We made it! Quimes ran well

You know, it feels as though we have been up for two days straight. Oh wait. We pretty much have been up for two days' straight.

Rather than bury the lead, let me tell you right off the bat: We made it to Des Moines. Quimes DelaCruz ran well in the steeple. He was 10th out of 26 finishers -- our highest finish in school history -- in 9:28.78. It was not a personal-best time, but considering the circumstances, our boy Q ran really well. More on the actual race in a later post. Here is a play-by-play of how we got there.

3:30 a.m.: Wake up at the hotel in Summit, N.J., for a 10-minute jog to shake off the cobwebs. Notice that dome light in my lovely car has been on all night. Fortunately, battery is not dead.

4:00 a.m.: Leave hotel with groggy athletes.

4:07 a.m.: Who the hell is Quimes texting at 4:07 a.m.? "It's my boy Luke," the Q-Man said. That would not be Luke Shane, for those keeping score at home. Methinks the Luke he was texting was not getting an early start on the day but rather a late finish to his night. Just a hunch.

4:30 a.m.: Arrive at Newark Airport, where we surmised the lines would not be long. We surmised incorrectly.

5:30 a.m.: We finally got through security and wait patiently for our flight to ... Minneapolis. That's Minnesota. Not Iowa.

6:00 a.m.: Board the Delta flight. We just missed First Class by one row but had decent leg room.

6:15 a.m.: Why are we not going anywhere? Some luggage snafu. Not good! We need to get to the Central time zone, already!

8:00 a.m. (Central): The uneventful flight lands in Minneapolis. Two members of our travel party (I will not embarrass them) wonder if it is cold out ... you know, because we are in Minnesota and all. Never mind that it is June 24.


8:15 a.m.: Coach Pete gives Quimes his laptop bag to carry, pulling "Old Man" status so that he can walk faster to the Hertz rental car counter.

9:00 a.m.: With 250 miles in front of us and not a lot of time to get there (cue up the "Smokey and the Bandit" theme, will ya?), our Nissan Altima Hybrid rental hits the open road ... only to get stuck in rush-hour traffic in Minneapolis. Nicoletti wonders aloud why there is rush hour traffic in Minnesota since "no one actually lives here, do they?" Ah. Gotta love that New York bias.

9:25 a.m.: We finally get cleared of traffic/civilization and get to a 70 mph stretch of I35 South. Quimes, riding shotgun, urges me to "go faster" and do "power moves." I straddle 80 mph for as long as I can. The cannonball run begins in earnest.

Sometime in the morning: We cross into northern Iowa. People are scarce. Wind turbines are not. I push the accelerator to 90 on flat stretches of highway. Everyone else is asleep.

Late morning: We stop for snacks, drinks, bathroom break somewhere in Iowa. Nicoletti is equally appalled and amused by the convenience store chain out here called "Kum and Go." Have fun with that one, fellas. Pictures to follow.

Later morning: I'm doing the math. We can make it Des Moines with just enough time if I really push it. I really push it.

12:30 p.m.: We make it! Quimes, Jackie and Nicoletti hop out and get their credentials. Quimes checks in, the last one to do so. He warms up. He races. All things considered, he races very well.

Driving stats: 255 miles in a little more than 3 hours. Not recommended.

For today, it worked.

More race statistics and other details to come ... thanks for reading.