Race #236 - Val Nolasco Half Marathon - Honolulu, Hawaii - 11/17/13

Warm weather lover that I am, I was really looking forward to this race. My son Joe lives just outside Honolulu, and of course the main purpose of our trip was to visit him and his family, but I always like to visit when there's a race nearby that looks interesting. We spent the first couple nights at Joe's house then the night before the race moved to the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel, which is right at the beach and just a block from the race site.

By the time the sun rose at 6:44 a.m., the race had been going for well over an hour. I remember thinking at about 8 miles into the race that it finally seemed to be comfortably light outside. I had brought my video glasses along with the intention of recording at least the last part of the race, after the sun rose, but about three or four miles into the race as I was holding the glasses I felt them come apart. I didn't have time to examine them so I just stuck them in my pocket. After the race I was able to look at them more closely and it appears that I just lost the screw off one side so hopefully I'll be able to replace that fairly easily (although it's an oddball size). Regardless, I was a little bummed that I wasn't able to get video of such a beautiful race, especially as the course wound its way between the ocean and Diamond Head.

I loved the race, but it wasn't one of my best. In just the second mile my heart rate averaged 176, which is about 10 beats per minute faster than I would normally expect. I felt okay but didn't want to push too much and risk running completely out of gas, and I also didn't want to drop down 10 heartbeats per minute because I felt like I was going at a sustainable rate, so I tried to keep it in the 170-175 range for the remainder of the race.

My finish of 1:40:12 (chip time) wasn't terrible but just a few weeks earlier I had run about 6 minutes faster in Myrtle Beach, so I was a little disappointed that I didn't run a little faster. I was glad to finish in the top 10% overall and third in the 60-64 age group.

Linda slept in at the hotel, but my son Joe and his fiancee Kandus met me at the finish line, which was nice. Joe just turned 40 recently and he tells me that a year and a half from now he'll run a half marathon with me and his goal is to beat me. He was a pretty good runner on the track team in junior high and I believe he has a lot of potential, but he's just starting to train now. Nothing would please me more than for any of my kids to beat me in a half marathon, but only if they do it while I'm still running at a decent pace. It doesn't count if I'm running a 4-hour half marathon. I'll report back on the results in a year and a half.

Click Here for Race Results

 Click Here for Official Race Photos

 My Stats:

Time:  1:40:12
Pace:  7:39
Age Group:  3 of  29
Overall:  85 of  979 (8.7%)
Average Heart Rate:  174
Maximum Heart Race:  187
Age Graded Equivalent Time:  1:20:18  (73.74%)




***************
* RACE RATING *
***************

RACE COURSE
3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
2 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
5 - Water Stops: (0)none  (2)normal  (5)extras [Gu, sports drink, etc.]
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
5 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (2)pleasant  (5)extraordinary
1 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out
2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good
5 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)not bad  (5)very good  (7)spectacular!
2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION
5 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!  *** $45 on race day ***
3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS
2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS
2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
5 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)
1 - 14 and under group (1)
1 - 65+ group (1)
1 - 70+ group (1)
2 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (2)top 3 or better
0 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (3)yes
0 - Senior Grand Masters Category: (0)no  (5)yes

AWARDS
2 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent
2 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent
0 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes   (5-9)fabulous door prizes!
0 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (3)yes  (5)really cool medals

POST RACE
8 - Food for Race Participants: (0-10 with 5 being average)
8 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1-9)yes
2 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (2)yes

REST ROOMS
0 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful
1 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS
2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes
2 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice  (5)beautiful!
0 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric
0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY
5 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
2 - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
0 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes  (5)lots of free pics!

PARKING
2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE
0 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes  *** Shared Site***
2 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER
0 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (2)yes, some  (5)excellent
2 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (2)yes


TOTAL:  98

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