13. Des Moines

10-17-10 we hit marathon #13. Another perfect weekend and a perfect day for 5,000 runners in the middle of Iowa. I will admit, I was not really looking forward to this one. Looking at pictures prior to going to race day the course looked flat and boring. I was pleasantly surprised. Despite the 5 hour drive from Chicago of all corn fields the city was beautiful and clean. The capital building stood out in all its glory.

We drove into Chicago on Friday to celebrate Ann's 30th birthday. The four of us set out for another road trip thru the Midwest. Ann and I ran the half marathon together while Mike did an awesome job as the single member of the pit crew. He took great photos as you see here, and got Derek his energy water as requested around mile 18, best of all he was there to cheer us all on.

The course started down town and wrapped thru the city streets. Around mile 3 the two races split their separate ways. Derek's course took him through some incredible neighborhoods with huge beautiful homes and landscaping. Twisting and turning mostly up hill, the adventure of 13 began. He even ran a loop around Drake University's track. Mean while Ann and I ran thru Gray's Lake park. At first this seemed very bland and boring until I saw a sign that said 'IT WILL TAKE A WHILE TO RECOVER FROM THE FLOOD' which reminded me of an article I read months ago about a damn breaking the area devastated by a flood. Gray's Lake that we ran around was bone dry. Thankfully they were able to get the pathway fixed, and the lake filled. However, the grass had not grown in yet creating a muddy side line. My favorite part of the course was the bridge that led us back into town. This Bridge known as Gray's Lake Boardwalk had prisms along the side as the daylight went through each of these prisms a different color appeared along the board walk. It was like running thru a rainbow.

We all did great. Ann met her goal of a sub 2 hour half with a 1:59:20, Derek was satisfied with his time of 3:37:49 and I finished with a 2:00:14. After a quick shower we went back into down town to have lunch, and found a great bar near the finish line. We had the chance to eat while watching the other runners earn their metals.

Des Moines, Iowa... thank you for being a great town!

A week from now we will be celebrating Tom & Lindsay's wedding day. Will send an update on how beautiful of a day that will be.

Cheers!