The Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon. Finished!

She feels confident.

Posing with Abe and Mary

 What a Great Day!   So much to blog about and so little bandwidth to post things with.    And the Pictures...   I imagine they will take forever...  But let's get started.

Runner's Perfect Temp.

Staying warm in the Subie.

First,   the weather was GREAT!   I would say it was as close to "Runner's Perfect Weather" as you can get.   It started out a little cold, but soon warmed up to almost summer weather.  Actually,  It is currently 71 degrees outside.  I'm wearing shorts and a T-Shirt...  But I digress. 

Pre Race Bathroom Visit.

Cheryl was able to comfortably wear lighter clothes for the race.. which helped out a lot.   We had prepared for a number of possibilities,  including a frosty start.   She had gloves and arm wraps on hand to possibly downdress if the sun heated things up. 

Abe calms the runners.

Abe Calms the Troops.

Abe and Mary Todd were there as always.   I'm not sure if they actually know just how much they bring to the run.   Cheryl and I visited the port-a-jons and prepped for the start.   ( Another cannon!)   Small Note:   The guy who sung the National Anthem was AWESOME.    Swift, On Cue, On Note, And he knew all the words.   Yeah!  ( Oh!  And I remembered to remove my hat this time.)

Check out the Super Fly Shoes!  

Most of the front folks had them.

At the sound of the cannon,   I noted that almost all of the front runners were wearing the same shoes as Cheryl!   This will be a point of conversation later.   Take a look!   All "Super Fly" from Nike.   Some were also blue...( for male sizes.)   But I did not recognize those as easily.  Looks like a number of people are on to the same latest tech as Cheryl is.  The Super Fly shoe is supposed to increase your run performance 4%.  That probably does not mean much as an ameteur in the back, but for the elites...  that could mean the difference between second place in your age group..  Or first! 

Cheryl runs by at the star.

Including Cheryl!   (On the Left.) 

Cheryl ran by at the start and I caught her at Mile two.  The Sun is always in the way here.... just like I remember.  I raced down to mile 7

And then at mile 2

The sun is to her back....

By the time I arrived,  the temps had risen and I was totally drenched!  Talk about being overdressed!    I was only wearing a light Eddie Bauer jacket and a long sleeve shirt.   By the time Cheryl got to me,  she had ditched her gloves and was ready to unload her arm-warmers onto me.  Had I thought about it,  I would have had some diet cola available for her.   However,  given that I had to practically run to the 7 mile mark,  I'm not sure it would have survived the journey.

On to Mile 7.

Cheryl hands me her arm warmers.

Coming into the finish.

I race back and catch her at the finish.   She was coming in at under 1:40!    This race was easily in the top three best times for a half marathon.  AND it was in the Spring!   (Spring is always her "slowest" times;   She runs better in the Fall.)   We guessed that the Super Fly shoes were making a difference since she had run almost the entire race with 7:22 minute miles!   Only the last mile did she tip over 8 minutes.   If only she had that Diet Coke at the Half way point.

She was 17 seconds behind the Master's Winner.

Showing off the medal

A unique 55 medal this year.

With the race finished,  Cheryl grabbed the goodies and showed off the medal.   She was very happy getting a time under 1:40. ( 1:38:57!)  It was obviously a new course record for her,  AND  she placed second in her Age Group.   Looks like she wins another trophy.

She won second place in her age group.

Waiting for the Trophy.

While waiting for the trophy ceremony,  Cheryl passed the time by eating the Krispy Kreme donuts in the runner's tent.   There were so many!  And people were grabbing more than one.    Sooo...  Cheryl went back to grab some for me. 

Passing the time with donuts.

More donuts.

And then back again...

Lots and Lots.

Of donuts.

And Again.... 

Eventually we take the entire box.

Don't worry,  here were plenty
 for everyone. 

Eventually,  we grabbed an entire box.   Well,   To be fair,  we had already eaten most of that dozen anyway.    And other people were grabbing boxes as the event wound down,  so we were no alone.   It even looked like they had a surplus of beer this time.  ( Which was very good,  BTW.)  Race Officials hate having too much left-overs after a race.   We know because we were once given an entire bag of Bananas after a race, just so they did not have to throw them away. So... Our consciences are clear for finding a good home for an entire DOZEN Krispy Kreme donuts.   ( They were so good!)

A Major Award.

Cheryl's Award.

Finally,  after what seemed like an eternity,   the awards were given out.   Cheryl won a Growler for her second place finisher.   Possibly the best time ever and she lost first place by only 17 seconds.   Still,  the awards were all the same for the age groups.   No special writing or anything.   The overall winners got larger ones... that was all.

She finished 12 overall female finisher!   Top 2% overall!

Getting back to the Super-Fly shoes.   We did the math from the 2017 race and today.   2017 was the year Cheryl was training for Boston.  It was possibly the BEST shape she had ever been in for a half marathon.... and she bested that time by 4 minutes today!   When you do the calculations,   she was exactly 4% BETTER!   Coincedence?   Maybe.  But whether it's from a pleacebo or actual science,  there is now a high probability she will continue to wear these shoes for all of her long runs.   And obviously there are others who feel the same way.   This is the second race where I have noted that the front runners were all wearing the same shoes as Cheryl.   Perhaps Nike has done it again!  And will continue to have bragging rights until Asics comes out for a newer and better version of their own shoes.   We shall see

That includes a bunch of guys.  60 people out of 1300
finished ahead of her. 

So now we are home.  Safe and sound with a sunny warm day to spend with the cat.  I'm hoping that the warmer spring weather will trigger some Morels to pop out.   Hunting mushrooms sounds like a pleasant way to relax outside.   And all the better if we find some.    70 degrees so suddenly is a bit of a shock to our cold acclimated bodies,  But I guess it beats another cold snap.  It would have been fun to have 50-60 degree days hang around a little longer though.   We shall see what tomorrow brings.  Thanks for stopping in.