tara and i flew down to LA early saturday morning and were reunited with our friend maritza! we haven’t seen her since she moved and have been very excited about this weekend for a while – i miss that girl so much.
she picked us up and we drove down to long beach without any problems. we hit up the expo, had lunch, went to the store, checked into our hotel and went back to the expo to meet up with some other long lost friends and meet some new ones! i also got to pick up my california dreaming jacket which i was very excited about (wearing it in the pics).
kristin, karen, me, maritza and tara
we were also able to catch danica who was a very busy girl putting on this race for a quick hug and picture.
nicole, me, maritza, danica, tara and karen
we returned to our room to get some rest then headed out for an early dinner at the delicious yard house.
we were back in our room very early and lights were out by 8:45 – a miracle! we all slept great and woke up easily with our alarm at 5am.
we were close enough to the start to walk there and it wasn’t that cold out so we didn’t bring anything to check. we got there by 6:30, jumped into the porta potty line and made our way to the start line. the timing was all perfect.
me, tara, martiza, nicole and erika
it was pretty crowded at the start but i said my goodbyes and pushed my way up to wave 1. my goal for this race was to practice marathon pace (~8:10 +/-) and to try out using water stops for my hydration. i was a little nervous but just wanted to give it a shot. you never know if you don’t try right? pretty soon it was go time!
the course starts off winding around downtown long beach. this was really fun and my favorite parts of the course. you can see the other waves below you and on the other side of the street as you swerve around. i immediately noticed i was warm and sweating, it was pretty humid for california standards, but at least there was significant cloud cover. i found myself on pace pretty easily and kept checking in to make sure i wasn’t going too fast or too slow. i encountered my first water stop with success and only got a little up my nose.
mile 1 – 8:06
mile 2 – 8:07
mile 3 – 8:07
mile 4 – 8:09 (gu)
i was feeling good and just zoning out to my music. there were tons of spectators out and it was fun seeing all the different sites of long beach since i had never been there. i kept cruising along and would grab water from each water stop, getting better at getting it down each time.
mile 5 – 8:06
mile 6 – 8:15
around mile 6 we headed out onto the beach path. i wasn’t a huge fan of this part just because i could see straight for a while, but i just tried to keep my pace and zone out. it was fun seeing the ocean and having sand on both sides. there were still spectators out on the beach too.
mile 7 – 8:12
mile 8 – 8:10
mile 9 – 8:13 (gu)
somewhere in mile 9 we were off the beach path and back on the streets which i was happy about and i just kept cruising along. during mile 10 the full and the half split apart and i was glad i was in the home stretch back to the finish line. each time i grabbed water from a stop it was better and i definitely felt like i was taking in enough fluid and there were enough stations.
mile 10 – 8:10
mile 11 – 8:13
mile 12 – 8:11
one mile to go and i was ready to be done! i decided to see what my legs had left in them and since i was running goal marathon pace i was hoping they had some juice left. i had my garmin on current lap this entire time and thought about switching it over to overall time to see where i might be but decided against it. i started picking it up and passing people and watching the distance tick off my garmin. pretty soon i was just around mile 13 and i got to turn left to the downhill finish. i picked it up even more and crossed the finish line of my 16th half marathon very happy with my effort.
mile 13 – 7:41
last .2 (per garmin) – 1:28 (7:17 avg)
i stopped my watch and turned it to overall screen.
garmin: 13.2 miles/1:47:03/8:06 avg pace
of course… 3 seconds. should have switched that garmin screen over 
official results:
13.1 miles/1:47:04/8:10 avg pace
overall: 657/9669
female: 145/5824
age group: 33/966
pacing success and water stop success!
i got my awesome medal, grabbed my bag of food (i loooove when they give you food in bags!) and made my way out to the finishers village where i ran into billy and got to chat with him about his awesome race. after a few minutes, i found the CA dreaming booth to get my other really awesome medal and then i started making my way out on the course again to find my friends. i told them i would be around mile 24 so i ran very slowly out to find them.
along the way i saw karen and penny running together and gave them a cheer. i parked myself at mile 24 for a while and then was texting with kristin who was out at 22.5, so i decided to run out there. my legs were very confused by all this extra running and stopping and starting but i was having fun being out there watching the runners. i got to see monica run by who was looking very strong and also got to see lisa and giver her a hug! it was fun to see all these people out there.
i received a text from nicole after a bit telling me where she was and i knew she was close. pretty soon i saw her coming down the hill and we jumped and screamed for her. i jumped in and started running with her and i could hear her breathing was off so i just was quiet for a bit to let her calm down. eventually she started talking and asking me questions and i just rambled on trying to distract her from what she was doing. we kept running and running and she was doing so great.
we were ticking off the miles and eventually there were less than 2 to go, so i told her she could run 2 miles in her sleep. pretty soon we were at 25, then at 26 when i jumped off the course and sent her on her way. i was so happy i got to run with her and watch her finish!
i found her after and we eventually found a spot to sit down. i really wanted to go run out again and find the rest of my friends but my legs were done for the day with 19.3 miles on them. oops.
we got to see our friends cross the finish line and all met up and enjoyed sitting outside and recapping our races. we had to get checked out of our hotel so we all said goodbye and maritza, tara and i made our way to the airport, but not before stopping for a HUGE meal of everything. we said goodbye to maritza and returned to the bay area very tired.
it was such a great weekend! i had so much fun with all the girls, had a great training run, scored some awesome race gear and got to see danica put on a great race. it was very organized and i enjoyed everything about it. i know she worked very hard and she should be VERY proud of herself.
awesome new tech shirt
two new medals!
FIRST
Thank you SOOOOO much for running with me. Like I said, you deserve a bit of my medal too! With out you I would have walked and cried more than I should! Your an amazing friend and I am so so thankful to have you in my life.
With every marathon and 1/2 marathon you finish I become more inspired. You are a fabulous runner and I hope to have as much fun as you did on your journey to your BQ! I cant wait to watch as you embark on yet another journey in April when you finish your first Boston!
Amazing amazing job on all the running and again, thank you so much!
Miss you already!!
xoxoxo
I cannot believe I recognized you as I was running by! But, I'm glad I did
Ahhhh! I am so excited you are registered for Boston! I know it was a super long road and I plan on going back and reading all your race reports for inspiration
Great race, and awesome report!
It was so nice to meet you in Cali this weekend! Thanks for the love, support and running advice! And for saving Nicole:) Can't wait to follow your journey to Boston!
What a great report. And you didn't say – did you feel like you had something left after the half? Was the pace manageable?
Way to go, Aron!
Amazing race Aron – you hit your goal perfectly!
Love the bling!
I'm glad that the pace and the water stops worked out well for you! It sounds like a fun race.
Sounds like the perfect race, all went as planned for you! Congrats!! It's awesome to race with friends!
Congrats Aron! You totally rocked the half and did great maintaining your marathon pace!
way to get your pace into your muscle memory! that's going to pay out huge at CIM. and then to tack on the extra miles? you are a saint. i bet your cheering was just what everyone needed to get going to the finish line.
Oh love those medals!! COngrats on another finish and an fun race!
Congratulations on a VERY successful race! Awesome pacing and water-stop practice! Love that you went out to support your friends after your race!
You girls look like you had so much fun! Nice finish and nice job on the splits
Great job, Aron. You are so consistent and in tune with your body.
yay sweet success indeed
congrats! and i need to find more running friends near me to race with because seeing you running with your girls is AWESOME
great job on the race! and i love the california dreaming medal, its huge!
I had a great time with all you girls this weekend ♥ Congrats on half marathon #16!!!! LOVE all the big bling you got this weekend!
EXCELLENT pacing!!! You did fabulous!!!
I had so much fun with you girls this weekend and I am so grateful to still have you in my life…a few hundred miles ain't got nothin' on us! ♥♥♥
Great race and thanks for all your support! Love ya!
are your pacing skills for hire? for half marathons and fulls alike? i think i need you
nice work! you're amazing, plain and simple. and congrats on getting into boston, you worked so hard for that and i am THRILLED you made it in yesterday. crazy marathoners 
Wow! Another great race. So great to see so many of you out enjoying the racing season.
Look at that pacing…amazing! Glad the water stops worked out for you…they're not too bad once you have an idea of how to not get water up your nose.
I also love when they give you food in bags….sooo much easier than trying to balance everything!
Glad the water stops worked for you. I, too, am thinking about starting to train myself to use them. For me, it worked great to only carry 2 small bottles for the first half, and then a 10oz handheld (I did not even feel it) and 3 gels in my bra. What I hate about water stops is having to slow down when I am in a groove…
Congrats Aron! That's one cool looking medal.
And congrats on your Boston registration!
congrats on the jacket and medal! gotta love those extra bonuses that get us to double up our races
awesome job on the practice-pace-race!! spot on.
Great job chica! I was thinking about you on Sunday as I raced WITH water for the first time you raced WITHOUT it.
LOL! Glad everything worked out, you are so ready to rock!
great job on the half aron! and I can't believe you ran all around to spectate as well, you're a super fan!!!
great job w/ the MP!!! perfect tune up race for you.
love the medal, too.
i am so behind on my blog reading so apologies for my tardiness….but congratulations on *another* great finish! you are so amazing!