On October 10, 2010, I ran 26.2 miles. That’s right. On 10/10/10 I ran (well mostly, I interval) a full marathon. At this point, I refuse to say "first" marathon because that implies that I might actually run another marathon in the future. I can’t even decide if I’m going to run next week so I reserve the right to say "first" when I lose my sanity again. I ran the Portland Marathon in Portland, Oregon. First things first. Can I tell you how much I LOVE this city? It’s so green and cool. Forgive me. I live in the desert. I become easily enamored by water and lush vegetation.
Where was I? Oh yes, writing about the marathon.
Speaking of water, did I tell you it rained on the morning of 10/10/10? As in, raining cats and dogs and sheep. Okay, I’m exaggerating (I live in the desert). Maybe it wasn’t raining sheep but how about pigs? As in wet, sloppy, pigs. I have run in rain maybe a handful of times. It’s a rare event (desert!) and I like to look at it while wearing cozy slippers rather than be out in it. On this day, I would be in wet for more than 5 hours, which I think counts a PR alone.
We had flown to Portland on Friday and I kept getting twinges of pain in my left ear during the mutiple ups and downs of plane changes and stopovers. Friday night, the ear was "squishy" and painful so I knew I probably had an ear infection but I took a (stupid) bet and did not try to hunt down medical help or antibiotics. I have had these symptoms in the past and they have always cleared in a couple days. By Sunday, I had won my bet. I had no ear problems and none since returning home.
I had originally put down 4 hours 30 minutes as my finishing time way back when I registered for this event in spring. As evidence as to how early I had registered for the Portland Marathon, my bib number was 655 and there were 12000 registered for this race. Based on the starting corrals times and training with my good friend Lisa, I decided to drop down one corral to start with her. I knew that if I stayed with Lisa at the start and took advantage of her Garmin to monitor my splits, it would prevent me from jackrabbiting and expending too much energy too early.
The start for our corral came really quick (or seemed to, in actuality, about 14 minutes from the gun). Soon we were on our way down SW Naito Parkway with the fantastic Portland crowds all braving the rain. Shortly before mile 3, Lisa dropped back and I went on. I could no longer contain my inner jackrabbit. Coming back along the Parkway, I spotted my husband and son’s red stroller, all decked out with its never before used rain hood.
Waiting for Mama
Mama!
Bubble boy
After a brief stop to absorb much needed mental encouragement from my family, I had 5 miles out and back in a industrial area of Portland along some railway yards. To most, it wouldn’t be a very scenic run but the pine covered slopes of the hills were misted in fog and echoed like thunder every time the rail cars linked with each other. I loved it. The next few miles were a steady blur of rain, residential areas w/ really cute houses, cheering crowds and volunteers, a few nude bars, and more railroad track. It was relatively flat but had lots of turns to negotiate
Mile 16 brought me to the base of the hill that made up the ramp up to the St. Johns bridge. I was feeling good but starting to get a bit cold. I saw the hill in the distance and just told myself it was no worse than Camino de Oeste, Ridgeside, Sabino Canyon, Saguaro National Park, or Tumamoc Hill. The listing of hills I’ve run in Tucson became my mantra. It got me up that hill and to the top of the bridge. My training really kicked in. I felt nothing but strength all the way up while around me were struggling.
On the other side of the bridge was a sharp right turn, a short steep downhill then a left uphill on a wicked steep camber. After this is where the local Portland crowd really kicked it. There was unbelievable crowd support along this residential stretch that included the University of Portland. The shouts of support, the calls of “Go Teena!” (my bib was personalized with my name), especially considering that it was STILL raining, was so inspiring. I was starting to feel really cold and starting to tire but the support of the locals was warmth to my heart and and fuel for my legs. They supported me through until the slow downhill heading back down to the Broadway Bridge.
Portland Marathon 2010 - Mile 19.5
The downhill was torturous. You’d think a nice steady downhill would be welcome relief at this point but on tired, cold legs, the pounding on the quads left them feeling like shredded meat. Mile 24 through 26 were an aching blur. I pushed it anyway. I was ready for the marathon to be done and over, the sooner, the better. I was passing a lot of people, runners and walkers. What I hadn’t realized was that the half-marathon walkers were coming in the same finish as the full marathon which led to some congestion but it motivated me every time I passed someone.
My heart felt funny. It was beating too fast and felt too big, like somehow it had enlarged and it was now bouncing around my chest cavity. My left arm and wrist hurt (my wrist pain actually beat out all other post marathon pain later). I briefly wondered if I was having a heart attack. I told myself I was just thinking too much and should have brought my mp3 player. After all, this was one of the few marathons that mp3 players were approved. I had not bothered. It was too dangerous to listen to music during the long training runs in the middle of the night tin Tucson and I had become accustomed to going without. So instead, I spent my time playing my son’s favorite songs from Elizabeth Mitchell’s You are My Sushine album in my head to pass the time.
Portland Marathon 2010 - Mile 21. Now you see the reason for my dorked up wrist
Then at mile 26, I heard someone frantically shouting, “Teena! Teena!” It was Steffanie. A friend of Jonas’ babysitter whom I’d met a couple times years ago. She found out I was here running the marathon in her hometown via Facebook. She gave me that last burst of energy to make it the 0.2 miles to the finish. I didn’t see my husband at the finish but I wasn’t surprised. The last tenth of a mile was enclosed on both sides by covered chain link fencing. Taller people were able to peek over the top but everyone shorter had restricted views. A few minutes after I finished, Mark texted me to meet at the Family Reunion area.
It had stopped raining. A volunteer tried to hand me my medal and promptly dropped it. She told me not to bend over. Yeah, like I would be capable of bending anything right now. I might have been close to passing out. Who knows. She handed me my dropped medal. Thanks. Someone handed me a white rose, thank you, and someone else handed me a pine branch. Oh, this was a Douglas Fir seedling. Thank you. My brain was floating. My legs were floating. My arms would have floated away too except they were too full of seedling, rose, some sort of milk drink, yoghurt (no spoon), a too big finisher’s shirt, and various other swag. I stood in line to take my finisher’s photo and then went to go look for Mark and Jonas.
Portland Marathon 2010 Finisher
I had done it. Five hours, 7 minutes, 16 seconds. I had finished my first marathon in less than ideal conditions. And I had finished strong. Each of the checkpoints had my splits faster than the the one previous which was confirmed by my Bones in Motion GPS program. Had I not stopped to pee and ran my normal pace the first two miles, I would have been under 5 hours but then I don’t think I would have finished as strong. I have no regrets. This was the perfect “first” marathon. :-)
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Running a marathon is an individual sport but it certainly is not done without the support of a team of people and I had many.
Jeanne, the co-owner of Fleet Feet Tucson. Jeanne revamped my marathon training schedule and eased the bout of panic I had midway through my training. Thank you for building the confidence I needed to get over the mental hurdle that I could finish a marathon.
Antonio, Greg, Alison, my Fleet Feet track coaches. They patiently encouraged the slow one on the track and waited for me to finish my last Yasso. Thank you. Your training got me over St. Johns Bridge. Antonio, I miss you!
Christina, Sara, and Josie, my inspirations. Someday, I hope to be as fast as these gals and even if I’m not, at least I get to watch them in action. I spent weeks chasing these gals all over Tucson during our long training runs over the summer. Thank you for encouraging me and for talking me into signing up for this race.
Lisa, my running buddy and fellow first time marathoner. I can’t thank you enough. You have been my partner in crime from the very beginning. Thank you for running in the middle of the night with me. I know you were disappointed with this race but now we know the marathon goal isn’t so far away but right there at our feet. And I’ll be there if you need a running partner.
Mark. Without my wonderful husband, staying home and taking care of our son while I’m out training, this would not have been possible. My husband is my Rock. 10/10/10 was not only marathon day but also our 12 year anniversary. Happy anniversary Mark. I love you!
All my other running friends. I count all of you in this blessed circle of crazies that go out and run on our two feet every day. You know who you are and you have my love and appreciation for making my life happy.
