Cheryl's Quad Cities Distant Classic Half Marathon.

Surprise!  We are Running This weekend!

Try saying that five times fast!   Goodness!

A last minute add on race that Cheryl signed up for.    News to me!   Or perhaps she told me about it last week while I was busy watching videos.  No matter.    We woke up insanely early ( 4:30 A.M.)  and traveled to Rock Island, Illinois.

Early rise with No sleep.

The rain came and went as the sun briefly appeared under the clouds.  However,  the sun has been totally absent for the remainder of the day today.  Currently,  it is thundering and lightning outside and looks like rain is likely.

Cheryl finds her name and number

And picks up her bib.

But this morning,  things looked pretty good.   A cool mist and overcast skies.  Cheryl's favorite running weather.  We picked up our packet and found the start line.   The race was rather small; only about 550 half marathoners while the majority of the crowd was running while the rest of the crowd  had only signed up for the 5K.

And then dive into the Start line. 

We inspect the Finish line.

 

I personally like the smaller races.  I get really good shots of Cheryl as she races by.   Cheryl, on the other hand, would rather run with a crowd.  Or should I say: Audience!  She is such a show boat.

The gun goes off!

Cheryl is easy to find in a small crowd.

The cooler temps forced Cheryl into long sleeves and mittens.  But those items only lasted about half way.

Later,  near the end,  she also lost the shirt.   I figured she would  overheat in this humid weather.   But she finished the race like a champ!   Not bad for someone running a half marathon after a week of fighting a cold. 

She runs by. Can you see her?

Half way Point! 

And off she goes!.

I should also note:  This was the first half-marathon she has run in over 11 months!  Nearly an entire year!    She is very happy.

Less than half a mile left.

She looks pretty good.

She races to the finish!

Not a bad time, given the conditions.

The finishers prizes were nothing to be too excited about.   But there was a medal,  and that is what Cheryl collects.

The Border Collie ran the race too.

And gets a Medal.

She was pretty happy.

Cheryl celebrates on the AstroTurf. 

After the race,   we hunkered down with a Border Collie ( also a finisher!) and Cheryl enjoyed her banana and Gatorade.   The race finished inside the stadium and we were able to camp out on the astro-turf of the football field. What fun!  And surprisingly comfortable....

She looks pretty proud as well. 

Now she is just showing off. 

Cheryl's overall time was not her best... but also not her worst.   Pretty much par for this distance.   And that is actually a pretty good day considering the injuries, depression, sicknesses, and alien abductions that have happened this last year.  She placed 4th in her age group so she did not win one of those cool blue trophies they had on display.   But that is fine....  Just the feeling of accomplishment was enough....   And as  long as she got a Finisher's Medal.   She HAS to have the medal.

She shows off the Prize.

Give her the Medal! 

So now we are trying to recover from the early morning wake up.   The rain is really coming down now and any hopes of riding our bikes around the neighborhood are now dashed.  I'm ok with it.  And Cheryl DID just run 13.5 miles at a decent  race pace.  I'm sure she will cut herself some slack.

Nothing like a Banana on Astro Turf after a Race. 

Hope everyone is having a fine Sunday.   The weekends are over so Quickly now that we have jobs.  And it does not help when most of your weekend is lost due to the rain and thunder.   My plants need the water though,  so I will look at this as a blessing.   Thanks for stopping in.