2019 PORTLAND MARATHON RACE PREVIEW

Last Portland finish. 2015 with Alejandro and Glenn.

Well, I can't quite believe it, but the Portland Marathon starts bright and early tomorrow morning. Yikes! The anticipation for a full marathon is very unique... I do not freak out and get anxious about any other race distance, but every time I think about an upcoming marathon I start getting the cold sweats. For good reason though - marathons are hard! However, I just have to remind myself I have done them before and I can do it again. It might suck for about an hour, but that's it.

Weather still looks perfect, basically unchanged since the last update! Really lucked out with that one. It's going to be a bit chilly at the start, about 45, so I'll probably end up wearing a long sleeve t-shirt. I won't be wearing shorts with pockets due to an anti-chaffing measure, so I think I'll skip a beanie and gloves. The beanie would get ditched within the first mile anyways, and looking at the Marine Corp Marathon last year, I didn't wear my gloves for very long in similar weather. So I should be good once the race starts... maybe just a little chilly waiting.

The course itself is going to be a surprise. The Portland Marathon Clinic previewed the first half during one of their reunion runs, and then my other group previewed the second half during one of their runs. And I missed both - d'oh! Regardless, I have familiarized myself with the course a little bit, just so I am not surprised by unexpected hills or something. But the sights themselves and the neighborhoods should mostly be a surprise. Hopefully that will be a nice distraction, unlike the 2015 & 2016 Portland Marathons when I knew the course like the back of my hand.

The new course! Like spaghetti!

Much like the MCM last year, there is an uphill almost instantly. It looks to be about 150 feet in the course of a mile and a half, so about the same. Like last year, shouldn't be an issue that early. After that there is a decent uphill to the Broadway bridge starting about mile 5. After looping around the Rose Quarter, it is back downtown and heading south toward the Sellwood Bridge on Macadam. Some more uphill here, about 120 feet in two miles.  And then another 80 feet or so to climb up the bridge. Once crossing into the Sellwood neighborhood we'll hit the half marathon mark.

The difference between the MCM last year and the Portland Marathon this year will be those hills. All minor in the normal course of things, but with fatigue building they will present a challenge. I wish I could say the second half was significantly less hilly, but I can't. It is less hilly, but not by much. We go through Sellwood, loop through Reed College (hill!) and then head north toward OMSI. Luckily the hills after mile 20 are minor, so that's good at least. No climb over 50 feet. After wandering around the eastside, we cross the Burnside Bridge and head back downtown on Naito to the finish!

Overall, the course will be challenging because of those multiple hill climbs and the number of turns. It is going to be very hard to run a good tangent during this race. I have to be very mindful of that so I don't end up running 26.7 miles. While the course is definitely more scenic than the previous Portland Marathon, it is NOT faster. How much slower is it? I don't know. But I think at least a few minutes slower. So a 3:47 here might have translated to a 3:43 on the old course. Hard to tell though.

Elevation chart. At least 7 or 8 noticeable climbs.

As for my pacing strategy, I plan to start out targeting miles between 8:20 and 8:25. I need to average 8:34 to hit my "A+" goal, but that's assuming a perfect course. I have to assume I'll run something like 26.5 miles, which means the pace on my watch won't be accurate for the final race results. Last year my official pace was 8:59 enough though my watch said 8:52. So I need to plan for that, plus the eventual slowdown toward the end. If I run a course of 26.5 miles, I need to average 8:29 on my watch. Averaging 8:23 over the first twenty miles or so won't give me a ton of wiggle room at the end, it'll have to be a perfect day. Any faster though and I have no shot.

So that's that! I am ready, I did the training, so now I just have to go out and execute. I even practiced the pace of 8:25 a couple of times, so I should instinctively be able to lock in. My watch pace will probably bounce all over the place with all the turns and buildings, so I'll have to call on that "feeling" when I know my watch is being a liar. Oh, and same refueling strategy as last year... half water, half sports drink with an entire pack of gummies every 6 miles.

GOALS:

"A+" Goal: Under 3:45. I'm having an A+ goal this year. It is what I am going to try to hit assuming everything goes right. This would take doing the first 20 miles at 8:25 pace and then finishing out the rest all below 8:50 average. This will take the perfect race for me. While I will set out to achieve this, I won't be bummed if I don't hit it.

"A" Goal: Under 3:50. I would really like a 3:4X time. I feel like that is the next "step" from my 3:55. I'd be super, super happy with this time. It would feel wrong to make this my "B" goal given how happy I would be with it.

"B" Goal: Under 3:55:54. Beat last year. Show improvement. After a good training cycle and speedwork almost every week, I need to beat last year. I could be satisfied with this.

"C" Goal: Under 4:00. Barring an injury or extreme cramping or something, I need to be below 4:00. Still about a 9:00/mile pace, nothing to sneeze at. Will be bummed not to beat last year, but this is a tougher course and it might just not have been my day.