It's been several weeks in a row with so much confusion about the schedule, and the last time I showed up, I missed my pace group and ended up lost and running all alone. That SUCKED. I wasn't sure if I should turn around or keep going and there was no one from Portland Fit anywhere near me. I was totally ALONE.

I was so frusterated and confused and mad I lost all motivation and walked the whole way back to my car alone, and it was a long and miserable walk. I failed, I was alone, I was miseable. Now I'm looking at the schedule and it says the red/purple group is only doing 9 miles this weekend, but I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be 11 miles. So I clicked back through the schedules and I see that the screw-up starts with week 7 showing May 8th at 9 miles and then May 15th at 7 miles. Honestly, at this point, I just quit. I really don't want to show up yet AGAIN and not be in the right pace group and end up lost and alone. That is a LOOOOONG walk to make alone, not sure if I've run the right number of miles or not and feeling like I totally failed. And then add insult to injury, with the totally messed up schedule, I'm pretty sure it's going to happen again this weekend.

The whole point of doing this...the whole point of this program is the team work...the whole point is not being alone. I understand that the staff has other things in the running world and in their personal lives that might be distracting them or filling their already overflowing plate of responsibilities, but for those of us who forked over the money to do this program, and who get up early and push our bodies to the limit each week, all that matters is the schedule. Without a correct start time, nothing else falls into place...not the group we're supposed to run with, not fininishing in time for the seminars, not the sense of accomplishment to continue and come back again next week.

I had so much hope and enthusiasm for this program, but I feel so let down and so frusterated. I feel left behind. So good luck to the rest of you. If there's anyone in the Wilsonville area that wants a running buddy, send me a message (assuming that this message isn't taken down). I'll be running alone in Wilsonville, saving myself the gas spent driving to Portland/Vancouver to run all alone.

Wow, I am not one to reply, but I believe you've missed some communication. Yes, there was one week with a schedule mess up. But, are you getting the news letter and reading the forum regularly? They have appologized and fixed it.

We do dial back the mileage to "recover" before adding on more. It will vary each week and the program adapts each year to fit the weeks we need for our goals. This year we have a 27 week program, so an extra week in the begining to build mileage and base is key.

You should come back out there and give it a shot. Everyone works hard to put this on for us -- AND they would welcome a personal discussion as well. There are coaches and ACs at the end and someone is always at "base" for help.

Teamwork is important and a motivator -- but you have to be able to make the mileage on your own too -- I think you'll find your solo run told you more about what you want/need from this training than if you were in a pack. No one can cross that finish line for you.

Dig deep, show up, shake off the past, have fun, go the distance and reward yourself when you succeed.

Thanks, Dawn! I could not have said it better. (I tried -- sent a personal PM, but this is better.)

Dawn, actually, it was two weeks in row (if you've noticed if you've read the forums yourself as well.) Yes, I see the apology and I know that mistakes happen, but getting lost and feeling alone was not what I paid $115 and the gas money to Portland for. As for coaches and such being at the end, there was no one there when I finished. I got so lost I think I may have actually gone too far, and when I finally got back everyone had packed up and the parking lots were empty.

As for missed communication, yes, apparently I am missing some communication. Where is the newsletter or post that says we're dialing back miles? I read everything and I see nothing about that. And to speak on behalf of other confused people who are not as vocal... we all have busy lives and don't have the time to dig through messsages and forum posts to figure out what the heck is going on. There are many people who don't even read the forums. But yes, I do read everything, and I've been quite persistent and proactive about trying to get correct information. I "bumped" queries on the forums. I sent personal emails, to get last minute information that I'm sure less persistent (obnoxious?) people just didn't get. It shouldn't be that much work. I went on today, and saw that the mileage made no sense, and no explanation of it. Should I have just known this intuitively? Should I have to yet again chase someone down to please explain what's going on and veryify whether this is yet again another mistake?

As a suggestion, perhaps the schedule (in the schedule section) can have a big footnote that says "this is a tentative schedule, please check XYZ for final, actual scheduling." Perhaps there could be a footnote about how mileage will do the bunny-hop (dialing back and forth) so that people expect that. Or information about the mileage bunny-hop could be in the basic information given out when we begin. Perhaps also, there could be a forum dedicated soley to scheduling... or perhaps the "schedule" tab would be eliminated entirely so that people are always clicking in one place with the same information. These are just ideas. I let John know that if they feel this post is too incendiary, feel free to remove it. All I (and others) wanted was to see some change in how things were communicated. I know the staff is working very hard. Maybe we can all learn from this. Some of us members are pretty newbie about all of this, and sometimes the confusion/frusteration just adds to what we have to conquer here.

Honestly, I'm a bit offended by the "no one can cross that finish line for you." I appreciate that you're just trying to be motivational, but it's just a tad condescending. I work just as hard as anyone else, running my little butt off, pushing myself hard.

John sent me a very nice personal message, and I do appreciate the kick-start that Portland Fit gave me before it got confusing with the split times, the incorrect schedules, and the dialed-back mileage that I had no idea about. But yes, from now on I'll be crossing the finish line on my own. Good luck to the rest of you, and I hope in the future that communication to the membership is clearer. It is a good program with good people in it. Best of luck to you all.

Serendipity,

I'm coming from West Linn. I'll run with you so you and I are not running alone or get lost. I'm pretty slow but if you can bear that we can motivate each other. I started running last November and sometimes feel like I'm not cut out for running, but I keep coming back.

Let me know.

I am also in the red group, and have not missed a run. There has been some confusion in the schedule, but if I was able to figure it out through the forums and the newsletter, then others should be able to also. Thanks PFit for working hard keeping us organized and running!

I am new to Vancouver Fit and run/walking in general. I check every Saturday night to make sure what times I'm scheduled to be there. I appreciate your frustration about being left behind and can certainly see how that would have been disappointing and maybe a little scary but what Portland/Vancouver Fit has put together is amazing. I hope you find a partner to run with in Wilsonville. Just don't give up. Thanks to all the coaches for everything you do.

serendipity - I feel your pain. I am having similar frustrations. Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. Thanks for speaking up.

Wow. That's really too bad that your experience hasn't be so positive. I hope you change your mind because this weekend's run in Vancouver is such a nice change of pace (Red Group early start 6:50 at Beaches Restaurant along the river.). It's fun as you run along the river and thru Fort Vancouver. Such a great run.

Anyway, I hope you stick with this. This is my 5th year. I was not a runner at all before this. I started by running a block then walking a block.... etc... I've now run 4 marathons. ( I highly, highly recommend Royal Victoria at some point. It's my absolute favorite so far. Don't give up now.

If you really are done with Portland fit there are other training groups out there. I did a combination of P-Fit and Portland Marathon Clinic (teamoregon.com) last year. I really liked that they changed locations each week. I was not wild about he Wildwood Trail runs as that kicks your ass!! Also, all of their runs start at 8am and I usually work on Saturdays and need to be showered and ready by 11am for work. But, all in all, I really thought is was a great training program but I would only recommend it for people who have at least one marathon training season under their belt.

Don't give up. Finishing a marathon is really cool!! You gotta do it.

Good Luck.