Tribute to Friends and Family

The time has come to say farewell to Oahu. As I write, this is my last weekend on the living  on the island... for now at least. I am blessed to have created memories with so many wonderful people. The past two years has been a fantastic journey and the past months tell the story best. Aloha and a hui hou.

My Island Adventure Boy - Sammy T

My Island Crush... Oh I wish we could have become friends. :)

My Visitor from New Zealand - Caron

My Island Visitor and Couch Surfer - DJ

My Family and Support

My HPU Crew and Friends

My Marathon Pacer - Ting-Ting and Go-to Girl/Golfing Buddy - Jen

My Redhead Sister - Jessica

My Awesome Family

2011 pau... e komo mai 2012

This New Year's Eve was spent away from the crowds, parties, and fireworks (for McLovin's sake). It turned out to be one of the coolest weekends. The camping spot we chose is just down the road from the hale.
 

The weekend started off with some trainer kite flying.

McLovin had a blast chasing the kite...
that was until the instructor landed it in the tree.

The rest of the evening was spent around a campfire made from branches "pruned" to get the kite out of the tree. It gets chilly on the beaches at night. Roasting marshmallows and bottle of Jack kept the fire burning bright. The next morning brought a nice swell. Few things top waking up on a beach to breaching whales and glassy surf. The rest of the morning was spent on the water with no surf crowds.

Sam ridin a 8'6" Dick Brewer board.

Diane ridin a 7'8" Country Surfboard.

'

To finish up the weekend we went on a ridge hike above Waianae on the West Shore. Below are a few pics from the other side of Oahu - just over the mountain from the camping spot.

Stone walls and pins that Hawaiians used to hold animals.

Oahu's cactus... agave inside?

Macadamia nut straight outta da shell.

Eucalyptus trees along the path.

Tree cover galore.

More foliage.

View from the top.

Hiking down at dusk.

What an amazing weekend celebrating the turning of the year. Now that 2011 is pau (done), e komo mai (welcome) 2012!

Marathonaaaah

26.2 miles. I know - it is not proper to start a sentence with numbers... but after you run that far, you don't care much for convention.

I was blessed to have two of the coolest girls, Kali Nicholas and Christina Martinez, sharing this "life changing experience" and have Ting-Ting as my speedy pacer. These girls rocked! And we rocked the 2011 Honolulu marathon!

Ting-Ting (in white) and me at about mile 7.

Shaka'in it somewhere between mile 10 and 26.

Trekking through the homestretch with .1 miles left to go!

Booking it (upper left corner) across the finish line.

Chris and Kali headed to a strong finish

!

Big smiles the whole time! These ladies are awesome! Only .1 miles till the finish.

Feeling the love!

And the emotion!

Post race - woman down!

So jubilant!!

And ecstatic!

Woot-woot! We are done! 26.2 miles - no sweat!

Last but not least - hugs for the photographer! Many mahalos!

Thank you to everyone for your support and love! And mahalo nui loa to Kali and Chris for flying out here and showing Honolulu what's up!

Inspiration for Surfing and Life

This past weekend Sam and I checked out the HIC pro competition down the road at Sunset beach. At a surf break just down from the competition, we found another group of surfers tearing it up. The first images below are some sweet shots of what was going down.

Then we noticed a real inspiration. Check out Bethany Hamilton below. This girl knows how to rip it! It was so neat to see her in action. I must say, when you watch this girl and know her story, it is hard not to get chicken skin. She is awesome!

Marathon Training: Weeks 8 through 12

Marathon training has been as intense as ever. On Sunday I ran the last of the 808race marathon readiness series - the P.F Chang's 30K run. For those of us that don't readily know the metric system, like me, that's a good 18.6 miles.

The race started at sleepy-eyed 5am Hawaii-Aleutian time.

The starting line. These guys are insanely fast.

The course started at Kapiolani park, ran past Diamond Head, then out near Kokohead and back. Luckily I had a race partner, Ting-Ting, to help me pace. I would haven't made it to the finish looking like this without her. 

Completing my first 30K.

Ting-Ting and me post race. Taking a quick break before tackling our ridiculous management homework.

Ting-Ting, me, Steven, and Nina happy and proud to be done with the race. Now onto the marathon!

Post Race 

Day one and two were rough in knee and IT band pain. By day three, I felt as good as new and finally got a chance to get out surf and play some pick-up soccer. 

A big mahalo to all of you for your cheers and support for the race! Can't wait for my mainland ladies to get out here in December to run the marathon. Then I will be retiring. So Gladiator and Amy B, don't you ask because I am not running it, whatever it is.

Marathon Training: Weeks 1 through 7

The first seven weeks of marathon training have been a non-stop adventure. Transitioning my soccer based, interval running style to long distance has been the most challenging. This week I ran the farthest ever in my life - 7.5 miles. For me that is quite a distance, especially without a soccer ball being involved.

Finding time to train between work and school is tough. At nights I would rather chill than go run. But the accomplishment at the end is what keeps me going. Can't wait for my mainland girls to get here for the big race! 

The training routes are soon to change. Next week the home base will be the North Shore. I am going to miss Kailua - but am excited to experience another part of the island. With winter around the corner, surf is season is a-coming. Biggest benefit of marathon training: soon to be bikini-ready surf body.

Training at the bottom of the Stairway to Heaven trail

Old Pali Run 4.4 miles - time 9.21min/mile

Surely it is time...

Surely a long twelve years after the birth of blogging, I, Diane Mills, have decided to start a blog. Why would I wait 'til now to get this up and going? There are a number of reasons.... er, excuses. What I find interesting is that I consider myself to be a little techy and an early adopter to technology. Well when it comes to the blog, it seems that I am a late to very late adopter. Ergo have finally jumped on the bandwagon. This blog will be used for a combination of work/graphic design commentary and personal ranting. Keep tuned in for more!