Friday 12/05

Thursday: 125.4, 30%

09:00 Cereal
12:00 Thai Curry
16:30 Turkey Sandwich
20:00 2 Glasses of Milk

Played soccer today, felt like I had two left feet, but it was still fun.
Also did a WOD (Workout of the day): 10 pushups, 10 situps (full up, not crunches, feet unsecured), 15 squats. AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) in 10 minutes. I did 6 rounds for 60 pushups, 60 situps, and 90 squats. I didn't time the rounds.

Friday: 123.6, 29.5%

10:00 2 eggs on a slice of toast with cheese
12:00 Green Tea Frappacino (yes, I expect to have gained weight by tomorrow)

Wednesday

124.8 pounds, 30% bf

9:00 1c KashiWheat Cereal (190c)
12:00 Eggplant & Tofu curry over brown rice
14:00 Apple & Cheese
15:00 two chocolate wafers

Tuesday

125.6 pounds, 29.5 bf
Must have been retaining water from the trip.

Didn't exercise yesterday, or today. Had a nasty headache. Caffeine withdrawal I suppose.

9:00 1c KashiWheat Cereal (190c)
12:00 Salad
19:00 Tortilla Soup and A Margarita

Starting over

Got back from CA last night. The damage?

127 pounds, 29.5 bf

Ugh. I gained four pounds over vacation, just two weeks. I honestly didn't think I ate that badly, but I guess there wasn't enough activity to burn even that. Ok, deep breath and recommit. Cutting out soda and sweets. More salad, fruits, veggies, and proteins like baked chicken or fish. Less wine and margaritas (if I say none of that, I'll definitely fail. Too draconian). Hope I don't get a caffeine headache this afternoon.

Food today:

Tea
9:00 1c KashiWheat Cereal (190c)
10:30 Apple & Cheese (340c)
12:30 Tofu & Eggplant Curry w/ Brown Rice (300?)
19:00 Glass of Milk
20:00 Tortilla Soup

Off to California!

We're leaving tonight for LA to visit family, hit up some wineries, and take my niece and nephew to Disneyland. The Disney thing should be interesting, I hope we're all still talking to each other by the end of the day. Back in a few weeks.

Here we go again

Yeah, I've been MIA for a while. It hasn't been pretty and I've used up pretty much every excuse I had to avoid proper training. I've mostly been having fun: playing soccer and riding my mountain bike. It's been nice, but I notice some muscle loss, and I really need to be better about watching what I eat. Eating like I'm still training isn't doing me any favors.

I went to the Doctor about the shoulder and was told that it was an inflammation that was feeding on itself so it couldn't heal. This sounded a little strange, but one Cortizone shot and some anti-inflammatories later, and I'm about 98% better than I was a few months ago. There's still some soreness when I lift the arm straight up and reach, but that's minor compared to what I've been dealing with. So, YAY!

To test it out, I went to a Master's swim class after soccer on Tuesday. To my surprise, not once did I notice or think about the shoulder during the class. Of course, it would have been hard to notice anything other than my gasps as I struggled across the pool. To go from the 1000 meter distance at a cruising pace to 1500 yards done in rapid spurts was a little jarring. I'm not in the shape I once was.

So, I was properly humbled and still deserve the slow lane, but that's ok, when you're slow, you have lots of room for improvement. At least that's what the coach said while trying to console me...

Just for data, the coach had me do 4x100yds (short course) with 10 seconds rest, trying to keep each one the same pace. My times: 1'55", 1'55", 1'57", 1'55". Pretty consistent, but slow. Pretty sad considering I really was trying. If I want to get better, she said I need to devote at least two to three days a week to it.

Here was the class (everything in yards, pool was short course):

6x75 kicking, 15 seconds rest (total 450)
4x100, 10" rest (400m, 850)
4x100 @ 2'10" (400m, 1250)
4x75 (breast, kick, breast) (300, 1500)
Cool down

At least that's what I recall, there may have been more. Still, that's 500 more than what I've been doing in a session lately. I got through it, although I noticed my stroke really falling apart by the end. The coach mentioned that to start with, we'll work on endurance, and then on technique. But just by virtue of doing more swimming and building the endurance that I would get faster. Apparently the average distance they do each day is about 2400 to 2700. Dang, that's a long way.

In other news, I have a bike ride up Tantalus w/ A after work today, and tomorrow is another Soccer and Master's swim day. Hope I don't drown.

Training

So after the HonTri, I went on a trip to CA to visit family. On the way home, I got my normal souvenir: a cold! This morphed into Bronchitis. Four weeks later I was finally feeling normal again. No Tinman Triathlon for this year, I'm afraid. That was just too long a break to recover and put in a performance I'd be pleased with. So, I've just been having fun doing my own thing: Mountain biking, soccer, and hashing mostly. The shoulder is STILL messed up, so I haven't been doing a lot of swimming. I know, it's stupid of me not to have done anything about it. I'm stubborn like that.

Starting tomorrow, I'm joining a Mountain Bike Clinic. It's put on by the same group that taught DH and I to ride last year, and we're really looking forward to it. A year ago, I didn't even own a bike, now it's something we do every week. I'm looking forward to learning more advanced skills. Last year I was so overwhelmed with the newness of everything, I'm not sure that I actually took much in. I think I'm in a better place now to learn what they were trying to teach. Hopefully this will translate into more trails that I can handle, and less falling.

I had the most amazing run yesterday. I went for a run on Kailua Beach, an out and back from end to end. The sun was setting and the main crowds have gone home leaving the beach to the walkers and joggers. For whatever reason, it felt like I had limitless energy, I just wasn't getting tired. Well, there was one exception. Around half-way through the run, my calves let it be known they weren't happy with me. Ooops. I guess it's been a while since I last ran on the beach, and they aren't as strong as they once were. It didn't even cross my mind that it might be a problem. Still, I finished the run, but I'm a little sore today.

At the end of the run, I went and floated in the water, looking up at the sky. The sun had set, and the sky was a pinkish purple haze with the color reflected in the water coming up on sand. Over by the mountains, the final rays of the sun were shining on the clouds, turning them bright orange. It was just amazing.

I can't believe I live here, I'm one of the luckiest souls on earth.

Honolulu Triathlon 2008

Saturday, May 18

Apparently, I never got around to posting this, so here's what I remember:

Finished my second Honolulu Triathlon, and it was much better than the last.

Swim: 33:39
T1: 2:15
Bike: 1:15:50
T2: 2:24
Run: 1:05:41

Total: 3:00:52

Last year's time? 3:11:22

I PR'd by 10 minutes! WhooHoo!

I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to do the race. I went snowboarding a month ago and took a nasty spill, messing up my shoulder. Given that, my swim stroke is all out of wack. I saw a Chiropractor a few times right before the race and that helped quite a bit, but I was still worried going in.

My strategy for the swim was just extend out as far as I could before it hurt and draft as much as possible. The strategy did the trick because it seemed like the swim was over in no time at all. I was really surprised when I realized how close I was to the finish. The course is an out an back at Ala Moana Beach park, and coming back has you looking straight into the rising sun, so I really couldn't see further than the next buoy. I beat last year's swim time by 1m12s. With the bad shoulder, I was stunned by this, I fully expected to swim several minutes slower. I actually did a double take at my watch when I hit the beach, I just couldn't believe it. A pleasant surprise.

My transition went well. For whatever reason, I opted to go without socks. They were there are ready to go, but I saw someone I know go trotting by and I just couldn't wait to chase them, so the socks were ditched. I know, ewww. Sorry. Still, my transition was almost 2 minutes faster this year than last. Was it the fault of the socks? Don't know, but there is coincidental evidence.

The bike went MUCH better than last year. Last year I felt sluggish and my stomach was revolting, this year I knew that no matter what happened, I was going to eat and drink, even if it made me throw up. Fortunately, there were no issues and I had a decent ride. It wasn't my fastest ever, but I think I went hard and still saved just enough for the run. The bike was 4m38s faster than last year.

T2... I really don't remember anything about T2. This got blanked out somewhere along the way. 2 seconds faster than last year, and still didn't put the socks on. Yes, this is the last run for those shoes. It's time for new ones anyway.

The run. It got a little ugly here, but not as bad as last year. If I want to do better next year, I think the one thing that would bring the most improvement would be to train more in heat. Most, if not all, of my training is done in the early morning or late afternoon, but by the time I hit the run during this race, it's in the high 80's with high humidity and I about keel over. I was slooow, but the bright side it that the only time I walked was through the aid stations. So at least mentally, I'm getting a little better at making myself suck it up when it's uncomfortable. I just need to learn to push it harder rather than just get through it. Knocked 3m49s off last year's time.

All three events were better than last year, and I see exactly what I need to do to get better. I don't expect to drop another 10 minutes, but I'm definitely planning on breaking 3 hours.

Mountain Biking

DH and I spent our Sunday morning going Mountain Biking in Norfolk. It wasn't a particularly long ride since we had to get back in time for our Mountain Ball game, but it was fun. I fell... a lot... and I'm thinking about switching my cleats to ones that DH just got that are supposed to come out much more easily. He hasn't fell once due to being clipped in since getting them, and even though it's easier for me to get out than it used to, I still find myself on the ground quite a bit. Needless to say, I have a whole new crop of cuts and bruises. No biggie.

Right at the start of the ride as we were heading to the trail, we encountered two pigs on the side of the road. We came around a corner and scared the hell out of them. One went straight up the embankment, which was practically vertical. It would have made it too if the vegetation at the top wasn't so thick. It jumped down and followed the other which was running right along side me and the darted into the bushes when it reached an opening. I've never seen a wild pig before, very cool.

The rest of the ride was filled with exploring the trails and trying to figure out how they all interconnect. Now that the trails are drying up, hopefully we can start riding more consistently so I can get stronger and work on my skills. I enjoy it, but it'd be nice to stay upright a little more than I've been doing.

Hash Run #11: Saturday Hash in Kahalu'u

Apparently, different hash groups handle things very differently. The Tuesday group I usually run with is pretty mellow, there is some crass behavior and the ever-present beer, but it's generally fairly tame. For the first time, I ran with the Saturday hash this weekend. It was a whole 'nuther ballgame. They take hashing VERY seriously. Starting with the run, which from what I understand is always off road and a longer distance, to the circle after the run.

The run was up to a waterfall in the mountains. We started at Kahalu'u park on Waihe'e Street, and went up the road which dead ends at a trail head. The trail had a Turkey/Eagle split, and since I didn't know what to expect, I figured I'd play it safe and go the Turkey route. Thank goodness I did because the Turkey was hard enough. It was pretty much just straight climbing all the way up to the waterfall with a beer check along the way. My hip flexors are aching today, and I blame all the uphill.

Since I was wearing a swimsuit, I followed some of the others and stood under the waterfall for a while. That water was cold! It made me gasp a little, but it sure felt good. Besides, how wonderful is it to get to stand under a waterfall in March? After the beer and getting soaked, we all headed back down. I love the downhill.

It wasn't until after the run that I saw how truly different the two hashes were. I had heard of the circle, but never really seen it in earnest. The GM (no idea what that stands for, I can hazard a guess, but I'm likely wrong) has a paper with the names of new people (virgins), those who need to be named, and returners (those who have been away a while). He goes through the list, calling those from each category into the circle and in short, make them drink a beer. The process seemed very regimented and everyone knew the drill, complete with songs and cat calls.

There were three people that needed to be named, and I was surprised at all that went into it. They let everyone ask the no-namers questions, and asked if anyone knew anything about them, then sent the no-namers away while the rest of group deliberated. This took about 20 minutes with lots of shouting and excitement. Eventually the huddle dispersed, the no-namers were called over and all the rejected names were read off. At the end of this list, the GM goes "Were any of these names good enough" and everyone yells "Hell, No." This is followed by "Henceforth you will be known by the Hash House Harriers as...."

Throughout the day, there were many songs sung and a beer keg was brought in (we all pay $5 when we register for the run). They even had a grill going. It was quite a party. The group's a little more raucous than what I'm comfortable with, but everyone seems genuinely nice. I'll just have to adapt.

Swamp Romp!

On Saturday, I woke up at the insanely early hour of 4:45, put on clothes that I bought specifically with the intent to destroy them, forced down a slice of toast with peanut butter (I couldn't get the cap off the jar of Strawberry Jelly), and headed off to meet the rest of my team. We congregated at the Aikahi Safeway and caravanned onto the Marine Base.

We followed the huge line of cars, and were pointed into a parking stall by the ever efficient Marines. At this point, it's about 6AM and the race starts at 7, so we get ready and head over to the start. Since this race is done in teams, many groups wear costumes or matching uniforms. We were in black pants, black shirts, and camouflage skull caps. According to race rules, we had to wear high-top shoes, and since I didn't have any, I had to hunt for a cheap pair. The only cheap high-tops I could find were in... sigh... Pink! To top it off, they were boys shoes! Go figure they were cheap. I debated spray-painting them, but eventually figured that people would find them entertaining. Of course, it could have also been like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Can you imagine being a big tough Marine running behind a girl in pink shoes? As it was, by 3 minutes into the race, you couldn't tell what color they were anyway, so nobody shoved me into the mud.

The race started at 7, and we were in the second wave. The teams were between 4 and 6 people, and you all started and finished together, no leaving anyone behind. They started three teams at a time with 30 seconds between waves. With 300 teams (1800 individual participants), it took 50 minutes between the first and last waves. I'm glad we were one of the first to start, because the obstacles were still "fresh" when we got there. I can't imagine how slick the A-frame or wall obstacles were by the time the last teams got there. It was hard enough as it was.

Anyway, we started and ran down a nice mud-free stretch for a few minutes. There were a few small mud puddles, which I gleefully ran through to hide the pink, and then we went around a bend.... Whoa! About a quarter-mile of thigh-deep muddy water stretched out in front of us. We had reached the swamp. With no hesitation at all we jumped in and then realized that the water hid a layer of mud that we sunk into up to our knees. After a little thrashing, we found a track of sorts, like a clear path through the mud. It was about a foot wide, so we fell into a single file line and made our way through. The track came and went, but thank heavens it was there at all. As it was, by the time we reached dry land again, my legs were jelly.

The next obstacle was a wall about 7 feet tall. It was built of logs and the bottom ones stuck out a bit giving you a place to put your feet to get over. When I jumped down, my quads cramped up and for a moment I thought I was in serious trouble. I stretched while I waited for the rest of the team to get over and thank heavens, all was well after that. For whatever reason, they gave that mild protest, and I had no further aches or pains anywhere for the rest of the race. Yay!

Next up was a mud puddle leading up to a wood A-frame. It was like a solid plank of wood about 8'x8' and propped up at a 45 degree angle. Since you had to run through the mud before you reached it, the plank was slippery as hell, so you had to charge at it and hope momentum would carry you before your feet skidded out from under you. I ran up and just managed to get my fingers latched onto the top. A team member and some random guy (Thanks, dude!) both grabbed a wrist and hauled me up. Thank heavens or I would have slid back down into the muck. I walked a few feet across the top, and looked down the other side which was a metal sheet which almost went straight down into more muck. I slid down and was startled that the mud came all the way up to my stomach. At the bottom, I waited for the others and yelled "Keep your mouth closed." Yes, this was learned through experience. I shouldn't have gone "Weeee" as I went down. Ick.

After this, things get hazy. I really don't remember a lot of specifics. There were many more walls to be climbed over, and mud bogs to got through. There were a few of note though. At one point, we went down a hill and found some of the nastiest mud on this planet. It was really more like clay. This stuff was grey and had an oder-du-pig-farm. We sank in up to our knees and discovered that it was impossible to get your feet out without going almost horizontal. So, hands had to go into the muck and we skittered across the top of it on hands and knees. Just lovely. You know it's bad when you're looking forward to the next pool of muddy water to get "clean."

After a little while, I noted that there seemed to be an accumulation of mud in my shoes, right around my toes. It wasn't painful, just weird. I felt like I had clown shoes on, and the tips of the shoes were filled with weights. It made my feet feel all floppy as I ran. Along the way, the rest of the team and I would occasionally feel a rock or stick or some odd thing or other poking our feet, but we'd just wait for the next mud puddle to move things around.

There were a couple of parts where you had to get on your hands and knees to go under ropes stretched across pools of muddy water. It really was more like swimming. I stretched my hands in front of me and dug in my toes and pushed across. After this was a run along the beach with a heaven-sent excursion into the water. We went out about 12 feet to touch a buoy and then came back in. It felt sooo good. Of course, as soon as you get all nice and clean, it's right back onto your hands and knees in more mud. After that, muddy water with sudden drop-offs dunking me clear up to my chin. Also duck walking through a water filled pipe.

We noticed after a while, that we had practically started to ignore the walls we had to go over. There was a series of these, about 4 feet tall, and we'd be talking as we approached them, lift ourselves up and over and continue on without ever breaking the conversation. Like it's a normal thing to jog down the street and encounter walls in your path.

Finally, we could hear the cheers of the finish line, and the Marines along the course assured us that we were right around the corner. What they failed to mention was that there was one big nasty obstacle left. We rounded the bend and saw a swamp with ropes laying out a serpentine path through it. We forged in and found the knee-deep mud with water up to the waist again. This time, there was no track, and each step was a struggle to not fall over as you tried to put one foot down and drag the other back up. I saw some people keel right over submerging themselves before coming up sputtering and laughing.

Our team grouped up and we linked arms and ran across the finish line. We all posed for the obligatory finisher's photo (I'll post it when I get a copy of it), and then headed over to the firetruck where firefighters were spraying down the crowd.

Our time was 1'52". Not a fast time by any standard, but we had some very serious shoe malfunctions along the way. Blisters that make you cringe. Still, the wearer of the bad shoes says it was fun and they're willing to do it again next year. Yeah!

Overall, I had a blast. It took me several showers and endless scrubbing to get all the muck out. Don't even ask about what happened when I blew my nose. Everyone was there to have a good time, and I saw many instances of people helping each other out even when they weren't on the same team. Teams aside, it really had a "we're all in this together" mentality. I just loved it and can't wait for next year.

Hash Run #10: Nuuanu Pali Drive

The run on Tuesday ties with the UH/Saint Louis Heights run as my favorite. It was hared by three people, and started at the intersection of Pali Hwy and Nuuanu Pali Drive. The run freaked me out a little at the start because we had to run across the Hwy. I waited for a big gap and dashed across with a dozen other runners, but it just seems like one of those thing that would give my mother a heart attack.

Anyway, once across, we soon found ourselves in a bamboo forest weaving in between, climbing over, and ducking under the trees. There was a guy in front of me with two dogs on leashes, and they kept going around different trees, tangling him up, so he handed one to me until we got far enough from the highway to set them loose. The trail was the least "trail like" of any run yet. I think we were just going randomly through forest. I don't know how the hares knew where they were going because if there weren't copious chalk marks, I would have been lost in a heartbeat. Still, it was loads of fun, going over streams, up and down hills, basically through some incredibly beautiful and varied terrain. What fun. I love this sport.

Mountain Biking pedals/clips

So I took my bike in to deal with a problem that's irked me to no end. I could NOT get out of my pedals. No matter how hard I twisted and turned, once locked in, it was almost a guarantee that I was going to fall since I couldn't get my feet down. If I went in accidently, I spend the next few minutes frantically pedaling and pausing while I tried to twist out. Eventually I'll get it with a supreme effort, but it shouldn't be hard at all. I can pop in and out of my road bike's clips without even thinking about it, so what's going on? I tried adjusting everything every which way, loosening the pedals to as easy as they can go, moving and realigning the cleat on my shoe... I was out of ideas so I went begging to the bike shop.

It turned out that it was a combination of the type of pedal I had with the type of shoe I was wearing. The pedal has a cage around it so I can ride without clipping in, but still have a place to put my foot instead of balancing on the tiny little clip. I figured this was a good thing as I'm still adjusting to mountain biking and would sometimes not want to be clipped in during particularly hairy sections. My shoe has tread so I have traction for the inevitable parts of getting off and walking up big nasty hills. This seemed like a great idea as my road bike shoes would slip and slide in the mud or dirt and it'd make the hills seem twice as long.

Anyway, the mechanic put my shoe on the pedal and had me hold the shoe and move it, you could feel the friction. It was the combination of the tread with the cage where the tread was in contact with the cage and putting upward pressure on the clip, in effect making it impossible for me to get out without pressing down while twisting. Go figure I could only get out when I stood on it at the bottom of a pedal stroke.

The mechanic shaved down a section of the tread (still leaving me plenty to work with) and had me go try things out. I was deliriously happy! I could get in and out like it was nothing, it was as I knew it should be, but had almost given up on. I'm sooo happy. DH is happy too as he's been having the same problem and now we know how to fix it.

I can't wait to go riding and try it out!

Trail Run: Round Top

It was 7:30AM on Sunday, and I forced myself out of my car at the park on Round Top. After a stretch and much complaining about the wind, we split up into groups and headed out. I again resisted going into the faster group as I keep rolling my ankle and I wanted to be able to focus on where I place my feet. I really don't want to get caught with a twisted ankle miles out on the trail.

We started with 7 people and the trail seemed decent enough at first, but about a half-hour in, we started encountering big pockets of mud and the pockets got soupier and bigger as we went along. One woman slipped and fell on her rear right in front of me, ick. At an hour out, one person turned around, I never suspected she was going to become my salvation later that day.

We hit a part of the trail where it was a weave of roots covering a sea of mud. The only way to stay out of the mud was to walk on the slippery roots. By this time, my new trail shoes were already so drenched that I could feel the mud squishing in my socks. We made a left onto Nuuanu trail and continued on. The leader had originally planned to do an out-and-back, but after discussion with the group, it was agreed to do a loop, at least that's the last I had heard.

We hit a section of really steep downhills, my favorite! Another woman and I just love these and went galloping down as fast as we can, eventually leaving the group behind. We eventually stopped to wait for everyone to catch up... crickets chirping... No one came. Thinking we must have missed a turn, we headed back up the big nasty hill. It's funny how my feelings about a hill change depending on the direction. We did spot a tiny trail to one side, but it didn't look used, so we were very confused. Did the others turn back?

Since neither of us had a map, or knew the trails, we figured our safest option was to go back the way we came. The problem with that was soon revealed in about 30 minutes when we hit a cross trail and weren't sure which way to go. Apparently neither of us were paying much attention at that point. We made a guess and headed on to see if any of it looked familiar, and then we hit another cross trail. I pointed it out to the other woman and she said she knew for sure that trail went to a road. I figured this was a good thing, far better than being lost in the forest, so we took it. Sure enough, we soon emerged out on a utility access road which took us down to what turned out to be near the top of Tantalus.

Once we hit Tantalus, it took us a minute to figure out where we were, but eventually we got oriented and started walking towards Round Top. Right about then, a car went by with a familiar face behind the wheel, it was the woman who had turned back early! She asked us how the heck we got over there and told us to get in the car, as we were way too far from the park. It turned out we were about five miles from where we needed to be. Granted that's going by the windy roads instead of over the direct trail route, but still, I was floored that we were so far away.

When we got back and hopped out of the car, we got some very strange looks and the inevitable questioning of how we came to be in someone's car. We started telling the tale, when to my dismay, the other woman basically put all the blame on me. She said she thought I knew the trail (I've never been here before, and never claimed otherwise), and that she had said she once got lost before right at the part where we got lost (she had said she had gotten lost, but not specified where, and one would think she had learned from it). Basically, she went on disclaiming all responsibility. Now, while I'm perfectly willing to own up to my own stupidity, I figured I had an equal partner in all this. She made the exact same mistakes I did, yet she's trying to make it look like I dragged her into it. Very classy. Oh well, now I have her measure.

The rest of our group showed up a few minutes later, and were stunned to see us. We both asked what happened to the other. It turned out the group leader planned on turning around right at the start of the downhills. I don't know why neither of us were aware of that, but so be it. She said they called for us, but eventually headed back.

At the least, I learned some lessons for trail running:
1.) Bring a map
2.) Bring a cell phone (we did)
3.) Program the cell numbers of the other members of your group and other groups into the cell (we didn't)
4.) Don't leave the group (duh)

Next week is out at Kaena Point, which I think I'll skip. Four hours of driving round trip to go for a run seems a little silly and a waste of a day. I'm planning on joining some friends for a bike ride instead.

Hash run #9: Manoa

While I didn't go to the Hash this week, I apparently didn't write about last week. We started at the UH Astronomy Center on Woodlawn, with the pack off at 5:45. The route meandered through Manoa Valley streets, taking us past various points of interest: the Waioli Tea Room (where a big chunk of the pack went the wrong way at a trail check), lots of houses with unusual architecture, and a Chinese Cemetery. I had no idea that Cemetery was there, and it's pretty cool with unique headstones and monuments, it even has statues of the animals of the Chinese calendar.

Coming out of the cemetery, we had to cut through a hedge where there was a break in the bushes, and some guy on the other side yelled at us saying we couldn't go through there. We were already through, did he want us to go back? We just said sorry and ran on.

I'd guess we ran about 4 or 5 miles, with lots and lots of hills. You would think I'd be used to those by now, but they don't seem to be getting any easier. Had the on-afters on the Center's lawn, but I didn't stick around for long, it was just too windy and cold and I only had a t-shirt and shorts. I liked this hash, for a road run it was visually scenic and had challenging terrain.

Trail Run #2

Early Sunday morning, I met the group at the Waimanalo Trail head where we broke up into groups and headed out. I went with the medium group after successfully fending off an attempt to put me with the fast group. Thank heavens for that, because the medium group kicked me around as it was.

I blame the Camelbak I was wearing. I've used it for Mountain Biking without a problem, but apparently it doesn't translate into running so well. I don't know why, but I couldn't seem to catch my breath. It could be the fact that going out on that trail means a constant uphill and I suck on uphills, or it could be lingering tiredness from yesterday evening's beach run, but I blame the evil CamelBak. I could use some suggestions as to what my excuse will be next week now that I'm kicking the CamelBak to the curb.

You know how I said I did the beach run to prepare for the Swamp Romp? What a waste. Today's run would have been sufficient. The entire trail was a huge slime pit. I don't think we got very far in the two hours we were out, but by the time I got back to the car, my legs were encased in mud clear up to my knees. Why is it that being covered in mud fills me with a sense of pride? It's twisted, I know.

Another Monk seal and sore legs

DH and I have a "bet" to motivate us to work out more. Here it is in a nutshell. "Whoever works out less during the week has to make a "nice" dinner sometime the following week." There are "sub-rules" but I won't bore you with the details except that for the purposes of the bet, the week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday.

So it was Saturday, we had plans to workout together on Sunday, and I was already down one day. To avoid making dinner, I went for a run along the beach. I've been doing a good bit of running, but I feel ill-prepared for Swamp Romp. Since running in the sand is supposed to be a good simulation for all the mud, so I'm told, it seemed a good thing to try out.

Now, my DH has relatives who live along the beach and as I approached their house I saw caution tape and a crowd of people. Seeing an Aunt, I went over to say hi. She said "You've come to see the seal!" More a statement than a question, and I was completely lost. She pointed, I looked over, and Whoa, there was a Monk Seal! Nobody tells us anything.

Apparently he's been hanging out there since New Year's Day. I've been here my whole life, and I'd never seen a seal up close until that hash run a month or so ago, and now here's another one. Cool.

After talking story a while, I ran back to the car, pausing for a quick dip in water that was warmer than the air. It all sounds idyllic, I know. The beach, the sky changing colors as the sun goes down, a seal, warm water... But I woke up this morning and my calves are so tight I can't walk without hobbling unless I wear my tallest high heels. Argh!

Mountain Biking

After work yesterday, DH met me at the top of St. Louis Heights with the bikes. We got our bikes in October/November, but with all the rain we've been having we've hardly gotten to go out at all. There's been no rain for two days in a row, and we decided that's as good as it's going to get for now, so best take advantage of it. Good thing, too, because today? It rained.

We just rode two loops around, and I was surprised at how hard a workout it was. All the roots are exposed, making for a very bumpy ride. I fell a few times going up on the first loop. I swear that bush I fell into attacked me. On the second loop, I stayed out of my clips, avoided the ill-tempered bush, and all was well.

The downhill was rough with all the roots. I realized at the end of the second downhill that I was all tensed up and this caused my upper body to feel like it was over a jackhammer. I need to remember to loosen up and relax the upper body.

I have a few new scrapes and bruises, but it was great to be out again. Hopefully more days of sunshine will happen soon.

Tonight? A pickup soccer game. Possibly in mud. It's going to be fun!

Hash run #8: UH and Saint Louis Heights

This was my favorite trail so far. It started at the park next to the Hawaiian Studies building. We went onto campus, through the Japanese garden, over (or into in some cases) Manoa Stream, and from then on we saw no more pavement until the on-home. We went up the Saint Louis Heights trails for what seemed like forever.

We hiked up and up, eventually I stopped and looked behind me to see the sun setting. I have got to get a camera phone to take with me on these. The sun was a huge dark orange ball hanging right over the water and the sky had so many colors. I wanted to stop and watch it go down, but the pack was moving and I didn't want to get left behind.

I'm not very good with going up hills yet, but the whole time we were climbing I just kept thinking of the reward of the downhill. The downhill was a blast, as always, but over far too quickly. There were two Eagle/Turkey splits, and both times I took the Eagle. While I always doubt the wisdom of those decisions at the time, I've haven't regretted it yet.

It was a great trail which left me in a good mood for the rest of the night. I'm also happy that I wasn't one of the people who had the wild pig run right in front of them. This one just ran by, but I hear that some of them can get mean. I wouldn't have had a clue as to what to do. Take its picture, maybe?

Hash name

Well I finally got a hash name. They kept delaying giving me one as they were unable to dig up much dirt and I didn't do anything terribly distinguishing on any of the runs... That is until the last one. It was a Christmas hash where the trail leads through downtown past all the Christmas lights, eventually finishing up with going through Honolulu Hale (City Hall where they have a big display of trees every year) and then back for the on-afters Christmas party, completed with pu-pus and a grab-bag gift exchange.

While stopped at a light, waiting to cross, a fire truck went by. I knew my husband was driving it as he was working and it was his truck. I waved, knowing he wouldn't see me anyway, and thought no more about it. As we ran towards the State Capitol building I saw flashing lights, and looking ahead, saw a firefighter standing on the sidewalk looking in our direction. It was DH. So, I ran ahead of the group, up to DH, and gave him a kiss. They had finished their call and were about to go when another hasher ran by and told him I was just behind.

Apparently, kissing someone on a hash run is enough to get you named. I knew I was in trouble given the reaction of the hashers at the site. I got some good-natured teasing on the run, and it didn't take long for the story to circulate at the on-after.

I am now "Fire Extinguisher." There was some dissent on the name, with some voting for "Fire Starter" and others rooting for "Burning Bush." I actually kind of like the other two better, but I'm perfectly content with what I got. From what I gather, it's an unusually mild name, and compared to many others I've heard, I won't be complaining.

New things

So this past Saturday I went on the first of a series of Trail runs. It's part of a trail running clinic, each weekend we meet at different trails around the island. This one started at the Pali lookout. We met at 7AM and I was seriously questioning my sanity as I sat in my parked car looking at the howling wind and driven rain. It really was only a light misting, but at 7am things look worse than they are. Still, eventually I got out of the car and joined the group.

We headed down the road which eventually connects to Maunawili trail. I haven't been down the road in about 10 years, and the last time I saw it, it was wide open with very little overgrowth. It was unrecognizable now. You can see how civilizations become lost to history once they're abandoned. The plants had taken over, leaving little more than a narrow footpath through the growth. It's odd walking along and seeing pavement under your feet while surrounded by vegetation that's grown over your head.

Once we got into the proper trail, the wind was blocked and it was a lovely morning. Since the trail was rather muddy and slick in a number of areas, we walked more than ran, but we did about 7 miles, and I had a good time. The scenery is stunning and I find trail running to be a lot more fun than road running. Part of it is the view and lack of cars, but I think it's because your mind is so engaged on where your foot is going to land that you don't really ponder how tired you are. I don't know if I'll make a good trail runner, as so often I wanted to stop to look at the view. You just can't look up very much without risk of falling.

I ended up with some really muddy shoes and splatters all over my legs, but I just loved it. There's something about being covered in mud by 9AM that's oddly satisfying. Maybe because you know that even if you spend the rest of the day doing nothing at all, you can still consider the day a success. Still, because of the mud I went and bought a pair of trail shoes the very next day. I can't wait to get them dirty.

In other news, about two weeks ago I went for one of my favorite runs where I go from our place to the Lanikai pillbox and back (maybe about 4 miles with a short but intense off-road hike in the middle). On the way home, passing the beach park, I saw a bunch of people playing soccer. I asked if it was a pickup game, the response was in the affirmative, combined with the question "You want to play?" Sure! I wish I hadn't already done my run, because I was already tired, but I had a blast. It's been ages since I last played, but the skills come back fairly quickly. The hardest part was that I was in my running shoes and the ground was a little slick, so I slipped a lot.

I found out that they play every week. I just added another event to my calendar! I quit playing soccer when I realized I wasn't enjoying it. I wasn't getting a lot out of the practices (my fault, I'm sure), and people were taking things too seriously in the games. I just wanted to play and I was in a situation where it just wasn't any fun anymore. A pickup game is just what I needed to remember why I liked soccer in the first place.

Between soccer, trail running, hashing, and mountain biking, I think I've finally realized that exercise can be fun. It's about darn time.