Lavaman 5K Race Review

My family is home from a most wonderful time away in Kona Hawaii.  It was so good for our souls to get some much needed sunshine (and quiet time together to relax and play).  But the warm days of almost all 26 Celcius were amazing after such a long spell of cold winter.  We managed to get in alot of beach and pool time, and for myself, some wonderful runs.  I did two long runs while I was away which I'll do a post about in a little while, but I also did a 5K race in Waikoloa!

There are only wonderful things to say about this run.  It was well organized, alot of fun, and great support.  For a 5K there were two water stations!  We ran over lava, and down some beautiful palm tree lined streets.

Check out those hot pink shoes!

Even though it was at sunset, it was still really hot.  My first kilometer I ran at a pace of 5:40min/k.  I was pleased with this and hoped to maintain the pace.  I kept pushing and was surprised when I saw kilometer markings (my watch buzzes as each k passes) of 5:15min/k.  It has been a long time since I saw those numbers on my runs.  I felt good and after the 3K mark worked at maintaining that pace.  The hard work paid off.  I finished with an amazing finish time of 26:51.  Nine seconds under my hope of a 27 minute finish!

A wonderful bonus to this run was having my family there to support me.  Not only did I have my hubby and the kids, but also my parents at the finish line.  My eldest daughters face in the photo captures exactly how I felt post run!

We went to grab a bite to eat and watch some Hawaiian dancers.  On the way out we noticed alot of other runners wearing medals.  I asked a woman if they had been awarding age group medals and they were!  Prompting by my family had me ask the race director if I had placed.  I was astonished that I had!  2nd place!!!!!  At that point many of the remaining medals had been given out to the kids, but they had one in the box with a surfboard keychain on it which I happily took in lieu of the original medal :)  

My son holding my medal on our drive home.

This was a fantastic run.  If you ever end up in Kona and have a chance to do this race, or the Lavaman Triathlon that this is apart of, I would highly recommend it.  Now to find a race for April!