Cheryl's Third Time Dam to Downtown 10K Run! A Rival Rematch!

Early Morning Packet Pickup

In a fit of Boredom,  Cheryl signed up for  the Dam to Downtown 10K race a few days ago.  It is one of the races she continues to swear she will never run again... and continues to run.   I can't explain it.  I have given up trying.

Waiting in the Warm Subie.  

Since we have been working at Pearson,  our "Free Time" has limited us to weekends and Holidays.  Meaning:  We have very little of it!    This forced us to get up at the crack of dawn and get to the start line early for our packet pickup.   Despite the warning,  they still had some T-Shirts for Cheryl to add to her collection.

Finally,  the race is about to start!

One of the main reason Cheryl says she will not continue to do this race is because they have no medal.  However!   They DO Usually have a age group award for those old people who end up finishing in the top three.  Since Cheryl is one of the only females in her age group who shows up, she Usually gets one.

Walking across the dam.

Cheryl runs by!

With Winter taking an extra month to disappear this year,   the colder weather seems to have limited the runners.  There were not the usual long lines by the port-a-jons, and the crowds were not as intimidating.  I was able to follow Cheryl across the dam and say goodbye before the race officially started.

Not many spectators in the way.

Makes for Good Photography.

Back on the other side,  I did not have to wade through a bunch of obstructive spectators to get some good shots of her as she passed by.   So far, so good!

And there she goes...

He she Comes!   With Wendy the Rival

I raced to the finish line and waited for Cheryl to arrive.    She told me to expect a slow race today.   Although she liked the 50 degree temps,  her running regiment has been light and sporadic.  She has only recently moved up to 6 miles as a regular distance.   And then she keeps her pace down to 9 minute miles.   I was more worried that she would re-injure herself while trying to compete with other runners.  I was expecting her around the 55 minute mark.

Wendy pulls ahead.

She Does have longer legs...

But can't catch her.

Cheryl pushes herself at the end.

As the troops filed into the finish,  I noted that the gaps between runners seemed quite large this year.   I guess fewer runners will do that.   However,  I noted that someone resembling Cheryl was arriving almost 8 minutes earlier than expected.  I see Cheryl running along Wendy...  a Long time rival.  Wendy lives in Wellman,  same as we do.   And she is almost the same age ( a little older)   and about the same running skill level.  She has been to many of the same local races before and traded wins and losses with Cheryl a few times.  Cheryl has bested her at the Glow Run and the Red Shoe half Marathon while Wendy has continued to win the Dam to Downtown.    Wendy had pushed Cheryl into her "competitive Zone"   and Cheryl was arriving much faster than I had initially thought.

Almost there...

Only 2 seconds behind.  

Well, today was Wendy's day to shine... but only by a few seconds.  And Cheryl marked up her best time ever for this particular race.   48:35!   Faster than her first and second year!   Who says competition is not a "good" good thing.   ( Well, besides me.... I hate competing against other people.) And best of all,  She did not hurt herself!

David Drops by to help cheer.

After the race,  we linked up with David.... one of our fellow Scorers at Pearson.   He lives in Iowa City and decided to brave the moderate cold and extreme early hours to cheer Cheryl on.

Cheryl places 2nd this year. 

With fewer than normal runners, I'm guessing there was very little money left over for "Age Group Awards" this year.   Cheryl got a photo-op and a hand shake.  No second place paper weight this year.  A little disappointing, but she already has two  age groups awards from previous years.   Not that big of a deal.

No Award, only a handshake and photo.

The truly BIG deal was the fast time and lack of injury on  a race she spontaneously signed up for.   She now is feeling the confidence to tackle a half marathon again.  Something she has not been able to do for almost 9 months!  We shall see how she is feeling after she ups her training runs to longer distances.  Grandma's Marathon is coming in June and we have not canceled it yet.   It would be great if we were able to go after a dubious winter and spring training season.

Let's Bike!

After the race and festivities, we rode our bikes for a bit and celebrated with a Pizza Hut pizza.  Fresh thin crust pizza from Pizza Hut is the best!  And besides,  we had to hurry back home and score for ETS later  in the day.   We needed a little bit of a reward for that as well.

All that Cross-training Pays off!

Celebrating with Pizza Hut.

So now we are back at home and the day is almost over.   We both finished our scoring shift and I am finally able to post this blog.   ETS is now flooding our schedule with hours after cutting almost the entire month of March from our work schedule.  Had they offered these hours a month ago.... we might not have signed up for working at Pearson in Iowa City.   But since when does everything ever work out exactly as planned?    Sometimes things work out better than expected.    Just like Cheryl's race performance today.   Hopefully the trend will continue....

Thanks for stopping in.