Thursday, October 16, 2008

Portland Marathon 2008

So this report is a little late, but better late than never, right? The marathon was on October 5th.
So I was crazy enough to run 2 marathons 2 weeks apart and I am still alive. Saturday night as I lay in bed trying to go to sleep I began to wonder if I was going to be able to accomplish my goal of qualifying for Boston again so that I could run it in 2009 or 2010. Was I asking too much of myself to run 3 marathons in 5 months? I was really nervous and my husband was in Chicago so I was left alone with my thoughts and my nerves.
The alarm clock went off at 5am ( much later than my other 2 marathons, I guess that is a benefit of running in your hometown) . My friend came Kristi came over to watch my kids and my other friends Barb and Steve picked me up at 5:30am. At first I felt bad that they were getting up so early to take me down to the race but I was so glad to have them to talk to and take my stuff and give me words of encouragement.
I got to the port a potty lines and they were so long but I waited and by the time I was done it was about 6:55am. So I lined up with the 3:30 pace group and then the gun went off, I immediately knew that I should not have tried to run with a hydration belt. I normally do not run with anything bu tI was worried that I would need something anf they did not have any fuel that I loved on the course. The whole thing was bouncing around and I was so glad that I knew my friends would be at mile 7 where I could ditch the thing!!! Around mile 1, I met my angel Jeanine Stratton whom I could not have done this race without. We started talking and after about 4 miles had decided that we would run the race together. She was heaven sent!! She was so positive and talked me through the intense pain in my left IT band that set in at about mile 11. It was so great to have a pace group and someone to talk to. I definitely like bigger marathons for the fact that there are so many more people my pace and just more people to talk to.
Mike 16 was a big hill up to the St. Johns bridge, the view as we were crossing the bridge was awesome! It had started to rain by this point but it was a welcome distraction. By about mile 18 I was getting pretty tired but I kept on going knowing that I could accomplish my goal. I told Jeanine that she could leave me because it was obvious that she had more in the tank than I did. She told me that she was not going to leave me. At this point we discovered that we were both Mormon and talked about how we knew that the Lord had heard our prayers eventhough we were running on Sunday. This took us to about 21 when we hit the a water station and I hit a little wall. Jeanine grabbed and ran and I stopped to get a little more in me and not all over me. I drank a few sips and then started again. Jeanine was calling for me to catch up but I knew that if I caught her it might be wasting precious energy. So I kept her in my sights and told her that I would be fine and to go . She was so awesome I could not have done it without her.
The last 5 miles were a challenge but way better than my other 2 marathons. While I slowed a little I kept going and I had to keep reminding myself that my goal for this marathon was to qualify not to PR. I pulled back a little more knowing that I was 10 minutes ahead of where I needed to be to qualify.
I started to tear up as I turned the corner at Mile 26 knowing that I had pushed myself more than I thought I could and because I knew that Jeanine was heaven sent!
I crossed the finish line at 3:32:26. It was finnished and I was so happy to be done. My only other wish is that I could have seen Jeanine at the finish, I wanted to thank her for helping me.
Thanks to Barb and Steve for supporting me at so many places along the course and for taking care of my stuff and giving me fuel!!!
The finish line was stalked with good stuff, too bad I did not feel like eating any of it. My knee was killing me and I was freezing! I really just wanted to get home and get warm. The only thing that stood in my way was the ice bath that I knew I should take to help my muscles. I was a good girl and froze through my ice bath and them took a quick hot shower.
It was a great maraton, I am glad that I did it. I would recommend this one, unfortunately my It band does not. I have not been able to run on it yet, I think that it needs some rest. Any other suggestions to speed up the healing?

8 comments:

erinmalia said...

holy moly, that's amazing. good for you for doing what you set out to accomplish.

so you didn't know this jeanine person before the race?! that's awesome! what a fun way to meet a new friend.

5 Miles Past Empty said...

Hey! I just left Mandy a suggestion about IT Band injury. I was training for Portland but injured my IT Band in early Sept. so I backed off. I eventually had my hips checked and found my left hip was out of place and slipped up, causing extra strain and pulling on my right IT Band. Once it was in place I was up and running shorter distances in about a week and back to full throttle in 2. I even did a triathlon two weeks after and had ZERO pain. I am not saying this is your cause, but it is worth checking.

good luck to you and way to go on all your marathons!!

P.S. God gave you the ability to run and

5 Miles Past Empty said...

oops, accidentally posted that when I wasnt finished! I just wanted to say that use your talents to glorify God! He understands running on Sunday (occasionally)! I bet you did more praying, thinking, and worship during that run than you remember! ;)

Keekee said...

Great job- I will be at the Boston in 2009. I just qualified in Sept, I was really sick but this was my last race to qualify so I could run Boston in 2009. I ran jus to qualify, not to PR also and did a 3:32 also! Great job, hope to see you on the hills in Boston :)

Anonymous said...

You should try a new hydration device called 'AquaJoe'. It's a sports drink powder holder/dispenser for athletes that weighs about an ounce! it makes it much easier to bring your own 'fuel'. There is a video of it on www.aquajoe.com

Jen said...

That is amazing! Congrats! I too suffer from IT band woes. Roll it out on a foam roller, girl. Hurts like hell, but works like an angel. Also, go and get yo-self a massage. You earned it.

everything pink! said...

wow, just amazing to be 10 min ahead of your time. i can't even imagine.
how wonderful to meet someone new on the race.
congrats!
I can't wait to hear about Boston

Unknown said...

That is simply amazing! Congratulations on a job well done X 3!!!! What a way to finish off the year! Portland is one of the most beautiful marathons I have done. I have to admit I am a little jealous. I ended up NOT doing it because of an IT band problem. I agree with Jen, the foam roller works wonders! Also, I have been working with a chiropractor who does ART (active release therapy) for the majority of the summer to help my knee out. I can say that I have run and entire month IT band pain free! I don't really believe in the traditional chiropractor. . .they haven't worked for me in the past (no offence if anyone out there practices) however, if you can find one who is ART certified they go to quite a bit more training to practice this technique. It is dealing with more muscles rather than bones. Meaning that they don't adjust if the muscles are all "balled" up. Anyway, when I go, they are doing a deep tissue massage while I am strecting that part of my body at the same time. It actually allows the muscle to relax and relieve some of the pain and pull on that part of the body. This has worked for me and at least half a dozen of my friends who run as well. Just an idea. You can do a google search for ART providers and see who is around where you live. Again congrats!