Marathon #2 - The Whole Shebang

Marathon Morning

This time versus last time, I didn’t have that freak out of “Why in the world did I sign up for this?!?!” Well, not entirely. I did have a near conniption due to forgetting a hair tie. Hubby convinced me that we would find something. It’s now 6am, I have consumed a PB&J sammie and 20oz of water. We left Aunt V’s with a need to gas up and find a rubber. (Yep, I know what I’m implying and that’s why it’s so funny! Or mildly amusing.) I know we should have gassed up the night before but we both thought that we would have plenty of time. In our quest, we discovered the worst customer service ever at an Arco on Allen Blvd. These two horrible women completely ignored me while I stood at the counter politely, waiting for them to finish their conversation and acknowledge me. YES, they saw me! I left due to my desperate need for a rubber band and I was pretty sure that after I gave them a piece of my mind, they would not be inclined to do much more than spit in my face. The hubs was successful though and brought out not one but two weenie tot looking rubber bands. They worked - I was fine, though I wanted a high ponytail not a low ponytail. Fashion and style be dashed for this marathon. I no longer cared…much.
We made it to downtown Portland with not much time to spare and had missed our opportunity of scoring a good parking spot. I hopped out and made it to my corral and somehow lucked into the shortest line for a porta potty. Evah. Even so, there would be no jumping back in line for a second go. Hubs found a spot to park, the marathon had already started, but I needed one last hug and kiss before my wave started shuffling to the line. Success! The corral part and waiting always makes me feel like we are a herd of cattle getting led to slaughter. I often ask myself a couple of times, “Why did I sign up for this?” as it just seems so ironic. We shuffle along together like we are headed towards our doom. A doom to the tune of $135 bucks! Ooh, but I had success in making sure my Garmin found the satellites this year BEFORE I crossed the start line, so I was pretty pleased with myself that I just pressed start instead of last year’s debacle of pulling off to the side. God forbid you run a whole marathon without a watch telling you how fast you’re going.

Fueling and Walking

I trained for and walked for one minute every time my Garmin reached a multiple of 10 and I skipped my walks if I was running downhill. I did skip a walk at 20 minutes because it just felt too soon. I fueled exactly like I had trained with a GU Gel or Shot Bloks every 40 minutes. I was able to set an alarm on my Garmin to remind me to fuel, so that was a bonus. The only gel I missed was the very last one at 5:20 and since I was only two minutes away from the finish line, I thought I’d be ok to skip it. I didn’t carry water with me yet had trained with water and Nuun. Since my stomach is fairly sturdy, and because I didn’t have issues last year with the Ultima the course uses, I knew I could stay hydrated well. I walked through each aid station and took a water and an Ultima each time. I also took three pit stops and never stood in line. If there was a line of any sort, I just waited for the next group of potty buckets. Sadly, at the last one, I heard a clunk and knew instantly WITH a heightened sense of horror, that my cell phone had fallen on to the floor. Lucky for me it wasn’t IN cuz uh…well I don’t have to explain how that would have led to a fit of tears. But still, way gross! I picked it up, shoved it in my pocket and grabbed an extra dose of hand sanny and busted out into the open.

My starting strategy and hill plan

You’re supposed to start out slow. The adrenaline kicks in and it’s easy to start running too fast. I either had NO adrenaline or had fallen asleep. I wanted to be running no faster than an 11 minute mile and was shocked to see my first two miles were over 12 minutes each. Was it really that crowded? Yeah kinda, but really? I kind of freaked out a little bit but told myself to pick up the pace, and once I was through the first set of small hills, I would make it up. And make it up I did! Last year, I walked some of the down hills and/or I kept my stride and pace the same like I thought I’d read somewhere that that’s what you were supposed to do. This time, I listened to hub’s friend’s advice (an ultra-marathoner oooh) who says to lengthen your stride and let gravity pull you down. Don’t use energy to slow yourself down. (I did slow down on a particularly steep descent though.) I love down -hill training. Haha! The uphills, I didn’t give much thought to until the night before cuz I’m a genius like that.

The idea for going UP a hill is to work your arms like a locomotive, keeping your elbows and arms close to your sides, and transfer the effort from your legs to your core and arms. Using this method, I pulled myself up the hills. Feeling like a stud and passing those that decided to walk up….that was a really awesome feeling. AND it was super awesome on the hill that lead’s you up to the St. John’s Bridge. I did some walking and some chugga choochooing up it which was a stark contrast to last year’s “walk the whole incline” shennanigins.

This Year Versus Last Year

At mile 11 last year, my calves started cramping. The rest of the marathon was a combo of run walking. This year, the cramps didn’t start until mile 16 and I didn’t have to stretch them out until mile 22.
Up until mile 20-ish I was 15 minutes ahead of my goal of a 5:30 marathon. I didn’t want to use the cushion but I knew it was there. Also, around mile 18? Hubs said that the 5 hour pace group passed and that I was about 2 minutes behind them. That was a WHOLE HOUR ahead of my time last year. He debated telling me but finally clued me in at mile 21. Around mile 24, I was ok with just a 5:30 finish and started to get a little scared that I might even see that pass me by. At mile 26, I was toast, but I knew I couldn’t walk it in and with one more corner to go I gave it that final push. I heard them announce my name, threw my hands up in the air, and even glanced over at the guy that I passed. I thought it was rather rotten of me to do that to him, but mheh…oh well. You SNOOZE YOU LOSE sukkah!! We didn’t make eye contact so I didn’t feel too bad at dusting him.

So I crossed the finish line, ahead of the dude, wearing my running skirt! (more humiliation, I hope) and received my medal from a nice lady wearing a hat, got my space blanket from a 12 year old looking kid, and had to convince a lady wearing a medic badge that yes indeedy, I was fine. I told her that twice. I don’t know if she saw something in my eyes or if she was trained to do that. But lady, I have a mission to get to! And that was to take full advantage of the finish area goodies!!

Last year, I was rather stunned and bewildered. This year, I got a string cheese, two cups of orange juice (after making sure it was JUST OJ and had no other fancy fruits added. Fancy=banana, cuz then I really would have needed the medic.), a half of a bagel, and I also had the most amazing piece of cheese pizza ever. Ever! I also snagged for later a bag of Cheetos, a Reeses PB cup, and a Twix. I picked up my finishers shirt AND my special coin and pendant and I made sure to stop to have my picture taken in the special picture taking area. I then proceeded in a daze to find my hubs and proudly tell him that I got my dang coin and pendant!

The Signs and volunteers

A huge shout out to all the volunteers and spectators! Having never run a different marathon, I don’t know any better, but the Portland Marathon is voted as one of the top, friendliest marathon in the world. I could have made that up so don’t quote me on that. Maybe just in the United States? Anyway, hearing someone say your name, a random stranger, and they tell you that you’ve “got it” that you’re “looking great” and that “you can do it”, it really does motivate you to keep pressing on. The signs are entertaining and inspiring as well. My three favorites were:
1. “Run B*tch&s”
2. “That Looks Hard” and the guy standing next to the sign was holding, “That’s what she said.”
3. “Hey Random Stranger, you are amazing!”