Hawaii and the World Championships

I had just a week in Scotland before I was due to fly out for the Xterra Trail Running World Championships in Hawaii. There was now no way I was going to be able to run the whole race, but my recovery from my back injury was far enough on that I should have a fighting chance of completing the mountainous 22km course (as I explained in other posts this is the only time I've ever qualified for a World Champs, and I've already paid for my flights/accomodation - so I'm going to go - injury or not!). So, I spent most of every day at my parents house in the Scottish Borders doing several rounds of my stretching and strengthening exercises, and rapidly increasing my walking distance, until I did a practice walk the same length as the Hawaii course (though with less hills) - I now was confident of making it to the start line.

I had bagged some awesome flights via an Iberia Airlines hack that excited every experienced internet trawling travel-hacker earlier in the year. I managed to get myself business class flights from Madrid to New York; and back from LA to Madrid using airmiles that "cost" around 200 pounds, plus taxes of around 150 pounds! That is just amazing value for flights that would probably cost several thousands if bought with cash. I used cash flights and some of my regular airmiles to make up the rest of the journey (NY to San Francisco; San Francisco to Hawaii; Hawaii to LA).

As I'm currently a "full-time" touring cyclist (ie unsalaried), most of my travel has to be low(-ish) budget and, as I was arriving for my first ever visit to New York over thanksgiving period, accommodation prices were through the roof - like $100+ per night for a hostel bed in a shared dorm room!! So I put out a plea for any friends that might be currently staying in NY with a couch or spare bed.

One of my sisters best friends - Rebecca suggested some friends of hers - Johnny and Ting; and it very quickly became apparent that this was the same Johnny that I knew a little bit through a common friend John, in Hong Kong; and the same Ting I had been hiking with several years ago whilst visiting John in Hong Kong in 2012. They were now married, and living and working in New York. They kindly offered me their spare room, even though we didn't know each other all that well. I came as an acquaintance and left as a friend - thank you for your kindness!

New York was one of the last chances to get some more miles in the legs. It was really interesting to just walk and walk the streets of New York, passing so many "familiar" buildings, parks and landmarks. New York can be incredibly expensive - shows, museums, hotels, meals, transport, etc, etc can soon add up to hundreds per day, but there is enough to do and see on foot on a budget (or even free) to make for a worthwhile trip Maybe one day I'll be back when I'm not travelling on a long-term cyclists budget, and see all the big ticket things too!

Next stop was California, and my cousin Jane, her husband Chops, and their kids Jude and Tess in San Francisco. This kind of brings my rtw cycle ride full circle - the last time I stayed with them was week one of my trip back in 2011! That time Jane was away on business, but this time she was around. The children have grown up so much! I did a bit more walking (around the city), and we caught a really good evening event at the SF Jazz Club with experimental musician Laurie Anderson. Thank you Jane, Chops, Jude and Tess! I've just realised whilst putting this post together, that I took no photos in San Fran :(

So finally I made it to Hawaii. After a sharp decline in my health from June through to August, when I eventually couldn't walk more than 50 metres without being intense agony, I was now going to be taking part in my only ever World Championships as a Senior qualifier in my own right. The race is open for entries, so I could come back and take part again (just like several other major races incorporate a world championships into an open public event), however that is just not the same thing as competing as a qualifier! As I went to collect my number, the official said "oh! number 73, you must be one of the elites, you'll be finishing near the front!". I thought I had come to terms with just taking part, and not being able to compete, but for a brief moment the frustration with my injury felt like it might rise to the surface.

Staying at the hostel near the beach at Waikiki was my roommate, Dutchman Kenneth, the entire Brazilian elite team, and young Scottish elite runner Louise. Kenneth was not here for the race, but got caught up in the excitement, and before he knew it he had signed up as a last minute entry too!

The race takes place in the wild North-East side of the island, where various films, including Jurassic Park, were filmed. I fast walked the first half of the race, starting at the back and overtaking a surprising large number of runners on the uphill sections. From half way I started to jog a few hundred metres every other mile, and by the time the final 3-mile sweeping descent came and the finish was in sight, I couldn't hold back any longer and jogged the last bit - high on race adrenalin and anti-inflammatory drugs(!), I was feeling very little pain in my back or leg!! I finished almost half way up the field - I even beat a few elites, mostly older veterans, but even 1 or 2 senior elites (who had had a very very bad day)! That wasn't important to me though - it was all about finishing today. My victory was a victory over adversity, conquering an injury that at one stage just a few months ago looked like it had the potential to be utterly life-changing. I had used the race as motivation to put in several hours a day of stretching, exercises, physio and rehabilitation; but really it was all about motivating myself to work at getting back full function of my body - making it to the race is a big bonus. There is still a way to go, but if I can complete a 22km trail run, then the rest of my recovery is in sight!

Kenneth had enjoyed his day, finishing just ahead of me; and Louise had had a great day, winning the F25 category outright and finishing as 3rd female overall, whilst another fellow Scot and long distance cyclist, Tom, who I met on the bus back, also sneaked onto the prize-list.

I spent the rest of my time in Hawaii doing a couple of easy hikes, a spot of paddle-boarding, and just resting and recovering from the race. There was plenty of good company at the hostel - apart from Kenneth, Louise and the Brazilian team, there was Erin, Willy, Alyssa, Salala and Masanari (to namecheck just a few) - a very international crowd!

My journey back to Scotland had yet another blast from my big journey's past. I flew into LA, where Chris collected me from the airport. My most loyal readers might remember me bumping into 2 American Lads way back in 2012, in Indonesia and riding with them for months. Chris is my number One cycling buddy from the past 7 years. Nobody on my journey has done as many miles, hours, and mad-craziness with me than Chris. We reminisced about so many of our adventures back in 2012, and I fear I might have been a catalyst for setting his mind away from his current, settled existence and back towards the open-road! 

My visit here, like my visit to my cousin Jane also took me back to the very start of my rtw adventure. It was here that I flew into from London on day 1 in 2011. Having already "done" all of the big tourist sights here last time, whilst Chris was at work I contented myself with wandering around Santa Monica (where Chris lives) one day, and hiked up to the Getty Museum another day. Although there were some aches and pains from the race, the meds were still hiding most of the pain, and I was surprisingly more mobile than I thought I have might been at this point.

A few days exploring some of the beautiful historic towns around Madrid, then back to Scotland.

I would have another Christmas with my family back in Scotland; followed by a couple of months to recover from the race, turn my attentions from walking/running to rehabilitating my body for cycling, and also get my CV, application letters and organisation in place to find a job for the start of next academic year. Ideally I will have set myself up with a teaching job for the new academic year (ie starting in August) by mid-March, regardless of this, mid-March is my target date to try and have my body back at full touring fitness, and a return to Uzbekistan. Let's see...