Honolulu Marathon 2011

Yesterday was the 2011 Honolulu Marathon here in Hawaii.  My dad is a runner - this is his 35th marathon! - and for the past couple of years Anthony and I have been waking up early on marathon morning, heading down to the start line to meet my mom (by this time my dad has already started so we don't see him off), walk the 4 miles through Waikiki, stop for breakfast, see the Christmas decorations in the hotels, then walk to the finish line and see my dad come in.

The amount of people who come out to watch the runners is amazing and the atmosphere is amazing.  For some reason, I usually get pretty emotional when I first see the runners.  There's no tears but I get choked up and I think it's because what these people are doing is just beyond my comprehension... running 26.2 miles?!?!  It's awesome! And everyone running is an inspiration to me... finishers or not.

Early morning started at 5 am with fireworks...

Santa sends his wishes to all the participants.  By this time, most of the runners are long gone.

The before...

... and  the after.  

I'm proud to say I contributed to this "white Christmas" with a paper cup one of the volunteers handed me.

Last year we brought Poki and Beans with us but we didn't this time - so we could spend time in the hotels - so this lil' Santa had to fix my puppy craving.  He kept sniffing and looking at me but we finally got a picture of his cute dogoggles.

Totally random but this guy was just passed out on the street.  He didn't look like a runner but rather a guy who had too much to drink.  If I were running the marathon, this is how I would feel before it even started...

Stopped off at Denny's for breakfast.  YAY for an egg-white spinach omelet, turkey bacon, fresh fruit, and a toasted English muffin.

Huge gingerbread display with many of Oahu's major landmarks.

This...

... is supposed to be this.  Not bad for a bunch of yummines!

The most pavement my shoes get.  They're spoiled with the indoor gym settings.

Faster Dad!!! The finish is r.i.g.h.t. there.

"Shower" area for the finishers to cool off in.

What better way to recover from 26.2 miles than with red velvet pancake puppies with cream cheese icing?  I didn't run 26.2 miles but you can bet I had one of these.

So proud of my Dad! Another marathon under his belt.

Not really marathon related but it is running related.  The other day I picked up some new shoes to start training for the Great Aloha Run.  I've been interested in going the minimalist shoe route so this is the shoe to use as a stepping stone to go from your regular shoes to minimalist.  As if it's not obvious... it's pink.  Not my favorite but the only color in my size the store had.  So to make pink lemonade out of lemons I'm planning on ROCKING an entire pink outfit! Shoes, socks, shorts, shirt, and headband.  Just need to find all these items in the exact pink color and I'm ready to be the running Pepto Bismo bottle!