My Hawaii experience including books, running a marathon and tourism.

I was able to read a couple really good books. Gryphon Heist was an excellent read by a new to me author, James R Hannibal. Hawaii was actually not a place for me to read much once I landed. It was beautiful and I wanted to take it all in.

Many of you may know, that my reason for visiting Hawaii was to run the Honolulu Marathon with my Mother in law. This was her first marathon and my second. We started at 5:00AM with 39,000+ other runners and walkers.

I was thrilled when I learned there was a lady from NW Arkansas where I live that also ran it. She is much faster than I am but she stayed with us. We completed a couple training runs together and talked nonstop.

Since this is my second marathon, I wanted to share my thoughts about it. Personally, I was not as trained as I should have been. Totally my fault, I have a great coach. I spent as much on physical therapy as the cost of the race (slight exaggeration). I had a blister the last two miles of the race but I didn’t know it was a blister, it just felt like I was walking on glass. By the time you have completed 24 miles, you are not stopping at this point unless you need an ambulance. I was concerned about getting hungry because I knew we would be out there for several hours. Never fear, I had enough food in my running shorts to survive on Gilligan’s Island. My husband was amazing. He was helping us know where the next restrooms were, were the turnaround was and the biggest thing of all was that he had the car at the finish line!!!!

Pros of Honolulu Marathon

• There is no time limit to finish- the last runner this year finished at 11:00pm
• 39,000 runners and walkers – more walkers than you would expect in a marathon
• You are in Hawaii!!
• They gave out baggies of ice and sponges because it was so warm and humid. I was sweating before I got to the start line.
• There are Christmas decorations up which helps entertain you as you are running in the dark for almost two hours.

Cons of Honolulu Marathon

• After starting the race, you ran 4 miles before you saw a port-a potty.
• The goody bag was three coupons – not worth the plastic it was put in
• The expo was not as good as I expected for such a large race
• Honolulu residents did not come out to support the race as I expected which was disappointing
• The aid stations contained bio freeze, Vaseline and Band-Aids
• No fuel at the water stations
• The first 2 hours are ran in the dark because you start at 5:00 am

Touristy Stuff

We toured the North Shore where the surfing competitions take place. It was breathtaking. This is what I expected Hawaii to look like.

A friend took us to the military beach that was beautiful.

We didn’t have time to snorkel but we visited the Hanauma Bay that is a crater where you can snorkel. This is perfect for me because you can stand up through most of it.

We stayed at a condo in Honolulu. This did not feel like I was in Hawaii. It looks like New York City to me. I recommend staying on the beach for the full experience. There are over a million people on the island and most of them are NOT blond.

Pearl Harbor    

Ray and I watched the Midway movies with my niece, Mira before we left for Hawaii. It made visiting Pearl Harbor even more impactful.

I highly recommend visiting Pearl Harbor if you ever make a trip to Honolulu. We visited all of the attractions; the Arizona, the submarine, the movie and the airplanes. It is hard to explain the feeling of being there.

We also visited the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (informally known as Punchbowl Cemetery). It was beautiful and so moving. As you read the cemetery plots the lives become real. My father in law served in the Army and was station in Honolulu in the 60’s.

If you have any questions feel free to ask me, I am happy to share what I can from my experience.