Race Number 14 Oakland Half Marathon
Turned out to be a perfect day for racing
Sunday, March 25th, 2012
It was a little chilly when I was warming up for the Oakland Half but by the time the gun went off at 9:15am I was ready to take off my new hat and start racing. 3456 people finished the half. Ivan Median was the overall winner in 1:13:44 and Rachel Niehuus was the first female in with 1:18:16. I hit the first mile in 6:41 but my legs seemed really heavy. I think I did not eat right the night before. I had too much bread and right before bed I ate a candy bar. My legs seemed heavy the whole way today. This was the first time I have raced in Oakland ever. I have run some races near Oakland before but never in the city. This was the third year for the Running Festival. The biggest event is the half marathon but they also do the full marathon, relays, 5k and kids races. I finished 94th overall with 1:31:53. I hit the 10 mile mark at 68:57 but my lack of training over 10 miles hurt me the last three miles. I didn't really full apart but I just did not have enough gas. However, running around Lake Merret really was a great way to finish off a half. Talking with 57-year-old Michael Collery from San Carlos in the shoot. He ran 1:32:02 today. We had met at the home town San Carlos races over the years. The Oakland Cheerleaders were hands to encourage the runners. Catherine is a real troopy, cast and all. She broke her arm last weekend in Forestville. Ken Collins joined our crew for this shoot. Mike and Waitman pulled it off again. Race number 14th with a lot of good footage in the can. Photos by Catherine Cross "A Long Run" Comments and Feedback
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It is wet out there
Oakland Half Marathon in the morning
Saturday, March 24th, 2012
We need the rain. But it will add to the challenge if it is raining in the morning. There is a 60% chance of rain in Oakland (CA) tomorrow. Actually I like running in the rain. However, I am still not 100% over the flu-cold thing I caught last week. This could send me back over the edge... The half marathon starts at 9:15 tomorrow. It looks like a good course but I am not sure why the overall winning times have not been all that grand. The winning time last year was 1:10:46.
In any case, this is a huge race for me. Due to situations, I have had to run shorter races a couple of times and I lost some mileage. I have been sick for over a week and still not 100%. I have not been able to train as much as I like. And I need to run around 7 minutes per mile to keep up my average. My goal is to get under 1:31. However, considering everything I would be pleased with 1:33. But that is not going to help my under 7 minute/mile average I need. I am going into this race with a four minute buffer but I don't want to give back half of it or more in one race. It could be a tough day for my support crew too. Plus, Catherine fractured her right arm while in Forestville last Sunday. Going to make it hard to do much. BUT the show goes on. We will pull it off...and then some!
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