Day 14 – Race Day

Up at 4:15 a.m. out of the house by 5 a.m. hitting Poipu Beach Park at 6:20 a.m. Race starts at 7:30 a.m., well island time.

First we had a blessing in Hawaiian.  Boy did I need the spirits of Hawaii to guide me.

After this there was a short Zumba session, being a crossfitter, I did Frankensteins, squat holds, walking lunges and sampson stretches to warm up.

A little after 7 a.m. the 10 milers were called to the line and off they went.  After 30 minutes the 5k and 10ks were called to the line.  Mike and I were pushed towards the back, no big deal.  I’m slow anyways.

and we are off…

It was harder than I expected. I had Mike to cheer me on and encourage me along the way.  Well, really he was documenting this and every time I tried to sneak a  walk in he held up the camera and it motivated me to keep running.

The views were beautiful and really they did slow me down. I know the irony of this because my shirt says no excuses….

Well I must say with expert coaching of friends, to maintain a steady pace, I did pass a few people.

Just had to bring this puppy home…

It was my first 5k and I’ve never run before March, so my personal goal was to get under 40 minutes. I did that, now I just need to work towards 30 minutes, if I do this again.  I did place 6th out of 19 in my division. Mike was a good sport and stayed with me, though if I didn’t hold him back he would have …who knows.

The best part about finishing was going in the ocean afterwards to cool off.

The second best part was going out to breakfast at Kalaheo Cafe and Coffee Company.  We split the morning special of eggs with salsa, chicken sausage, avocado, beans, and mushrooms.  I accompanied mine with a luscious latte.  So rewarding.

The atmosphere was welcoming and the food excellent.  Mike commented if we lived closer to this place we would have Sunday breakfast here every Sunday.  That is about as high as a compliment as it goes in our house.

We first planned to go Polihale, but our bones were tired, so we headed home.  After a brief rest and a bit more food, we gathered ourselves up and went to Tunnels.

After sliding off of our beach mats, due to sweat, it was time to hit the water for our swim.  Lucky us, a few honu came out to play.

The water was choppy and I had to fight against the waves for the first time.

We had hoped to nap after this, but a young girl who knew it all was talking with friends and wouldn’t shut up, so we left. Can you tell yet we like it quiet and people far away? Unless of course you are a celebrity, or family/friends with us.

It was good timing though, dinner needed to be made. Roasted root vegetables with fish or chicken.  I did have a little fun with this carrot.

After a fine meal, we returned to the beach to watch the sunset. We didn’t stay for the entire show, because the talker returned and she knew even more tonight, I think the bottle of wine helped her.

We have a busy week ahead of us. Tomorrow,we have friends arriving from Oahu, yipee. We have a hike planned with Eric. I’m going with our friends on the NaPali Cruise, while Mike does a solo hike and on Friday I’m taking stand up paddle board lessons.  I’m already tired….