My First Marathon — The Story of a Finisher

By Brenda Ray Scott

“I’m a finisher!” A few years ago, even six months ago I could not imagine uttering these words about myself. By the late afternoon of Sunday, October 6, I said those words for the first time. Finishing the Portland Marathon left me with feelings of discovery of untapped potential to succeed and elation at having achieved a seemingly unattainable goal. Words I use to describe my experience with finishing the Portland Marathon include emotional, exhilarating, and renewing. It was a hard-fought victory. Completing a first marathon provides an immense sense of accomplishment and unimaginable inspiration in any challenges that lie ahead.

The Finish Line
Surprised and thrilled are the feelings I felt as I heard my name announced from the loud speaker. The surprises continued as I received a hug from my friend Karen as I crossed the finish line at a time much slower than I initially planned. Yet another surprise was waiting for me as I was unsuspectingly hugged by my newly minted walking companion, Jeannette. She had waited for me at the finish line with her husband, her sister, and her kids. My new friend even had her husband take a picture of us. For those of you who were a part of this year’s Portland Marathon, Jeanette’s husband and nine-month old daughter were the dad and baby duo who cheered the stampede at various points along the route with the big red noisemakers. Best of all was having my husband, Dana, and our toddler daughter Frances walk to the finish with me. My family met me at various points on the route not once, twice, but three times in addition to joining me for the finish.

During the Race
I started with a healthy, but not fast pace. My pace fluctuated by as much as two minutes per mile from my original pace during the race. As I fought to maintain a steady pace,the words of Joe Henderson from Runner’s World “Even effort not even pace,” echoed in my head. Next I heard the marathon mantra,”20 miles of training and 6 miles of truth!” In reviewing my split times and pacing, it looks as though I fell victim to the truth that occurs somewhere around the 20-mile mark.

Even having my niece Tina, her toddler daughter Alex, and babe in arms Ben, meeting me at the end of the St. Johns Bridge didn’t seem to hasten my pace. I felt fortunate to be one of the slower walkers to have crossed the St. Johns Bridge prior to the 12:30 pm deadline. One of the more memorable moments of the Portland Marathon came as I approached a police officer on a motorcycle near the 20-mile mark. I asked him to find my family waiting patiently for me along Willamette Boulevard at Wabash and tell them that I was at least 15-30 minutes off my pace. He happily obliged. Having my personal support network along the route made all the difference in lifting my spirits and ensuring my ability to finish.

Tactics for a Finisher
I know as a first-time finisher I owe my success to preparation, visualization, and utilizing the energy of others. These words of wisdom I received not only from my coaches, but other walkers and runners. The importance of preparation by way of creating and maintaining a regular training schedule and routine cannot be emphasized enough. My emphasis was to keep building my personal fitness and endurance and not necessarily to rack up mileage. The visualization portion is significant in that as you begin the race you must be able to visualize yourself crossing the finish line and also visualize yourself as working around any obstacles or barriers at various points during the race. Utilizing the energy of others is important as you feel your own energy and resolve wane. If I learned nothing else from my first marathon, I learned this one thing: You and the course are dynamic and you must be keenly observant to seize opportunities to optimize your performance.

The Good . . .
The good part of my experience with this year’s Portland Marathon was testing my limits and succeeding! I also enjoyed bonding with my coaches and other walkers. Preparation, including following routine, made this enjoyment possible.

The Bad . . . .
The bad part of the race came from losing my pace! Some of the pace problems had to do with the fact that two separate portions of the course included looping; i.e. backtracking. Perhaps I am alone in this preference, but I fare much better on a course without repeated routing.

The Ugly . . .
Oh the blisters! Don’t forget your feet! I somehow let the friendly shoe salesmen sell me the wrong size of walking shoes so by the end of the race I experienced amazing blisters as I trudged forward in what I now lovingly call my Circus Clown shoes.

The Better . . .
What could have made the race better and a more satisfying experience for me? I can readily say that better fitting shoes, better pacing, and better course study would have made a world of difference.

The Recovery
With my husband’s help, I slid into a warm bath with a long awaited ice cold Coca-Cola. Yes I know that a Coke isn’t officially listed as recovery nutrition, but it made all the difference to me. Following my brief soak, I adjourned to the dining room to a delicious dinner of pasta, salad, and bread. From there, I quickly changed my clothes and headed for the door. My husband, Dana, and I spent the evening at the Oregon Repertory Singers Duke Ellington Sacred Services concert, which proved more like a revival meeting than a classical music concert. I arrived at the concert proudly wearing the medal and also wearing thongs to give my poor blister-beaten feet a rest!

The next evening, my mother, Donna, my daughter Frances, and I joined my fellow walkers and runners at a “Bragging Rights” party at the Old Spaghetti Factory on Bancroft in downtown Portland. The carb-loaded meal and inspired company helped me better appreciate this personal victory. I enjoyed swapping stories of exhilaration and accomplishment with other athletes. Hearing so many inspiring stories confirmed for me that training for the Portland Marathon was not a one-time thing, but a way of life.

I felt quite sore for the first few days following the finish and soothed myself by stretching twice daily, taking regular moderate walks, and enjoying a daily hot soak in the bath. I also treated myself to an hour full-body massage. The massage experience helped me to appreciate how I could have benefited from the use of massage throughout my training program. During the ensuing weeks, I have dramatically decreased my training to give my body and the soles of my feet a rest. I am looking forward to continue training throughout the fall and winter. I want to take every advantage of this newfound level of fitness.

Words of Wisdom
The best guidance I received was from my coaches who reminded me, “Remember to smile and enjoy! Have fun and walk your own marathon.”

Resources
To learn more about recovery, visit www.teamoregon.com. For more information about how to train for your first marathon, visit www.portlandfit.com. The Portland Marathon also provides resources online at www.portlandmarathon.org.