Geezer's Perfect Marathon?!

Portland Marathon Race Report

Geezer’s Perfect Marathon

That is a loaded word to use when describing a marathon. Things never go perfectly as planned and the marathon has a way of insuring that nothing is ever perfect. Even so, I plan to run faster times but I seriously doubt if I will ever run another marathon as well as I just ran the 2009 Portland.

I am leaving out the pre-race stuff other than to say I had a small cup of coffee (4oz) and my now standard 2 scoops of Carbo-Pro with 2oz of water about 1.5 hours before the start.

The goal was to run a sub 3:10 marathon. My plan was to bank 30-45 seconds over the first 16 miles, give back whatever I needed to insure I topped out the hill on 16 with gas in the tank then begin a gradual closing effort to the finish aiming for a 3:08ish time. I new the pace was 7:15 per mile and I wrote the 10 and 20 mile splits on my arm for later reference. I seeded myself just in front of the 3:10 pace group but planned to run just behind them for a few miles before putting a little time in the bank.

I knew by the ½ mile point that we were running fast. I was 10 seconds behind the pace leader at the 1 mile point and I was 12 seconds fast. By mile 2 I was 32 seconds fast and still running behind the pacer. He must have realized how fast he was and suddenly he slowed dramatically. I gave up on the pace group at that point and decided to take responsibility for the race myself. I don’t remember seeing the track at mile 3 but it was about this time that I knew I was going to have a great race. I gave myself permission to run based on effort and not worry about the mile splits as long as they stayed between 7:00 and 7:20. Kamran the human metronome will laugh at my spread but that how I run.

There are 3 distinct memories from the section from mile 3 to 6. First, cammo shorts guy comes out of a porta potty right in front of me and SPRINTS to catch up to his group now 100 meters up ahead. I made a note to myself to say hi to him later because I knew I would catch him. After he sprinted away, I looked at the number of runners ahead of me and how many were passing me and I said to the guy next to me that there were at least 100 runners ahead of us who weren’t going to be there at the end. That’s when I noticed that he was already struggling with the pace. On the big downhill I let myself flow downhill relaxed and easy. Silly runners were racing all out down the hill passing me like I was standing still but I just kept plugging away.

Miles 6 – 11 were the boring out and back miles along Front Street. I was anxious to see if Erik and Jacob were with the leaders and how Steve would look running his first hard effort. It seemed like forever before I saw the leaders then Erik and Jacob in 4/5 or 5/6 place. I gave them a huge cheer and a wave. Then Steve and Tim. I waved and hollered eliciting a scolding from Steve about running smooth. I already knew I was rocking the joint so I just kept hollering as Kamran, Larry, Damon and Andrew went by. I made my turn and saw Jim with the 3:10 group and made a note to keep an eye out for him later. I missed Niccole but I think I saw everyone else. Chad looked good running with the 3:15 group at that point. Ruth Anne was right near the 4:00 group. The miles in this flat section varied from 6:52 to 7:14. At mile 10 I looked at the split on my arm and saw I had nearly 2 minutes in the bank. It occurred to me that I might pay later but I really felt good and didn’t worry about it.

I came to the bar where Tonya Harding plotted to have Nancy Kerrigan clubbed and knew that we had a fairly good 2 mile climb coming up through a residential area. There were spectators out but it seemed fairly subdued. I saw Julia and John just before we topped the climb.

I didn’t see the half mark in time to check my split (1:32:44 on results page) and set my sights on reserving effort for the hill from 16-17. The high point of the course was the mid-point of the St. Johns bridge and I was determined to top it and rock the rest of the course. I ended up running next to “Jeff” during this section and he said he was 23 and running his first marathon. I asked him if he thought he was going to hold up and just smiled and said yes. He dropped me about 2/3 up the bridge approach and I never saw him again. I looked him up later and he ran a 3:02! At the mid-point of the bridge I looked around at the runners near me and said “see ya!” I did not want to get passed from that point to the finish.

We left the bridge and I had my first “Oh Shit” moment of the day. We dropped quickly then made a hard left turn on a steep slope into a big uphill that we missed on the drive through. I was concerned that I might have broken my stride but the next mile clicked off at 7:00 and I felt no lingering effects.

Miles 18-23: This was the BEST part of the race. I knew that I had 3:10 in the bag. I also knew that no effort would get me a sub 3 hour so I relaxed and had fun. I was talking to anyone who could match my pace, pumping up the crowd and generally hamming it up. A couple of runners passed me but I reeled every single one of them back in. I see know that my pace dropped off my 3 or 4 seconds per mile but I wasn’t pushing at all and didn’t really worry about it.

I knew there was a pretty good climb coming at 24 as we approached the Broadway Bridge but clocked a 7:03 (passed cammo shorts guy flailing up the hill) that I probably paid for with a 7:21 on mile 25. We were now back on Front Street and I knew we had 2 miles left. I waited to start the final push until I was over the train tracks then I picked up the effort. Steve had teased me the day before when I said we wouldn’t notice the .2 mile uphill to the finish and I was determined to be at a full sprint (in the context of having run 26 miles) when I hit the hill.

Then the final “Oh Shit” moment. I was passing EVERYONE at this point. These were the guys who went for 3 and didn’t make it and I was flying by them at a 6:50 or better pace. At the last underpass they had set up the final aid station with tables of water on either side of the road. Why a water stop with ½ a mile to go? Why set up tables only 12 feet apart leaving only 3 or 4 feet clear between the volunteers handing out cups? Anyway, the guy right in front of me took a water and stopped dead in the middle of the gap. Without time to think, I lifted my arm, shoved him aside and continued my sprint to the finish. There was a huge crash behind me but I never looked back.

I saw the turn and really dialed up the effort. 50 meters into the hill and Steve was right, I nearly puked trying to hold it to the finish. Crossed the line, checked for runners behind and stopped to catch my breath. Looked at my watch 3:06:06. Official time 3:06:05. Yeah! The perfect marathon!

I took no water or fuel on this marathon. The Carbo-Pro breakfast has worked out well and I loved having no digestion issues. I did feel hungry during the middle miles but that subsided. I had a minor side stitch around mile 19 but with a little relaxed breathing it too went away.