2023 Honolulu Marathon Race Report

It was the best of marathons. It was the worst of marathons. There was darkness and light. Hope and despair. We had the road before us. All we had to do was finish. I did. But there were times along the way when I thought I was going to die. I puked near mile 20, just a tablespoon of thick, gelatinous yellow bile. I crawled up Diamond Head, stopping often to cool off and recharge my empty battery. For the entire second half I swore this would be my last. After a wonderful celebration meal by Pattie I realized that my struggles were widespread, and that I screwed up my fuel and hydration plan. I have to admit I had plenty of endurance. No cramps. My feet were fine, unlike previous years. The things that went wrong can be improved. Except for the weather. That was brutal.

This was by far my worst marathon ever. At 10:11:53, it far surpassed my previous longest day, which was last year at 8:50. My goal was to finish sub 8! The cause? The weather, poor fuel/hydration planning, and perhaps, an overly aggressive pacing plan.

In last year’s Marathon Race Report I described walking the entire race. When I finished my quads were sore, but otherwise I was fine. Not terribly exhausted. 

Aging impacts us in many ways. Some are hard to hide. Gray hair. Wrinkled skin. Stiff, unhappy muscles when we get up after sitting awhile. Less visible changes include a drop in hormone levels, which in turn leads inevitably to a loss of muscle mass. Smaller muscles mean a reduction in force production, meaning we can’t, say, punch as hard as we used to. What does punching have to do with triathlon? We don’t punch, but we do swim, bike, and run. The loss of muscle mass and the associated reduction in maximum force production means that to go as fast as we used to requires us to work at a higher relative intensity. The alternative is to slow down.

Note that I said relative intensity. Consider this. At the age of thirty a hypothetical cyclist requires an average power output of 180 watts to climb a hill near her house in ten minutes. Her FTP is 200 watts, so she is riding at an intensity of 0.90. Hard, but sustainable. Twenty years later this athlete returns to her favorite hill. Same weight, same bike setup. She can still climb the hill in ten minutes, but is dead dog tired at the top. Why? The loss of muscle mass has caused her FTP to drop to 170 watts. She is still holding 200 watts on the climb, but now she is above threshold, a level she cannot sustain for long. (There are other factors affecting FTP. I am just isolating force development to make a point.)

As I approached my seventies I saw my run times steadily decline, eventually reaching a point where running did not produce appreciably more speed than walking. At the 2021 Honolulu Marathon my heart had one of its fits and I chose to abandon at the park, 10K in. As 2022 got underway I decided to abandon running entirely and focus my training on walking. Not race walking, as that is a very specialized skill. More what most people call power walking. That year I walked the entire marathon, not because I was forced to but because I planned to. For most of the day I held to a 19:20 pace, finally slowing down a bit toward the end but able to pull out an 18:50 pace approaching the finish line. No heart issues. I felt great the whole time and had no problem walking the mile back to the condo.

This year, with IM Cozumel in mind, I brought back more focused run training. My primary goal was to look for a pace above 19:00 min/mile that I could sustain for a long time. The entire race, if possible, but at least all of the flat sections. 

I know from past experience that pacing by heart rate does not work well for me. Stryd power is good, as long as it is not a gusty tradewind day, as that produces useless data. Because these two metrics were unreliable, I aimed to develop a better feel, also known as Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE). I use a best of two out of three rule: whichever two are closest in agreement, go with that.

As fall approached I set out to find a run pace that I could sustain and was faster than my walk. I knew the difference would not be huge, but at an Ironman with its strict cutoff times, a few minutes could be the difference between finishing or not. I spent a lot of time running at various paces, trying to get comfortable with running harder and faster than I had been for a few years. It seemed to me that I had been holding back. Afraid of blowing up. I thought I had put too much emphasis on starting at a slow and easy pace in order to have something at the finish. I needed to run with more oomph. More guts.

Goals

  • Finish under 8 hrs
  • Run hard, finish exhausted – leave it all out there.
  • Run a lot, walk hills and only enough to recover.
  • Power target while running: 140 watts +/- 5 watts.
  • Pace target while running: 1730 min/mi.

My Pace Plan

Walk briskly for about two miles, until after Nuuanu Street, to get the energy systems going without burning through an excessive amount of glucose. The road is usually too crowded to run well anyway.

From then on, run as much as possible at 140 watts, +/- 5 watts. This is in the middle of my Stryd power zone 3. Going by pace, I was aiming for 17:00-17:30 min/mi. My test results put that pace at upper zone 2. As for heart rate, I was not going to rely on it because experience has taught me that in a race it tends to go high. I fully expected to see 135-140 bpm, my upper zone 4. And, let’s not forget RPE. As I said, I wanted to feel like I was working hard, the whole way. As far as possible from a stroll in the park. Let’s put it at 5-7 using Jason Koop’s 1-10 talk test scale.

I knew I could not sustain that pace for twenty miles straight. I planned on walking the hills, plus taking one-to-two-minute walking breaks now and then, especially at the aid stations.

Last year, by only walking, I finished in 8:50 at an average pace of 19:57. My goal for this year was to go really hard, hold onto a 17:30 run pace as much as possible, and finish in around 7:40. My scaled back goal was to finish under 8:00, and to do that I would need to average at least an 18:19 pace. I was confident I could do that. During my early morning long runs in the weeks preceding the race I did many long stretches at a 17:00 pace and RPE 5. I had to tell myself to stop and walk a bit or else I would be too tired later on at work. At a race, there is nothing to do afterwards except rest. I intended to cross the finish line and fall to the ground, exhausted.

That is not exactly what happened. I did finish exhausted. Check that box. And I did leave it all out there. At least the contents of my stomach. Time? 8:49. Pace? 19:57. I was almost taken out by the combination of high temperature and humidity, a lack of training in the heat, and an incompatible hydration plan.

Fuel and Hydration

For years I have used a simple waist belt that carries one standard water bottle, the size we use on the bike. Normally I put a sports drink in it, refilled as needed at aid stations. For last year’s marathon I tried something a little different, a bottle of Skratch Labs Super Fuel to last the first two hours, supplemented with water from the aid stations, then continuing with aid station Gatorade supplemented with Precision Hydration PE30 gels, about one per hour. This worked splendidly. 

What I never got used to with the belt pack was the weight of a full bottle banging against my backside. In June I finally decided to give a run vest a try. I chose a small Ospray with a 1.5L bladder and enough pockets for my phone and a handful of gels. Right from the first day I found it to be much more comfortable.

The one thing I did not want to do is carry sports drink in the bladder. I struggle to keep black mold (stachybotrys chartarum) out of my bike hydration bottles and figured that if I just use water in the bladder it will last longer. So far, so good.

There is much to be said in favor of separating fuel and hydration. If you plan on getting all of your fuel from your sports drink and the temperature is a lot hotter than planned, you could end up with stomach issues due to too much sugar, or if you drink at your planned fuel rate you will end up dehydrated. A cooler day presents the same challenge, reversed. In cool weather you will not need as much water, and could end up under-fueled.

My Fuel and Hydration Plan

All below products are from Precision Hydration. Great stuff!

  • 1.5 L water in Ospray vest.
  • 2 PF 90 gels (eq. 3 x PF 30 gels with replaceable cap).
  • 2 PF 30 gels with caffeine.
  • 8 electrolyte capsules (250 mg sodium per cap).
  • Use aid stations as the primary source of hydration.
  • Use my vest as fill-in.
  • Use aid station sports drink as the primary source of electrolytes, supplement with electrolyte capsules as needed, 1 per hour.

A nice feature of the PF 90 gel is a screw-on, replaceable cap. Normally I find an entire PF 30 gel a bit too much during a run. The replaceable cap allows me to consume smaller amounts at shorter intervals.

I know from experience that a caffeinated gel will create a pleasant rush of energy and dampen some of the accumulated fatigue. In the 2021 Century Ride I used too many and had a devil of a time falling asleep that night. Given that my heart rate goes high at the start of a run, I did not want to use one until well into the race. I knew I would be walking from the Diamond Head lighthouse to Kilauea Ave and running again in Kahala, so I waited until we were out on Kalanianaole and ready for a picker-upper to take the first caffeinated gel. I took the second caffeinated gel as we exited Hawaii Kai valley, so that it would be in full force as we ran back through Kahala and over Diamond Head. I fully intended to consume all of my gels.

My Race

At the start line I already felt hot. The air was humid and there was no wind. I held back drinking from my vest as I wanted it to last through the race and did not want to start my run with a nervous belly full of water. At start my Garmin’s recorded 90F, falling to the mid 80’s as we ran through downtown Honolulu and Waikiki. (Note to self: Next time carry a disposable water bottle with electrolytes.)

The first aid station is about two miles from the start, and that one only serves water. By that point, roughly two hours since drinking much of anything, I was very thirsty and drank as much water as I dared. After that, most if not all of the aid stations offer water and sports drink. My plan was to take sports drink most of the time, but stick to water when I took some gel. 

I probably was overly cautious about combining gels and sports drink. What I can say for sure is that it did not occur to me to take an electrolyte capsule until it was way too late. I don’t recall when that was, but it must have been just after the Diamond Head / 18th Ave hills. In training I had run up and down Diamond Head several times but it did feel hard. For the race I decided to walk it, but had to chuckle at my timidity. In the end it wasn't enough.

It was in Kahala when the sun came out and the temperature started to climb. On 18th Ave it was 88. As we got out onto the highway we got some cloud cover and a little breeze. Temp was around 86F; it actually felt cool! In Hawaii Kai the clouds blew away and the temp started to climb, eventually reaching 99F passing Costco and returning to the highway. The high temp of the day was 102F, climbing the hill towards the Aloha gas station.

I recall vividly feeling tired but fine the first time I saw the old woman playing accordion, roughly mile 15, just as we approached Hawaii Kai. The temperature then was 86F. By the time I saw her again after the Hawaii Kai loop I knew I was in trouble. Weak and nauseous. I took my planned gel but it felt bad. That was mile 18 and the temperature was 99F.

A mile later I came to Kawaikui Park, where I saw a line of porta potties. I didn’t feel the need to pee but I did feel miserable and was curious if I had anything in me, and what color it was. I was right. Nothing much there and over 7 hours since my last pee! What came out was the color of burnt honey. Not good. 

I have never stopped to rest during a race. This time, around mile 20, I did. My feet were fine. I was not cramping, unlike the other runners nearby. I just could not keep going. I was breathing hard, as if I was running tempo, but my heart rate was only around 130. I got going again, but repeated the process several more times. 

Around mile 21 I threw up. I am not sure what it was. One or two tablespoons of thick, mucus-like stuff, the color of Mountain Dew. Then some dry heaves. After that I felt much better, but still had no energy. I knew the only way to get to the finish, and not in an ambulance, was to walk slowly and take advantage of every opportunity to cool off. I kept taking small sips of water so as not to overwhelm my unhappy stomach.

Somehow I made it to the finish. I took a pass at the traditional malasada. Pattie handed me a very welcome recovery drink, very light, the perfect way to start the hydration going. We sat on a bench near the band stand until I was able to walk again, but on the walk through Waikiki we had to stop and sit every hundred yards. By the time we reached Lawson Station, at the Moana, I was well enough to ask for my now traditional post-marathon frappuccino. Back at Uncle Ric’s place, Pattie prepared our traditional post-race meal, steak, potatoes, and a salad. Oh, and two large bottles of Kirin. Can’t overlook that.

As I walked and puked my way through Kahala I insisted that this was my last race. I took my misery as proof that I am not good enough. That my mantra of “Because I still can” is no longer true. Maybe it was that wonderful steak dinner (don’t forget the beer!), but by the time we fell into bed I had decided I needed to take responsibility for screwing up this one, and that I needed to keep going. Because I still can.
 

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