I took a morning Southwest flight out of Long Beach airport for a short flight into Oakland airport. Long Beach is one of my favorite airports as it's always easier to get through TSA and you get to board the plane from the tarmac. You also have the choice to board the plane from either the front or the rear of the plane making the process a bit quicker. I was able to score an exit row window seat. I had been getting over a cold and the head congestion sure made it feel as if my head was going to explode when it came time for the plane to land!
Once I got off of the plane, I went to take the self-driving Oakland International Airport to Coliseum BART Station people mover. Before boarding, I added some money to my BART ticket that I had from my last trip to the bay area. From there I took the Orange line towards Richmond. I got off at the Ashby BART Station. It cost $8.45 for the trip. From there I walked over to the expo at Sports Basement Berkeley. There was a lot of shady characters hanging around the outside of the Ashby Station so I was quick to getting going on my way.
The expo was well organized. I first picked up my bib. We were sent an email with our bib numbers. After getting my bib, I then followed the directional stickers on the floor to go pick up my race shirt and gear bag. I came across a few vendor tables before I entered into the rest of the store.
Race shirt, front
Race shirt, back
After finishing with the expo, I walked up Shattuck Ave and headed towards UC Berkeley. It felt a bit weird walking around the campus. It was a bit nostalgic. I could've attended this university for my undergraduate studies back in the day, but ultimately I chose UC San Diego. I felt a bit depressed as I had made some very poor choices back then. Oh well, what's done is done. I guess it was a big life lesson for me. Anyhow, I stopped in at the Cal Student Store to pick up a souvenir. I've been making it a habit to buy a polo shirt from the universities that I've visited during my travels.
Polo shirt
I next stopped at the nearby CVS store to buy some water and a sports drink for the weekend before walking up to the McDonald's at the corner of University Ave and Shattuck Ave for some lunch. I've visited many McDonald's during my marathon travels and this was one of the filthier McDonald's that I've ever visited. Still I ordered a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese meal, used one of the coupons on the mobile app, and found a relatively clean table to consume my meal.
After I was done with my meal, I walked over to the Knights Inn near the corner of Sacramento St and University Ave to see if my room was ready for check-in. Unfortunately it was not. I left my cellphone number with the guy and he said that he would call me as soon as my room was ready. To pass the time, I hoofed it back to the United Artists Berkeley 7 movie theater at Shattuck Ave. I bought a ticket for Justice League.
For me it was a decent DC superhero movie which is quite a rare occurrence in recent years. However I thought Wonder Woman was overpowered and it's still my opinion that they did not cast the right actors for both Superman and Lois Lane. I don't think Henry Cavill has the range to convincingly pull off playing both Superman and Clark Kent. Amy Adams is a great actress, but her acting style is way too reserved for a Lois Lane. I was glad that they did a great job with Aquaman. The Flash and Cyborg were a bit average. At least the Flash was good for being the comedic relief.
After the movie was over, I started walking back to the motel. I noticed that I had a missed call from the motel. It would appear that my room was ready for me. Once I got into my room, it was a great load off my back to be able to put down my bags as I had been walking all over town carrying them.
Later that evening, I hoofed it back to the McDonald's to pick up dinner. I bought 2 Happy Meals since I had a buy one, get one free coupon. I ate the food back at the room. I then watched the USC v. UCLA football game on TV. I'm pretty neutral to the rivalry, but if I had to pick, I would root for the Trojans. While watching the game, I laid out my flat runner for the half marathon.
Fight on!
Flat runner
Sunday 11/19
This race had a late start at 8 am, but it was still pretty chilly when it came time to walk over to the starting line located at the corner of Milvia St and Bancroft Way. I finally got to wear my arm sleeves as well as use one of my mylar blankets. Once I got to the starting area, I used one of the many portapotties located in front of the Civic Center. When the start of the race got closer, I got inside my assigned wave 2 corral and found a spot to sit down. While waiting I was spotted by a couple of my friends.
Start line
When the race started, I was still feeling a bit congested and my ears had not fully popped as I ran that first mile with some pressure in my ear and sinuses. Having seen the elevation profile for the course prior to the race, I knew that I shouldn't get too crazy during the first half of the race. There were a couple of significant climbs. So after about 2 miles of a gradual climb, the next mile was a downhill mile. That was then followed up with another 2 miles of a gradual climb. I was sucking wind pretty hard by the time that I had reached the top of the climb at about mile 5. The next two miles were a gradual downhill. While the other runners around me were enjoying the downhill, I was having to deal with the soreness in my left ankle. I had to slow down and try to find a pace that didn't hurt too much. I took a scheduled walk break as I approached mile 8 at University Ave. The course got a bit congested at this out and back section as the 10k runners joined the course. I was able to put in 2 decent miles to try and make sure that I would finish under 2 hrs. After the out and back, it was pretty much a gradual climb to the finish line back at the high school. It was a good thing that my left ankle felt way better running uphill versus downhill. I crossed the finish line on Martin Luther King Jr Way near Allston Way. I didn't have much of a sprint to the finish. It was more of a quick jog.
Finish line
Finish: 1:57:16
Click here for my Garmin data.
I was pretty content with finishing just under 2 hrs despite the sore ankle. I was only 7 seconds slower than last weekend's half marathon. I'm pretty consistent with my level of mediocrity. :)
The finisher chute was along Allston Way just north of Berkeley High School. I picked up my medal, some drinks, a banana, a couple of Power Crunch bars, and a mylar blanket. After that I headed towards the southern end of the high school to pick up my San Francisco Marathon Berkeley Half Marathon Challenge medal. After I got my challenge medal, I sat down for a bit as I couldn't stop coughing. After the coughing subsided a bit, I started walking back to my motel.
Post race drinks and snacks
Back at my motel room, I got cleaned up and rested a bit. A couple of hours later, I went out to get lunch at Zachary's Chicago Pizza over on Solano Ave. I had been looking forward to eating here since I've not eaten at Zachary's for about 20 years! The walk took a little over 33 minutes from my motel. Once I got there, I got seated and ordered a small chicken special stuffed pizza. It took about 30 minutes for the pizza to come out. It was well worth the wait! The check came out to be $26.22 which made me think that I should've run a marathon instead. It was actually nice to make that walk back to the motel after eating such a fulfilling meal.
Small chicken special stuffed pizza
I was pretty stuffed from lunch that I didn't even feel the slightest need to go out to find something to eat for dinner.
Monday 11/20
I woke up early, got ready, dropped off the room key at the front desk, and made the short walk in the dark over to the North Berkeley BART Station near the corner of Delaware St and Sacramento St. From there, I caught a BART train over to the airport for my early flight back home.
