I came into this race after a week of being back on the road after 4 weeks down time. My main goal was to make it without re injury. I wanted to play it smart but at the same time give a good effort. I think I managed to reach my goals. This was the longest run I have had since the 2nd of July. The last four miles I kept it in the 9:00 to 9:30 range and it felt a little bit harder than I had wanted it to, but still felt better than a regular 1/2 marathon when I have pushed harder. I took walking breaks through 2 water stops and just before the turn into the neighborhood with the water stop. It was there that I was excited to see Tom! I was happy that he had already finished and had ran back this far to run me in and looking like he was doing great! Unfortunately I was wrong...when I met up with him he said he had turned around in the 12th mile or so and came back to run in with me because he had a major crash and burn. That made me sad....but it was nice to have him run in with me. The last half mile was fun as there were several fans out cheering and many people called out my name! Great to have the support! I was grateful to hit the POP afterwards as I was very well hydrated the whole race, but I wasn't quite as grateful as the lady who came running in after I was done....I am glad I was on my way out or I think she might have thrown me out she was in such a hurry! I felt bad for her....not a fun feeling....been there, done that! : ) Anyway, I was 9 to 10 minutes slower than I had planned on when I signed up for this race because of the down time, but I am fine with that. Just glad I was able to come back. The achilles and everything else felt fine during the race. The achilles felt a little tight afterwards, hopefully it will be fine in the long run. | 
