Cheryl Runs The BIX Without Dying.

91 degrees with extreme humidity.   Perfect weather for the BIX!  Personally, I think the BIX is Supposed to be one of those "Tough, Un-fun Runs."  It is what draws so many people.   And there were certainly a lot of people today.   As much as I found the weather disagreeable, I did like seeing all of the people doing their thing.   Running in the hot weather with fellow runners side by side.  It brings on a sense of nostalgia. 

We arrived in Davenport around 7 AM and hit the bathrooms, found the start line, and planned out spectator strategy. This is one of those races where Cheryl is whisked away behind a color gate and I have to wait for her to arrive on the course before I get to see her next.   Thankfully,  this is the third time doing this and I knew right where to catch her. 

Live coverage from Patio!

My Spot by the Station.

Up on "Heart Break Hill."   Right across from the news station.  The local news must be featuring the race live, because this is the second time I heard and watched them broadcast from the small patio deck near the back of the building.  I climbed up on a wall near the chiropractic college and waited for Cheryl to arrive. 

After the National Anthem, The Biker Parade rolled by, 

Followed by the Elites.   Meb was not there this year.   So basically, I knew no one in the front ranks. But it was not long before the rest of the swarm was upon me.  I began to snap pictures of Random Crowd shots trying to see if I could capture Cheryl as she ran by. 

I got her!  Though I was positive I had missed her.   Normally, she is on the other side of the road or buried in the middle of a pack of tall men.  But this time she ran right under where I was standing.   Obviously, she did not see me either. 

Lots and LOTS of people ran by.   15 minutes of folks until the Spine finally showed up.   The Spine usually does a little dance and I always seem to miss it.  But not this year!   They stopped right at the top of the hill and hung out for a while.  Granted,  the entire Ordeal looked about as coordinated as a first grade musical dance routine.  You could say that the students of the Chiropractic college want to demonstrate why your back hurts.   In fact, one of the vertebrates seems oddly more compressed than the other ones.   I know first hand that a compressed vertebrate is a painful ordeal.  Almost as bad as watching this routine.  

But it is all great fun.  Why not have a laugh while enduring the heat.  I was also able to capture the Marylin-es and the Elvis-es.  ( What is the Plural for Elvis and Marylin?   Spell Check hates them all!) 

Finally,  Cheryl was spotted coming back.  The entire course is an "out and back" so I did not have to move to catch her near the finish. At least this time we saw each other.   I told her to wait for me at the Finish and I would pick her up.   She was waiting for me on the other side of the fence. 

She did not win any awards this race.   She said she walked a few times and happened upon a woman who had passed out.   The EMT's were loading her onto a stretcher.  Seasoned Veteran Runners know how to avoid heat stroke... So walking , as embarrassing as it may be, is preferred to collapsing and being carried off the street. I think there is a Heat Casualty every year... somewhere on the course. 

We headed back to The Subie and wanted to check out the Farmer's Market in Davenport.   Cheryl thinks the heat keeps people from shopping.  I know I did not wan to hang around much outside.  In the "Inside" section, we found a guy who was selling mushrooms.   He had found some Chicken of the Woods already!   Cheryl had to buy a couple of pieces.   We will have to eat them later  once we get some buns and mayo. 

And lastly,  we capped things off at Tee's.  Cheryl had her Sundae and I had my 2 burgers.   It has been a while since we poked our head in at Tee's, and I'm happy to say they did not mess up our order this time.   Possibly because the "Older Lady"  OR one of the teenagers was not the one taking our order. For the rest of the day..  We plan on recovering, staying cool and relaxing.    We have been up since 4 AM, so both of us are a little tired anyway. 

No age group award, no stunning time, no ground breaking achievement,  Not even a Medal!  Only survival...  And somehow, that seems good enough for this race and this time of year.  I'm happy.   Got my blog post and pictures and I don't have to pick Cheryl up from the Med Tent.  AND we got some really great Chicken of the Woods to look forward to.