good 20 minutes.  We finally got into the gate and eventually off the plane.

Pet Peeve: I hate sitting at the back of the plane and having to stand there for 25 minutes waiting for my turn to get off the aircraft.  After a long flight I just want to get off the dang plane.  Given the choice I will always choose a seat near the front so that I can deplane that much faster.  Here are a couple of photos of what I saw when we got off the plane:

Finally off the plane, bags collected, made my way to the Avis shuttle and they delivered me right to my rental car.  Turns out they'd upgraded me from a Pontiac G6 to a Pontiac Vibe - small SUV.  That suited me fine, I set up Emma and told her to take us to the Colonial Hotel in Gardner, MA.

It was actually a pretty nice drive and I had a lot of peace of mind with Emma handling the navigation.

Arrived at the Colonial Hotel right on time, got checked into my room and called the bride to see what our plans were.  Let's get our wed on!

-B-

I have some friends who tease me about how often I blog and, especially, about the level of detail in some of my posts (particularly marathon reports).  But while I certainly do filter what I post -- I know you don't really want to know EVERYTHING about me and, there are some aspects of my life that I only share with close friends and not the entire blogosphere -- I admit that I feel a certain pressure to post at least some content on a regular basis.  Especially now that I've discovered I have a substantially larger readership than I thought I did.

My own posting, however, pales in comparison to what some of my friends who are addicted to "Twitter" are doing.  Twitter, for those who don't know, lets you post very short, often very frequent, updates to a newsfeed about you, often from a mobile device.  It's sort of like blogging for the ADD set as most "Twits" are limited to a very short number of characters; just 30 or 60 or something I think.

The problem comes from those who are really addicted to it and feel compelled to Twitter dozens of times per hour.  You guys are my friends and I love ya and all, but I really don't need to know about it every time you chew.

-B-

P.S. Dave, gesundheit!

Well, my training has been temporarily halted (or at least slowed) by a cold I seem to have caught.  Other than a short run yesterday I haven't been able to do anything but blow my nose and cough, and any way you slice it that just isn't much of a workout.

Hopefully I'll be feeling better in the morning because I'm really excited to do a BRIC (Bike-Run-in-Combination) workout.

-B-

It doesn't really confront me because A) I don't care that much about my time at Honolulu and B) I'm perfectly satisfied to just go by my watch time but Honolulu Marathon's new chip timing service apparently failed catastrophically last week and the fallout from it continues.

As you may recall me mentioning in an earlier post Honolulu Marathon abandoned the old ChampionChip service they had used since around 2000 and tried a new system which has RFID chips implanted in a little strip of paper.  I'm a technology professional so I don't fear new tech but I had some reservations about these new chips from the beginning.  They just didn't look very robust to me.

Well, failed generators, short-circuited chips, improper use...you name it.  Whatever the reason this new system flopped badly last Sunday.  Initially it looked like it may have only failed for about 3500 runners but a story in today's Advertiser says that it may have gotten all 24,000+ runners times wrong!

The people this impacts the most are those who were hoping to use Honolulu as a Boston qualifier.  To enter the Boston Marathon a runner has to finish a sanctioned race in under a certain amount of time (the qualifying time varies depending upon age and sex).  Well, if the times in this race can't be trusted it is an open question as to whether the Boston folks will accept them as qualifying times for their race.

It seems like it particularly affects those who cut it very close - the 30 year old woman who ran a 3:39 but whose chip says she ran a 3:41.  And since even the split times (the times recorded at various places along the course) can't be trusted the Boston folks could even claim, if they wanted to, that there's no proof a runner actually ran the entire course!  NOTE: I've heard nothing to indicate that the Boston folks are protesting Honolulu's results, I'm simply suggesting scenarios where this chip failure could be a serious problem.

What a mess.

-B-

Just kidding.  Sort of.

Last night we took our group photos for the Honolulu Marathon and after this rest week (sort of rest week) next week I'll start training up for L.A. Marathon.  I won't have my group with me at L.A. so my focus and my goals are very different.

I also won't be training much with my group for this one - my group is off to 5K/10K training (which I will try to participate in as I can) so I'll be "lone wolf" a bit doing the distances.

I'll give you a break from the daily marathon updates now, though.  At least for another 72 days. :)

Here are a few photos from last night's celebration:

-B-

O.K., here's the more extensive report on yesterday's marathon.

0145 Alarm clock went off.  I'm a little paranoid about oversleeping and missing a big event so I actually had 4 alarms set on 3 different clocks to go off within about a 15 minute period.  The first alarm woke me and I rolled out of bed.

Grabbing my phone I noticed that I'd received half a dozen text messages during the night from friends as far away as Ohio wishing me a good race.  I'd get half a dozen more before start time.  Thanks guys, you rock!

Setting my stuff out ahead of time paid off as I was easily able to get dressed and gather my stuff.  At the last minute I decide to wear both knee sleeves.  I was going to wear my right one and put the left one in my special needs bag for mile 17 but I figured that I wouldn't regret having it but I might regret NOT having it so I decide to wear it.  I'm glad I did.  I grabbed a pre-made bottle of Spiz out of the fridge and headed for the door.

0215 I'm on the road.  Put the iPod in its holder and picked a song to start the morning with.  The Verve, Bittersweet Symphony seemed like just the ticket and I rolled out into the cool pre-dawn Hawaiian morning. (he waxed, poetically).  Traffic was easy and there was only the slightest bit of rain. 

0220 The Verve had set a nice focused mood it was time to switch to my running music and there are only four guys I trust with that task: Sammy, Eddie, Michael and Alex.  (Van Halen).  "Why Can't This Be Love" (dunno what's up with the neck brace in that video) the live cut from the Right Here, Right Now album.  By the time I arrived at the park, 4 or 5 songs later, I was pretty pumped.

0300 Found a decent parking space near Kapi'olani Park (no small feat on Marathon morning) and met up with Brian, Jason, George and Beth.  Fortunate timing (for whom I'm not sure) as Brian still needed some help unloading supplies for the tent -- so for the next 15 minutes or so we hauled ice and soda from the trucks to the tent.  That actually proved to be a good thing because now I knew exactly where the tent was...no more wandering around the finish festival like a lost tribe looking for it after the Marathon. :)

0330 Unloading done we've met up with a couple dozen other members of the group to organize rides to McKinley High where we'll meet to stretch and gather with the rest of the group.  I hop in the back of Bill's truck with Sarah, Kelly, Michelle and a couple of others.  Kelly is nervous about the race but I'm sure she's going to do just fine.

0415 Time to stretch, we're probably about 70 strong and...the rain starts.  The first brief rain shower gives us a taste of what's to come.  Focused on the race our stretching session is over before I realize it and we're gathering up in our sub-groups.  Owen has brought his co-worker Naomi who is going to run with us today.  It's her first marathon and we welcome her warmly.

0440 A few folks seek out some bushes (no handy bathrooms there) and then we head out for the walk to the start line (maybe 3/4 of a mile away). 

Last year we used the bathroom at Borders right next to the start line and it was open and mostly empty.  This year that secret is out...there was a long line for both men's and women's rooms.  Christine and I play a hunch and find great bathrooms that ARE open, clean, well-lit and not a soul in sight.  No, I will not tell you where they are because I'm hoping they're that way next year too! :)  Shhhhh.

We come out of the bathrooms to find that we're in the midst of a serious downpour.  Lots of runners have abandoned the start area in favor of taking shelter in nearby store doorways and we join them, chatting briefly with a couple of fellow runners before deciding that the rain had subsided enough to venture out and try to find the rest of our group.  We find them seeking cover in front of PF Changs and lead the whole bunch over to the start line.  It's 5 minutes from the race start.

We have to hop the barricades to get onto the course this year; in the past we always found a gap we could get thru, but we do so and wait, pressed shoulder to shoulder with 29,000 other runners in the predawn darkness.

0500 Seemingly without warning the gun goes off and the crowd starts to surge forward.  We're wearing those new RFID chips this year and I'm a little curious to see how they're going to work (compared to the old ChampionChip system we're used to).  One notable difference is that instead of the wide flat mats to run across these have "speed bumps" that we have to cross.  I don't know if anybody tripped over them but it certainly seemed possible.

Our group is hanging together loosely and our spirits are high as the fireworks soar overhead and we move easily out onto the course.  One thing BC has emphasized to us repeatedly from the very beginning of the training is pacing and I have to say that we did a great job of it this year.  We aimed to keep it nice and easy over the first 5 miles and that's exactly what we did; running comfortably, holding ourselves back, enjoying the spectacle and slowly building up speed.

At mile 2 the rain came.  And boy did it come - a torrential downpour that reminded us of the Val Nolasco Half Marathon but fortunately only lasted for a few minutes.  The damage was done, though, the already wet streets were now wetter and we were soaked - most significantly our shoes were soaked.

We wind our way through downtown, enjoying the lights and the crowd, back out past the park ("Hi Darren's Parents!") and into Waikiki.  A bunch of our group has decided to stop at the Police Station bathroom.  I have to confess I have reservations about that idea -- every year it seems like a huge time sink - in past years our group has lost as much as 10 minutes or more between the line and the actual usage.  Maybe that's not a lot worse than waiting for the porta-potties, but I can't help but think we should figure out a better strategy next year.  Christine, Naomi and I press on while the rest stop for the bathroom.

Out of Waikiki we pass Kapi'olani Park, catching a glimpse of the finish line as we pass  That will be a welcome sight in a while.  Down Monsarrat and Paki then up and over Diamond Head.  The volunteers are offering high fives and encouragements to all the runners as we pass and the sun is just starting to climb out of the sea on the horizon - a beautiful sight!  (So is the 8 mile marker which we pass along the way)  I'm a little surprised that we haven't seen the elite runners coming back yet, we usually spot them during our climb up Diamond Head.  A glace at my watch tells half the story - we're a little faster this year than in years past.

The rain was the other half of the story - Ambesse Tolossa from Ethiopia won again but was four minutes slower than last year.  We finally spotted Tolossa and frequent winner Jimmy Muindi (who finished second this year) as we turned past Triangle Park and headed into Kahala. 

Out through Kahala, past the Aloha Gas Station and onto Kalanianiole Highway it was finally daylight, but the sun was still hidden behind the clouds.  We saw friends on and along the course periodically and kept cruising along.  Finally Naomi dropped off, deciding to walk for a bit and Christine and I carried on. Around mile 14 my energy started to fade, perhaps due to the humidity, and my calves tightened up.  Christine's back was hurting her but we pressed on.

Into Hawaii Kai it became obvious that we were going to have to take it a little easy and we started to walk a little.  I was looking forward to the Aleve in my special needs bag (just past mile 17) and hoping that some clean dry socks would buoy me.  We passed Brian at his usual picture taking spot, and rounded the corner back onto Kalanianiole Highway...sure enough there was Mo.  "Swordfish!" we called out with enthusiasm.  On went clean socks, grabbed the bag of pretzels, took two Alleve and right about then got another nice surprise - some of the rest of our group caught up with us!  Johanna, Sarah, Kathy, Karen and Alvis' group arrived.

New socks in place and Aleve hopefully dissolving quickly into my system we set out again for the final 9 miles.  Still didn't have great energy and Christine was still battling some back pain so we would run for a mile or so, then walk for a few minutes, then run for another mile, then walk a few minutes. 

On Kahala Ave we found Alan who was having a tough go of it himself - dealing with his perennial knee issues.  He gladly joined up with us and accompanied us up the hill.  We set out a strategy that we would walk up the back side of Diamond Head, then start running for the downslope.  At the base we'd walk briefly to gather ourselves then run from the fountain the last kilometer or so to the finish.

We walked briskly up the hill, chatting a bit with a couple of fellow marathoners, then cresting the top set off on a good pace.  The downhill helped and stretching out our stride we were making a very good pace down the hill.  At the bottom, according to plan, we walked for a few minutes to gather ourselves, then rounded the corner by the fountain.  Still 20 or 30 yards short of the fountain I suddenly heard Christine say behind me "I think I can go now!  Let's go now!"  True to her nickname Oxbunny is strong like ox! (and cute like bunny!)  So we set off, running easily down Kalakaua towards the finish line which was now in sight!

We picked up speed along the way and finished strong, Christine just a couple of feet ahead of Alan and I who high-fived each other as we entered the chutes.  A great feeling!  Despite the struggles it was still Alan's PR and the fastest time I had turned in at Honolulu (though I was much faster at San Diego in June).  We enjoyed the cool misters, then turned into the finish area in search of t-shirts, food and our test. 

The rain had made the finish area a muddy mess and we often had to detour around huge mud puddles.  As usual the Marathon folks put the t-shirt tent about as far from the finish line as they can.  That is really one of my biggest complaints about the otherwise well-run Honolulu Marathon.  I've just run 26.2 miles, why am I having to walk another half mile or so past assorted club tents and Nike merchandise booths to get my finisher's t-shirt?!

T-shirt finally secured I make my way to our club tent and arrive to find a lot of our group already there, relaxing and chatting about the race.  I get some food, put my name on the waiting list for a post-race massage and spend the next little while sharing marathon stories with the others.

Aftermath

I feel good.  Only slightly sore, I'm even trotting up and down the stairs without much difficulty.  Doesn't look like I'll lose any toenails (marathon runners, you know.  Others, forget I said anything).  Tonight the group will gather for our group photo and to share Marathon stories after which a bunch of us will head off someplace to find good pizza and party a little. :)

Random Thoughts

• The special needs stop in Hawaii Kai proved its value again.  The clean dry socks were a godsend on this wet humid day, and I'm sure the Aleve helped too.  The pretzels were also surprisingly delicious at that point.
• I had a surprising amount of minor foot pain on this run considering I was running in nearly new shoes.  Maybe I didn't have enough miles on them first - I only ran in them about 3 times before Marathon.  Of course they are the exact same brand/model I always run in so my feet shouldn't have required too much getting used to them.
• My hamstrings are usually my problem on marathons and I didn't have as much problem with them this race.  Maybe the extra stretching I've been doing helped.  My calves were the main problem this time.  I was feeling some pain in my right knee in the first 50 yards which caused me considerable consternation but by the end of the first mile it felt o.k. and I never had any significant knee issues for the rest of the race.
• Christine was great company and I was grateful for her presence.  She was good at making chit-chat when my mind was elsewhere (and not always in good places) which made the time pass more quickly.  It's funny because I'm usually the chatty one out there.
• I'll take a few days off from running but I'm planning to be at the gym tomorrow.  The next month or so I'll probably be doubling my gym workouts to try and increase my lean muscle mass.

Next Race

Great Aloha Run is the next thing on the calendar but I'm sure I'll have a 5K and or a 10K or two before that.  Next big race is the L.A. Marathon on March 2nd.

-B-

O.K., this will be quick because frankly my 1000 thread count sheets are beckoning to me.  I'll post more tomorrow.

• Race went fine, it was pouring rain at the beginning then cleared up a bit.  Fairly humid but otherwise excellent weather!
• Every member of my group finished and almost all of them ran new Personal Records (PR) which is awesome!
• I had a few minor aches and pains, that happens when you run 26.2.  Look at what happened to the first guy who ran it!
• I'm a little sore tonight, but plan to be back at the gym this week and perhaps back on the bike and back to running later in the week or next weekend.
• Next race that I know of is the Great Aloha Run (8.15 miles) which is in February I think.  There are a couple of 5K/10K races before that which I will probably do.  Next big race is the L.A. Marathon.
• Thanks so much to JC, PD, DH, NS, EG, RBW, SM and others for all of the kind words of encouragement.  I must've received a dozen text messages today and at least that many e-mails.  It's really great to get so much support!  You guys are the best!

O.K., I'll post more detail tomorrow.  Bedtime!

-B-

O.K., O.K., that's a little over-dramatic.  I'm going to bed now and when I awaken in the wee hours of the morning I'll be gathering my gear and off to run the Honolulu Marathon.

Had a good day, ate a lot of rice, hydrated well, did some laundry, worked on the book, stretched, took in my recycling, dropped off some stuff at Goodwill, stopped at the grocery store, stuffed a couple of bucks in the Salvation Army kettle, chatted with P & J online, updated a website or two, did a little tidying around the house and generally relaxed.

I feel good, ready for a restful sleep and a great run.

Thanks again to all those who sent words of encouragement!  Randi, I'm sorry, but my odds of being faster than all the rest are somewhere between slim and none and I think Slim just left.   I hope it will be sufficient if I'm faster than some of the rest. ;-) 

See ya on the other side...

-B-

Well, I may know what my next neighbor-island destination is...the Hawaii State Bar Association has asked me to go speak to their Kona group on the Big Island on February 1st.  As that's a Friday I may just make that my next neighbor-island weekend.  HSBA will cover my airfare and at least part of my rental car, that'll save me a spot of money and I'll just find a hotel to stay at.

Kona was one of the leading contenders for my next trip so this dovetails nicely.

-B-

O.K., it's Saturday and the marathon is now within striking distance!  This time tomorrow I should be more than half done.

Random Thoughts:

• Last night we had our traditional Carbo Loading party.  Despite heavy rains we had the biggest turnout I can recall and a huge amount of food.  I brought home a big tray of leftover macaroni rosa (my contribution to the event) which I'll be snacking on all day today I'm sure.  Here are a few pictures:

• I'll be running with royalty tomorrow.  Prince Pieter Christiaan of the Netherlands is here to run the marathon too.
• Sometimes I experiment with wearing a Breathe Right nasal strip at night in order to see if it helps me take in more oxygen.  Yes it may look a little goofy, but who's going to see?  Anyhow...I decided to wear one last night and tonight - I don't know if it helps, but it can't hurt.  More oxygen in my muscles would be good tomorrow.
• Marathon TIP: Lay out your gear at least the day before, I actually started on Thursday.  One of my group said she already had started putting hers in her bag but I suggested she actually lay it out on a table or the floor where she could see it.  That way you can more easily spot anything that's missing.  You want to lay it out so that you make sure you don't forget anything and so that you have it all ready to go.  You don't want to be staggering around in the dark at 2AM on race morning trying to find your socks.

Oh...I guess JW just found out what I'm wearing. :)  Well....she probably won't read this before tomorrow anyhow.

Important Items (aside from shoes and shorts of course)

• Sunscreen
• Body Glide (if you've run, you know)
• Visor - I learned this one the hard way, when the sun comes out you want the visor.  And I notice most of the elite triathletes wear them so maybe I should too. (they probably know something I don't)
• Spare socks for my special needs bag.  It's nice to have the option to change into clean, dry, socks at mile 18.

Questions and Acknowledgements:

• DE, MK, PE, LB thanks so much for the nice words of encouragement!
• Also a quick word of thanks to my Mom and Dad - not only for their encouragement on this race but also for their ceaseless support and generosity.
• EM: I plan to be in bed by about 6PM tonight.  Up before 2AM, on the road by 2:30AM. I want to get to the park relatively early (by 3AM) so I can get a decent parking space.  My shuttle picks up close to 3:30AM; I'll do some easy stretching and maybe light jogging to warm up while I wait.
• TM: No, Frank isn't paying me a sponsorship fee though considering how many places on my body his store is listed tomorrow maybe he should!  :)
• KM: Pacing is crucial - start off nice and easy.  Remember Rule #4: "Know your place!"  If you get to Nuuanu and the guy on your left is a Kenyan...you went out too fast! :)  See quotes of the day below for more on this...
• Oxbunny, Mailman, Bear and the rest....are ya ready?  The clock is ticking, it's almost time!

Quotes of the Day:

• "The first five miles of your race will determine the last five miles of your race." -John Simonds, "The Dean of Hawaii Road Running"-
• "Pain is temporary, quitting is forever."

Weather Forecast for Sunday: Now that we're into the home stretch we can be more precise about it.  Right now they're saying 76 degrees as the high with a 40% chance of rain.  But during the race the high shouldn't top 73 and in fact, should be 70 or under for the vast majority of the time we're out there.  I'm fine with that temp, I'm just hoping the sun stays hidden.  A little drizzly rain would be nice too as long as it doesn't make puddles.

-B-

Today is the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor - 66 years ago today.  I think we all know what happened there on that day and I just wanted to take a moment to remember the 2,388 Americans and 65 Japanese killed on that sad day.

Also I wanted to share a few photos I took during a recent visit to the USS Arizona Memorial.

We remember.

-B-

Wow, we're almost there!  48 hours from now I should be nearly halfway done!

Random Thoughts

• One tip I should have offered earlier is...take care of your feet this week!  This especially applies to the ladies but can certainly apply to the gents too.  Let me explain: This morning as I was getting dressed I was tempted to go sockless and wear some moccasin-type shoes.  They're fine, but sometimes a little rough on my feet.  Luckily a smarter head prevailed and I went with the slightly less stylish, but more comfortable and cushioned, work shoes with socks. 
  
  Ladies...be aware of what shoes you're wearing during marathon week.  The little strappy shoes may be cute, but if they give you blisters or make your arches hurt they probably aren't a good choice when you're days away from running 26.2.  Fellas...same rule.  Save the cute little strappy shoes for after marathon. ;-)
• Today's Music: Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Verve and even a little House of Pain.
• Yesterday's Food:  Fat Free Blueberry yogurt and wheat toast for breakfast, chicken piccata over pasta for lunch, toast and rice for dinner (wasn't hungry). I need to force myself to take in some more carbs today - this is the key day with 48 hours to go.
• Honolulu Marathon has gone away from the ChampionChip timing chips.  Our "chips" this year are little RFID strips.  Looks like a fortune from a fortune cookie with a hole in one end that the shoelace is supposed to go through. My only concern is that it looks a little fragile and I hope it doesn't fall off during the race; especially if it's a rainy day.

Questions and Acknowledgements

• BP asks "Do I supplement?"  Are you kidding?  I have William on my freakin' speed dial!  :)  Yes, I supplement.  Spiz, Muscle Milk, HPDS Creatine...  Keep in mind that I'm not a typical endurance athlete, I'm 218 lbs of pure muscle.   O.K., O.K., 203 lbs of pure muscle and 15 lbs of pizza, but I'm working on that.  That means I'm not a 3 hour marathoner and that's o.k. with me.  I'll probably never qualify for Boston; long term I'd like to consistently break 5 hours in the marathon.  But I also like to stretch out the sleeves on that finisher's t-shirt a little. :)  And that's why I lift and supplement.  My primary marathon goal is just to be faster than I was last time.
• Quick word of thanks to Jill for being a great co-leader this year.  Seems like whenever I wasn't going to be there she was there to take over, and vice-versa.  She brings a ton of enthusiasm and positive energy and really made it fun.
• ...and while we're on that subject.  A hearty THANK YOU to Mo for being our special needs aid station again this year.  SWORDFISH!  Jill always did have good taste in men. ;-)

Weather Forecast for Sunday: 77 Degrees with a 40% (yes, that's dropped) chance of rain.  It's pouring rain outside right now, though.

Two quick kid stories...one cute, one almost tragic.

• I was in KMart yesterday.  Had to buy some chocolate macadamia nuts as gifts for friends, plus a couple of little household items.  While I was there I got to see how effective Staples' ad campaign is...a child of about four spotted a large red "button" item on a counter and ran over to it exclaiming "LOOK!  An Easy Button!"  :)
• In the evening I was heading home after a visit to the grocery store and our local Chinese restaurant, cruising thru the parking lot at 10-15MPH I guess when all of the sudden a woman with a small child in tow stepped out from between two parked cars and just strode right across the driving lane without so much as a glance left or right.  I didn't skid to a stop but I did have to brake rather hard and suddenly.  She's lucky I wasn't going faster because on that wet pavement...that was a tragedy just begging to happen.  I was shocked.

One other kid comment.  I know I've blogged this before but...I've decided that I definitely don't like the trend of DVD players in the backs of vehicles.  When I was a kid we knew what our neighborhood looked like; now parents stick these devices in front of their kids to shut them up and keep them entertained, but I wonder how many kids have any idea what the world looks like more than a block from their house.

And I wonder what the effect on the family is that one of the few last bastions of family time - i.e. travel time - has now been handed over to Nemo and Princess Jasmine.  Parents, talk with your kids while they still want to.  It won't be that long before your kid will have their iPod headphones on and be too busy texting their "BFF" on their mobile stopping only to ask you to drop them off a block away so their friends don't have to see them get out of your car.

-B-

Getting closer!

Random Thoughts:

• My new San Diego Marathon 2008 T-shirt has arrived.  See photos...it's really contributing to my positive racing spirit.  I like the "Originality Encouraged Rockin Required" on the lower back of the shirt. :)

• Went to the Honolulu Marathon Expo yesterday and picked up my packet.  My number is 2997.  The Expo at Honolulu isn't really all that exciting I must say and this year is worse than last, in my opinion.  Half of the booths at the expo have nothing to do with running - they're folks selling jewelry, or koa bowls or representing some foundation or another.  I don't begrudge those folks their living and I realize they're mostly there to sell to the Japanese, who come out for this marathon in massive numbers.  But it makes for an Expo that feels more like a flea market.  Nike had a big booth selling rather expensive marathon merchandise ($50 for a golf shirt?  $85 for a windbreaker?), Garmin had a booth for their GPS training watches, the Maui, Phuket (Thailand) and California International Marathons had booths promoting their events.  Otherwise...the pickings were pretty slim.  How slim?  Our group ran over there last night for our final practice run - we arrived 15 minutes before closing and with a group comprised almost entirely of ladies who were excited about shopping...they were done and ready to leave 5 minutes before closing and that included picking up their packets!  Here are a few photos...

Running to the Expo - Jill, Laureen, Diedre and Guy (L to R).

After a short, easy run, we arrive...

Packet pickup is quiet.   Heck, the whole Expo is quiet!  Aren't there supposed to be 26,000 runners in this event?

$22 for a t-shirt?

Jill finds Vern and Alan....Vern is ready to run!

• I was sort of surprised to see a booth for California International Marathon considering they just had their event.  I said to the guy "Aren't you about 5 days late?"  He chuckled and replied "No, I'm 357 days early!"  O.K.  I might consider that race next year - I haven't decided what my December marathon will be.  Naturally Honolulu is the obvious choice - being my home course and so convenient.  But I'll have already done three consecutive Honolulu's and maybe CIM, or Vegas will be calling to me instead?
• There's been a lot of talk in the marathon community lately about the USATF's ban on iPod's during marathon's.  They say it's a safety issue - runners listening to music can't hear what's going on around them and can't hear important announcements.  How they plan to enforce that at a race with 25,000 participants I have no idea.  In any event it didn't escape my notice that Nike had a huge exhibit in their booth for their iPod running system, that BodyBeat (?) was there demo'ing their MP3/Running integration and there was at least one booth selling high-end sunglasses with built-in MP3 players.  Clearly music on the run is alive and well.
• Phuket Thailand Marathon had a booth at the expo - I'd be tempted but their run is just two weeks after San Diego.  Maybe in '09.
• Speaking of '09 I'm currently sort of interested in doing the London Triathlon.  Triathlon is a much harder event to travel for than Marathon because of all the gear you have to haul with you (not the least of which is the bike).  But still...it sounds like a great event and it would be fun to visit London, swim the Thames and race there.

Questions and Acknowledgements:

• Thanks to Alan (AKA "The Postman" AKA "The Human Metronome") and Vern (AKA "Vern") for all their contributions during this training.  You guys have been fun to run with (even if we have to hold Vern back most of the time) and really been a key piece of our group. 
• AM thanks for the encouragement!  I'm sure you're going to do great in your upcoming races too - just have to brave that Chicago weather for your training.
• CG - my back is feeling somewhat better, thanks!  Still a little stiff, but less pain and soreness over the last couple of days, so that's encouraging.
• As always thanks to BC.  That he can get this old linebacker to run marathons is a ceaseless wonder to me.

Weather Forecast for Sunday:  77 Degrees with a 60% chance of showers.  It's grey and rainy outside right now so maybe that will hold up.

-B-