Portland Marathon: Out and back and up and Over then a freakin’ pretzel?
You start in town then have 2 sharp doglegs to get out of the city and onto the Naito Parkway. THIS IS A GIFT, IT SLOWS YOU DOWN. Miles 2-4 are a slow, steady incline and you will be able to see runners ahead of you, KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN AND CONSERVE ENERGY. The good news: once you crest the hill at mile 3 you have 1.5 miles of recovery. LOCK YOUR CAGE AND DO NOT GET GREEDY. Mind the pace cap, do not EVER think that you are behind. You will start passing people very soon.
Slow, flat and steady to mile 11 (watch effort here, you are still holding back!!!!) and that first dogleg back into the city will take out anyone who got greedy on the flat portion you just finished. Slow your roll a bit, there are several turns until mile 13, don’t expect to find a rhythm until then.
Mile 15 is where you need to engage your willpower lock your cage once more, steady effort all the way up the hill and onto the bridge. Don’t pick up TOO much speed coming off of Philadelphia Avenue, but once you settle into Willamette blvd you may pick up the effort a touch and find a steady groove to get you to mile 24, when the twists and turns come back, they look like a pretzel at mile 24. Run the rest like the EAT, feel free to slingshot around the outside of the turns on mile 25.4 and around 26. Basically, after you escape the third pretzel turn at mile 24, start gathering steam and run it like the last 2 sections of the EAT. YOU GOT THIS.
MK Fleming is the founder of Fitness Protection, LLC where she trains runners for $29 per month and gives marathon plans away for free. Click here to download her most popular Marathon plan, Tenacious AF, free!