Cheryl's Disappointing Race At The Quad-Cities (Half) Marathon.

Cheryl Ready for a New PR

What a busy weekend.   Actually,  what a busy Week!   So much to blog about and no internet to waste all my time on.   I am forced, once again, to blog about everything in a single post and waste several hours infront of the HyVee Gas station using their Free WiFi.   But listen to me,  complaining again.  Let's get into some highlights...

Last year, Cheryl had her sights set on the Quad-Cities Marathon in Moline Illinois.  (And Davenport, IA.)  But then she got Broke, (in more ways than one.) And could not attend the race as scheduled.  Last year, was a rather bum year for Cheryl's racing plans.

Power Up.  Bing! 

Expo Time

But this year has been differant.   With a new training regement, diet, determination, and Job,   Cheryl planned on righting the wrongs of the past.   Add in her new secret weapon of mushroom suppliments and voodoo rituals and she was setting the stage for a new PR (Personal Record) in the half marathon distance.   Why only the half marathon and not the full?   Well,  her training and time have been essentially cut in half by the job she was forced to take.   And since she only worked a half week last week,   it only made sense to give half of everything else.

And the course

Checking out the finsh line

We spent the better part of Saturday traveling to Davenport for the Expo.   I should say Moline;  but the quad cities is 4 cities in one and Davenport is the most familiar.  In fact, most of the race was run on the Iowa side with Bettendorf and Davenport making up several of the miles.  Plus Davenport is the city we are most familiar with since we used to train/bike/run there quite a bit in previous years.

Expo events.

Just grab the packet.

The Expo was larger than expected, but we were not into any more merchandise.  We pretty much picked up the packet and headed directly home, planning on an early morning wake-up to make it to the start line on time.  We did drive around the course to make sure I had my spectator spots locked in.

And poster.

Cheryl's prediction for tomorrow?

  I was a little nervious on this one as I was the essential link for Cheryl's hydration, nutrition, and motivation.  No small task!   But I was determined to do my best!

Way to early.

Still dark

3 A.M. in the Morning!  We were forced to make and bring our own coffee and breakfast, since no stores were open.  We drove to the Quad cities in complete darkness and narrowly avoided several deer, a raccoon, coyote, and cat along the way.  The air was brisk and cool, but not as cold as predicted.   Cheryl dressed accordingly.

Find the bathrooms and start line.

Watch out for Deer.

I thought she might get too hot, but I had to leave her at the start line to get to my designated station. ( mile 5)

John Deer...that is. 

Sun almost up.  Better get in place.

Cheryl is getting antsy

With her traveling at "PR Speed", there was a chance I might not make it in time unless I left early to avoid "Spectator Traffic".  She entered the gate with her longsleeved shirt and gloves.  With 10 minutes before "Gun Time".  I headed out towards Mile 5.

Mile five!

I'm rEady with Beverage!

Mile 5!   I did not know it was going to be so popular.   A watering station and Elite drink station was located in my super secret spectator spot.  My mission:  To deliver high fructose corn syrup in the form of a mixture of diet and regular Coke to Cheryl as she passed by.  The secret blend of fuel was carefully mixed in advance so there would be no carbination in it.   And the entire contents was sealed in a special container. 

The Gun goes BOOM!

See the runners on the bridge.

I could hear the cannon  go off from the other side of the river,  I watched as the runners crossed the river with the Sun outlining them on the bridge.  Cheryl forced me to download an App so I could track her, which worked for the most part.   It was a little slow.

The Elites race by.

Kenyans in the Lead.

The Kenyans and Ethiopians came across first.   Most of them were running the full marathon.  Cheryl was close behind, a full minute faster than she had predicted.  I handed her some pop while she forced me to help her get her shirt off.  While she drank,  I slipped the shirt ( containing the Bib and timing chip) into the back of her sports bra.  And she was OFF!

Cheryl wants me to rip her shirt off....in PUBLIC!    I agree to help.

I skipped ahead to Mile 8 to repeat the process.   She had lost a full minute just from the wardrobe change!   She was determined to catch it back up.

Race to mile 8. Next to the Runners.

Professional Handoff

Mile 9 and I managed to get her one last time before the finish.  She did not take long to fuel up and, instead, focused on her times.

Cheryl races towards the Finish.

I raced back to the finish line.  Surprisingly, it was not as difficult as I had imagined it in my head.  Most of the race was on familiar territory, and I can't help but think that that played an important part.   It did not take long for Cheryl to round the bend and race towards the finish line.  I cheered her on to beat the 1:43:00 time on the clock.   She did!  By just a few seconds.

Gotta Beat 1:43:00

She does!

Now you may be thinking that 1:43 for 13.1 miles sounds good.  But it is not.   Why?  Because it was not a PR for Cheryl for the half marathon distance.  She was very upset with the preformance.  I tried my best to console her, but it was pointless.

But not a PR>

But lets see what she wins...

Even the news that she got first place in her division was not enough.   They even threw in an award!   Still, no good.   Nope,  it was all about breaking that PR.  Nothing else mattered.

And there is MORE?

A shiny new Major Award! 

But she did get a shiny new medal for her troubles.  She can add it to her collection.  And she can now save money by not buying any more of those Mushroom Suppliments that she was counting on.   They obviously did not work.   I'm not sure where she got the idea of using mushrooms  in the first place...

Showing love?

Hiding her disappointment.

Well,  I despite all the shortcomings,  I guess you could call this race a success.... From my point of view, anyway.   She got a medal, got a T-shirt, got an award, and did not break herself.  And all the bad stuff that happened was not my fault....Big Win for ME! We learned a few things along the way as well...  Don't wear warm clothes on a cool day,  Don't drink too much regular Coke at mile 5, and don't plan to PR if your head is not in the game.  ( That last one is still a mystery, but I'm sure she will figure it out...whatever it is.) We have another race coming up which will be shorter and not as taxing.  Hopefully, I will be able to keep  the postings short as I do not like reading novels either....   Nor writing them.

Cheryl is so sad,  I can hardly film it. 

If you have read this far,  thanks for stopping in and hanging on until the end.  With so many pictures, hopefully the long-winded words were not so hard to slosh through.   Have a Great Weekend!