The Fleet Feet Foggy 10 Mile Trail Run.

Trail run?  Aren't those for People with a Death Wish?   Or people suffering from depression... Or have deep seated psychological issues?   Well, technically:  Yes!   On all accounts!   So why in the world would Cheryl sign up for a 10 mile trail run in Illinois?  Could it be a dark memory from her Childhood?  A desire to hurt herself?  Her utter failure as a human being in both life and career?   One thing is for certain, it can't be from marrying me, because I'm awesome and possibly the best decision she ever made.  

But enough of my positive influences.  Let's talk about the race!

An early, chilly morning this morning.  It eventually dropped down to 30 degrees on the way to Davenport. Only when the sun was finally up did the fog disappear and the temps begin to heat up.  We arrived early and scoped out the area.   There was not much to explore.

This was a small race. with only 22 folks running the 10 miles and an additional 45 people running the 5K. I personally like small venues, as I get a lot of freedom to be a spectator.  No police blockades or race officials kicking me out of the best spectator spots.  It also helps to be able to pick Cheryl out of the crowd. 

She picked up her packet and prepared for the run.   She even wore her Blue Ox hat for the little extra motivation to tackle the trail.  It was very hilly and steep.   The trails were narrow and there were lots of roots to stumble over.   Basically,  this was completely different from a road race.

 

There were also a lot of loops!   I'll spare you the figure 8 track she was on, because I could stand in one spot and catch her multiple times.  But those are not really the best pictures for the blog.  So after she handed me her Hat and Mitts after the first loop, I headed up into the trees!

 

The race finished at the top of a steep climb.   On the final loop, they were to turn left and head to the scenic overlook, where the finish was located.  I climbed up and stood off the trail to catch her as she ran by.  Most of those pics are terrible, since the trees blurred the picture badly.  But,  A few stop motion vids helped capture the moment. 

Cheryl placed 7th overall female.   She was almost perfectly in the "middle of the pack."   Her average was an 11:30 minute Mile....

 

 

She fell only twice.   That is a major achievement!  Since most people did not fall at all. But knowing how Cheryl is over any terrain that is broken, uneven, or difficult, I'm amazed she finished with only a few scratches and a dirty hand.  Come to think of it,  It's amazing she finished at ALL!  

Now you might be saying:  "If you thought she could hurt herself on such a course, why let her do something so reckless?"  Folks,   sometimes you have to throw your kids into the deep end of the pool to make sure the proper genes are passed on to the next generation. Is that unfair? Maybe... But life is unfair in this cruel world!  And tough love is required to forge stronger individuals.  Broken legs eventually heal, but the emotional  scars will last a lifetime.  

There were no medals at this race.  No money prizes.   No recognition for an outstanding achievement.   Only a cookie for the top 10 individuals in each sex.  That means two people ended up cookie-less.  See!  Life is hard and unfair.   (Perhaps the best award anyone could get  is the knowledge that no matter how hard you struggle, you are not going to get a cookie...) 

There was hot chili, coffee, hot cocoa, and Beer!  Food for thought and drinks for the body and soul!   I would give this a thumbs up, but Cheryl might have different plans for future trail races.   This is the second trail race she has completed, and now that she knows she can do it, she may find that she no longer needs to prove anything to anyone... or herself.

By the way,  we will be running in almost the same exact place tomorrow!  Only this time it will be only 5 miles ( half as long) on a paved road.  Oh!  And there are supposed to be thunderstorms, lighting, lots of cold rain, and Tornadoes tomorrow!   Good thing it is not a trail run... Because that would be very dangerous.   If she survives,   We'll see you tomorrow.  

Thanks for stopping in.

Autumn Days With Kids And Chalk.

I wanted to post a quick entry on the middle of the week in Wellman, Iowa.   The weather has been so nice, it almost feels like we are in a different state!  I believe the temps are in the mid 60's by the afternoon, starting in the low 50's in the morning.  Cool breeze, low humidity.  Perfect biking weather.  

And perfect weather for chalking in the park.  After a week of rain,  the sidewalks are mostly clear and I can begin chalking again!  But there is a catch!   Stockings are also kicking off and now, I have to work in sewing up stockings in with cycling/ running/ and chalk drawing during the day.   

With only about 12 stockings a day, it has not been too hard to balance out the time.  But add in the additional variable of SCHOOL!!!!  And now I have to deal with kids either coming home from school or playing in the park as I draw something.  

It is OK, though.  I have managed to enslave some of them to do my bidding!   Muhahaha!   (Or they have enslaved me..... which is kind of bad.) I set upon directing them to fill in the colors while I doodle away.  Sometimes it actually works!  Sometimes not so much. 

After three days of dealing with three different groups of kids,  I finally just handed them the chalk and let them go to town.   It is a little rough around the edges, but I think they did pretty good.   We finished up the Disney Winnie the Pooh, scene. and jumped into Dinosaurs.   Previously, I worked on Space Cats.   I have to wkr too had to try to connect all of them into a single underlying theme, so I won't even try.  Kids are Kids and they are all over the place when it comes to what they want to draw.  

Other than that,   Stockings are picking up.   Cheryl has another set of races this weekend, and It is supposed to rain on Sunday.   Now it is time to sit back and enjoy a cold Schells Beer that we picked up in Des Moines.  The Schells Oktoberfest is AWESOME.  Fruity, slightly hoppy,  it is where Summer ends and  Fall begins.  Thanks for stopping in.

A Rerun Of The Past: Cheryl Runs The Des Moines Half Marathon.

Today was the big day.   13.1 miles in Des Moines to symbolically "wrap up" the fall running season.  Cheryl has been looking forward and dreading this race for pretty much the entire year.  But in the end,  things worked out and she remained consistent after a missed pandemic year.   How consistent?   Would you believe she ran the entire race in THE EXACT  SAME TIME she did in 2019! To the second!  ( 1:39:05!) Back then, she managed to win second place in her age group.  This year,  she only won third... Because of the "Ringer":  A New Runner who ran it in an insane time of 1:28:34!  

But mostly Cheryl was happy.   (Was... because happiness is always fleeting.) Her happiness has mostly worn off by now, but for a moment,  she was satisfied with her performance.  At the very least she has not added any time to her running as she aged.   So now there are only the small "odd ball" runs to look forward to.  Turkey trot, trail runs, Santa shuffle, Perhaps even an Halloween run.  I don't know... I'm just the spectator.

But I had a heck of a time trying to navigate the city of Des Moines this morning.   After finding a questionable parking spot close to the race event,  I was flirting with the idea of driving to the Water Park to catch Cheryl at mile 7 and 9.  I risked losing my awesome, though questionable parking spot if I attempted it.  But Cheryl assured me it would be possible.   It... was not. 

I'll get to that part later.  In the mean time,  We linked up with Mike and Pam and talked about our strategies.  Pam was going to walk to Mile 3 and completely miss the start.  My plan was to catch everyone at the Start and them move on to the park.   Mike was going to run the Race in a faster time than the previous half-er he did.   Cheryl just wanted to finish.  

Oh!  Cheryl just informed me that that was NOT the case.   She wanted to get under 1 hour 40 minutes so she would not feel like a total sloth and loser.  Well.... Mission accomplished! 

Back to the Start!  I missed any intentional photos and just started snapping pictures of the crowd.  Mike was easy to pick out. But Cheryl... Short, tiny, invisible Cheryl... was a little more of a challenge.  Regardless. I managed to snag a pic of her as she snuck by. 

Now onto the Next Phase of the "Ethan's  Spectator Plan!" I raced to the Subie,  punch in the GPS and head out.  Only to be stopped by mile 2!   All of the cars park in the middle of the road and jump out to take pics of the runners that are passing by.   By this point, I had no idea where Cheryl was in the pack.  But I DID see Mike run by and figured Cheryl was close behind.   She was!  I got lucky and snapped a bunch of action shots as she ran by. 

After talking to the traffic police,  I was informed that any traffic to the water park was impossible at that moment.   The Police had the entire area buttoned up and no through traffic would be allowed until the event was over.   I headed back to finish line, but was forced to park farther from the finish that I had previously been.   Disappointing!

But, in the end, I managed to stake out my usual viewing area and capture both Mike and Cheryl as they ran by.  

 

And just like that... The race was over.   We linked back up with Mike and Pam and enjoyed some "Hard Seltzer" and pulled pork sandwiches.  Ok,  They enjoyed the Hard Seltzer and I ate the sandwiches. No one really wanted to eat any meat after running 13 miles.   How odd.

Back home now.   Cheryl set up her swag  complete with the challenge attachment.   She is eating Ice Cream and reading about the race as I type away at the blog.   Time to be a bum and enjoy the cats.. who are both sleeping on my keyboard as I type this.  ( Hiro and Rocket.. Leo has not yet showed up, but I'd bet he would want in on the "action."   

Talk about a busy weekend! And after yesterday's Post, I better keep this one slightly shorter.  And, upon discussion with the Zakoseks, I have decided to blow their cover and make their identities public.   Now they will be put on a mailing list for runners and have their Email's Spammed with offers.  Just kidding.  No one really reads this blog.   Except perhaps the Google Algorithm.  ( Which is probably worse!)   Thanks for stopping in and I hope everyone had as great a weekend as we did. 

The Trouble With Trains... Cheryl Completes The 5 Mile Challenge. With Origami And Butterflies.

The Train is very long and Very slow!

So much to talk about today!  I should begin with the train.   A Very long, Very SLOW, Train managed to move my morning, pre-race stress level into overdrive!  As it taunted us and kept us a mere 1 block away from the race start line!  I could see the stadium in the dim morning light as the train slowly squealed by.

Is it Stopping????

  At one moment, we moved down the tracks trying to get around it...  Which we did not.  Eventually it DID manage to end and we were able to get to the parking lot, but not before wasting what seemed to be an eternity waiting for it to clear the tracks.   I heard that it actually STOPPED at one point!  People had to do the same thing I did to get around it.   Well, by that time, I was frazzled.

At the Stadium

Mascot Capture #1

But we did find a parking spot.   We could have parked closer, but I did not want to risk getting skunked. Cheryl always complains that I park too far from the start line if I don't get there early enough.  So, I simply can't win... Either I'm too early or I park too far away.   Such is the nature of the parking beast. 

Sun finally rises

Fall colors visible

Did I mention it was cold this morning?   Oh yes!  And I wore shorts and a light jacket.   And although Cheryl loves this weather to run in,  she still complains when we are waiting by the finish line because I insisted on an early arrival.  ( for parking.... Because... parking!)  She did not hesitate to rub it in my nose that I was cold.... ("I told you you would be cold... should have wore more clothes...." yadda yadda yadda.)

At the Start line.

But as the sun slowly rose and warmed things up a bit,  We linked up with  fellow runners Mike and Pam and chatted about our recent races and their strategies.  Runners usually have very little else to bring to conversations... Except running, running stories, previous running lessons and tactics, hydration, and nutrition.  No wonder runner have no friends...  Other than other runners. 

Well, that last part is more about self reflection. And was meant to be funny.  Even though I'm simply a spectator/support/pit crew,  I still think of myself as "part of the runner's world" and notice how other non-runners behave when runners talk about PR's and injuries and "hydration" and "Nutrition." (Most people call those things: Food and water. ) But I digress!  

Cheryl along river.

The race started!   5 Miles!  And then... It was all over.   5 Miles...   I barely had time to run back to the car, change my clothes, go to the bathroom again, and eventually cross the bridge to catch Cheryl running towards me.  Then I had to run back over the bridge.   Back to the car to put my goretex back,  go to the bathroom a third time, and catch her as she crossed the finish line.   It was all over so quickly!

Cheryl at the Finish

Pam comes in

 I missed Mike, but we all managed to catch Cheryl and Pam as each of them crossed the finish.   Again...  We ran over the bridge, missed Pam, and then crossed the bridge again, just in time to catch her finishing.   

Cheryl poses with the Zakoseks

Afterwards, they all posed for pictures.  To keep Pam and Mike anonymous,  I asked them to face the other way during the photo.  

Top three female finishers.

Cheryl came in 3rd over all.  She was right behind the front running females but just a few yards.  She could have won the race... if she had tried harder.  But she didn't.   Life is hard sometimes...  and then you lose a race.... and die. 

Mascot capture #2

Ghost peppers

But after the race was over,  Cheryl and I visited the Des Moines Farmer's Market.   Lots of stuff there with Music and food and produce.  There was this huge stack of Ghost Peppers!   They are very pretty, but I will never eat one. 

Onward TO AMES!

Origami in the Park

As if that was not enough for one day,   we continued our own version of a "marathon" by heading to Ames, Iowa.  To the Iowa State University Botanical Gardens.  Because for the last several months, they have been advertising the Origami in the Garden expo.   I had to see this before I died... so what better time to do it then now... while I'm still alive. 

Origami Cranes??

Origami Cranes?

First impression?   Rather disappointing.  First,  only three of the sculptures were made of actual folded paper.  Everything else outside was made of sculpted metal.   I did not sign up for a Shop Class!  Artisty in Welding!   I wanted Origami!  Folded Paper!  

Lafosse Squirrel

Origami Metal Works!

Second.  Paper cranes?   Really?   Paper crane this and paper crane that.   I know it is a traditional model, but it does not have to be the ONLY model you have to offer.   I was beginning to think they did not have much of any decent folders in the Metal Sculpting field as this basic model was the only thing they could pull off.   But.... eventually we found a few of the  more sculpted and challenging models.   Which were fun to find, even if they were made of metal. 

Lafosse Butterfly.

But what saved the event was the Butterfly Garden.  I'll spare you the millions of photos I took of the butters and just have a few action shots do most of the showing.  I have never been disappointed or depressed whenever I have visited a butterfly garden.

Unhatched Butterflies.

The Butters seem to be the best at calming nerves and righting various wrongs of the world.  Simply with their long lazy or short and darty flights. 

Eventually,  Cheryl and I made it back to our room for a nap and a quick message to The Zakoseks to set up a dinner date.   We had pizza at the casino and a good long chat.   All of the runners, along with myself, will be plenty "Carb Loaded" for the race tomorrow.  ( But at least those three will be able to run off the extra calories....  I'll just have to remain fully loaded! And chubs.) 

Wow that was a long day.  And this is a Long post!   After sorting through all of the pics, I realize I will have to trim many of the best ones.  And then there will be tomorrow!  The actual Half Marathon!  That means even MORE pics... and words.. and Long blog Posts.   This is becoming exhausting.   I didn't even get a pic of Cheryl's Finishers Medal!   (Maybe tomorrow with the Half Marathon one as well.)   I better sign off and get some sleep.   The Bed in our Hotel is made of Concrete and Cheryl and I tossed and turned all night long.  "Firm" mattresses are not really my thing.  A soft body like mine deserves the softest of mattresses... Like the  princess and the Pea story.   

Either way,  Big day tomorrow.  Early day tomorrow as well!  And hopefully... No Trains blocking us off from the race this time. Wish us luck.