This past Saturday the Hanalei Canoe Club hosted an 8-mile Haena to Hanalei run/walk, a 5k, and a 1-mile kids run. Weeks before the race I was asked if I was going to run. I didn’t mind trying but with my wife and son, I wouldn’t know if they’d want to wake up early and tag along. Days before the race and still unregistered for the race I was undecided until my wife told me to just race. I didn’t think she knew what she was getting into.
The day before the race I had to work until 10pm so I asked my wife to register myself since my work computer loves to block almost every site. Come to find out online pre-registration ended few days before the race and late registration was at 4:45am on race day. By the time I got home it was 10:30pm and by the time we got everything ready for race day it was already midnight. We brought two standup paddle boards, a bodyboard, tables, chairs, cooler full of drinks, snacks, everything for a relaxing beach day after my 5k run.
Less than three hours later my alarm goes off. My wife grumbling and regretting about coming along and our two “helpers”, Shania, my youngest sister-in-law and her sidekick cousin, Caden, slowly gets up and gets ready. The one big mistake I forgot to do while rushing to get everything ready for our whole day was that I didn’t eat anything. I knew it was bad having an empty stomach while running but at the moment I didn’t want to be late for registrations.
Once we left the house we were about to pass McDonalds. Its been forever since I ate there and I knew I needed something to eat but not McDonalds. I ended up passing it to make sure we’d be on time. Since it was 4am there wasn’t much traffic and all the stores were still closed. What would usually take around an hour half to almost two hours to get to Hanalei took us an hour. We were directed to our parking and everyone tried to get some shut eye while I left to register.
There were so many cars filling up the whole Hanalei Pier area. This being my first running event ever I was very intimidated, plus not much familiar faces. Since I registered late I missed out on the cool looking race shirt that usually comes with registering. Its okay though, maybe I’ll find one on Ebay or Craigslist, or not. Hundreds of people kept arriving, waiting to get their numbers, stretching, warming up, mentally preparing for their race. Me, I was talking story with one of my tennis/canoe paddling friends. We were catching up on our tennis days then paddling then our crappy work company. I stop by the truck to check on my wife and everyone else and she is “so over it” and “shouldn’t have done this.” I felt very bad, I knew I shouldn’t have insisted on racing. I apologized and went back to the crowded starting area.
Closing in on the start of the race, the shuttle line for the 8-mile race was slowly getting shorter. Soon they were doing last calls for the shuttles. Nervousness was slowly kicking in, my hands started getting colder. I knew I had to warm up and stretch but I was admiring the scenic view of the pier and the glassy bay. The sun slowly creeping behind the mountains and the waterfalls never get tiring. More and more racers are now stretching and running along the pier getting warmed up. While I Instagram a view of the pier and mountains in the background, thanking Jesus for this beautiful day.
About 15 minutes before the start of the race I see my wife, my son, and the rest of the gang walking. My wife in a much better mood gives me a big smile and points my son towards me. I kiss my lucky charms as I hear the event staff direct the 5k runners to the start. Not knowing where to start I stand around the middle left area. A bunch of young kids stand in the front and a few older folks started in the front. As I look at the competition I try to keep calm and remember to keep a steady pace. I also wanted to facepalm myself when I remembered I didn’t eat anything for breakfast. I was just hoping that I wouldn’t cramp or get hurt during the race.
It was a gun start. All the kids in the front sprinted away. I almost wanted to keep up but I knew I wouldn’t last a mile if I did. I had my GPS running app going from the start. Roughly 9 minute miles was my pace. One by one people were passing me, young and old. I didn’t let myself stray away from my steady pace. My breathing felt good, my body felt good thanks to a small workout session at work the day before. I could hear someone right behind me keeping pace. After about a mile there was a left turn followed quickly by a right and curved onto a single lane bridge. Runners were already coming back and I could see the turn around point way ahead. Then those footsteps I heard the whole time behind me slowly crept next to me and finally in front of me. A tall young girl probably still in her late teens. She didn’t increase her distance away from me, it was the same pace I had from the start. As I was closing in on the turn around point I was noticing everyone taking water from the water station. I always wanted to try it but as I closed in on the person holding the cup, I awkwardly grabbed the cup making me turn my body 90 degrees. One day I’ll perfect that. As I try to take a sip I was breathing so hard that I inhaled water in the wrong pipe. Thank goodness it wasn’t a lot for me to stop running. I tried to cough it out as good as I could. I came around the halfway point holding my empty cup. There were more people holding water cups and cheering the runners on. I had to high five the one person sticking their hand out. Then there was someone holding a trash bag to pick up all the cups from the runners. I timed it perfect and tossed the cup right into the thrash bag without that person moving an inch. ESPN play of the day right there! Coming back was like an endurance test. I knew how the first half of the race was, the second half was the same thing just backwards. The girl was still in front of me about a yard apart. I could hear heavy footsteps behind me but I didn’t want to waste my energy looking back. The bridge was packed with runners both direction and vehicles. Dangerous part of the race if you ask me. Made the left turn followed by the right turn and little over a mile left to go. There were some kids that sprinted in the beginning that I slowly passed. And there were even younger kids finishing their 1-mile race. Running towards the pier there are around 5-6 speed bumps I tried to count. Each bump I would try to run 10 steps faster. Way ahead I could finally see the cones, the crowd, the finish. The girl that was in front of my slowly distanced herself away. I wanted to catch up but the distance was too far. All I wanted to do was finish strong. I started to run faster, there were people cheering me on to finish strong, I kept going faster but I started feeling weird. Like I was going to throw up if I went any faster. So I didn’t go any slower but I didn’t go any faster. I looked around to see my support group and found them real quick. I could hear footsteps behind me but didn’t sound close by. As I ran through the finished line the staff asked for my number. 512!
Gasping for air, I try to catch my breath and walk over to my wife and son. My support group were amazed that I finished in good time. They were saying I came in the top 15. I didn’t think so. They said I was the first one in my age group. I didn’t think so. I walk over to the water station to grab a can of coconut water or two to hydrate and take some pictures. We head over to the Hanalei Canoe Club to get my all I can eat pancake breakfast. I felt bad because only runners get to eat unless you pay $7 per person. I know this is bad but we ended up cheating the system. I ended up getting two more plates for my wife and son and the two “helpers” shared a plate. The pancakes, portuguese sausage, and eggs hit the spot. Maybe because I didn’t eat breakfast but that and the oranges and watermelon was perfect. Since we were the early birds at breakfast we had to wait a while for the award ceremony. Like more than two hours long. My wife got so impatient that we were about to leave when my wife seen one of the staff holding a paper back to the club. My wife asked him if that was the results for the 5k and he said yes. So we back tracked to the club to here the announcement.
The staff looked unprepared a little taking a while to announce the winners. Finally they started naming the overall male and female winners of the 5k. Then by age groups: 11-12, 13-14, 15-19, 20-29, and finally the 30-39 division. My wife and sister kept telling me I was going to place but I didn’t believe them. When I decided to run this event, all I wanted to do was finish the race. I never expected to place, I mainly wanted to see where I stand so that I could improve on the next run. They announced the female winners first and went on to announce the male winners. I didn’t know what my time was and I expected to be in the 30 minute times. Third place was called running at 28:14. I knew I didn’t place after that, that time was way faster than what I’d normally run. Second place ran at a time of 28:11. My wife and sister cheering me on knowing I came in first. “I know you’re first!”, she tells me excitedly. Then they announce, “And in first place running at a time of 27:47, Manny Rivera!” In disbelief my wife urges me to get my medal. Still shocked at hearing my name I slowly squeeze through the crowd to receive my award. The women asked what place I came in and who I was. I almost stuttered saying my name.
We left after a few congratulations to look around Ching Young Village, a small area with shops and good food. There is a shop that sells the best chili pepper chicken. I could eat that everyday! We left Hanalei and decided to go to Anini beach instead because its usually less crowded and kid friendly for our son. It was a little windy and partly cloudy at times but it felt good to relax in the water. We ended up leaving after lunch back home. Rested up a little and went to the base for some basketball but mainly because my wife wanted to look if they had nice bags (sigh). Finally we headed back home where I could finally sit back and relax, had delicious dinner always from my wife, and had a good long snore-rific sleep.
Pictures to follow.
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