Maui Marathon Race Report

Saturday morning I woke up (not so) bright and early (3:30)to meet the Ohana to catch the ferry to Maui. As I was boarding, I thought: I bet I'm one of the few people on the planet who catch a ferry to a marathon!
I slept most of the way to Maui (a 3 hour trip) and once we got there we caught a rental car and made our way to the packet pickup/expo.

We drove the marathon course on the way to the packet pickup. Since I had memorized the elevation map, everything was pretty familiar. I do remember thinking the long, straight stretch would be brutal. Ha, I had no idea....

The expo was at the marathon finish:


At the expo was none other than Bart Yasso from Runners World! I chatted with him a bit (Yes, peeps, I am aware that I may be quoted in this month's RW, but since that edition hasn't made it to Hawaii, I have yet to see it) and I got a picture with him.
After the expo we ventured off to find lunch. Since I was still on the great colon clog of '08 experiment, I settled on a turkey sandwich with the veggies picked off. We all headed off to the Keiki 1 mile run put on by Bubba Gump. They even had their own Forrest Gump impersonator there!

After the run we headed to the hotel and then people started making plans for dinner at Pizza Hut. I opted to stay at the hotel and dine on gatorade, pretzels and a banana. I spent a long time reflecting on the day ahead, and spent a lot of time in prayer (note to self: I need to carry a rosary in every marathon travel bag! It is sacrilegious that I had to use a pack of gum as a substitute?) I carefully laid out all my marathon gear, and headed to bed at 8pm.


We awoke at 2am, had some coffee and oatmeal and caught the shuttle to the start at 3:30. We arrived at the start about an hour before the gun was supposed to go off, and spent a lot of time chatting with fellow marathoners. 80% of the people in our group are Marathon Maniacs, so we had a ton of fellow maniacs coming up to chat. At this point I was feeling super confident: Boston, here I come! I started the marathon feeling jubilant.

The first 8 miles went along a road that cuts through through a sugar cane field. The sun was still down and it was pretty cool in the mid to late 70's. I was clipping along a a nice pace, although I thought I may had been a tad fast. Since I felt really good I didn't worry about it too much, but in hindsight I should have been.

At mile 8.5 the giant hill came which led into 4 miles of rolling hills. I was doing really well and staying on pace. In fact, everything was going FANTASTIC until mile 13, where I had to take a porta-potty stop. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't un-roto-rooter my body. The great colon clog experiment failed. I made it in and out in probably 30-45 secs, but once I got back on course my mind was not there. For some reason I told myself I would have to catch back up to the people I was running with. I picked up the pace, got alongside them, and dropped the pace a bit. Suddenly I became very aware of the intense heat, lack of breeze, and the long stretch ahead. We were on a straightaway that lasted many miles, and the vog (sulfur dioxide volcano emissions) made everything look dirty and hazy. I was still on pace, but it was a struggle.

Over the next five miles, something else happened that caused me to totally lose focus: a pace hog. I had a guy come right up behind me (we're talking less than a body length, people) and try to draft off of me. I was pissed for many reasons. First, there were only about 900 people running this race. The nearest person was at least 1/4 mile ahead of me, and probably 1/2 mile behind me. This guy clearly had plenty of room. Secondly, there was ZERO wind! He wasn't gaining any advantage by running directly behind me. I did the passive aggressive look behind multiple times and give the stink eye, but it didn't work. And then, to make matters worse, at the first aid station we came to, he sprinted ahead of me to get the water first, thus slowing me down. Ohhhhhhh, it was sooooo on. I tried to drop him by slowing down or speeding up, but he wouldn't leave. At the next aid station I sped up as well, thwarting his efforts to block my water access. I felt victorious but also stupid. It was wearing me out! I started to get super mad at myself and this man that this was going on, but the competitor in me couldn't just let it go. I started to get mad, and I lost focus on the run. The negative thoughts started pouring in. Although I was still on target for my BQ finish, I started thinking that I couldn't keep the pace up. I started slowing a few seconds per mile, which would have been okay, except....

At mile 20 it all fell to shit. The sun was suddenly too intense. I felt like I was running in a sauna. Buses were speeding right by me on the shoulder, blowing sand in my face. I started feeling woozy, and began criss-crossing the shoulder. I kept obsessively checking my Garmin and my pace band, and I began cursing. I even cursed at a man at an aid station when he missed the water hand-off and I had to forgo water at that stop. (I am SO SORRY volunteer; that is so NOT like me! I love you all for helping out!) Around mile 21 I saw a guy totally collapse on the side of the road next to me. I started getting scared that I may not finish at all. I decided last minute not to carry my water bottles, as I thought the aid stations would be enough. Bad decision---really, really bad. I had to take a few gels sans water, and the stomach cramps were pretty gnarly.

Despite all this, looking back on my Garmin data I was still okay. If I had managed to keep trucking along I probably could have made my goal. The problem was that at this point I mentally gave up. I told myself it was over. I had failed. As soon as I mentally gave up, my body physically gave up. If you look very closely, you can see on my Garmin data where I hit the wall:

Out of nowhere this excruciating pain started from the bottom up. My right achilles screamed in terror. My calves were spared but my hamstrings overloaded my pain sensors. Then, my hip flexor started hurting, right where Ramus shattered in the Honolulu marathon. Every step was a struggle. I started getting very upset, and was about to walk. I thought "I've missed my goal; what is the f*ing point. I'm a failure. A big, fat, freaking failure. Great job, you suck." If I walk in a marathon I give up. It's my version of a DNF. Right when I was about to walk, I thought of everyone but myself. Imagine having another Ohana come up behind me to find me walking---the look of disappointment on their face. Most importantly, I thought of you guys. How on earth could I explain my walking in the marathon? If I gave up simply because I didn't make my goal, what kind of example would I be setting? I have fought too hard simply to be able to run this marathon. Less than 9 months ago I was still on crutches recovering from a broken pelvis I sustained in my first marathon---and I am about to WALK simply because I didn't make my time goal? PATHETIC!

So, I shuffled along. I tried to pick the pace up, but my body was screaming in agony. I thought I had resolved the sadness about not BQing back at mile 22, but once I crossed the finish and saw one of my Ohana, I burst into tears. It was pretty embarrassing since there were people watching, but I couldn't control it. I was heartbroken. I managed to stifle the tears and focused on rote tasks: get finishers shirt, sign up for massage, remove shoes, stretch, shower. After being alone for a few minutes I started to feel better and focused on cheering on the fellow Ohana crossing the finish. Today may not have been my day, but it was everyone else's day, and I wanted to be as encouraging as I could.

All in all, I am proud of my accomplishment. I need to remember that this was supposed to only be my "prove I can run a marathon without breaking my pelvis" marathon. I turned it into a Boston Qualifying marathon. I always do this to myself, whether it be at work or in running. I impose such lofty goals on myself and beat myself up when I don't achieve them. In the process, I lose sight of the bigger picture. Hey, I finished my third MARATHON! In under 4 hours! And my pelvis is intact! Woo! And I somehow managed to place third in my AG. Consolation prizes are cool!

So, I mentioned I have a plan B...

12/07/08: Las Vegas Marathon. Many of the Ohana are going and they assure me I should be able to easily BQ then. It will be cooler, less humid, the course is relatively flat, and the large size means there should be spectators cheering me on (there were less than 50 total along the Maui, aside from aid stations). If I don't BQ here, there is no plan C. I will take it as God's way of telling me I am not meant for the speed, and focus on greater distances. Yes, I do see ultras in my future.

then....
12/14/08: Honolulu Marathon. Regardless of how I do in LV, I am going to run this for fun. The combination of these will qualify me to become a Marathon Maniac, so even if I don't BQ I will reach my goal of becoming a Maniac.

Now, If you'll excuse me...I'm allowing myself one day of wallowing in a Pizza/Beer/Wine pity party.