Keeping the Pace: Bay State Marathon (10/20/13)

Pace Team 3:15 - Deb and I

Race: Bay State Marathon
Location: Lowell, MA
Team Goal Time: 3:15:00
Team Actual Time: 3:14:56

Tim, Keagen and I cheered as the race started.  Then I ran into two separate people I knew from Greater Lowell Road Runners (the group that puts on the Bay State Marathon).  Each of them were confused; both Frank and Matt informed me: "The race started."

Tim pointed out: "You're really confusing people wearing your bib number."

Alas

****

Deb was doing the first half of the 3:15 pace group.  So, Tim, Keagen, Jon Silver and I went to see the half marathon race at the 6.5 mile mark.  At some point Jon and I realized we still had to run 3 miles to meet up with the pace group (he was pacing 3:35).

We had a good warm-up jog; cheered the leaders; and, had to convince the timing crew that we didn't need to run over the mat at mile 13 (the whole wearing a number thing again).

At the 13.1 point we cheered the leaders and Andy and Joe came and stood with us.  Right like clockwork, Deb came with 20 people in tow at the 1:37 point and I hopped in and took the sign that read: "3:15 Finish."

Mile 25.5

Now Deb had made friends and talked with people.  Unfortunately, I was running the second half.  This meant:

a) The faster people in the group took off for the negative split;
b) Others slowly fell off the pace as we got to miles 17 and beyond; and,
c) the one guy who was with me was running a marathon so talking 22-26 miles in was impossible.

So I just ran with this big ass sign trying to stay between 7:22 and 7:26 every mile.  (only mile 25 did I slip, but here there was only one guy and I was trying to lead him.)

I came across the finish line 4 seconds under our goal and still carrying the giant sign...

According to the unofficial times I qualified for Boston, that's one of the reasons they are "unofficial."

Tino Pai,

Jesse...

Kate (who paced 3:05), Deb and I after our pacing duties.
It looks like Kate and I got issued the same size shirt.