Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

We want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!
User avatar
Hammie
Jerome Drayton
Posts: 6712
Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2008 5:43 pm
Location: Out West

Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby Hammie » Mon Oct 06, 2014 11:27 pm

Portland Marathon 2014. Long story short (if you’re in a hurry, or just get bored): undertrained, recently injured, incredibly hot, very slow… and very enjoyable. Especially the beer.

Long story? Settle in.

DH and I signed up for this quite a while ago, before I realized how hectic this year would be. Work has been incredibly busy, and my enthusiasm for running just hasn’t been there. As a consequence, I haven’t been doing anything close to enough training for a speedy marathon. A few weeks ago, I thought that I’d be aiming for a 4:20-4:30 marathon. Then, 2 weeks ago, I rolled my ankle on the first run of a trail duathlon. I was smart enough to DNF the DU, but apparently too old to heal up as quickly as I used to. After one week, I still had a sore, swollen ankle and some building anxiety about being able to walk, let alone run, in one week. Regardless, we had grandparents coming into town to stay with the kids and a trip booked, so I was going to enjoy a weekend in Portland no matter what.

On Friday, we picked up out race packages. Then I went to a drugstore and bought KT tape and an ankle brace. Saturday we hit the foodcarts, the Oregon Historical Society, and did some shopping, then I taped up my ankle and hoped for the best. By Saturday night, I was still only about 80% certain that I would start, let alone finish.

Sunday morning started early… and warm. It was 15C and 95% humidity first thing, and would climb up to 28C later. I moved back to a later corral, which meant that I got to start with DH (he was doing the half). This is a beautifully organized race, and the corrals (A through H!) all got underway very quickly. I started in E, and took around 10-12 minutes to get to the start. I got to run with DH for the first mile or so, then we were both running our own pace. It isn’t the most attractive course ever – mostly industrial, some residential areas. But it’s well marked and they have hundreds of volunteers out there, so it ticked by steadily. The large amounts of tape seemed to be doing their job, and my ankle was (mostly) holding up. Around the 7 mile point, I started to get some sharp pain and was actually reminding myself that I could drop out at the halfway point and get a bus back to the finish if I needed to, but that seemed to subside. By 11 miles, when the half and full split, I was feeling much better and was starting to relax.

11 miles to 17 miles was boring, but I was ok with boring! At 17 miles, you hit “Checkpoint Charlie” – a checkpoint that they use to keep bandits off the course. It’s also the point where you get to turn back towards downtown, and you feel like you’re finally making some progress – as long as you get over the bridge, which is the biggest hill on the course. The uphills were fine, but I started to get some cramps in my calf and hip on the downhills. I think the combination of lack of training and the change in my stride from the ankle sprain were affecting me. I started taking more walk breaks, trying to give my hip a break.

It was also unrelentingly hot and sunny. There’s almost no shade on the course, and this was apparently an unseasonably hot October weekend. I was drinking water 3 cups at a time and still feeling thirsty. Not even beer helped, although I did make sure to accept both offers of beer (unofficial beer stations at mile 11 and mile 20). I also had the gummie bears and pretzels offered (those were “official”) and Skittles (“unofficial”).

By the time I hit the 20 mile point, I was feeling pretty done – tired, thirsty, hot, and sore. All I wanted was to be finished. Nothing very remarkable about the last 10k – I ran some, I walked some, and I decided that this is a silly hobby. Finally, we crossed another bridge to head back into downtown, which was definitely a little bit more scenic. There were bigger crowds, especially along the riverfront. It seemed to take forever to get from 25 to 26 miles. My DH had come back after he finished, so I suddenly saw a very familiar and friendly face in the crowd – it was a welcome boost! The last 0.2miles were fenced off, so you still had the whole road despite the sizable crowds. I was so happy and relieved to see the finish line.

The finish chute is well done – it is a few blocks long and has stations where you get your medal, a coin, a pendant, a finishers shirt, a semi-disposable jacket, a rose (it is the city of roses, after all), a tree seedling, and food. My hotel was 3 blocks from the finish (which was 2.5 blocks too far at that point), so I shuffled back for a shower and more food.

We finished up the evening at a restaurant down the street that had a 3 page beer list. We tried out the beer tasting menu (traditional for me, IPAs for DH), and after 6 shot-glass sized beers, I was pleasantly numb. Portland is a really interesting town; the people are incredibly friendly, and several of the servers (and even total strangers in the street) would come over to ask about the race when they saw you in a finishers shirt. It isn’t a route I’d want to run again, but I’d certainly go back to Portland again anytime. Did I mention they have good beer?

In the end, I finished the race in 4:49:56, and that was one of the hardest and slowest marathons I have done. However, on Saturday, I decided that my A goal was just to finish (done!) and I’d be thrilled if I was under 5 hours. I have promised myself that I am NOT planning to run any marathons next year, and that I’m not doing another until I have the time and energy to train properly. Halfs will be just fine for me for a while. For now, I’ll be letting my ankle heal up and ease back into running in another week or two. It seemed like an interesting finale to my running year – I turn 40 next week, and in the last 12 months, I’ve run a 5k, a 10k, 3 half marathons, 2 marathons, a 50k, and 2 sprint triathlons. A good running year and a great weekend away with DH is not a bad way to turn a symbolic page - and I'm looking forward to a new AG!
2014: the year of new awesomeness!
Rogers Insurance Run for L'Arche Half March 22 - done
Calgary Marathon Wild Rose 50k June 1 - done
Stampede Road Race 5k July 6 - done
Magrath sprint tri July 12 - done!!
Jog for the Bog 10k July 27 - done
Seawheeze Half Marathon August 23 - done
Subaru Banff Sprint Triathlon September 6 - done
Blitz Duathlon September 21 - registered
Portland Marathon October 5 - registered

User avatar
Jwolf
Kevin Sullivan
Posts: 37476
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 10:02 pm
Location: Vancouver

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby Jwolf » Mon Oct 06, 2014 11:42 pm

Wow Melanie- I had no idea you were nursing a sore ankle- when I saw your time I thought maybe you and Dale ran together. But I'm glad you toughed it out for the finish. And I'm very glad you were able to enjoy the weekend.

Portland is a great city - I enjoyed that race a lot back in 2011 (I did the half, rob did the full) and Id love to do it again. So well organized and the people of Portland really do treat the runners well. :)
Support me in my fundraising for the Boston Marathon, Boston Public Library team:
https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign ... iferwolf11

User avatar
purdy65
Abby Hoffman
Posts: 9921
Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2008 6:06 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby purdy65 » Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:36 am

Every marathon, every finish time has a story. Sounds like you had a great weekend, and that finishing was a triumph.

Oh, and that is a great running year!
It's not the size of the dog in the fight...it's the size of the fight in the dog! 11K Marker post - 2010 ATB.

Introducing 2017

GoodLife Half Marathon.
TBD

User avatar
HCcD
Donovan Bailey
Posts: 60022
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2005 8:05 pm
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby HCcD » Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:45 am

Congrats, on another marathon in the books ...

eta: Did you by chance see a swarm of my local K2J Fitness Peeps on the course / weekend ?? :P
Race Results: http://itsmyrun.com/index.php?display=p ... unner=HCiD

User avatar
Robinandamelia
Jerome Drayton
Posts: 5044
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2009 7:31 am
Location: Bradford, Ontario
Contact:

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby Robinandamelia » Tue Oct 07, 2014 8:41 am

Way to get it done in tough conditions!! Hope the ankle is ok.

CinC
Lynn Williams
Posts: 13476
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2005 2:19 pm

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby CinC » Tue Oct 07, 2014 8:59 am

don't listen to mike and sign up for a trial duathlon. that was where you went wrong....lol!

good job. pretty solid year IMO.
Race Hard. Race Happy.

User avatar
Stampie
Abby Hoffman
Posts: 9005
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 11:21 pm
Location: Lotus Land

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby Stampie » Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:08 pm

Congrats on getting it done Hammie! I could only imagine how humid it was in Portland, as it was rather humid in YVR on Sunday as well. Considering the conditions you were faced with and nursing a previous ankle injury, I would say Sunday was a huge success.

CinC wrote:don't listen to mike and sign up for a trial duathlon. that was where you went wrong....lol!

This!

BTW, I'm tempted to head down to Portland, if to only try the S'Mores Stout you posted on FB.
PB’s (official race results)
5K – 26:20; 8K – 41:28; 10K – 52:13; 15K - 1:22:43; 21.1K – 1:54:16; 30K – 2:51:34; 42.2K – 4:24:14

What is up for 2018
Feb 11th - First Half Vancouver
TBA
Planning & in my sights
Jun 9th - Puddle Jumper Classic

Run the mile you're in. Not the one behind you, and not the one in front of you - the one you are running now :) - purdy65

User avatar
scrumhalfgirl
Lynn Williams
Posts: 19368
Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2006 11:50 am
Location: Ottawa

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby scrumhalfgirl » Tue Oct 07, 2014 8:11 pm

happy birthday and congrats on another marathon - that's quite the year you've had!
Jesse's 2017 Plans
April - Boston Marathon
May - Sporting Life Ottawa 10K
May - Ottawa Half Marathon

User avatar
turd ferguson
Ben Johnson
Posts: 28512
Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2005 12:11 am
Location: It's a funny name
Contact:

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby turd ferguson » Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:15 pm

Great race Hammie. I followed your adventure of fine eating and craft beer on FB and it was fun!

Stampie wrote:
CinC wrote:don't listen to mike and sign up for a trial duathlon. that was where you went wrong....lol!

This!


And I'm even more of a heel than usual because I SKIPPED THE RACE I TEMPTED HER INTO.
"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so." - Douglas Adams

User avatar
Hammie
Jerome Drayton
Posts: 6712
Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2008 5:43 pm
Location: Out West

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby Hammie » Tue Oct 07, 2014 10:37 pm

turd ferguson wrote:And I'm even more of a heel than usual because I SKIPPED THE RACE I TEMPTED HER INTO.

OK, I wasn't going to bring it up, but YOU SKIPPED THE RACE YOU TEMPTED ME INTO :lol:

Meh, even without the sprained ankle, I knew I wasn't heading into my finest race. It just added some extra uncertainty to the whole thing!

Ironically, my ankle feels better after running a marathon than it did for the two weeks before it! I've found a new treatment for acute ankle injuries, apparently.

And Stampie - you should absolutely go to Portland for the beer. There's a store near my house that sells a few of the beers I tried while I was there (including the Rogue Voodoo Donuts collaboration, which has apparently tastes like chocolate and pretzels). We're going to pick a few up to see if they taste just as good at home. I already have a small collection of very nice red wines from the Willamette Valley, so I'm branching out.
2014: the year of new awesomeness!
Rogers Insurance Run for L'Arche Half March 22 - done
Calgary Marathon Wild Rose 50k June 1 - done
Stampede Road Race 5k July 6 - done
Magrath sprint tri July 12 - done!!
Jog for the Bog 10k July 27 - done
Seawheeze Half Marathon August 23 - done
Subaru Banff Sprint Triathlon September 6 - done
Blitz Duathlon September 21 - registered
Portland Marathon October 5 - registered

User avatar
Stampie
Abby Hoffman
Posts: 9005
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 11:21 pm
Location: Lotus Land

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby Stampie » Tue Oct 07, 2014 11:02 pm

Hammie wrote:
turd ferguson wrote:And I'm even more of a heel than usual because I SKIPPED THE RACE I TEMPTED HER INTO.

OK, I wasn't going to bring it up, but YOU SKIPPED THE RACE YOU TEMPTED ME INTO :lol:

Meh, even without the sprained ankle, I knew I wasn't heading into my finest race. It just added some extra uncertainty to the whole thing!

Ironically, my ankle feels better after running a marathon than it did for the two weeks before it! I've found a new treatment for acute ankle injuries, apparently.

And Stampie - you should absolutely go to Portland for the beer. There's a store near my house that sells a few of the beers I tried while I was there (including the Rogue Voodoo Donuts collaboration, which has apparently tastes like chocolate and pretzels). We're going to pick a few up to see if they taste just as good at home. I already have a small collection of very nice red wines from the Willamette Valley, so I'm branching out.

Next time you are in YVR, you need to head over to Storm Brewing at Commercial & Franklin and try the Vanilla Whiskey Stout.
PB’s (official race results)
5K – 26:20; 8K – 41:28; 10K – 52:13; 15K - 1:22:43; 21.1K – 1:54:16; 30K – 2:51:34; 42.2K – 4:24:14

What is up for 2018
Feb 11th - First Half Vancouver
TBA
Planning & in my sights
Jun 9th - Puddle Jumper Classic

Run the mile you're in. Not the one behind you, and not the one in front of you - the one you are running now :) - purdy65

User avatar
5km
Bill Crothers
Posts: 1025
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:23 pm
Location: Burlington, ON

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby 5km » Wed Oct 08, 2014 12:15 pm

Congratulations on a great finish under very difficult circumstances!

User avatar
Habs4ever
Kevin Sullivan
Posts: 31317
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 12:39 pm
Location: Alberta

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby Habs4ever » Wed Oct 08, 2014 12:42 pm

You and I seemed to have a similar summer of running, (me, minus the sprained ankle) running but not training. I'm glad you ended up starting and finishing, it's always a good day when you can do a marathon. :D
I'm sure the new chapter in your life will be just as exciting as the past year of running.
I wanna live like there's no tomorrow
Love, like I'm on borrowed time
It's good to be alive, yeah....Jason Gray

Running is a conversation with your body. Sometimes you listen and sometimes you tell it to stop whining and do something. - Ian

chunkymonkeymelonhed
Lynn Williams
Posts: 17817
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:13 pm
Location: B.C.

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby chunkymonkeymelonhed » Sat Oct 11, 2014 6:07 pm

Wow Melanie, I don't know how you got that done on a bad ankle. Huge props to you for gutting that out.

I love Portland, the beer, the food carts, the people, all make for a very interesting vibe.
On the books for 2017:
50th Birthday!!
Boston Marathon- April 17th what a day- DREAM COME TRUE :dance:
Run for Water 10K- May 28th
Scotia Half - June 25th
Trail River Run half marathon- Sept. 30- CANCELLED
MEC 10K Race 10- Nov. 5

User avatar
Jo-Jo
Kevin Sullivan
Posts: 28747
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2005 6:12 am

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby Jo-Jo » Sat Oct 11, 2014 6:24 pm

Sounds like a tough race...but you're a determined tough gal so not surprised at all that you "gutted it out"

Can very much relate to not wanting to do another marathon until you have the time to train for one....I'm thinking I might be retired before I ever do another one :lol: :lol: Mind you....I'm looking down the road at retirement in just a few years :D :D

Oh...and happy birthday "young thing". :D :wink:
Technophobe Extraordinaire
"Princess" J0-JO...The Awesome Running Machine.
"a precious, unique and quirky individual"...definition given by a Toronto Cop
An Ever Loyal and Devoted Official Doonst Fan.
"In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer" -Albert Camus
"Keep Going. Never Give Up." Spencer

User avatar
Ken B
Lynn Williams
Posts: 13288
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 9:11 pm
Location: Kitchener, Ontario

Re: Hammie's Portland Marathon 2014

Postby Ken B » Thu Oct 16, 2014 8:03 pm

You are one tough lady! Congratulations on finishing under difficult conditions!!


Return to “Run/Race Reports”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 45 guests