The Marathon that Ate My Lunch

And a friend who beat it up and took my lunch back.

Today was the 2006 Portland Marathon. It started at 7 am just as the sun was stretching into the sky. I don't know exactly how many participants joined us downtown for the start, but I think it was somewhere between 6 and 8 thousand.
When my training for the marathon started to lag a bit I enlisted my old running partner Shawn to join my on this journey. His steady pace and faithful spirit have been a joy on many long runs and I sure needed him today.The first few miles of a marathon are a kick. Thousands of people, fresh legs, and cool weather make it hard to stick to a slow pace. We were constantly reminding each other to keep the pace down. At mile 1.5 we got our first encouragement from our very own cheering section, Anne & Brian Diedrich, Darren & Stephanie Nielan, and Christa Hill. (Later we would see Nancy and Cameron Jones.)Seeing friendly faces in the crowd is like being greeted at the airport after a long trip.
We made a loop and came right past the same spot 3 miles later and surprised the photographer.Next, the crew moved to a spot near 12 miles and waited for us to appear. We spent miles 6 through 11 on a dull out and back in NW industrial Portland. Our pace was lightened as we passed a praise band: Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, Your love makes me sing!
The next section took us past Montgomery Park and then out highway 30 to the St John's Bridge. We passed the time by convincing each other that we could certainly run 2 more miles. And at one point, Shawn had to break it to me that my math that had figured there would only be a 10k-to-go after we reached mile 18 was wrong, and the 10k-to-go mark didn't hit until mile 20.
After the bridge we got to see our crew again, this time with Nancy and Cameron. We stopped and stretched briefly.
Our old running buddy Jimmy Young appeared in a few miles and ran with us for about 3--not bad considering he had to run back to his car! His energy was appreciated. It was during this section along the bluff, and leading to the Steel Bridge for the finish, that wheels came off. All of the major muscles in my legs began to cramp. Quads, hamstrings, and calves all let me know that I was pushing them well beyond their ability to perform. I was forced to walk much of the last 4 miles. Shawn choose to sacrifice his finish time to stay with me. I cannot think of a more self-less gesture and I am touched by his friendship. His encouragement and patience meant a lot to me out there.



We finished in 4 hours 22 minutes and 5 seconds.

Here are the mile splits:

1. 10:18
   
2. 00:00, (never saw the marker)
   
3. 20:47
   
4. 8:57
   
5. 8:15
   
6. 8:57
   
7. 9:20
   
8. 8:34
   
9. 9:00
   
10. 10:17
    
11. 8:58
    
12. 9:49
    
13. 9:35
    
14. 9:37
    
15. 9:14
    
16. 9:39
    
17. 9:28
    
18. 10:04
    
19. 11:26
    
20. 9:50
    
21. 9:52
    
22. 10:59
    
23. 9:50
    
24. 11:32
    
25. 12:41
    
26. 12:30
    

I was carried home and I soaked in a cold tub and then took a long nap. Later we got the whole crew back together for some post-race replenishment at El Indio's.