The Journey of #takemeback
About those 26.2 miles. A marathon!
Remember last year when I jumped in to support a friend during the Honolulu marathon?
Well this year I decided to officially sign up and run every mile on the course with my friend Cesar.
It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t very fun. #takemeback
Ok maybe it was a little fun.
Especially crossing the finish line.
#Takemeback…backbacktoCaliCali
I don’t have the (DO NOT COPY – sorry Honolulu marathon – pictures) of the grueling part. Kind of funny because that’s how life is. People don’t often talk about the struggles or the rejections. It’s what happens in the end that’s memorable. #shocka
We started the marathon in downtown Honolulu at 5 am. That means we woke up at 3:30 am to eat and “get ready.” I’ll let you fill in the blanks there.
With our nerves in knots, we giddily walked from my cousin’s place to the start line, cramming through lines of people to get in formation.
Running is such a mental game. It’s mental.
Cue fireworks. Like crazy. We slowly walked forward and then it was go time. Mile 1, 2 and 3 I was rocking the game. After that it was all down hill, but only figuratively.
Hills. Many hills. It was dark and long. Then a torrential downpour started once we rolled into Hawaii Kai (Dog the Bounty Hunter’s home turf!).
My hips were hurting and Shakira say they don’t lie. #takemeback
Thirst constantly lingering. Sleepiness. But views for days. Mindless jabber. #takemeback Aching for inspiration.
“Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character.”
I’m not sure how, but mile after mile, we finally made it near the end. We passed the Punahou School (Obama is a graduate!) and all their snacks, water and freezing cold sponges helped motivate us onward. Mile 26 was near and Cesar said, “let’s book it” and book it we did. We somehow, someway found energy to finish strong.
Without difficulty, everything would be difficult. Without difficulty, using logic suggests everything will be easy. TBH I’m not sure I’ll do another marathon. But then again, a challenge has it’s perks.
After a challenge, you can cruise and breathe and enjoy.
Keep cruisin’
After the marathon, we enjoyed the views of Hawaii from paddling at the North Shore to hiking Makapuu and cruising the Waikiki strip.
“If you don’t challenge yourself, you will never realize what you can become.”
Thanks/mahalo for having us Joey and thanks Honolulu for serving us some challenging realness.
We survived.
#takemeback
