Notes
I did a bunch of stop and go runs along the Bay State Marathon course. I was there to support Reno, Susan and Mike. Before the start Susan had given me her special coconut milk drink that she wanted at mile 20. The weather today was sooooo much better than last years horrific cold rain. I ran up to the halfway point with I thought with 3-4 minutes to spare before Reno would come by. Just as I arrived (about 1:23 into the race) - Reno turned the corner and unfortunately had to drop out due to a bad hamstring. Hovey came along running about 1:50 pace. Susan not long after at 2:05. Mike looked OK while Susan looked like she was struggling.
Next I ran back to the car to get Susan's drink and then drive to near the 13th mile point again. I misjudged how long the 20 mile mark was. I thought it was a lot closer to the bridge so I had to pick up the pace to try to make it to 20 before Susan. I ran by Mike at 21.5 and he looked bad. He was going to have to hold onto 9:00 pace to break 3:45. I thought he was done.
I ran into Susan at about 20.5. She slammed down her drink in two seconds and off she went. She was looking much better. I ran back to the car, drove to the finish area and run to the stadium to see the finish. Just sitting in the car for 5 minutes caused my Achilles to tighten up so it was a painful run to the stadium. I made it in time to see Susan come flying around the stadium infield passing runners like they were standing still! She clocked a 4:10 and change - so good enough to get her BMQ!
More great news is Mike held it together and cracked his 3:45 which gets him in for BM 2012 I was shocked by this as I thought no way he was going to pull it off the way he looked. So Hovey, my hat is off to you... well done. :o)\
This was my longest run since the marathon. I coped well. However Achilles and feet were sore the rest of the day.