It's been a week, but I can finally talk about it now. So I did the Great Aloha Run again, which is a traditional yearly torture of an advertised 8.15 miles, which turns out to be close to 10. I never sign up early because I always say I'm not going to do it next year, as just as the final deadline comes down the pipeline, I cave and sign up.
I've done it all three years here and the issues are always the same. You have to walk to catch a bus at least an hour before the race starts, wait forever to get on a bus because they never have the buses timed right, walk the entire width of downtown to stand and wait forever to begin. Then the dreaded curse of any race, the people who push to the front but can't run past or even up to a mile, causing traffic jams for all the runners behind them. Run, run, run. Burn your last dregs of energy because the end is in sight! Aloha Stadium straight ahead, but no! First you have to run halfway (seriously) around the stadium before crossing the finish line. Then walk back across the field, exit the stadium, loop back again to get the water and bananas, and then one final lap around the stadium to catch the bus back to Waikiki and walk home.
So far, each year, I've gotten one minute slower; 1:25, 1:26 and 1:27 this year. I blame this on age ... not a personal lack in training or initiative.
The real reason why I do the GAR every year is the huge breakfast I treat myself to afterwards. This year was no exception. I ran to IHOP and devoured a plate of crepes and bacon. This bacon was the bacon that bacon dreams about being. So delicious! It reached its full bacon potential, in fact other people were jealous of my bacon plate.
I then spent a few hours planted on the beach. So all in all, an annoying run in the morning rewards me with a T-shirt, a day of laziness and special treats ... maybe I should do it again next year.
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