#48 - Newport Marathon 2008

DATE: May 31, 2008

LOCATION: Newport, Oregon

I've been told many times that Newport is a great place to get a PR, but I never would have expected one. I mean this was my fifth week in a row of running a marathon or ultra. I was hoping to do well, but my thought was to run a 3:30 or so.

My mom wanted to join me on the trip. We stayed at a state campground about seven miles north of Newport. We grabbed a bit to eat in Newport after I had picked up my packet. We then set up camp and went to bed.

In the morning I woke up and got ready. My mom dropped me off at the finish area, and I rode the bus to the starting area, which was about 2 or 3 miles away. The weather was very nice, in the 50s and overcast.

I started out running fast. The first four miles were mostly all downhill, and I didn't hold back. In those first four miles I was averaging a 7:15 pace. At this point I was a little worried that I was starting too fast. But I felt so good. So I decided to keep pushing the pace.

So at mile four the race begins a 12 mile out and back section. At one hour I looked at my GPS watch and saw that I had run about 8.2 miles. I was shocked! So I decided to just keep pushing and seeing how long I could keep this up.

As I approached the half way point in the race, I was on pace for a half marathon PR. So in that next five miles I was posting miles between 7:20-7:25 miles. I hit the half marathon marker at 1:35:56. So at this point I thought if I run a 2 hour second half I'd do a 3:36, which wouldn't be too far of from my goal. But that would be a huge melt down.

So as I went ahead I still felt good and just keep pushing. I had slowed down a bit, I was now running mid to upper 7:20's. I began to cramp and little in my thighs, but I wanted to run strong through the turn around as there were many fans cheering runners on. I also knew that my energy was running low and that I needed a little boost. So I grabbed a vanilla GU from my belt and consumed it with some water in the turn around on the run. This seemed to give me the boost that I needed.

From that point forward I was running in the 7:20's. As I approached the 17 mile mark, I just kept pushing.

At the 20 mile mark, I looked down at my watch and noticed that I was averaging a 7:21 mile. At the half marathon marker I was averaging a 7:19 mile. I realized at this point I was going to run a huge PR.

About mile 22 or 23, Steve Yee ran up behind me. He made a comment about my fast running. I asked him, how it was going for him, and he told me he was struggling, but wanted to finish strong. At that point, I used him to push me, and he did the same with me.

I was slowing, running 7:30's. I was so happy and just kept pushing. I crossed the finish line and was so happy. I got my shirt and some food and was congratulated by all the Maniacs.
I spent some time in the finish area, talking with friends. I then meet up with my mom. We drove home.