Training for the Portland Marathon - Week Two

As I explained in a Hub published last week, my sister and I are currently training for our first marathon run. We're preparing for the Portland Marathon which will be held on Sunday, October 5, 2008 in Oregon. During Week 2, Jeanette and I both increased our mileage, and each of us had a killer long run. It was a rewarding week of training and, although we both have had our doubts about finishing a 26.2 mile run, the mental challenge of the endeavor is getting easier.

This Saturday, I will run a 10K race in Bend, Oregon, where I live. The Deschutes Dash should be a fun event, and early enough that temperatures will not be hot until after the race. Our training schedules recommend participating in several road races during the 12 weeks leading up to a marathon. I have also signed up for a half-marathon in August - the Haulin' Aspen run is conducted on a trail system just outside of Bend. Jeanette is going to run a half-marathon on September 4, and is also signing up for some local races in the Seattle area in which she lives.

My youngest sister, Leslie will not be joining us this year, as she had a new baby in June 2008! But being close family members as we are, I would not be surprised if she jumped in and trained for a marathon next year.

Portland is the largest city in the state of Oregon. It is just south of the Columbia River, across the border to the south from Washington State. The climate is similar to that of Seattle, except that there are slightly fewer rainy days and the temperature can be about 3-5 degrees warmer, on average. Expect the weather to be cool, overcast and approximately 55 degrees on race day.

If you are a visitor to Oregon, one of the best perks is that there is no sales tax! Be sure and purchase some souvenirs, while you are here. There are many lovely parks in the City, several of which are adjacent to the Willamette River, which runs through its heart. People are friendly and environmentally-conscious.

The official hotel of the race is the Portland Hilton, which has a block of rooms reserved from October 2-6, 2008. Be sure and book early to get a space if you wish to stay at the Hilton. There are nearly 10,000 runners that will participate this year! The race packet pick-up is at the Hilton, as well as the pre-race Expo. For many more details and frequently answered questions, click here.

If you don't choose to stay at the Hilton, there are many other wonderful hotels downtown. Be sure to get a room in the "Central City" area. You don't want to have to drive across the river and navigate the one-way streets the morning of the run. Being as the marathon is very popular, you are advised to set up your accommodations as soon as possible.

The Portland Marathon is said to be a "fast course," allowing marathon runners to set personal best times (also known as "PRs" for personal records). I'm not sure that Jeanette and I will finish in less than 4:30 for our first marathon, but we're happy to hear that the run is not too demanding.

And now, for our personal training logs for Week 2:

Saturday 7/5 - I decided to take the day off after my 9 mile run yesterday. My legs were sore, but not as bad as following the Relay Race 2 weeks ago. I thought about riding my bike or doing something else physical... but nah! My husband took the kids to Elk Lake and I stayed home. I actually ran some errands, washed and vacuumed my car (yes!) and just hung out at home. Nice!!

Sunday 7/6 - It is going to be a challenge this week to get some running in! I am leaving at 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning for cub scout camp, which goes through Monday. I may get home in time to run on Monday evening, but I am worried about running on Saturday and Sunday. I'm already planning my long run on Thursday evening (hopefully we'll be all packed and ready). In them meantime, I ran 6.3 miles down to Reed Market Road and back (roundtrip). Unfortunately, I waited until after church and lunch. It was 1:30 when I left and about 83 degrees. Nice breeze in my face on the way down, but coming back was hot! I finished in 1:01, but not too bad considering I haven't been training and there was a brutal hill up from Reed Market on the way home. I can do better!

Monday 7/7 - I had a terrible night of sleep! It took forever for me to fall asleep, and then I woke up at 2:00 a.m. with terrible congestion and allergies. Needless to say, I slept in until 7:15. Too late to get a run in by the time I got up, tested blood sugar and generally got going. I brought my running stuff with me to the office just in case. I could tell it was going to get hot, so I thought I might as well get the run in at noon, rather than wait until 6:00 when its hotter. I ran through the Old Mill District first, back and forth over the river and along trails. Then, I found a new trail along some parks, through the neighborhood where the twins go to preschool, and then back through Drake Park. Total run: 45 minutes, plus 5 minutes walking at the end. I'm going to call it 5 miles. I was running strong and steady and the breeze off the river was nice. Quick shower in the building next door and I'm back to work!

Tuesday 7/8 - From bad to worse! I was literally up all night with my daughter who was coughing and coughing. Then my oldest son woke up at 4:00 also bark/coughing and wheezing. After taking them to the doctor, my own mom diagnosis was confirmed: both kids have croup. So, I missed running again in the morning and by the time I got to the office it was 11:00. No noon run for me. I worked quickly until 3:30 when I had a meeting and snuck out early at 4:45 so I could get home, run and then get to a cub scout meeting at 6:30. I did a quick 40 minute run (about 4.2 miles). VERY HOT!! 92 degrees on the drive home. Low blood sugar afterwards, down to 40..... Going to have to learn how to manage this better. At least I got my run in! Whew.

Wednesday 7/9 - I slept in again today! Ugh. Just can't get out of bed this week. Its going to be 100 degrees. I brought my running stuff so I can go early, around 11:00 a.m. I'm planning on about a 30-40 minute run. Tomorrow is my big run. I'm going to get up at 6:00 to be out by 6:30. It will take over 2 hours to finish. Update: the report on my run today - OFFICIALLY HOT!!! I waited until 12:15 to run because I had a high blood sugar episode. Ran from work around the Old Mill again - new route down towards the bridge and playgrounds. Only made it 3.25 miles, and had to walk the last .75 back. I'm still sweating after a shower! Total 4.0 miles. I figure I'm going to have to go early tomorrow to beat the heat for my long one.

Thursday 7/10 - O.K., I am officially having doubts about doing a whole marathon! I went for my long run this morning - 12 miles. OMG. Left at 6:05 a.m. and got back at 8:20. I did great up to one hour and noticed I was dizzy. Tested my blood and was down to 58. Whoops. I turned off my insulin pump, ate some sugar tabs and gummi bears and continued on. All the way to 1:35 minutes, at which point I had 3.3 left to run. At that point, I was at the bottom of a big hill. After pushing about 1/4 way up the hill I detoured to the park to get a drink of water. Once I stopped it was hard to get going again. The last part of my run was alternating running and walking for 2 miles, then that was it. My legs were cramping up and I felt like I was practically shuffling. So, I walked the last mile or so home. Time to get in the shower and ready for work. Oh, and maybe a half dozen Advil too.

Friday 7/11 - I took the day off as I was driving to Lake of the Woods for Cub Scout camp. I was pleasantly surprised that I was not very sore at all! Maybe this is good news. Up at 5:30 a.m. to meet everyone at 6:30 a.m. for the drive to camp. Lots of fun and excitement. We got there and found out that our camp site is about 1/4 mile away from the "main camp." Over the course of the next 3 1/2 days, I am certain that we walked at least 3 miles a day back and forth for meals and other activities. But, I won't count that mileage. :-)

Saturday 7/12 - Cub Scout camp - day 2. I brought my running gear with hopes to get out once or twice. Between activities, I asked my next door neighbor (who is also a leader at camp) to watch the boys and I went out for a quick 37 minute run. I;m going to count that as 3.5 miles because of the elevation (we're over 4600 feet above sea level) and based on the signage that I was following. Still, its better than nothing.

Stephanie's Week Two Grand Total: 35.5 miles

Sunday 7/6- Armed with a multitude of gear, I set out for my most ambitious run ever -- 15 miles!! I'm really not sure if I can physically complete the run -- I've only been running since November and my longest run to date has been a half-marathon (13.1 miles). But I'm feeling good -- I ate a pasta dinner last night, slept in late this morning, and made sure to eat a good breakfast. I got some "energy" mix for my water bottle and a new supply of GU at the running store yesterday. And thanks to my wonderful husband, I have the newly released Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch (it does everything but run for you!). Oh, and who can forget my cute new pink running outfit!? I set off from the "lid" park at the north end of Mercer Island. I ran across the I-90 floating bridge towards Seattle and then along the water to Seward Park. I ran throughout the park and then back the way I came. I DID IT! 15 miles in 2:32:15. I was doing great right up to about mile 12. I had plenty of energy at that point, but my legs and joints were really hurting and I was noticing that my toenails might be too long (they were really starting to hurt). I stopped to stretch a few times and walked a bit, and pushed on. PHEW! I might actually be able to finish the marathon....

Monday 7/7 - When I woke up my first thought was, "Will I be able to get out of bed and walk?!?" My legs are pretty sore, but sorer still are my knees and my toenails. As I move throughout the day, I do feel better. But I take a much deserved day off from running. After I dropped Brandon off at Bible Camp, Hailey and I went to the park. After camp we all went to the pool and I was able to rest my legs some more.

Tuesday 7/8 - Another beautiful day in Seattle!! Sunny and about 85 degrees. I dropped off Brandon at Bible Camp and Hailey and I headed over to a friend's house for a play date. The kids splashed around in a big blow up pool all day while the moms refereed ("Please don't hold your friend under water"). I headed home a bit later than I planned -- Brandon went to a friend's house after Bible Camp and I had to pick him up at 3:00. I got home around 2:15, which left about 45 minutes for a quick run on the treadmill. I ran 3.5 miles and walked .5 miles. Feeling the burn, most definitely!! I hope to get in at least 5 miles tomorrow.

Wednesday 7/9 - Today proved to me how difficult it is to train for a marathon -- and how dedicated one has to be to consistently get the miles in. We got up this morning with the excitement that Brandon's first cousin, Jackson, had just arrived into town from Illinois. All morning the kids were bouncing off the walls waiting for Jackson. After he came over, it was off to Bible Camp for Brandon and Jackson. Hailey and I raced off to her speech therapy. By the time we got home, it was time to pick up Brandon from camp. We had a picnic lunch and the kids played outside in the beautiful weather for a couple hours. Finally, it was nap time. My kids normally nap about two hours (THANK GOD!), so I was planning on getting in at least 5 miles on the treadmill during their nap. However, I also do contract work from home in my "spare" time (I'm a lawyer, by trade). The minute I got the kids down, the attorney I support called and emailed with two huge fires he wanted me to put out immediately. Before I knew it, nap time was over and my work was done. Oooops, what about my run?! The whole family was coming over for dinner tonight, so I only had one hour to get dinner prepped and run 5 miles. I HAD to get my run in. So I gave the kids some juice, pulled up some great shows on TIVO and plugged them in (yes, I'm a terrible mom). I was able to get in 4.5 miles in about 40 minutes. Pretty good considering all that was going on today! Dinner was rushed and I was a little stinky, but hey....it was family!!!

Thursday 7/10 - Today was a better day with regards to training. After dropping Brandon off at Bible Camp, I took Hailey over to our local gym/club and dropped her off at the play area there. It was a partly sunny day, about 70 degrees, so perfect for an outside run. I ran from our club down to the "lake to lake" trail system and underneath I-90. I hit the Factoria/Richard's Road exit and then looped back around. I forgot to charge up my fancy GPS watch in advance, so it died on me and I didn't have my pace and mileage to reference and keep me going. I've run the same route before and it's 4.25 miles. Not quite the 5 miles I was aiming for, but still a good run in about 40 minutes (surprisingly, the hills didn't seem nearly as bad on the route today as they have in the past).

Friday 7/11-Same drill as yesterday...dropped off Brandon at Bible Camp and then dropped off Hailey at the local gym's play area. Today was looking to be very hot for Seattle standards ... by 10:00 a.m. it was already 75+ degrees. I ran the same route as yesterday -- from the club down to the "lake to lake" trail system and back around. I ran 4.25 miles in 40 minutes. A very enjoyable run on a beautiful sunny summer day in Seattle. Doesn't get much better than this -- TGIF!

Saturday 7/12 - Today was an "off" day according to the schedule. I tried to sleep in a bit and rest up as much as possible for my long run tomorrow -- even though I'm only planning 7 miles. I took Brandon to karate and then we all got ready and spent the day at the pool. It was a beautiful day and hot -- over 85 degrees, which is hot for Seattle. After spending most of the day at the pool, we rushed home and got ready for a family party. We spent the evening at the party, which was fun. I wasn't very disciplined, though, and had a couple glasses of wine. I'm a bit worried that I'll be sluggish and dehydrated tomorrow during the run. Oh well...live and learn, right?!

Jeanette's Week Two Grand Total: 31.5 miles

As of the date of this publishing, there are 11 1/2 weeks to go before the marathon. We are both into Week 3 of our training, with many more miles to cover between now and October 5. Are you inspired to join us? There is still time! Most training schedules do not require prior running experience to get in shape in a 3-4 month time period before a marathon.

Stay tuned for Week 3 of our training, and be sure to check out the information about our first week preparing for the Portland Marathon. See you in the Rose City this fall!