2022 PORTLAND MARATHON RACE RECAP

At the start line before the race, when there was still light in my eyes and life in my body.

As the week approached I wasn't dreading the race very much this year. I had "home bed advantage," the weather looked dry, I had no pressure on my performance, and I felt confident I could do the distance without issue. So it was pretty nice that week leading up to the race, I was tapering, I didn't have to fly anywhere... it was very low key. Usually during race week I am nervous, this time, not so much. It was just kind of something I had to do on Sunday.

Okay, as I went to the expo on Saturday and picked up my bib, it became a little more real. Maybe a twinge of anxiety in the chest. This was definitely the least I planned ahead of time though, as I started thinking about what to eat for breakfast and my morning plan only hours before going to bed. I ran to the store to get bagels and cream cheese, my normal marathon morning breakfast, then set the alarm for 5:45am. The race started at 7:10am, so I was shooting to get there about 6:45. No reason in my mind to be there any earlier. Especially with such mild weather and no need to check any clothes for post-race.

THE MORNING OF

So let's talk about the weather. My main hope with every marathon is that it is dry. And thankfully, as the ten day forecast filled in, it looked certain to be dry. The issue would be the heat, as the high for that day started creeping from 78 up and up to the point on race day it was predicted to be 86 degrees. Now, if anybody knows me, they know I don't mind the heat all too much and that I'd rather run in 90 degrees than 45. So while I didn't mind that it would be a bit warmer, I wasn't so naive to think that it wouldn't slow me down a tad. You can't run as fast in 75 as you can in 55. Would I even be running fast enough for it to be an issue though?

My morning wake up plan worked perfectly, I was fed and downtown looking to park about 6:40am. Issue though... the parking garage I was planning on using was coned off. It looks like they put a few block buffer around the race from traffic, which meant I couldn't get into that lot. It was even listed on the Portland Marathon website as a parking option for that morning! Luckily, I had noticed another lot a few blocks before, so I just circled back and went in there instead. Plenty of other runners had the same idea, so I walked with a small pack toward the start line.

The Portland Marathon is a really easy race to attend because it's still small enough the start line isn't a giant fiasco. They have finish time arches and you self seed. Unlike Shamrock, they don't have metal fencing surrounding the road, so it was very easy to just wander to the right spot along the sidewalk and then pop onto the road. I lined up just behind the 4:40 finish time arch, which seemed to be a popular time. The density of the crowd definitely seemed highest between those 4:00 and 5:00 finish times.

In the chute with my fellow 4:40 homies.

MILES 1-7: THE NORTHERN LOOP (10:42, 10:57, 10:47, 10:05, 10:05, 10:29, 10:27)

Another thing I like about the Portland Marathon is they keep the half and the full completely separate. They line up in a different chute and, although we technically cross the start line together, they immediately turn and go their own way. This keeps the crowds down for the marathoners so there was no congestion of any sort that slowed me down at the beginning.

The goal this year was to try and replicate last year in New York. I wasn't confident I could completely match it again - last year felt so effortless and easy it was really baffling. But the thought was just to lock into what felt like my long run pace and try to run that out. And it felt very similar at the beginning, I was running what felt like my normal long run pace, it felt relatively easy, and it was just a touch quicker than training due to the race day "magic." So everything was lining up as it should.

One issue I was having though was my heart rate. It instantly went into the mid to high 160s, instead of the high 150s/low 160s of last year. So my average heart rate over these miles was 166 instead of the 159 of last year. It couldn't have been the weather yet; when the race started it was a perfectly reasonable 58 or so. Maybe my watch was just off, these things aren't super accurate to begin with. Basically, since I felt okay, I just went with it. I wasn't going to throttle myself to a 12:00/mile because an unreliable piece of technology was spitting a number at me.

Anyways, for this section, I felt pretty good! It definitely dragged by longer than the first time I ran it. Every mile felt like a mile. This wasn't the case last year in New York and usually isn't a sign of a good race. However, maybe it was just my familiarity with Portland. I mean, how many times can you run on Naito and around the Rose Quarter? As long as I was hitting my pace and felt good, then everything should align as needed. Those two faster miles were a result of a gradual downhill after climbing Broadway in mile three. I don't know why my third mile isn't slower, it was noticeably slower than the first two in 2019, so I may have accidentally ran that too fast.

MILES 8-13: HANGING ON INTO SELLWOOD (10:31, 10:56, 10:24, 10:40, 10:50, 10:58)

I kept chugging along, putting one foot in front of the other. The crowds in Portland were fine but nothing to match the energy of New York, which may have been one of the reasons the race felt like it was dragging on already. At some point during mile 8 or 9 you pass the start line again and have to run in the southbound lane while watching half marathoners finish in the northbound lane right next to you. It's a bit of a kick in the nuts seeing them done and knowing you are only "half" done. And I put half in quotes because every marathoner knows the first twenty miles is truly the first half.

Aside from that mental downer, I still felt okay. Not practically floating on air like the year before, but fine. My heart rate was climbing though and the high 160s quickly became the low 170s. And I'm sorry, but the low 170s is just an insane heart rate to have during a marathon. Again, this was if my watch was accurate. I still felt fine, but I had a feeling it was more accurate than I would have liked. I had a slower 10:56 mile during the uphill to Macadam Avenue, but my times rebounded back to what I wanted quickly after. I hadn't hit true adversity yet.

Mile thirteen was really where the shit hit the fan. Ironically enough, this was the spot I ate the ill-fated KitKat back in 2019 and derailed my race too. Damn you Sellwood Park, you are a bad omen. Anyways, the trip over the Sellwood Bridge seemed to sap any last "pep" that was in my step. As I approached the thirteenth mile marker my heart rate escalated into the high 170s. All of a sudden that "easy long run pace" was starting to feel like a tempo pace. My watch WAS right because I could feel my heart pounding through my chest. What was going on?

MILES 14-20: INITIATE TACTICAL ADJUSTMENT (10:39, 10:50, 11:23, 11:40, 11:35, 11:42. 11:26)

Something that has always been true in marathons for me is how I'm feeling at the halfway point. And it's pretty obvious, if you reach the halfway point already spent wanting to be done... you are in for a rough time. If you reach it feeling fresh thinking "halfway already?" you are probably in for a good race. I reached the halfway point this year feeling like a husk of a human completely regretting all his life choices. It was a little bit frustrating to train all summer and then have a performance like I was having. Why was my heart rate 178?! It NEVER got that high during summer long run training, even when it was hot. I'm only 14 miles in! What the fuck!

I tried to ignore it for a bit but reality was catching up to me. The hill up Bybee Boulevard over Macadam Avenue was the last straw in trying to pretend I could somehow gut this one out at my long run pace. I was DONE. My legs felt like they had already run a marathon, my heart rate was spiking into the low 180s... if I tried to keep this up I'd end up in the Good Samaritan emergency room. Might have been kind of a nice life loop, begin and end my life at Good Sam in the heart of Portland.

Joking aside, I knew I had to make an adjustment. Trying to keep my goal pace wasn't going to happen, so two options were available. Either I could run/walk it in and still run at my desired speed or I could dial back the pace and try to "run" it in. For me, slowing my pace by a minute was preferable. If I couldn't get the time I was hoping for, maybe I could at least have the accomplishment of running the damn thing in. So a decision was made. I was going to throttle my speed to something that felt like I could survive and try to not to walk. It's a stupid point of pride, I had my best times when I walked a little, but whatever. When you are this far off your glory days you take what you can get.

Reed College sucked. It was pretty but I felt like death and there were a lot of hills. Good crowds though. Thanks for coming out to cheer guys. Sorry I liked like death.

MILES 21-26.2: SLOWLY SHUFFLING TO THE FINISH (11:46, 11:21, 11:54, 11:41, 11:52, 11:27)

Fortunately, the change in pace did help me a bit. I went from feeling like I was going to die to feeling like maybe, just maybe, I could finish this thing. It was going to suck, but I could envision myself stumbling through the finish line, which was a big improvement in outlook from the halfway point. After the adjustment my heart rate did dip down to the low 170s for a few miles, which was a bit reassuring in terms of not having my heart explode. I've heard that's important to not have happen. It did creep back up though and by the last few miles it was pretty much pegged at 179. Oh well, it wasn't zero.

I was really worried about "the hill" that comes shortly after the Reed College bit. If you've down the Portland Marathon, you know which hill I'm talking about. Around mile 22.5 there is a killer uphill in the neighborhoods that dumps you onto McLoughlin Boulevard. Its only two or three blocks long but it's painfully uphill. The kind of uphill that sucks even if you are super fresh and prepared to run hills. If anything was going to break my "running" streak it was this hill. And I have to say, just about everyone around me walked it. It's the sane thing to do if you are running a five hour marathon. I was the only person I saw running it. I wasn't moving much faster than anyone else (about a 14:00/mile pace) but I was shuffling up it dammit. It felt like my calves were going to explode. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it. I let out noises. I limped. But I climbed that fucking hill without walking a step.

Running that hill was probably a stupid point of pride that could have derailed my entire race, but you know what? I got away with it. After that point I was able to resume a death march like shuffle. I was pretty confident I could finish. It was just taking FOREVER. I cannot emphasize enough how much longer this race took than any other race I had ever run. Yes, it was my slowest time, but not by much. The year before in New York felt just like all the other marathons I had run in the 3:30-3:50 range. This year, which was less than ten minutes slower, felt like eight hours. It was torture. I had no idea why I was there and did this to myself. But whatever, I was in it, might as well finish.

The final hills and bridges were pretty painful. My legs were gone at this point and it felt like at any moment my muscles would tear or explode. I was happy that I would finish under five hours. Once any 4:40ish hope was out the window, that was the next goal. Just try to keep it in the fours. So I kept shuffling. Crossing the finish line didn't even feel triumphant though. I just dead, inside and out. I did my best to take a good picture though and I have to admit, I think I fooled the cameras.

THE AFTERMATH

Honestly, I didn't feel too bad in the chute. Definitely not as good as New York, but I wasn't in any major pain or anything. I was just drained beyond belief. I grabbed some food and actually ate a decent amount, which is unusual for me after a race. Although to be fair, I did almost instantly demand a cheeseburger last year after the race, so I'm thinking these hobby jogger marathon times might actually mean I'm hungry after races now.

Anyways, I did know quite a few people that ran the race, but they all ran it in 3:30 or so, which meant they were long gone from the "after party" which I've never quite understood. The last thing I want to do after running twenty six miles is stand up and have loud music pumped into my ears. Who are these people? Anyways, my parents were also out of town so long story short, I took my sad, lonely ass home (after wolfing down my free ice cream, donut, and beer). My afternoon was spent in a hot bath and then taking a nap. All told, my muscles weird too bad, just very, very tried and drained.

Overall, I am really proud of my race. Nothing went right. I have no idea why my heart rate was spiking like that. All summer that pace was in the high 150s or low 160s. Why, on race day, is it suddenly in the 170s? It felt a bit unfair, but oh well, what can you do? Frankly, the fact I struggled that hard and still finished within spitting distance of last year is pretty awesome. That was a five hour GRIND and I bucked up and did it. Yay me.

OFFICIAL CHIP TIME: 4:51:47, 11:08/mi. 996/1745 male, 178/291 M35-39.