Cheryl Conquers Madison... Again!

Cheryl declares VICTORY!

The Spoils of war.

Cheryl ran the Madison Half Marathon today, and as usual,  was disappointed that she placed 5th in her age group...  again.   And ran a 1:42:15 Half Marathon...  AGAIN!   Talk about consistency!   She is mad because at mile 9...there was a hill.  And that hill dropped her perfect 7:35 minute mile pace down.   She also had to run in tights, long sleeves, and with other people.   These things all conspired to make her run the exact same time she normally runs these things.

Early Morning race.

So aside from that,  Yeah!   13.1 miles completed with a fine finisher's medal to show for it.   The time is NOT bad.  ( despite what she thinks.) We survived the deep freeze, early morning rise, and all things "Murphy's Law".   So let's get to it.

Near the Capitol.

Trying to stay warm

Early morning rise!  Typical...  I just say that so I can post these cool blury pictures.    Finding parking was easy..now that we have done this race many times.   We parked by the children's Museum.   It provided us easy access to the race...AND  an easy exit strategy.    I'm a Genius!

Into the Crowd.

The race Begins!

There was no national anthem today...  Either we missed it or they played it before the Full Marathoners took off.   Either way,  Cheryl and the rest of the half-ers took off 10 minutes after they did.

What is that Dog looking at?

I ran to mile 2 and managed to snap a few pics of her.   And then I had to wait the full hour it would take for her to get back.

Cheryl at mile 2.

And it was COLD!   Well,  for spectators anyway.  I stood as long as I could but had to retreat back to the warm Subaru.  (Warm and fuzzy Subaru... everyone should have one.)

Cheryl at Mile 12.5

The tracking App Cheryl gave me said she would be coming around the corner soon, so I got out and snapped a few pics becfor racing back to the finish line.

At the Finish,   Cheryl came in strong.   The clock was wrong, and the chip time is the true authority on her official time.

Cheryl at the Finish.

She looks hot on this cold
day. 

The Photo op. 

Afterwards,  Cheryl gathers up the free food, ( Panera again!  Veggie Sandwitch with  chips and cookie.)     We grabbed the free beer ( Michelob Ultra.) tried to hang out as long as we could.



Which was not long.   The cold was still pushing us towards the Subaru.   Once inside the Subie... We might as well head back to the Hotel.

The Captiol  dance. 

The "Rocky"pose. 

Cheryl showered up while I ate  the awesome Biscuits and Gravy!    Overall,  it was a good time.   I will have ot see how long it takes to post this and add the pictures accordingly.   Hopefully,  it will not take too long as we have 26 stockings for tomorrow and I will probably not have much time to do it then. 

                     At the Hotel .              

Cheryl takes a bite out of Madison.  

Hope everyone had a warmer and awesome weekend.  This will be the last half marathon of the year for Cheryl ( that I know of...) With stockings taking off,  the weather getting cold, and races becoming more infrequent,  it does not look like any "long runs" will be happening.   But after the stocking rush and winter is over,  we get to do this all over again.

39 stockings!   Crazy weekend!

Update!   39 stockings today!   Crazy!   Looks like blogging is going to get tougher sooner than expected.  We shall see.