Portland Marathon Preview

I know that I said I would post Sunday night but I should have known better :) Sorry to those of you who have been waiting for an update. I was in bed by 8PM last night.

Jason and I left Saturday morning and headed towards Portland. We went to University Place first and they let us check in early and get our parking pass. We walked to the room and got all of our stuff unloaded. After that we started our walk to the downtown area. The walk is always beautiful. There are a ton of trees and many fountains along the way.

We made it down to the EXPO which they always hold at the Hilton. I checked in, got my bib, my goodie bag, and then checked out all the vendors. I really enjoy this part. It's fun to look at all of the stuff. It's also my chance to be around other people who love running like me.

We left the EXPO and went and had a nice late lunch/early dinner together at La Terraza. It has really good italian food. They make it all from scratch. I was so hungry that I actually beat Jason finishing the meal. We walked around a bit more and checked out Pioneer Place. There are a ton of stores in there including one of my favorite places, the Apple Store. I was already exhausted so we figured we would head back up to the hotel until Jason's cousin Troy and his wife Maria showed up. We got a very yummy salted caramel hot chocolate and headed back. I have to make a not that the weather was great so far. Sun breaks, overcast and only a few showers. We never got rained on once on any of our walks.

Once we made it to the hotel Troy and Maria were there so we dumped off my marathon stuff and headed back down to the EXPO with them. It was hilarious listening to both of the guys. You would think we were torturing them making them walk so far and so much :) We checked out the EXPO quick again and then everyone was hungry. We already had plans to also meet out friends Julie & Barry for dinner. We went to the Macaroni Grill where Maria's sister, Jenny, was also going to eat. We waited for a table and not too long after we were seated Julie & Barry showed up. It was great. I don't get to see Julie much and she was one of my best friends in high school. It was fun to hang out and eat good food. I was still pretty full from out late lunch so I had soup and dessert. After we were done we all said goodbye and headed to the hotel.



We decided to meet in the lobby at 6:15AM. We headed for bed where I tried very hard to get some sleep. My first marathon I had no issues and slept well. Last year I truly believe I never slept at all. Several times I was close and then finally around 3AM I fell asleep until the alarm went off at 5:45AM. I was a little frustrated since I felt really tired but I tried to shake it off, wake up, and focus on the day. I ate a small banana and part of a bagel. I drank some water and gatorade. I finally decided for sure what I was wearing and threw it on. I did some stretching and we were ready to go.



We met Troy and Maria downstairs and headed towards the start. Once we got down there the guys could only go so far in with us. Maria found her sister who was also running and then I was on my own. Maria and Jenny were going to start faster than me so I had to go further back in line to find my pace group. I had the nervous bladder thing happening so I got in a porta-potty line. I was a minute away from the start and still 5 people back. I gave up and ran back to where I needed to start. BTW-I somehow never needed to stop along the way.

They started a wave start last year. They let the wheelchairs go, then the really fast group, and so on with a few minutes in between each group start. That's why when you see gun time it is when the official start of the race began but my actual time is based on the chip timer on my shoe. Once I officially crossed the timer mat at the starting line my time began. When the race started the weather was good. Overcast clouds and a cool but not too cold temperature. I was so thinking it was going to be great weather.

Around Mile 2 we are on Front Avenue and go by the crowds where I was able to see Jason, Julie, and Barry. The course loops around and then you go back on Front Avenue between roughly Miles 4-6 where a lot of people cheer you on. I saw them all again at close to Mile 5. At Mile 6 it started to rain. I hadn't been been paying attention to the sky. Suddenly I realized that it was really dark and the chances of the rain stopping didn't look too good. Unfortunately, I was right. Between Mile 7-8 I was pretty much ran over by a guy running by me and a few others. When he ran into me I was pushed to the side enough that my right foot fell into one of the holes/train track sections. This is the part of the course that you go out and back and cross the tracks a lot. As soon as my foot fell into it my ankle made a huge snapping/pop sound. The pain was pretty intense for a minute but I tried my best to compensate with my left side. I'm sure it looked funny how I was running. Probably not too much different than normal I guess :) By the time I made it to Mile 10 it wasn't as bad. I was trying so hard to maintain my pace so I could finish when I wanted to. Around Mile 12 Julie & Barry surprised me so I quickly told them about the guy while I kept running. It was awesome to see them on the course. I kept running and it kept raining. By Mile 13.1/halfway my shoes were completely soaked. They were making a nice squishy sound as I ran. Around Mile 15 I was surprised by Jason and Troy and then in another car Jesse, Tressa, Peyton and Heidi. They all stood out in the rain to wave to me and Heidi took pictures. I can't even begin to express how much that means to me. It is a huge boost when you are doing something like this.




Mile 16 starts the climb up to St. Johns Bridge. It is very steep and very long. Once I made it to the bridge start I looked around and there were a ton of people cramping up. I have never seen so many people walking/cramping/puking etc., than I did in this race. I was almost to Mile 17 which is halfway across the bridge when I started to get leg cramps. They were very bad. I have never had any type of cramping like this. My other two marathons my legs felt tight but never crampy. I stretched quick and started out again. I was fine until I tried to pick up my pace. Once I hit my fastest pace the cramps tried to take me out. I had to work on this the rest of the way. I pushed my pace when I felt like I could and had to slow when they got bad. It was very frustrating. Around Mile 20 my left knee started to get painful. I have never had knee pain during or after a run either. My left knee has had problems but not during a race. I didn't figure it out until later. I'm sure for all those miles that I was taking up the slack for my right ankle that my left knee took the brunt of it. I was still fairly close to the 5 hour mark at this point. I know that I could have made it or at least came fairly close. I looked around me at all of the people struggling and thought of the several people that I'd seen that probably weren't even able to finish. I decided at that point to concentrate on finishing. Would I rather finish in a fog where I was sick and miserable at the finish or try to enjoy the rest of the course and not damage my body worse than it needed to? Julie & Barry surprised me right after Mile 21. They jogged with me a little and I gave them an update on me so they could pass it on to Jason and the others. We said goodbye and off I went again. I was feeling pretty good when I came across two other girls I had gone to school with. I had seen them at the EXPO but never thought I'd actually see them on the course. They would run and then walk every once in awhile. I decided to hang with them and help give moral support. I know I could have finished faster but I'm glad I was able to run the remainder of the race with them. How often will that ever happen for me? Considering the weather and all the other issue that had taken place I was very happy that I was finishing. We ran to the finish together and all made it. It was awesome hearing people I know scream my name and waving at me. It's always pretty emotional after I cross that line. To know that I have accomplished something so huge. It meant even more this time with the weather and trouble. Even though I didn't break my time goal it was an amazing experience and I'm so happy that I did it.



After I crossed the line I received my medal and space blanket. That felt really good. I had started to get cold pretty fast. I headed straight to the chocolate milk and grabbed a few other snacks. They have a ton of good stuff at the finish but my body really doesn't like to eat a ton of stuff right away. I got my pin, rose, and finisher's shirt. I had my finisher's picture taken with the girls I finished with and then one with just me. I got my free cedar tree and then went to find Jason and my support crew.

I will be posting more info and pics. Don't worry :)