Since I'm working in Hawaii for 6 months, I wanted to do a half marathon while I'm here, and the Maui race seemed perfect! My co-worker Lacy was running the full marathon, so we planned a weekend getaway to Maui from the Big Island.
All of the hotels near Lahaina were super expensive, especially during race weekend, so we ended up booking at Hakuna Matata hostel. It ended up being perfect, because the finish line for the race was literally right outside our front door!
Lacy and I picked up our races bibs on Saturday, got dinner and watched the last half of the Pats game at Down the Hatch, and then walked around downtown Lahaina for awhile. We went to bed super early, around 8pm, because Lacy had to wake up at 3am to take the bus to Wailea for the start of the marathon. The half marathon started in Lahaina and was an out-and-back, so it was easier for me. I got to sleep in until 5:30 and just walk out the door!
The weather was nice and cool in the morning, and we had beautiful views along the coast. I didn't see any whales though! but Lacy said she saw lots of whales on the marathon course. I loved the rolling hills and ocean breezes along the route. It didn't get too hot until the last 2-3 miles, then it started to get sunny and humid.
My training for this half marathon was a little different. I've been doing Crossfit 4-5 times a week, so I was only running once on the weekend, with maybe one shorter run during the week. Other than that, I'd been weight lifting, doing HIIT, and running sprints of 400-800 meters at Crossfit. So I wasn't really expecting to run a fast race. I thought I'd just have fun and try to keep a consistent pace. But I did notice during my training runs that I seemed to be able to hold a faster pace (when my quads weren't sore from squats and lunges, lol).
I started the race at a smart pace. I didn't want to start out too fast. I felt like I was holding back a little, but I still ran the first mile in 9:04! That ended up being the slowest mile of the entire race- good race execution. I'm always happy when I finish faster than I started! From there I was holding an 8:45 pace pretty consistently. I was feeling pretty good until the last 3 miles. Then I started to get tired and it was more of a struggle to hold the pace, but I knew I could break 2 hours and maybe get a PR!
The last mile I was pushing as hard as I could. I knew I was definitely going to get a sub-2, and that was super exciting! but I also knew I was close to my PR. I was getting overheated on that last mile, but I wanted to finish strong! I started to feel nauseated the last half a mile, and after I crossed the finish line I threw up from over-exertion (just a little bit!). But overall it was a great race and I felt great!
I ended up finishing in 1:54 exactly, which is my second best time ever! I missed a PR by 26 seconds, but I had a great run and did better than I expected!
Mile 1: 9:04 slowest mile
Mile 2: 8:44
Mile 3: 8:46
Mile 4: 8:37
Mile 5: 8:56 slow
Mile 6: 8:38
Mile 7: 8:41
Mile 8: 8:47
Mile 9: 8:31 fast
Mile 10: 8:42
Mile 11: 8:39
Mile 12: 8:44
Mile 13: 8:21 fastest mile
This may have been the most consistent pacing I've ever had during a race! Most of my miles were between 8:37 and 8:47.
Official Time: 1:54:00 8:43 min/mile pace 3rd place in Females 30-34
Oh yeah, I also got third place in my age group! I wouldn't have even known, except I was talking to a guy at the finish line, and he said, "I think you may have placed. Not too many girls around your age finished before you." So I went and checked the results and was shocked to see that I got third out of 24 in my age group! I got a really cool award.
