The Great Aloha Run is the longest race I’ve done on a regular basis. This year’s edition marked my fourth GAR; I’ve only done two Honolulu Marathons and I’ve not done any other running event more than twice (although I plan to do the Ford Island Bridge Run for a third time in April).

One of the things I noticed recently is that my times at the Great Aloha Run were getting slower every year. My per mile pace of the 8.15 mile race for the three years I completed it were:

12:44 GAR February 2009
12:52 GAR February 2008
13:23 GAR February 2010

None of that made me feel better about my running.

Given how well I’ve been doing recently, however, I decided to see how I could do this time, targeting a pace in the eleven minute area.

Despite going out way too fast on the run to start and needing to walk for a short period of time to recover, I did better than I ever have–and in fact if not for a much needed bathroom stop, I may have broken the eleven mile pace.

I finished with a per mile pace of 11:04, by far my fastest GAR effort ever.

In contrast to 2010’s debacle, I’m very pleased with my result from this year’s Great Aloha Run.
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