At 6:45am, after Doug's good luck kiss, Melissa and I were in a taxi to our chartered bus meeting location that will take us to the start line host town of Hopkinton. One memorable part of the 26.2 mile journey was the 1 hour bus trip with 5 Charlotte running buddies, Melissa, Lana, Diane, Ultra Joe, and Saun. We enjoyed nervous chatter , calling my Coach Melinda, performing our pre race routine, eating breakfast while other runners tried to nap on the bus. Arriving at 8am, the school yard filled with runners wrapped in blankets across the sports field made us appreciative of our warm, private bathroom $30 chartered bus that would be available for our use until 10am. Lana, Diane and I leave our warm bus at 9:45am to turn in our drop bags and walk to our coral 2 starting position as we were greeted by media cameras. 10:25am is the sound of the start gun.....the 1st 10k is the slight downhill as expected, I'm on 8:40 pace for my 3:45 goal finish time and feeling great. Greeting Nancy and Diane along the way, Lana and I greet each other among the runners at mile 9 as we hopscotch each other throughout the rest of the course. Fun to see a familiar face! 
Hopkinton to Boston was street lined with cheering spectators especially the high pitch at the half marathon point by Wellesley College. Around mile 17 experiencing stomach distress, watching my Garmin reflect 9:00 pace for a couple of miles, I realized I need to focus on at least meeting a requalifying marathon finish time of under 4:00. To focus on what I need to be focused on....nutrition, not slowing down too much, running through discomfort.... I ran along the right side of the road close to the cheering spectators, media taking pictures while I point to my Boston Scientific sponsorship shirt, drank water and force the gel nutrition at mile 21. As I approached the large CITGO sign with 1.5 miles to the finish I'm excited to see the last turn at the old fire station where Doug camped out since 9:00am. I ran along the crowd looking for Doug as I spotted Lana to my left and the Finish Line in the distance. Enjoying the greeting of Doug, then realizing I need to make the 4:00 cut off, I pushed the last bit of energy out of my legs for a 3:58:15 finish time! Boston 2010? I don't have to decide yet but nice to know I have the option. Thanks to my Trijinx Coach Melinda, my husband, Dad and Boston Scientific for helping me to reach the Finish Line!
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