Race Report: Kilauea Volcano Marathon

Saturday I did something that will live down in infamy.

I did something so impulsive, irresponsible, and downright stupid that my coach may disown me.

I ran a marathon.

Ramus is fine.

For those of you who haven't been following along for awhile, I sustained a horrible pelvic stress fracture (of my superior and inferior Ramus) that completely fractured during my first marathon, which was in December. Since then it has been a slow road to recovery, but I had major plans for my big comeback marathon to be on September 14 (Maui Marathon). I embarked on a conservative 16-week training plan, and made it my goal to get to Maui and finish without injury.

I am one of those people who loves lists, order, and sticking rigidly to a plan.

I was supposed to run a 10-mile race on Saturday, and even ran a 16-mile long run Wednesday night.

So where did I go wrong? How did I end up running a marathon?

Friday Morning, Honolulu Airport: I was discussing future racing plans with some of the Ohana runners and mentioned my desire to BQ and run Boston in 2009 (because it is literally the day I am 26.2 years old) and the Honu 70.3 Ironman in May. When one of the runners mentioned that the two were close and it may be too much, I started talking smack. Before I know it, they mentioned I was the only runner to be doing the 10 miler, and I shouldn't talk smack. Then, one suggested I switch to the marathon. We all got a good laugh, enjoyed a nice long pause, then, very quietly, one said "well, you know, you could do it. You have the base; you are ready. You just don't know it." After about an hour of me explaining all the reasons why I couldn't do it, they assured me that as long as I took this as a training run, I would be safe. I had all the reasons in the world not to run the marathon, but the one thing that kept haunting me was my favorite quotation: "There will be a day when you can no longer do this. Today is not that day." I knew I would always think "what if..." if I didn't just go for it. The moment I caved, I snapped into action. I grabbed my Nalgene and started chugging water. We called the head of the Ohana, who owns the running store, to bring me some extra gels and the like. We flew into Hilo and began gathering the supplies for the post-race party. Ever wondered what a fridge full of supplies for 6 runners looks like? (Hint: lots of beer)

We had a lunch of Pizza and enjoyed a carbo-loading dinner at the camp, then prepared our strategy for the next day. Since I was taking this as a training run, I decided to try out some new things.
First, my pre-bedtime fuel:


I also sat down with another runner to plan out my fueling strategy for the race. I had been taking a gel/shot blocks every 4 miles in my training, so planned on taking a Hammer Tropical Gel at mile 4, Margarita (extra salt) Shot Blocks at mile 8, Power Bar Gel Blasts at mile 12, Shot blocks again at 16, and a Hammer Espresso Gel at mile 20. I ran with 2, 8-oz water bottles, Nuun emergency electrolyte tablets, TP, advil, and all this fuel (extras, just in case)

I went over the race course over and over again. Although the course this year is different than last year's, this is considered to be a pretty tough marathon. It goes from trail to road and back, and has some pretty significant elevation changes. Basically, the first half of the race you're running down the volcano, and the second half you're running up.

Not your ideal way to run 26.2 miles.
At this point, I was starting to get very nervous. What the heck did I get myself into? Is this the dumbest idea EVER? (hint: yes)
The gang did a good job to help calm me down, and we all posed for one last "before" shot right before we hit the sack.


Fast forward to race morning: 3am I wake with the gang and the coffee gets rolling. I dreadfully start gathering my supplies. One thing I was unprepared for: it was FREEZING! I forgot the whole on-top-of-a-volcano thing. I start having major doubts. My calves are still tight from the 16 on wednesday, my stomach is doing flip-flops from eating food not on my Runner's diet, my shoes are old and in serious need of replacement, and I have no cold weather running gear. Oh, and it's drizzling. Great. I try to ignore the aches and pains and down two strong cups of coffee and have my usual pre-race breakfast: plain oatmeal with banana, a touch of soy protein, and tons of cinnamon. The coffee helps to get things moving, which makes some of my worries go away. Then, everything magically falls into place. Some guys give me some throw-away long sleeve t's to wear, which instantly warms up my body and spirit. After we got our shoes scrubbed (part of the whole protect the ecosystem thing) we made our way to the start. I immediately went to the back of the pack, since I planned on running slow the entire time. The mood at the starting line was very chill. Everyone seemed to know everyone. My nerves totally went away, and I began to look forward to the race. Before I knew it, I heard "3, 2, 1....."

Mile-by Mile Report:

Mile 0-3: We started out on the road for the first mile. I was running super slow and talking story with guys around me. I even found out one was from the town I just moved from! Talking to people helped me snap out of "race mode" and get into an easy flow. After the first mile we popped onto a hiking trail along the crater. We had some amazing views of the smoke plumes and the crater. Truly breathtaking scenery. At mile 3 we popped out momentarily to a road for the first aid station. I shed my long sleeved shirts and one of the Ohana said "hey, the rule is that you shed one layer at each aid station" prompting me to say (a little too loudly) "No, W, I will NOT end this marathon topless!" (Note to self, not a smart thing to say while running in a pack of dudes)

Mile 3-6: After the aid station we entered another trail of an entirely different habitat. We were running through rainforest. It was muddy, it was ferny, it was rocky. But the aroma of earthiness was something I can't begin to describe. It was very narrow so we were all running single file, but people would yell "mud" or "tree" or "rock" to help each other out. Although I wanted to run slow, the people ahead of me were running at too slow a pace (at a certain point, it is hard for me to maintain a slow pace) so at a good section I passed them. Once I overtook the group, I was in a whole other world. I can't really describe how I felt, but it was truly amazing. It was just me, nature, and God. I was taking in all the sights and sounds and smells and totally lost track of time. When I popped out of the forest at mile 6, I realized that not only had I forgotten to take the planned gel at mile 4, but I had yet to consume any water. Oops. I slowly consumed my first gel with 8 oz of water, and refilled my bottle at the aid station.

Mile 6-9: We were back on a road that took us through some more amazing rainforest and then through old lava fields. At some points there was steam escaping through the rocks on the side of the road. I was still running with no one in my front view, and started getting very emotional. I could feel God's hand reaching down to touch me, and at that point I knew everything would be okay. I starting crying a bit, and just had a nice long talk with God. I thanked Him for giving me two legs to carry me through the race, I thanked Him for all the blessings in my life, and I basically told Him I was in His hands, and He could lead me wherever He wanted during that race. I gotta say, God is quite the little prankster because soon after our chat he led me right to a great big bush where I got to leave some bowels of lucky charms for dear madame Pele. Since I was a little timid, I took a lot of time to get pretty far off the course, and probably wasted about a minute and a half during that stop (this time will be important later). At this point in the race I decided to just run at whatever pace my body felt like, and ignore the Garmin. I only used the Garmin to check in on the miles.

Mile 9-16: This part of the course was out and back. It was a paved road that took us downhill (initially) through the desert. It was dry, cold, and there was no shade. I guess I was picking up the pace, because I began passing a lot of people. Around mile 10 I consumed 2 margarita shot blocks even though I didn't feel like I needed anything. The turnaround for the course was at mile 12, but I quickly realized that I was more towards the start of the pack then the end. Naturally, I got nervous and thought maybe I had gone out too fast. I got to the turn around, grabbed a wet sponge to rinse some salt off, and made my way back. All of a sudden I was faced with the worst hill of the route. The tailwind I enjoyed on the way back was now a headwind, and I had the sun in my face. As I slowly shuffled up the hill, all the confidence in my body was being sucked away. I just knew I wouldn't finish. I decided to just take it one small hill at a time. After that major hill, the other hills were pretty minor. I realized that I was probably in need of some more fuel, so I consumed my Espresso Hammer Gel and mile 14, and decided I needed to start paying attention to hydration. Since I was so cold I wasn't drinking water, and tried to up my water intake. I began passing more and more people as we made our way up one huge, gradual hill. The dudes kept saying "girl, you're cruising!" and I realized that I actually was cruising, and feeling darned good. I remembered that my biggest asset is that I am stronger in the last half of any race, so I decided to use that to my advantage. I tried to stick with a steady pace and just started passing people left and right as they lost steam going up the hill. Remember, I do eat hills for breakfast, afterall.

Mile 17-19: As I came out of the road and made a right turn onto another road, the course marshalls told me I was 6th place woman. I think I said something like "you've got to be sh*tting me" and thought it was a mistake. I did some math and realized I may had passed enough women in the past few miles to be in 6th place, afterall. I decided to stick to cruising speed as long as I could. Of course, I knew what lied ahead, as I had been warned by all........

Mile 19-23: Escape Road (aka the worst part of the whole marathon): I had been warned about this part. I was told it was 4 miles of undulating hills of various degrees, and that right when you think you've conquered one hill, you see an even bigger hill. Yeah, they were right. As soon as I got on the road I downed 3 Power Bar Gel Blasts. The first 1/4 mile was all very sharp, small rocks. Every step sent shooting pain up my leg. Then we entered the main road, which was an old, unpaved road that was being overtaken by trees and brush. Everything growing over the road gave it a tunnel-like appearance. At mile 20 I suddenly experience a bizarre tunnel vision. My peripheral vision was blurry, and I kept hallucinating that things were moving off to the side. I was kind of worried I was about to pass out, but knew that if I did someone was just moments behind me. I pushed through, and after about a mile it went away. I was advised going into the race to walk this part, but since I was feeling okay I decided to run the whole thing. I was also nervous that if I walked I couldn't run again. When I started seeing some very steep hills, I decided to do something a little different: I pushed my visor down over my eyes, lowered my head, and stared at my feet. I thought that it would be easier if I couldn't see the hills and took it one step at a time. My strategy paid off, and I started passing people. Unfortunately, I started hurting. My left knee was killing me, and threatening to buckle. I began loudly praying and just begged God to help me get to the finish line safely. I told Him that although I would prefer not to walk, if I had to I would, and that my biggest goal was safety. He must have listened, because soon the road ended as I was out of Escape Road.

Mile 23-end: back on the path around the Caldera. This leg seemed to drag on forever. Honestly, it felt like it was 10 miles long. About 1.5 miles from the end I got very upset. I couldn't see any runners in sight, and lost sight of the survey flags marking the course. I began to think I got off course. Right when I was about to cry I tripped on a rock and ate it. When I rose, I was pissed. I think the anger kept me going because before I knew it, I saw some orange cones and heard cheering. As I entered the last stretch before the finish, I passed a group of partying Hashers, and they were all cheering and high-fiving me. As I made my way to the finish I heard my name being announced, and everyone was cheering and yelling my name. I crossed the finish line and yelled "Thank God I'm Pau!"

Finish: It was very disorienting. A girl ran up to give me my finishers medal and t-shirt, and I remember asking for water multiple times before I could find it. As I was filling my water cup, all of a sudden my entire lower back seized. I quickly dropped half of a Nuun tablet in one of my bottles to get some electrolytes. I walked around as much as I could manage, stretched what I could, and got a super-long sports massage from the tent. After doing some math, I realized I was horrible dehydrated, thus the cramping. I wanted to be very careful and not consume too much water at once, so I was watching my water intake very carefully. Fortunately, we rented a cabin 100 yards from the finish, so after my massage I hobbled back to our room. I downed a pack of Amino Vital fastcharge, had another 8 oz of water, and iced my ridiculously sore knee.

I took a glorious hot shower, grabbed a beer, and headed back to the finish to cheer on my friends.

Believe it or not, I actually won an award at this thing! I ended up placing 3rd out of the women, and got an awesome ceramic vase (we joke that it is my future burial urn, and got an interesting reaction from security when I grabbed the vase off the security belt exclaiming "Auntie!" and the man asked, "umm, there's nothing inside that vase, right?")


Anyways, back to the race. My time was 4:11:44. 2 minutes, 15 seconds. That's what the first place woman beat me by. As frustrating as that is, I have to let it slide because this was supposed to be a training run. Since this is described as "For the most advanced and hardy endurance runners, the 26.2 mile Volcano Marathon is known as one of the "world's toughest measured marathons."", I think I may have a shot at being faster than I thought on a normal, flat road race. The seasoned runners of the group ran this marathon about 45 mins-1 hour slower than their marathon PR, so that gives me a benchmark of what I am capable of.



Oh, and some other interesting stats on the race. Turns out the distance was actually 27.1 miles, NOT 26.2 (this was confirmed by the race director). Also, here's the Garmin elevation data from the race. Just like I said, downhill, then right back up.


So, how do I feel? Remarkably, great! My knees have some lingering pain and my butt and quads are mildly sore, but it's not that much worse than a long run. I've gotta have a chat with coach (that is, if he still talks to me after this weekend) to figure out my game plan for the rest of Maui training. My plan is to go for a short, high-cadence ride tomorrow night, a slow 3-4 mile recovery run on Tuesday, and then hopefully resume training if things feel okay. All in all, the stupidest decision of my life turned out to be one of my greatest experiences. A huge "Mahalos" to all the Ohana for making my first marathon vacation so memorable, and for all my dear running blog friends who continually provide me with inspiration. Go out and run strong!

(note: Pictures from the course of this race and last week's triathlon are coming...stay tuned!)