Wall? What Wall? 02:04:33

Hi Team. Dam to Dam went very well. Here are the details of the day.
I awoke promptly at 4am and ate some breakfast. Stepping outside I knew the weather was going to be great. By race time we had 60F clear skies with a light breeze coming out from the east.

I picked up Larry on time at 5 and we headed downtown to catch a bus up to Saylorville Dam. People sure behave funny. The masses all headed to wait in the long lines for the buses that were lined up front. We walked on back to about the third bus and hopped right on. This was a senario that would repeat itself with the use of porta-potties or water stations. The masses always choose the first thing they hit.


I wore my Garmin and started it as we crossed the starting line. I'm sure that those of you who have already taken part in an organized race can related to the congestion of the first few miles. The pack did not really break up until between mile 4 and 5.

I gave the water station at marker 2.5 a pass because I felt ok and I "knew" there would be another at mile 4. Well there was "suppose" to be one there. For some reason they set it up at mile 5. Which was stupid because the next one was a mile six. Once I hit mile 5 I took a little water at each following station.

Mile 6 brought on the first hill. It's an overpass above I80-I35. This hill was no trouble and the 10k mark was just on the other side. Leaving that hill felt good and I picked up the pace a little. Mile 7 into 8 brought the next hill. This one is bigger and I ran out of some steam about 3/4 of the way up. So it became as brisk of a walk as I could make it. At the crest I was right back into a jog. About a three blocks past that hill I saw Emily and see took this picture. Much different than that '06 picture I posted huh?


I took some gator-aid at mile 9. Mile 9 runs downhill all the way. I tried to pick up the pace again here, but the way the cones were laid out in the street created a bottleneck, only three runners abreast wide. This was frustrating.
As mile 10 approached, the course flattened out and I knew I was NOT going to hit that wall. Woo Hoo!!!
The approach to mile 11 brought another hill with simular results as mile 8. This lead into another bottleneck as the course now joined a bike path. At this point I noticed a couple people laying in the grass being assisted by volunteers. At mile 11.4 there were some kids giving the runners high fives as they came by.


Only one more mile to go. As I finally reached Locust street I could hear the drum corp in front of the YMCA. In '06 that really pumped me up and I gave it all the gas I could. This time, I could not manage that last sprint until I was closer to the finish line.
At the finish line I turned to look for Larry and did not see him. I waited for a while but my thirst drove me to a water station. I then walked back and waited for Larry to finish. I was pleased to finally hear his name. He came through the finish and told me the heat had really bothered him. Shortly after, while looking for his family and we found Emily. She took this picture of us.


Shortly after taking this picture Larry did not feel well and went over to the aid tent. While he rested I partook of the free food and beverages they had. Pulled pork sandwiches, kettle corn, fruit. It was all good.
I went back to check on Larry and he was still not feeling well. After laying down for awhile he felt worse when he sat back upright. Larry told medics he felt he should take an iv of fluid to aid his hydration.
Earlier in the week Larry had been to the doctor and was on antibiotics. Although he had been drinking plenty of water the day before, he questions if his medicine did not allow the water to hydrate his body.
I went to bring the car closer and by the time I got back the iv had done it job and Larry was feeling much better.

2008 DAM Numbers
2580 Male finishers
2233 Female finishers
4813 total finishers

Of the male finishers I came in at 2100. 284 out of 348 for my age bracket.
My official clock time was 02:10:31 which is 9 minutes faster than '06.
My Garmin which was started and stopped on the lines read 02:04:33

Larry came in at 2467. 254 out of 270 for his age bracket. His official time was 02:30:53 Larry hit the starting line with me so his actual time would be about six minutes less also.

2006 DAM Numbers:
1991 male finishers
1539 female finishers
3530 total finishers

Myself:
1812 out of the male finishers 254 out of 284 for my age bracket.
Official clock time 2:19:38

Larry:
1736 out of the male finishers 251 out of 284 for his age bracket
Official clock time 2:14:21

The start and finish line photos are from past events. I just thought it would be fun to add them to the post.