Ohana

Ohana means family in Hawaiian and this past Tuesday Kristine and I were privileged to experience it first hand. We were pleasantly surprised to receive leis from our friends at the local running shop. You see every Tuesday and Thursday they have a group run at 5pm that Kristine and I have been attending sporadically since we first arrived to the island. They took us right in and made us feel right at home.

Kristine and I with our leis!

We're fortunate enough to have met these people. You see, when you are thousands of miles from anything or any one you know it helps when people like the Runners HI gang reach out and make you feel at home by showing you were to run and then feeding you afterwards (my favorite part).

Most of the gang posing with the ones who are leaving. :(

Anyways, it was really quite special and I want to thank them for everything.

2008 Honlulu Triathlon Weekend

This past weekend was the 2008 Honolulu Triathlon at Ala Moana Beach Park. There was an Olympic Distance (1,500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run) and a Sprint (half of the olympic). I spent the whole weekend there helping sell my friends product The T-Roller. It's a self massage roller for active people. There was suppose to be an expo with tons of vendors, but it ended up being just myself and two other vendors. What a let down.

This is my side job. Not too schabby, eh?

I have been trying to train for this race since March. With teaching and coaching, I only end up training about 4 hours a week, when everyone else is doing about 10-20 hours easily. I feel like I reverted back to my former college self. The guy who would train half-ass and still beat my teammates. It took until my final two years and being hassled by teammates (Hicks, Hopkins, Decker) for years about how good I could be if I actually trained. Well, in my last two years I set school records and ran times that everyone knew I could run. So, it becomes frustrating when I cannot train the way that I know that I need to do.

I'm the one with the orange cap. Starting line!

Given my lack of training, I still was hoping to place in the top 3 in my age group. The mile swim was calm, but I felt the anxious feeling and it resulted in not being able to go very hard. I have never done this distance and I was very unsure how I'd feel later in the race. I got out of the water and hoped on the bike. Right away I got blown away by an athlete in my age group. He was just ahead of me, then he was out of sight.

Coming out of the swim.

The bike was long, but to my surprised I did not get passed by that many people. I was trying to pedal a bigger gear, but I just couldn't. It's simply from not getting to ride that much.

Finishing the bike. Kristine said I was moving to fast. I only wish!

After the bike comes the fun part. I knew I'd catch some people, but on the double loop course you get to see everyone dying and running so slow. I just started going as fast as I could. It was very hot so I had to dump a lot of water over my head to keep cool. I ended up passing a few guys in my age group and almost everyone who passed me on the bike, except two, I think.

Not sure what lap this is but I'm just dreaming about the finish line.

I placed 25th overall and 2nd in my age group. The big run I had was 3rd overall, beating most of the pros. My bike and swim were 83rd and 86th respectively out of I think 1,000 people.

So hot! Dumping two bottles of ice cold water on my head.

The biggest help of the weekend award goes to Kristine. She took these excellent pictures, but most importantly, supported my efforts for the past couple of months. She also helped me out at the sales booth and cheered for me! She made this weekend manageable so that I could focus on doing well in the race.The Pro Men's Podium. Winner Luke Mackenzie with the T-Roller!

After the race we gave away free T-Rollers to the winners of each category for those that did the Olympic Distance. Everyone was very excited to get a massage roller.

The Co-Ed Team Winners. Modeling their prizes with pride!

I had to take a lot of days off for this weekend, but it was a much needed break. I had to take Monday off so Tramp could get spayed. She took it like a champ, but by just looking into her eyes, you could tell she was not happy with my decision. As of last night we have an extra 5 people in our house visiting from home. We have the three stooges Bammbie, Sacco, and Scotty La. They arrived on Friday and have been enjoying themselves and their beer very much. And last night Heidi and Bernice (my roommate)'s sister Ashleigh have arrived. It's a mad house, but there is never a dull moment now.

Only a few weeks until we are all back in NY. See you soon.

Aloha

Live...

Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air
Ralph Waldo Emerson

More like, "Live in the wild air, swim in the sunshine, drink the SEA"-Justin Harris
This weekend was action packed for myself and Kristine. On Saturday we had the Jamba Juice Banana Man Chase. It's a local 5k with people dressed up as bananas. The goal is to catch all the bananas, which get a minute head start, and you win free Jamba Juice (think Starbucks of smoothies) for a year. Recently they have changed it to top 3 overall and top 3 in each age group win 26 free certificates. Kristine has been training very well and consitently and it showed with her very strong race effort even though she had to stop for a second. I came in second overall and ran a pretty decent time (15:33). So Jamba on me!

7am = still asleep

Next up was a 1.6 mile swim over on the east side in Kailua, Hawaii. Click here to see a map of the route I swam. The east side is always windy and makes the water very choppy. I was doing very well until we had to swim around the island. With 2ft-3ft waves coming over us and coral 2-3ft below me I was crapping in my Speedo ( j/k I don't have a Speedo). To add to the drudgery I had my goggles knocked of by a wave. So I had to flip over and try getting them back on. After getting around the island I had a much easier time getting back with the current to my back. I ended up swimming 41min 49 sec. and getting 1st place in my age group...because I was the only 20-24 year old dumb enough to do this race.

Theres me and theres a 60 year old man right behind me, DOH!

After the race Kristine, who was patiently sleeping on the beach waiting for me to finish, and I went for a nice bike ride around Kailua. Kailua is such a beautiful place and we enjoyed the ride a lot. It was very relaxing and a nice way to cool-down for myself.

This is me not being photogenic since I have snot coming out of my nose, I cannot breathe, I got beat by a lot of people, and saw my life flash before my eyes as I float in the middle of the ocean!

Once all the exercising was down we went to Momma's Island Pizza, which has the closest taste to NY pizza that I have expereinced outside of NY. Yummy!! With tummy's full of pizza we headed over to Lanikai Beach to soak in the sun like beached wales. Lanikai is my favorite beach on the island because when the sun is shining you cannot find water that is more blue than the water there at Lanikai.

Kristine and I stop during our bike ride with the island I swam around in for good measure.

The reason why I did both of these races this weekend is because I have an Olympic distance triathlon (Mile swim, 25 mi. bike, 6.1mi. run) coming up this weekend. I'm entered in the elite category and I am very excited. This week I will do some easy rides, runs, and swims to get ready to take on the guys who get to tri all day long; my dream.

Kristine and I chilling in the shallows at Lanikai Beach

Aloha!

Updates from the Aloha State!

Well, I know it has been a long time and I have been hassled, yes, hassled by even my most favorite family members to get back on the ball with my blog. So, with this post I will simply try to update what has happened since January.

First, I was fortunate enough to travel to the Big Island (Hawai'i) to meet up with my Aunt Kay and Uncle Joe and their friends Dianne and Vinny. The trip provided a much need break from teaching and was a nice escape from the over populated O'ahu. I had a feeling that the trip would be action packed and let me tell you, these 'ol folks know how to rock.

Our trip began with some intense waves and a little body boarding session near the Kona Airport. We followed that up the next day with a 3 hour quad tour in Waimea Valley. Flying 25mph through Eucolyptus tress and stopping at some of the most pristine swimming holes and views made the trip well worth the doe. Below are some pictures.

Uncle Joe, myself and the tour guide swimming in King Kamehameha's personal swimming hole. Burrr!

Watch out for these guys! Vinny, Dianne, Uncle Joe, Me and Aunt Kay overlooking Waimea Valley, Big Island, HI

Since there trip I have been coaching the track team with some great results. The kids can be tough to deal with out here, but nothing makes me more happy than seeing people drop there times every time that they step out onto the track. I was proud of them.

Also, I did a triathlon out here. Doing a tri out here is like running a distance race in Ethiopia or Kenya. It's tough! In my first one I got 15th placed and had the fastest run out of everyone, even a professional. Go me! It's been hard to keep the training up with teaching, coaching, and trying to sell these T-Rollers that my friend makes.

Well, not to be out-classed by anybody, Mom and Courtney made the 5,000 mile journey to visit for a week. It was really great to see them and for once I don't think I heard them bicker at each other! They hit up the beach every day and even went to the infamous Swap Meet at the Aloha Stadium not once, but twice. I was sad to see them go, but I will be seeing them soon enough (June 19th). Here are some pictures from their visit.

Me, Kristine, Mom and Courtney at Waikiki.

Courtney at Lanikai Beach. One of the most gorgeous beaches in the world.

Oh yeah, how could I forget. We also saved a dog. She was lost and the owner did not want her, so instead of risking giving her to the Humane Society, which apparently euthanize the dogs after a certain amount of time, we kept her. Her name is Tramp (was her name w/ previous owner) and she is a 1 year old German Shepherd. She is the sweetest dog and really adds the much need lovin' that we miss from being so far away from everyone.

Super Tramp!

This is me winning a 7 mile trail race in a course record time!!

Schabbster Comes To Town

Schab and I running through the only dry lands on Oahu

Well, my friend/college teammate Mike Schab came to visit us here in Hawaii. It was great to have someone who is so easy going around. He really complimented the house well. He did a bunch of stuff with Bernice, other stuff with Baum, and tons of running and hiking with me.

Action photo via Schab's camera

A bunch of the pictures were from our first run in Waimano up Manana Trail. I had run here once by myself, but I went to the water falls instead of the summit. The trail was very open and gorgeous. We both loved it very much. Schab was grateful to be running on trails since he know lives in Brick City (NYC).

Schab being all meditative and crap. No better spot though.

The next day went went on a hike with a co-worker of mine, ironically named Mike. We hiked up Pu'u Manamana on the windward side. The hike was amazing, but scared the crap out of me. First, I am not a big fan of heights even though I love to cliff jump into water and have been sky diving (I like to conquer that fear on occasion). Secondly, the trail is only 2 feet wide at most parts and thirdly, it's the windward side so the wide kept catching my pack and almost sent me off the trail a few times. It didn't help that after Schab and my co-worker Mike descended some cliff, as I was halfway climbing down it, co-worker Mike would always be sure to comment on how dangerous that just was and, "One wrong step and 'Man!' You're a goner!'" Anyways, we made it up and down safely and it is one of my most favorite hikes now.

To the average eye I look like I am enjoying myself, but the forward lean and the bent knees tell a different story!

Schab and I posing. You can see how it drops straight off on either side! And yes those are houses down there.
If you look closely you can see a tiny blue dot on the ridge. Thats me!

Schab and I after the marathon.

One of the main reasons that Schab came was to run the Honolulu Marathon. Of course being the sportsman that I am I joined him. We both ran pretty well and I enjoyed my first ever marathon.

You can't see it so well, but there is a faint grey line going up the mountain. That is a staircase for this old hiking trail, which is now illegal to hike, but people still do. It's called Stairway to Heaven. I cannot think of a better name.

MAUI 2007

Well, Kristine and I visited Maui this pas t weekend. It was nice to see an island not as developed as Oahu even though the locales say that has been changing steadily over the past several years. We arrived Saturday morning and left sunday evening so it was a short visit.Saturday morning consisted of driving out to Hana. Getting to Hana is all about the drive to Hana and not particularly Hana itself (the guide books say its boring). The road to get there is the twistiest and turniest road I have ever been on. The picture above shows the terrain it traverses; Hawaiian mountain sides. There are many sections that are wide enough for only one car. It's a touristy drive (27 miles) and you can definitely see the difference between locales and tourists.
There are fruit stands everywhere and most are un-maned and based on the honor system. Basically you take and pay for what you want. It's great to see the trust that people still have in certain places on this Earth. Also, the fruit is so delicious that I could see myself living here forever.
This is Peace of Maui and that is where we spent Saturday night. Basically it is a B&B without the breakfast (even though the owner offers fresh star fuit and bananas). It was relatively cheap ($65/night for a couple in a queen bedroom) and you had the luxury of sharing a kitchen, bathrooms/showers, and a jacuzzi. I would definitely recommend staying here if you are visiting Maui. It has a nice homey feeling that hostels and hotels don't/can't provide.
Sunday Kristine and I ventured up to the 10,000 ft. active volcano that is known as Haleakala. Yes I said active, but it hasn't gone off in years and it's the certain type of volcanoes that don't blowup when they erupt like Mnt. Fuji. Anyways, it was freezing up there (40-50 degrees) and raining. We had some nice veiws and decided to hike it a bit. Really, I wanted to see what all the hype was about with regards to participating in activites at altitude. Conclusion: It wasn't that bad.

This is the inside of the volcano. It's slightly larger than the size of Manhattan. It is not a crater since the hole was created by erosion. Kristine kept saying it looked like we were on Mars and by looking at the picture above I would have to agree.

One of the favorite things that we did was visit the town of Pai'a (pie-A) on the central north shore. IT was an old sugar plantation town turned hippie town. IT has the best health food store either of us has encountered named Mana. We liked it so much we visited 5-6 times in the matter of 24 hours. So if you are the area it is a must see.

Well, it was great to get off the island, but to tell you the truth it just made me realize how far from everything that we are. When you are up in the plane and you see nothing but miles and miles of blue ocean it is kind of scary. The good thing though is that each island has it's own identity and it was excellent to experience that. Maui's vibe active and rural, but we aren't so detached from everyone. Later!

Last Weekends Problem

Last weekend Kristine and I ventured up the North Shore. Both her and I really feel much more at home there. It's very country with small towns that are filled with great shops like in Hale'iwa (pronounced Hal-E-A-va). You can find anything from Mexican food and Thai food to surf shops, health food stores and shave ice parlors (shave ice is similar to snow cones). Every North Shore visit usually ends with a stop in this town to pick up some of the great food that is there.

Kristine and I utilizing the shade that the cliffs provide.

The main reason why we headed to the North Shore was that we both were feeling the need to go to the beach and I wanted to do a little rock climbing. Waimea Bay has a beautiful beach and some great rocks to boulder on. Bouldering is when a climber rock climbs without ropes and doesn't generally go above 15-20 ft. As far as the title to the post, it comes from the term "problem", which is what a bouldering route is called. Basically, you have to solve the problem to get to the top of the rock or boulder.

I just started rock climbing. I bought a pair of rock climbing shoes a few months ago and I have only been out twice. Both times I have attempt the same problem at Waimea to no avail. I still don't have the grip strength to hold on the the small holds at Waimea.

Pondering the many complex issues that I have to deal with...haha yeah right!

Well, Kristine and I are off to go hiking. Check back soon for a post about the hike.