Race Report: 2022 Flat Marathon

On July 4, I ran the Flat Marathon in Portland, OR.  “The Flat” is a nickname for Sauvie Island, which is a large, relatively flat island in the Columbia River Valley.  This race was the third and final race of the Firecracker Triple.

The first two races of the Firecracker Triple were relatively small races organized by Steve Walters.  This race is a larger race sponsored by Foot Traffic, which is a chain of running stores in the greater Portland area.

Sauvie Island is mostly farmland, and several of the farms have fields of berries.  The race starts and finishes at a country market called The Pumpkin Patch.  The island has a distinctly rural feel, yet most of the island is within the city limits of Portland.  The bridge to the island is only 20 minutes away from downtown Portland, yet you feel like you’re way out in the country.

There’s only one bridge onto the island, so you need to arrive early to avoid getting stuck in a traffic jam.  The regular start for the marathon was 6:10 AM, but there was also an early start at 5:30, for people needing extra time.  The half marathon started later.

The road we started on is the same road you need to drive to get to The Pumpkin Patch.  For that reason, you want to get there well before the earliest wave of runners.  Deb and I got up early, so we could get to The Pumpkin Patch by 5:00.

When we arrived, we were directing to park in a field across the road from the Pumpkin Patch.  Runners are encouraged to carpool or take a shuttle from downtown, but there are still more cars than they could accommodate in the paved parking area.  Deb and I got there early enough to get a parking spot right next to the road.

My expectations for this race were framed by my miserable experience at yesterday’s race.  I knew I’d be slow.  I knew I’d be sore.  I just wanted to finish.  I was hoping it wouldn’t be a suffer fest like yesterday.

As I was talking to other runners, I was reminded that the marathon has a time limit of 5:30.  When I signed up, I thought that would be plenty of time.  After taking 5:16 to finish yesterday, I was no longer confident that I could finish within the time limit.  I asked the people from the timing company if I could switch to the early start.  They said I didn’t need to let anyone know.  I just needed to line up and start at 5:30 with the other early starters.  I gave Deb my warm-up clothes, made a bathroom stop, and got back just in time for pre-race instructions.  Because I started early, I wasn’t there for the pre-race group photo of everyone doing the triple.

Dan Chapman, who ran the seven-hour races on Saturday and Sunday, was also doing the early start.  I lined up next to Dan and we started running together.  We started at a nice easy pace.  Yesterday, I tried to force myself into a faster pace.  Today, I just wanted to finish, so I ran at the pace that felt most comfortable.

Dan and I were both starting at the same pace, so we started talking, and ended up running the whole race together.  Our conversation made the miles go by easier and helped keep me going.

The course is a single loop with two out-and-back segments.  The only time we had to run a section of road we had seen before was on the out-and-back sections.  That was easier psychologically than doing multiple loops.  I don’t mind a multiple loop course when I’m feeling good, but it can make everything feel worse if you’re struggling.

About two miles into the race, we ran by the Sauvie Island Bridge.  I stopped to take a picture and told Dan I would catch up to him.  I saw a line of cars stopped on the bridge.

Catching up to Dan took some effort, but as soon as I caught up, I was able to ease back into a more sustainable pace.

After running under the bridge, we reached a junction where all the cars coming from the bridge had to stop and wait for the runners before they could turn onto the same road.  This is why you need to get to the Pumpkin Patch before 5:30.  Anyone still on that bridge was in danger of not getting to the start on time.

About five miles into the race, we left the loop to begin the first out-and-back section.  This section is about six miles each way.  On our left, we had views of the channel.  On our right, we had views of farms, including this one that was growing flowers.

The aid stations had water, Nuun electrolyte drink, and gels.  At first, I was drinking water or Nuun.  Then I remembered that Nuun doesn’t have any calories, so I needed to start eating gels.  At one of the aid stations, Dan made a bathroom stop.  That gave me extra time to eat a gel.

Eventually, the fastest runners from the regular start caught up to us.  I didn’t know any of the fastest men.  Just before the turnaround, we were passed by Sadie Smith, who was leading all the women.

The water and Nuun were in small cups.  To make sure I was drinking enough, I started drinking one of each.  I usually also had a gel.

About halfway through the race, Dan stopped at an aid station to refill his hydration system.  That gave me time to make a bathroom stop without falling behind.

Before this series, I was concerned about a sore spot near my left hip, where my hamstring connects.  Yesterday, I barely noticed it.  Instead, I noticed soreness in just about every muscle in my legs.  Today, I noticed it whenever I picked up the pace to catch up to Dan after stopping to take a picture.  On the bright side, I wasn’t noticing much soreness anywhere else.  Starting at an easier pace seemed to make a pic difference.

On the way back, we got to see the channel from the opposite direction.  I stopped a couple times to take pictures, but it was getting harder to catch up to Dan after stopping.  Eventually, I had to just run.

Early in the race, I could hear my watch recording splits, but I didn’t look at my watch.  By the halfway mark, it seemed obvious to me that I was running faster than yesterday.  We reached the halfway mark in 2:22.  That was already eight or nine minutes faster than yesterday, and I felt better.

After about 16 miles, we finished the long out-and-back section and returned to the loop.  Just a few minutes later, we began the shorter out-and-back.  This section is only about half a mile each way, but it has the most noticeable hill on the course.  I was glad to be done with that section.

Next, we turned back onto the loop, which would eventually take us back to the Pumpkin Patch.  The rest of the loop was more exposed to the sun, but it wasn’t an unusually lot day.  The next few miles felt manageable.  At about 21 miles, it started to get more difficult.

I wasn’t sure if I was getting tired or if Dan was speeding up.  I eventually realized we were speeding up.  For most of the race, we were going slower than 11 minutes per mile.  By the time we reached the last three miles, we had sped up to about 10:30 per mile.

As we passed runners who had started walking, Dan would encourage them to join us for the last few miles.  I would remind them that there would be ice cream at the finish.  Several runners joined us for at least a mile.  We usually had at least four other runners with us.

In those last few miles, I once again felt that sore spot near my left hip.  I stayed with Dan as long as I could, but he was still accelerating.  We were almost to the 26 mile sign when I had to let him go.

Dan finished, and I came in shortly behind him in 4:48:46.  That was 28 minutes faster than yesterday.  I also felt more comfortable.

After I got my medal for today’s race, I walked over to the Steve’s tent to get my medal for finishing the triple.  Steve also gave each of us a plaque and drinking cup.

I wasn’t kidding about the ice cream at the finish.  On our race bibs, we each had a tear-off tag that we could redeem for an ice cream sandwich.

While I was running, Deb had a change to explore the market and the animal barn.  She didn’t have any breakfast before we left, but she was able to get a grilled cheese sandwich and strawberry shortcake at the café.

I was pretty disappointed with yesterday’s race, but I felt much better about today.  Now I need to recover.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:48:46

Average pace: 11:00 

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  459

Race Report: 2022 Summerlake Loopy Marathon

Today was the second day of the Firecracker Triple.  Today’s race was the Summerlake Loopy Marathon.  The course was a paved loop around Summerlake Park in Tigard, OR.  The loop was less than a mile long, so we had to run 28 laps.

I’ve run this race once before.  In 2013, it was a part of the Firecracker Quadzilla.  While I wasn’t excited about running this many laps, I knew I would have plenty of opportunities to drink at the aid station.

I often have trouble sleeping the night before a race.  The exception is when it’s also the night after a race.  Lack of sleep and physical exhaustion combined to help me sleep like a rock.  In that respect, I felt much better this morning than I did yesterday morning.

In other respects, I didn’t feel better.  My left hamstring didn’t feel sore during yesterday’s race, but it did feel sore later in the day.  This morning, I also had some soreness and stiffness in other muscles.

Since May, I’ve found that my left leg sometimes grazes my right ankle when I run.  It didn’t happen at all in FANS, but it happened about six times during yesterday’s race.  Each time, I barely brushed against my ankle, but the cumulative effect was to break the skin.  After the race, my ankle was bleeding.  Before today’s race, I put a band-aid over it to help protect it.  I didn’t know if the band-aid would stay on or if it would come loose as I got sweaty.

The race started at 7:00 AM, with packet pickup starting at 6:00.  Deb was volunteering again, so we made a point of getting there by 6:00.

When we picked up our race bibs, we also got back bibs with our names.  That was so we could encourage each other as we passed each other during the many laps.  In fact, most of the runners at this race already knew each other.

Ten minutes before the race, we had pre-race announcements.  Then we assembled for group photos.

As we left the start area, we went downhill to a bridge and then uphill to a parking lot on the other side.  I started running at a slow pace until I got through this section.  Then I tried to pick up the pace.

As I picked up my pace, I had a lot of soreness in my legs and glutes.  I also found running at a normal pace to be unusually tiring.  I assumed it would get easier as I got warmed up and worked into my pace.  It didn’t.

For the first two laps, I forced myself to run at a 10 minute mile pace.  Then I had to slow down.  That pace was much too tiring.

I wasn’t even done with two laps before I felt my left foot graze my left ankle for the first time.  It was painful, even with the band-aid.  Fortunately, that only happened one more time during the race.

In my next two laps, I slowed down to an 11 minute mile pace.  Even that pace felt tiring.  I wasn’t even done with my 4th lap when the leader of the half marathon lapped me.  That made me feel really slow.

I tried to slow down to a pace that felt easy.  For the next several laps, I was averaging about 11:30.  That wasn’t as tiring as 11:00, but it still felt tiring.

I was only in my 8th lap of 28 when the leader of the marathon lapped me.  One lap later, the leaders of the half marathon lapped me for a second time.  I wasn’t trying to keep up with anyone, but it still made me painfully aware how much slower I was running today.

When we registered for this race, we had an opportunity to enter something interesting about ourselves.  Steve made signs and posted them around the course.  Here are a few examples.

Because the laps were so short, I didn’t feel the need to drink after every lap.  Instead, I just drank Gatorade after the even numbered laps.  Starting with my third lap, I ate glazed donut holes after the odd number laps.  Alternating between food and beverage like this made it easier to remember which lap I was on.

Next, I slowed down all the way to 12 minutes per mile.  At first, that pace felt a little easier, if you didn’t count the soreness in my legs.  Eventually, even that pace started to feel tiring.

At the halfway mark, I was on pace to finish in just over five hours.  I had been slowing down, and I expected to keep slowing down.  I guessed that I would finish somewhere between 5:10 and 5:15.  That proved to be optimistic.

In the second half, my lap times continued to get slower.  Before long, I was averaging 12:30 per mile, and even that pace was tiring.  At one point, I told Deb how many laps I had left and she told me to take it easy.  My reply was, “There is no easy.”  Every muscle in my legs was sore, and no matter how slow I went, it was still tiring.  I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way in a marathon.

I’ve had races where I hit the wall and struggled badly in the last few miles.  This whole race felt like that.  It was tiring, it was uncomfortable, and it was taking a really long time.

Running multiple laps meant we kept seeing the same scenery on every lap.  Summerlake Park is a beautiful park, so even if the scenery didn’t change, it was pretty nice scenery.

Late in the race, I was counting down the remaining laps.  If I thought about how many miles I had left, it didn’t sound that bad.  Normally, it wouldn’t be, but today every lap seemed to take forever.

I eventually finished in 5:16:52.  It felt like it took longer.  I wasn’t taking any walking breaks.  I was just running really slow.  That wouldn’t have been so bad if I was just taking it easy, but I wasn’t.  I was really trying to go faster, if I could.  I just didn’t seem to have any power in my legs.

There are any number of reasons which might explain why I was slow today, but none of them tell the whole story.  I ran a marathon yesterday, so obviously I was going to be a little sore and slow, but I’ve never slowed down by 45 minutes from one day to the next.  Two years ago, I ran marathons 20 days in a row, and none of them were this slow.  That was with a knee injury.

It's possible I didn’t eat the right foods yesterday and my muscles were depleted of glycogen.  That could explain me hitting the wall, but not so early in the race.

I’m not as well-trained as I usually am for racing on consecutive days, but just two weeks ago I was doing training runs at an 8:30 pace with far less effort.  By the end of the race today, I was going four minutes per mile slower than that, and it was much more tiring.

The only other explanation I can think of is that I tried to do this triple too soon after a 24-hour race where I ran just over 100 miles.  Maybe that took more out of me than I thought.

After the race, Deb and I had lunch at Burgerville again.  When we got back to the hotel, I showered, soaked in the hot tub, and worked on my legs with a massage stick.

I’m not optimistic about tomorrow.  At best, I might feel the same way I felt today.  I can’t imagine I’ll suddenly feel better

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:16:52

Average pace:  12:05

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  458

Race Report: 2022 Cook Park Marathon

On July 2, I ran the Cook Park Marathon in Tigard, OR.  This was the first race of the Firecracker Triple, which consists of the Cook Park Marathon, the Summerlake Loopy Marathon, and the Flat Marathon.

The first Firecracker Triple was held in 2011.  It was built around Foot Traffic’s Flat Marathon, which is always on the 4th of July.  The 4th was on a Monday that year, and Steve Walters held two smaller races on Saturday and Sunday, making it possible to run marathons on three consecutive days.

In 2012, the 4th was a Wednesday.  Steve still held his two races on the weekend and called it the Firecracker Double.  In subsequent years, there have been races on three, four, or five consecutive days.

2020 was going to be the last year for the Firecracker Triple, but the races were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  After a two-year delay, the final Firecracker Triple is being held this year.

I did the Firecracker Triple in 2011, 2014, and 2015.  I also did the Firecracker Quadzilla in 2013.  I’ve had some great results in these races.  I had the fastest combined time in both 2011 and 2014.  Because I have so many good memories from these races, I had to be a part of the last Firecracker Triple.

The names and venues of Steve Walters’ races have changed over the years.  This is the third time I’ve done the Cook Park Marathon.  It was also part of the triple in 2014 and 2015.

Deb and I flew to Portland on Friday.  Before driving to our hotel, we made four stops.  First, we stopped at the Foot Traffic store in Vancouver, WA to pick up my race packet for Monday’s race.  Packet pickup was available at different Foot Traffic stores on different days.  This was the location that was most convenient for us, since it’s not far from the Portland airport.

Next, we stopped at a brewery called Zoiglhaus Brewing Company.  Zoiglhaus makes German styles of beer, and one of their signature beers is a style called a zoigl, which is an historical beer style from a small region in Bavaria.  It’s rare to find this style of beer anywhere in the U.S.

After Zoiglhaus, we stopped at Salt and Straw, which makes ice cream.  Salt and Straw has interesting flavor combinations, and you can taste several of them by having an ice cream flight.  Deb and I each ordered a flight, and then we tasted each other’s flavors, so we each got to try eight flavors of ice cream.

Our last stop was another brewery, which was supposed to have another historical beer style called an adambier.  Unfortunately, this brewery has gone out of business.

Both of Steve’s races are in Portland’s western suburbs.  Monday’s race is on Sauvie Island, which is also on the west side.  We stayed at a hotel in Beaverton, which was centrally located for the three races.

After checking in and unpacking, we discovered a problem with our hotel room.  We were able switch to a different room, but repacking, moving, and unpacking again took time.  We ended up going to dinner later than we planned.

We had dinner at a farm-to-table restaurant called Golden Valley.  We split a candied bacon appetizer, and loved it so much that we regretted not getting one for each of us.  We also had their meatloaf.

We tried to get to bed as early as we could.  Deb was able to sleep for most of the night, but I only managed a few short naps.  The first night in a hotel is always tough for me, and I often have trouble relaxing the night before a race.

The race started at 7:00, but packet pickup started at 6:00.  Deb was a race volunteer, so we got there early, so she could help with packet pickup.  When we arrived at the race, I saw lots of people I know.  A few of them asked me how I felt.  The best answer I could give is to say I felt shaky.  Besides the lack of sleep, I also had a couple of bouts of diarrhea before we left the hotel.  It cleared up before we left, but I definitely wasn’t feeling up to par.

The course was six laps of a 4.37 mile loop.  The loop starts and finishes in Cook Park, but also goes through Durham City Park and includes an out-and-back on a greenway along the Tualatin River.  The course is mostly paved.  There were a couple sections of wood chips or gravel, but those sections were short.

The loop was the same one we’ve run in the past, but we started in a different place.  Instead of starting at a pavilion near the boat launch, we started at the pavilion near the main entrance.

There was one aid station at the start/finish area.  If we wanted to drink more frequently than once per lap, we needed to carry water with us.  I kept a large cup at the aid station and made a point of drinking a substantial amount of Gatorade each time I finished a lap.

Before the race, we did several group photos, including everyone doing today’s race and everyone doing the triple.  There were also group photos for various running clubs.

I went into this race with no expectation of running competitively.  In the last two weeks, I only ran twice, and they were both short runs at an easy pace.  I’ve mostly been resting to give a high hamstring injury a chance to heal.  I was confident I had the endurance to finish these races without any difficulty, but I expected to be slow.  That said, I couldn’t help but be tempted to test the waters.

The start was somewhat comical.  Nobody lined up within 20 feet of the starting line.  When Steve said, “start,” and blew his air horn, everybody just stood there for a few seconds.  It’s like everybody was waiting for everyone else.  I finally started running and crossed the starting line at a leisurely pace.  The runners around me also started at a leisurely pace.  Finally, one woman who started much faster ran around us and sped away.

My pace felt slow for the first few minutes, but after about half a mile, it started to feel faster.  I wondered if I was starting too fast.  After I ran far enough to start getting splits from my watch, I found that I really wasn’t going that fast.  My early mile times were all in the 9:30s.  That pace shouldn’t feel fast, but I haven’t done much training in recent weeks.

I was actually more concerned with how my left leg felt.  My pace wasn’t causing any tightness or discomfort in my left hamstring, so I didn’t worry about it too much.

At first, there were only about five runners ahead of me.  As other runners got warmed up, a few more moved ahead of me.

Going through Cook Park, the course is fairly flat.  The out-and-back along the Cook Park Greenway has several small hills.  On the way out, there was one hill that was uncomfortably steep going down.  Coming back, I had to get up on my toes running back up that hill.

Coming back through Cook Park the course was flat again.  Instead of going back the way we came, we took a path that goes near the boat launch and past the area that used to be used as the starting line.  Then we began an out-and-back on the other end of the park.  This one took us under a railroad bridge and then alongside the tracks.  When we got to Durham City Park, we did a short loop  through the park.

The loop through Durham City Park had a few sharp turns and a few small hills.  Once again, there was one downhill segment that was steep enough to be uncomfortable and one uphill segment that forced me to run on the balls of my feet.  Coming back into Cook Park, the course gets flat again.

It’s been seven years since I last ran this course.  Some parts seemed familiar.  Other parts I didn’t remember.  Finally, some parts were different than I remembered them.

I finished my first lap in 42 minutes.  That put me on pace to finish in 4:12, but I expected to slow down.  I still felt like I was going a little fast.

Next to the table with water and Gatorade, there was a large table with a variety of food.  I don’t usually eat solid food during a marathon.  I usually get enough calories just from Gatorade.  In addition to the Gatorade, I also ate glazed donut holes.  I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t get too depleted, since I’m racing again tomorrow.

I took a long time the first time I went through the aid station.  While I was there, three more runners passed me.  I now counted 11 runners ahead of me.

The out-and-back sections gave me a chance to see the faster runners.  The first runner coming back was the woman who started faster than anyone else.  She was way out in front now.  Later in the same lap, I saw her already in the second half of her third lap, while I was still in my second lap.  She was doing the half marathon and went on to set a new course record.

My second lap was about 30 seconds slower than my first lap.  I was still on pace to break 4:15, but not by much.

In my third lap, I started to wonder how many of the people who were ahead of me were doing the half marathon.  I’d find out in my fourth lap.  By then, the faster runners who were doing the half marathon would already be done.  Anyone ahead of me who was still on the course was either doing the marathon or the seven-hour race.

Late in my third lap, I had a mishap.  I was in Durham City Park, when I reached a small bridge over a creek.  I didn’t remember crossing a bridge before.  I’ve been known to get so focused on pace, distance, and effort, that I don’t always notice my surroundings.  Still, it was odd that I didn’t remember the bridge.  I was on my third lap today.  Including the first two times I did this race, this was now my 15th lap around this course.

I hesitated, but then continued running.  I started to pay more attention to my surroundings.  I kept waiting to see some familiar turns, but I didn’t see them yet.

Next, I saw a playground.  I also didn’t remember seeing a playground at this end of the course.  The loop through Durham City Park is kind of remote.  You don’t see much besides trees.

I turned around and started to backtrack.  I went until I saw the railroad tracks.  On the trail next to the tracks, I saw runners who were completing the loop.  I was just starting the loop, so it didn’t make sense that I should run in the opposite direction that they were going.  I second-guessed myself and turned around again.  It seemed like this had to be the right way to begin the loop.

I crossed the bridge again.  I continued all the way to the playground.  Looking farther ahead, I could see that the path would go through a parking lot.  That was definitely wrong.  I asked people at the playground if they had seen any other runners come through.  I was the only runner they had seen.

I backtracked again.  This time I went all the way back to the railroad tracks.  When I got there, I realized my mistake.  We were supposed to follow the railroad tracks and then do a loop through the park.  Before the beginning of the loop, there was a place where there was a trail going to the right, but we were supposed to go straight.  A short time later, we would reach a fork, and we would keep to the right.  I got to the first junction and thought that was the beginning of the loop, so I turned too soon.

It's worth noting that both of these junctions were extremely well marked.  I just wasn’t paying attention to the signs.  This mistake would haunt me for the rest of the race.

When I finished my third lap, I was half done with the race.  My watch should’ve said 13.1 miles (or perhaps a bit more because of measurement error).  Instead, it said 13.9 miles.  I ran an extra eight tenths of a mile.  I ran it somewhat hesitantly and stopped a few times, so it may have taken as long as a full mile.  I wasted both time and effort.

I had been looking forward to seeing how many runners were still ahead of me.  There were only a few, but their leads were larger now.  One runner, who was only a few minutes ahead of me before, now seemed to be about a mile ahead of me.

That took the wind out of my sails.  My pace in the last three laps was noticeably slower.  Part of that may have been fatigue, but there’s no question part of it was psychological.  If I hadn’t gone off course, I might still be within striking distance of the leaders.  Instead, I was well behind them.

In the first three laps, my mile times ranged from 9:30 to 10:00.  In my 4th and 5th laps, my mile times were between 10 and 11 minutes.

I usually speed up in the last lap of a race.  Not today.  In the last lap, some of my mile times were slower than 11 minutes.

I eventually finished in 4:32:54.  Then I found out I took second place.  It’s a small race, so there are only awards to the first place male and female.  I thought I saw at least three runners who were faster than me, but two of them may have been doing the seven-hour race.  I didn’t have to compete with them.

After getting my medal, I stayed long enough to find out if the runner who beat me is doing all three marathons.  He is.  He leads the triple.  I’m in second place, but I’m 20 minutes back.  Without my wrong turn, I’d still be in second place, but I’d only be trailing by about 10 minutes.

For what it’s worth, my watch read 27 miles when I finished.  Here’s the map of my route that Garmin Connect drew.  The short out-and-back near the east end of the course was the part I wasn’t supposed to run.  I actually ran out-and-back on this segment twice before getting back on course.

Part of my recovery regimen for running on consecutive days is to refuel as soon as possible after the race.  On our way back to the hotel, Deb and I stopped at Burgerville.  Burgerville is a regional fast food chain that uses locally grown ingredients.  That seemed to be a theme of this trip.  Later in the day, we went back to Golden Valley for dinner.  We had to have more of that candied bacon.

Race statistics:

Official Distance:  26.2 miles

Actual Distance (including wrong turn):  27 miles

Time:  4:32:54

Official pace:  10:25

Actual pace:  10:07

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  457

Race Report: 2015 Stars and Stripes Marathon

This morning, I wrapped up the Firecracker Triple by running the Stars and Stripes Marathon in Beaverton, OR.  This race is in its fifth year.  It’s been part of every Firecracker Double, Triple or Quadzilla.  For me, it was my fourth time here.

The course is a 3.28 mile loop through Greenway Park, starting and finishing next to the Fanno Farmhouse.  We ran this loop eight times.

I was stiff and tired from the first two races of the triple, but my legs weren’t as sore this morning as they were yesterday.

I left early, so I would have time to stop and a grocery store and buy some chocolate milk.  The store wasn’t open yet, so I continued to the race, getting there earlier than I planned.

It was another blazing hot day.  The forecast high was 96, and it was going to be sunny.  This course has more shade than yesterday’s course, but there are still quite a few exposed areas.

The race started at 7:00, but there was a 6:00 early start for people needing extra time.  I saw that most of the other runners doing the triple were doing the early start.  The rule for the early start is that anyone finishing faster than 4:30 gets an official time of 4:30.  My time yesterday was 4:36, and I expected to be slower today.  A big advantage of taking the early start is that I could replace an hour in the late morning, with temperatures in the 80s or 90s, with an hour in the early morning, with temperatures in the 60s.

I made a last minute decision to take the early start.  I had to rush to make a bathroom stop and finish getting ready.  I barely made it back in time to line up for the start.

When you’re starting a race with stiff legs, it takes a real effort to push through the stiffness and get into your pace, but you can do it.  Today, I had no incentive to try.  Since I wasn’t trying to break 4:30, I started at a pace that was comfortable, even with stiff legs.  That meant I never worked through the stiffness.  My first mile was 10:27.  From there, I slowed down to 12 minute miles.  By my second lap, I was doing 13 minute miles.  Then my pace stabilized.

This course has lots of turns.  I noticed early that the inside of my left thigh felt uncomfortable when I made a sharp turn to my left.  In the middle of each lap, there’s a short out-and-back section, where you have to make a 180 degree turn.  The first time I made this turn, my left leg almost buckled.  My left leg is my healthy leg.

During my second lap, it occurred to me that I forgot to do my warm-ups before the race.  Since starting PT, I’ve been doing a series of 10 different walking and running motions that activate different muscle groups in my legs.  In my rush to get ready for the early tart, I didn’t have time.  I decided to do them during the race, even though it meant slowing down to a walking pace for most of them.  Then I resumed running.  It didn’t seem to help much with my stiff muscles, but I eventually noticed that my left leg was more comfortable on turns.

Just like at Friday’s race, I brought an insulated bag filled with ice, so I could put ice in my hat between laps.  The first time I did that, I regretted it.  It wasn’t that hot yet, and the ice on top of my head was painful until enough of it had melted.  After subsequent laps, I put the ice in the back of my hat.  That didn’t hurt as much.  The ice didn’t melt as fast, so it lasted longer.

There was a fully stocked aid station at the start/finish, plus two self-service aid stations that just had water.  The main aid station had little cups with pickle slices.  I had pickles or pickle juice every lap.  On Friday, I took electrolyte capsules.  Yesterday, I drank the electrolyte drink at the aid stations.  Today, I got my salt from pickles.

From my early lap times, it was apparent that I was on pace for a 5:20 marathon.  By the halfway mark, I was on pace to be slower than 5:30.  I might have been able to run faster, but I was afraid to push the pace.  I had the sense that the pace I was going was the fastest pace that was safe.  I was afraid that anything faster would make my groin injury flare up.

By the middle of the race, I was starting to notice some low grade soreness in my groin.  On the 10-point pain scale, it was only one or two.  I didn’t need to worry too much as long as it didn’t get worse.  After about 15 miles, it got worse.  It wasn’t constant, but I sometimes rated it a three or four.  I either had to stop, or I had to make some type of adjustment.

I decided to switch from slow running to brisk walking.  The first few strides were awkward, because of the stiffness in my legs.  After that, I was OK. I could walk without any discomfort.  My pace was 15 minutes per mile.  When I was running, my pace was never faster than 13 minutes per mile.  Walking wasn’t that much slower, but it was much more comfortable.

Then I pushed it too far.  I started walking too fast, and started having groin pain again.  Resuming my previous pace didn’t help.  I had to back off to a casual walking pace.  I still had 10 miles to go.  At this pace, it would take forever.

I walked at a slow pace until I finished my fifth lap.  Then I went to my car, where I had an elastic bandage.  I stopped long enough to wrap my upper thigh.  I made it snug enough to partially immobilize the injured muscle without being too binding on the larger muscles in my upper thigh.

I resumed walking at an average pace of 15 minutes per mile.  That worked.  I didn’t have any discomfort.  I could walk the rest of the race at this pace.  I would only be about 20 minutes slower than if I had been able to run the whole way.

By now, the course was getting lonely.  People doing the half marathon were finished.  Some of the faster runners in the marathon were also finishing.  There were other runners on the course, but we were getting spread out.  At times, I didn’t see other runners.

I was on pace for my second slowest marathon ever.  It was frustrating to be that slow, but I was getting the job done.  I was going to finish.  The time limit for finishing was 6:30.  Because I took the early start, I had an extra hour.  I had more than enough time to finish.

With about a mile to go in my seventh lap, I heard someone gaining on me.   I could tell that he was walking.  I expected people who were running to pass me.  I didn’t expect to be passed by someone walking.  It turned out to be Alexis “Racewalker” Davidson.  He walks all his marathons, and he keeps a pretty good pace.  I matched his pace, but I had to work at it.  We walked together for the rest of that lap.

After finishing my seventh lap, I had a drink at the aid station and put ice in my hat for the last time.  As I started my last lap, I checked my watch.  My time so far was 5:17.  I wouldn’t break six hours, but it wouldn’t be my slowest time ever.  That’s 6:23 at Pike’s Peak.

There’s something about knowing it’s your last lap that makes you pick up your pace.  I was hot, I was tired, I was stiff, I was injured, and I was reduced to walking.  I still lit a fire under myself to walk as fast as I could.  In the first mile of my last lap, I broke 13 minutes.  For most of the race, I couldn’t run any faster than that.  If I could maintain that pace, I’d be tantalizingly close to six hours.  I had to try.

I couldn’t maintain that pace for the whole lap.  My next mile was slower than 14.  To have any chance of breaking six, I had to run … if I could.

Since putting on the elastic bandage, I had been walking without pain, but I hadn’t tried to run.  It remained to be seen if I could run without pain.  There was also another unanswered question.  For two hours, I had done nothing but walk.  Before that, my running pace was slower than 13 minute miles.  If I started running now, with my leg wrapped, could I go any faster?  I had to try.

I forced myself to run.  There wasn’t any pain.  I forced myself to go as fast as I could.  I was no longer afraid to push through the stiffness.  I worked as hard as I could.

It felt like I had picked up my pace significantly, but I didn’t know for sure.  Within a few minutes, I could tell I was working much harder. For the first time in the race, I was getting short of breath.  I was hotter.  I was sweating more.  Sweat was dripping into my eyes.

I passed the last self-service aid station.  The previous one was out of water.  I was hot and thirsty, and wanted to stop.  I didn’t have time.  I skipped it and kept running.

When I reached the next mile marker, I saw that I ran that mile in nine minutes.  I was going to break six hours easily now.  I just had a fraction of a mile to go.

At the end of each lap, you cross a small bridge over Fanno Creek and run up a hill to get to the finish area.  This hill gets tiring in the late laps.  Walking it wasn’t tough, but now I had to run it.  Once again, knowing it was my last lap gave me wings.  I flew up that hill and crossed the finish line in 5:55:39.

Steve gave me two medals, one for finishing the race and one for finishing the Firecracker Triple.

Despite the early start, it was 90 degrees by the time I finished.  I hate to think how much tougher it would have been if I had waited until 7:00 to start.  There were only five runners left on the course.

I stayed in the finish area for a while to chat with other runners.  I had some post-race snacks, but I didn’t have any chocolate milk.  Eventually, I wanted to get something with protein.

On my way back to the hotel, I stopped at Burgerville.  Burgerville is a regional chain that uses locally grown ingredients.  If I’m going to have fast food in Portland, that’s where I go.  Their seasonal shake flavor for July is fresh Oregon raspberry.  Walla Walla sweet onions are also in season.

When I got back to the hotel, I took an ice bath to minimize inflammation.  Ideally, you should take an ice bath right after the race.  After the race, I kept the elastic bandage on until I was ready get into the ice bath.  My hope was that the compression would stave off inflammation.

After the ice bath, I went straight to the hotel’s hot tub.  When I got in, I immediately felt a sting around my neck and shoulders.

I try to avoid using sunblock in extremely hot conditions.  It can clog your pores, impeding your ability to cool yourself by perspiring.  On Friday, there was enough shade that I didn’t need it.  Yesterday, I got a little sunburn, but it wasn’t bothering me.  Today, I got more sunburn.

I was relieved to get through my first race without groin discomfort.  I was pleasantly surprised to also get through the second race without any major problems.  Doing a third race was pushing my luck.  Hopefully, I didn’t have a major setback.  I may not know for a day or two.  I have a PT appointment on Wednesday.

My next race is Saturday.  I never said I was smart.

Race Report: 2015 Flat Marathon

Today, I ran the Flat Marathon on Sauvie Island.  It was the second race of the Firecracker Triple.  This is the 5th time I’ve done this race.  In 2010, I did it as a standalone event.  In 2011, it was the last race of a triple.  In 2013, it was the first race of a quadzilla.  Last year, it was the first race of a triple.

Sauvie Island is a large, relatively flat island in the Columbia River valley.  It’s mostly farmland.  The race starts and finishes at the Pumpkin Patch.

There’s a marathon and a half marathon.  The half marathon course is one big loop.  The marathon course includes the same loop, but also includes a long out-and-back.

Like yesterday, today was hot.  The overnight low was 66 degrees, but the forecast high was 94.  Just as significantly, it was a bright sunny day.

Most people struggled with the heat yesterday.  That course was mostly shaded.  Today’s course had a few shady spots, but most of it was wide open.  The sun makes it feel about 10 degrees hotter.

Yesterday evening, I felt a little bit stiff, but not unusually sore.  Then I tried to sleep, and I couldn’t get comfortable.  Rolling over in bed seemed to be too much for my fatigued muscles.  The more I tried to get comfortable, the more my legs hurt.  I only slept for about two hours.  Eventually, it was time to get up.

There’s only one bridge onto Sauvie Island, and traffic gets backed up if you don’t get onto the island early enough.  The race started at 6:30, but I left before 5:00, so I could be there before 5:30.  The snack shack was open, so I had a cup of hot cocoa.  At 6:00, we had a Marathon Maniac group photo.

My legs were unusually stiff this morning.  The race has a downhill start.  I could have used the hill to force myself into a fast pace until my legs loosened up.  That’s worked in the past, but it seemed like a bad idea on a day when I could easily overheat.  Instead I started slow and accepted that I would never get any faster.  As we left the Pumpkin Patch, we got out first views of hills on the west side of the river valley.  I was carrying a camera in my fanny pack, and stopped from time to time to take pictures.

After running a little over a mile, we reached the west side of the island and ran under the Sauvie Island Bridge.  Then we gradually worked our way up the west side of the island.

On our left, we had views of the channel and the hills beyond it.

On our right, we had views of the farms.  There were lots of berry patches.  At a few, you could pick your own berries.

I was only about two miles into the race, when I started to feel soreness in my left arm and shoulder.  Your arms can get tired toward the end of a race, but I’ve never felt this kind of discomfort so early in a race.  I didn’t know if my arm was tired from yesterday’s race or if it was from the way I slept.  I often sleep with one arm under my pillow.

After a few more miles, I also noticed some discomfort in my left wrist and the left side of my chest.  That worried me.  Pain or numbness in your left arm can be heart-related.  Given how hot it was in yesterday’s race, I had to take it seriously.

I did a quick inventory.  My breathing felt nice and easy.  My pace was slow, but only because I was stiff.   I didn’t feel like I was working unusually hard.  I expected to get hot later, but for now I was still comfortable.  In the absence of other symptoms, I chalked it up to sore muscles.

The aid stations had water and an electrolyte drink.  I wasn’t carrying any fluids with me, so I usually drank one cup of each.  Most of the aid stations also had gel packets.  Knowing I wouldn’t be fast anyway, I took the time to stop and eat a gel whenever I saw them.

After stopping briefly at one of the aid stations, I noticed my left arm felt better.  Maybe the brief rest break made a difference.  Maybe I was more relaxed.  After that, it was never an issue again.

Sauvie Island is so large it’s in two different counties.  About a mile before the turnaround of the long out-and-back section, we crossed the county line.  There’s a noticeable difference in road quality.  It’s been like this for at least five years.

Most of the farms we passed grew fruit or flowers, but we also saw some sheep.

On the way back, we had different views of the channel.

Near the 15 mile mark, one of the local residents was handing out small cups of blueberries from her farm.  That was a nice treat.

Most of the out-and-back is exposed to the sun.  It was getting hotter, and I was longing for relief from the sun.  The last mile of this section was shady.  It felt good while it lasted, but it wasn’t enough.  As we made the turn to resume the big loop, I took consolation in knowing we had less than 10 miles to go.  I knew from the outset I would be slower than yesterday, but I set a goal of breaking 4:40.  That was an attainable goal, but I couldn’t slow down much.

Between 17 and 18 miles, there’s a shorter out-and-back section.  This makes the loop come out to the right distance for the half marathon.  It was mostly residential, but also took us by some gardens.

As we got back onto the loop, we began cutting across the island.  It was four more miles to reach the east side.  There was a nice breeze on this section that helped keep me from getting too hot.  I was also pleasantly surprised to see some shady spots that I didn’t remember.

With about five miles to go, I noticed some minor soreness in my right leg.  I couldn’t tell for sure if it was my groin or chafing.  I had been sweating quite a bit.  In PT, I’m sometimes asked to rate pain on a scale of zero to ten.  This was only a one or two.  I had other sore muscles that were more like a three or four, so I didn’t worry too much yet.  Then I momentarily felt a twinge of pain that was more like a four or five.  It wasn’t constant, but I was concerned.

Earlier in the race, aches and pains sometimes went away after stopping briefly to eat a gel or take a picture.  I needed to take a bathroom stop anyway, so I hoped that the brief rest break would make a difference.  As I resumed running, my legs were a bit stiff.  I felt some discomfort as I worked to overcome the stiffness.  Once I got back to a steady stride, I felt OK for the rest of the race.

At 22 miles, we reached the east side of the island and turned onto the road that would take us back to the Pumpkin Patch.  Here, you get the distinct feeling that you’re on the home stretch.  You can see all the way across the island to the hillsides that were previously so close.  As you continue running, they slowly get closer.

The last four miles are always difficult.  I’ve done this race five times, and I’ve always had to fight my way through these miles.  By now, it’s always hot.  This year, it was hotter than usual.  I knew by now that I would break 4:40.  I just had to maintain my effort for a few more miles.

Most of the time, we were running on the right side of the road.  With two miles to go, there’s a row of trees on the left side of the road.  Everyone moves to the left to seek out the shade.

You can’t see the Pumpkin Patch until you’re almost there.  You mostly see vast acres of farmland.  With a mile to go, you see this grove of trees, like an oasis in the middle of the desert.

The Pumpkin Patch is just beyond those trees, but you have to get past them before you can see it.  Finally, with about a half mile to go, you can see the buildings.

I finished in 4:36:23.  Most years I would be disappointed with that time.  This year I was happy.  I was 10 minutes slower than yesterday, but I actually held up better in the second half.

They had a new design this year for the finisher medal and T-shirt.  They combined last year’s pelican with an American flag in the shape of a heart.

They also had colorful race bibs.  At the bottom of our bibs were coupons for strawberry shortcake and a hot dog or veggie dog.  My first order of business after finishing was to have some strawberry shortcake.  The strawberries are grown on the island.

Before leaving the island, I stopped at the Pumpkin Patch Market to buy a small cherry pie.  I do this every year.  This will be tomorrow’s pre-race breakfast.  Whatever part is leftover will be part of my lunch.

I feel relieved to have made it through the first two races of the triple without my groin injury being a major issue.  I felt it briefly today in the late miles, but I haven’t felt any discomfort since the race.  I’m sure it helped that I took an ice bath after the race.  I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll be OK tomorrow, but I’m still nervous.  Wish me luck.