Day seven – Saturday

Woke up early to prepare for our Xterra off road 10k race. We picked up a lady on the way whom we had met on a dive a few days ago who we decided to carpool with. We got there about 7:15 and were able to warm up and scope out the competition. Let me mention that tomorrow is the Xterra Triathlon World Championships hosted at this same hotel and in fact the run they will be doing will be the same as the run we are doing today. Dave and I drove here a few days ago to check out the hotel and pick up our race packets. At that point I began to doubt my abilities. Talk about being in one place with the largest group of uber fit people I've ever been around. Granted these folks are doing the World Championship so of course they're fit....BUT I start to think..hmm should I be doing this off road 10k? This is when I tell Dave I'm not sure I want to do it and when he says "you are doing it". The fear in my head is everyone being done with the race and waiting .... staring expectantly at the finish line for the last person to arrive - and for that person to be me. Daves words of encouragement when I share this fear are "if you are the last person and you are embarrassed...just tear off your number and pretend you were just out walking and aren't part of the race".. SUPER

So.. back to scoping out the competition. There are a lot of people who I know will be beating me but I start to feel better the more I look around. Hey, these people look average too! So, we line up and wait for the gun. This race isn't too crowded - only 173 people signed up for the 10k portion (there is a 5k also). When the gun goes off we all start lumbering up the golf course trail to the road. I am nervous and its uphill.. so suddenly I start feeling like I can't catch my breath so I'm telling myself... just breathe... calm down and breathe. This makes it better but I'm still not 100% and I'm thinking how humiliating it will be to walk 100 yards into the run. But once we level out I catch my breath and all is well. Ahead of me I spot our carpooler; I'm right on her heels and think I'll pass her..but then the hill starts again and I fall back. At this point a guy passes me up (just barely) and pulls in front. This is when I notice the armpit smell. Its early in the race so it wasn't BAD at that point...but definitely armpit. Ok, so do I kick it in to pass Mr. armpit or do I suffer. Luckily a few people get in between us and I can't discern his smell from my own. Right then is when we take a turn up the biggest hill of the race. I haven't looked at the Garmin statistics yet to see how much of a climb it is but it feels really steep. This part of the course has no trees and its is SUNNY out. This hill climb goes on for 3 miles over dirt and rock. I see people around me taking walking breaks on and off and my willpower dies. I walk. Only on the steep hills though..when it flattens out I attempt to run. I keep passing and being passed by 2 guys over and over so I decide my goal is to keep up with them and not let them get ahead. This mental strategy must work because on the last hill I run and pass them both.

What goes up must come down. I thought the downhill would be the easy part but I was wrong. It wasn't hard from an actual running standpoint but this is a trail run so the trail is narrow and dirt and has a lot of rocks all over it. I'm not the most agile person to begin with and add fatigue onto that and its terrible. So about every other step I'm sure I'm going to turn an ankle. I start walk/running as best I can down the road. Then I hit the flat area...phew. Its still trail but at least its fast. I hear someone behind me and call out "if you need to pass let me know" he responds back that I've got a good pace so he's following me (small pat on the back to me). I turn to find its guy #1 that I kept passing and being passed by. We start chatting and the time flies. We hit 4 miles.. then 5 miles and I can't believe its almost over. Guy #1 slows to hydrate at the water station but I bypass it knowing I'm almost done.. so I pull away. I think at about 5.5 we hit beach run #1. This is when guy #1 passes me for the last time :( Wow, running on the sand is not as easy as those red suited baywatch babes made it look. I tried running it and soon discovered that was virtually impossible. The sand was NOT packed.. it was very unpacked and deep. I realized my running shoes were great for heat with the mesh on top...but not so good for sand. I could feel it building up in there. I lumbered through the first sand section and into the "spooky forest" which was actually kind of neat. It was a narrow trail that went over logs and under overhaning logs/trees. I had to stop and stoop to get under some of them. I didn't see anyone eat it but Dave said when he was running there was a girl in front of him he wanted to pass and had his opportunity when she ducked under 1 log only to miss ducking under the 2nd and smacked her head. He claims he stopped to ask her if she was ok.. but I'm not sure if we are using the same definition of "stop". Anyways.. I make it through the forest unscathed. On to sand section #2 which is much shorter but no easier. Finally I see golf course ahead. I make my last sprint across the finish line and hear my name called followed by the name of my city - Rancho Cucamonga. At this point there is a little break between me and the next person behind me so the announcer takes the opportunity to keep repeating Rancho Cucamonga... cucamonga..yes yes I get it.

They call this race a "10k" but its truly a 6.9 mile run. Here is the official results page http://www.jtltiming.com/results/mauirun.html. Dave finished ahead of me (of course) with a time of 1:06 and I came in at 1:20. The lady who carpooled with us (and is 58 years old) finished ahead of me by 3 minutes. Apparantly I need to step up my hill training. I feel pretty good about the results overall though. I don't ever run trails and don't get a whole lot of hill training in so I'm happy with my time and I was NOT the last person :) I finished 136 out of 173 people.

How else do you follow up a morning run like that than to hit the spa! We had appointments at the Grand Wailea for massages. The spa is gorgeous! Its hard to explain the whole process but so far that is the best spa I've ever been to. Not a bad way to finish off a good day. Oh yeah...and of course we went out to dinner afterwards. Went to a place called Nick's Fishmarket. Its fancier than it sounds. The food was so good and the scenery was beautiful. Had fish again and dessert!

Day six – Friday

Another day to sleep in a little bit. We woke up and headed over to Kihei Caffe for breakfast. We shared biscuits and gravy along with an order of eggs, bacon and toast. After a good breakfast we headed over to The Coffee Store to use the free wireless internet where I attempted to upload photos to the webpage which was really really slow so I was only able to manage 1 photo upload J After breakfast we came back to the condo and watched some TV and relaxed then headed out shopping a little bit at the shops at Wailea. After that we went and picked up our registration packets and numbers for the Xterra 10k trail run we are doing Saturday morning. Then we wandered around the resort there and went to Jawz tacos again for lunch and split a mahi mahi burrito. Then it was back to the condo for a dip in the ocean and some more relaxing until dinner at The Waterfront restaurant. Dinner at the Waterfront was wonderful. I think the setting and scenery at Mama’s is a little better but the food was awesome at the Waterfront and the price was a little better. We shared some lobster bisque and a salad to start. Then I had ono cooked provencale style which it had some red peppers, artichokes, mushrooms and black olives in a creamy sauce over some fresh veggies. SO GOOD. Dave had opah cooked en muniere (if I spelled that right) which had a creamy sauce and capers.. it was really good too. Then of course we followed up with dessert. Their recommendation was a coconut cream pie in a cookie crumb crust. That was also really really good. After that it was home to sleep.

Day five – Thursday

No diving today so we got to sleep in. Woke up probably around 8 or 9.. can’t remember J Then we had coffee and used the internet and just generally relaxed for a while. Washed our scuba stuff and then headed to Alexanders for lunch. Just a small fish place – real casual order at the counter seat yourself type of place. A lot of the stuff is fried although you do have the option of getting most of it broiled also. We both had ono.. I had mine fried and Dave had his broiled with cajun spices (not spicy). Mine was better. Came with white rice and cole slaw. I liked mine. After that we headed to Ma’alea boat harbor shops to have Hula cookies and ice cream. Both had cookie ice cream sandwiches. YUMMY. Then back to hang out at the condo again for a while. We went driving around South Maui for a while and drove out to La Perouse bay and did a little hike. There were some inlets and caves along the shore and we saw one inlet that must have had about 6 little turtles “surfing” the waves as they’d come in and out…cute. We stopped by the Maui Prince Hotel to walk around and check out the Xterra registration event going on. Then on to the shops at Wailea to window shop. After that we did our run – Dave did 5 miles and I did 4.5. Then back home to get ready and head to the Pupu Lounge for pupu’s and cocktails. The Pupu lounge was good. The Maui revealed book said it was good for appetizers and drinks so that is what we had. I had a blue Hawaii drink which was yummy and Dave had a tropical splash. For dinner we had the pupu platter which had egg rolls, chicken and beef satays, pot stickers, crab cakes and some pork. We also had an order of coconut shrimp. Those along with our drinks was enough to fill us up for sure!

Day four – Wednesday

Woke up early to meet the dive boat for our last day of diving. We went with Ed Robinsons again. Today’s dive was called Adventure-X. Apparently it’s just structured a little different than the other dives. Actually today was probably my least favorite diving day. It was either more crowded (although I think we had same # as first day) or the other divers were a little more annoying J First dive was a deep dive to like 110 feet so the bottom time was really short and we didn’t really get to see a whole lot. Second dive was a lot better though – that one was to three anchors. There are three giant anchors under the water with their chains attached and ‘stuff’ lives along the anchors and chains. Again saw a slipper lobster and lots of fish. After the dives we drove to Lahaina to go to Aloha mixed plate. Same place we ate 6 years ago. Still a good relaxed place to have an outdoor lunch on the beach– it was good. We both had mixed plate lunches. After that we went to get shave ice at Pretzelmaker in the Lahaina cannery mall. It was ok but nothing special.. probably not worth an out of the way trip. Then we drove over to meet with a lady we met while diving who owns a condo here… we wanted to see it and ask about her experiences owning a condo on the island and how she got into it. Her place is really nice..they spent some money updating the inside and kitchen and it looks nice. After that we went running for a short distance then back home to quickly get ready and head to Roy’s for dinner. It was good as usual. We wish the Roy’s here were more open air dining though like the one in Kauai but the food was good. I had seared scallops which were really good and Dave had an opakapaka over risotto. Of course we finished off with dessert – Hawaiian s’mores.

Day three – Tuesday

Got up early again to meet our dive boat at 6am. Going out with Ed Robinsons again. The dive was great. First dive was going to be the back side of Molokini but it was a little choppy today so we couldn’t do that one.. the alternate was great though. It was kind of on the side and kind of on the back of Molokini. Really nice dive. Saw a couple white tip reef sharks while diving there. They are a fairly small shark and not considered dangerous to people. Surprisingly they don’t seem scary under water. Second dive was nice.. very calm and we got to see a few turtles. One that swam right underneath me. After the dives we got back about 11am and headed to Makena grill – a little roadside grill that got an ono (which means a good rating) in the Maui revealed book but it was our first bad meal. I found 4 bones in my mahi mahi taco and on top of that it just wasn’t very good. That was disappointing.. we won’t go back. Headed back to the condo to nap. After the nap it was up for our run. I did 4.5 and Dave did 5 in Wailea. After the run we rushed back home for a quick shower and then on to Mama’s fish house for dinner. The setting is beautiful and the restaurant is really decorated nicely with a lot of really neat wood finishes. Overall a really great atmosphere right on the beach. The food and drinks are pricey though! The cocktails I’d say aren’t worth the price. We shared 1 and we both agree it was overpriced. The food is also very spendy but also very tasty. I’d say though for the money its not any better than say a Roy’s… but it was good food. For appetizer we had a Polynesian seared beef which was great. Then I had the lobster stuffed mahi mahi which was good but not $54 good J Dave had the opakapaka done picatta style which was also very good. We split a chocolate pie which we consumed. Overall good meal but on the pricey side but the restaurant itself is beautiful and the setting is one of the best. Then it was home to bed.

Day two – Monday

Today is our anniversary! We got up early to meet our dive boat for our first scuba dive of the trip. We are using Ed Robinsons shop for our dive trips. Met the boat at about 6am and then headed out to the first dive site. The boat was fast and not too crowded. Our first dive was in the crater of Molokini. Our second dive of the day was at Red Hill. We really like Ed Robinsons so far. They are really helpful on the boat and put all your stuff together for you. The other thing that I really like about them is that its so relaxed. There is no rushing to put your wetsuit on or gear up while the boat is underway which is what we’ve experienced on other dive trips. Maybe its because its Hawaii or maybe its this particular dive company but it makes it much more relaxing. Plus for me since I can get sea sick its nice not to have to struggle with putting my wetsuit on while the boat is in motion. On our dives we saw some eels and lots of coral and fish in general. Also so a spiny lobster and a big slipper lobster (funny looking). After our dives we got back to shore about 11:30. Headed to lunch at Pita Paradise. We shared some ziki bread (pita bread with cheese on top and some basil with a cucumber dill dipping sauce) to start (really yummy). Dave had a kahlua pork pita and I had the fresh catch pita – which was ahi tuna. Mine was awesome. The fish was done really nicely and I loved the cucumber dill sauce. Dave said he like his also but mine was the better of the two. After that we had shave ice and went back to the condo. I took a small nap and then we went to the 24 hour fitness to work out. Then it was off to Roy’s in Kahana for dinner. We both had a guavatini which were yummy! Then we shared some seafood ravioli which was nice. For dinner I had brown butter baked opakapaka (pink snapper) over risotto. It was really good. Dave had herb crusted mahi mahi with a teriyaki glaze… which was also good. For dessert we split some banana thing which was also very good. Overall YUMMY. I’m not sure about this Roy’s ambience though, its not bad just not much different than any of the mainland Roy’s. Later this week we’ll try Roy's in Kihei.

Day one – Sunday

I woke up before Dave and went for a walk on the beach just outside the condo. It’s a nice quiet beach without a lot of people since there aren’t any “resorts” on the beach. It was already hot and humid when I was walking which was about 8am. I got back about 8:45 and Dave woke up. We got up and drove to Wailea to do our weekly long run. My plan was to do 7 miles and Dave to do 8. We parked at the shops at Wailea and started running. There were more hills than I thought and it was humid out. So I made it to my 3.5 mile turnaround and headed back. Just short of 6 miles I had to start walking and walked the rest of the way. Dave had to walk also at his 6.5 mile mark. After that we had Jawz fish tacos from a taco stand on the side of the road. They were really good and we think it’s the same people that used to be called Maui tacos that we had 6 years ago. After our tacos and smoothie we went back to the condo and relaxed then went for a walk on the beach followed by a swim in the pool. Later that evening we went out for dinner to Pacific O’. It was in a great location right on the beach.. we got a table outside which is a must. The cocktails weren’t very good but the dinner was great! We both had Monchong prepared in 2 different ways. After a filling dinner we had to finish it off with dessert which was pureed banana and pineapple in a puff pastry crust fried and topped with ice creatm. Then with our bellies full we headed home to bed for an early start tomorrow.

Night one – Saturday

We arrived into Maui at about 9 pm so not much to do except settle in. We got our rental car and drove to the condo – Kealia condo which happens to be just down the way from the place we stayed at 6 years ago. The condo is nice – one bedroom one bathroom with a kitchen and living room. From the lanai you can see the ocean and hear the waves. After dropping our stuff off we drove to a grocery store to get some supplies for the week.