The Portland Marathon is one of the best runs for a first time marathoner. For this reason, my sister and I are now officially signed up for the race on October 5, 2008! We have been training "with" each other about 250 miles apart - I live in Bend, Oregon, and she is in the Seattle, Washington area. Through a joint training log, and following the marathon training schedule set forth in Runner's World, we have together logged 262.5 miles over the past 5 weeks. In other words, if we each started running towards each other from our respective homes, we would have passed each other by now! We are now a little less than 2 months away from the big run.

This past week, we have experienced a few additional bumps in our training due to sickness (my turn), travel and family/friend obligations. However, we also got the opportunity to run together two days in a row when I was up in Seattle for a four-day stay. Amazingly, we racked up precisely the same number of miles this week: 25.8 miles each! What a funny coincidence!

Not to tempt fate, but we are both staying strong and injury-free. With each passing week, the marathon seems to become more of a reality, and not just because the date on the calendar is looming closer. We're improving our strides, distances and pace, as well. Mentally, we are both getting more prepared for the long run. We have estimated finishing in about 4:30.

You can track our progress so far:

Training for the Portland Marathon - Week One

Training for the Portland Marathon - Week Two

Training for the Portland Marathon - Week Three

Training for the Portland Marathon - Week Four

This week, we're going to take a closer look at running fashion, particularly for women. One of the hottest new styles these days is running skirts! This trend is exciting, modest and cute - all at the same time. Underneath the skirt are a pair of shorts. So, in actuality, they are "running skorts." Many of the best athletic brands carry running skorts these days. In addition, runningskirts.com is a wonderful resource for those looking to make women athletics a little more feminine.

Not only are Jeanette and I planning to run in running skirts for the marathon in October, we're also keeping our hair out of our faces in a cute, practical way. Recently, the temperatures have been rising in the heat of summer. Even during cooler times of year, you can start to sweat profusely, which may run into your eyes, making it difficult to continue the workout. There are so many great headbands that women can wear (if they don't want to sport an actual sweatband like a man). Finally, staying hydrated is very important, as you sweat out many ounces of liquid over a long run. Jeanette turned me on to a handheld water bottle, so sleek that you hardly even know that you're running with it. I've added links for all these awesome goods at Amazon.com!

In order to track mileage and pace, we each use different tools. Jeanette has a Garmin Forerunner GPS 450, and I have a Nike Sportband. They both work in similar manners, but with different technologies. The prices differ widely too. Next week, I'll compare and contrast these two training devices.

Now, let's turn to our training logs for the last week of July/first part of August:

Sunday 7/27 - After a relatively long run yesterday and several days in a row of running, I took Sunday off. We went to the Lava Cast Forestyesterday and had a great time - lots of super photos. So, we hopped in the car for another adventure, going up the MacKenzie Pass Highway for a spot from which you can view 12 mountain peaks. There is also a huge lava field to see, as well. Unfortunately, the road was closed at mile 9, and we needed to get to mile 18. We can only figure that its because of the deep snow this year and probably some road clearing work. We were quite disappointed. I took the afternoon at home and Pete took the kids to the swimming pool.

Monday 7/28 - I ran a familiar loop today with my Nike Sportband on to try to figure out the calibration issues (the band says that no calibration is usually needed - yeah right). At mile one, my band says I had run .55 miles. At mile 2.25, it said I had run .97 miles. And, by 3.15 miles (my turnaround place), the band said I had run 1.1 miles. Not only is it off, but it doesn't even seem to be off by the same amount. I tried to figure it out again when I got home, but the calibration adjustment directions are also messed up. Needless to say, I am a very unhappy customer. When I get a chance, I'll be making a call. Because I know the loop (which I drive), I know that I finished 6.3 miles this morning. Its a beautiful sunny day here, but it was only 47 degrees when I started out this morning, which made for a chilly run. On the way back, up the hills, I had wind in my face. Not too fun overall. Maybe it was my frustrated attitude at Nike.

Tuesday 7/29 - So, its my turn to be sick. Sam has a cold and has given it to me. Right in the middle of summer. I woke up this morning, coughing and congested. Brought my running stuff to work, but I had already started taking swigs of Dimetapp (decongestant). Once I got home and finished up with dinner, I was NyQuil bound. Ugh. I hope this isn't a terrible week.

Wednesday 7/30 - Yes, I'm still sick. I slept in this morning and didn't run. I brought my running stuff to work again and was bound and determined to get something in today. Time went on and finally, it was almost 4:00. I really wanted to run on the trails around the river. So, I took a "late lunch" and headed out around 4:30 for a relatively quick 5.5 mile run. It actually felt OK with respect to my lungs. Different story for my right leg. Terrible, painful shin splints. I can't tell if its from my trail run on Saturday, or just a lot of running. I got home and took some Advil - and some Dimetapp. Back to complete congestion. And I was planning a long run tomorrow. I'll have to try to make it work! The good news is that my Nike Sportsband worked great - it tracked my mileage almost perfectly!

Thursday 7/31 - Another lame day. I slept in, and brought my bag to the office with my running gear. But the day really got away from me. I am leaving tomorrow for Seattle, so I had to get a lot done. Before I knew it, the day was over. I went home and spent the evening packing and getting ready. I just chalked up the week as a bad one. Of course, I still have two days left, so I will have to try to make the best of them!

Friday 8/1 - I had my monthly meeting for the Board of Directors for Bend 2030. Three hours in the a.m. Of course, that didn't leave me time to run first. I zipped off to drop the dog at the groomers, then home for a conference call. By 11:00 a.m., I was ready to run. I did my 9-mile loop so I could get in some mileage this week. It was pretty good. Breezy for the first mile, then I turned the corner (literally). The last 3.5 miles, I was back in the wind, which was actually OK. The temp was between 75-80 degrees and I was pretty sweaty! I kept up a good pace and completed the run in 1:25 again, like last time. I kept in mind Dottie's advice which is that I should complete two 20-mile runs before the marathon. Its time to step things up soon! This time, however, the Nike Sportsband didn't do it for me. By 1.1 miles, it said I'd gone .4 miles. I just turned it off.

Saturday 8/2 - Up to Seattle for my nephew's baptism! I am excited about the prospect of running with Jeanette over the next few days. However, the "Welcome Party" on Friday night was a bit much. Although I was super tired, I got out to run my familiar route on Mercer Island. The same path that I wore into the ground very well when living with my parents the last month leading up to my wedding in 1995. I planned on running the entire 6.0 mile distance, but cut out a mile short of that. Finished at approximately 5.0 miles.

Stephanie's Week Five Grand Total: 25.8 miles (Exactly the same as Jeanette!!)

Sunday 7/27 - I got up today at 7:00 a.m. to join a running group at Seward Park. My friend, Chelese, is a Team in Training coach and she had a group arranged to meet for a 14 mile run today. I've never run with a group before, so I was a little nervous that I'd slow everyone down and hold up the group. But it was just great! There were only three of us, and everyone was happy running around a 9.5 minute mile. Thankfully, I've worked up to a point where that was a really nice pace and very easy to run for the entire distance. We ran 14.3 miles in 2:20. I'm feeling great and could have probably run a bit longer. My only issue at all were my toenails again. I've come to the conclusion that I've got an issue with my shoes (which are relatively new). I think they're a tad too big, which is causing my feet to slide resulting in my toenails getting jammed into the front of my shoe. I may just need some inserts. I'm going to talk to a shoe expert and try to get this resolved NOW.

Monday 7/28 -Today is an off day. Surprisingly, I feel great. This is the best I've felt after such a long run (my second-longest to date). Even my toenails, which were a bit sore yesterday, feel just fine today. Even though I had a couple of off weeks with the flu, I'm still very happy with how the training is progressing. That said, this will be a fairly challenging week training-wise. I'm swamped with work (and just got hired by a new law firm for additional contract work) and it's Seafair weekend Friday - Sunday. That means TONS of drinking, which is certainly not good for training!

Tuesday 7/29 - So, today I woke up and could hardly move my neck. I'm not sure if I slept on my pillows wrong or if I have a strained muscle from my long run on Sunday. Either way, my neck and shoulders are just KILLING me!! Brandon has "Safety Town" camp this week, so we zipped out first thing to drop him off for that. Then Hailey and I set out to do some errands. After a very productive morning, we picked up Brandon. While the kids napped, I got some work done (again, very productive!). But as the day progressed, my neck and shoulders became more and more stiff. I got out the heating pad and some Ben Gay, but nothing seemed to help. After I got the kids to bed, I hopped on the treadmill for a run. Thankfully, my neck and shoulders began to loosen up the more I ran. I got in 5 miles in 43 minutes. And the best part is that my neck is feeling better!!

Wednesday 7/30 - Today was another great run! After dropping off Brandon at Safety Town camp and Hailey at the Community Center preschool, I ran a great 6.5 mile route. I headed from the Community Center south on Mercer Island along North Mercer Way and then East Mercer Way. I ran 6 miles in a little over 54 minutes and then power walked the last .5 mile uphill back to the community center. My neck is still pretty sore, but I tried to "shake it out" throughout the run and it certainly feels better tonight than it did last night!

Thursday 7/31 - So, life got in the way of running today. We were stuck on Mercer Island with the Blue Angels practicing this morning (and Brandon to pick up from Safety Town), so I couldn't get a run in the morning. Then, after camp I had to go to the grocery store to get all the ingredients for Jell-O Shots (gotta love Seafair in Seattle!). After the kids and I got home and had lunch, I had a bunch of work to do. Between work and preparing for tomorrow, the day got away from me. UGH. Oh well.

Friday 8/1 - The first official day of Seafair adventures in Seattle!! Now, if I were a morning person, I would have gotten up at 7:00 a.m. and gotten a nice 5+ mile run in first thing. But, I'm not. So, I slept in until 8:00 a.m. and got up to get myself ready for a long day of drinking (and Jell-O shots!). A big group of friends chartered a boat to take us out on the lake for Seafair, so there was a lot to do to get ready (apply fake tattoo for tattoo contest; double-check iPod playlist for song contest; don Navy sailor outfit for hat/headgear contest). By the time the day was over (at 9:00 p.m.), my head was pounding from drinking nothing but alcohol all day. Do I need to mention that I didn't run today?

Saturday 8/2 - I thought for sure I'd get my run in today. Wrong again. First thing in the morning I headed off to church for my nephew's baptism rehearsal/meeting. After that was over, we headed home to get ready for more Seafair adventures. Of course, the attorney I support called in a panic about a case that was suddenly heading to trial on Monday. He needed me to draft the trial brief today so he could file it Monday morning. I started working at noon and wasn't done until after 8 pm. While my paycheck should be great, I was pooped and bitter by the time the day was done. I should have gotten a quick run in on the treadmill, but I didn't.

Jeanette's Week Five Grand Total: 25.8 miles

Two months to go and its time to step up the mileage. We've had some vacations, work issues, and some illnesses, but now we need to get in some 2-3 hour runs!! I feel like we're in good shape for a 1/2 marathon, but we need a lot more work to double that mileage. Summer is hot and will last at least another month from the date of this publishing. We'll have to stay motivated!

At least we are officially registered for the run. That will make it more difficult to back out. As each day gets shorter and shorter, I know that the 26.2 mile run is getting closer....