In the weeks leading up to the race, I was seeing in the news about severe street flooding due to heavy rain in the Waikiki area. There was also more heavy rain in the forecast for the weekend of the half marathon, so I was concerned if the race was going to take place. I assumed that they were getting numerous questions, so an email was sent out that the race was still scheduled to take place.
Friday 4/10
I wasn't scheduled to enter the LAX Economy Parking structure until 8 am. I didn't want to deal with morning traffic on the freeways, so I left the house at about 6 am to get ahead of any Friday work traffic and headed for the LAX Airport. Since I arrived about an hour early, I decided to go get coffee at the nearby Starbucks. After parking the car, I placed my order for a grande flat white before going inside to wait for my drink. With my coffee in hand, I went back to my car to hang out a bit.
Starbucks
Grande flat white
Once it got closer to 8 am, I drove over and entered the parking structure. At first, I tried to locate a vacant spot on levels 2 and 3. I quickly noticed that the light indicators were inaccurate. After trying a few times only to find a vehicle in a spot with a green indicator, I gave up and drove up to the roof where there were plenty of open spaces. Since there was rain in the forecast, I decided to park up there to take advantage of nature providing a free car wash.
LAX Economy Parking roof
From the roof level of the parking structure, I took a couple of escalators down to the ground floor to catch a shuttle ride over to the airport. Even though my flight was a domestic flight, it was assigned a gate over at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. That was always better since that terminal was better than terminal 4.
Tom Bradley International Terminal
During the flight out to Daniel K Inouye HNL International Airport, I caught the West Ham v. Wolves match. It was a convincing 4 nil win for the Hammers, pushing the Spurs down into the relegation zone. Then I followed that with some second round golf of the Masters. The plane landed at just after 2 pm local time.
Rory McIlroy takes a commanding lead at the Masters
After getting off of the plane into terminal 2, I followed the signs for the City Bus. The new bus stop location was over by the new Skyline light rail station. It had been a while since my last visit and the 19 and 20 lines were no more. It was replaced with the W-line which ran into Waikiki. I still had money on my HOLO card which I tapped to board the bus. The current fare was $3 for a single ride.
HNL Airport
Directions to the bus stop
W-line
I got off at the Kuhio Ave + Dukes Ln bus stop to meet up with my local friend over at the International Market Place. It was a bit too early to eat a meal, but we checked out the food hall before deciding to get coffee at Kona Coffee Purveyors. I got a small flat white. I must say that it was much better than what I normally get at Starbucks. They closed at 4 pm, so eventually they politely started kicking everyone out. I went with my friend to get his parking validated. After that we then went our separate ways.
International Market Place
Kona Coffee Purveyors
Small flat white
RoarinRyan
Before heading out, I stopped in at the Target to buy some snacks and a gallon of water. Instead of getting the usual bags of chips, I decided to go with something a little healthier and less processed with a large bag of pistachios. At $10.29 for a 20 oz bag, it definitely costs more to go with the healthier option.
Large bag of pistachios
For this visit to Honolulu, I stayed at the Club Wyndham Royal Garden at Waikiki. This timeshare property was located on ʻOlohana St. Per the usual, the staff that checked me into my unit was very nice and friendly. However, I was kind of surprised that he collected timeshare occupancy tax from me. That stuff was usually taken care of during booking. More and more, I had become unhappy with my interactions with Club Wyndham. After taking care of that, I was given a room key for unit #1109. Next was that dreaded stop at the concierge station. After giving me the usual stack of info for local restaurants and such, he tried to get me to go to another owner update. For once, I wasn't going to put up with that shit, so I was pretty stern when I declined to attend. He asked if I had a bad prior experience. To put it mildly, yes.
I relaxed a bit in my room for about an hour before going back out to pick up dinner. As with my usual method of decision making for where to eat, I went to EbiNomi as they were participating in the AAdvantage Dining Program. I ordered their garlic shrimp (ebi kahuku). According to their menu, it was just like the shrimp up at North Shore, but larger and peeled. What was interesting about this place was that I used to stay in the timeshare that was in same courtyard. Whatever units were available could be reserved via Hotels.com. I believe this establishment opened more recently. I can't seem to recall what was here before. After paying for my order, I was given a pager to notify me when my food was ready. Once I got my food, I grabbed a pair of chopsticks and took it back to my room to enjoy. It was indeed good, but the portion was on the smaller side for the cost.
Garlic shrimp
Saturday 4/11
With the time zone change, my sleep schedule was all thrown off. I slept a little after dinner and a shower, but I wanted to catch the Arsenal v. Bournemouth match which started at 1:30 am local time. Oh, how it brought me such joy to see those Gooners lose at home to a team that they should beat. Once again, they are bottling it with City right behind them in the table. Second again, ole, ole!
Arsenal loses to Bournemouth!
After that was Brentford v. Everton at 4 am which I had on, but didn't really watch. As a way to help with the time change, at about 6:30 am I placed an order on the McDonald's app for some breakfast. I ordered my favorite local deluxe platter and a large coffee. I brought it back to my room to eat while watching the Liverpool v. Fulham match.
Breakfast at McDonald's
Local Deluxe Platter
I got ready and left my room at about 9 am to head over to the Neal S. Blaisdell Center to pick up my race packet. It was about a 2 mile walk, but boy was it one sweaty hike over as the humidity was way too high for my taste! The race expo was similar in size to the Honolulu Marathon in December. I picked up my bib, race shirt, and tote bag before moving on to check out the vendor booths. I then found my name on the banner with all of the participants' names and used the restroom before heading out.
Neal S. Blaisdell Center
Bib pick-up
Race shirt
Back of race shirt
Tote bag
Participants name wall
Found my name
Vendor booths
From there, I walked over to Walmart to buy the usual Hawaiian coffee beans to take home. I thought it was a bit sad to see that the more expensive Kona coffee was locked up. I had to pay for the coffee at the register right next to it. After taking care of that, I then walked over to the drinks section to pick up a 6 pack of Hawaiian Sun POG juice. I used one of the self checkout kiosks to pay for it. I had to show my digital receipt when it was time to exit.
Kona coffee locked up!
Coffee to take home
Much cheaper to buy at Walmart vs. an ABC Store
After that I walked over to the Ala Moana Center to eat some lunch and to meet up with one of my local friends. I decided to check out Kamukura Ramen at the Lanai food court. I ordered the #2 Seasoned Egg Ramen as per the menu display, it was one of the recommended items. I was given a pager to let me know when my food was ready. It was decent bowl of ramen. It was a light, clear, French-inspired consommé broth, a nice break from the more popular greasy tonkotsu broth. We caught up a bit before going our separate ways.
#2 Seasoned Egg Ramen
Ed
After getting back to my room, I went through the race packet and laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's race. I then lounged around and eventually took a nap. I made sure to get up at about 5 pm to go back out for an early dinner.
Flat runner
For dinner, I walked over to Teddy's Bigger Burgers. It was only about a mile away, but with traffic it felt like a really long walk! Once I got there, I saw that there were newbie customers placing their order at the counter. There seemed to be a language barrier, so I decided to skip that and placed my order while using one of the ordering kiosks near the entrance. I got a Double Bigger Burger with jack cheese. It took a while for the burger to come out. The kids working the kitchen weren't exactly an efficient team. Per the usual, the burger was delicious, but very messy! I went through a lot of napkins for that one burger.
Teddy's Bigger Burgers
Double Bigger Burger with jack cheese
Sunday 4/12
I got up early to catch the Sunderland v. Tottenham match that started at 3 am. I also kept an eye on the Forest v. Villa match as Forest was also a part of the relegation battle. While the Spurs played well enough for at least a draw, they ended losing 1 nil. I left my room a little after 5 am to head over to the starting area for the scheduled 6 am start time. The start line was at the Duke Kahanamoku Statue. Before going into the start corral, I used the public beach restroom that was next to the police station. It sure beats using one of the portapotties. I got into the corral before it started getting too crowded and chaotic. I was able to spot my friend Ed as he walked by.
Duke Kahanamoku
The start line
Ed
Knowing that I run rather poorly in warm and humid conditions, my only goal for today was to finish in under 2 hours. I started the race off feeling quite good as I ran down Kalakaua Ave. I got through the first mile a bit quicker than I had expected. I eased off a bit in the next mile as I got onto Ala Moana Blvd, but it was still a bit too fast for the weather conditions as I was sweating up a storm. I finally settled into a more sustainable pace of about 8:25 on the 3rd mile. As I neared mile 4, the course turned right onto Alakea St, followed by a left turn onto Queen St, and another left onto Bishop St before going back onto Ala Moana Blvd heading in the opposite direction. I cruised the next couple of miles to keep an eye out for familiar faces on the opposite side of the road. As I headed back towards Waikiki, I was definitely beginning to labor. My pace dropped on the way through Waikiki. I was working extra hard just to run what should be a slow pace. After reaching mile 8 and hopping onto Monsarrat Ave, I knew that I needed to pull back a bit regardless of the pace in order to save something for the climb up Diamond Head. I was feeling pretty gassed when I reached mile 9, so I pulled over for a walk break. I took mile 10 pretty slow hoping that I would be able to make up time on the way down to the finish line. The course crested with a run down to the loop around Fort Ruger Park. Once I reached mile 11, I took one final walk break before starting the climb back up Diamond Head. It was slow going with the course not cresting until almost mile 12. I tried to speed up for the last downhill mile, but I was running on fumes! Having run the Honolulu Marathon a dozen times, I was quite familiar with this final stretch. Boy, did the finish line look much much further away!
1: 7:52
2: 8:02
3: 8:25
4: 8:20
5: 8:34
6: 8:45
7: 8:49
8: 8:58
9: 9:14
10: 10:38
11: 9:51
12: 9:49
13: 9:11
13.1: 0:53
Finish: 1:57:22
Click here for my Garmin data.
I was pretty spent after crossing the finish line! I had no zip in the legs for that final stretch to the finish line. I was pretty much hanging on for dear life! However, I was quite content with meeting my goal and finishing in under 2 hours!
Finish line
After receiving my beautiful finisher medal, I continued down the finisher chute and used one of the showers to wash my face. I then followed everyone ahead of me over to the finisher area to pick up some post race goodies. They were passing out pineapple juice, boxed water, Häagen-Dazs ice cream, bananas, and malasadas. I think the volunteers wanted to leave early or something because they were insisting that we take more than 1 malasada! After that I headed for the park exit.
Finisher medal
Close up of medal
Side 2
Post race goodies
Exiting Kapiolani Park
On the way back to my timeshare, I stopped at Starbucks to eat some post race breakfast. I cut through the International Market Place where I saw a very long queue for Kona Coffee Purveyors. I definitely did not need to be in that line. Starbucks was perfectly good enough for me! On the mobile app, I placed an order for a tall flat white, ham & Swiss on baguette, and a jalapeño chicken pocket. My order was at least $15 to complete the bonus star challenge. While eating my breakfast, there a very friendly lady that chatted with me when she saw my finisher medal. I believe she was also from California.
Cutting through International Market Place
Pikachu!
Long queue
Tall flat white, jalapeño chicken pocket, ham & Swiss on baguette
Jalapeño chicken pocket
Ham & Swiss on baguette
The rain was coming down a bit on the walk back to my timeshare. Thankfully, it wasn't too bad. After setting things down and getting out of my wet clothes, I hopped in the shower before hunkering down and watching the last round of the Masters. It was pretty cool to see Rory McIlroy become only the 4th person to win back-to-back Masters. In lieu of a proper lunch, I ate most of the post race food and drinks. I liked this batch of malasadas compared to the ones that I had at the marathon. These were thicker and denser, not as airy.
As I was completely exhausted, I got caught up on some sleep until it was time to go back out and get some dinner. I decided to go back to EbiNomi. This time, I ordered the Ebi a la King. This was also very good. The only reason that I would not keep eating here would be the cost.
Dinner at EbiNomi
Ebi a la King
Monday 4/13
I woke up pretty early to pack up for the trip home. I also wanted to put in a couple of hours of work so that I didn't burn through my leave balance too quickly. I placed an order for breakfast on the McDonald's mobile app before going over to pick it up. It was my usual order, the local deluxe platter and a large coffee. The Manchester United v. Leeds match was on at 9 am. I watched as much as I could before the 10 am check-out time.
Work work
Breakfast from McDonald's
Local Deluxe Platter
I had a red-eye evening flight, so I had plenty of time to pass before needing to head over to the airport. After checking out of my unit and dropping the key off at the front desk, I hung out in the lobby for a bit to come up with a plan on what I wanted to do.
Timeshare lobby
I decided that I was going to catch a matinee showing of Project Hail Mary over at the Consolidated Theatres Ward. Normally, that walk wouldn't be too far, but I was a sweaty mess by the time I reached Ala Moana Center. I went inside the Makai Market Food Court and got lunch at Jollibee. On the mobile app, I ordered by usual, Palabok Fiesta with 1 pc Chickenjoy and Pineapple Quencher.
Jollibee
Palabok Fiesta with 1 pc Chickenjoy and Pineapple Quencher
After finishing my meal, I started heading over to Ward Village to catch the movie. Once I had arrived, I used one of the kiosks to purchase a ticket for $14.75. I picked a seat in the very back row. It was a very intelligent and entertaining movie. Although quite predictable, it was just a very well done movie from start to finish. I will probably have to read the book as I have been told that the movie stayed true to the book.
Consolidated Theatres Ward
After the movie, I started heading back to Ala Moana Center. Since I was back there, I decided to eat again at Foodland Farms before catching a bus ride to the airport. I thought about getting some poké, but there were too many people all clamoring to get some. I didn't want to deal with that mob, so I opted to get a Korean bento which was much more affordable at $7.99.
Foodland Farms
Korean kalbi bento
After finishing my bento, I went over to the Ala Moana Center bus stop where I caught a W-line bus over to the airport. I noticed that a lot of people that rode the bus got off at the Ahua Lagoon Drive Station to catch the Skyline light rail. There were only a few of us that continued on to the airport.
Since I had a few hours to pass before my flight home, I hung out in the ticketing area for a bit before going through TSA screening. After getting through, I made a stop at the Starbucks near gate D1 to get a drink. Using the mobile app, I ordered a grande salted caramel cream cold brew.
Terminal 2
Starbucks terminal 2, D1
Grande salted caramel cream cold brew
Originally, my flight home was with American Airlines. I had to cancel and rebook with Southwest as I had an expiring credit voucher. I learned that you had to complete your flight prior to the expiration of the voucher! Good thing I had caught that in time. It felt like forever before it was time to board the plane. I am not familiar with their new boarding group policy, but I believe since I was using credit voucher, they had me in boarding group 1. Otherwise, I would be in the last boarding group.
Heading home on a Southwest flight
Pacific Asia Travel Association recognizes and salutes Walt Disney!
Tuesday 4/14
The plane landed at LAX about 5:15 am local time. I got off of the plane at terminal 1. After taking the shuttle back to my car, I was able to catch a beautiful view of the sunrise from the roof of the parking structure. It was then time for me to drive home and work from home.
Dawn's early light
