Great Aloha Run

On Monday, Scotty, and my two co-workers Misty and Karesse and I all walked the Great Aloha Run! It is a 8.15 miles and the route goes from the Aloha Tower in Downtown Honolulu to the Aloha Stadium. We got up early (4:00 am) to park at the Aloha Stadium where we met up with Misty and Karesse. We parked the cars and rode buses back to downtown to begin the race.

We met up at the lunch room in the office where I work with a bunch of other employees. We got a few energy bars, bottled water and bananas to give us some energy. It was fun to see everyone in their matching t-shirts.

 

As we headed out, it was crazy to have the downtown streets closed and packed with tons of people all lining up to begin the run.

My friend Olivia gave me a tip for the run, she said "Now when you get with the big crowd, be sure to hold your elbows out so you can make sure people don't come into your personal space!" Ha! I thought that was so funny as I was just WALKING and she was an "elite" runner. I think that the elbow technique is more for the hard core runners who need to make sure they finish in a particular time frame. However, it does get a little crowded so it's good to have a tough looking husband to accompany you and keep others out of your personal space.

Some of the participants like to dress up in crazy costumes. I saw this lady with the funky hat several times.... I wonder if it made her head sweat more than usual....

There was also a guy dressed up like one of the Nabi people from the Avitar- we had to take a picture...

Yeah.... I saw him at the end and most of the blue make up was all sweated off and he looked pretty terrible....I should've taken a before and after picture of him.

It was so exciting as we crossed the start line, everyone had these little chip things that you put on your shoes to track your time. There was this consistent ringing noise as everyone's chips made the sensors go off. It was so fun to feel apart of something with so many others

Scotty has this camelback backpack that we use for hiking. I LOVE it and was happy to have my hands free for the whole walk. We filled it with ice and water which was so refreshing as we walked the 8.15 miles.

A majority of the walk's route is under the freeway which is pretty nice cuz it is out of the sun. This was my 4th time walking the Great Aloha Run and this time was most enjoyable while walking under the overpass since it was nice an breezy that day.

I had Scotty take a picture of this girl's hair in the pink shirt. Her hair was so pretty and I loved the shape of the back of it....I'm hanging on to this picture for the next time I get my hair cut, cuz I always seems to get it cut straight across the back.

It always amazes me that some ladies can exercise with their hair down. It  gets so sweaty and hot!

I think one of the funniest things about doing the walk/runs is that you can't help but notice the back sides of everyone in front of you. We definitely all come in various shapes and sizes. lol! It was neat to see us all sharing a common goal as we are all different in many ways but then not so different either.

Poor Scotty- he ended up walking most of the way by himself as us girls had a chance to catch up. He did a great job at capturing the moments though- thanks Scotty!

We forgot to take pictures at each of the mile markers, but about halfway through our feet started getting a little tired and then we discovered that if you walk on the rocks on the side you get a little mini massage.

I think this year there were a tons more participants than before. It was neat to see the roads filled with people. 

We saw lots of runners running back after completing the run. Crazy to think they ran there AND back!

There were water stations set up at various points on the route. Lots of people drink the water and then toss the cups. I felt sorry for the people who had to clean up the messes! But it seemed kinda fun to down the water and then squish your cup and drop it on the ground like a REAL runner! I couldn't bring myself to do it since I was one of the slow walkers and everyone else was dropping their cups in the garbage bags.

For some reason, we thought it was hilarious that this guy had a small puka (hole) in his shirt.

There were a couple of times where we saw the medics helping people on the side of the road which made the walk more interesting.

It was so fun to see the finally see the finish line at the end. This year I was smart and used moleskin on my feet so I didn't get any blisters. It made for a lot happier ending to our walk.

They had this counter clock thing at the finish line. We actually finished just under 3 hours. Not too bad for our strolling pace.

So once you cross the finish line you aren't quite done yet, they make you wind around to the front up a ramp and a small hill where they give you water a banana and hostess cupcakes! Because we were part of the ASB Team we also got a couple slices of cold pizza which we were grateful for cuz by the end we were pretty hungry. 

Scotty and I got burgers and fries at Teddy Burgers afterwards- so yummy. After taking a shower I settled down for a nice long nap.....it was AWESOME. What was the most amazing thing was I WASN'T sore the next day! INCREDIBLE! My going to the gym everyday has paid off! Plus I didn't have any blisters!

So the next day for my exercise I walked the 2.5 miles home from work and I think I might have sprained the bottom of my foot. I've been limping around for the past few days and haven't worked out since! I also haven't been packing my lunches and have been indulging in a little too much dinner cuz I've been coming home hungry.  It's terrible that it's so easy to get off track after doing so well. Working out really is a mind game for me. Just because I walked 8 miles one day does NOT give me an out to be lazy the rest of the week. But I need to take it easy on my sore foot...... Guess it's back to the elliptical for me! Maybe next year I might even partially run a little of the way......hmmmm......