Even though I had about 50 items lined up on the hotel lounge chair (perfectly worn in Asics, Balega seamless socks, 7 vanilla Gu gels, liter of Fiji water, Garmin Forerunner, iPod shuffle, lucky Nike hat, tiny shorts, friction-less sports bra, body glide, sunblock, pre-race Lara bar and apple, throw away hoodie for the start) all lined up by 2pm the day before the race, I still woke up an hour before the 2:30am alarm with the anxiety that only a race day can bring.
I methodically put on each item, tied my shoes, and headed out to catch the bus to the start line. The Maui Marathon was upon me and the only way back to the hotel was to run. Boarding the school bus, I was pumped to see a Miami Dolphins decal above the windshield–a little message from my ailing grandma who took me to almost every home game before I left for college. She promised she’d be with me for this. My friend and I sat in the first bus bench as we drove the 26+ miles to the start line analyzing every hill and landmark. It was like a reverse rollercoaster ride…the more downhill we went the more anxious I got because that meant more hills on the run. My stomach started doing little back flips. I’d been skipping the hill training to save my knees and this looked to be no joke on the incline/decline action.
Our bus pulled up to the prep area. Everyone began their little pre-race rituals…my favorite of which were the large Asian tour groups stretching in unison with Michael Phelps style blue shoulder tape uniformly all over their calves. They meant business and they were matching to make it happen!! We took our first Gu gel and did relays in the port-o-potty line…nervous as hell for what would be our first full 26.2.
We lined up at the start line by time groups, amped to finally get this thing underway. The conch shell blew right on time at 5:30am and the 1200+ marathon runners trickled into the streets of Kapalui in the darkness. Gradual hills greeted us for a warm-up in the first 3 miles at the end of which my iPod decided to ditch out and die. So much time spent on that damn playlist and now the best I could do was to try and sing the songs I knew the words to in my head. (This is the second time I’ve lost my music in a race setting.) Maybe God is challenging me, I thought. It took the next 3 miles to quit being pissed off about that and then I found my groove. Not going to stop me.
A 60-something Ironman pro pulled up next to me on the downhill to Maaelea Bay and let me know “he could watch me run all day. You have a nice steady stride he said.” Man did I need that.
By this time the Maui style water stations started getting more and more entertaining. Ten to twenty Hawaiian children would man each water spot shouting “water” or “Gatorade” to us. They’d spray us with water from plastic spray bottles and later on would hand us soaking wet sponges to put on the back of our necks. I loved their chants, cowbells and encouragement, especially as we began to ascend up the hills. They were truly impressed by us.
Miles 9-12 featured curvy, hill-side highway running. I was so glad when I heard some one say we’d taken out the big hill and the rest would be easier. Mental relief. I could’ve hugged that guy.
Ticking past the halfway point, I was in gear and back around a 9-minute mile feeling the joy of the flats after that long climb. And then the sun came out in full blast. Maui’s UV rating is rarely under 10. With the heat around 80 degrees and 60% humidity, it was game on..woman against nature. Though the sun was at our backs the entire race, the coastline of Maui provides minimal to no shade. Every now and then an ocean breeze would roll up and push you from behind a little, but for the remainder of the race it was the gradual inclines and declines, me and the sun battling it out.
There is so much hoopla about how marathoners bonk the last 6 miles and can’t finish that once I crossed that 20th-mile sign I felt like I was waiting for the demise of my fellow runners, let alone potentially my own. I heard many conversations between running group members about how the race was harder than they imagined due to the heat. I heard three separate ambulances push through traffic to pick up a forlorn runner. I knew I’d be ok and was grateful for the hot runs I’d done and my Miami childhood that taught me to tolerate conditions like these. “Over-hydrate,” I thought. “Grab three cups and refill your fuel belt.”
I found a comfort zone running between some salt and pepper runners with “50 state marathoner” on their shirts. They held pace and moved smoothly over changes in terrain. I felt like with them, finishing was for certain.
We ran through the quaint town of Lahaina for the last stretch. I had my final Gu gel at 23.5 miles shortly after I saw the sign “Believe in yourself” held up by some spectators on the sidewalk. “Good sign,” I yelled. “It’s for you!,” they cheered back.
I pulled myself together. All this training for the past several months and this was my opportunity to finish right. I saw one of my 50th state friends break into a walk in the last stretch in Kaanapali and turned to him and said “c’mon we got this, half a mile.” And then I took off. I wanted nothing more than to cross the line and take a cold shower.
Final 400 meters. I practiced this so many times. Lengthened my stride and got ready to put my arms up in victory. They announced me as #853 from LA finishing at 4:44. About 30 mins behind what I was hoping but in the top 30th percentile of everyone who participated and women in my division. Not bad for a first. I slowed myself to a stop and finally felt the ache of my quads in full. Kinda felt like I had a couple of 2X4s implanted on the top of my leg. Awesome.
Hands down, I’d rather a dead iPod and a couple uniformly sore quads over all the other things that could’ve happened on my race day.
I headed back to my hotel, only to find that when I took out the last Gu gel in Lahaina I never zipped my fuel belt compartment back up, leaving my driver’s license, debit card and hotel key somewhere along the roadside. Wonderful. I started to worry about how I’d get home to LA without identification. I hustled back to the finish line. Lucky me, some one had picked up my license and ran it down to the race finish. Runner’s are truly some of the coolest people you’ll meet…especially the joggers! They always have your back.
The neatest part of a marathon to me is that every person participating has their own story from the course, their own reason for being there, and their own personal victory for crossing the finish line. You can feel the energy of that in the efforts they put forth under heat, humidity and pain. These are people who will not admit defeat even in the most adverse conditions.
It’ll probably take a week for me to get my legs back in full function, and I will be waiting for my new debit card in the mail, but the Maui Marathon was worth every mile that went into it today and every training day before it. On to the next one!
