I always try to fly with Hawaiian Airlines whenever I'm going to Hawaii. I always receive excellent service from their flight attendants. The airfare was much cheaper flying out of San Diego versus LAX, so that's where I flew out of for the first time. It was a morning flight, so I drove down pretty early to avoid getting stuck in traffic. I parked in the Pacific Highway economy lot for $11 per day and took the free shuttle to the airport terminal. You're supposed to remember your stall number and write it down on a form that they give you when you board the shuttle for your return trip. When you return, the driver will drop you off right at your car.
Upon landing at the Honolulu Airport, I made my way to the bus stop to catch the bus into Waikiki for $2.50. I got off of the bus near Saratoga Rd. I could've waited to get off at the next stop to be a bit closer, but the bus was a packed so I wanted off. It was just a short walk over to Ramen Nakamura. I always stop here when I'm in Waikiki for my first bowl of ramen since they don't close in the afternoon. Their broth is unique and pretty flavorful. They're known for their oxtail ramen. You'll definitely need to try it once. I always order the shio (salted) version. Here are a few things to know about this place. They accept only cash. They will also automatically add tip to your bill. I thought that was a bit strange. But I figured it was because a lot of the Japanese and people from other east Asian countries aren't used to leaving a tip.
Oxtail ramen and chahan
After eating my delicious bowl of ramen, I walked over to the Convention Center to pick up my race packet. I swear the expo is shrinking more and more each year. That's good for me so I don't end up buying more stuff that I don't really need. After taking a picture with a sunshiny mascot, I met up with a couple of my fellow Marathon Maniacs across the street. We went into Don Quixote with them to buy some snacks and drinks. One of them had rented a car gave us a lift back to our hotels. I was staying at the Waikiki Grand which was practically next door to him. I always stay at the cheapest hotel at the time of booking on Orbitz or Travelocity. The room was pretty nice. There was construction going on, but it never was loud or disturbed me. Maybe that's why it was so cheap!
Expo
View from my balcony
After resting in my room, my friend and I drove over to check out the Ah-Lang Restaurant aka Angry Korean Lady for dinner. Free parking was a bit hard to come by here. There was a nearby parking structure where you can pay to park, but after circling a few times we were able to find a spot almost right in front of the restaurant. The Angry Korean Lady was actually outside having a smoke and drinking some beer. She even asked me to hold her beer as I was waiting for my friend to lock his car.
Everything here was pretty much do-it-yourself. You take your own order, you get your own water, you bus your own table, etc. The only thing you don't do for yourself is cook the dang food. Everything was spelled out for you in the instructions that they give you. The gimmick of being angry only comes into play if you don't know how to follow the house rules. Both my friend and I thought the food was decent, but we've definitely had better and the portions were very small. Also for such small portions, it was clearly overpriced. This was and will be the only time that I eat here. There was nothing on the menu that I saw worth coming back for a second time.
Angry Korean Lady, bad gimmick but different enough to bring in the curious
Menu
Banchan
Kimchee fried rice
Prime kalbi 3 piece
Saturday
I spent most of the morning watching the OSU v. OU Bedlam game. That was one exciting game. I thought that it was quite a fitting game to watch since I was just in Tulsa a couple of weeks ago. After the game I walked over to Tenkaippin to eat lunch. The first time I ate here, their menu wasn't as extensive. From what I've read in scouting out the restaurant beforehand, their kotteri ramen was the bowl to get. However, when I took my first slurp, I found that the broth was as thick as gravy. The flavor was good, but I could not get over the consistency of the broth. Fast forward a couple of years... I finally returned here this year to give them another try. There has to be reason why they're famous and popular in Japan. This time I ordered the black tonkotsu ramen. This was not on the menu back then. I was happy to find that the broth was not gravy thick. It was quite flavorful and the noodles were thin and perfect. The bowl was on the small side... which would be my only minor complaint. It's usually pretty busy here and most of the time there will be a line. But today I was here early enough that it was pretty wide open. They used to be cash only, but they now accept credit cards for $10 or more.
OSU v. OU Bedlam!
Lunch#1 Black tonkotsu ramen
On my way back to my hotel room, I decided to buy lunch number 2 at Zippy's. I guess I eat like a damn hobbit. I bought my usual Zip Pac and took it back to my room to eat. I also like their chili. I wish there was one back in Southern California.
Lunch#2 Zip Pac
For a late lunch or an early dinner, my local Hawaiian friend picked me up to catch up and have a few beers at REAL a Gastropub. They had a very nice selection of craft beers here. The beer menu was pretty extensive. It's probably best to ask your server what they have on tap. If you're used to drinking the cheap stuff, you won't find that piss here! I started off with a Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red. For food, I ordered the ahi shoyu poke and we shared the fried deviled eggs. Then I finished it off with a Rogue Hazelnut. The beers were good... I love Rogue beers. The ahi poke was pretty dang good! I love deviled eggs and this was the first time eating them fried. They were pretty dang good as well. Almost the perfect bar food! The service was excellent. They really know their beers and are some very friendly dudes. There were plenty of screens to watch several different sports games at the same time. It's also conveniently located at the Ward so I could've taken the bus.
Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red
Ahi shoyu poke
Fried Deviled Eggs
For my actual dinner, I went back out to eat at Side Street Inn. I love their fried rice and the portions are huge! It was even featured on Man vs. Food. I had a Rogue Side Street Inn Ale to go with the fried rice. The waiter sized me up and didn't think that I could finish it. He later told me that he has seen 4 people share the plate and not finish it so he was impressed with my feat. I told him that it's starting to become a tradition for me to carboload with their fried rice for the marathon. Good stuff!
Rogue Side Street Inn Ale
Fried rice
After getting back to my hotel room, I laid out my running clothes before hitting the hay. The race started at 5am, so it was going to be a pretty short nap. I thought about wearing the arm coolers, but eventually went without them. The last couple of years I had been wearing an Ink-n-Burn shirt supporting Japan after their big tsunami disaster, but it wasn't received very well since it looked a lot like the rising sun flag that was used during WWII. So this year I went with the red, white, and blue.
Race gear
Sunday
I got ready and waited for my friends just outside of the Queen K hotel at about 3:30am to take the bus to the starting area. We went to the usual restrooms in the Ala Moana State Park to use flushing urinals and toilets instead of the portapotties. When it got closer to the start, we then made our way to the tennis courts to take the Marathon Maniacs pre-race group photo. I got to meet a few new ones and one that's just about to qualify.
Bus to the starting area
Marathon Maniacs!
After taking the picture, we all dispersed. I made my way into the starting area and lined up as close as I could to the front knowing that I would be stuck behind a lot of walkers if I started too far back. It was so crowded that I barely made it off of the sidewalk. Miss Hawaii sent us off along with the early morning fireworks. Even running at a somewhat pedestrian 8 minute per mile pace, I was still having to weave around slower participants. I still kept off to the side so not to block anyone wanting to run faster.
Starting line
Miss Hawaii sending us off
I was attempting to finish around 4:20 and I even made sure to take it easy going up Diamond Head. I was doing well, but by mile 22 I started having trouble. It just got so darn hot and humid! Every time that I try to run, I would start getting a headache and the legs were cramping up too. I knew that I need to take it easy or else I might overheat and pass out. I just kept dumping water on my head at every aid station. Going back up Diamond Head was pretty tiring but we were treated with a nice view of the ocean at the top. From this point on, it was all downhill to the park and the finish line. Given the conditions, I was happy with my time. It was good enough for a course PR for me.
1: 7:55
2: 8:00
3: 8:24
4-5: 17:50 (8:55)
6: 8:48
7: 8:43
8: 10:10
9: 9:11
10-11: 9:45
12: 9:42
13: 9:33
14: 10:10
15: 10:12
16: 10:29
17: 11:14
18: 10:46
19: 11:20
20: 12:01
21: 12:50
22: 13:16
23: 13:29
24: 14:25
25: 13:30
26: 11:57
26.2: 2:00
Finish: 4:35:28
It was pretty cool to see an old church friend at the finish line. He was working on the medical team. After getting my shell necklace and drinking some water, I headed over to the booth further inside the park to pick up my finisher's medal and shirt. One of the things that I like so much about this race is that you never see the race shirt during the race except being worn by finishers. You have to earn the right to wear the race shirt! I took my annual picture with the hula girl and also got a cloth towel before heading back to my hotel. I was glad that my hotel was pretty much just across the street from the finish line.
An old friend at the finish line
The weather sure got hot late in the race. I was cooked. After getting cleaned up and just resting for a bit in my nice cool room, I made the long walk along the Ala Wai to eat ramen at Yottekoya for lunch. I ordered their paitan chashu ramen with hard Japanese style noodles, some fried chicken, and a bowl of rice. I liked the broth and noodles at this place the best. It was delicious and according to them, good for your skin! :)
Finish!
Ala Wai
Paitan chashu ramen with karaage and gohan
For dinner, my friends picked me up and we drove out to the Koko Marina Center in Hawaii Kai to eat at the Kona Koko Marina Pub. They had a decent selection of beers including some seasonal beers. They also had a pretty decent burger (Paniolo Burger) that was darn tasty! I had a Vanilla Thrilla, which was a very nice vanilla imperial stout. I also had a Lavaman Red Ale which was a nice balanced beer. I would definitely come back here for the food and beer. Also the service was good. Our waitress was friendly and checked up on us routinely to make sure we always had something to drink.
Vanilla Thrilla imperial stout
Paniolo burger
Lavaman red ale
Monday
I got my stuff ready before heading to the park to pick up my finisher's certificate. I got there before 9am and there was already a good size line. Afterwards I got in line to get my bib signed by the male and female winners.
Picking up finisher's certificate
Male winner
Female winner
I went back to my room, got my bags, checked out, and headed next door to eat a burger at Teddy's Bigger Burgers before heading to the airport. They have excellent burgers here! They're very delicious and cooked to order. I got the biggest size cooked medium. You also have the option of adding extra ingredients like avocado and bacon. Like the Double Double in Southern California, you almost have to have one whenever you're in Honolulu. I personally think it's much better than the Double Double. Service was good here. The cashier was not Japanese but was very good at taking orders even in Japanese. He was very quick and friendly. After picking up your order, you're on your own. Grab some napkins and find a table. This restaurant is conveniently located at the eastern end of Waikiki beach near the Zoo and Kapiolani Park. It's also very convenient that they're open at 10am. I love a good breakfast burger! The tables and chairs were nice and clean.
Biggest Original
I walked a few blocks over to the nearby bus stop to catch the bus to the airport for my afternoon flight. Aloha! See you again next year!
Going home :(
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