Maine Road

In the unlikely chance you are a Manchester City FC fan, and was expecting this to be a history of your team's old stadium, I apologize in advance. We took a roadtrip to Portland, ME for MLK weekend and incorporated an 18 mile training run into it...  that's what everyone does on vacation, right? My 2010 MLK weekend was spent in a warm Bermuda and the weather couldn't have been more different.

Wednesday's blizzard had passed through eastern Maine too and, similar to Boston, mounds of icy snow lay heavily everywhere. We didn't check the forecast before traveling and, on awakening, were welcomed with the coldest weather we'd ever ran in... namely, a frigid 3f / -16c before any kind of windchill was included.

After memorizing the Portland Marathon course, we bundled up tight and set out to run almost three quarter's of it. With 2.5 hours of running ahead, we agreed that 10 miles would be our minimum goal in those conditions, and confirmed with the hotel that both treadmills were working in case of completing the final 8 miles indoors. The first few miles were surprisingly easy although uneven paths made for awkward running. Fortunately, there wasn't much of a breeze and, after rounding a large cove, we left the city on Rte 1 North, passing the magnificently named "Martin's Point."

At mile 7 we took a wonderful diversion along a hilly residential street, pausing to take in the million-dollar ocean house view. The Garmin signalled 9 miles shortly afterwards and I spent the next 2 reminiscing about my childhood Christmas' spent in snowy Norway while my running partner, A, listened politely - whether she was interested or bored, it was difficult to tell, but at least the pace was good - averaging 7.45's.

The half marathon passed by quickly and we were heating up too; gloves and ear-warmers were removed and, at 15.5 miles, Portland loomed large. A very slow trot through some deep snowy paths took us under a bridge and onto the harbour running trail. Picking it up to 7.30 min/mile we traced the mini-railway track until arriving at the cruise terminal and final mile... a windy, hilly and comparatively slow mile.

The Garmin bleeped 18 outside a Starbucks so we burst in and devoured some aptly named "Perfect Oatmeal" with hot coffee. The first liquids in 18 miles and only food outside of a Gu pack each.

The run averaged 8.13 min/miles - a total made slower by several miles over uneven, icy surfaces that were difficult to traverse. 46 miles since Monday and, with a rest day Sunday, my highest weekly mileage ever and my longest run in Newton Gravity's. Now it was time to hit the outlet malls!