Will caught back up to us at mile 4 as we took an restroom stop. I was pleased to see that Les Smith of the Portland Marathon had indeed placed an additional 10 porta-johns at mile 4 as I suggested to him at the Race Directors Conference the day before. The lines there were much swifter moving than ever before.
Nancy continued ahead of us, often talking with Krista and Tom. I moved back to join Will and Rachel. However, I must say that I was not much company for anybody. I have not been training at any speed this year due to my injury. When Will and Rachel and I have walked, we have been going at more like an 18-minute mile pace and enjoying great conversation. At 15-minute miles, my desire to talk waned, although I enjoyed their company.
At several points on the course we were cheered by a man with a baby who kept up a patter for us walkers. He was a gem, truly wonderful, and he kept shifting his site as the marathon progressed, obviously being there for his wife. Finally around Mile 15 I asked if his wife was walking and he confirmed it. Wow, the baby looked to be about 6 months old and she was out doing a marathon! Well, she married a very nice guy.
After mile 10 I was really feeling it and becoming very uncommunicative. I have always walked the marathon alone. Marathons hurt. Rachel and Will remained their usual friendly selves, and they gave me my space and didn't challenge me or question me.
On the Portland Marathon, you must reach a point at Mile 22 by 1 pm or you get shifted to a walking route that is about a half mile longer. My goal is always to beat this cutoff. I especially feel the pressure from Mile 12-17 until I get over the St. John's Bridge. This is also the point where, every year, some portion of my legs or feet begin to really hurt. And so every year I am stressed and in pain. This year the speed and my ilio-tibial band were getting to me and I was sort of moaning and grunting. My wonderful walking pals didn't comment on this - which is a good thing. When I am in pain I prefer not to discuss it.
We Beat the Bridge
This year the St. John's Bridge is being painted and was left open with no traffic until 12 pm, thereafter the slower walkers would be bused over the bridge. We reached the bridge in plenty of time. There is a good incline up to the bridge, and a continued hill to the top. Once there, the sense of being able to finish the event is supreme. You have 8.5 miles to go, to take you back upriver to downtown Portland.I discovered this year that it really helped my ilio-tibial band to jog/shuffle downhill rather than walk downhill, and Rachel and Will were doing the same. So on the downhills we shuffled along. I used Clif bars Peanut/Toffee flavor with caffeine for my energy bar and they worked very well. I noticed a distinct difference when I had some bites of the bars. They need less water to wash them down than energy gels.
At each water stop I drank both Powerade and water. I think I could have had a bit more of both as I did get thirsty along the course. But this was a nice cool, ideal weather year with morning temperature at 58F and overcast. I wore spandex shorts and a Duofold CoolMax cap sleeved shirt.
Walking Friends
We met back up with Nancy, who had slowed a bit, at the University of Portland (my alma mater). I said we needed to stick together for the next mile so we could have our photos together at the on-course portrait spots. This meant a lot to me as it was the first year I had trained with a group and walked with my friends. We indeed stuck together, got our photos shot, and beat the Mile 21 cutoff by about 17 minutes. We were on track.Next: The Marathon Finish
