fun time in Portland

If you run, whether it's a 5K up to an ultra marathon, you need to race in Oregon. Imagine being surrounded by thousands of runners and being able to run on the streets without fearing for your life. We stayed in the downtown Hilton, where the expo was located. Very nice swag, great tech shirt and other goodies. Spent a half an hour chatting with Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympic gold medalist in the marathon. We mostly talked about work, his hike in the hills above Portland and his bum right knee. Very bright and interesting guy.

The race went well. A light drizzle, nothing serious. Crowded from beginning to end. Ran a consistent 8 minute pace for a 3:35, 18th in my age group. The biggest reward for me was knowing I was able to focus the entire race even when things got grim.

RACE WEEK

It's the Tuesday before the Portland Marathon and the future is cloudy. Woke up with a cold on Sunday morning. I responded by vegging all day Sunday and knocking myself out with Nyquil-on of the world's greatest inventions. The forecast for the race is rain and since it's Oregon, there will be lots of rain and it will be cold. I've been through this before, many times in fact. The deal is that its been years since I've raced in Oregon in the fall-college in fact.

It's obviously I'm suffering from pre-race jitters, the ones that all racers get. "Have I trained enough?" "Am I sick, injured?" "Why is my calf hurting?"  The usual. It's not unexpected and I know I'll be ready by Sunday.