So last Saturday I ran in a 22 mile trail race.
As you can see, our adventure started before dawn.
Eden agreed to be my relay partner and found a ride for us on Saturday morning.
I chose to do the second 11 miles so that Ryan would have time to get to the Pali lookout to see me start.
What I didn't realize was that the first runners goes eleven miles down while the second runner goes... eleven miles
up. And I mean
UP.
You can get an idea of the terrain by looking at this picture of the starting line. It's a pretty dangerous trail. It's very narrow making it impossible to run side-by-side. There's dense forest on one side and a steep drop off on the other. There were loose rocks, trippy tree roots, and some sloppy mud. Almost every runner took a few spills and at the end of the race there were plenty of bloody knees at the finish line. Before the race started Eden asked a man what the trail was like. He told us that this particular trail (22 miles) takes him an hour and half
longer than a marathon (26.2 miles).
Eden was one of the first to finish. You're timed separately each way so we spent a few minutes hanging out at the bottom of the mountain.
Funny-ish story: Eden loves bananas, especially on race days. So the night before she packed her bananas in her bag. Well, during the night a rat got into her bag and ate her bananas. She was pretty upset since we were leaving at 5:30 and the grocery store wasn't open yet. So I called Ryan and told him to pick up some bananas on his way here.
Eden was grateful.
And we're off! Yes, Eden is insane and decided to run the trail up with me as well.
It was a beautiful trail! The views were stunning! Although the forest trails were quite stifling and humid. When you got out to a lookout the breeze was refreshing and the vistas were splendid!
While waiting for us Ryan got some great shots from the lookout!
And we survived! It was grueling. Everything hurt so bad! Yes, I was bawling in this picture. It took us three hours to come up the mountain. I ran about half of it and speed walked the rest, alternating of course.
The spread afterward was great! They had fruit, bread, cookies, brownies, soups, sandwiches, potatoes, rice, and delicious gourmet wraps like Gorgonzola, chicken and pears; grilled eggplant and feta; and black bean and sweet potato.
It doesn't look like much, but this is the first attempt I have ever made at curling my own hair with hot rollers. And I'm 23!
I really was quite proud of myself!
Of course I had no hair spray so in this humid climate, within a minute the beautiful spirals were already drooping...
I thought I'd show you all the grueling work conditions Ryan and I battle everyday as we perform our jobs.
This is the entrance to the Turtle Bay Resort.
This is the Turtle Bay Resort lobby.
The lagoon...
...the pool deck...
...the jungle ambiance corridor...
(I nicknamed it the dark scary room)
...one of the many lounges. I used to ride the bus down to the resort and sit here and do my homework while I waited for Ryan's shift to end.
The wedding chapel...
...the ocean...
...more ocean...
...still more ocean...
...handsome security officer... Oh wait! He looks familiar...
Oh it's Ryan! Mom said once, "Anywhere you work that requires aloha shirts as uniforms can't be too bad!"
However, western shirts are the requirement for my current occupation as a wrangler.
Here I am in my saddle (thanks dad!) atop a horse named Stony. Jack is getting a bath from my boss Sarah Jane and Poncho and Jill cruise in the background.
Keana astride Buster.
Stony and me again. 
We're taking out a group from Japan.
And we hit the trails again!
And we ride out into the sunset that just happens to be sinking into a turquoise sea. As I said, it's a rough life...
As you can see, our adventure started before dawn.
Eden agreed to be my relay partner and found a ride for us on Saturday morning.
I chose to do the second 11 miles so that Ryan would have time to get to the Pali lookout to see me start.
What I didn't realize was that the first runners goes eleven miles down while the second runner goes... eleven miles up. And I mean UP.
You can get an idea of the terrain by looking at this picture of the starting line. It's a pretty dangerous trail. It's very narrow making it impossible to run side-by-side. There's dense forest on one side and a steep drop off on the other. There were loose rocks, trippy tree roots, and some sloppy mud. Almost every runner took a few spills and at the end of the race there were plenty of bloody knees at the finish line. Before the race started Eden asked a man what the trail was like. He told us that this particular trail (22 miles) takes him an hour and half longer than a marathon (26.2 miles).
Eden was one of the first to finish. You're timed separately each way so we spent a few minutes hanging out at the bottom of the mountain.
Funny-ish story: Eden loves bananas, especially on race days. So the night before she packed her bananas in her bag. Well, during the night a rat got into her bag and ate her bananas. She was pretty upset since we were leaving at 5:30 and the grocery store wasn't open yet. So I called Ryan and told him to pick up some bananas on his way here.
Eden was grateful.
And we're off! Yes, Eden is insane and decided to run the trail up with me as well.
It was a beautiful trail! The views were stunning! Although the forest trails were quite stifling and humid. When you got out to a lookout the breeze was refreshing and the vistas were splendid!
While waiting for us Ryan got some great shots from the lookout!
And we survived! It was grueling. Everything hurt so bad! Yes, I was bawling in this picture. It took us three hours to come up the mountain. I ran about half of it and speed walked the rest, alternating of course.
The spread afterward was great! They had fruit, bread, cookies, brownies, soups, sandwiches, potatoes, rice, and delicious gourmet wraps like Gorgonzola, chicken and pears; grilled eggplant and feta; and black bean and sweet potato.
Ryan has always wanted a motorcycle and there are two types he's dreamed of owning. One of them is the Shadow. We've been saving up for a while, but the theft of the moped kind of expediated the buying process.
We're pretty excited! It's been great and we've enjoyed it a lot!
I was a little surprised at the response of many of my peers. After expressing our desire to buy a motorcycle several ladies asked "How do you feel about that?" Um..... would we buy one if I didn't feel good about it? One lady actually asked, "So you're letting him buy it?" Okay, I wanted to say "My husband still has his cojones, I don't let him do anything. And I like motorcycles!" Yeah and most women, I think, honestly don't believe that I actually like motorcycles.
