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In this long awaited episode we recap the Revel Kulia Marathon on the Big Island of Hawaii, the final race in my quest to run a marathon in every state. This happened to be my fastest marathon to date with a finish of 3:19:55 (20 minutes under my Boston Qualifying time)! Plus in this episode you will also hear practical tips on how you can run a PR (personal record) this year. Revel Kulia Marathon Race Recap The 2nd annual Revel Kulia Marathon was held on January 18, 2020 at Waikoloa, Hawaii.Pre Race: The race sent out frequent updates and information. The expo was located on the Hilton Waikoloa Village property on Friday from 11am-7pm and was easy to navigate and mostly well organized. There was a moment of panic when the volunteer couldn’t find my race bib. But upon closer inspection it was located and I was number 1234. They also put your name on the bib and offered athlete tracking. Along with the short sleeve tech shirt they gave out an insulated beer/wine tumbler and some misc products in the swag bag. They had a couple of props set up for taking pictures. We met up with Natalie (my MetPro Coach), Tamana and her friend Suma from Cleveland, along with Wayne and Sherrie from Alberta.Race Morning: The race bused participants from the Hilton Waikoloa Resort and the Queen’s Marketplace to the start times. The marathon buses left between 4-5am since it was nearly an hour drive to the start and the half marathon buses left between 4:30-5:30 since it was about 30 minutes to the start. The marathon start area was set up off to the side of the road and consisted of a couple tables of water and sports drink, a bank of port-a-pots, music and speaker system, some site lights, the gear check truck, and the starting line set up a ways up the road. The wind made it feel rather chilly although the temps were around mid-50’s. Fortunately the race gave out gloves and heat sheet blankets and that helped a lot. I had a throw away jacket as well. We stood around talking, using the bathrooms, listened to the announcements, and then around 6:15am they directed us to walk up the road to get behind the start line. There was the usual nervous chatter and people shuffling around to try and stay warm. At 6:30am they did a countdown and then we were off running downhill.Course: The marathon course started near the Kilohana Girl Scout Camp on the western slopes of Mauna Kea at around 5,400 feet of elevation. I immediately noticed the huge amount of elevation loss. Right off the starting line the course went downhill and that combined with the dark made me a bit nervous that I would end up falling. The first 7 miles continued at a -7% grade and loses 2,591 feet of elevation which is 48% of the total elevation loss for the whole course. It made running this section extremely challenging because you want to relax into the downhill but not let yourself get out of control. You also don’t want to do a lot of braking which is hard on the body and slows you down. My mantra for the downhills was “flow” sort of like the relentless flow of lava. I tried to relax and keep the effort comfortable hard while enjoying the beautiful mountainous scenery around me. My pace for the first 6.55 miles was 6:46 for a time of 44:22. By the time we got to mile 8 my legs were already feeling the toll of all that steep downhill but I tried to keep my mind positive and just run one mile at a time. The marathon described miles 8-13 as “slow down and hang on.” At mile 11 and 12 the course really flattened out and then there are a few hills for a net elevation gain. It was a challenge to keep pushing at a decent pace and not get discouraged on the hills. Although I was really starting to feel warm by the halfway point I was still holding a pace of 7:23 for a half time of 1:36:45. It really felt like the first half of the race went by quickly. Near mile 13 we made another turn and from miles 14-20 the course lost another 1,600 feet of elevation which is a -4.5% grade. Compared to the first section this amount of downhill felt much more manageable. By mile 16 I was feeling very hot as the sun was shining in a cloudless sky and we were running toward the ocean. It started to feel like the aid stations were too far apart as I was very thirsty by the time I arrived at one. I was very thankful that I decided to go with the more minimal clothing option. There’s nothing like a little suffering to make you feel thankful for the little things- like the occasional breeze that I could feel. For the final 10k the course has around a -2.4% grade and there were a couple small hills. I also started passing a few half marathoners and saw Ed, a listener from Honolulu, out on the course. I really had to work hard at staying positive and focused during the final 10k because I was just so hot. I kept thinking, “I’m running my 50th state marathon, how amazing is that!” but part of me just wanted to be done. I noticed that I wasn’t even sweating that much which is unusual for me and I started dumping water on myself at each aid station. At mile 25 we turned onto Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway. This last mile plus was on exposed blacktop surrounded by lava fields and felt flat, exposed, and HOT. Plus there was a lot of traffic whizzing by. I was trying to keep up a strong effort during the final two miles but being so hot I was somewhat worried. A couple of times I thought, “I hope I don’t pass out . . . I’ve never passed out during a marathon before, that would be awful to come all the way to Hawaii and not finish the race.” When I got to the last mile I realized that I needed to run a sub-8:00 mile to finish sub-3:20 so I decided to do a final push. During the last section we turned back into the Hilton Waikoloa property to finish at the Queen’s Marketplace area. When I saw the 26 mile marker I felt a lot of relief and pushed across the finish line to finish strong. When I looked at the finish clock it said 3:19:59 and I felt so happy to meet my goal of running sub-3:20.Finish Line/Finisher’s Stats: I learned that my official time was 3:19:55 for an average pace of 7:37 per mile which was a 9:23 PR for me. The Revel race also prints off this awesome finisher’s card which lists your time and stats and I learned that I finished as the 4th place female (out of 121), 19th overall (out of 253), and 1st in my AG (out of 17- although the first 3 ladies were also 40+). This was also a Boston Qualifying time of over 20 minutes. They gave out very nice medals along with a fresh lei to all the race finishers. They also had cold water and cold wet towels which felt amazing. I had a chocolate milk but didn’t even get over to see what other food was offered because I met a listener Sherry at the finish line and talked to her for a bit as she waited for her husband Wayne to finish. Then I saw Trevor, Natalie, and Tamanna and went over to celebrate with them. With Tamana and Natalie (my MetPro coach) The total number of Half Marathoners was 332. The male winner was Samuel Fradette with a time of 1:17:58 and the female winner was Krysten Smith with a time of 1:23:40. The total number of marathoners was 225. The male winner was Paul Terranova with a time of 2:49:10 and the female winner was Kamie Miller with a time of 3:08:37. I got my checked bag and changed into my recovery sandals and then we walked to the car to get back to the hotel. By that point I was feeling very happy and relieved to have run strong. My legs were also feeling rather jelly-like, especially in my quads. That started several days of hobbling around walking like a drunken toddler (as Rachel who did the marathon so aptly put it). This was the most sore that I’ve been post-marathon for a long time. By day 4 I was feeling like I normally do the day after a marathon and able to go down stairs and sit down without much discomfort.MTA Meet Up: Later in the afternoon we had the MTA meet up at the Kona Brewing Company and had a great turnout of listeners. List names….. Kona Brewing Company was generous enough to give us complimentary drinks and the manager personally welcomed us. We then enjoyed several days of going to the beach, enjoying a luau, hiking in Volcano National Park, and eating lots of great food. MTA Meet Up at Kona BrewingPost Marathon on the Big Island View this post on Instagram Going down stairs the day after the @runrevel marathon A post shared by Marathon Training Academy (@marathonacademy) on Jan 19, 2020 at 10:57pm PST Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Also Mentioned in This Episode Generation Ucan -use the code MTAHAWAII to save 15% on your order. New customers can save 25%. Athletic Greens -Go to athleticgreens.com/mta and claim your special offer today – 20 FREE travel packs valued at $79 with your first purchase. MetPro.co, a concierge nutrition coaching company. Angie has lost 32 pounds working with a MetPro nutrition coach. To see if MetPro is the solution you’ve been looking for, take their Metabolic Assessment and schedule a complimentary consultation with one of their experts go to MetPro.co/mta Kona Brewing Co. -Trevor’s personal favorite is the Long Board Lager. The Revel Race Series -fast downhill marathons. The post Hawaii Race Recap- My 50th State Marathon appeared first on Marathon Training Academy.