Out the Hard Highway....

On the Road Again....

1. Looking back along Kalaniana'ole toward Diamond Head

2. Up the Lighthouse Road.

Its been a while since I was on the roads, or at least it seems that way. I did do that 40 up the Haleakela a few weeks ago, but that was mostly uphill and it isn't the same as running along Kalanianeole out toward Hawaii Kai. Lots more concrete and the ground is almost flat at 10 feet above sea level.

I left the house at about 6:15 headed for Makapu'u, walking fast and listening to my body complain about the time and place. It was slow, as my time checks were putting me farther and farther behind the paces I have set previously over the same ground. But its been a while and I was not interested in 'sprinting' out the starting gate. But I hit the top of the hill in Kaimuki along Waialae Avenue and I was 20 minutes behind my one-hour pace marker. I started pushing a bit figuring I could make up some ground along the bottom of Waialae and out onto Kalanianeole. I did, and for the first few miles of the road toward Hawaii Kai I was making an impressive pace. I looked at my watch and realized that I could be into Hawaii Kai under 2 hours if I kept up the pace.

But things have a way of changing fast and moving slow. I started to notice that the fast jog was starting to remind me of problems I used to have when I was running this stretch with Don when he was getting ready for Bad Water. My knee was hurting, and I was beginning to feel that nagging ache in my right hip. My piriformus was muttering nasty things and my left foot was starting to pick up some pain in the ball of my big toe. I backed off a bit, changed the pace, walked, ran some more, and continued to vary it as much as I felt I needed. But it was all over as far as the running was concerned and I knew I was going to have to walk long and steady to pace myself out of the spasms that had set in on me.

The two hours into Hawaii Kai evaporated. I was at the Lunalilo Home Road turn by 2:30 or so. I pushed on and was shaking my head as I remembered that I had often been to the top of the hill by this time on other occasions. Somewhere down near the Fire Station Don passed me in his car. I figured he'd pull over and give me a lift. I was looking for one! But instead he said something inane like 'I'll meet you at the Park!" and sped off. The park was over a mile away. I adjusted my pace and pushed on. 15 minutes later I rounded the corner at the light and saw Don coming down the hill. We greeted, discussed the plan, and decided to head over to Makapu'u. He was parked in the school yard and I was not comfortable with that. He is a presentable kind of guy, but I figured I'd be picked up for sure if I was caught hanging out near an elementary school. Better to just move the car and run somewhere else.

We headed over to Makapu'u and did some repeats. It was an overcast day, with calm seas. The first time up we didn't spot any whales, and a lady we met remarked that she never saw whales on calm days. The next time up and down we saw a half dozen whales. They must have been waiting for that woman to leave the hill.

So in the end I did about 12 miles for the day. I felt pretty good. The pains from the hard highway ebbed and my legs snapped back well. It was what I was hoping for.