Cheryl's Hot Dash PR. Finished!

23 degree start.   Staying warm
in the Subaru.

But eventually we have to get to
the start line

Words are like the wind:  They blow through your mind and are lost forever...unless you manage to capture them in prose.   For this reason,  I am writing a blog post late at night because the inspiration is flowing and the memories of the recent events are fresh in my mind.   And History is created by the historians who record it, right?    So let us begin.

At leaast they had warm-up fires.

Cheryl and I took advantage
of them. 

A chilly morning in the Twin Cities... But we were warm and toasty in the Subaru waiting for the start time.   They warned us to arrive early for the best parking, and so we did.   Better to arrive early and have a parking spot rather than drive around for several minutes trying to find one...  And risking a Tow!   No, thank you!

And the Pre-race bathroom visit.

Lining up at the start.  Note the
Shorts,

But as the start time approached,  we headed to the bathrooms for last minute calls and prepped for the start.  There were lots of people running only the 5K.   And they started earlier than the 10 miler, so we did not have to dodge and deal with them at all during the race.   Yeah for organization!

Most of the front runners wore
shorts. 

Cheryl runs by. 

With her Nike Super Fly Shoes.

Cheryl lined up and prepped for battle.   The reports said that the chilly start would warm up later to the mid 40's.    For this reason,   she chose to go with the shorts.    In fact,  most of the "elites"  were wearing shorts.  It is a quick and easy way to distinguish the "serious" runners from the "just for fun" runners.   For the first time this year....  they played the national anthem before the race.   Nice!

I track her on the race App. 

Front runner Female wearing the same
shoes as Cheryl 

Cheryl took off near he front.   The course was an "out and back" course...  So I would only have two opportunities to see her:  The start and the finish.  I snapped as many pics as I could at the start and headed towards the finish line.

A Boston veteran.   Same shoes. 

A Running group.   Same Shoes as
Cheryl 

As the "winners'   approached the finish line,  I noted that many of them were wearing the new Nike Zoom Vapor Fly 4% shoe. ( Try saying that five times fast!)  Cheryl got lucky and bought hers on sale as a promotion.. ( or something...)  They bragged that they will increase your performance 4% over other shoes.   People swear by them!   Unfortunately,  they actually only improved Cheryl's performance 1%.

Who knew Nike Super Fly shoes
would be so popular.

Cheryl dashes By. 

And apparently,   many of the runners got the same memo.   I saw more than one pair out there,  and I know nothing about shoes!   I guess the larger versions also came in a dark blue.  But mostly I noted the Blaze Orange colors that matched Cheryl's shoes.   With all those elites wearing the same gear, Cheryl's quest to move up in the ranks seemed less achievable now.

Almost 30 mseconds faster than last
time she ran this race. 

With a New PR.   

But she did finish strong and with a new PR for the course.  YEAH!   She did not win any awards for her age or weight,  but who cares about those  awards anyway?

Getting the medal and some water.

Cheryl shows off her Bling. 

 She got the medal and the Hot Dish!   ( A potato and meat casserole served hot.)    Let's ring that PR bell!   Yeah! Potatoes!

And BEER! 

Now for some Free "Hot Dish" 

We did get to sample one of the many beers offered by Summit Brewing company.   Pretty good.   Cheryl drank most of it.    I guess she must have thought she earned it or something.  But I did get at least a sample.   And the beer was good enough to suggest purchasing some later on here in Iowa City.   We shall see.

Who doesn't want to win 20 lbs of Meat?

After all the running and drinking,   there was a Meat Raffle.  Meat!    Who doesn't want 20 lbs of Meat?   Especially if you won it in a raffle?    We hung around for an additional 30 minutes to find out if we had won anything.   We did not.  In fact,  we actually were more interested in the left over clothing items that were raffled off after  the meat.   (Who has the container large enough to keep 20 lbs of meat fresh for a 6 hour drive?)  But we were not winners there, either.   Ah well.   We got the beer and casserole... what else would we possibly want after that?

Close up of the medal

It is very shiny!   Like a mirror.

So the race was an overall success.   Cheryl got faster and set a new PR for the course. (1:17:09) despite being under trained, old and fat.   She suspects that the shoes may have helped the 4% that they promise,  but the other factors took 3% away from the performance.   She can't get any younger, but she can lose the weight and maybe train harder.   Hey!  I'm just reporting  what she tells me.   Don't hate me for pointing out the obvious!

Now the two of us have to get back
home.  6 hours!   Like paddling up-
stream....

So now we are home.   It is late and I am tired.  Hopefully my fatigue will not cause me any trouble tomorrow after I read this with a clear head.   I would like that think that drowsiness creates a slight flair to my writing.  Or at least humor.    But sometimes I re-read things and cringe slightly...  or chuckle.   We shall have to wait until tomorrow to truly know where things fall.    Thanks for stopping in.