Half Good

I did it! In 1:59:11. I skidded over the finish line just in time to make my sub-2 hour secret goal. Despite a week plagued with bad omens (there even was a black cat, I kid you not) and a nasty cold, once my feet found their rhythm, I just cruised along feeling good in the cool rain. Greenville is a beautiful city with a stunning river front that looks stylish even in the rain.
The Good:
- Gus' exhuberant waving at everyone at the start...they should have just handed him the starting gun, he was a hit with everyone around me and I could barely contain my Mommie-pride
- Jacob changing a run-down battery in the truck at 5:30 in the morning, in the rain. My bad, I had left the key in the ignition in the on position the night before. He janked the battery out of the Jeepster and dropped it into the truck in under 10 minutes...all in the dark and drizzly rain. This man could perform open heart surgery with a wrench and a Swiss Army knife.
- Plenty of water stations and even sandwiches at the end. And a great dry-fit racing T-shirt.
- Feeling strong and smooth in my running despite all the snot slopping around in my sinuses
- You have to race in the South to see this: Femal runners completely done up. And I mean done UP. I don't think I spent this much time on my appearance on my wedding day. These women wear color-coordinated outfits and foundation, mascara, lipstick, eyeliner...the whole nine yards...I think I even smelled hairspray at the starting line. Their hair may be in a ponytail, but it's a coiffed one. Only in the South.
The Annoying:
- The lady at mile 7 with the ice cubes sloshing around in her camelbak...it took me a good mile to shake her and her noisy load...why people burden themselves when there is water every two miles, I don't know.
- Another lady at mile 11 carrying what sounded like her entire household and some change in a HUGE fanny pack. The ruckus had everyone scrambling around her away from her. Not only must she be deaf from all the rattling, but blind. "Hey lady, fanny packs are so OUT...and fanny packs with a Hawaiian theme are a low misdemeanor."
- The guy with the crazy knee socks who glued himself to my heels around mile 9 and stayed there...only to pass me on the downhills while spitting in front of my shoes...then I'd catch him again. He finished behind me though. Socks got soaked and sank him.
The Ugly:
- The sight of a tampoon string...some shorts are just too tiny to be pulled off - no pun intended
- The lady who stumbled next to me sobbing during an early mile. I was just about to talk to her when she stopped to talk to a helper at a water station. I hope she is OK.
- Lots of chaffing...even vaseline starts to slide in a steady downpour
The Funny:
- A bunch of winos hanging out in front of a liquor store in a lesser part of town. They looked so perplexed watching us go by, it made me laugh. Runners in a race are a crazy sight.
- The lady with a double jogging stoller, who passed us light-footed like an antelope on one of the last uphills. A type-A runner behind me, kept saying "don't look, don't look" but she was hard to overlook. I figured she hadn't gotten up at 5 a.m. to run 13 miles...

My next race will be OUR next race. I'm vowing to take Gus on his first race in the stroller and maybe I'll even manage to talk my driveway-heart-surgeon husband into it. He can do anything!