My 2009 Helvetia Half Marathon Race report

My second running of the Helvetia Half Marathon happened on Saturday. I wasn’t holding high hopes for a decent time because my training has been lagging over the past month or so. I normally do my long runs on the weekends, but I’ve been tied up at my kids’ soccer tournaments the past 5 weekends in a row. I don’t think I’ve completed a run longer than 6 miles for some time now.

I got up at 6:00am on Saturday morning. Had a small mug of coffee, a banana and toast with peanut butter. Not my usual pre-race food – but it was close enough. I grabbed my gear and headed for Hillsboro Stadium. I parked off-site this year, remembering the fiasco from last year’s Helvetia Half where I sat in the parking lot for almost an hour waiting to get out. I sensed that some improvements had been made this year – but I wasn’t taking any chances. The 5 minute walk from my car to the start line was a good warmup anyway.

After standing in line for a last-minute bathroom visit, then stuffing my long sleeve shirt under a bush for safekeeping, I stepped into the middle of the crowd and waited for the start horn. It rained a little on us prior to the start, but eventually tapered off and was a perfect cool, cloudy but dry morning - optimal for racing.

The horn sounded and the crowd began moving. As usual, I tried really hard to run the first couple of miles at my own pace rather than let myself follow “the flow”. Last year I went out a little too fast and ended up struggling badly the last couple of miles in the race. Around mile 2 or 3 on Helvetia Road I was settling into my rhythym pretty well. My Garmin Forerunner 205  showed my pace to be around 7:45 – 8:00 minutes per mile. I was able to hold that pace through most of the first half, although the rolling hills slowed me down quite a bit.

One of my strategies to improve my time this year was to limit my stops at the aid stations. I didn’t stop for water until around/after mile 4, and I skipped several other tables along the course as well. I don’t know that it saved me much time – but every little bit helped. I have a good idea about how much water I need for a race of this distance on a cool day.

After finishing the killer rolling hills on Helvetia Road, I made the turn onto Jackson Quarry Road for the winding out-and-back. I’ve decided that this is my favorite part of the race but I’m not sure why. Maybe because it is the only place on the course where you can see oncoming runners. It is interesting observing the “game-faces” coming at you in the oncoming lane. I also seem to have a burst of energy once I make the turn and start heading back, even though it is slightly uphill most of the way.

The last part of Jackson Quarry road has some merciful downhill stretches. Once I could see the aid station at the corner of West Union Road, I tore open a GU energy gel and attempted to get it down my throat. I now realize that lemon-lime flavor is not a good choice for a late-race snack. I stopped completely at that aid station because I needed 2 full cups of water to choke down the gel. A little time lost but no big deal.

After a short section on West Union Road, the course turns onto a gravel road and then onto a frontage road along Highway 26. This is where I started struggling last year, and sadly again this year. However, my new strategy was to block out the mental stimuli coming from my brain (yes, the loud, incessant warnings to stop running before I hurt myself). Aside from a few minor blisters, I knew that my feet and legs were in decent shape. My heartrate had been pretty stable througout the race, so in essence I believed there was no imminent danger. So, I kept running, albeit at a slightly slower pace and in spite of every urge to stop and walk for awhile. It worked and I believe to be a key factor that will help me improve my race times in the future.

I crossed the overpass and kept pushing forward. I knew that there were only about 2 miles left and I started seeing a few people walking. I refused to be a walker even though I was hurting everywhere. My lungs were screaming and my legs felt like rubber pegs. My pace had slowed considerably but I was still running (not jogging or shuffling). A quick look at my Garmin told me I was going to PR if I just kept the pace.

I passed the 12 mile marker, and with less than a mile left I knew it was going to happen for me. I got very excited and that last burst of energy came to me. I’m not sure if I actually ran any faster – but mentally it felt easier. I made the turn into the stadium parking lot, dodged a couple of orange cones and passed the gate onto that glorious green turf. Note to people: if you are going to walk the last 50 yards to the finish – please don’t walk 3 abreast and block the approach for runners. Duh!

Running down finisher’s lane, with the people cheering is exactly what I needed. Nevermind that no one actually knew who I was. I made the final turn and crossed over the finish line…exhausted and hurting. I accepted my medal and grabbed a frozen Jamba Juice (I wish all races had Jamba Juice at the finish line).

According to the 2009 Helvetia Half Marathon results, my official time was 1:51:21. A new half marathon PR for me (by more than 2 minutes – yay!) and an improvement of more than 5 minutes as compared to last year’s Helvetia Half. My time put me at 56/162 in my age group (age 40-44), 466/3135 overall, and 335/1064 for the mens group. Not bad for an old hack with little training.

As I stated last year, I think the Helvetia Half Marathon could be the best half marathon race in Oregon. The organizers did a great job again this year and I’m already looking forward to next year. I offer my gratitude and thanks to everyone involved.

Cheers.

Portland Marathon – 4:33:53

Yeah baby! I’m a marathoner now…

After more than a year of training and several frustrating injuries, I finally completed my first marathon on Sunday. My 4:33:53 finishing time isn’t likely to impress anyone, but I’m savoring the accomplishment nonetheless. My average per-minute pace was 10:27 and I placed 3746 out of 7498. Not too bad for a first-timer with a knee injury.

My status was questionable right up until the night before due to my sore knee. As I’ve documented on this blog – I acquired my sore knee on an 18 mile benchmark run many weeks ago and it has been slow to heal. I was leery of running such a long distance with knee pain, but at the same time I would have been crushed to miss the Portland Marathon again this year.

So, I showed up at the start line at 6:30am on Sunday morning. I stood in a long line to take my turn in the portable john. It was still kind of dark and cool but not cold. I wore an old white long sleeve t-shirt over my black Dri-Fit short sleeve running shirt. I ended up tossing the sleeves in mile 2 after I warmed up a little. I stepped into the sea of runners somewhere in the 3rd or 4th wave and waited for the starting horn. I had 2 GU gels (Espresso Love – naturally) and my Ipod Nano with exactly 4 hours and 30 minutes of music designed to keep me in “the zone”. I also tucked a $20 bill and my cell phone into my Ipod armband just in case I needed to be rescued somewhere along the course.

The first 5 miles went fine with a short loop downtown and then up Front Avenue to Barbur Blvd and then back. From there the course took us out Front Avenue into the industrial sector with the turnaround point at mile 9. This area is not exactly “scenic” but there were lots of supporters along the course cheering and plenty of drink stations. As I recall, the first of several Gummi Bear stations was in this area as well. I’m normally not a big fan of Gummi Bears, but on this day I was tossing em’ down.

I have to say that putting my name ‘Danny” on my bib was a great idea. I lost count of how many times supporters yelled my name along with some encouraging words. I’m sure if you’ve ran a few marathons this type of support isn’t important – but I can tell you assuredly that it helped me. So, I smiled, waved and enjoyed the sites along the way. Aside from guys peeing behind trees and some girls peeing behind trucks, the scenery was interesting and kept my mind off my knee.

At around mile 11 we left Front Avenue for a short tour of NW Portland which eventually dropped us onto St. Helens Road around mile 13. Now all had been going well up to this point. My knee was sore and achy but not causing any serious problems. I don’t know when I noticed but it had started raining and my shoes were pretty soaked at this point. I knew the blisters would come – but I couldn’t afford to think about anything negative. I recall dodging puddles and cussing the strong headwind on the long slog toward the St. Johns Bridge. I had been warned that you can see the bridge from the distance, but it is deceptively far away.

By the time I passed mile 16 and saw the long, steep ramp that takes you up onto the St. Johns Bridge, my knee had definitely taken a turn for the worse and was really bothering me. I could see that the majority of people were walking up the ramp but I continued a slow jog until the last 100 feet where I started walking also. It saved my knee and gave me a minute to reflect on where I was on the course. I made the turn onto the bridge and focused on getting to mid-span. I knew that once I made it over that bridge I would finish the race. There would be no quitting and no turning back. I just knew it. Heading down the other side of the bridge was an amazing feeling. I got a serious mental lift and felt like I had energy to spare. I even had enough energy to pump my fist and yell something incoherent as I passed a videographer while making the turn onto Willamette Blvd. Yeehaw! I made it past the bridge and it would be smooth sailing from here on out. Little did I know what would come in the next mile…

You know, we’ve all heard the phrase “hitting the wall”, and honestly I’ve always wondered what that actually meant. Since this was my first marathon, I’ve never had the chance to experience this before. Well, all I can say is that it got ugly really quickly after passing the 18 mile point.

I don’t think I really noticed how badly I felt for awhile, but at some point my face became permanently affixed with a grimace of pain and I started having thoughts of quitting. I recall thinking that the remaining 8 miles might as well have been 28 miles because there was no way I could do it either way. Willamette Blvd just happens to have a number of wide, flat speed bumps and each time I went over one – a jarring bolt of pain went up my legs. My mind had me convinced that every patch of wet, muddy grass along side the street would be as comfortable as my bed at home. I really, really wanted to just lay down for a couple of minutes. I’m pretty sure that I would have done that except stepping up onto the curb would have required some serious thought and effort on my part. Luckily I chose to keep running.

I passed mile 19 and, although I was a complete zombie I kept plugging away. I still had enough sense to realize that if I just kept moving I would see another mile marker in 10-11 minutes. I also knew that the blisters on my feet were getting worse and there was nothing I could do about it. I applied lots of Body Glide and Vaseline before the race, but the wet shoes & socks eventually wore away my protection.

At mile 20 there was a view of Portland’s industrial sector off to the right. It wasn’t much to look at but the change in scenery did help a bit. From there we passed the University of Portland campus and began a long downhill section that couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Basically it was coasting for half a mile and man did it feel good for awhile.

Miles 22-23 took me under the freeway and then up an overpass before cruising by the Memorial Coliseum. A hard right turn put me on the Broadway bridge and I was headed back over the river. The course narrowed considerably on the bridge and for the first time since the start of the race – I was shoulder to shoulder with other runners. We circled around and headed south on Naito Pkwy toward the finish. At this point I was completely spent and beyond running on fumes – I was running on pure determination. I didn’t dare stop to walk as it would have been nearly impossible to start running again.

I grabbed another cup of Gleukos and slowed down to drink it before making the final push to the finish. There were lots of supporters along the street now and hearing the cheers helped a lot. I focused on the pavement ahead of me and finally looked up to see the Salmon Street sign. It was such an amazing feeling knowing that I was about 3 blocks from the finish.

When I crossed the finish line they put a space blanket over my shoulders and pointed me toward the medals table. And, I kid you not, the last song on my Ipod play list - Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd was playing as they hung my medal around my neck. I was having trouble standing on my own and I think someone pushed me toward the tables of food. In 5 minutes I had downed some apple and orange slices, grapes, string cheese, several cookies, carton of yoghurt, bag of chips and a bottle of chocolate milk. I felt sick after that.

I found a chair to rest for awhile and then I managed to get through the t-shirt line and get my picture taken. As I stumbled through the crowd to the reunion area - a wave of emotion hit me. For the first time, I was able to focus on the accomplishment and not the pain. I just ran my very first marathon! Holy crap – I just ran 26.2 miles!

Yeah baby! I’m a marathoner now…

18 miler turns into 16 miler

I postponed my 18 mile benchmark run until Sunday morning so that I could spend most of Saturday cleaning and staining the cedar deck in my back yard. The “honey-do” list has gotten quite large as the summer winds down and I needed to get a few projects completed, this being one of them. As it turns out, that was a colossal mistake on my part. Spending several hours on hands and knees the day before attempting your longest run is not advised. I now know that – duh!

In short, I wasn’t able to run the full 18 miles. I stopped after 16 because my right knee was hurting pretty bad. My hams and glutes were sore from the beginning of my run (my deck project was like doing squats for 5 hours). I still hit another personal DR as my previous record was 15 miles for a single run. I should be happy about the 16 mile DR - but I’m disappointed that I missed my goal of 18 miles. You know how it is with us stubborn, competitive people. I also got another blister (in a different place this time) and two of my toenails are destroyed. I may have to go up another half size in shoes.

On this run I carried my hydration belt with a 20 oz. bottle of Gatorade, one GU gel Espresso Love flavor (gotta love the 2x caffeine) that I consumed at mile 11, my Garmin GPS watch and my Ipod Nano. I also made a couple of quick stops at water fountains to supplement my Gatorade with H2O. Staying hydrated is not a problem on this particular course as I run by several parks.

Next weekend is the 21 mile benchmark – and it seems out of reach now. My knee is still sore and I’m worried that it won’t be 100% by Saturday. With a little over 3 weeks before the marathon – it too, seems an impossibility for me. Nevertheless – I’ll be back out on the pavement in a few days putting in more miles. Ever the optimist…