Great Aloha Run 2013 - Smashed It!

The goal was to finish in under an hour. According to my watch I finished around 57:20. Hell yes! Very happy with that.

As always, race day began several hours before the starting gun - or in this case starting mortar cannon - fired. God I love that cannon, just gets ya goin! Anyway, I woke up at 3:30am, had myself a Greer-version Renergy (pronouced hen-er-gee) sandwich, which is whole grain bread, peanut butter, avocado, and spinach. It was washed down with coconut water. Once energized and hydrated, it was off to the run.

 

I met up with a group of co-workers in the downtown area. It was the first time my workplace sponsored runners so they wanted to meet for a group photo. As everybody figured out where they wanted to stand for the picture I warmed up and started stretching. Once they got organized I jumped in for the photo-op, then just as quickly jumped out to finish stretching.

 

It was 6:45 when I began making my way toward the start line. I wormed through throngs of people and got as close to the front as possible. The National Anthem played, the military runners took off, and then the mortar cannon fired at 7am signaling the start for everyone else. I was focused on finishing in under an hour and it was time to get going.

 

The first mile was the funnest. So many people crowd the road it's a maze to get through them. I made a game out of weaving through the crowd. Today I pretended to be a striker on a soccer field dribbling through defenders on my way toward goal. It was fun, took my mind off the fact that I was only running.

 

My watch was running and I aimed to finish each mile at about 7 minutes. I needed to run each mile at about 7:18 to finish in under an hour. I missed the first mile marker but at the second mile the watch read 14 minutes. 7 minute per mile average. Good pace.

 

Around mile 4 I started getting side-pain...ya know that pain in your side you get when running. It's annoying. Luckily the water station wasn't much farther and for some reason taking a drink made the pain go away. My legs felt pretty good, lungs were just dandy, and I continued to hold a 7-minute pace.

 

After Nimitz Highway, around mile 5 or so, some hills made an appearance. The legs burned on the inclines but I pushed a little harder in order to hold the same speed. On the declines I opened up my stride and let gravity do the work. The legs were starting to burn and feel sluggish but I kept on going. There was a group of people on the side of the road yelling out “just keep swimming”...the line from Finding Nemo. It was fitting.

 

I checked my watch at the mile 7 mark. I was around 49 minutes. Only 1.15 miles left and I had about 10 minutes to do it in. I was well within range to finish under an hour. The legs were feeling heavy. Felt like I was slowing down. A pair of runners passed me so I kept pace with them. We passed the overhead photographer stationed just outside the stadium at the same time. They flashed shakas so I did the same and tried to smile.

We entered the Aloha Stadium parking lot. The watch flashed 54 minutes. Time to dig in and open my stride. I left the guys I was pacing with behind and pushed for the finish. The lungs were working overtime and each exhale came out as a muted grunt. The road rounded into the stadium and the finish line was dead ahead. I sprinted as best I could across it. When I checked my watch it was somewhere around 57:20. I'm curious what my official time will be.

A friend of mine was at the finish line, I said hi but couldn't stop to chat. Had to keep moving because my right let was about to lock up. The coconut water passed out to finishers was heaven-sent, I had two. I hydrated then stretched and eventually my leg started to feel okay.

I'm very happy with the run. This was the first time-goal I set for myself that I met in a Great Aloha Run. It was all in the training. I spent the past two months training. Everything from circuit training, weightlifting, speed runs, distance runs and cleaning up the diet. It paid off.

 

It's rather satisfying. Finishing the GAR in under an hour was the first goal of 2013 I set for myself. And I got it. But it wasn't done alone. A big thanks to the GAR In-Training Workshops and coaches. I got some good tips and training with them. Some of my friends asked me 'what's next?' Well, there's a few things on my plate I'm working toward but for right now I want a beer and something greasy to eat!

Story Stumped

Anybody that knows me a little knows I'm a writer. Those who know me a little more know I've spent the past two years drafting a novel. I'm going through it a second time but I'm stumped. I do a couple things when I come down with a case of writer's block. Sometimes I reach for a glass of wine. But since I do most of my writing at Starbucks I don't think they'd appreciate me getting sloshed every time I hit a wall. Other times I'll pretend my head is a flint and bash it against the table until an idea sparks. Unfortunately that usually results in headache and memory loss. So I figured this time I'll try something different and write about what's holding me up and see if I get an idea.

I'm stuck on two things. Number one: I have no idea what to name the place. And by 'the place' I mean the world in which the story takes place. There are names for towns, characters, landscapes, but not for the whole thing. And I got nothing.

There have been suggestions. One person suggested to call it terra-something...or something-terra. The point is, involve the word 'terra.' My take on that, I have a hard time hearing 'terra' without thinking of some cheesy sci-fi show. Another person recommended I take a random word, drop the first and last letters of that word, then spell it backwards. For example, “business” would turn into senisu. Interesting idea, welcome to the world of Senisu!

The second thing I'm stuck on is the age of one of the main characters. Should he be teenage or young adult? Or something different altogether? The guy is supposed to carry a youthful whimsical quality. Doesn't necessarily mean he has to be young. Then I think about how many pop-lit novels feature a young main character. Harry Potter, for example starts off as a boy then ends the series as a teen. The Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan features characters in their teens. The Ranger's Apprentice series has a blend of youths and adults but the main protagonist is a teen. It seems that having a young character makes the story more accessible to younger readers and also allows for upward mobility, meaning young people and adults can enjoy the story.

Then I keep going back and think making this character too young won't fit with the way he interacts with other characters. So what then? Follow the pop-lit trend? Risk icing out a potential reader demographic? Am I over-thinking this? Probably. What if – wait, I have an idea...