I Ran 26.2 Miles

Yes, its true! On Sunday, October 5, I lined up with 9000 other runners in Portland, Oregon, for the 37th annual Portland Marathon. And - just a mere 4 1/2 hours later - I crossed the finish line. What an experience it was! I admit that I always wanted to run a marathon, from the time I started distance running in college. Twenty years have passed though, including law school, a career, 4 children and a diganosis of Type 1 diabetes. I resigned myself to the fact that a marathon just wasn't in the cards.

Well, about a year ago, my sister encouraged me to start on a training schedule to work up to a marathon. We aimed for the Portland Marathon and cleared our calendars for the big date. I consulted with my doctors and got the green light. For 4 months this summer, I diligently logged my progress, putting in anywhere from 20-35 miles per week. I ran my first half-marathon in August, and then, a few weeks later, got injured. Weeks of physical therapy (plus 2 weeks' rest) helped get me "back on track." I was ready and raring to go last weekend.

The marathon started at 7:00 in the morning (we actually started a bit after the hour because the race had a wave start) and we finished before noon. The rain set in about 5 miles into the run, but that didn't dampen our spirits. I heard about "hitting the wall" around 18-20 miles, but I was fortunate to make it all the way to 23 miles before I started breaking down. The last 3 miles of the marathon were among the toughest I've ever run. Hearing the announcer cry out my name as I crossed the finish line nearly brought me to tears.

My sister and I hobbled back to our hotel, showered and then slept for hours! We were pretty sore the first two days afterwards, but today (Day 3), we feel nearly 100%.

The Portland Marathon is one of the best first marathons in the country. It is popular among walkers, as well. Portland is famous for being extremely well-organized, which sure makes it nice for nervous participants. Perhaps most notably is the fact that the Portland Marathon is a "green" event. Among other things, the race donates discarded clothing to shelters, uses cups made of biodegradable materials, hands out canvas shopping bags, and each runner gets a tree seedling to plant - to create a virtual Portland Marathon forest!

I'm planning to run the Portland Marathon again next year. Let me know if I'll see you there!

Marathon Training for Beginners

I am doing what I never thought would be possible - training for a marathon! It will be the first time I have attempted running 26.2 miles straight, and I expect that it will take me at least 4 1/2 hours to complete the distance. Fortunately, my sister is training along with me. There may be 250 miles between us right now (she lives in Seattle and I live in Bend, Oregon), but we're tracking our progress together on a Google Document. All together, the training will take us 13 weeks before the Portland Marathon on October 5, 2008, in Portland, Oregon.

I've been running since college, for the past 20-some years. My sister, on the other hand, started running last November, but she is quickly becoming a seasoned runner. She completed a 1/2 marathon in March 2008 in good time. To complicate matters more, I am an insulin-dependent diabetic. This means that I test blood frequently and never go running for more than an hour without my kit, cell phone and glucose tablets (as well as gu). We both have children and work as attorneys too! Nonetheless, we are strictly following training schedules set forth in Runner's World, and (as of this publishing at the end of Week 3) are doing great!

If you are interested in a marathon and/or just want to read what its like to be training for one, please read my hubs which track both of our progress:

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