today was my 8th half marathon and new personal worst not my PR time (thanks alex i like that better!), but it was a lot of fun on a tough course just 2 weeks after my last marathon. i got a last minute entry into this race and just couldn’t pass it up… it’s tiffany’s and nike, i mean how much better can it get in race swag? i just planned on running for fun as a training run with friends, which is exactly what i did.
tara and i went into san francisco saturday morning to pick up our bibs. we met up with alisa and sarah and chatted for a while, where we also got hooked up with sf run club passes for the VIP tent the next morning… score!! THANK YOU sarah!
then we headed back to walnut creek to meet up with maritza and petra for a late brunch. we were lucky enough to have met her the night before also, since she was staying at maritza’s house. it was SO awesome to finally meet petra in person. she is just as adorable, sweet and supportive as she comes across in her blog and comments, and she has the best accent ever. we had fun chatting in real life and i hope to see her again soon!
i tried to get to bed early on saturday night, but i just could not fall asleep. i ended up staying up passed 11 with my alarm scheduled to go off at 3:50am. kylie woke me up in the night too, so when the alarm finally did go off i was SO sleepy, but super amped for this race. i picked tara up just before 5 and we drove into the city and were in union square by 5:45. it was kind of weird how empty it was since i knew how crowded it was going to be from spectating last year. we made our first trip to the porta potties before heading over to the VIP tent, and along the way i ran into mel!! i had been hoping i would get to meet her, so it was so funny that she was RIGHT there. we chatted for a bit and took a picture and then headed off in our own directions. its so fun to meet bloggers in person 
my stomach was kind of a mess this morning which made me nervous for how the race would go,but i figured if it was going to act up this was the race to do it. we hung out in the tent, ran into audrey, then went for one more bathroom stop before going back in the tent to meet up with alisa, sarah and kristen.
it wasn’t long before it was time to head to the start! being a “VIP/run club” person meant you got to start right behind the fast people. we tried to squeeze into our coral but it took a while, it was PACKED! we eventually got in and didn’t have to wait long before the horn sounded and we were off! 
start line
and we were outta there! the first mile is through the financial district, then it goes onto the embarcadero pretty similar to SFM for the first couple miles. tara and i decided to stop and pee right away just after mile 1 to get it out of the way since there were empty bathrooms. i added about .1 onto my garmin here which slightly through me off for the rest of the race, but whatever. we were cruising along, actually pretty fast, but we knew we would slow down once the hills started.
just before peir 39 we ran passed sarah!! marathoner to be in action (and blurry)… CONGRATS sarah!!!!
there were a couple more hills before the first “SFM hill” and then we were back on the same course for a bit. still just cruising along at this point.
then the hills started… and they pretty much never ended. these aren’t nice roller hills either, these are serious hills, and the downhills are even more serious. ouch. we definitely slowed down as we went up them, but kept chugging along just enjoying ourselves.
hills, hills and more hills. i won’t say SFM is the hardest first half of a marathon anymore. this was definitely harder!
trying to smile through the hill pain
FINALLY we got some downhill, this is the same big downhill portion as SFM and its just mean. it’s not a nice gentle downhill, its major quad shredding downhill if you let it. we picked up the pace but not too much, just made it as comfortable as possible so we wouldn’t feel it tomorrow. once we came down this hill the fog was there and made for a misty rest of the race.
you wind through some neighborhoods and climb some more hills, and then are rewarded with another downhill with views of the ocean in front of you. this was my favorite part. there was a big screen and you could see yourself running by.
ocean, golden gate park here we come!
around mile 10/11ish we head into golden gate park for some more gentle rolling hills. there were tons of spectators out for most of the course, and there were a number in the park too. during SFM the park gets so lonely, so it was nice to have lots of people out there today.
we are getting closer!
there were a ton of encouraging signs along the way and some on the ground too. i loved this one “you gave up sleeping in on weekends”… couldn’t be more true!
it wasn’t long before we were getting close. we split off from the full marathoners after mile 11.
just before mile 13 we made the right turn onto the great highway and the finish line was straight ahead. tara and i took off and crossed the finish line together!!
we met up with a bunch of people from twitter for some food which was really fun, then we finally made our way back home. i was WIPED. i took a short nap and will be heading back to bed very soon.
awesome nike tech finishers shirt
our reusable grocery bag… i love these things!
Great report Aron…thanks for sharing the fun. Nice bling!
Sounds like a fun race, just as you planned! Way to go!
As usual, great race report Aron! I'm so glad I ran into you and Tara this morning – wish I took a pic with you two!
I was so bummed there was no VIP post-race tent. They had one for the last three years!
And the party bus was hilarious! Wish I found it. Had to wait almost an hour (I think) in the shuttle bus line.
awesome post, gorgeous girls, great recap. You and your friends are sooo fun!
i think that you should call it your NPB (not personal best) instead of PW, because you are a kick ass runner, girl!
xoxo
My race report will not compare! Great pics and great job! So jealous of the VIP tent! And you are sooo right, after mile 3 it felt like the hills never ended!
Great job girly!
Love the race recap! Thank you for sharing your race day experience.
Eeep, I was planning to enter the lottery for that full-marathon next fall, but that hilly course scares me a little bit!!
Looks fun, though! So cool you got to meet up with so many blogger girls!!
What a great report and fantastic race (ESP swag!).
I was thinking of you girls while I was being tortured by hills today 'i bet this is nothing compared to San Fran, but boy does it suck!' gave me a little extra boost
That looks and sounds like one of the best races around! Great recap and great 13.1 training run!!!
Had fun running another race with you! Now we both have the same not PR half marathon
great way to spend the weekend!
OH thank you for this post! I am a novice 1/2 marathoner and a slow runner. The NWM today was only my 2nd 1/2 the SFM 1/2 was my first. Thank you for telling us that you had a hard time with those hills! Makes me feel better to hear that from such an experienced runner! Even though my time was slow and there was some walking it was a great race and I am glad I did it!
sounds awesome! I was suppose to be out there! my daughter worked it with her team in training!!! great pics!
Great job today! So cool that you and tara ran together!
Looks like a fun race even though it sounds hilly! I'll run any hill for a tiffany necklace! 
So cool Aron. I've been waiting for people to post race reports. I would love to run the half but hearing how tough the hills are scares the crap out of me. Very cool swag you scored!
Aww, this was my first marathon back in 2005 so your pictures bring back memories.
Yay!
Great job out there, looks like you had a fun time. Congrats to all the runners!!
Sounds like a blast. And you finished with Tara. Yay! You also got to meet Mel. Right on! It's my turn Tuesday.
A fellow trail runner (who recently came on the scene and is dominating every event she enters) WON the marathon today. She's a local – from Oakland.
What a fun race! Great pictures.
I love the necklace and your pictures, you had fun, that's what counts!
My cousin ran the Marathon, I didn't even know she was a runner. What a GREAT necklace…I will be putting that race on my wish list.
Hugs to another FUN RUN!!
Was so great to meet you — thankfully we met up before it got too crowded! Loving my visit here, and really enjoyed the race today! Wasn't a personal best for me either, but definitely a great event to do
Congrats on another great race, even if it wasn't a PR!
I would SO,SO love to get that necklace!
hoping to run that next year; thanks for the report!!!!
Ooh, your report makes me want to run this race. It looks/sounds like you had a great run with good friends. (Not to mention, the swag is pretty awesome!)
oh wow, I really want to run this race next year! It looks so fun, and um, Tiffanys and Nike stuff, score!
Sounds like you had a blast. I love that picture of all of you guys in your Nike Tempo shorts in every color … that was funny!
I would LOVE to run that race some day. Glad you had fun and have so many cool things to remember it by!
what a great race! if i'm ever in CA i want to run this. looks like an amazing time was had by you and your friends
Looks like such a fun race (other than the evil hills!). And that is some SERIOUS race bling! I totally agree–I'd run 13.1 hilly miles to get Tiffany's any day! Congrats on another half-marathon finish, girl! Not a bad long run at all, if you ask me!
sounds like so much fun. and i like how colorful you and your friends are in sll the different colors of tempo shorts and tops
i'd like to run that race sometime…
Congrats on the fun race! My buddy Bernard signed up for the full and wore a t-shirt that said "I'm running for you ladies" And then had his phone number on the bottom
I sooo want to run this half some day! Sounds like a fun day despite a tough run. Congrats on another half! Love the swag & fun details along the course.
hahaa, there were definitely alot of hills! I was like, " when will these hills stop?" I had to read out loud your hill report to my husband to show that I wasn't exaggerating the hills portion of the run. I had tons of fun though and am sooooooooore! I'll be reporting my first half marathon report soon as soon as I can get my bearings together. Good job and Congrats on yet another marathon!
Great job, chica! i have to say pw's always look like the most fun, for real! congrats on another 1/2 on the running belt but even bigger kudos for having a blast!
Great race, great friends, great swag. I WILL do this race some day.
)
So fun! The swag is pretty good at that race and the hills are… special. I'm jealous you were in the VIP/start area. We got crushed by thousands of runners at the beginning last year. YIKES.
I always love your recap's and the swag is awesome!!! Very jealous of your finishers shirt too, so cute!
Very cool Aron! So what if a tough course gave you a hard time. Tiffany's? seriously? worth it. totally worth it. Good job.
Sounds like a phenomenally FUN time! One year I definitely have to put this one on my to-do list
Congrats!
That race looks like so much fun! The scenery in the photos is beautiful! Congrats on running another half marathon!!
What a great report and I love the necklace. Some day I want to run this!! Looks like you had a great time!!
Sweet swag! Congrats on an PW
Looks like you had fun doing it. Perfect.
sounds like so much fun!!! I'm jealous that you met Mel
yayyy Congrats. Running races like this with friends is the only way to do it.
Sounds like you had a great time!
So fun to see you again! I had such a good time, looks like you guys did too.
Another half mary under your belt.
What a great race report- sounds like you had a lot of fun on a challenging course and got some nice SWAG. I hope I get the chance to do that race one day. Congrats!
How fun! Every time I read about your races, I just get more eager to come run one with all of you girls!
Awesome race report! My co-worker ran the half and also had a fun time.
great job. your "for fun" races definitely make me want to do one for fun. I always seem to just race… it'd be nice to get a different mindset for one.
good job again!
This looks like such a fun race! I love the "coat check" idea…such a thing for a womens race, haha. Looks like you had an awesome, fun run…have to stick those types of runs in every now and then!
such a fun time! i am jealous. i want to do this race one day, mostly for the tiffany's necklace, haha.
Great race report and it looks like you had fun running all those hills hah! I so wish I could run this race. I must save up lots of money to fly across the country and do it!
Nice race report! It looks like you and Tara had lots of fun running together! I'll run any distance for tiffanys!
Great job girl!
What a cool necklace! Great race report, sounds like you had a blast.
Looks and sounds like a wonderfully put together race! Very nice necklace and finisher shirt too.
Excellent pics! Looks like it was a tough, but awesome race.
I loved your report, Aron, and someday I hope to run this one. I also love how you drank Bud Light after the race. Thatta girl!!!
The bling is definitely cool. I like nice medals, but it's always fun to get something different every once in a while – like the commemorative beer glass instead of a T-shirt at Disney's Race for the Taste.
Great pics! I'm so jealous of all the awesome bloggers that live so close and get to run all these west coast races together. I love the recover Bud Light:)
Congrats Aron! Isn't Nike the best?! I love all the support and fans!!!
I didn't PR at Nike either. Total bummer for me, but I was in the hospital 10 days prior and am still battling a bad respiratory infection and flu.
This reminded me of our time at SFM!
How those hills killed me, so I can only imagine this! Great job though and I'm glad you had a blast, those are the best races. I can't wait to soon be back up in SF for CIM! 
I am so jealous of your sweet swag. I will have to get myself to the west coast for some races next year.