background:
i ran my first marathon (the san francisco marathon) on august 3rd, 2008. i was really happy with my time of 4:04:35 on this HILLY course and since it was my first marathon. the next day i signed up for the california international marathon with intensions of trying to qualify for the boston marathon (3:40:59). i knew this was going to be tough, but i really wanted to try. i knew i had a sub 4 hour marathon in me, and i didn’t really want to set a goal like 3:45 since it was so close. i didn’t really ever post my goals on here because i really had no idea what would happen and didn’t want to jinx myself but i think it was pretty obvious what my goal was 
i took 2 weeks off after SFM and then built my base back up to 35 miles per week over the next 5 weeks. then on september 15th i started the pfitz 12 week/55 mile per week max plan. i trained really hard and put in 4 50 mile weeks, and ran 2 half marathons, one of which was a big PR.
saturday/expo day:
friday night i slept ok, i woke up a few times but got a solid 8+ hours of sleep. i was able to relax and stay in bed while chris got up to go running that morning which was nice. we dropped the dogs off at camp and then headed up to sacramento. we got to our hotel just after 1:00 and went over to the expo around 1:30. i got my bib (#1664, i was happy with the number… 16 is my birthday) then picked up the shirt and goodie bag then walked around a bit. i got to meet leslie (who is SOO cute) and chat about the marathon and our goals. it was so fun to talk to her since this was her first marathon, and she had the first marathon nerves. we both forgot to take a picture though!
a little bit later i met jen for the first time in person. i already felt like i knew her since we email frequently and i have been reading her blog for a long time. she has been amazing to me in both my marathons, giving me great support and advice and also got me on the pfitz training program for CIM. i have pretty much considered her my coach everytime i have a doubt or question about something… off an email goes to her! its been fun to share the training experience with her since we were on the same program for the same marathon, and she has ran CIM twice before. thank you again jen we chatted a bit and made plans for the morning then headed back to the hotel.
i got my gear set up for the morning and relaxed and napped a bit before dinner.
my mom’s sign for me
my parents joined us for dinner with our friends and their parents at a local italian restaurant. when my friend’s mom showed up she was carrying a box and i could tell something was up by the look on their faces. turns out chris had shirts made for everyone who came to cheer for me. turns out this was really awesome for me too since i was able to spot my peeps easily
we got back to the hotel around 7:30 and i finished up my morning prep and got in bed. it took a while for me to fall asleep and i had a little bit of a headache but i took some advil and finally fell asleep. i woke up a few times sure it was time to wake up, but when the alarm actually did go off at 3:50am i wasn’t quite ready to wake up yet.
race day:
i wished for some more sleep but soon it kicked in that it was race day! i popped out of bed and started getting ready. i had a cup of coffee and ate some toast with peanut butter. it was really hard for me to eat but i shoved it down anyways. i ate a banana as i was getting ready also. i had some time to roll out my legs so i did that quick then said bye to chris and went down to jen and zach’s room at 4:45. a few minutes later we were heading down to the bus and we actually got lucky and made it on the first bus. the ride was about 40 minutes or so, and it was pretty cold and foggy outside. luckily for us they said we could wait on the bus. we got off to hit the porto potties for the first time then got back on the bus and spent the next 30 minutes keeping warm and chatting. about 6:20 we headed out for 2 more pottie stops, where i had no problem going. i was actually getting a little nervous that i had lost too many calories if you know what i mean. with 10 minutes to go we dropped our bags off and then went our separate ways to find our pace groups. i was planning on running with the 3:40 group if i could find them, but unfortunately i never did. i was lined up behind the 3:45 group, so i figured i could try and find the 3:40 group once we were running. a couple minutes later we were off!
i was getting close to the half way point (when i checked garmin when i crossed the half way i was at 1:49:50) and i had already taken 3 gus at miles 4, 8, and 12 and drank all my gatorade. i had asked chris to hand me full water bottles on the course, but he had the idea to have our extra fuel belt (exact same as the one i usually use) loaded up so he could just hand me a new one and then i wouldn’t have to fumble with the bottles or carry 5-6 gus in my pack. this worked out perfectly. there was a huge crowd of spectators at the half way point (there was actually really awesome crowd support through the entire race) and i was able to spot my mom and friend. my mom mouthed to me that chris was at the end of the crowd with the extra belt. i spotted him easily and unhooked my belt and did the switch very easily! i was so glad he thought of this because it worked perfect and was so easy. i was loaded up with 2 new bottles and 3 more gu. the worst of the hills were over around 16 or so, the course was slightly declining but getting flatter. i was wishing for more declines
i was still on pace, but i was starting to get pretty tired at this point. i just kept telling myself to hold on and keep the 8:23s coming and kept checking my pace band. i had also latched on to a group of 5 people when i heard them talking about the pace they were running (8:22s) so i figured they were going for a 3:40 also. i kept pretty close to them through most of the first 2o miles. i saw tara and maritza again around mile 15.
my pace band was for a 3:40:00 but i knew i had the extra 59 seconds to get a BQ. i tried not to think of those seconds and was planning on reserving them for the last 6 miles, but i started to cut into them a bit come mile 18. i was getting tired and my legs were definitely slowing down a bit. i hung on for as long as i could, but around mile 20 i was a minute off the pace band and i knew i couldn’t run 8:22′s for the last 6 miles, i was tired. i saw my friends and family just before mile 20 and i was a little cranky but still happy to see them. i knew the end was getting closer.
i was slowing down a lot more when mile 21 came. there was a small hill that felt like a mountain. i wanted to walk so bad, but i kept on running. i just kept reminding myself how close i was to the end and i didn’t worry about my pace anymore. i knew i would get a huge PR and just was happy about that, i just wanted to be finished!
i also told her i wished i was 35 today… i would have had the BQ! we saw tara and maritza around mile 25 and they went nuts seeing us all together… it was so fun. with about .5 miles to go i left zach and jen and saw my family along the side. at this point i was just so happy the finish was so close. i came over to give them all high 5′s and had a big smile on my face (i think they were all pretty relieved since i think it was obvious i wasn’t hitting my BQ). 
the 3:45 pacer was close so i took off to beat him and rounded the corner to the finish. helloooooo finish line, i have never been so happy to see you
garmin results:
26.33 miles/3:44:27/8:32 avg pace
official results:
overall: 1813/5198
age group: 79/300
female: 443/2183
i waited right at the finish line and got to be there when jen crossed (the men and women have different finish lines) and we got our medals and space blankets and went to meet zach. we were all so happy to be done and it felt so awesome to be able to share those last grueling miles with them. we went and got our bags then found the family and friends so we could go eat! i was surprised how well i was walking, after SFM i could barely walk, but today i was walking pretty good, a little slow, but still not limping around like the last one.
we had a group of 12 for lunch and beer… yes i got my beer (chris even had one for me at the finish line but i couldn’t stomach it at the time). it was so awesome to be surrounded by my friends and family to celebrate
blogger buddies… tara, maritza, me and jen
i wasn’t sure how i would react not reaching my big goal. i trained really hard for this race and CIM is in the top 5 marathons to send people to boston, so i hoped i had a shot… i really really wanted to go. but after it was over, and even during it, i was just so excited to have run such a fast race, and such a huge PR. once i let go and reassessed my goal i knew i would be ok. i know how close i was and i KNOW that i can do it someday. i did just start running this year and this was only my second marathon… i hopefully have many more in my future. i am a little disappointed but i am definitely more happy than anything. i have had a lot of “what ifs” for the past 4 months not knowing if i would be running a marathon come april 20th, so now i know and can move on and plan my year (which you know was driving me crazy not being able to plan for sure). i am SO proud of myself for all the hard training i put in and a great race to pay off. i have been smiling all day i know i will get to boston someday!! someday soon!
i also know i need to give this hard working body a couple weeks off of running. i held together pretty well over the last 12 weeks, but i know that a few more weeks would have been rough. i know i will be itching to hit the pavement soon, but i am going to try and do it schedule free… for a few weeks at least
Aron!! You did GREAT! Your ran 20 min faster than your last marathon and this is only your 2nd one! Wow, BQ is totally in the cards for you. Very very soon. Congrats again. I’m bummed I didn’t get to see you today!!
Amazing.
Wow. I can’t believe you just started running this past year! That is crazy! Your improvement is incredible!
You did so great Aron. You really should be so proud of this awesome accomplishment. There is no doubt you will be running Boston someday very soon. You totally have it in you.
I love being able to say that I run marathons now instead of I ran a marathon. It was one of my favorite things after finishing Philly
Enjoy your holidays and rest up. I have a feeling you have a busy year ahead of you!
I KNEW that was you! I saw someone that I thought was you pass me with a couple of other people around mile 24-25.
Unfortunately, given my crummy state, I was not in a good place to exchange pleasantries at ALL. I did see the ‘Run Aron Run’ sign a couple of times (think your dad was holding it?) and wondered where the heck you were..
Congrats on rocking the course Aron. Getting a BQ is NOT easy – wouldn’t mean much if it was. But you are SO close on your first real attempt that I’m sure it’s right around the corner for ya.
Congrats on the awesome time, and way to kick my butt!
Wow, that is an AMAZING PR, especially since you ran your first marathon six months ago. I hope I can be as dedicated in my training…once I get around to signing up for my first marathon, aha.
CONGRATULATIONS!
So so happy for you! Congrats on a phenomenal PR
Aron – AMAZING JOB with your PR today!! You did great and you trained so hard – you should be SO proud of yourself. I know you will have Boston in the bag next time!
I watched the race on the news this am when they were showing clips and I kept a look out for your green shorts but I never saw you.
Enjoy your time off – you deserve it!
I absolutely loved reading your race report and love your attitude. You ran so well! Keep smiling.
The shirts were very cute. Make sure you tell everyone to keep them. You will qulaify for Boston, it is in your future. I think you found a training plan that works for you. Great job Aron. Enjoy the holidays and a nice break from running, you deserve it.
Great job girl! LOVE the shirt Chris had made up, you have a great hubby!
Great job!! You did so well!! And the shirts are adorable! I love them.
WOW! You only started running this year! Congrats again, you did amazing. Love those shirts too!
You are SO going to make it to Boston — soon! You are really close and you are a terrific runner with an equally terrific attitude. Congratulations on the marathon. You did a GREAT job!
omg – what a PR!! you did incredible…not that there was any doubt. You trained hard and should feel SO good. Love the shirts your husband made and all the support from your friends and family. great recap!
CONGRATULATIONS ARON!! I have a huge smile on my face right now – I am so proud of you. What a massive improvement only a few months after your first marathon. You are awesome and a huge inspiration.
What an awesome job! All your hard work definitely paid off and you should be so proud.
CONGRATS Aron!! You did a phenomenal job!! I’m so stinkin proud of you! (I hope that doesn’t sound too Mommy-ish LMAO) Really you did fantastic! I have no doubts that you’ll make Boston ;D ;D
Congratulations on an awesome time! Reading your blog the past few weeks has been so inspirational. Way to go !!
Congratulations and GREAT JOB! 20 min improvement!? Kick ass.
You are within 4 mins of BQ now. You’ll get it. Forget these hills – even a net down hill – and find a true flat course and it’ll be yours.
You are a marathoning veteran now. Enjoy!
Ha! My word ver is “water”. Apropos?
WOW!!! I can’t believe that this was only your second marathon, you are a total natural that has busted her ass!!! Great job Aron, you should be so proud of yourself! It’s so great that your family was there for you, they make it all so much more important!!! Congrats again, you ROCK!
only 4 min. away from a BQ after only your second marathon!?! That is amazing. Congrats on the 20 min. PR. You are one of the best race report writers.
Aron, you did so great out there! I love the sign so cute! Listen the 3rd time WILL be the BQ! Way to stay positive:)
Congratulations it looks like it was super fun meeting blogging buds and all!
You just started running this year? I didn’t know that! What an amazing year you’ve had! I think you are smoking fast and a 20 minute PR is so freaking amazing. Congrats!!
I hope you run it next year again – because it’s my target for my very first marathon.
I really enjoyed reading this race report. You did such a great job and earned an amazing PR. You are quite the accomplished marathoner! Congratulations Aron!
I am awestruck at how fast you are, and how far you’ve come, for being relatively new to running. You are just an incredible runner mentally and physically and I have no doubt that you will run sub 3:40. You look GREAT with that finisher’s medal around your neck. Congratulations!
P.S. That hill at mile 21 felt like a mountain even to someone with fresh legs (me!)
Congratulations! What a great race and report! You did AWESOME and I can’t believe that you just started running this year. Congrats on the big PR shave too!
Congratulations, Aron!!! What an awesome PR! I know you’ll get your BQ very soon. Your cheer squad is amazing. The neon green shirts are definitely a great idea. Get some well deserved rest!
OMG!!! What a great race!! Especially considering it was your 2nd Marathon! WOW!! You should feel so amazingly proud of yourself!!! You ran a great race!!! Congrats!!
Aron, this is an awesome race report befitting of the awesome race you ran. Im putting even money that you will qualify for boston the next marathon you run. Great job!
Congratulations Aron. You ran the best race you could yesterday and a 20min+ PR is an amazing accomplishment. You really did work hard in your training and it definitely showed in your results.
I’m sure we’ll bump heads in a Boston Marathon in the near future. For now, bask in your gigantic PR, and recover well!
OMG I had no idea you’ve only been running a year???? Way to go. You had an awesome race and abided by the number 1 rule: Finish smiling!! Sounds like a great day. Can’t wait to hear about your next one!
Congratulations Aron!! It was awesome to meet you and hang out with you all day yesterday and share the whole experience. Running with you at the end of the race was definitely a highlight, and it was a HUGE help when I was really struggling. You ran an awesome race, very well paced, and I’m very honored you called me your coach!
hehe. You are going to get to Boston soon, no doubt. Congrats again. 
CONGRATS, Aron!! You are amazing. A 20-minute PR is huge!! YAY!!
I am so beyond proud of you! Congratulations! You did AMAZING yesterday and hit a huge PR!
You are just a natural born runner and I just know that you will make it to Boston soon. In the meantime, bask in the glow of a job well done and eat/drink whatever the hell you want! (ROHO shots this Saturday???)
It was a blast cheering for you!
That’s awesome, and what a great attitude to have as well…I’m definitely inspired for my next marathon! You’ll get that BQ soon, I can feel it.
Trimming 20 minutes off of your marathon PR is an awesome accomplishment. Doing it 4 months after your first one is even more amazing. Congratulations! Rest up and recover well. Enjoy the holidays knowing that your ‘run marathons.’
woahh!
That was such a well writen race report! You ran your own race and shaved 20 minutes off your last marathon time! You’re fantastic!
Enjoy the rest Aron!:) You deserve it1
Ps.I love the shirts your family made
That is a HUGE PR! Good job, looks like Pfitz works. I can’t believe you ran a marathon in August and did so well in this one. Thanks for the detailed race report. Very informative.
You are so amazing! This gives me hope that one day I’ll be able to get my 4:30 marathon (shaving an hour and a half off my current time).
You WILL BQ…you know you will! I’d love for you to run in San Diego (May 31st, 2009) but understand if you are wanting a break. If you are interested I have a coupon!
Your race report was amazing. I loved all your details. I personally conected with your grumpy comment…I too, was grumpy around mile 16 =).
Your husband and family (and blogger friends)are amazing supporters! You are one lucky runner!
CONGRATS ON AN AWESOME PR!!!
Wow you trained so hard and shaved so much time off your previous race in such a short period of time. You def. have many more marathons in you and will absolutely BQ if you keep working just as hard!
Yeah Aron! I’m so happy for you that you PR’d
Way to go! Honestly I had to skip to the end of your race report before reading the whole thing to see what your time was…too much suspense! 
You totally rocked it! I love the idea of a refill gu belt 
I think I saw you at the expo. It was just out of the corner of my eye and I wasn’t sure so, but maybe
I felt silly yelling “Aron”, in case it wasn’t you. I didn’t stay for very long because I was super tired and had this crazy aweful headache. But it was fun to see all you marathoners!
You did AWESOME. Very amazing and inspiring. ALL of your hard work. While you may not have qualified for the big one, it IS your second marathon – which is still just amazing that you dropped 20 minutes. You’re unbelievable!!! Great job!
HOLY COW, a 20 min PR??? WOW!!!
You did simply awesome and I’m sure you’ve got plenty of BQ race times in the near future. Great photos and race report!!
Congrats! Congrats! Congrats! What an amazing race and you will surely qualify for Boston soon! You report was so exciting to read and I loved reading it. Thank you so much for posting it. Great job again, you did so great! You are one who makes me want to run one SO BADLY!
You did an amazing job Aron, total KICK ASS!! You totally deserve this result, you trained so hard, I remember your posts where you were so emotionally tired from pushing yourself to the brink of exhaustion. You are inspiring, I am totally trying Pfitz, so expect some e-mails with questions, I only hope I can push as hard as you did. Boston will be yours!
WOW! You flipping rock! You desrved an awesome time with all the work you’ve put in. Maybe i’ll look into Pfitz when i start marathon training! You’ll have to help me through my 1st because i could totally use all the positive encouragement! If all goes well, i wanna do Chicago 2009! I cant believe your 2nd marathon, you PRd by 20 minutes! Thats really great! Awesome job to you Aron! Enjoy your running break through the holiday season!
Congrats! Way to get that huge PR! You have a great attitude, and everything you said in your third-to-last paragraph is so right on. Just enjoy the accomplishment for now–Boston isn’t going anywhere
Awww…you did so great!! And what an awesome support system you have!!
Great job!! : )
You did amazing!!!!! An incredible PR!!!! BQ is in your future for sure! Enjoy the rest/holiday time and come the beginning of next year I will start bugging you to do SD with me! hahaha
Congrats again!!!!!
That was fun to read…I’m SO PROUD OF YOU! You deserve a rest – you did awesome girl, congratulations
Congratulations Aron!! That is amazing! A 20 minute PR!! I am so excited for you!! I agree its a good idea to let your body get some rest and just go with the flow for workouts!! I am so glad that you had a great race!!! You are an awesome runner and such an inspiration!
I loved reading your race report. You will BQ very soon – I know it. Love the t – shirts – what a great idea!
You are even cuter in person than you are in the pictures. I can’t believe how fast you are, and I just loved reading your race report. I think it’s great that you’re taking some time to consider your next move. And yes, girlfriend YOU RUN MARATHONS!!!
Congratulations. Knocking off 20 minutes at an already speedy pace is amazing! So exciting!
Wow! Congratulations on a fabulous race! I think your race reports are the absolute best as well. Thanks for sharing!
CONGRATULATIONS! You did fantastic! What a huge improvement you’ve made since your first. Good job!!!
I know I already said it on Facebook, but congratulations! I have no doubt that you’ll be getting a BQ very soon! You have SO much to be proud of about this race. And I LOVE the last line of this post. So true.
Totally awesome
Sorry you didnt reach your ultimate goal, but like you said … there is always time! Take it easy, enjoy the holidays and come back to kick bootie in 2009!
Great race report, and love your attitude!!!
It was VERY foggy here that day, and I knew you would be cold, but I was shouting out for you!!!
FANTASTIC TIME!!!
Great job and wonderful race reports. I felt the same way about the hills. They weren’t terrible, but there were enough of them to tire my legs out.
great race! you are so close – you will surely get a bq. i can’t believe you signed up for another marathon the day after your first! enjoy the holidays and some rest, you deserve it!! congrats!
i can’t believe you remember that much about your marathons! i’ve done 4 and i only ever remember the beginning and, if lucky, the end…not much about the 26 miles in between! but awesome job and i love your attitude…my PR is 4:00:46 and i tried not to care that i was SO CLOSE to breaking 4 hours…of course, that was because i had no clue i COULD. best to just be in the moment, at least this early in our running “careers!”
What an AMAZING story Aaron! That was one heck of a second marathon ;=} Your pace gives me inspiration!! Congratulations on that MASSIVE PR!!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS! What a fantastic report and what a fantastic job you did. I can’t believe you got so close to Boston on your SECOND marathon – you are totally going to get it one of these days.
And your comment at the end about being able to say “I run marathons” got me a little teary
You are amazing! What a great race!