I was signed up as a marathon walker, and had been expecting to walk with my friend, Rhonda, that got me to sign up to walk it with her. But Rhonda couldn't come due to major blisters that she got last week, so I was on my own. I finished in under 6:51 (forgot to turn off my chrono right away), and met a new friend at mile 14 who had me jog and walk with her, and I RAN the last half mile! OK, Fernando, I’m ready to rain for LA Marathon next March!
OK, some fun details. First, on Friday I did my ``packet pickup,'' where I took my confirmation card to the basement of the Portland Hilton. Now, I live near Portland, but we rarely go there, so I parked at the first public parking garage I came to and we (my girls and me) walked in the rain to the Hilton. First time the girls got to see Portland city up close in the daytime, so we did a little sightseeing (but not too much, since parking was $3.50 an hour!).
Very crowded at pickup, but SO organized! Got some Power Gels and a shoe pocket for phone money while there. Hectic day, we dashed off for daughter's orthodontist appointment. While at the orthodontist office, was able to look through the packet. I was #299, and there was a separate map for the walkers, where after a certain time, they would be rerouted to finish the course for traffic safety reasons. So I went over the maps pretty carefully, expecting to walk all the way and have to change course. There was also a very good section that described each part of the course and what could be expected for different weather situations (didn't matter--we were blessed with a GLORIOUS day) and some pacing suggestions for the hills (which weren't bad hills to me – but maybe for someone running all the way).
Saturday spent at in-laws in Salem with a foster brother's birthday party. Made mistake of having ice cream--phlegm problem for me, but it was a birthday. Won't do that before LA though.
Walked a slow 4 mile loop Saturday afternoon – couldn’t rest ALL day,
praying and trying to find ways to not worry about all the little things
that might go wrong
Well, Sunday morning finally came--and came too quickly, for I didn’t sleep well (does that happen to everybody?). Got dressed, ate bananas, OJ, and bagel, got the kids and Reg up, finally got out the door and on the road to Portland.
Reg found a great parking space at that early hour, though it was already crowded at 6:00 in the morning! Took my day pack to be checked in (they recommended bringing a change of clothes, but like I said, the glorious weather just made it something extra to carry later). Got my number pinned on, found the walkers start (separate from runners and race walkers, we merged with them later on the road--turned out to be good for getting started with over 5000 people at the start). I was about 30m back from the start line. The runners' start, just one block over, was where the announcer was, but they had up-beat music playing at both starts. It was about 50 degrees, so no way was I taking a sweatshirt. Jogged, rubbed our arms and hands, whatever to warm up while waiting. The national anthem was accapella by a great tenor voice form Portland Opera, but over at the walkers' start, we were giggling at the fact that on our end, they forgot to turn the bouncy music off till middle of the song. Finally, Mayor Vera Katz did the countdown (she did the wheelchair count one minute before the running count), and the cannon went off, and so did we!
OK, now I've learned that you don't expect to set a pace at the start! But no one stepped on my heels, and we all got going. Reg and girls were on federal building steps, but missed me in the crowds and I missed them in their crowds, so we’re even.
We walked through Chinatown (not as big as SF, but great gate to go under – and same, uh, interesting smells as SF) then down to waterfront park (along Willamette River) and west, went up a short hill to next block and continued southwest, then looped around to come back along waterfront park going north on the other side of the road. THAT was fun, to see the runners and wheelchairs and walkers ahead of you. The part that wasn't fun was seeing everybody going by and thinking you were the last ones, till you made the turn and could see how far back the walkers really went!
The next several miles were another out-and-back section along the waterfront past the shipping and industrial areas, with docks on one side, and massive railroad lines on the other. Incredible what we got to see on foot--so much would be missed driving in a car! And that goes for the whole race!
Waved to my new runner friends, Julie and Pauline, who passed me on a long run (long walk for me), then turned out we met the next week when my daughter joined swim team--their kids are already on the team. Walked in the shade of the warehouse buildings as much as I could going NE along the river, for we could see the turnarounds would have us in the sun for several miles going back!
Then we started up gentle slope into residential neighborhoods heading out of the city on the north towards the St. John's Bridge, which was the highest elevation at 149 feet. At around mile 14, my new friend, Joyce, jogged up, and we were kindred spirits immediately. We were talking about life and love and jobs and dreams even before we exchanged names! Joyce was mixing walking and jogging because of a hurt knee, she couldn't do a lot of running. And, even though I had only planned to walk it, I jogged and walked with her, and felt great!
About mile 18, we left behind a man walking form the Loma Linda Lopers, a running club. He was in his early 70s, and he and his wife walk one marathon a month. How's that for a goal?!
Another mile or so later, a 7th grade boy, Greg, walked and jogged with us for a while. He was such a kick! Olympic material there, though I don't think he knows it yet. Joyce and he ducked into a little market and she bought him an ice cream cone. I walked on, since I didn’t dare eat dairy on the road, and they said they'd catch up. Well, Joyce caught up, but Greg wanted to walk and eat his slowly, said he'd meet us at the end.
Those miles in the 20s were a real treat on the east side of Portland.
Going through old residential section (with shade trees and people
offering to spray you with hoses at gorgeous old houses), the
university, being up on the ridge above the Willamette, with the
buildings and bridges of the end in sight
We were jogging over the Steel Bridge, coming to mile 25, then we walked for awhile (Joyce was desperate for portapotty, but didn’t want to stop). I left her with her blessings and ran the finish.
Can't tell you (but I will, watch me) what a thrill it was to feel so good after walking and running the longest I've ever done in one day! Lots of cheers on the sides of the roads, such excitement hearing my name and where I was from, on the loudspeaker (and they pronounced my last name correctly, which I realized and was so pleased I didn't hear my time!) and the kids at the finish line hanging the medals around my neck (don't know which school they were from, but they were doing a great job!), and being given a rose. Then I remembered to turn off my watch--ha! I finished in better time than I thought, even with the extra seconds and the 20 minutes of portapotty lines (do runners have the same long lines as the walkers?)
The song that kept my walking pace was Tim McGraw's ``I Like IT
I Love It'' (figured that was a good one to keep in my
ear for when I hit the wall--what wall?) Now I need to get a
running pace song
OK, enough from me. I'm ready to start training to RUN the marathon in LA!!!! Yes, I’m feeling good (a little stiff, not sore, 1 blister that I didn't know I had till bedtime) but I know I'll sleep better tonight than last night--I think my adrenaline is finally back to normal!
Finish line hugs to anybody that read all of this!