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Marathon & Shots
Sep. 4th, 2022 11:31 amTHE MARATHON
We've been hearing sirens all morning. That's because it's the day of the Kauai Marathon (and Half Marathon). They occur every Labor Day weekend, but this is the first since we've arrived because of the pandemic. So I've heard at least half-a-dozen ambulances go by. Kimberly says more, and she's had headphones on part of the time. Apparently lots of emergencies caused by the marathon. (One reviewer said it's rated as the fourth toughest in the US because of the heat, humidity, and altitude change, with our house pretty much being the 100% top of the course, I suspect. Which is pretty cool. We should put a sign out that says, "It's all down hill from here." Though there's down and then up in some places still.)
The disruption actually started at 7.30 or so, when people started loudly talking just outside our house. We're right on the race course, which circles the golf course that we live next door to. So, these were people standing outside our windows, waiting for the runners. Who finally arrived at 8 or so.
I sat out on our lanai and watched the runners for 10 minutes or so. Two people were in the lead by a few minutes, then others trailed every minute or two. It's clearly a sparsely attended marathon. Records suggest there were just less than 400 people three years ago when the marathon last ran. I dunno how many people after two years of pandemics.
I actually have a hate-hate relationship with marathons, largely due to Berkeley. They started running a half-marathon sometime in the '00s, and especially the first year it made a horrible wreck of downtown. Even after that I'd often hear stories of people being stuck in their homes for hours on marathon day.
To calm the populace, Berkeley always told us excitedly about how much money they were raising for charity with the marathon. But, it was really peanuts. Clearly much less than they were spending to do all the setup and support for the (commercial) marathon. If donating was the reason behind the marathon, they could have donated MORE just by giving over their costs of the marathon, without inconveniencing half the city. So it was clearly all about trying to have Berkeley punch above its weight class and pridefully prove that it was a world class city, and the citizens be damned. At least that's how I took it.
I can see more why Kauai as a resort/vacation destination would find it appropriate to host a marathon, especially over Labor Day weekend, which is just where tourism (slightly) declines. We're going into what's called "shoulder season". Mind you it feels much less appropriate now than when it was started in the '00s, because the pandemic led Kauai (and the Hawaiian Islands in general) to realize that they'd become overtouristed. The beauty and quiet of the islands during the pandemic, the natural resources starting to come back to life, the infrastructure no longer groaning under the weight of tourism, that's all stuff that residents want to get back to, and I'm not convinced creating destination events like marathons is how to do that.
But the main lesson for us was _never_ fly out on a plane over Labor Day weekend. The runners actually run part of the way on the highway, which is the _only_ way to get to the airport from the south or west island, so the County warned to give yourself 1.5 to 2.5 hours for a trip that should be 30 to 60 minutes depending on what part of the island you're on.
And I'd love to walk the half marathon sometime. 13 miles from the Grand Hyatt to the highway and back sounds wonderful, though it'd mean getting up at god-awful in the morning.
THE SHOTS
Other news ...
I have been filled with so many holes in recent weeks that I've become a connoisseur of vaccinations.
Two weeks ago was my second COVID booster. I really hate the way our COVID boosters are being dealt with currently, as I knew I had this trip to the Netherlands coming up at the end of September, and I decided that I meant that I should delay my second booster four months from my initial eligibility so that I could have it at maximum strength for the trip.
I mean much of this is the poor efficacy of the current vaccines (which still leave you susceptible to illness) and in contrast the fact that the world is still treating COVID as if it were a very high level of risk and as if individual countries could keep it out. So that means I could get stuck in the Netherlands if I get sick, and thus everything possible needed to be done to avoid that.
(I'd wondered at the time if there might be some chance for an omnicron vaccine if I'd gotten my second booster earlier, and that has indeed emerged, but it's still not available here and I'd bet we're at least a week off, which ultimately means that I would have gotten it within two weeks of my trip, which would not have left it very useful. And now I'm probably going to have to save that omnicron vaccine for my _next_ trip, likely at the end of March.)
Then, this last week I got my (first) shingles shot and my yearly flu shot. The shingles had to be two weeks from the COVID shot because of the stress they both put on the immune system. The shingles shot was because I'm now over 50. The flu shot was one I always get before my September or October business trip (though I'm aware that means it'll lose its efficacy before the end of flu season).
Of the shots, the COVID remains the worst. But this was the best of them. I was _super_ achey and tired the night of my shot, but 80% better by the next morning, and for the first time I didn't have an uncomfortable, fevered night. The shingles shot and flu shots left me achey and tired for the next two days, but much less so. So I considered that a win. (I assume it was mostly the shingles shot, as the flu shot hasn't really affected me for years).
Two weeks until I'm heading out of town for my first business trip in three years. Thankfully, the marathon won't be running that day.
We've been hearing sirens all morning. That's because it's the day of the Kauai Marathon (and Half Marathon). They occur every Labor Day weekend, but this is the first since we've arrived because of the pandemic. So I've heard at least half-a-dozen ambulances go by. Kimberly says more, and she's had headphones on part of the time. Apparently lots of emergencies caused by the marathon. (One reviewer said it's rated as the fourth toughest in the US because of the heat, humidity, and altitude change, with our house pretty much being the 100% top of the course, I suspect. Which is pretty cool. We should put a sign out that says, "It's all down hill from here." Though there's down and then up in some places still.)
The disruption actually started at 7.30 or so, when people started loudly talking just outside our house. We're right on the race course, which circles the golf course that we live next door to. So, these were people standing outside our windows, waiting for the runners. Who finally arrived at 8 or so.
I sat out on our lanai and watched the runners for 10 minutes or so. Two people were in the lead by a few minutes, then others trailed every minute or two. It's clearly a sparsely attended marathon. Records suggest there were just less than 400 people three years ago when the marathon last ran. I dunno how many people after two years of pandemics.
I actually have a hate-hate relationship with marathons, largely due to Berkeley. They started running a half-marathon sometime in the '00s, and especially the first year it made a horrible wreck of downtown. Even after that I'd often hear stories of people being stuck in their homes for hours on marathon day.
To calm the populace, Berkeley always told us excitedly about how much money they were raising for charity with the marathon. But, it was really peanuts. Clearly much less than they were spending to do all the setup and support for the (commercial) marathon. If donating was the reason behind the marathon, they could have donated MORE just by giving over their costs of the marathon, without inconveniencing half the city. So it was clearly all about trying to have Berkeley punch above its weight class and pridefully prove that it was a world class city, and the citizens be damned. At least that's how I took it.
I can see more why Kauai as a resort/vacation destination would find it appropriate to host a marathon, especially over Labor Day weekend, which is just where tourism (slightly) declines. We're going into what's called "shoulder season". Mind you it feels much less appropriate now than when it was started in the '00s, because the pandemic led Kauai (and the Hawaiian Islands in general) to realize that they'd become overtouristed. The beauty and quiet of the islands during the pandemic, the natural resources starting to come back to life, the infrastructure no longer groaning under the weight of tourism, that's all stuff that residents want to get back to, and I'm not convinced creating destination events like marathons is how to do that.
But the main lesson for us was _never_ fly out on a plane over Labor Day weekend. The runners actually run part of the way on the highway, which is the _only_ way to get to the airport from the south or west island, so the County warned to give yourself 1.5 to 2.5 hours for a trip that should be 30 to 60 minutes depending on what part of the island you're on.
And I'd love to walk the half marathon sometime. 13 miles from the Grand Hyatt to the highway and back sounds wonderful, though it'd mean getting up at god-awful in the morning.
THE SHOTS
Other news ...
I have been filled with so many holes in recent weeks that I've become a connoisseur of vaccinations.
Two weeks ago was my second COVID booster. I really hate the way our COVID boosters are being dealt with currently, as I knew I had this trip to the Netherlands coming up at the end of September, and I decided that I meant that I should delay my second booster four months from my initial eligibility so that I could have it at maximum strength for the trip.
I mean much of this is the poor efficacy of the current vaccines (which still leave you susceptible to illness) and in contrast the fact that the world is still treating COVID as if it were a very high level of risk and as if individual countries could keep it out. So that means I could get stuck in the Netherlands if I get sick, and thus everything possible needed to be done to avoid that.
(I'd wondered at the time if there might be some chance for an omnicron vaccine if I'd gotten my second booster earlier, and that has indeed emerged, but it's still not available here and I'd bet we're at least a week off, which ultimately means that I would have gotten it within two weeks of my trip, which would not have left it very useful. And now I'm probably going to have to save that omnicron vaccine for my _next_ trip, likely at the end of March.)
Then, this last week I got my (first) shingles shot and my yearly flu shot. The shingles had to be two weeks from the COVID shot because of the stress they both put on the immune system. The shingles shot was because I'm now over 50. The flu shot was one I always get before my September or October business trip (though I'm aware that means it'll lose its efficacy before the end of flu season).
Of the shots, the COVID remains the worst. But this was the best of them. I was _super_ achey and tired the night of my shot, but 80% better by the next morning, and for the first time I didn't have an uncomfortable, fevered night. The shingles shot and flu shots left me achey and tired for the next two days, but much less so. So I considered that a win. (I assume it was mostly the shingles shot, as the flu shot hasn't really affected me for years).
Two weeks until I'm heading out of town for my first business trip in three years. Thankfully, the marathon won't be running that day.