2010 Portland Marathon

In 2009 I finished the Portland Marathon with a time of 3:54:25.  My goal during that race was to survive the experience, run without stopping and finish with a sub-4 hour mark.  Afterward, I remember feeling that I could have pushed myself a bit to reduce my time - but mostly, I was just glad for the experience and for achieving a goal that had been lingering for about 20 years.
 

My gear included Asics Gel Kayano shoes and Nike Fit shorts and dry fit shirt

Today was about running the race...not merely surviving.


My experience really began on June 19 when I began my 16 week training program.  I basically used the same training schedule as I did last year - only I followed it this time to include speed workouts and running a 10k trail race that got my mind and body more prepared for this competition.  This year, I stayed relatively steady and injury free with my running since the beginning of the year.  I logged 108 runs totaling 713 miles and now weigh a 20 year low of 177 pounds losing about 15 since beginning the training.

The 2010 Portland Marathon was run in Oregon's "liquid sunshine"

My training included running progressively more miles as the training schedule moved closer toward the marathon.  I ran most of my training runs around Bear Creek but this year also included some track work at Mt. Hood Community College.  I completed most of my long runs on the Springwater Trail which is an old railroad track-turned recreation trail that begins in Boring and finishes near downtown Portland.  My longest "long" run was 22 miles which I completed three weeks ago.  Last week, I got distracted with the purchase of the boat for my 43rd birthday (thanks to J and the girls) - I lost the battle of eagerness to welcome the Alumaweld Intruder during a maiden voyage along with a rare weekend alone with J and the prospect of catching Chinook Salmon on the Columbia River.

My last week of training was diverted with fishing in the Columbia River Gorge

The Portland Marathon event began this past Friday when I attended the marathon expo at the downtown Portland Hilton.  Similar to last year's event, the expo provided some good opportunities to sample a lot of great food and clothing products.  I received a goody-bag with a neat commemorative coin, pendant and training dry fit shirt along with my bib number 4799.  Yesterday, rather than run the few miles that was in my schedule, I opted for a couple of hours trying to land a Coho Salmon on the banks of the Sandy River.  I managed to have a fish on for a few seconds using a Blue Fox number 4 green spinner, but with a wiggle and determined push up-stream, the fish returned to his pursuit of reaching Cedar Creek spawning beds.


I woke up this morning at 4:30 AM to the sounds of thundering rain of which I haven't heard since last Winter.  Since the first Portland Marathon race in 1970, it's only rained on three occasions.  J and the girls woke up at about 5 AM.  I had all of my gear ready and had a bowl of cereal, cup of Hagan's instant coffee and finished my pre-race meal with a couple of glasses of water.  Like last year's meal, I also cooked up an egg to add some protein to the carbo-focused diet that I've eaten this week and downed a couple of Aleve caplets.

We arrived in downtown Portland at about 6:00 AM and stopped at a Starbucks where a dozen of Portland Police's finest were preparing for their traffic control duties. We then headed to the starting area at 4th and Salmon Street where J and the girls gave me hugs and kisses for good luck.  The rain was insistent and steady while I made my way to a long waiting line at a port-a-potty.

Supporters cheer during the Portland Marathon

About 5 minutes before the 7:00 AM start I huddled with a few thousand runners under some limited cover provided by eaves from a large building near the starting line.  I decided during the past few months to set a goal of running the race in under 3 hours and 40 minutes.  While at the expo, I grabbed a pace bracelet for a 3:35 finish time so this morning I decided to start with the 3:30 group.

The race began with Portland's Mayor giving us a 5 second countdown.  I knew that in order for me to break the 3:40 time I would have to run nearly a perfect race in terms of pace, hill strategy and fluid replenishment.  I knew that most of my pace times hovered around the 8:10 mark.  Similar to last year, I started a bit too fast with a couple of sub-8 minute mile times.  At the 5 mile mark I was a couple of minutes ahead of pace but felt comfortable so decided to keep the 8 minute pace in mind as the industrial area "out and back" miles approached.

The "out and back" miles came and went as I maintained about an 8 minute per mile pace.  It was great to complete this flat section and then head to the St. Helens Highway stretch of the course which passed by Montgomery Park, near the site of where I ran the 10k trail race in August.  My halfway mark time was about 1:45 which got me thinking that I had a chance at not only breaking the 3:40 mark, but also a slim opportunity to run  a sub 3:30.  I maintained that thought until I came upon the infamous St. John's Bridge at mile 17.  From last year's recollection, this bridge, that sits atop a steep grade of asphalt and connects North Portland to the West Hills via crossing the Willamette River, comes at a time in the race where a nice downhill descent would be most appreciative.  This hill really made the earlier faster miles bring me back to reality in terms of running a sub-3:30.

After tackling the St. John's Bridge I made some catch-up time in the several downhill miles that followed.  J and the girls found their way along Willamette Boulevard to greet me at about mile 18.  It was a special moment to high-five them as I prepared for the most difficult part of the race.  At mile 22 it became evident that I was in for a glycogen battle of great magnitude!  My legs were losing strength so I focused on shortening my stride and proper form.  This helped as I reached a moderate downhill near the Rose Quarter and then over the Broadway Bridge. 

I experienced pain like no other during the final two miles of the race.  My pace waned to, though I haven't verified, around an 8:30 pace and this was achieved with every last vapor of energy I could squeeze out of my legs.  I was thankful to round the final corner to see the finish line and to hear the screams of encouragement from thousands of gatherers.  

I finished the 2010 Portland Marathon with a time of 3:33:28 for which I am both grateful and humbled by what is required to run 26.2 miles.

2010 Portland Marathon Finisher's Medal

A question that has lingered since this morning's race is 'where do I go from here?'  In order for me to qualify for the famous Boston Marathon, I need to run a 3:20 marathon - 13 minutes and 28 seconds faster than this morning's time. 

I'm not sure if I'm ready to pursue a Boston Marathon qualifying time.  Mostly, I'm just thankful today for the opportunity to run, to play and to call myself a marathoner. 

Why I run