The Showdown Of The Century!!!!

The Rematch Of The Century!

America LOVES a good rivalry story.  Ford vs Ferrari, Hershey vs Snickers, Edison vs Tesla, Rocky Balboa vs Apollo Creed.... Just to name a few! ( Ok, technically, that last rivalry is between two fictitious characters. But today's Rivalry is not! )   Today we were able to witness the ultimate prize fighter smack down of two aging Rival runners in a final, no holds bared, free for all show down!    I'm talking about none other than the  Match up between Mike Zakosek and Cory Deyoung at the Quad Cities Distance Classic Half Marathon.....  

LET"S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!

With an intro like that, you have to know a little about the history between these two.   In the last several match ups, Cory was able to Best Mike the "new comer"  at every race.  No matter the distance,  Cory would beat Mike by just a few seconds.   Call it  the Wisdom of  a Veteran Runner vs the rookie mistakes of a Novice.   Each time, Mike came out second best in their age group.  

But not today!   

With the Will and fortitude of an Underdog waiting for his moment, Mike Zakosek CRUSHED the  so called "Expert" with a New Half Marathon Personal Best of 1:26:06.  Besting his previous time AND  the rival Cory,  by nearly  2 minutes!    And to sweeten the deal,   Mike won the Master's division with a Freshly Cut $100.00 Check!   Nothing tastes as sweet as Revenge with a side of Money! 

So what does this mean for the future?   Will Cory and Mike face off again in the future?  Or will the taste of fame cause one or both of them to retire in their twilight years?   Who knows?    But all we can say for now is that a Long Brooding Rivalry has come to a head with a determined Mike achieving "Master" status.   Let us hope he does not turn to the Dark Side.  

Wasn't that exciting?   I know I was entertained.   I feel like there is something I'm leaving out.   Oh!   Right....  Cheryl!

The Girl in Pink Won Overall.

It would probably be a good thing to mention  the part about my wife winning  the Master's division as well.   AND that She ALSO got a PR,  cutting nearly 4 minutes off of her personal best.   However, She finished second overall....  Losing to a younger, and slightly less attractive female runner in the second half of the race.  This, of course,  ruined the entire experience for her, as Cheryl sulked  for almost 20 minutes after the race was finished.   

I know. I know.   Despite WINNING $100.00!   And cutting 4 minutes off of her previous PR for a half Marathon;   It only makes sense that losing to a younger, slightly less attractive female sniper would really chap her hide.    But,  like I always say:   Money usually makes things a little better.    And $100.00 will go a long way to making the sting of getting older and coming in second disappear.  ( And she will always be the most attractive  female runner out there.) 

So, that is pretty much it for our Dynamic Duo.   Both runners finished with New PR's. Both runners won the Master's Division.  And both runners won $100.00!  Each!  (That is $200.00 combined!  IF they ever want to take out their handlers to some fancy Restaurant.... Instead of purchasing New Shoes or Puma gear.) 

Speaking of Handlers:  Since the race course was an "Out and Back" route,   Pam and I were forced to wait inside  in soft comfy chairs near the fireplace in the warm lobby.   The price we pay to be supporters knows no bounds.   At least the runners finished fast enough so we did not have to endure those conditions for too long.   

Pay no attention to her...

In addition to cookies, Trophies, and Bananas,  there were also plants that we could take home.   In previous years, I took a couple plants and had some of them survive the Summer heat. 

I'm in it for the flowers!

But each year,  the Race folks always have lots of left overs.   No plant ever wants to be a Left Over...So I made it my mission to give as many as I could a good home this year.   It's not hoarding if the Race director encourages you to take extras.  Right?    We shall see how many survive the Spring.   I have no plans on planting Tomatoes this year, so there is a good chance I will be able to focus better care on the flowers instead. 

And lastly:   We found a Moral in our yard as we got home.   Pam gave us about 2 dozen Morals she found in her yard near the Mississippi this week.   With the additional one we found in our yard, we will have enough to make a tasty Mushroom Quiche.  I can hardly wait.

Whew!  Is the blog post long enough this time?   I guess that makes up for the shorter ones from a couple days ago. Race events always seem to get my writing spirit motivated.  And with a ridiculously early morning wake up,  I can finally sit back and relax.   One problem with writing long posts is the time it takes to carefully craft and match the Prose with the pictures.  But let us end things here.   Thanks for stopping in!  And I hope everyone wonderful (And profitable!)  Weekend.