Ingrid did awesome this entire season considering she only ran on Saturday's and that her mom passed away at the end of January so she missed out on 3 weeks of training :o( She didn't let that stop her though and week after week she got out there and did her mileage and did great. I was gone at Wildflower with the hubby for the last short run before the race and for some reason Ingrid started having knee issues, issues that would become a problem on race day.
Saturday morning Ingrid and I headed over to the Marriott for the race expo. We quickly found out that it was not the expo that I am used to and really it was just a race number/shirt pick up location with a few booths advertising other races. They did have race shirts, hats and mugs so I picked up a shirt for myself although when I got home I realized it was 26.2 and not 13.1, boo. I also got hubby a sweatshirt. I guess the good thing about it not really being a place to shop is that my wallet stayed full :o) We left the expo and had a nice breakfast at Lynn & Lu's off Grand Avenue and then headed back home. I had cleaned the house on Friday and done grocery shopping early Saturday morning so that I could rest most of Saturday which is what I did til around 4pm I started preparing dinner for our "pasta party". Our little running group this season was Onweena, Sandra, Ingrid and myself so hubby and I invited everyone over for a little carbo loading. I decided to make salad, baked shrimp/feta over pasta and bread. Oweena was also spending the night since she lives in Fremont and darn that girl, she brought over cream puffs for dessert which I refrained from having til after the race. Gosh those things are yummy.
It was a nice evening which included a few gifts for the ladies :o) We did not get bags to check into gear check like most races so I made some for each of us.
but I also made this shirt for Ingrid
It made Ingrid cry and then Onweena and then Sandra and then me :o) but Ingrid loved it and it's what she wore on Sunday.
My hubby and his band played on the main stage and he was super lucky and scored a VIP parking pass which is funny because after all the worrying we did about how packed it'd be and where we would park it ended up not being a problem for anyone who got there around 8:00 (race start was 9am) but it was nice to be able to park super close.
My dad also joined us which is always a nice treat, he likes coming out to the races. I guess he couldn't convince my mom though to get up early, lol and join him. I don't blame her. It tends to be an early and of course long day.
Race started at 9am and I managed to finish in 2:41. I have to admit I really don't like the 9am start it's just too late to start a race. Of course it ended up being a warm weekend so it got a little too warm for us out there and we've been training in winter conditions. I still managed to have a good race though and I felt great at the end.
Ingrid also finished although not as great as she had hoped and a little injured :o( at 8 we separated because she had to slow down but around mile 9 she started to have some major knee pain and couldn't run so she walked from 9 to the finish. The good news is she completed her first half marathon and her hubby and daughter were there to see it :o) the bad news is she is still having some knee issues and will have to go through physical therapy. I am really proud of her and what she accomplished. YAY INGRID!!
The rest of our little group did great as well. Onween and Phil both PR'd :O) and Onweena now on her way to training for her first full marathon.
I think th race organizers did a great job in putting this race together and I'm happy that they will return next year. Oakland really needed this and I've read that Oakland brought in almost $2 million that weekend. The people of Oakland were also amazing in coming out and cheering. It was funny that so many people especially volunteers kept thanking us for "doing this for Oakland". I kept telling them NO THANK YOU for being out here for us runners.
I'm talking a little break and still seeing my trainer which continues to go well. I am most likely going to do the San Francisco Half but I'm still trying to decide since July is a very busy month for us and the race is one week before hubby's Ironman. We shall see. I did sign up for Nike Half again as a legacy runner and will be doing that in October. It has now become a tradition and it's the only race I'll keep doing over and over.
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