The Des Moines Dam to Dam Half-Marathon Results!

Where to begin....Ah,  let me think now.   First I should point out that my camera decided to lash out today.   By lash out, I mean it has now stopped working all together!    But not before I was able to capture semi-blurry pictures of Cheryl's race.   Thus, making me look like a buffoon that can't operate a focus key properly.   There..I feel better now.   On to the race.

VERY early rise time on this one.   Cheryl informed me that despite going to bed earlier than usual,   she still did not get much sleep.   As for me, I managed to get 7 hours, but getting up that early before my coffee kicks in is never pleasant.

After taking a serious detour ( because Des Moines has several intersections that are similarly labeled...and our GPS can't tell the difference!)   I dumped Cheryl off at the Mall where she immediately boarded a bus and abandoned me to fend for myself.  I guess the bus took them pretty far out in the cornfields and dropped them off at one of the tall dams outside the city.   Cheryl mentioned that the port-a-johns were backed up so an army of runners ran to the wood line for last minute race prep."   Meaning:  everyone just went outside and refused to wait in those long lines!

As for me,   I drove to the finish,   three hours before Cheryl would arrive,  and entertained myself by watching the random crowd of strangers pass by.   People watching is always entertaining....
except you have to be careful to not be seen as a "creepy guy who watches people."   Which is pretty much what I am without Cheryl.   I try not to be creepy....
but without my token runner/lovely item,  I look suspicious.

This race had money on the line!   So the competition was  high.    Cheryl had the possibility of winning "something"  if she managed to take a few second off of her best half marathon time ever! which,  sadly,  she did not.

    She did come in 13th in her age group;   AND replicate the Wisconsin Half Marathon results.   So, it was not a total bust,  even though she really wanted that half marathon toothbrush they were offering for 10th place.
 

Once again,  we ate as much free food as we could and skipped out on the beer.   Cheryl opted for purchasing our own beer for later this evening.   Since it is her Birthday, ( in a couple of days...)  the Hoppy Birthday Beer jumped out to her.   I'll report on the specifics of flavor, color, aroma, et al.  later.  IF it ends up being blog worthy.



Before we left,   I pointed out the graffiti/inner city art that Des Moines has to offer.   Cheryl was very excited to get her picture in front of several of the murals.   Even though the pictures are blurry,  they did turn out pretty cool.    Couple of things to note....the colors as She blends in to her "inner City surroundings".
 I personally like art like this and not so much "tagging" gang colors and mottos on buildings.  I took several other pictures before the camera started acting up earlier today.   That is what happens when I have three hours to kill at the finish line.  But it's all fun.   And sometimes you have to jump in and be a part of an event just for the free food and possible toothbrush door prize.

Official Dam to Dam  10th Place Prize!

  If only the day had  been cooler; the race started later; the course been less hilly;  and  ( most importantly) Cheryl had run faster,   We might have been able to brush our teeth with the official Dam to Dam toothbrush....and Cheryl would have earned bragging rights for the rest of the year...