Notes
The Kauai Marathon
September 4, 2011 – 6:00 AM
The Kauai Marathon would arguably be one of the toughest road marathons in America . The course changes elevation nearly 7,000 feet over 26.2 miles. Going into this race I knew there were a couple of major concerns that I would have to deal with throughout my training and on race day. One was the obvious hills but the other was dehydration, with temperatures ranging from 73 at the start to 83 by the finish combined could play havoc on my performance. I was able to deal with the hills during my training but dehydration would be dictated by how my stomach would handle, at least, a gallon of water and Ultima (basically Gatorade) on race day. Dehydration during hotter marathons (warmer than 50 degrees) has always been my Achilles heel and I hoped to turn that around with the Kauai Marathon. Training for the race went well; I focused most of my shorter runs on the hills of Kalaheo and did a mix of hilly and flat courses for my long runs.
The race started at 6:00 AM on Poipu Road , there was limited wind and not a cloud in sight. The race had a half marathon attached to it so I was able to run with the half marathon runners until mile 11 where the two races split off from each other. The first 7 miles had us going up to an elevation of 750 feet; this was covered over a steady incline to the highway. Competition for the event was fueled by a $15,000 speed challenge where anyone who broke 2 hours and 30 minutes would basically split the purse, also there were a number of National Guard members who were part of the National Guard Marathon Team that added competition for me. I would run with a number of the National Guard members throughout the day.
The gun fired off at 6:00 AM and we were off, there was a pack of runners that went out, as usual, while I tried to hold back. I was hoping to be around 7-7.20 a mile going up the first 7 miles. During my training I figured my reasonable finish time would be 3:10 and if everything went wrong I would be about 3:20 and if everything went right I break 3 hours – I was really gunning for the 3.10.
Mile 1 past by and I hit a 6.31 – a touch fast but with adrenaline and all the runners surrounding me it was no surprise. I tried my best over the next few miles to slow things down and get closer to the desired pace. I found myself with a pack of half marathon runners from miles 2-5; I enjoyed the scenery and settled into upper the 6’s for splits.
Mile 1: 6.31
Mile 2: 6.55
Mile 3: 6.52
Mile 4: 6.44
Mile 5: 6.55
Mile 6 hit one of the bigger hills so I backed down the pace and forged my way up to the top. Once we hit the highway the course followed it for about 2 miles and then turned back downhill towards the ocean for the next 4 miles on Omao Road . My split times reflect the elevation change during the descent, I felt very good and the added speed downhill was effortlessly exerted out. My hope on the downhill sections was that I could pick up to sub-6.30’s and I thought I was certainly capable of doing that.
Mile 6: 7.26
Mile 7: 6.46
Mile 8: 6.38
Mile 9: 6.06
Mile 10: 6.14
Mile 11: 6.19
Just before mile 11 was the time that the marathon split off towards Kalaheo and hilliest section of the course. I read a review during the previous week about the 2010 Kauai Marathon and the reviewer proudly stated that this turnoff was when the marathon truly started, as I made the initial climb I reconfirmed the reviewers statement. I was able to hold things together going up the first couple bigger hills but as I approached Lawai I was starting to finally feel the hills and the heat on my back as the sun was finally starting to peak through the clouds. I knew this was the point to make sure I hit every aid station with water and Ultima. Once I got to Lawai I felt like I had home field advantage as this section and its hills was where I trained nearly every day. The single biggest hill of the course came just after the mile 14 split; even though I trained on this 1.5 mile hill it didn’t seem to make the push up it any easier! The beautiful thing about the hill is it ends right in my neighborhood where I knew Sarah and the girls would be out waiting to cheer me on. I forged up the hill as quickly as possible and reached my girls in good spirits. Sarah had the girls chanting “Go Daddy Go” and “Run Faster!”. I was delighted to see them. It always amazes me how something as simple as this will lift the spirits during a marathon so greatly!
Mile 12: 7.07
Mile 13: 7.33
Mile 14: 6.28
Mile 15: 7.30
Mile 16: 7.44
Once I passed them I refocused and knew it was pretty well downhill with a couple shorter hills left. I tried to pick up the pace as much as possible, unfortunately during this stretch I didn’t see too many other runners but I was able to stay focused and keep driving forward. Around mile 18 my worst fear of becoming dehydrated started to show up in my performance, I decided it was time to suck down as many fluids as possible during the aid stations to stave off the inevitable dehydration. I walked through my first aid station at mile 20 and that was perfect timing to get in 3 glasses of water and 2 glasses of Ultima.
Mile 17: 6.38
Mile 18: 6.55
Mile 19: 8.16
Mile 20: 6.4
I decided at that point I would continue walking through aid stations to ensure I held off the dehydration. This plan seemed to work because I hit my worst split at mile 22 just before all the extra fluids started to kick in and things started to turn around at mile 23. I was impressed that my plan worked so well on my performance. I felt like someone just hooked me up to a battery charger and recharged my battery, I am sure if Ultima wanted to do an ad campaign they could have had me run my mile 22 spilt and show me recharged from miles 24-26.2. I rejoined the half marathon runners at mile 24 and pushed my last two miles out to the finish line.
Mile 21: 7.51
Mile 22: 9.44
Mile 23: 7.49
Mile 24: 7.09
Mile 25: 7.25
Mile 26: 6.26
Mile 26.2: 1.27
Finish time: 3.06.21
Once I crossed the finish line I was greeted by my wife and girls. It was great to be finished, I thought for what could have turned out to be an extremely rough finish it was stopped by good foresight with drinking extra fluids from miles 20-24. I finished 15th overall and received the honor of being the first Kauai resident finisher. This race ranks as my 4th best marathon time ever and the first marathon I have ever finished with a sub-3:10 time in above 50 degree weather.