Disclaimer: I received an entry to Oakland Running Festival as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Race morning dawned all to soon even with the late start. I had not slept well the night before- too much coughing and a noisy neighbor. As I was getting ready I heard something from outside the window. Hi marathon runners!!!

Due to some shuttle confusion, I wanted to be at the supposed spot a little before 8. That way I had plenty of time for plan b if the hotel was right and there were no shuttles this year. I had to go back up to my room twice- forgot my headphones then my sunglasses when I picked up the headphones. I rounded the side of the hotel and hallelujah, there was a shuttle sign. After a very breezy wait, we all loaded on to the shuttles and were on our way.

I arrived way sooner than I usually like but at least I was there. I ran into BibRave Pro Nicole and we chatted for a bit. Yet we forgot to get a picture. I ate half a granola bar and drank water which is weird as I usually race fasted but with a start time of 9:30 I was a little confused. I hit the port a potties then made my way to the start. I lined up around the 2:20 group even though I knew that was highly unlikely. And we were off.

Miles 1,2 – 10:30, 11:17
Ok, just a little speedy out of the gate. I knew I wasn’t up to 10’s- I was in denial but I wasn’t that stupid. The course wound down past Lake Merritt and I enjoyed the view to my right. Then we headed in downtown and as much I was enjoying the tall buildings and street art, I realized I had a growing issue.

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Miles 3-6- 10:59, 11:30, 10:42, 11:13
My damn feet went numb around 2.5 miles in and no walk breaks or stomping were bringing them back. So much for it being the shoes. I took walk breaks every 1:30 because I was having trouble gaging the stress on my legs. As you can see my pace never really slowed so even with all the walk breaks, I was running too fast but couldn’t feel it. I was still enjoying the city sights and not feeling any pain so I just kept moving.

Miles 7-8 12:02, 12:44
Feeling came back to my feet but I was beginning to feel super tired and my coughing was increasing. Now my walk breaks were even slower. I don’t think I ever had wheels in this race but they were all flying off at this point.

Miles 9-13- 12:24, 13:26, 14:02, 13:21, 13:46
My body pretty much told me it was done. I had ignored the cough and sore throat for days and now I was paying the price. I was done. I walked it in from there and only attempted to run when I saw a photographer. Yeah, that didn’t work. The bummer with the walking was that these back miles were not the most scenic and wound through some ummm, really interesting areas. Yeah, let’s go with interesting. Miles 12 to 13 brought us back to lake and I was so glad to see the finish line.

Finish- 2:40:21

I crossed the line and was handed plenty of snacks and water before the medal. Huh? Then as I was getting more and more tired by the minute, I just tried to find the shuttle pick up so I could make it back to hotel. And for the love of Pete- why do people not fill a bus back to front? It would make so much more sense! I made it back to the hotel in time to be violently ill, shower and head home. And mad props to the Oakland Marriott- I checked in an hour early and out 3 hours late- all complimentary due to the race.

I can’t be disappointed by my time as I was the one who buried my head in the sand for 4 days. And considering I walked 6ish miles, it was still faster than Surf City, ha! Also considering how sick I am 4 days later, yeah, it could have been much worse.

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