Race Report: Kalakaua Merrie Mile

It just so happens that the first year I decide to do the marathon is the first year that they offer a Pre-Race-Day run/walk event. Notice I didn't say race, as that's definitely not what it is for most of the participants...

Race details:
Honolulu, Hawaii
Run: 1 mile

Course Reported Finish:

Garmin Splits:

Garmin 920XT New Feature - Heart Rate Zones:

Quick note which I'll write another article on, but the Forerunner 920XT has several new features. Two of the running ones which are interesting is the Recovery Time and Heart Rate Zones. They also have a Cadence chart but I think that might not be accurate unless you have a foot pod. But I'm not sure. More review of that in the future. Recovery Time isn't shown because they don't currently record that. It's just displayed immediately after you finish a saved event.

Heart Rate Zones, on the other hand, is plotted and I think this is a sweet new feature. The plotted Heart Rate and Avg Heart Rate metric are helpful, but I think the Zone chart really captures what most data nerds want to see when analyzing post run or race. In my opinion, it's one of the best barometers of whether your training or racing was according to plan or not. And then if it's not what you expected, you can use the plots to better plan your next run. I hope to take advantage of this in the future!

Race Summary:

It was pretty cool to be apart of the Inaugural event. The Merrie Mile is yet another example of Hawaii's theme of aloha. The race invites competitors of all ages and paces and nobody is left behind. In fact, in checking the results, there were 4 finishers who completed the 1 mile run in 52 minutes. 52 MINUTES!!! Like holy crap! That's a long time to go 1 mile. But that's just aloha. It's Hawaii. And while I'd never do it if that's how long it took me, power to the folks who choose to do it and props to the race organizers who empower them to do so.

What also makes an event like this interesting is that it brings out many people just looking to have a good time. There was a pair of Japanese women dressed in full Yomiyuri Giants baseball uniforms. There was an inflatable dinosaur guy. There was a 100% vegan guy carrying a 100lb log. There was several santa outfits. Many neon colored groups. A group of runners with JAL airline shirts and a small inflatable airplane on their backs. And of course just all shapes, sizes and ages!

Anyway, my race went really well. I pushed hard, but didn't overdo it. I started out slow as I was getting around some slow people who decided to line up at the very front. After clearing those eager joggers, I sprinted out ahead of my wave as one of the top 3 runners. To be fair, I sand bagged my time (as per usual) and submitted an 8 min finish time. The first group was 6-8 min and mine was 8-10 min. I also had a great, wide turn at the 180° turnaround so to keep most of my speed. I finished the last quarter mile sprinting down Kalakaua and waking up to a 6:17 finish time! What a run!

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