Brian Clarke's Trail Training: 2009, week 11

I missed Week 10 of the Training, because I was hiking the Kalalau Trail on Kauai (route and pics to come). I returned for Week 11 - and for some climbing. Wednesday night's run went down to Jackass Ginger and back up. Saturday's run/hike went to the top of Mt. Kaala, the highest peak on Oahu.

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/8590234
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Terrain" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Wed, 6/17/2009
Start: Parking #2
Trails: Kalawahine - Pauoa Flats - Nuuanu - Jackass Ginger - back
2:12 / 4.6+ miles / 5149' elev. gain
We ran from Parking #2 down to the bottom of Nuuanu trail and then back up. My Garmin didn't start recording until partway into the run.

---

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/7521095
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Sat, 6/20/2009
Start: Waianae Valley
4:38 / 6.8 miles / 4949' elev. gain
Mt. Kaala is the highest peak on Oahu (about 4000'). The climb is more of a hike than a run and there are great views all the way up. You can see in the map that the top of Kaala is flat. And since it's in the clouds a lot, it's kinda like a bog up there - with many unique plants.

Photo by Brian Clarke


Photo by Brian Clarke
The climb has a lot of ropes, cords, garden hoses, printer cables for the steep, slippery sections.


Photo by Brian Clarke
View of the Waianae valley/coast.


Photo by Cynthia Gibson
Me, Annie, and Linda.

Mango Madness: 6/13/2009

Mango Madness is the 3rd race in the 2009 HURT Trail Series. The course goes from the bottom to the top of the Tantalus trails. From the Nature Center, up Kanealole, Nahuina, the concrete Telephone road until the top at Puu Ohia. Then back down. The faster runners were thrown for a loop (literally) when the race marshalls made them go down Puu Ohia and up the Telephone road a second time, before continuing on the rest of the course.

Annie and I were out for a training run, not a race, so we volunteered to do the extra loop. The race marshalls were shocked - they couldn't believe we wanted to go up the Telephone road again. Annie and I had a great run. And the smiling reactions from the race marshalls and aid station volunteers made it even better.

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/8590047
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Sat, 6/13/09
Start: Nature Center
2:25 / 9.5 miles / 15:09 avg


Photo by HURT Hawaii
Annie & I near the top of the concrete Telephone road.


Photo by HURT Hawaii
Brad finishing the race.


Photo by Brian Clarke
David, Ramon, Linda, Cindy, Annie, Brian, me, and Jack.

The HURT Hawaii website has the event write-up, race results, info on the cool keychains we got, and links to lots of race pictures. Including pics of: David, Jack, Brian, Ramon, Cindy, Melani, Linda, Ruby & Loren, Byron & Marji, and Benita . Thanks HURT!

Brian Clarke's Trail Training: 2009, week 9

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/8589461
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Mon, 6/1/09
Start: Nature Center
Trails: Kanealole - Nahuina - Telephone rd - Puu Ohia - Parking #3 - Parking #2 - back
1:48 / 5.9 miles / 18:29 avg
We did the long uphill route that is the start of the Mango Madness course. In the map, you can see that the trails are easily accessible from the more densely populated areas of Honolulu.

---

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/8589561
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Terrain" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Wed, 6/3/09
Start: Manoa Falls
Trails: Manoa Falls - Ahuialama - Pauoa Flats - Kalawahine - Nahuina - Kanealole - Nature Center
1:48 / 5.7 miles / 19:11 avg
Continued uphill after Manoa Falls, then down to the Nature Center. Some of the runners continued on the roads back to the start of the Manoa Falls trail for a long, weeknight run.

Brian Clarke's Trail Training: 2009, week 8

To prepare for the upcoming Mango Madness race, we ran the Top of Tantalus loop twice this week: clockwise on Monday and counter-clockwise on Wednesday.

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/8588832
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Mon, 5/25/09
Start: Parking #2
Trails: Telephone rd - Puu Ohia - Manoa Cliff - Moleka - Makiki Valley - Nahuina
1:30 / 4.7 miles / 19:10 avg

---

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/8588885
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Terrain" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Wed, 5/27/09
Start: Parking #2
Trails: Nahuina - Makiki Valley - Moleka - Manoa Cliff - Kalawahine
1:38 / 5.6 miles / 17:38 avg

Brian Clarke's Trail Training: 2009, week 7

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/5999921
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Wed, 5/20/09
Start: Jackass Ginger
Trails: Jackass Ginger - Nuuanu - Pauoa Flats - Lookout - back
1:54 / 3.9+ miles
We crossed Nuuanu Stream, then went up to the top of the ridge. After that, we continued on to the Pauoa Flats Lookout for a view of Kailua. For some reason, my Garmin didn't pick up the satellite signal until we got to the top of the ridge.

---

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/8588779
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Sat, 5/23/09
Start: Pupukea
2:54 / 10.8 miles / 16:10 avg
First, we headed up the fire trail section. Looks like the Army has been doing a lot of work on the trail - grading it and putting down a layer of rocks. In some places, they've widened it and removed some of the hillside plants. We followed the trail until it ended up on a paved road. If you zoom in and pan further north in the map, you can see a network of other roads that it probably connects to. I hope they don't pave over the rest of the fire trail. On the way back, we went through the valley on the Kaunala trail.

Brian Clarke's Trail Training: 2009, week 6

After a (sort of) recovery run on Monday, we had a long run Wed night across the valley, up the concrete Telephone road to Puu Ohia, and back. Then on Saturday, we headed up to Kuliouou.

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/5998570
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Wed, 5/13/09
Start: State Park
Trails: Ualakaa - Makiki Valley - Nahuina - Telephone road - Puu Ohia - Manoa Cliff - Pauoa Flats - Kalawahine - back
2:28 / 8.4 miles / 17:39 avg
Can you tell that I forgot to stop my Garmin watch until I was driving home?

---

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/6000479
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Sat, 5/16/09
Start: Kuliouou Neighborhood Park
2:43 / 8.0 miles / 20:15 avg


The Kuliouou Ridge trail gets kinda steep near the top.


But at the top, you're rewarded with great views of where you came from - like Koko Crater in the background.


And looking over the other side to Waimanalo.


Jack, Joan, me, Tracy, Annie, Linda, Beverly, and Melanie

Run With A View: 5/9/2009

Run With a View (of the Moon)

Saturday was the 2nd race in the 2009 HURT (Hawaiian Ultra Running Team) Trail Series. Run With a View starts in the hills up above Pearl Harbor. When we arrived at 6:15am (ugh), there was a cool view of the almost-full moon low on the horizon overlooking the water. I guess there are some benefits to waking up early.

The race organizers decided to run the course in the reverse direction than usual. A bunch of runners (including me) got lost, which mixed up the field. Nothing like working hard to pass someone, only to have to turn around and have them be ahead - and uphill - of you.

But Cindy got the most lost - she and another runner found themselves off the trail and in an unknown neighborhood. They used her iPhone to navigate their way on the streets back to the park where the race started. Saved by the iPhone!

http://connect.garmin.com/player/5217404
Sat, 5/9/09
Start: Pearl City
1:44 / 8.6 miles / 12:02 avg

My original plan was to take it easy and not race, since I had a soccer game the next day. But I kinda got caught up in the energy of the other runners (especially with Ramon on the downhills) and ended up finishing fast enough to win a cool HURT baseball hat.

Read the full write-up on the HURT website. They have the race results posted, as well as a bunch of pics from the course and at the finish. All in all, a fun event!

Photo by HURT Hawaii

P.S. - In case you were wondering, my soccer team managed a 1-1 tie against a tough team on Sunday.

Brian Clarke's Trail Training: 2009, week 5

A couple of hour-long runs this week, as we get ready for the Race With A View on Saturday. I only had my watch for Wednesday's run, which went up Manoa Cliff & through the bamboo on Puu Ohia.

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.http://connect.garmin.com/player/5217365
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Wed, 5/6/09
Start: Parking #4
Trails: Manoa Cliff - Puu Ohia - Parking #3 - Parking #4
0:53 / 3.0 miles / 17:48 avg

Brian Clarke's Trail Training: 2009, week 4

Week 4 of Trail Training. This week we ran near Puu Ohia, the highest point on the Tantalus trails. And also ran parts of the Maunawili trail that I'd never been on before. Nice to have my Garmin to show us where we went.

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/5216271
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Terrain" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Mon, 4/27/09
Start: Parking #3
Trails: Parking #3 - Parking #4 - Manoa Cliff - Puu Ohia
1:03 / 3.2 miles / 19:45 avg
In the Terrain map, you can see near the end of the run, we go around the edge of the Puu Ohia cinder cone (pu'u means hill in Hawaiian). The spur is a little detour we took to the top where the radio tower is. And you get great 360° views. Also, if you change the Player to show "Heart Rate" instead of "Speed", you'll see that my heart rate is higher at the end of the run when we're going downhill than it was when we were going uphill. Gotta love running downhill.

---

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/5216920
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Wed, 4/29/09
Start: Parking #3
Trails: Parking #3 - Parking #4 - Manoa Cliff - Pauoa Flats - Kalawahine - Parking #2
0:57 / 3.6 miles / 15:42 avg
Similar to Monday's run, but we went around on Manoa Cliff instead of going on Puu Ohia.

---

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/5217040
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Sat, 5/2/09
Start: Waimanalo
Trails: Maunawili Ditch - Maunawili
1:55 / 7.3 miles / 15:43 avg
The Maunawili trail, which we run all the time, goes from Waimanalo to the Pali Lookout, along the base of the Koolau mountains. This time we decided to start with the Maunawili Ditch trail. Then followed another side trail, which led to the Luana Hills golf course. Both detours were interesting, but for a long run, the Maunawili trail is better. And has nicer views.

Brian Clarke's Trail Training: 2009, week 3

This week I'm uploading Terrain views of the routes. Luckily Google Maps has terrain views for a lot of places that I run in Hawaii. They make some routes look pretty cool - you can practically feel the hills.

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/4297665
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Terrain" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Mon, 4/20/09
Start: Parking #2
Trails: Kalawahine - Pauoa Flats - Nuuanu - Pauoa Flats - Manoa Cliff - Kalawahine
1:26 / 5.0 / 17:15 avg
Went to the Pauoa Flats lookout, where you can see the Pali Highway and into Kailua, then to the bench/grassy knoll on Nuuanu - my favorite trail.

---

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/4297907
1. In the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Terrain" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Wed, 4/22/09
Start: Parking #2
Trails: Kalawahine - Manoa Cliff - Pauoa Flats - Nuuanu - back
1:31 / 5.2 miles / 17:36 avg
Similar to Monday's run. My GPS watch was a little off - the beginning and end of the route were on the same (narrow) trail and should appear on top of each other (like on Monday's map). Strange.

---

Click on the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/4297090
1. On the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" or "Terrain" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Sat, 4/25/09
Start: Pearl City
2:09 / 7.0 miles / 18:27 avg
Getting to know the trail that'll be used for the Run With A View race in 2 weeks. Looks pretty cool on the Terrain map. Great views throughout the run.

Brian Clarke's Trail Training: 2009, week 2

Second week of Trail Training. I only made it to one of three trainings since my parents were visiting. I have some interesting routes from their trip, which I'll upload later. In the meantime, here's Wednesday evening's run.

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/3880592
1. On the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" or "Terrain" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Wed, 4/15/09
Start: Parking #1
Trails: Makiki Valley - Moleka - Manoa Cliff - back
1:36 / 5.0 miles / 19:03 avg

Brian Clarke's Trail Training: 2009, week 1

This is from the first week of Brian Clarke's Trail Training program. I first found out about his Trail Training in 2004 and since then I've been coming back every year. I've learned a ton about Oahu trails and about running from Brian.

Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/3103056
1. On the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" or "Terrain" box
2. Press the "Play" button

Mon, 4/6/09
Start: State Park
Trails: Ualakaa-Moleka-Manoa Cliff-back
1:00 / 3.5 miles / 17:20 avg

It was fun to run with people who I hadn't seen since last year's training.

The Oahu Trail Training runs from April to August to prepare runners, joggers, and walkers for the HURT Trail Series. For more information about Brian Clarke and his training programs, see the BC Endurance webpage.

Welcome to Dot Racing!

Welcome to Dot Racing!

For my birthday/Christmas, my husband, Brad, got me a great gift: a Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch. I've been having so much fun uploading routes from it, I decided to start a blog as a place to post them.

The 'Player' feature on Garmin's site is my favorite. I run mostly trails, so it's pretty cool to see exactly where I went in Google maps. And I like how you can visually see how the speed changes with the steepness/elevation of the trail.

Here's one of my first routes. Click the map or link below to go to the Garmin Connect site.

http://connect.garmin.com/player/1503788
1. On the map image on the Garmin site, select the "Hybrid" box
2. Press the "Play" button

The 'Player' also reminds me of Dot Racing at Oakland A's games - you pick one of three dots to cheer for as they race laps around an oval track on the scoreboard. Totally silly, but entertaining (if you have beer and peanuts, everything is entertaining...).

Hence, the name: Dot Racing.

Apparently, Dot Racing at the A's game has all advanced graphics now. But I still like the old school version:



I'm looking forward to uploading more routes. Hope you come back and check them out!

Julie

P.S. - Turns out there's a Dot Racing feature on Motion Based's site, the precursor to Garmin's site. I hope they add it to http://connect.garmin.com soon!