When we left off I had just finished a trail half marathon, yet Saturday night I was prepping for another one!
New Years Eve was not spent out drinking and dancing the night away, instead I was in bed by 10pm with another early alarm set and asleep before midnight. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
When the alarm went off it was 2012. I was tired but got myself out of bed again, it seemed like groundhog day or something. Coffee, Clif Bar, race clothes, and back in the car driving to Lake Chabot.
But the best part of this day is that somehow Chris had decided to upgrade to the half marathon AND RUN WITH ME!
We got there with plenty of time and the race site was definitely less crowded than New Years Eve. Chris upgraded easily, we sat in the car to keep warm, then made our way to the start and got running.
Where’s Chris and Aron? 
My legs weren’t sore at all which I was very thankful for, but in the first couple miles I told Chris that I just felt “empty.” This whole back to back refueling thing is going to take some work, but that’s why we have training to practice!
This day we were going the opposite way of the day before, so the best part of the race came in the first few miles. There is a section of beautiful single track trail that I just can’t get enough of. I wish I could run there everyday! I also wish I would have taken pictures but I was too busy running.
Out of this single track trail came the first big hill which I definitely walked most of. Chris was waiting at the top for me and we continued our way around the lake talking and laughing and having fun.
Yes we ran like this the whole way… kidding. 
We had some more climbs and I was running up more of them than the day before. I felt tired but nothing worse than Saturday, I just kept on running following Chris along. Then the long downhill came that we took pretty easy not to shred our quads.
There was one last big hill around mile 10 that definitely slowed me down. I was ready to not see anymore hills but we made it up and over eventually, knowing we were getting close!
With about a mile left Chris sped up and started picking people off trying to get me to pass them too. I pretty much was convinced I had nothing left in me, but somewhere the adrenaline kicked in and I started passing people too.
Before I knew it, we were rounding the corner and the finish line was straight ahead!
I happily crossed the finish line right next to Chris and 5 minutes faster than the day before. Chris had to work so we hurried over to get our extra connector medal for doing both races and then got back in the car to head home.
Official results:
13.1 miles/2:15:24/10:20 avg pace
Overall: 76/228
AG: 5/14
(source)
I was tired later that day but not as bad as I thought I might be. I also wasn’t sore at all! After the Diablo Half Marathon I was so sore, but I wasn’t sore after these two combined which made me happy! They were easier courses but I also ran them faster and did two of them. The training must be starting to pay off!
I loved these events and would definitely participate in them again on future new years weekends. As always if you are in the Bay Area, definitely check out Brazen Racing… they put on a fantastic event!
Aw, I love that you were able to run together! Nice job with the double races!
Everything about this report is great
Everything.
What better way for you and Chris to start off 2012 than with a run together!
I love the idea of these back-to-back New Year’s races and how the half course is the same but in opposite directions. Maybe someday I’ll find myself down in the area New Year’s.
Congratulations! What a perfect way to end 2011 and start 2012!! You will have a fantastic year!!
It looks like it was beautiful. I’m doing my first trail half in February… did a 18K in November…I might never go back to road racing..your a stud for racing two days in row! Congratulations
Amazing Aron! I love to see how dedicated you are to your goals.
Congrats! http://www.dashingdiva.net
Super cute that you guys got to run together and that trio of medal is awesome!
5 minutes faster than the day before?!?! You are a ROCKSTAR!
Yay, congrats on #2!! You are a hardcore runner for running back to back half marathons on new year’s eve weekend! Awesome that you got to run with Chris too!!
You and Chris are too cute. And congrats on the back-to-back races!
I’ve done two Brazen races and I agree, they are fun and well-organized. They aren’t crowded, but have just enough people to make the events feel festive. And they give free photos! I’d definitely run more of their races if they weren’t mostly on trails.
I love how the three medals connect! So cool! You always find the best races!
Very impressed that you ran faster the second time! I love how the medals all connect!
Looks like such a great race- nice job!