Running in Hawaii (but not always)

There is so much to talk about from my vacation in Hawaii. I had a great time. One of the best vacations I ever had. But, this entry will be about my running experiences while I was there. Next week I will share some of the pictures I took which, I hope, shows the beauty of these islands. On this trip, I went to two islands--Oahu (Honolulu) and Kauai.

To paraphrase Charles Dickens--it was the best of times and the worst of times. First the best:

My wife and I spent four nights on Waikiki Beach. On three of those mornings, we would wake up and run a few miles along side the beach. Weather was great. Temps were in the 70's in the morning with a cool ocean breeze. It was a few miles to get our mornings going. Just a nice relaxing run.

I also had an opportunity to run with some friends. Whom I never met. Nor, ever spoken to before. But I considered them friends. I met up with someone who I knew well through her blog. (http://frayedlaces.blogspot.com/).

Through e-mail, we agreed that Frayed Laces and The Boyfriend were to pick me up at my hotel on Monday at 5:30p. I knew her through her blog. She knew my voice through Steve's podcast. As I waited for them at the hotel, I thought this was crazy. What if they didn't like me? What if they didn't understand my deadpan sense of humor? I'm basically shy so what if I fumble looking for something to talk about?

They drove up to the hotel entrance and waved. Funny, but we knew each other by site though we never met. Frayed Laces got out of the car, yelled, 'Aloha!' and gave me a hug. Instantly, I felt at ease, got in the car, and we drove off to Diamond Head.

We talked as if we were just catching up after not seeing each other for awhile. I asked whether or not they liked living in Hawaii. Frayed Laces said, 'yes, except for the tourists.' Trying to be funny, I replied, 'don't worry, I'll be leaving on Thursday.' To which FL said, 'you're not a tourist, you're a friend.' Such is the running community via the internet, we are all friends.

(pictured above is the view from our hotel room overlooking Waikiki Beach with Diamond Head in the background.)

We got to the park and started towards the beach. FL and TB gave me a tour of the area, places they like to run and the area where they run part of the Honolulu marathon. After about a mile and half, (I know this as we ran 5 miles, I clocked 3.5 as I forgot to turn on my Garmin and this was the point I started my watch) we started to climb the road that goes around the volcano mountain.

(Pictured above is Diamond Head and the area we started in. )

The views were gorgeous. I thought about bringing my mini-cam but knew the battery would wear out and wouldn't be able to download it when I got home. When we got to the top of the hill, we stopped to soak in the scene. FL pointed out the island of Molaki off in the distance. She also pointed to the million dollar homes by the ocean where she likes to run. We continued on, and talked about their lives there on the island, what it was like living in New England before, people that we both knew, Falmouth, New York, etc. Time went fast. It seemed like as soon as we started, we had finished.

I did bring my (maxi?) camera and took some pictures to prove I was there. (See below) We laughed saying this only proves that I was THERE but doesn't necessarily prove I ran. (I need FL and TB as witnesses).

After our run, they drove me back to the hotel. I got out of the car, we said our good-byes, and I started walking and thinking as I went back to my room. Twenty years ago, when I first visited Hawaii, nothing like this could have ever happened. How do you 'know' someone without ever talking or meeting them? And, yet, feel so comfortable now as if you have known them throughout your life? I wonder if, 50 years from now, this type of experience will be more commonplace? Or is it now and I just don't know about it? In any case, thank you, FL and TB, for taking me in as a friend. It was a run I'll never forget.

The worst:

I had intentions of running in Kauai. I was so looking forward to running in Kauai. The hotel, we were staying in, had this road from the main road that was about a mile long. In the shade. It was going to be perfect. But, I had to go into the ocean first.

So, when we got into our room, first thing Ihad to do was get into my bathing suit and head for the ocean. I went in and felt, at my feet, what I thought were long shells. So, I moved away. But, they were still there. I looked around and no one else seem to be bothered about them.

I decided to do some body surfing. A wave was coming, I pushed off to start swimming. OUCH!!! WHAT THE !&@#$#????? I stepped on something sharp. At the bottom of my arch of my left foot. I was going to stay in in the ocean, thinking it was only a scratch but decided I better look.

As I sat on the beach, I noticed an X cut on my foot. And, it was bleeding. Having seen Jaws a number of years ago, I knew that blood and the ocean don't mix. I hobbled back to the hotel as there were no lifeguards in the area. I asked for First Aid. They came and cleaned the wound. Unfortunately, it still hurt, it was puffy and black and blue all around the cut.

I went back to my room, cursing my luck. I thought, 'ok, I can live with this for a day. I'll try running tomorrow.' But, I couldn't as I could barely walk. As my time there went by, it was getting better but the cut and bruise is at a spot on my foot that I can't comfortably put a lot of pressure on it. So, I never ran in Kauai.

I've been home for a few days now and still can't run on it. I feel more comfortable barefoot than with shoes on. But, when I do put my running shoes on, I can't even WALK on uneven surfaces and the pounding of a light jog gets me limping. So, the best thing to do is to rest until it heals.

I am half-convinced that vacations are dangerous for you.

Next week: I will be sharing some pictures of my trip. I hope you enjoy! (And, yes, I did change the format of the blog. I may change it from time to time to see which template I like best.)