Portland marathon race recap

Portland Marathon weekend started with the community shakeout run along the waterfront on Saturday morning. I attended as an ambassador for the race, for Team RunRun, and for my run club, so it was fun to see and meet lots of people affiliated with each group. The run was a nice 5k along the river and it was a perfect morning– crisp but clear! I went to the expo to pick up my bib after and then volunteered for my ambassadorship for a little while too. It was a busy morning, but it was also really fun. The rest of Saturday was relatively relaxing, and I was eager to get all of my running gear laid out and packed for the morning.

Race day started with a cool, dark morning, but I was able to meet up with my friends right away and that was a nice way to start the day. We all got in the long porta potty lines and then made our way to the starting area. The corrals were self-seeded and there were signs for the paces as well as the pacers who held up their signs signifying the pace they’d be running.

At Appletree I wanted to run a sub 4 hour marathon and was really surprised by my 3:37 time! I didn’t really know how my body would react to running such a long distance so soon after the last marathon, but wanted another sub 4 hour marathon and decided to shoot for a 3:50. My biggest goal was to run a 3:47 if possible, since a friend told me that she ran consecutive marathons and she was pleasantly surprised to only run about 10 minutes longer on the second. So my grand plan was to run with the 3:50 pacer and then speed up around mile 20 if I felt up to it, hoping to get a 3:47.

I started out with the 3:50 pacer and it was such a crowded start to the race. I forgot how much more crowded big city races are and was encouraged when a friend of mine started out with the 3:50 pacer too. We ran the first big portion on the west side of the river together and quite a bit of the beginning of the east side as well. We sort of stayed consistent in our pacing, even as the pacer would slow down a little for aid stations or hills, and this was helpful, because I was able to slow down to fill my water bottle periodically. There were times I was just with the pacer or just in front of the pacer, but then around mile 14 or 15, I can’t quite remember, I got in front of the pacer and just kept going. I felt really good and thought that as long as I was in front of the pacer, I was on track. I didn’t look at my watch a whole lot, I tend to do better when I run a little more for feel than pace. I did glance down at each mile when it beeped to make sure I was in a sub 9 minute pace.

Ten minutes prior to the race starting, I took a Maurten gel, and then alternated between SIS Beta Fuel and Precision every 25-30 minutes. I started with my hand-held water bottle full of Nuun, and then stopped and refilled it frequently. I took a lot of hydration in and that felt great! Periodically I would pop two salt tabs in my mouth for electrolytes, too. Fueling went super well, just as I had practiced in my long runs and in my most recent marathon.

I have started to really enjoy breaking long distance into chunks to make it more manageable mentally and it sort of gamifies the race too. The first way I broke the race into a chunk was by thinking of the first section in Northwest Portland as its own portion, then the areas by the Moda Center as another. Next, we headed back across the bridge and were running toward the start/finish area. I knew that after that we would head straight toward Sellwood and that once we crossed the bridge, we would be close to 13 miles and about halfway done. On the east side I knew the Reed College area was about 7 miles. In my head I knew I wanted to make it to 16 miles so then there would be only 10 miles left– which I made into a 4-mile chunk– just had to get from mile 16 to 20 and then mile 21 to about 25 was all straight along the east side of the river. Mile 25 came, and it was time to cross the river and head back to the starting line. I never take my phone out to check messages or take photos, but I was feeling so good and was enjoying myself so much that I took a photo of the Portland sign from up on the bridge! I didn’t read the message but saw that my husband had texted me…

At mile 26, I saw a big 26-mile marker sign and then my husband and kids! I was shocked and so happy! I didn’t think they were going to be there, and it just put more pep in my step! I ran as hard as I could (avoiding the half marathon walkers) and charged into the finish. I felt so incredibly strong, happy, and grateful during the whole race! Again, I didn’t hit the wall, I fueled and hydrated really well and felt like I was playing a fun mental game of how to make it to the next section, which kept it super interesting!

I was able to run a 3:46 and with about 1,000 feet of elevation gain and only 28 days post my goal marathon; I’m thrilled to have run just about 9 minutes slower than my race in September and negative split the race. It was so exciting, when I got my results printout, I found out I was 5th in my division out of 153 women my age, too! I definitely ran my best, but I am learning a lot about the marathon and how to run strong and consistent without blowing up. I think as I get more under my belt, I will be able to run them a little faster and be a little less controlled. I think my big PR is awaiting. I have learned so very much in just these last two races. My next goal is to learn how to run them a little faster throughout, since I have felt so good on these two and had a lot of juice left to push at the end. That makes me think that while I need to stay steady, I could learn to push the pace a bit during the early and middle miles, too. It all takes practice and experience.

Portland Marathon was such a well-put on race! Their attention to detail was really great! The crowd support was phenomenal, each neighborhood was out to cheer, there were bands, and lots of great signs! The race was a little crowded at certain points and it was frustrating that at about mile 10 all the way to the end, there were a lot of walkers who just walked in the middle of the road, rather than to the side. It is really hard when running such a long distance, to react quickly to a slow-moving person in front of you. Overall, it was a well-organized race and expo and I was really happy with it!

Cheers to marathon number two in my fall marathon trifecta and getting 66% of the way towards my goal of achieving Marathon Maniac status!