I'm getting frustrated by the Aleroth ministry portals as well.
I've put most of my level up stat points into strength; and melee skills seem to be really bad for this challenge (and if I reset my skills, my high strength will probably make magic or ranged attacks ineffective).
I saw a guide suggesting that you can abuse quick-save to get through the 60 seconds; but I'm on 360 and the Save option is disabled during this fight.
I guess lowering difficulty is a possibility; it would be a shame to have to lower it for just one fight though