Notes
The Kauai Marathon
September 2, 2012 6:00 AM
I signed up for the Kauai Marathon back in December and in doing so decided this would be my annual marathon again. I think I successfully trained the least amount for any marathon I have ever competed in for this year’s race. My preparation for this race was a 16 mile long run (the last 5 miles was walking due to dehydration) and a 20 mile long run with my boss Kirby at 10-minute mile pace. I still expected to do fairly well in the race even though I did minimal training because my daily runs (5-7 miles) were in Kalaheo where I ran my daily hill workout. One of my newer concerns this year is I have been dealing with some unusual stomach issues where ~40% of my runs involve some kind of stomach ailment. I decided given my atypical stomach issues I would try to eat lightly for breakfast with only a granola bar and rely on eating and drinking any additional fuel during the race.
Race day was finally here; weather conditions cooperated with light rains and mostly cloudy. Temperatures ranged from 75-80 degrees. Conditions were not perfect though as there was a 10 mile per hour wind with occasional gusts up to 15, the wind was out of the East-Northeast. I decided since there was a decent wind I would gladly draft off of the nearest runner whenever possible.
I got to the start line just after 5. I got in a little bit of a warm up and started stretching. No major pains, and my stomach seemed to be cooperating, at least for now. According to official results there were 351 finishers in the marathon and 1185 in the ½ marathon. There were over 3,000 people signed up (500 of which were for the marathon). My first goal for the day was to finish without any injuries and my next goal was to be in the 3:15-3:30 range for the finish. Last year I ran a 3:06 but I knew I was not trained for that again.
The gun fired off right at 6:00 AM, I decided to try and hold back as much as possible, and my goal was to run the first 6-7 miles around 7:30 pace. We ran down Poipu Road into the wind, I was able to draft a little during this stretch, after the first mile we turned left onto the old bypass road and the wind was to our sides and would remain on our sides or to our backs for the next 17+ miles. I hit the first mile with a celebration – 7.20, probably the slowest 1st mile split I have ever done in a marathon, although I was hoping for a 7:30 it was good to know I could hold back even though my adrenaline and nerves wanted to go faster. I tried to maintain this pace but I seemed to fall into a low 7 minute pace (more specifically a 7:08 pace). My next 3 miles were exactly 7:08 and 4 out of my next 6 miles hit right at 7:08 (not making that one up!). My pace was shaken up a bit by the steep ~1/2 mile hill up the tree tunnel road (Mile 6). Once I hit the highway and some downhill I sped things up. Just before hitting the highway I got hit by a very cold gust of wind, there must have been a bit of a cold breeze coming off of the mountain as it was likely 60 degrees. It was welcomed but a little surprising.
Mile 1 7:20
Mile 2 7:08
Mile 3 7:08
Mile 4 7:08
Mile 5 7:04
Mile 6 7:50
Mile 7 7:08
Mile 8 had me running down the highway and starting to finally have the joy of passing some people. I decided I would push the pace faster going down the Omao hill and deal with the potential cramps later. I hit my first sub-7 minute mile on Mile 8, it was welcomed because I had planned on pushing the Omao splits around 6:30. My next 3 miles would pass by very quickly, my stomach was still cooperating and I was hitting every aid station along the way. Hydration levels seemed to be in check.
Mile 8 6:52
Mile 9 6:17
Mile 10 6:24
Mile 11 6:58
The marathon and half marathon split off just before mile marker 11 and the first task for the full marathon runners was to run up a ½ mile long steep hill and continue going uphill at varying grades for the next 5+ miles! Although I train on these hills on a daily basis it did not make going up them any easier. I forged my way up to Lawai but I was starting to feel some major cramps in my legs and fatigue was certainly setting in. This is where training just a LITTLE more would have helped my situation out but that didn’t matter now, what mattered was surviving through the next 8+ miles until we finally started the long 7 mile downhill descent back to Poipu. I survived the next couple miles without walking but once I hit my favorite hill in Kalaheo I was forced to walk. Waha was kicking my ass today I had no answer for its relentless 1 mile steep climb up to the golf course. I tried to muster up as much of a trot as I could going up it. It was good to know Sarah and the girls would be welcoming me at our neighborhood once I got to the top. I pushed my way up and got to see my girls, I tried to give “high 5’s” to everyone but I don’t think Tatum and Taelynn knew how to react to my arm extended out as they just stood there and giggled.
Mile 12 7:48
Mile 13 8:46
Mile 14 7:45
Mile 15 8:58
Mile 16 9:21
Once I passed them I hit my 16 mile split to see my second slowest mile time of the day, it was a little disheartening but I was happy just to continue to be running. Going around “Pu’u Loop” was fun; I run this course ~1-2 times per week so I know the hills really well. I felt ok going through but needed to walk every mile or so. Mile 19 finished off with the ¾ mile climb up from Kakela Makai – my time reflected this hill really well.
Mile 17 8:11
Mile 18 8:50
Mile 19 9:31
My 19 was pleasantly welcomed as this is my favorite point of this race, it is the point that we are 900 feet up in the air and the next 7 miles (outside of 3 hills) is all downhill! I started cruising back down Waha, miles 19-24 run along the same route as miles 11-16 so there were a number of people suffering going up to Kalaheo. I got to see Kirby ~19.5 were he was at 15 miles – he seemed to be in good spirits so I was pretty hopeful he would finish his first marathon. Going downhill has its obvious pros but it does possess some cons and my stomach decided to remind me of one of those cons. Stomach pain finally started, it wasn’t nearly as bad as what I have experienced in the past but it was noticeable. They started to settle down around mile 22 and once they did fatigue and dehydration were my new worst enemies. I was able to suffer through most of the next 5 miles and finally rejoined the ½ marathon runners on our way down the new bypass road at mile 24.
Mile 20 7:10
Mile 21 7:52
Mile 22 9:14
Mile 23 7:30
Mile 24 7:11
Miles 25 and 26 have complete ocean views and a very scenic view of Poipu. I tried to take my mind off of the running and be thankful for what I have in front of me. The last stretch was a ½ mile stretch along the rock wall, I tried to pick up the pace into the shoot, my legs were certainly screaming at me but I ignored them.
Mile 25 8:02
Mile 26 7:07
Mile 26.2 1:31
Total 3:22:14
After the finish I was warmly welcomed by my family, Tatum and Taelynn willingly shared in the post-race food and snacks. My time allowed me to keep the title of top Kauai Finisher although it was 16 minutes slower than last year and 23rd place overall. One of the interesting things in comparing last year’s splits to this year’s is most of my splits were ~10 seconds slower than last year’s except for between miles 12-19 where they were 1-3 minutes slower. I know last year I didn’t start having to walking until after mile 19 so that is not too much of a surprise. Next up… Koloa Sugar Mill Race in November.