Greetings from Little Rock!

That is correct!  We have safely arrived to the place that gave us Bill and Hillary Clinton. Little Rock,  Arkansas!  It only took 11 hours...  I think.  Things are a little fuzzy at the moment. 

The morning started out fine enough.  Pretty sun rise followed by the sun moving over into our line of view, making driving so much more fun.    Hey!  At least the snow is mostly gone!

I will have you note that between Iowa and Arkansas, there is not much to note that is worthy of picture taking.   Besides endless scenery shots, there were the occasional flock of birds.  ( We think they were snow geese.

And a trailer full of Sherps!   (A very cool ATV.) 

The land between Little Rock and Missouri is very flat.   I think it is a place where they mostly grow rice, since most of the fields we passed were semi-flooded.  Kind of cool for its lack of character.

But finally we have arrived.   Cheryl said we had to be careful as the Zarkoseks might be lurking around the area.  They have also arrived fresh from Mardi Gras  with a load full of beads and tales of Conquests from Florida races.   Cheryl will be so jealous.   

They are supposed to run tomorrow morning.   I have been told I can sleep in and enjoy the awesome free breakfast that the hotel offers.   I will have to take advantage of that situation.  In the mean time....  We prepare for the Marathon on the Enemy's Home Turf!   ( Meaning, we are hanging out in Arkansas until the Marathon....  )  There will be trails to explore, foods to eat,  and weather to enjoy!   I can hardly wait! 

12 Miles With Eagles. And The First Robin Of The Year.

That is correct!  The first Robin in Iowa... as Seen by me.  Does his mean it is the first?  I doubt it.  They fly into Iowa starting around February all the time.  In fact, I think they are a little late this year.  I should have been staking out the Crabapple Tree in the neighbor's yard if I really wanted to see them early.  But alas... I just waited until one hopped out onto the trail as we did our usual morning run.  

Yesterday,  Cheryl ran her last long run before the big Marathon.  12 miles!  Sure, we were supposed to have run it on Tuesday, but it snowed and then got cold...  And we had already ran 10 miles on Sunday and Monday.... So better late than never, right?  

At least the path was better today.  And the cold continues... in the morning.  Currently the temps tell us that it is hovering in the low 50's.   Kind of nice.  But it is rapidly dropping as I write this and the sun sets.  

In addition to Robins, the Eagles continue to grace us here in Iowa.   They have not congregated  in large groups as they have done in the past, but occasionally I get one that camps out near the trail as Cheryl runs by.  I did not slow down for a really great shot because whenever I do that, they fly away.   I should be happy I got the pic that I did. 

And finally,  I folded my last origami Dragon for the Gym.  Today was out last day there and if the weather continues to get nicer, we will save our money and begin walking outside in the park.  Besides, I'm sure they are getting bored of the Origami Table by now anyway.   And no one wants to tell me to stop, for fear of hurting my feelings or something.   Either way, I hope they like the Origami Wyvern. (Two legged Dragon... with a stingy tail...) It was supposed to be able to hang on a glass or cup or something, but I did not adjust the legs properly.  Still, I think it turned out pretty good with wet folded card stock paper.  ( thicker paper)  with only one small tear in the back. 

Tomorrow we pack up the car and head south.   Once we settle into the hotel, I will check back in.  Hopefully with pics or stories of excitement and adventure.  ( Not bad ones!)  Happy Sunday!  And Thanks for stopping in.

Running In The Snow. Apprentice Cats and Dragons

It snowed last night.   I think around 2 inches... maybe more in some areas.   The cold has certainly stuck around as well.   All these things conspire to make running a challenge for Cheryl.   At least the wind was not too bad this morning.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to warm up a bit.  And if the Parks people get on the sidewalks, the running path might be clear once again.  But at the time of our run this morning,  most of the path was only partially plowed.   And some sections were not plowed at all! 

But the sun came out and began melting things. Iowa is funny in that the sun can melt thing even with temps hovering below the 20 degree mark.  As long as the sun is actually shining...

Upon arriving home, I was able to finally finish my Oriental Dragon that I have been working on over he last several days.  I first attempted one in normal paper before moving on to Foil Paper.   The finished  green one is to my liking.  

The Mount Olympus Version.

Granted, it is not as difficult as the Ryujin that famously prowls on the internet .  Folded by Kamiya Satoshi,  This is a single sheet of paper.  And only takes about 30 hours to fold...  IF you know what you are doing!

The version I have been working on is a Dragon called Shinlong folded by Liên Quốc Đạt.   His version is created from dollar bills, so you can fold it using rectangled paper pieces.  It certainly is easier to handle.. and Takes a LOT less time.  

He has several version that I would like to tackle in the future.  Perhaps I will fold one using real money....  We shall see about that.   In the mean time, I will work on scaled and more complicated heads for future improvements. 

Rocket when he wants cuddles.

By the way, the cats are notorious for "helping" when I fold.  Even now, I have Rocket on my lap, preventing me from typing easily.

Highly Suspicious activity...

Last night, I found Rocket  and Leo on my paper staging area, looking very suspicious.  

TGIF!  Hope everyone is staying warm and ready for the weekend.   I would not mind if the temps climbed up a bit, and some of those snow disappeared.   Thanks for stopping in.

Ice And Cold Return!

Sunday and Monday were wonderful days!   Cheryl was able to run 10 miles each day, even though she had planned on running long on Tuesday.   The reason was because the forecast had a cold front with rain and ice moving in. 

And it did!   Our cars were completely frozen in and we skipped the run on Tuesday because the roads and sidewalks were covered in ice.   Instead, we did some errands and other things around town. 

Today... Cold!  Windy!  And there was still some ice on the sidewalks.  

It was a strange sort of ice.   The kind that has spaces between the small ice clusters.    The ice provides a bit of grip for your shoes, but the gaps between the ice keep the salt from fully melting it.   Either way,  Cheryl was having none of it.   

First, her shoes are not the best for ice.   Second... the cold with the wind chill made for a very difficult run.   ( and bike)  We called it after only 2 miles since Cheryl was practically walking the entire distance due to ice, and the cold made the experience a torture fest.  There was not much to be gained by running longer today. 

Hopefully things will warm up and melt some of that ice tomorrow.  In the mean time,  some more Origami.... A pegasus without the Shadow box. ( Too lazy dig it out and  set it up.)   The Rec Center does not have any kids to annoy me today, so I did not have to fret over having to show them how to fold paper.   In fact, it looks like the Gym will be mostly quiet from now on, since Basketball is over for most of the schools.  

Stay warm and thanks for stopping in.

Cheryl Leaves Her Heart In The Ozarks.... (Half-Marathon!)

The race is finished and Cheryl won.   Kind of.  Ok, maybe not "Won" won....  But did pretty good for being old and female.  And despite her best attempts to convince you otherwise,  She DID manage to pull off a better than average Half Marathon today.... But the Devil is in the details.  So let us begin the long and boring process of "Nuance." 

I have been racking my brain on how to begin this account.   There are so many ways I could take it, the least of which is simply bombarding you, dear reader, with endless pictures.   Pictures of a runner running.   Yes, Yes,  She is cute when she runs. But who seriously wants to wade through 700 pictures?  ( Other than me, or her!)  So I will try to focus on the "non-running" things that I find interesting.  And perhaps add some chuckles along the way. 

It was cold, windy, and hilly.   VERY hilly, from all accounts.   Cheryl is not her best on Hill.   Both on the upside and the downside.     Despite this,  she was able to come in under 1:40 (1:39:49) with a average pace of 7:38 minutes per mile.  Typical of a fairly good training day.   She has certainly managed to shave off some time from her normal runs.

She places 23 out of 93  half marathoners.   Now here is an interesting note:   IF you remove the CROSS COUNTRY TEAM. ( Runners under the age of 18)   She would have been 7th overall.   There were only 6 men over the age of 30 that were faster than her.   And there was only ONE of those men was older than her. 

And now even more nuance:    Cheryl finished with only two other women in front of her.   ( I was counting at all spectator points.)    But when we got to the result table,   the chart had her in 4th place overall female.   I figured one of the women must have slipped by or was dressed "like a man." so I did not see her.   The other two women ahead of Cheryl were ages 15 and 18. ( different age group!)  But the "female" in front of Cheryl not only was the same age, but also pulled off a 6 minute per mile pace!   WOW!  ( fr those not in the know,  That is borderline Olympian Grade running.)

Finding the Award results.

But on our way home...  The results changed.   There might have been a possible mix up in the genders.  Meaning: someone with a female sounding  name or a typo on the application got in the female category and was not supposed to be there. 

Adding the age group award to her medal.

( Think of a guy named: "Chris."  Is Chris a male or Female?) Either way,   they corrected the results AFTER we were several hours into our trip back home.  

First place Female Age group.

IN the end, it does not matter.   Cheryl WON her Age group award ( 1st place) and there was no award for third place overall female,  so the hiccup is purely cosmetic.    Plus!  I was counting the women!  ( It makes me look bad when I have a different count from the computer.)   I always count the women ahead of Cheryl and tell her how many she has to beat if she wants to win us that vacation in Vegas. ( or $100 bucks!)   She won her age group,  ran a good race time, used her mid-race fueling effectively, and managed to deal with the hills, chills, and wind mills along the way.  ( There were no windmills, but I thought it sounded better if it rhymed.) 

The Marathon will test the Crazy!

Of course, Cheryl does not see it that way.   How petty!   She thinks that this amounts to little more than a training run.  She thinks that all that mid race fueling and caffeine matters little in the end.    She thinks that Jiffy peanut butter is better because it is creamy and not crunchy.    But she is wrong on all counts!   First,  Half marathons are not Marathons.   Marathons begin breaking you down AFTER mile 15 ( or so...)

A more useful sign to hold. If it were true...

And THAT is when the mid-race fueling might come in handy.   Second:  As far as training runs go,  any training run under an 8 minute per mile pace is HEROIC!  (Visualize a cape and back glow here) Pulling off 13.1 Miles with an average pace... and Hills and Wind and virtually alone is amazing!  

Running the race all alone!  No pacers.

That reminds me.  Being a small race, there were few people to pace off of.   Meaning:  Cheryl ran the race with a HUGE gap between her and the people ahead of her.  She nearly lost her place on the course a couple times with no one to follow.   She was left with only her own mental pace to follow.  A tough thing to do, if you have no competition to gauge off of. 

Other than that, the after action report was fairly typical.   We posed for some pics, ate some home made potato soup with ham sliders, and recounted our experiences to each other.  The mess up over the first place female finisher will remain a mystery, but Cheryl got her age group award and that is better than the huge award they were offering the overall winners.  

Next up!  FULL marathon!

Other things to note:   This was a good practice run for the Little Rock Marathon coming up soon.   We discovered that our toiletry bag requires new toothbrushes, eye conditioner, aspirin, and shavers.  And Finally,  Ruby Subie made the trip like a Champ!  Marking her first race event trip in a (Hopefully) long career as the new Race car.  

This post is becoming longer than I had hoped, so I should cut it off now and see if I can get these pics to download.   It is currently 8 pm as I write this and there are many other things to say, but perhaps I will save them for another post. ( Tomorrow, perhaps...) In the mean time,   Safe at home,  Time to drink the souvenir beer.  It is made with authentic, locally harvested,  Black Walnuts!  A smooth taste.  

Thanks for stopping in.