Who is Val Nolasco? I googled and found that Val is the first American heart attack victim to complete a marathon. Kudos to Dr. Jack Scaff (who runs the Honolulu Marathon Clinic) and Val Nolasco!
Yesterday, I participated in the final race of the Honolulu Marathon Readiness Series here on Oahu. The Saucony Val Nolasco Half Marathon took place at Kapiolani Park and traced a portion of the actual marathon course. They said there were 1300+ people present. This time I opted to start on time with the majority of the runners (5:30AM) instead of doing the walk-start at 4:30AM.
When I got to the park, I noticed the bathroom nearest the zoo was closed. This was a bummer since the bathroom near the tennis courts and start line had an extremely long line, and unfortunately I’m the kind of person who feels a need to go to the bathroom about 15 or 20 minutes before race time. This meant I could stand in that super long line or take a chance and go to the bathroom across the street by the beach. I went for the latter, and by the time I came out of the bathroom, they had just started the race. It kinda sucked since I had to run to that bathroom, and then back towards the start line, so I already felt stressed from the beginning, and didn’t really get to start on time. (I think I actually did the run a little faster but it’s not reflected in my time because of this). I started the run and didn’t get to start up my music until I was more adjusted and comfortable. It honestly threw me off a lot to see everyone already running towards me as I was trying to get to the start line.
I really pushed myself on the run, and gave it more effort than usual. I’ve been taking things slow this year to avoid injury. All seemed to be going well, until somewhere between the 11 or 12 mile mark where I began to feel a really weird pain on the outside of my right knee. After readjusting my footfalls and putting on my jumper’s knee strap, the pain went away and I was able to finish. I was still worried about it, however, so I took it a little slower at the end.
I’m happy to say I didn’t walk too much, and did better than I’d thought I would. I ran in just under a 12-minute-mile pace, which is pretty good for me.
Today I woke with stiffness in my upper thighs which is normal after a long run, but new is the weird stiffness I feel when flexing my right foot up or down. I’m not even sure what to call it — is it considered stiffness of the ankle? or the forefoot? It’s not stiff on the sides or the bony part of my ankle, but the top where the foot flexes. Hopefully that goes away. I’m icing it now, along with my outer knee just to be safe. Probably gonna take it easy for a few days before trying anything.
Lesson learned- maybe I shoulda taken things a little slower.
Results can be viewed here: http://www.timelinehawaii.com/Results/VAL%20OVERALL%2009.HTM

Here’s my playlist from the run:
Æther – Beso 8:04am
Carla Bruni – Quelqu’un m’a dit 8:03am
Wu-Tang Clan – Tearz 8:01am
Charlie Parker – Yardbird Suite 7:56am
Kenny Dope – Success (Kenny Dope Remix) 7:53am
CandlestickMaker – Aquarius 7:48am
Attica Blues – Success 7:44am
Wake the president – Miss Tierney 7:39am
Jeru the Damaja – Come Clean 7:36am
The Cure – The Final Sound 7:31am
Flow Inc – Killuminati 7:30am
Dyad – paragliding 7:26am
Illa J – Swagger 7:19am
Æther – Milla Ann 7:15am
Æther – Rain or Shine 7:13am
Throwing Snow – A Long Tomorrow 7:10am
Audioboy – Lullaby 7:07am
Blue Sky Research – Northern Rainy City 7:03am
Lykke Li – Possibility 6:57am
Bing Crosby – Swinging On A Star 6:52am
Moroza_Knozova – Rosolam (Novomix) 6:50am
Hearin Aid – figz 6:46am
Æther – To Her 6:42am
Fulgeance – Low Club Anthem 6:39am
Sepalot – Measured Amount 6:33am
Guther – boys do not think 6:29am
The Cure – Lovesong 6:25am
Operation Ivy – Big City 6:22am
Bradata – Dead Steps 6:20am
Colleen – In the Train With No Lights 6:16am
Radiohead – Jigsaw Falling Into Place 6:14am
Digitalism – Pogo (Mentalism Version) 6:10am
The Cure – Seventeen Seconds 6:04am
Digital Truth – mish mash 6:00am
The Cure – Fire In Cairo 5:53am
Ms. John Soda – A nod on hold 5:50am
Nat King Cole – Song of Delilah 5:47am
Nancy Sinatra – Vagabond Shoes 5:44am
KMD – Nitty Gritty 5:42am
Standout tracks during the run: The Cure “Fire in Cairo,” Operation Ivy “Big City,” The Cure “Lovesong,” Jeru “Come Clean,” Charlie Parker “Yardbird Suite”