I ran the Portland Marathon once before in 2005. It was my first and only marathon DNF (Did Not Finish). I’ve got a litany of excuses. There were 2 of them that mattered.
First, in 2005 I was undertrained. This time, while I am always critical of my own training and I always think I could have done better, there was no doubt in my mind I could finish the race. This time, I was going to crawl to finish line if I had to.
Second, it was darn cold in 2005. Really, it was perfect weather, staying in the low 50s. I’m from the Phoenix area and had tried to train through the summer in the heat. Going from running in the 90s to running in the 50s was a shock. This time, I dressed more appropriately for the “cold.” I also ended up doing most of my training indoors on the treadmill. This meant that I did not get “heat acclimated” and the temperatures were not a shock this time.
Perhaps in part because of my own failures, I was not very impressed with Portland. I didn’t plan to ever run it again. But I really like the city of Portland, its attractions like Saturday Market and most especially the Japanese Garden. I also felt like I had this monkey on my back, that one DNF. It worked out with my family’s schedule that Portland would really make the most sense, so that’s what we did.
Another lesson learned from 2005 was to get my hotel reservations early. We were able to get a place in downtown Portland within easy walking distance of the starting line and what would have been easy walking distance of the finishing line if not for 26.2 miles of fatigue.
Really, with everything marathon related, it is better to do it earlier rather than later. I went to the expo early in the day on Saturday morning. The expo is in the same function space as it was in 2005. The number of racers is almost exactly the same. The first time I went, it felt horribly cramped. That was because I went late in the day. This time, I went early in the day on Saturday but not right when it opened. While it was a little crowded, it just felt like a lot of people were excited about the race, rather than a bunch of people excited about the race being forced through a maze. I rather enjoyed the expo this time and I was able to find everything that I wanted to see.
I got up early on the day of the race too. I have never regretted getting up too early but I have always regretted getting up later and having to rush. I’m used to getting up at 3 AM on marathon morning, so getting up at 5ish was a real treat. I got dressed and had a leisurely stroll down to the starting line. It was great!
This event was so enjoyable, so perfectly done in so many ways that it is really easy to pick at the small things I did not like. Bag check was horrible. This is not a reflection on the volunteers. I’ve never been an RD, but I have observed in other races that racers are given their gear check bags at registration. Even if those bags were to be just white plastic garbage bags, that would be fine. We even could have written our numbers on them at registration. Those who did not expect to check a bag could simply have been given the option not to take a bag. Sure, have a few extra bags at gear check for those folks that forget theirs, no problem. If we had all had our bags in advance, I think we could have check things in a very orderly way, rather than swarming around a table, trying to grab a bag and sharpie. I also thought gear check was hard to find, but then, I usually can’t find it at any race, so Portland was no different. As a very tired and nearly mindless finisher, I would really have appreciated a reminder that I shouldn’t go right back to my hotel but that I should go get my bag. There may have been such a reminder but I didn’t see it. My wife was kind enough to go get my bag for me after I got back to the hotel – how embarrassing! Still, the bag got checked and my stuff got back to me. How bad could it have been?
Now, I’m lined up at the start. It seems they have implemented a wave start. I really don’t like wave starts. This was not advertised on the website and was in fact only mentioned in a photo caption in the race booklet! All things being equal between 2 races I am considering, I will choose the race without a wave start over the one with it. As I said, all things were not equal and I would have come to Portland anyway. I did find the course to be pretty crowded, but by no means congested, so I have to grudgingly admit the RD made the right call. Still, it should have been mentioned more prominently and the information should have been available much earlier. On the bright side, I got to use the opportunity of the extra time to talk with my fellow runners and I always enjoy that.
That’s it. Those are my complaints.
I’m not even going to complain about the weather. Conditions are the start were just about perfect; overcast and cool. I had on a long sleeve shirt over a tech shirt, as well as running shorts, socks, shoes and my Nathan hydropak (filled with 1/2 strength Gatorade – this allowed me to control the kind and mix of my sports drink). I think it started to rain about a half hour or hour into the race and did not let up until long after the last finisher crossed the line, I think. The rain just served to keep me cool and did not form puddles or rivers, though it did make the very small parts of the course that were made of metal a little slippery. If anything, the rain was a net positive.
In 2005, I was stopped by the train that crosses the course. This time, I was fast enough to avoid that. This was such a big relief.
Let’s go back to the start. I lined up behind the 4:45 pacer. As we were waiting for the start, he moved forward more and more. I didn’t feel like pushing through the crowds to stay with him. This same thing happened to me at the Air Force Marathon. In the future, if I want to stay with a pace group, I will position myself ahead of the pacer. By the time the race starts, I’ll probably be right on his or her elbow.
My Garmin had a hard time locking in on satellites because of the clouds and tall buildings. I didn’t get accurate readings because of that. I depend on that watch to be accurate. It made trying to figure out what my pace was more difficult. This was more of an annoyance than anything. I made a simplified pace band to tell me where I should be every 30 minutes. This was rendered useless. Again, not so bad but I think I’ll make my simplified pace bands in miles instead of minutes in the future just in case.
The course was marked with the best mile markers I have every seen. They had large “sandwich boards” for that. This I have seen before, and even as big as they are, I managed to miss them. What was done here that was really great was that a very large balloon and 4 smaller balloons in a distinctive pattern were attached to the top of the sandwich board by a 10 to 15 foot long tether. I would always, and I mean always, see either the board, the balloons, or both, and that meant I would always see the mile marker. That was great!
The first couple of miles I was either a little bit behind the pacer or even a little bit in front. There’s a rather large hill in Mile 3. Maybe it is better described as a gradual uphill with a pretty steep but short incline somewhere in the middle. I did not press the pace. I let the pacer get away. I’d have to catch him later.
There’s a steep decline on mile 4. I love running downhill. I caught the pacer and went past him. There was a race walker that was doing her best to stay ahead of the 4:45 pacer. I thought for sure I could stay with her, maybe even beat her. This was not to be but it was a good dream at the time.
I chugged on into the industrial part of town. I liked this part of the course in 2005 and I still liked it here. I like seeing the faster runners that are coming up the other side of the road on this out-and-back section of the course. The miles are really clicking by and I’m gradually accelerating. I know this is probably a bad idea, but it just feels so good! I’m about halfway between the 4:30 and 4:45 groups at mile 9.
Portland advertises itself as an MP3 friendly race so I brought my Ipod along. The course started to get a little hilly again in miles 11 and 12. It’s not that big of a deal. I probably wouldn’t have noticed at mile 2. Now, I was beginning to feel it a little more. I turned on my music. It was like someone turned on the Technicolor. Wow! The race became that much more enjoyable. The purist in my rebels at this but it is the truth.
Somewhere during Mile 11, I passed The Parking Lot. It was there that my wife and kids were cheering for me in 2005 and I stopped and asked them to take me back to the hotel. This time I was not stopping and I felt pretty darn good. I was about an hour ahead of where I was in 2005. Take that, Parking Lot!
I maintained pretty even split times from mile 5 on through the half marathon point (highest 11:14 at mile 11, lowest 10:24 for mile 8). I remember being at just about a perfect spilt for a 4:45 at the half marathon point (2:21 and change as I recall). I was starting to slow down. And, I was starting to get hot. I was walking the aid stations. I had to do some more walking to take off my very wet long sleeve shirt, my ET Marathon race shirt, which I stuffed into the hydropak. My mile 15 split was only 12:45 despite all that.
Now, we have to go up the hill to St John’s bridge. I had already decided to walk up the hill. It was raining a little more strongly. Rush’s song “The Analog Kid” came on. As I walked up the steep hill, with its fence or perhaps canopy of green trees swaying in the breeze, I listened.
Move me, you move me
With your buildings and your eyes
Autumn woods and winter skies
Move me, you move me
Open sea and city lights
Busy streets and dizzy heights
Call me, you call me…
About then, I reached the top. Before the race, I didn’t think it would be worth it. How wrong I was! The bridge was absolutely gorgeous. What a treat! I was very glad to have it behind me, don’t get me wrong. But I was very glad I had made the ascent.
The course on the other side of the river was just great. Lots of the residents came out to cheer us on. Some notable memories:
There is a street named Wall right about at Mile 19. Some folks made a very large sign to tell us runners we were going through the Wall!
I was doing yet more walking. As I passed by a man who was near the point where I planned to resume running, he said “Billy, are you ready to start again.” I said “Yes” because I was. He waved me through and said “Let’s go.” And I did. Thank you, sir!
There was another man who was very helpful. At that point, I know I had to look like somebody had left a tired, fat man out in the rain. He told me that a major downhill was coming. He was right. It took another 2 miles to get to it but I had that bit of hope to grasp. Thank you for that, sir!
My splits from mile 19 to the end are not impressive. My worst split was 13:28 at mile 21. Usually, I’ll get a 15 minute mile or a 17 or 20 even at some point. I’ll definitely take a 13 and a half over those.
The 4:45 pacer was long gone after about mile 14 or 15. The 5:00 pacer finally caught me at mile 23, I think. That is the part of the course I have heard referred to as having “the secret hill.” Indeed it does. It’s part of a bridge, but not really a bridge. It’s a secret hill.
There was a lady dressed as a blueberry on Naito Parkway. You get to run by her 3 times, twice near the start of the race and once near the finish. I was never so glad to see a blueberry, even one with a megaphone!
The later parts of Mile 25 and 26 I went into a pain trance. I’ve never done this in a marathon, so despite the fact that it was not fun in any way it is something of an accomplishment. Around this point, and just at the right point, Inez’s song “Stronger” comes on. I annoy my fellow runners by singing aloud. I was kind of hoping to encourage them. I didn’t understand all the lyrics, but this is what I sang.
I’ve got my inside out
And my head, it won’t stop
Halfway up feels like going down
But I’m getting stronger and stronger
I’m getting stronger and stronger
There was another race walker. This one I was able to track down and basically nip at the line. Looking at the official race pictures, there is a man in front of me, only a few paces in front of me. I don’t remember him at all! I gave the race about as much as I could give. It wasn’t a 4:45 effort, but it was a PR effort. 5:03:14 is a one minute PR for me. I don’t think Portland is a tough course, but it is tougher than the mostly downhill Tucson course in my opinion where I got my previous PR.
I was about to ask for medical help. The aid volunteers can sense this. One interviewed me and determined I would probably be OK. I don’t think I would have been if not for the terrific finish line spread. I drank a couple of small cups of juice (orange and cranberry/grape) and that helped a lot. Another volunteer very kindly tied a mylar blanket on me. I grabbed a chocolate milk – big kudos to Nesquik for being a race sponsor, that’s very smart on their part! I grabbed a sapling, which I gave to a friend of ours that lives in Portland. I didn’t see the orange and vanilla popsicles – my favorite! – and I was very jealous of those runners that had found them. I saw women and men with roses. I thought the roses were only for the women but when I saw men with them I just had to get one for my wife. So, back I trudged. I was given a very small and sickly bud but I hoped the thought would count with my always loving and understanding wife.
Here’s a shot she got of me near the finishing area.
You can just see the rose. I’ve made it a little easier to see here. It’s quite small as you will agree.
As I said, Mission Accomplished. I can now add Oregon to my list of states in which I have completed a marathon.
As a post script, we placed the small rose in water at our hotel. In a few days, it bloomed quite nicely. It was a lovely way to end our sojourn in the Rose City
Thanks to all the volunteers and organizers for putting on such a great event. Thanks so much for helping me get that DNF monkey off my back. It means a lot to me.
