More Misery Practice.

Ready for action

Light Drizzle, but nice

Another 7 mile run in Coralville... in the rain.

Well,  it started out ok.   And then it began to trickle on us....before totally soaking us.

Drizzle picks up

Geese are enjoying it.

This was one of those days where only the ducks and geese are happy.   Cheryl likes these days and never wants to skip or skimp on the mileage.   I think she believes it will make her tougher..... unless she catches pneumonia.

Not it is raining!

Cheryl buckles down

Even I got a little soaked with my Gore-Tex.   The temps remained in the 40's through out with the wind adding that much more fun.

And runs faster!

I should be pointing out her determination and Grit!   5 years ago she would have never done something like this.   Maybe that is the way of the runner.

But not fast enough to stay dry.

With Lincoln coming up on Saturday,  Tomorrow will be travel and check in.   We both have to work for ETS so there will not be a lot of dilly dally at the Expo...  Even though the offer free beer samples!  I guess we may just have to do what we can on race day.   We shall see

My Gore-Tex is soaked!

When Cheryl is Cold and Miserable.

Other than running in the drizzle,  I actually enjoy rainy days.   Drinking warm beverages while looking out the window at the birds and the rain are refreshing and calming.  That being said,  I hope the weather changes for the dryer in the days to follow.   Goodness knows we do not want a flood anywhere around here any time soon. Wish us luck!

More Practice Being Miserable.

 Running in the rain and Wind.   At temps hovering in the 40's.  Perfect miserable weather to train in.

Cheryl ran 8 miles today and we trotted along the Mississippi in Muscatine.  The rain held off for most of it.  I mean...there was a constant drizzle, but no serious downpour.   So the entire run stayed mostly damp instead of wet. If that makes any sense.

Other than that, the rain continues and we are now safe and warm in our cozy apartment...sipping tea and coffee while folding Origami.

Lincoln Half Marathon this weekend!

The Lincoln Half Marathon is this weekend.  All this panic over Boston and we forgot that we have a Half Marathon on the calendar coming up!   We enjoyed the Lincoln in 2015 and were not able to attend it last year...for some reason.  (Probably Cheryl's injury or something like that. )  So it will be fun to revisit it and use it as a training set for the upcoming Marathon.  I'll be there to catalog the results.

In the mean time... hope everyone is staying warm and toasty in their 600 square foot apartment.. ( or something like that) drinking coffee or tea.   Unless it is not raining or snowing....  but when is it NOT a good time for a smooth warm coffee?   Enjoy!

Cheryl's Last 20+ Mile Training Run Before Boston.

Monday was Cheryl's last long run before the Big Boston.   Well,   Long as in "Really Long";  Meaning over 20 miles.   From now on the plan calls for tapering and shortening the distance to prepare for the Marathon.   The distance can range from 13-14 miles with a half Marathon thrown in the mix.

Cheryl managed to race another train...this time making better gains on it.   I can't remember if she eventually won... but we did not have to wait for the train to pass by at any time...so   Winner!

Cheryl Gains on the Train....

The eminent threat of Boston is now, finally threatening to loom over us.   Cheryl received her Welcome literature and if there was every anything to totally unravel your confidence...this would be it.

Parking?   Forget about it! Take the bus which will only travel from Boston to the start line...not the other way around.

Spectators?   Who needs to actually see their loved ones run?    And for safety reasons... Spectating is banned except at the finish line. Where they will be sectioned off from any decent vantage point  and watched by the NSA for terrorist activity.

No HelloKitty Ninjas!

Runners!   You get to bring the clothes on your back and nothing else.... Not even ID...Which you will need if you want to enjoy the Boston 26.2 beer.   Clothes must be tight and transparent so we are sure you do not have any explosives.  (Meaning Cheryl will not be allowed to wear her Hello Kitty Warm up Suit.)

I always go to Social events like this.

I am not allowed to bring any bombs, knives, or guns to the race... ( Insert joke here...But Cheryl made me remove it in case people actually read this and take it seriously)

To protect us....We hope. 

In short.  I sounds like they want us to travel through like a herd of cattle.  Be prepared for an occasional electro-prod from time to time.    This is a Once in a Lifetime experience after all.  And the Race commission is here for our safety ...not our comfort or convenience.

Ok my rant is done.   Maybe because I have a headache as I write this.   I know that all the literature does is cause panic...   Whereas on race day at the location, things are usually much easier to navigate.   As if the distance and the logistics were not enough,  negotiating a foreign city  while running a prestigious historic Epic  race like the Boston Marathon is already intimidating.    They should be offering support and confidence....  But what do I know?  I'm not a race official.


And to top things off,  I will be wearing a shirt that Cheryl's sister created.   It may be a little big... but better that than too small.  Cheryl also received some Clothes.... Although the Colors might be too flashy for the Fashion Police.

We were doing so well keeping the thought of Boston on the back burner...but as the date closes in, I'm sure there will be more moments like these coming up over the next couple weeks.   I shall try to maintain a level of balance...maybe.  We shall see.

Origami Weekend.

Things are beginning to pile up!   Perhaps this was one of the reasons I decided to take a break from Origami for a while.






 I somehow managed to unload most of the old stuff before Christmas and, for a while at least,  we had a clutter-free work shop.   Well,  Clutter-free from paper and various animals and sculptures at least.   Cheryl still has the Felt crammed in the closets.


The bad thing about all of this is that I threw out a bunch of paper that was simply getting in the way of things.   And now,  Several months later, I purchased a bunch of colors yet again.   I feel like an alcoholic that emptied all of this stashes only to travel back to the liquor store to buy more!  Cheryl knows how I hate to waste things,  but she hates clutter more and she usually wins.

Maybe I should start folding something other than fish for my next round.   Complex animals require better paper and more time.   The koi are nice because the paper is cheap!  ( Micheals has a spring sale with packets of 50 for $2!  How can I resist?!?!)


So this post is simply a reminder for myself why I try not to fold as much as I once did.  Either that or I have to find another way to unload them to the public.   We shall see.

The British Love Their Football.

British Humor.   I found this  a few days ago and I believe they capture the world of Sports and ESPN.   Enjoy.

DIY Ethan To The "Almost" Rescue.

Only if you have the CASH$$$

Being a DIY-er,  I know first hand the excitement and terror that comes into solving a seemingly simple and insignificant problem.  Many people would simply call a professional or, in this case, the Landlord to solve the bothersome problem.   They are, after all, probably better qualified to handle such issues.

He doesn't know how to do that?

But there is something about hiring a professional that really bothers me.  Maybe it is the judging looks he gives you when he twists a loose nut and solves the problem.   Maybe it is the awkward way I feel trying to explain how the item in question makes this sound...that it is currently not making.  Or perhaps it is the fact that I do not want to pay someone $100.00 an hour to solve something I could have done.

And so it goes with Plumbing.   I am not a plumber....I'm a Fisheries Biologist, Wood Carver, Student Teacher, Army Soldier, Truck Driver, Furniture Mover and Assembler, Boat Builder, Burger Flipper, and Origami Artist....but not a Plumber.   But with two college degrees and a vast number of job experiences,  I should be able to figure out plumbing...right?

That is exactly what Cheryl is afraid of.

Don't get me wrong!   It is not that I think the job is not worth $100.00 an hour.   If I had to go to some stranger's house out in the sticks to crawl under their dirty cluttered sinks to stop a flood as it is happening ...I would want $100.00 an hour as well!  However,  I do not have $100 to throw at someone to solve my problems.   Nor do I enjoy waiting for the Landlords to arrive next month to "fix the problem."  So Let's watch some YouTube videos and get dirty...

Cheryl might not understand my learning process:  Study.  watch, spend money, try, fail, Spend even more Money, try again, fail again, and then,  finally after spending more money than first promised, I patch things together so they work.   It is rare that I'm allowed to skip a step.

Cheryl the Hulk broke the handle.

It started with the handle finally falling off the bathroom shower.   Goodness knows how old these fixtures are, but the handle had stripped out and needed replacing.  I was impressed that the hardware was able to be removed so easily...and this got the ball rolling.

I like keeping tools simple.

The entire fixture has been leaking and hissing for several months...( maybe even longer!) I looked at this as an opportunity to see if I could fix it once and for all.  I managed to remove the "Faucet Stem" with the simple tools in my arsenal.  Again, I usually get stuck here and have to buy "special tools" to remove impossibly stubborn fixtures.  But not today.

Cold Water side.

Hot water side.

I was able to clean things up and reassemble them.  The Cold water side seems to be at the core of the problem.  It was removed in several sections; whereas the Hot water side came out as a single assembly.

Cold water seat 

Hot water seat

  Looking at the Seat. ( the small part in the back behind the stem)   I could see that it appears corrosion is interfering with the O Ring Seal.   Comparing it to the Hot water side, They do not appear exactly the same.

Looks like I will have to replace the Cold Water seat... but  My cleaning and removal seemed to help a bit.  The leak is still there but not as blatant.  And the hissing has quieted down dramatically.
   I'm mostly impressed that I had only spent 85 cents on a new O ring ( that was not quite right) and did not flood the bathroom or break anything.   So I consider this a "WIN" for The Great Ethan Allen.  Who needs a medal?   I have the knowledge and self satisfaction  that I'm a Winner!  In the foreign field of plumbing...while having no formal training or instruction.  Hurray for ME!

And that is why I'm  a DIY-er.   Solving problems without making them worse brings its own reward that no one else could possibly understand.  If you have read this far and are asking,  "What's the big deal?"   then I doubt I could explain it any better.  And you probably have never DIY-ed.

Training with Trains and Running with Deer. Cheryl's Week in Running.

Sexy summer-like weather.

Cheryl's version of panting.

This Monday started right off with one of the short long runs for Cheryl.   14 miles in Davenport.   Compared to the Twin Cities the temps were much warmer.   Cheryl and I both down-dressed half way through the run.   It was about as nice a day as one could hope for in a Monday after a race.   Cheryl was even feeling frisky and spirited as we trotted along the Mississippi.

Faster than an anchored barge!

Slower than a speeding Diesel Freight Train?

It just would not be Davenport if Cheryl was not racing or chasing a train.   And I managed to capture the action as it happened this time.

Not to say that Cheryl is slow...but she did just run a 10 miler in Minnesota and she had already ran 10 miles in this training run.  Not to mention Trains are made of metal.   And trains are strong!  They burn diesel fuel....which is kind of a cheat if you think about it.    Ah well.... Good things trains do not show up at races....very often.

Colder weather, warmer dress.

The weather dipped down  about 10 degrees the following day and it has been fairly cold ever since.  Today was nice because of the sun, but it was still chilly in the morning.  

Chasing the deer.

Object in camera are closer than they appear!

The highlight of the run was the deer.   Normally we see the token duck, goose, and maybe a blue heron.  Today we were graced with a couple of deer that allowed Cheryl to get close.   How close?   Well,  there was a moment in Iowa City where she could have petted one.  ( That happened twice!) But this was pretty close too.  And I managed to have the camera ready this time.

I'm liking this smart phone for everything but the phone.   I can play music on long runs AND I have a built in camera that is handy for moments like this.   I'm impressed that it did not come out blury or out of frame.  Sometimes I get lucky...hopefully I will be able to tap into that when we go to Boston.

Other than that...I have been working.  Two days in a row!  We both have more hours coming up next month so that will mean less SubNautica time and more time spent earning money.... which is not as much fun.   I have been donating a few hours each day for some Origami,  so perhaps I will post some of those pics in the future.  We shall see

Clocking the time.