An Afternoon in Davenport, IA. For BIX7 Packet Pickup

Thanks to the totally unrelated bicycling event in Iowa City today….we had a free day to travel to Davenport to pick up Cheryl’s Running Packet for the BIX7.  Cheryl was very excited, and I got to sleep in a full HOUR!   So I started off in a pretty good mood as well. 

The BIX7 is a slightly different race from what we have encountered thus far.  The crowd is supposedly bigger. ( around 12-20,000 people) The Race is shorter, ( only 7 miles) and the cash prizes are larger! ( $12,500!)  I’m guessing the way they can offer these incentives is by cutting on other areas.    Shorter distance means less police and manpower to direct the participants and crowds.  And , I guess, runners had to assemble their own packet pick-up. 

It was all great fun though.    Most of the vendors at the Expo were selling stuff that we just do not care about.  Cheryl buys most of her stuff on line through runners world or REM.  However…there was ONE reason we wanted to get there at a certain time….namely 11:00 A.M.

The Large Size and Prize Money attracts celebrity Elite Runners.   Rather famous ones from inside the relatively small world of running.

Cheryl came to see Meb Keflezighi  The 2004 Olympic Silver medalist for the Olympic Marathon Event.   He is ( MORE IMPORTANTLY) the winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon….the first American to win in… like…FOREVER!  ( Since 1983 I think…)  He has won numerous additional races and awards and is possibly the most famous runner at this current era.   ( I don’t really know, but I know him…and I do not know ANY famous people  in sports….so that MUST mean he is famous)

Cheryl caught sight of him by the Sketchers Booth, and decided to pose with the cardboard cut out…just in case…

 

Then the REAL one showed up!  We lucked out and happened to be there while they were setting up.  We managed to be third in line…behind a guy from West Virginia who had poor Meb Sign everything he was carrying.  ( he had a shirt with the names of several dozen famous runners….he must have been very dedicated to his celebrity check off list)

By the time Cheryl got there, she only had him sign her book and posed for a couple of pictures.   The Line has already grew and we did not want to take too much of his time.   With a little luck, we will see him tomorrow in the ELITE Section.  ( By the way,  he has WON this race several times before….they even have him on their previous posters!)

After shaking hands and wishing each other the best, Cheryl and I headed out to survey the coarse.  ( I know that sentence is confusing, but Cheryl and I did not part ways with each other…only with Meb….You think I could have worded that better, but my English is a mess at this time of day)

It will be tough if it is hot ( which is predicted tomorrow) the first mile is up a steep hill.  You then head down a slower grade hill and then turn around at the half way point and do it all again in reverse.   That may sound bad, but Cheryl has confidence as it mirrors her daily run here at home.   Not to mention  it is only 7 miles and she runs 7 every morning.  The only factor will be the heat and the crowd.   

So…that is all for now.   We managed to get what we were after. ( picture with Meb)  Oh!…and Cheryl's Packet.   And scope out the race.    Hopefully things will slip into the “routine” and we will have many wonderful pictures of the race in progress.   Looks like I will only have the start and the finish pics on this one as well.  Also…they are not allowing “non-runners” into the party afterwards…so looks like I will be looking over from the sidelines.  It’s all good….we really only want Ice cream after the race anyway…and that is not offered at the party.  Wish us Luck!

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So, You got Trouble? Try This…..

Our Ceiling is still giving us trouble….as in:  It still leaks!   I’m not sure why the upstairs folks did, but the shower poured down into our bathroom once again.  I left a message for the landlords on Monday, but so far no word or action has been taken.  I’m sure they are trying to map out a plan of attack on this problem as even I am stumped on what exactly is going on up there..   I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the drain not being properly sealed.   But who knows?   It all adds up to the fun of apartment life in an old building.

At the very least, we have no company coming over to show off our embarrassment.  If you ever need to know what cheap rent will buy you…..look no further.   It could be worse….we could be paying TWICE as much and STILL  be left with a dripping hole in the ceiling.  

 

If I sound a little frustrated….well I guess that would be accurate.   Just when I thought we would catch a break and all of our troubles were behind us…this one flairs back up again.   Add in that our last remaining cat is INSANE and destroyed a blind today, caught a robin,  ( the bird was unharmed) and howls non-stop from the moment we get home until about an hour before bed time….( unless he is outside)  and you may understand why the nerves are frayed a bit.

Tomorrow is our last work day for the week as Iowa City will be taken over by Ragbrai ( spelling?)  It is a cycling event across Iowa and goes through Iowa City on Friday.  The main roads will be closed and choked with  hundreds of bicycles.   It is all good for us because I could use a short work week and Cheryl has a run in Davenport on Saturday.   The Bix Seven!  

 

It’s a short race, but VERY BIG!  Several professional and celebrity runners will be there.   Maybe we will get a chance to snag a picture of one or two.   Fingers crossed!

 

And finally….To Cheer myself up and make everything slightly better…..I like to drink a little Honey Brown and listen to Pink Martini Brazil…..  Enjoy! 

Survival week Over…Hopefully. And a Visit from the Fam…

The Finale to the rather “bad” week was capped off with the In-Laws coming to visit from Michigan.  In-Laws sounds so ….bad.  Let’s call them “Cheryl’s family” because that sounds better and, technically, that is who they are.    We have known of this visit for a while now, and this was the week that things were bound to screw up.  As I write this, the verdict is still out on how well the bathroom leak has been taken care of.   The Landlords put up a band aid just long enough for our  company to not be too shocked by the huge hole in the ceiling. I’m not sure if the leaking has stopped though, as the neighbors are taking a shower and I hear “drips” even though I do not see anything dropping from the ceiling hole cover….yet.

Anyway,  the folks came over and we had a rather pleasant time with them.   The time was rather short and I feel like we did not have much time to do things with them.  Add in that it was a VERY hot day yesterday and pretty much all we did was stay in the air-conditioning and swap stories, news and pictures.   We we SO ENTERTAINING that I fear we put them to sleep at one point!  Ah well,   5 A.M. is a rather early start time and even WE were feeling the Z monster on our back.  And we did not have to travel 8 hours through Chicago the previous day. 

Well,  It all worked out and they headed back this morning sometime.  The weather seems to be stabilizing slightly as the temp hovers around 80 ( instead of the high 90’s) After a week of hot temps, dead cats, leaking ceilings and eminent threat of family invasion….today we are taking time to slow down and relax…

We received out IKEA wall units yesterday ( while the Fam was visiting…of coarse!) and assembled and installed them.   Oh!  I forgot to add in that the Bookshelves two weekends ago broke off the wall and were destroyed.   Cheryl and her never ending quest to add more stuff to the shelves…..broke the camels back…so to say.   So…They finally arrived….one day too late ( we had planned on having them up BEFORE the Fam came over) But alas!   It simply would not gel with the “Bad Week” story line if “perfect timing” had been in the plot.

So,  in a totally relaxed state,   I assembled the wall units.   No cursing, no swearing, no uncontrolled perspiration or fits of Rage….the units went together in possibly the fastest, easiest way I have ever assembled IKEA furniture to date.  ( this is how I’m pretty sure the worst of the “bad time” is over.) 

Another sign that the darkness has lifted….is that Cheryl’s Family brought me BEER!   Not just Any Beer…HONEY BROWN!   A single 12 pack of Golden Heaven!  I have to savor it….but how?   How do you control yourself when your favorite something is there…tempting you?  Granted, I only have 12 days supply, but those 12 days will be slightly better knowing I have my favorite beer waiting for me.   Honey Brown will make it all better.   ( Slightly, anyway…..Along with Chocolate.)

So, with nothing but sunshine and rainbows ( without the heat and humidity) in front of us,  Hiro and I decided to head outside and enjoy the nature of our front yard.   I cleaned out the shed and filled up the bird feeders while Hiro rolled around and played with bugs. I was drawn to the Katydid on the Daisy outside our front window.  Not that Katydid’s are all that uncommon here.  But the are pretty for a simple grasshopper.

Speaking of insects.   It is worth mentioning that Cheryl and I have finally seen our first LIVING LUNA MOTH!    Not a big deal to probably ANY ONE ELSE, but for us….when we were avid fluttering insect hunters…the Luna Moth was one of the most elusive specimens  we never collected.   We found a “wing” of one a few years ago here in Iowa…but never a full body…and never a LIVE SPECIMEN!    But our days of butterfly and moth collecting are over now and all we do is capture, identify, admire and release.   The Luna moth must have been hit by car as his hind wings were shredded up  pretty bad.   He still could fly for short distances, but there was a Brown Throated Sparrow watching him intently.  I’m sure we saved the moth, if only temporarily, from being a bird’s lunch. 

It is unfortunate that the only camera available was Cheryl’s families.  Perhaps they will mail us a copy of the picture someday.  Not that that moth was very Photogenic. ( shredded wings,  bad lighting, bad background.  Horrible conditions)  But it would be a better fit for the story. 

So, now,   Time to really relax and possibly watch some Anime while sipping a chilled Honey Brown beer while munching on Jiffy Pop Popcorn.   Sounds like a good time to me….Tomorrow, the spell will end and we will be back at the job…doing the normal routine.   Hope everyone elses weekend is going well…especially if your last week was “one of those” weeks.  Enjoy!       

Ah! Sweet Depression…How I Doth Love Thee.

Not really.   I guess if you can joke about depression…either you are not really depressed…OR things have gone so far over to the dark side that they begin to look funny.  I’m not sure where I am at the moment.  I guess you could understand a little depression with a cat passing and an ever uncertain future.   But tonight we came home to a wonderful surprise….

Our Apartment has flooded….again!   This time from the ceiling in the bathroom.   AND   it is HUGE!   Leaving a puddle that has migrated into our kitchen and hallway between bedrooms.    YEAH!  And here I am thinking that the Spring Flood Season was over! 

Well,  at moments like this you call the landlord, Preferably BEFORE dinner.   Except that the cell phone is out of battery ( RANDOM!)  and the reception around Wellman has never been very good to begin with.  So,  I just had enough time to introduce myself and blurt out “Bathroom….Water…..Rooftop….BEEP!”  Hopefully they will understand.   I guess I can call them back in and hour when the cell charges back up a bit.   As I’m Writing this, the “above us” neighbors are taking a shower!  YEAH!   Maybe a little indoor rainstorm will cheer me up even further.

Normally,  I fight depression with Anger.   It angers me when things are thrown at me that upset my “normal” routine of life.  And it Angers me to feel sad, lonely and …well, depressed.    But NOW things have just become silly.   At some point, you actually are curious just how bad things can get. 

Aside from that,  I have this feeling of anxiety that I have not been able to successfully pinpoint.   Scoring is winding down for the year and there are no new prospects for employment.   Cheryl has mentioned her desire to phase out stockings and my origami has never been profitable, sustainable, or even desirable as of late.  So…To fight the Dark Places in my mind and keep them from taking over…..I go for bike rides.

Long Bike Rides!   The Cool thing about riding a bike is that the heat is usually not as big of a factor compared to running.  The bad thing is doing it alone after work.  Alone with your thoughts can be just as depressing as the thoughts that you are trying to exercise.  ( literally exercise!)   Sometimes I think up things that a pretty exciting and I feel like I need to rush home to put them down on paper….but alas.   They always fade away before I get that far. 

Perhaps it is time to work on my next novel.  I have had several stories bouncing around in my brain for a while now but never seem to have the time.   As it is, I’m booked up for the next several weeks…even my weekends are busy doing “things”.  If Only there was more time.   

Also, just when you are feeling “safe” in the sleepy little town of Wellman, Iowa.   ( depressed, angry, sad, and anxious….but safe!)  we are told early this morning how a runner training for a marathon got hit by a car and died in the hospital just several miles away.   The Lady lived in Wellman!   Yes!    Let’s run around the country roads Cheryl!   YEAH   We live in WELLMMAN!  What could possibly go wrong? 

Ah…Never mind me.   It just must have been one of those days.  

It’s not like I’m going to climb into my car and run people down with the Subie.  (  I couldn’t resist!   A Subaru  being used for a Stunt Shot!…How cool is that?!?!)  No! this is my my Subaru…..I would never dream of hurting the paint on the hood doing some You Tube Ultimate Failure video. 

A Farewell to Rasha.

Rasha died today.   It was a very sad day today. 

She had been “bulged up” in the middle for the last three weeks…ever since we came home from the Marathon.   I signed it off as she over ate while we were gone. Packing in the “extra food” that we had left out for the days we were gone.  She had done this before, and it went away within a week.

However,    after a week of the bulge remaining,  I began to get concerned. She is usually regular as clockwork with her litter box visits, but those had tapered off noticeably.  I thought she had the same issue as ZULU ( a previous cat) so we finally took her to the vet for some “expert” diagnosis. 

Turns out….she had some type of tumor about the size of a nerf football inside her abdomen.  The vets did not know what it was…nor had they ever seen it before.  Our options were :   Do more tests to try to figure out what it was….Or exploratory surgery….to figure out what it was.   Both options were not a cure….and we had been down this road before (with Zulu)…..it is never a pleasant path. 

It is very sad to make this decision on an otherwise “healthy” cat.  But the vet confirmed that this was a problem that was only going to get worse.    As the tumor rapidly grew and continued to crowd out her organs and digestive tract….she would not be “healthy” for very long. 

Rasha was a true cat.   One of those “independent,”   9 lives types you often read about.   She also was one of the longest lived cats in our household.  She managed to survive 9 years with us….people who basically suck at having pets.  And this brings us to the moment where we have decided to not replace her.   After Hiro passes,  we will be bowing out of the “Cat Owner’ club.  Or any pet, for that matter.   No fish, hamsters, dogs, birds, snakes, turtles, or lizards.   I know it might sound selfish, and we may change our mind later.   But for now,  that is the plan.  Hiro is still a fairly young cat ( 7 years old in October of this year!), So it is possible we may continued to be cat owners for  a while longer.

A small final story about the 9 lives of Rashi.  She showed up on our doorstep…thin, declawed, and already fixed!   And Zulu liked her…..so somehow,  she became ours.   Life #1

One day,  she slipped outside and disappeared.    We thought she abandoned us and went back to her old home.  I was a little ticked that a cat would show up,  win over our affections, and then run back to her original owner after we had firmly established an attachment to her.  There was no  of evidence of fowl play. ( hit by car, eaten by wolves, etc. )   Then,  she suddenly reappeared….Thin, starving, and voracious as ever.   I was so happy to have her back and we immediately tried to fatten her back up.  Come to find out,  she was trapped in the neighbor’s basement/crawlspace for a full month!   She must have survived on mice and condensation until she found a way to escape.   I know this is the likely scenario, because she repeated the event, but this time the neighbor witnessed her in their basement window and told me about it.  Life #2

Then,  the day after Christmas,  she contracted pneumonia.   Luckily, we acted quick enough to take her to the vet BEFORE she was on death’s doorstep.   Even so it was touch and go for a very long time  ( about a week) and several times I thought she would not pull through.   But she did….Miraculously enough!   Life #3

 

I guess I should add that she survived the trip to Iowa…living in a hotel room for 2 weeks while we searched for apartments here.   I’m not sure how stressful that was for her, but it was very stressful for us.   And ultimately it was a new life for all of us. 

I’m not sure how many other lives she must have spent while out on her own as a stray.  ( The best  guesstimate is about 6 years before meeting  us….putting her at about 15 years old total)    My guess is she must have used up the remaining 6 lives; and this was her last life.   I will truly miss this cat as she was the “love bug” cuddle type that I liked to have around while scoring or sitting on the couch.   We shall see how Hiro reacts with her gone.  I was slightly offended that neither Rash nor Hiro even NOTICED that Red was gone.  Perhaps they were happy because Red was my favorite cat.   Sibling rivalry and all.  Well, Hiro now has no competition in that department.          

Cheryl's Incredibly Expensive Photo Finish. With an '80's favorite from the Vault.

A quick post on Cheryls Finish photo.   She was having a little fun with this one....too bad I was not allowed to be there for my own brand of Photography. ( which is FREE!   Unlike this photo)

So!   I'm attempting to qualify on the latest Pearson Project they have recently moved me on...And I'm having a little trouble.  Not only am I CLUELESS on what I'm looking for on ths project, but the neighbors have decided to crank up the music upstairs and it is becoming a problem.   They have been quiet up to this point.  Why now?  Add in that I have already worked an 8 hour day and things are cooking with gasoline! 
To combat this,  I have put on headphones of my own and tried to find music to counter the noise...I believe "Rolling Stones" Can't get no satisfaction.... (  I'm Not a big "Stones" fan)
So try this one all you '60's bud heads and Vietnam Vets!   Men at Work!   A obscure favorite:

4th Of July Half Marathon….Finished!

Well,  I had a pretty good day yesterday.  I guess Cheryl did too.    I should probably talk about that since that is more interesting. 

We woke up incredibly early yesterday,  around 4 A.M.  In traditional Half Marathon fashion, the moon was out and red-ish.   The Park where the start of the race was located was only about 5 miles from the Hotel.  There were already quite a few people out and about.   

This Half Marathon was a little different from the Lincoln and Red Shoe Half Marathon.  There were lots of people, but the spectators were limited.  I guess that was ultimately good for me. I was able to get some pretty good shots without having to fight through a wall of strangers. 

I knew I was not going to be able to capture any mid-race shots on this one.   My only hope was to catch Cheryl at the start and the finish when the runners looped back.  as mentioned before, there were plenty of runners, and finding Cheryl in the chaos was going to be tough.   So,  we took a few pre-run pictures by the start line just to be safe that we had something to post.

The gun was off!   The fast group were the first spotted,  Cheryl is somewhere behind this mess!   She was only one group behind the elites.  I thought if I took random shots of the crowd, I could “accidentally’ catch her.  It still might be possible that she is one of these “blurry” people in the background. 

After the front group ran by,  I paused for a moment to let the endless tide of “slow” people run by.  I call them slow because there were in the 10+ minute starting mark.   That does not mean they ARE slow;  It could be that they just failed to jump in the right location on time.   It all comes down to “CHIP TIME” in  the end anyway.   Chip time is the time it takes for your bib chip to cross the start line mat.  At that moment, the race begins for you as an individual.

So, I ran down and paid the parking fee…I’m sure I could have gotten away with NOT paying, but in the end, I was forced to overpay for the location.  I’m still going to complain about that one. 

I had about an hour and a half to kill so I stood by the finish and struck up a conversation with a random stranger.   Many people brought their dogs, much to my delight!   I love petting and talking about dogs of all shapes and sizes.  His was some terrier/mutt mix.   Very friendly! 

While talking,  one of the police K9 units came up to me.   I had not noticed, but I guess the dog was sniffing my bag.  ( the guy I was talking to DID notice it,  He had a bag as well!)  It was probably a good thing I had not noticed it, because I would have wanted to pet the German Sheppard….thus upsetting the police man and causing all kinds of suspicion.   And it is even a BETTER thing that I did not have my usual stash of DOG TREATS in the Hello Kitty hand bag.   I guess I might have looked “suspicious”  sporting a designer Hello Kitty bag to a Half Marathon.  But even more suspicious is a lone creepy looking man in his mid 40’s WITHOUT a lovely item. 

    So Cheryl finally arrived.  This race was her best time for the Half Marathon yet.   She managed to shave several minutes off her previous personal best record.  I guess the heat and fatigue of Grandma’s Marathon did not cause here any problems in the end. Isn’t that nice?

So, let’s drop the sarcasm and talk about the actual results.

Her Previous best time for 13.1 miles was 1:49 13.  

New personal Record :  1:45: 53 seconds!   That is 3 minutes 23 seconds faster! 

Small Note:   Notice the 53 seconds.   She missed the Boston Qualifying time by 53 seconds.   Her personal goal for this race was to aim for 1:45 minutes….Thus missing it by 53 seconds again!   Still,  She is petty happy with the results.

Her average pace was 8:05 minutes per mile.

She was 11 out of 167 females in her age group.  91 out of 1323 females over all.  and 391 out of 2479 total runners both male and female!

The numbers do not reflect the total number of people running that race.   You see,  there was a “relay” running the half marathon at the same time.   Two people, running half of the half marathon.   That’s 6.5 miles each runner….roughly a 10K.  

So, to celebrate, we hunted down Uncle Sam and posed with him…..

And then we had ‘BBQ’ afterwards in the after party.  By the way BBQ in Minnesota is really just a hotdog with ketchup and Mustard.  

So that is all!   We arrived back home relatively early but fell asleep before we could enjoy any fireworks.   Incidentally,  Yesterday marks the 5 year mark when we first arrived in Iowa.   Ah, how the time flies!  I actually thought we would not be  here this long, however, life has a funny way of dealing cards. 

So enjoy the pics,    the rest of them….I took so many after all.  

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Cheryl also took this time to “dust off” her 13.1 Magnet on the Subie.   It is good to keep things polished from time to time to show off that you still have the stuff that got you the award to begin with .  

 

The rest of the day will be spent trying to score, recover my overpaid parking fees, medicating the cats, and possibly trying to fix the mess Cheryl just made in the office.   I guess the Bookshelf just fell off the wall….complete with all of my origami, books, Magazines, and her finishing medals.   I knew one more medal would cause the destruction of something…..BOOM!