Okinawa Marathon

Well, it is all over but the groaning. I, Mike, Sr. completed my first marathon, the Okinawa Marathon, a full 26.2 Miles (42.195 Kilometers for the scientifically minded) and it was a bear. The hills were beastly going from 0 to over three hundred feet, with some climbs being as much as 200 feet in just a few kilometers.

These are the elevation charts. With all the ups and downs the total amount climbed is way over the highest elevation reached, which was just 360 ft.

Here is my action shot, coming through Kadena, I am sweaty and geared for running. I did not pee my pants! You can see I stand out from most of the crowd, not just because of my buttoned shirt. I got a good sunburn on my face, but my arms and neck were well protected. Half the race was in cloudy/rainy conditions, the second half was sunny and warm, but not too hot.

Well, I made about 14 miles before I stopped continuous running. After that I took water breaks of one to two minutes and then ran to the next station (3 miles in between). Around the 18th mile my left knee started to feel like it was being stabbed. I went to 5 minutes walk and 10 running. Also I got icyhot sprayed on my knee every few miles by volunteers. Then with about 3 miles left I went down to five walking and five running. The pain was quite bad. But I finished in 5:37 by my stopwatch, although the official time was 5:45 due to the amount of time from the real start to when I crossed the line.

I was #11744 which meant I started at the back of the pack. After the starting cannons and fireworks I waited about 15 minutes to even walk to the gate. It was like running a marathon inside a Chinese subway train (they are quite packed). I had a great time, despite the pain at the end, and am left with a feeling of a real accomplishment. And with about 24 hours of recovery time under my belt I am sure this is not my last marathon. I would like to run at least one more, and I think it will be the Shamrock in Virginia Beach, VA. I love Virginia Beach and would like to try a marathon with mostly level surface to see how that would affect my time.

Right now I am just waiting for my knee to go back to normal size. Love you all bunches.