The Honu Report

The bad news- As a result of my lack of motivation and measly one-day a week running schedule, I found out today that I have sunk to an all time new low- 12 minute miles. As such, I have decided to annoint myself with a new nickname- The Honu. Honu means 'turtle' in Hawaiian (I will try to not to brag about how I came up with that all by myself).

Because so many other world famous runners* before me have taken on nicknames (Dean Karnazes is the Ultra Marathon Man, John Bingham is the Penguin), I think it's perfectly appropriate that I stake claim to The Honu.

*At one time, I was getting well over 1,000 hits a day on the site, but like the rest of the print media world, my readership has slid downward a little bit...to about 30 hits a day. 10 if you don't count blood relatives. However, I am not exaggerating the world famous part, as I do have one regular reader from Spain.

The good news- On this morning's 10-miler, I got to meet/chat with not one, but two incredible Kona athletes that I've admired for quite some time now. Just after mile 5 I bumped into someone that we'll just call Rani Tanimoto (since that is her name). Despite holding down a full-time job (she has not turned pro...yet), Rani has recently qualified for the World Ironman Championships this October in Kona. For those of you not familiar with this race distance- it is a 2.4 mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike ride, followed by a 26.2 mile run. So whenever someone naively asks me if I think I can do an Ironman distance, I am always very honest when I tell them that yes, I absolutely KNOW that I can do an Ironman. Over a period of about 3-4 weeks. But I usually leave that last part out since I don't think it's really all that important.

But I digress. So after chatting for a few minutes with Rani, I also bumped into Bree Wee. You may remember that I've previously mentioned Bree (who will also be in this year's Ironman) as one of Kona's female professional athletes. Anyhow, she was extremely friendly and very gracious not to bring up her extremely narrow victory (of 50 minutes) over Roy and I at the Kona Half last month.

So I have to say, getting to meet both women on the same run was an extremely pleasant experience, but not nearly as pleasant as when they each rocketed off away from me once we were finished chatting so that I could slow back down to resume my slow pace. ;-)

But the final bit of good news? Instead of continuing to weep on and on about my increasingly slower pace but doing nothing about it- I have decided to embrace it. I am going to continue to do my one long run each Saturday morning, however, I will also add on 3-4 more miles of some steep hills (but WALK them). The route I'm thinking of would start at my house, head toward town, loop back on Ali'i Drive, up Kam III intersection, and then finish on Walua Rd near Akoni Drive (which is back near my house).

This new loop will give me a much more respectable distance, a longer workout, will better work my quads/butt and help break me out of my current rut. It's actually hard to feel like a champ after a 10-mile run when you know that your great aunt Pearl (the one with the tennis elbow and the bad hip) could probably outrun you.

The Latest

Left: Ry & his homeboys doing their best to recreate an epic scene from the Titanic.

Ry just spent the last 10 days playing with his two very best buddies, Robbie & Finny! Though we were sad that they flew back to California yesterday (come back, soon T & D!!!), we're happy that his two cousins Kenichi & Riki return home from Japan today! And to top it off, his favorite gal pals Sonali, Maile & Keala also fly in today for a 3-week visit!

We're also still high (and by 'we' I mean 99% me, 1% Roy) from attending Target's private opening last night (thank you for taking us Yuri)! Awesome appetizers (shrimp skewers, crab cakes, seared ahi salad, etc.), great gift bags...but the highlight was just the surreal experience of being able to walk through those beloved, bright red aisles while in Kona. Much, much love to you, Target. I love you soooo, soooo much. I have an unhealthy love for you. Just like I do Bed, Bath & Beyond & Costco. And even though it takes away from my normally very tasteful and classy reputation, I'm going to add Ross (specifically, the kitchen section) to that list as well, because it's fun to go bargain hunting there.

Ross is for people like me who love a great deal, but are too embarrassed to go garage sale hunting. And before you say that it's not embarrassing to go garage sale hunting, allow me to remind you that you are probably not unemployed, living in your parent's basement, with a child on your hip and a perpetually bad complexion (this last one may not directly pertain to what I'm talking about, but it definitely doesn't help). We all know that its only cool to say you go garage sale hunting when you don't actually have to go garage sale hunting. I rest my case.

I've also been tied up doing some charity work the last few weeks. One is hiring an Executive Director of a local beer festival for a charitable foundation, and the other is helping a former colleague at a struggling non-profit with some HR-related work. Now technically, although I'm being paid for the latter work, because I am only charging a fifth of my normal hourly rate, it feels like charity work. And when I say that I am only charging a fifth of my normal hourly rate, this does not mean that I have ever actually charged someone my normal rate...it's just a fifth of my former hourly rate, which I hold very tightly and dear to my heart or else I will cry very softly into my pillow each night.

Since the half, I've continued to run a 10-miler each Saturday just to keep my legs from turning into cottage cheese, but beyond that, I've been too busy to be motivated to do much else. Ryan keeps me plenty busy. He's still learning how to walk, is in the process of popping out two more upper teeth, has started to like Sesame Street (thank you, Jesus for tv) and is babbling more than ever (he still gobbles like a turkey a lot). He's also learned to yell/scold us (particularly when we walk away from him and he's not yet finished with us), which we find highly amusing.

And as you can see below, he really likes strawberry oatmeal. :-)

100% Fail Proof Diet!!!

If you just can't seem to lose those last five pounds, I highly recommend getting the flu. Twice. It's worked out very, very well for me. And all it took was about 8 days of feeling like shizznit. Though the old me would have hated being bedridden for so long, the new tired me that runs around after a baby all day thinks this is AWESOME. I mean, I've tried (and by 'tried' I mean that I talked about doing it A LOT) to lose those last 5 lbs. of baby weight for the last 6-8 months, so 8 days is truly a very sweet deal that I thank Heaven, Earth and the good Lord up above for granting me. It sure as hell wasn't gonna happen otherwise.

So I'm officially back to pre-baby weight. And for the first time, I can even squeeze into all my old work pants. I wouldn't say they are appropriate to wear in public (unless there is a very poorly lit event where people are not required to sit down or breathe), I'm just saying I can get them on.

While part of me feels extremely lame and wimpy for losing the weight this way, the sunny, optimistic aren't-unicorns-and rainbows-just-so-magical?! part of me thinks that I should at least take some credit for getting myself to the point where I was only 5 lbs. away from victory. I mean, the last time I was this weight, I was in my prime (and by prime, I am assuming that like me, you will also overlook gray roots, a perpetually shiny complexion and cracked, hooved feet)....and to do this, I had to keep busy 5 days a week at the office (far away from food), work out 3 days a week at the gym, and run no less than 20-25 miles a week. And now, I'm sitting at home on my duff surrounded by food ALL DAY, I never got to the gym, and I only run one day a week and walk another 2-3 times if I'm lucky.

So I suppose I have made some successful lifestyle changes that have allowed me to maintain the weight. And while it's not an effortless situation without psychological pain- I no longer have to manically monitor my dietary intake, I can now eat whatever I want, and I no longer get paranoid about things like having to eat out. Huge progress. The big challenge will be to see whether or not I can keep the weight off without having to french kiss random sick people each month. ;-)

Numero dos!

At the halfway point (Keahole Airport)

Coming down the homestretch on Ali'i Drive

At the finish line (Kahalu'u Beach Park)...it's steaming hot!

With Ryan & Grandma F at the finish line

HE DID IT!!!!

Roy ran his second marathon!!! Even though he only trained for a half, Roy proved yet again that a determined mind and insane amounts of caffeine can prevail! And prevail he did- he beat his previous marathon time by over 25 minutes!

He got up at 4:30am so he could start running at 5:00, doing roughly the same course as the Kona Marathon (he substituted the Keahole Airport as his turnaround point rather than OTEC so that my dad could meet him there and restock his Fuel Belt). And unfortunately, because I had come down with some kind of virus the night before- cold sweat, body aches, chills, nausea...I was unable to run parts of the course with him as planned. However, I was still able to serve as his primary race support crew. I got his gels, took Ry out to see him a few times at the midway point, and then drove alongside him (slumped over, cold sweating at the wheel) for much of the last 4-5 miles providing water, caffeine and encouragement.

Why did he do it? The short story- he had to do it now, while he was in decent shape, before he starts school again (he's shooting for his Masters in Nursing Administration). I think he's going on running hiatus for awhile, but I'm still very proud of him and am officially glad to have an occasional running partner in the future!

Ryan's July '09 Pictorial

Disappointed that his old swing was built just for one...

Ry threw his spoon down on the floor and decided to use his fingers instead (not that you could tell).

Playing in the tub...

Playing peek-a-boo with his favorite blanket/kitchen rug.

Take that, ego!

Yesterday my car was in at the shop getting painted (short story- someone did a hit and run number on my new car and now we're paying for the repairs out of pocket since it's under our $500 deductible), so I decided to make the 5-mile run over to the shop to pick it up. Because it was a little hot and I was already kinda tired, I took 3 shot blocks to help pep me up. And thankfully, aside from two gradual hills, the run was primarily downhill. So in theory, a short, downhill run + 3 shot bloks should = an easy, quick run.

And by golly, the run did feel great. For the first time in a very long time, I was in control of the run. I had boundless energy. I felt my arms pumping much faster than usual, with my breath totally in control. I was sailing, folks. Effortlessly in the zone. I began to have visions of me starting to some speedwork at thet track. Nothing fancy- maybe 2-3 miles of sprints/drills, but just enough that come next March, I would be able to run my first sub 2-hour half. I even envisioned myself fiercely attacking the course and crossing the tape, arms outstretched upward as I crossed the tape ahead of most of the field.

So when I came to the four-mile marker, I eagerly checked my time to see how I fast I had run. If I had to put money on it, I would have guessed that I ran 9-minute miles. And it's a damn good thing I didn't, because I ran...TEN & A HALF MINUTE miles. Good grief. The only thing more sad than being so slow is being so slow but thinking you're fast.

And I still got hooked

During my marathon-training days, I used to love reading Dean 'Ultra Marathon Man' Karnazes (who will be hosting the Kauai Marathon in Sep) & John 'The Penguin' Bingham for inspiration and motivation. And now that the half is over, I've started to read the blog of a local professional triathlete hoping to motivate myself again. Anyway, she (her name is Bree Wee, sweet name isn't it?) was also in the half marathon last weekend and narrowly beat Roy and I (by about 50 minutes). So in a recent entry, she reminisced about her first half marathon and how at that time, she didn't even know what a gel was.

This totally brought me back to our own first half marathon, which I did with Roy and my brother Joseph back in January of '06 in Highland, CA. It was a spontaneous decision to sign up for the race (I didn't even know the distance) and I certainly hadn't trained for it, but I figured my stocky farm legs had to be good for something and would probably hold up.

Like Bree, I had no idea what gels, Body Glide, Fuel Belts, electrolytes, glycogen, stability running shoes, etc. were and I don't think I cared. I just thought it would be a real hoot to say I walked 13 miles. This is not to say I wasn't concerned about the race, I had zillions of questions! Like how long would it take to walk 13 miles? Would there be water along the way? Would I get hungry? Would I get blisters? Should I bring band aids? Tape? What would I do if I had to use the bathroom ? Should I bring tp? What if I got too cold? Would I make it to the finish line or would I eventually be found back at mile 10, face down in a pool of my own vomit?

So get this- partly because I was clueless, and partly because I am both anal and cheap (I don't do 7-11 stops), we filled a large backpack with a half-gallon jug of water, 2-3 Propel bottles, granola bars, a camera, band aids, toilet paper, sweaters, our wallets, sunscreen, cell phones, etc. I may have even thrown in a camp stove and some sleeping bags since those were about the only other things we would have needed to survive out there for a month (in case that's how long it took).

It was at the starting line that we quickly noticed everyone else's lean, mean fighting machine bodies with 0% body fat. Apparently, they all had trained. So just to assuage our own insecurities and nervousness, we reiterated to each other once again that it didn't matter if we finished last, we were there to have fun! ...And that vow lasted all of about 4 seconds, which was the same amount of time it took for everyone else to rocket off from the starting line, thereby leaving the three to stand there alone, panicked, tears forming in our eyes. F**k fun! We had to catch Grandma!!!

I think we all ended up walking roughly 3/4 of the race, and jogging 1/4 of it. It's pretty amazing what you can get your chubby body to do when you're being passed by people you normally open doors for. We all finished it in a little over 3 hours, and within minutes of each other. And because we were all on such a high afterwards, we immediately signed up for another half in Redlands a few months later (and in hindsight, it would have been nice to know that the race course there essentially replicated the experience of running straight up the Swiss Alps).

It's fair to say though, that regardless of how semi-traumatic my first two half marathon experiences were, they always keep me coming back for more (even though I swear each one is my last). In fact, I'm already 99.9% sure I'm going to be signing up for the Big Island Half in the next few weeks (a part-Chinese girl cannot resist the savings of early registration)! Because as much as I loooove to point out how slow and uncompetitive I am, the race for me, is really not about the race. It's simply about having a reason to lace up my shoes each weekend and feeling good for having done so.

Our 1st half marathon...January 2006. I was hooked. Notice the infamous 20-lb. backpack on Roy's back?

See that manly toned flexed quad? Now that I don't work out anymore, that's long gone. Unfortunately, the bad homemade rice bowl haircut is not.