I’ve been preoccupied, so a lot of very important stuff has slipped past in the last week and I haven’t had a chance to write about it. Herewith, a grab-bag of updates.
- Xy’s had a moderate amount of morning sickness, but she’s coping pretty well. She canceled a conference she’d been planning to attend in DC next week. Too bad, she was looking forward to it and I was looking forward to having her out of my hair for a week.
- Someone smashed the rear window of the abandoned car that’s still on our street.
- Geraldine and “the girls” who used to live across the street stopped by yesterday. I didn’t even recognize Danielle when she knocked on our door, and Donika has grown too. They are going to rent a place in New Orleans East and hope to be back in their old rental soon. It still needs a lot of work; Geraldine said the owner’s waiting on the “Road to Home” program. I’m amazed that she’s so determined to return to this specific rental unit, but it sure would be nice to have them back.
- I knew eventually I’d find a connection between Dominica and New Orleans, but I didn’t think it would be as weird as Operation Red Dog.
- I took the Happy Planet Index survey and scored 32.7, which they say is “similar to that of countries such as Djibouti, Cameroon or Ethiopia. Sorry to say that this is below the world average of 46… Your score is about the same as that of your country, 28.8.”
- Senator Vitter’s days in office are numbered. Just thought I’d mention that.
- John Edwards has virtually endorsed the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project.
- Citizen Crime Watch blows the competition to the weeds, as far as the interface. The city’s site does appear to have a more complete listing of incidents. They should share that data.
- I’ve discovered I enjoy having a small amount (half a glass) of wine with lunch, and a full glass with dinner. I can skip the wine at lunch, but I’m committed for dinner.
- Today I tried to sleep in but ended up riding my bike out to the fitness center for a workout before work. I guess that means I’m addicted to exercise. I’ve been sticking to a light workout routine every other day, or every third day.
- My parents celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. My first thought upon hearing this was, “Wow! They’ve now been married longer than I’ve been alive.” It doesn’t take a math genius to realize that’s always been the case. There was a nice story about them in the Reporter-Times.
Ruth and Ray Everson master the art of competition
By Steve Page
spage@md-times.comSaturday July 14, 2007
Mooresville
Ruth and Ray Everson will celebrate their 45th anniversary today.
That in itself is quite a feat for the Mooresville couple.
What makes this day different in another way is the Eversons plan to celebrate by having some friends over to their home.
That’s a break from their normal routine, because if they weren’t celebrating their anniversary, Ray and Ruth would be working out in preparation for the World Masters Association Championships in Italy this September.
The Eversons are in their third decade of competing in masters events, which are for those 50 and up, with age-group breakdowns all along the way.
They don’t just compete.
They compete very well.
In last week’s Summer National Senior Games in Louisville, Ray, 72, won the gold medal in the 5-kilometer road race walk, covering the distance in 32 minutes, 17.41 seconds. That came just two days after he captured a bronze medal by walking the 1500 meters in 9:31.16. He earned both medals competing in the 70-74 age group.
Ruth, 69, captured the bronze medal in the 10-kilometer road race for those 65-69 with a clocking of 55:57.70. She also ran fourth in the 5K road race at 26:32.
“It’s nice to do some things together,” Ray said.
“We work out five or six days a week, now that we’re in training,” he continued. “We also do weight training downtown.”
The Senior Olympics are held every two years, with qualifying meets in the off year. Other competitions offer the opportunity to see the world.
“We enjoy the travel,” Ruth said. “Ten years ago, we competed in South Africa. We were in Newcastle, England in 1999, and we’ve competed in Australia in an Olympic-style event.
“You pay your own way, of course, but it’s fun.”
Ray and Ruth have two children: Bart, who lives in New Orleans, and Nancy Martin, who lives in Greenwood. Nancy has given them two grandchildren, Kylie and Dustin.
The Eversons train near their home, and on the new track at Monrovia High School.
Both are lean and fit.
Ray is distinguishable by the exaggerated heel-toe gait that is required of race walkers, who must always keep one foot on the ground.
Getting started
Neither Ray nor Ruth competed as athletes until they were in their 50’s.
“I was always a pretty fast walker,” Ray said. “So I thought I’d give it a try. I got in a two-mile walk in Greenwood. I was the only person there with leather shoes and long pants. Everybody else was in running shoes and shorts. But I was still pretty fast.”
Thus inspired, Ray became a real race walker.
“I learned all the nuances of race walking,” he said, including a 10-year stint with the Indiana Race Walkers Club. “It’s an exhausting sport – very aerobic.”
Ray has honed his skills well enough to win five national masters championships, including two gold medals in the Senior Olympics.
When her husband began competitively race walking, Ruth Everson decided she’d start running. She quickly became a distance runner. Now, she runs with the elite runners from all over the United States.
The competition is keen, especially at the higher levels, such as national and world championships.
In the Games at Louisville, the Eversons competed with 230 other Hoosiers, as well as the 12,000 competitors from all across the country.
Just three competitors from Indiana won gold medals.
The Eversons compete in other events as well.
Ruth is a two-time age-group winner in the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.
“I haven’t done that for a couple years, but I may run it again next year,” she said.
In the meantime, there’s a matter of the upcoming World Championships.
“We don’t expect to bring anything back,” Ruth said.
Anything but memories, that is.
Said Ray: “We do meet people from other countries, and that’s pretty neat, too.”
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Xy might try having a bit of cheese at such moments – the proteins can settle the stomach.
Ask Xy to try some plain Vanilla Yogurt in the morning. I have a medicine regeme for my type 2 diabeties [Byetta] that leaves me very sick in the morning if I don’t have something on the bland side or eat too much the night before and this helps a great deal. The cheese is good too [I keep mozzarella string cheese for just this type of thing]. So are animal crackers.
Congrats to your parents on the aniversery. That is really cool.
Crackers. Crackers. Crackers. That’s mostly what I remember–I’d wake up in the middle of the night ready to barf up my toenails and Mister would push crackers on me. In general, though, you have to find what works for you. Bland foods and Italian ice seemed to work for me.
Well, thanks for that “HPI” crap. I got 7.5, below Zimbabwe, and I’m supposed to die in 4 years.
Well, it’s nice to know I’m going to die before I retire. Gotta look into cashing out that 401K first thing Monday, and start pricing Hummers. (My score was 32.6.)
I’ve got 8 years to live and I am less happy than the average Zimbabwean. I just thought I was a little tired and grouchy.
Wine to calm the gentleman, cheese to calm the lady, ergo, wine and cheese parties. How perfectly domestic and civilized.
I got an HPI of 36.1. Maybe it’s pregnancy hormones that have me so elated 😛 Speaking of that, I’m getting the “morning” sickness on and off too, and damn it is hard to be reliable at work when you don’t know when it’s going to hit you 🙁 Hope all goes well for you guys!
Nice to see that the newsmaking runs in the family! And for all the right reasons, too…
As for that morning sickness, for me it was the first trimester, and if it wasn’t the prenatal vitamins, it was the smell of gasoline, orange juice, toothpaste, lots of food, a little food – damn near EVERYTHING for three months. After that, it got easier. Personally, I was more afraid of being sick than I was of labor pains – but don’t y’all make THAT mistake!
Good thing you’re getting into working out. One day you might have to race your parents! Love your blog and the stories about your house in the TP. I spent many happy hours in that house with it’s previous owners.
I recommend carrying almonds/nuts around. They don’t break into a million pieces but can handle those morning sickness bits. I was in Tanzania for my morning sickness and I carried nuts and dried apricots everywhere with me. Also, for the horrible smells (still can’t stand boiled chicken) I recommend a vial of good cinnamon (vietnamese if you can find it and the smell of cinnamon doesn’t make you gag) to shove under the nose when smelling something unpleasant.
Congrats for your parents. Clearly they show dedication both to their common interests and each other.