"There's only one hard and fast rule in running: sometimes you have to run one hard and fast."








Thursday, October 21, 2010

Things that go bump in broad daylight

Before I get back to training, I just had to share this.

Last winter (maybe the one prior) I wrote about finding broken glass in the middle of my basement floor and how I figured out how it got there. As I recall, Nic said, "you're the only person that that would happen to. And you're the only one who would figure out how it happened." One of the things you get used to when you live in an old house is strange noises; some you get so used to that you don't even hear them - my brother stayed with me at one time and asked what "that horrible squeak" was; I told him that I never figured it out, but that it might be the metal air-pressure equalizing flapper on the furnace intake manifold. I love that squeak, as it meant he only stayed the one night!

Today I heard a "crack." The beginning of cold weather brings groans, which are boards shifting. It also brings pops, which are nails working loose. I know in the dead of the winter there'll be the "-30 bang" a sound that only happens in old houses at temps of -30 or colder; people unused to it call 911 and report gunfire. A "crack," however, is serious. It means that a board has split lengthwise. The first time I heard it, one of my attic steps split down the center (cold weather contraction of the walls on either side cause it).

I had a general idea of where the sound came from and it was in the middle of the house, which was also worrisome. I'd turned on my furnace for the first time this year and something couldn't take the heat, I feared. Stress cracks in the walls and ceilings hadn't changed (thankfully). Nothing seemed out of place. I had to check everything, including the wood furniture, as a broken chair leg, for example, could bring a nasty surprise. I'd checked everywhere except my bathroom closet.

There it was. A scrub brush, split in two. Not sure how that happened, but I can see why people believe in poltergeists.

10 comments:

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

Nic said, "you're the only person that that would happen to. And you're the only one who would figure out how it happened."

You should do more posts featuring the Sayings of Chairman Nic. They're so boring yet koan-like! My mind literally went blank after reading those two above; and then I realized that they had bored me into unconsciousness.

I don't care what you say, I believe that "crack" was little Eddy kicking Nic in the face. You can't convince me otherwise.

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

As for last night's game - yeah, can't say I cared much for the outcome, but it was exciting.

If the Phillies lose (which seems a dead certainty at this point), I would not mind seeing SF take it all. I'd rather see Texas do it though because I still haz me a man-crush on Cliff Lee, who seems to me to be by FAR the best pitcher in the AL.

CC Sabathia? Kiss My @$$thia!

Hopefully, the Rangers'll take it in six so Lee can pitch the first game of the WS.

Anonymous said...

Good thing is that it rarely gets to -30F in the Twin Cities. Minnesotans are famous for embellishing our extreme weather!

RBR said...

Queen Random Shit has found her king.

Temperatures should not have negative signs in front of them.

How cold did your house have to originally be that turning on the heat split a plastic scrub brush?


In California if the temperature dips below 50, we declare a state of emergency and close the schools.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for highlighting the 5km training philosophy and sub ultra. Not to go on a rant or offend folks, but ultras are just too damn Romanticized and hyped.

-wynn

"Good work anint cheap. Cheap work aint good."
- Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

If you ever decide to do a post on Things That Bump Uglies in Broad Daylight, and you need to interview someone, I'm willing to tell my story.

Don't worry. It'll be VERY graphic. I promise. In fact, I'll supply graphics, if you want.

Colin said...

From your poll it looks like I'm currently the only one who believes you wouldn't be crazy enough to run the Mankato Marathon this weekend ... please tell me I'm right!

As I see it, your options are to "waste" the $85 or add to your growing list of injuries. Skip the marathon and consider the $85 an investment in your running health for 2011!

At one point I was thinking of running the Mankato Half, but have been taking some down time instead. I'm slowly starting back up, currently aiming at the Challenge indoor track series at Bethel, then perhaps the 2011 MDRA Grand Prix series. Maybe I'll see you at one of those events?

SteveQ said...

@RBR: Confounded whippersnapper - it was a wooden brush, not no newfangled plastic. The indoor thermometer read 44 (I'd just used the brush and I think the hot water and bleach had been slowly eating away at it for too long).

@Colin: There's one gallon of gas in my tank and I'm not fueling today...

RBR said...

Colin said: Skip the marathon and consider the $85 an investment in your running health for 2011!

RBR likes Colin. Colin is smart.

shannon said...
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