My first trip to Oregon was in the summer of 2001. I went to Portland (really Gladstone) to visit my Aunt Debbie, Uncle Jerry and my cousins Megan and Samantha. They were nice enough to let me borrow a car and drive around the city one day, so I really have a feel for the city and its offerings. I was also a baby runner then (about to train for and finish my first marathon a few months later) and was able to run a bunch in the Gladstone area near their house. It was a great trip, and I always wanted to go back. The first pic is of my cousin Samantha and me standing by the water downtown. We will run very near there on marathon day. I was twenty four at the time, and Sam was either going into or just finishing her freshman year of high school. The second pic is of us this June of this year when I had dinner with her in San Diego. We have both grown up a bit.
The next time I ran in Oregon was August 2005, when I was on a Hood to Coast team with MollyO. I'm in this pic about to take the handoff for my first leg (leg 2). It was approximately six miles of downhill steep grade and I hauled ass. I remember what it felt like to run 7:00- 7:15 pace feeling so fantastic. My second leg of that race was later in the night through the warehouse area of Portland that we are going to run on during the marathon this year. I am familiar with that part of the course and am looking forward to having the mental advantage of positive memories there. Another thing I take away from this picture is overcoming injury. Hood to Coast was in the middle of my summer training of 2005, when I met Chad for the first time and attempted to qualify for Boston in St.George. My IT band was flaring up right about that time of the season and I hobbled my way home from Portland to a week of rest and an awesome end of the season.
The next two shots are from the first time I qualified for Boston in St. George (October 2005). I still run in those shorts on a regular basis. That is also when I weighed 137...my 'race weight'. I'm almost there again this year. St. George is the first weekend of October like Portland is, so I also take away the experience of running 'early' in the fall marathon season.
Of course this next pic is from Boston. 2006 - Athlete's village. There is a cropped version of this in the picture header on this blog. I just had my name written on my arm for the crowds in Boston to cheer me on. It was so much fun! (You can also see Cindy S on the far right.) This pic is taken just hours before my all-time marathon PR. I'm hoping that PR is smashed at Portland. I remember how hard I trained for that race. It was the first time I hit 70 miles in a week ever, and I did it one week. It is funny how much I run now compared to how I used to train.
This last picture is to remind me of all of the work that I have put in since Boston 2006. I have not had an ideal training season combined with an good race day since April 2006. The pic is kind of dark, but if you click on it and look at the person in the orange jacket, that is me. It is August 2006 and I'm almost to the top of Pikes Peak climbing during the marathon. It was the worst season ever of training and I was so miserable during most of the summer. I did the race and admittedly liked a couple parts of it. I remember being on that damn mountain for 7:19. That is seven hours and nineteen minutes, folks. I remember thinking at about five hours in - 'Get me the hell off of this mountain!!'
If I can endure that, I can endure just about anything. The funny thing about this pic is that when I look at it, I think - 'No matter what, your next marathon will not be as long or as painful as that day.' Even if Portland does not turn out the way I want, it will be better than this day.
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