I'm back from the land of the Lotus-Eaters. I returned to L.A. from Hawaii late on Saturday night, wedged tightly on the plane against a 6'4" 375-lb. giant. At least I had the aisle seat. He couldn't even put his arms down without knocking out either me or his wife.
But I digress. Here are a few photos of the
Honolulu Marathon, courtesy of
E. The first is of me taking a break at Mile 22. The second is of me stretching my cramping calves and hamstrings at Mile 24.
The third is of a typical race supporter as we ran through Honolulu neighborhoods. Note the enthusiasm! The fourth is of Japanese race supporters, who cheered madly for their countrymen and women, but fell silent when American runners slogged by.
More Mileage: I ran 14 miles yesterday, a week after the marathon. My legs felt sluggish and heavy. My pace was 9:30/mile. And I've got another 20-miler this weekend.
Sigh.
Can I tell you something? I am so SICK of marathon training, which I've been doing, albeit inconsistently and half-assed, since July (!). I am actually dreading the
Carlsbad Marathon on January 20. I don't know if I can PR in that race, much less qualify for Boston.
Heck, I'm not even sure I can run a sub-4:00. With all the life changes recently - moving cross-country, buying a house, starting a new job - my heart's just not in it right now.
But I've got five weeks. Okay, actually 4 1/2. How much training can I do in that time? I'll find out.
I'm going to put my head down and gut out the training until then. And after the race? No more long runs over 12 miles until I look towards my fall marathon. I'm thinking Chicago ....
