Wells Fargo Half Marathon May 2007

It was mayhem. Flying tree branches, farts on the bus...where do I begin? I ran into Anne, Michelle, Jill and Marie at the start, and ran the first mile and a half with Jill and Marie. Jill said we did the first mile in 9:50. A little too fast for me, so I dropped back and decided to stay somewhere in the middle of them and Anne and Michelle giving me time to stretch or walk if I needed it. Unfortunately Anne and Michelle weren't very far behind, so my plan was foiled. Anne ran ahead and Michelle and I stayed together for the rest of the race. We both stopped for about 10 minutes at the ALARC water stop and chatted with friends. It rained for about the first 6 miles or so. When we were running right next to the lake at around 10 miles the wind was so bad I was holding onto my visor. Leaves were flying everywhere and tree branches were flying around. Someone said they saw a tree fall at one point. We joked about getting hit by a tree at mile 12. Wouldn't that be a bummer?We finished when the clock said 2:36:something which I was very happy with. We only walked for brief periods to take some water and/or get up a hill. They bussed us back to the start and a woman told us she and her friend counted 20 hills. 20 ups and 20 downs. And if it was an up then a flat spot and another up, she only counted one hill. So it was a very hilly course. And then someone dropped a** and the whole bus (which already stunk like sweat and armpits) filled up with the stench of the inside of someone's colon.