PORTLAND MARATHON COURSE TWENTY MILER

Yeah, I can't even fake looking good at the end of a twenty mile run. Look at my short shorts though! :P

On Saturday I had a great run with the Portland Marathon Clinic. I really can't praise this group enough for the training runs they provide for free. Even if you aren't training for the Portland Marathon itself (like next year, when I'll likely be training for Detroit) they are the perfect group to train with for a fall marathon. Long runs with a group and aid stations are just so much better!

One bad thing about this run is I forgot my watch. Ugh! When laying out my outfit the night before I normally throw my watch on top of the clothes, just to make sure. I remember looking at it on my desk and saying to myself "I'm not going to forget my freaking watch for a twenty miler. It's fine." So on the desk it was left, and 7:30am Thomas just mindlessly processed the clothes pile (shorts go on legs, socks go on feet, Body Glide goes on nipples, etc.) and then headed out the door. I didn't notice the missing watch until I had made it to the run, parked, and starting chatting with people.

Honestly though, it was kind of nice! No neurotic checking of the pace, no counting down the miles, just enjoying the run and being in the dark about mileage or pace. I did ask a few times how far we were (especially after mile ten) but even then I was just going with the flow. All told the run ended up being 20.8 miles, and I didn't even realize we were over 20 until someone mentioned we were at 20.4. Should I have had a watch on, I would have been eyeing that 20 mark very carefully and I bet my body would have felt a lot worse just from the mental knowledge that we had gone twenty. In the dark, it wasn't a huge deal.

We ran the Portland Marathon course minus about six miles that occur in the first half. The whole first four miles farting around downtown were cut off along with two miles in the out and back along Front (the least scenic part of the route, so that was fine with me). Honestly, about nine miles of the course are pretty stark and ugly... the out and back along the industrial road and then running along the highway to the St. John's Bridge. However, the other 17 miles are quite nice, including the beginning and end downtown and once you cross the bridge and run along Willamette that is pretty nice.

Photo from the 1990 PMC Marathon Course training run.

Overall the run went really well. It was fun to see the course again and relive some of the memories. It was also good to make mental notes and prepare again for the race in less than two months. Running across the St. John's Bridge was fun and it was nice to do it at mile 10 as opposed to mile 16 at race pace. PMC had EIGHT aid stations along the route packed with water, electrolyte drink, gummy bears, jelly beans, licorice, peanut butter pretzels, etc. So amazing.

After the run I felt pretty good. My legs definitely got sore and achy towards the end of the run but honestly it wasn't too bad. I might venture to say this was the best twenty miler yet. They seem to be getting to the point of being hard and long (okay, #) but completely doable. I am not in agony at the end like I was during my first marathon training cycle, and that, I'll take!

Run Stats (gleaned by creeping on someone else's watch): 20.82 miles in 3:20. 9:38/mile.