Charlie and Nicole

Our China friends Charlie and Nicole came to visit us over the weekend for their fall break. They go to Pittsburgh State University, which is in Kansas. Go Gorillas!

It was so great to see them. On Thursday we flew kites, played with the kiddos, and went out to eat. We brought along our photos from our trip to their home and relived some great memories.

Charlie did it to me again and pressured me into eating something WAY over my hot threshold.

Friday morning, I showed them around Winston. We ate hotdogs and chips. Then we took Anna Rose to a farm where they had hayrides and a corn maze.

These were all firsts for Charlie and Nicole. We navigated the Corn Maze, bounced along the hayride, raced rubber duckies, picked out pumpkins, played tether ball (I was merciless), and we shot at targets with a corn cannon. Nicole was the best! This photo was taken a second after she exploded the farthest target.

That night we carved pumpkins (another first for Charlie and Nicole).

Dave Dave got sick.

By the way, give a brother a break and tell him he has a piece of spinach as big as Alaska between his teeth.

So the next morning, instead of us all going hiking, just Charlie, Nicole, Anna Rose and I did. We met up with about ten friends from Wake Forest. I forgot to put my card back in the camera so I am pictureless until Elizabeth Jay, ahem, sends me her pictures, hint, hint.

We had to go straight from Pilot Mountain to the airport. I made a critical error in judgment and my "short cut" nearly caused us to miss the flight. Thank goodness that Greensboro airport is about the least busy airport in America.

What a trip. This is what Charlie wrote Lia on Facebook.

"All right, thanks. I went to a happiness family on my fall break, they are so nice and I had a wonderful time there."

I love it! "Happiness Family"

All I have to say is thank God for our happiness friends.

Columbus Marathon

After qualifying for the Boston Marathon in 2007, I decided to make it my lifelong goal to qualify in every age bracket.

They are as follows:

Qualifying Times

AGE GROUP	MEN	WOMEN
18-34	3hrs 10min	3hrs 40min
35-39	3hrs 15min	3hrs 45min
40-44	3hrs 20min	3hrs 50min
45-49	3hrs 30min	4hrs 00min
50-54	3hrs 35min	4hrs 05min
55-59	3hrs 45min	4hrs 15min
60-64	4hrs 00min	4hrs 30min
65-69	4hrs 15min	4hrs 45min
70-74	4hrs 30min	5hrs 00min
75-79	4hrs 45min	5hrs 15min
80 and over	5hrs 00min	5hrs 30min

I figured this was a great goal because as long as I'm alive, at least up to 80 and over I have something to shoot for every five years. I still think it's a great idea. So having just turned 36, I decided it was time to try to pull off age bracket 2.

3:15. That's a 7:26 pace if my multiplication is right. Whew. I guess that's why they call it a challenge. Well, it wasn't going to get any easier next year. So I started training.

I decided to run the Columbus Marathon. It is known to be "fast" (there is no such thing as a fast course in my opinion - though there is such a thing as a slow one). But the main reason I chose this one was that my in-laws live there. One key to marathon running I have learned is to have a comfortable bed to sleep in the night before and after the race. Besides, I really love running in Columbus. It is generally flat. The neighborhoods are beautiful. And the weather in October is typically ideal.

We went up on Friday. Went to a pumpkin patch on Saturday. Watched the painful Ohio State game Saturday night. Sunday we raced.

Training had gone relatively well. Based on other marathon trainings, my mileage was way down. I decided for this marathon I'd focus on speed work. (Besides, time is of the essence for two working parents with two kids.) So I did two speed 5k workouts a week. Then, two fun runs - usually 4-7 milers on one of my favorite routes around Winston. Then, a long run. The Wonderland trip hit me right at my peak. So I missed a 20 miler.

I ganked up my ankle pretty bad on the trail, but my thought process was that hiking for 93 miles with a 40 pound pack for a week at elevation couldn't hurt my endurance training. I don't think it did. The injury was frustrating but it was more walking, starting and stopping related then running. It hurt in the beginning and after each workout. The middle actually felt all right.

My longest run was two weeks out. It was a 21.67 miler around Winston on a Thursday night. I was tired but it felt promising. I did a half marathon distance the following weekend and thought I was going to die.

The thing was I did want to qualify for Boston. But what I really wanted to do was officially break the 3 hour mark. My last qualifying marathon was a 3:07 in a 30 mile headwind. It was brutal. I was convinced that had the weather been favorable, I could have broken 3 hours with ease. But it wasn't. And I could rationalize all I wanted, but I still wouldn't have an official time sub 3.

So secretly I was hoping to make it this time. I didn't tell anyone. Publicly, I told folks that 3:15 was the goal. It was. It just wasn't the only one. I just didn't know if I could hit the other one. And I have too much stinking pride to be honest sometimes.

Race day, the conditions were great. No excuse there. I was placed in corral 1, so no excuse about bottlenecks or not getting to pace quick enough. Really, I didn't have any excuse. I even had folks to cheer and hand me GUs at mile 20. All I had was the question. Could I do it?

I started fast but quickly settled down. My first mile was a 6:43. I asked this older fella because my watch didn't start. I also asked him what time he was hoping to hit. He said 2:57. That was the winning time for 50-55 years the last three years. He (John) was hoping to win it this time.

2:57 I thought. Hmmm. I'm sticking with him. So I did. For 21 miles. He was a Godsend. He finally took off and finished in 2:54. (He won). On second thought, maybe he didn't take off. Maybe I just slowed down. I have to admit the last few miles were a blur.

Lia and Caitlin, who had run the half, and Rich cheered me on at mile 26. I turned the corner and saw the clock. 2:57:37. I couldn't believe it. I started to cry. It was about all I could do.

I was so happy. I hadn't decided whether or not I was actually going to go ahead and run the Boston this time. Monday was the sign up day. Driving home, I decided, hey, why not? I doubt I'll ever have a faster time. Turns out I wasn't fast enough (at least my fingers weren't). Boston sold out by the time I turned the computer on. Sigh. I guess my saga with the most famous race in the world continues...

I'm still happy. The challenge is to qualify. Five more years until I have to go through it again.

Reunion

I'm starting to get to that age when I am running up against the reality that I'm getting old. Like my age for instance. I'm 36 now. If you round, that's 40. 40 is old. I'm basically 40.

Then last week I was bouldering with some college students over at Wake Forest. We went at it for about an hour, and we're sitting there on the pads chewing the fat and I realize I am twice these guys' age. TWICE!

Then there's the fact I'm getting all these nagging injuries. I have bursitis in my left foot. I ganked the sole of that same foot bouldering. I threw my back out carrying Dave Dave on my shoulders. Is this the way its going to be?

Then there's last Saturday. My favorite all time Young Life class - Tabor, Class of 2000, had their 10 year reunion. 10 years! Most of these dudes are married now. Several of them have kids. On Saturday we played pick up just like old times. Boy, did I stink. I mean seriously. I looked and played like a 36 year old gimp.

Wait, I am a 36 year old gimp. Ugh. I was just being myself! Ugh. Seriously, I played awful. For instance, first game, we are playing to 25 by twos and threes. We are up 24 - 16. I come in off the bench. We lose 26-24. I'm not kidding. I single-handedly was responsible for 8 of their points. I actually passed the ball to the wrong team one time. It was humiliating.

I was talking to my dear friend Alan yesterday. He says two things can happen when we get old. We either despair or get wise. Listening to him, I realized quickly which direction yours truly is heading. Oh brother.

But there is beautiful thing about age. Because, you know, I'm sitting there at Five Guys afterward the game. I'm watching these fellas. I'm seeing how much they have grown - how mature they've become - how loving they are to their spouses, their kids - how they are using their gifts for great things - and I am sitting there soaking that reality in...I realize how blessed I am...how one day, we're going to be sitting around a heavenly banquet table, hopefully eating Five Guys fries, or something of the like, and it's going to be just like this but better. How 10 years ago I never would have imagined to have such amazing friends. Men of the DASH - I love you guys...(I promise between now and your 20 year reunion to practice me jump shot.)

Go Spartans.

Wonderland Trail

The Wonderland Trail is the 93 mile loop that climbs and descends around Mt. Ranier. It is one of the most famous trails in the world - known for its beauty, its difficulty, and its predictably crummy weather. We experienced all three the week of September 18-26.

Ben Warner (left) and Ross Mangin (right) were my partners - more accurately I was theirs. I hopped on the trip last minute. Thanks Lia! We really did have a blast. I noted this on the way home, but it was true throughout - we never argued. I've been on lots of trips like this, and I can't remember one that went conflict free. This one stands out for that.

I credit Ross and Ben's great attitude for it. The first few days really tested it. They were hard physically and mentally. It rained. The second day in particular was 6,000 feet of elevation change, pouring rain, and slippery icy conditions. What made it more miserable was that the last two miles were 2,200 feet straight up from a campground where we had shipped our food for the rest of the journey. So there was 30 extra pounds that none of us wanted but needed to carry. Somehow we sucked it up and made it to Sunrise camp. (Later I found out Ross and Ben had garnered the energy by secretly eating a bag of dried mangoes)...ha!

No matter how we did it, we all made it. We were exhausted though. That night we cooked food in our tents and went straight to bed. The next morning Ross woke up early to be the first of us to discover that the clouds had parted. He dragged us out of bed to the view below.

That was the turning point. The sun, the mountain...we spent the morning soaking both in. After what we had experienced Day 1 and 2, it was one of the most breathtaking/satisfying moments I have ever had on a trail.

Later that day we met the first of four bears.

He/she was huge. From 50 feet, I could see the beads in his/her eyes, the points to his/her claws, the thick muscles, the thunderous jaws. Like other bears I've come across, this one was unafraid. I have to admit - though I stood my ground, it was mostly out of paralysis. I won't speak for Ben and Ross.

The thing that makes this trail so challenging is the elevation change. Every day we had to go up one ridge to go down the other side. If you think about a mountain, it is a series of ridges that rise to a peak. So going around it, you go through a Sisyphusian experience of climbing only to have to go back down again. It was frustrating, but it was part of the deal. Here we are crossing one of the many rivers we forded. This one happened to have a suspension bridge.

Each night we would set up camp, cook dinner, then play a card game called San Juan. It is sort of like Settlers of Catan without the game board. I think we would all highly recommend it. Here Ross and I are looking out on the appropriately named Mystic Lake. I can't remember who won, but I do recall this was taken just after one of our San Juan games.

The last day was our best weather day. The picture below was taken then. As a birthday present, Ross and Ben allowed me to go ahead and run the rest of the trail for fun (also to get our car, which was stranded 13 miles away from the finish). It was a great experience for me. A great way to finish the week and begin this 36th year of my life. (36 - I can't believe it.)

It was a great gift from Lia as well. Of anything I could have asked for, a trip into the Wilderness was exactly what I needed. Thanks again, Lia! You know me so well!

So sorry

I apologize. I've totally dropped the ball on my blog. I promise to pick it up again. Part of the reason is that I have just started another one. Check it out: jesusnugget.blogspot.com

I'll put a link to it over on the right.

As for nederickson.blogspot.com, October will have several entries.

I need to tell you about my birthday present trip on the Wonderland Trail in Washington state. I need to chronicle the Tabor alumni basketball game this upcoming weekend. We also hope to host our China friends Charlie and Nicole later this month. And of course we have Halloween to look forward to (We already have Anna Rose's costume). So go and check jesusnugget every day. And check back here once a week or so. I should have some good stuff uploaded soon.

Peace out,

ned

Sick

Lia and I bought this shirt while we were in China. This is what it says on the back. I'll transpose the front since it is harder to read.

LOVESICK Marriage No Remedy

Stabng is ome madn

the beating ome

gaicai shop loupre insd

touphilips file chiners ok

Stabner is ome madness

TOUPHEST FIGHT

pharmaryler ladier

As for what it means, I'm not sure.

Although I am positive David, Anna Rose and I have lived it the last week. I have not been this sick since 2008 and the deadly morning of the Boston Marathon. That however only lasted a day. This has lasted eight. I will spare you the details, but I think there should be a rule somewhere right next to the law of gravity that parents of sick children should not be allowed to get sick themselves.

That's right, a new law, one to counteract Murphy's Law, something on the books that would immunize parents from the desperate throws of nursing two children and themselves at the same time. (Lia, the only healthy one, strongly agrees.)

I think I shall start a petition campaign. The question is where to send it...

Ramblin' Rosie

I watched two triathlons yesterday. Lia competed in the Ramblin' Rose. It's a cool event - a women's only triathlon - sprint distance. Lia did great, finishing 4th in her age group! The course was set well, so we could cheer for her multiple times, provided we jogged. It just so happens that I, along with Ron Burgundy, have been trying out this new fad called jogging or yogging. It might be a soft J. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's wild.

In the car on the way home, Anna Rose asked if she could have her own triathlon. "Sure," said Lia and I simultaneously. "I'll set up the course during your quiet time," I said. I didn't really, figuring she might forget about it. Nope. She was in her bathing suit and holding her sneakers when I opened the door.

Here is the pre-race interview:

The race:

She finished in 3 minutes 10 seconds. Here is the post-race interview:

Her best time was 2 minutes 26 seconds! Go goRamblin' Rosie! (We cut her off after three go arounds.)

Congrats to both my girls.

Emei Mountain

The Beautiful Mountain. This is where we spent our fourth night in China. On top of this 10,000 foot peak that overlooks the other side of the world. It took a hair-raising 2 hours of breakneck serpentines up to the three-quarter point, a sprint to the cable car (the last one of the day...we made it by seconds), and a short walk and there we were: in the middle of the clouds.

Lia and I climbed the stairs to one of the most eerie scenes I have ever witnessed. The centerpiece: a 70 foot tall (it may be taller) golden man/woman buddha that disappeared into the fog.

We were told that the next morning, if we were lucky, the clouds would settle, and we would be able to watch the sun rise through the clouds. I have seen something like this on an airplane, but never with my feet on the ground. It sounded spectacular, but I did not want to get my hopes up. It had rained off an on since we arrived in China. And we had seen more clouds than sun. But we were game. Anyway, sunrise was really 6:20pm for us. We would be wide awake anyways...

As it turned out...we were lucky...

It was truly one of the most amazing sights - God and man-made - of my life.

Charlie and Nicole told us that we were not the most lucky. If we had been the most lucky, there would have been a single flat line of clouds and the sun would have poked through in one place to light them all at once. That does sound pretty awesome. But I told Charlie that I felt we were plenty lucky...after all, there are more wonderful things than sun and clouds...

Old People

If you know me, and some of you do. It doesn't take long. Anyway, if you do - and if you don't, now you do - know this. I love old people. I love them. I can't get enough of them. I could hang out with them for hours. It's their voices, their stories, their wrinkles. I love their gray hair, their gray teeth, the way their eyes still light up. I love their skin, their wiry muscles, their noses and ears that never stop growing. Most of all I love their heart, their perspective, how things that seem so difficult and burdensome to me - are but small trifles from their pasts.

We discovered they have old people in China. And they are just as wonderful as the old people that we have here in the good old U.S.of A.

The woman in the picture above is 100 years old. We met her on the trail down from the Wannian Temple (first build in 4th Century A.D., reconstructed in the 9th Century (speaking of old)). This woman was selling incense to the folks who were into that kind of thing. We are not those kind of folks; however, what she didn't know was that I was into her! After a short greeting, I asked if I could have my picture taken with her. (This is not too forward, I learned, because everyone in China likes to have their picture taken.) To no surprise, she said yes. What I did not tell her was that I was also going to try to steal a kiss! That may have been a bit too forward. But I was like, hey, when's the next time I'll be this close to a 100 year old lady? Lia won't turn 100 for 68 more years. That's a long time to wait, and that's also assuming the not-so-likelihood that I'll still be alive. Anyway, I took my shot while I had it. Rejection-city...but from the picture, I think I got a smile!

You would guess that a 100 year year old lady selling incense on the side of the mountain would be the most impressive, at least the oldest, person that we would meet on our trip. But you would be wrong. The most impressive and oldest person was our friend, Chu-kuh's, 107 year old monk. They kept telling us that he was almost 108 (as if 107 was not old enough). Before the lady, I'm not sure if I ever met a 100 year old. I had definitely never met a 107 year old. He had been a monk since he was 7 years old. You got it right. This man has been a Buddhist monk for over 100 years!

Chu-kuh made the arrangements for us to meet him. When we arrived at his office, he was smoking a cigar while going over the plans for the temple renovations. (He smoked at least two cigars while we were with him.) The guy was awesome. We were given a book with some of his poetry in it. We were also given bracelets that he blessed for us. The blessing was quite an experience. Charlie went first to show us how it was done. He bowed face to the floor three times, then the monk tapped his head three times. I went next. I bowed to the floor, but when I got up, about to start my second, the monk smacked me on the head. He grunted. His lip snarled like Elvis. I lowered my head just in time for him to smack me two more times. Then he did it again! Again! Then he paused and I was about to get up when he smacked me again! Six times! I'm not sure how many of them were blessings, and how many of them were "you idiots." It felt like at least half of them were the latter. I guess I'll never know. Regardless, the dude was awesome. He blessed all of us. Then we took pictures.

He and my dad spoke some in Chinese. I spoke a bit with the fellow who is going to be the next head monk once 108 year old monk floats to Nirvana. I asked him what advice he would like me to take back with me to America. He said to cherish your family and friendships and to be kind and generous to all. That sounded like pretty good advice to me. And now I have shared it with you!

Food

Lia and I ate a lot of different food during our stay. The area we were in is famous for SPICY! which, to me, could be characterized by two. The first is red pepper - you know the kind of pepper you get at a pizza parlor that you can sprinkle on your pizza. That pepper was included by the mound in nearly everything we ate. The second is this spice that we called "numbing spice." It looks somewhat like a cross between a clove and a miniature cherry bomb. It was in practically every dish as well. And you would know when you ate one because at once your entire mouth, teeth, tongue, lips, and esophagus would tingle. It was actually quite nice!

This is me after rubbing my spicy pork joint in a vat of chopped up red peppers. It was on a bet. I won/lost.

The famous style of cooking/eating is called Hot Pot, which is basically like fondue with Spicy Spicy Oil...It's pretty tasty. Plus, I like the experience of boiling up my own food. Though, I promise you, you'll feel it in the morning! Here's my parents partaking:

Generally speaking I would rate the quality of eating in this order:

1) Home Cooking

2) Roadside Hole in the Wall Restaurants

3) Super High End Restaurants

4) Really Nice Restaurants

5) Hotel Restaurants

On the plane ride home, Lia and I composed a list of the craziest and best food we ate:

CRAZIEST!

- Pig Intestines

- Pig Stomach

- Pig Joints

- Fish Tails

- Fish Heads!

- Everything in Between Fish

- Rabbit

- Chicken Feet

- Peacock

- Snake

- Eel

- FAT! Straight up!

- Baby Squid

- Giant Oysters

- Bird Eggs

- "100 Year Old" Eggs

- Pork "Parts"

- Beef "Parts"

- Rabbit "Parts"

I don't know what "Parts" means. Other than it does not include muscle, intestines or stomach because I know what those look like!

Our craziest eating experience happened on our last night. We had dinner with one of my parent's friends, Lisa, and her 3 year old daughter, Sunny. We ate at a Roadside Hole in the Wall that sold fish. So we knew it would be good. However, we did not know that you got to pick out your fish! That is, we didn't know until we had to pick it out. We chose this 3 pounder from the bucket. Then, all of the sudden, this guy with no shirt on (the waiter) reaches in, grabs the fish, it slithers and slides and slings itself free and lands on the sidewalk. The waiter chases after it as it flops toward the road. He picks it up. And slams it into the pavement. Twice! I took this picture of the poor fellow as he was about to be filleted. You may want to look away, this is a bit graphic.

BEST FOOD!

- Kung Pow Shrimp

- Kung Pow Chicken

- Peking Duck

- Sticky Ribs

- Eggs with Veggies...(like a Scrambled Omelet) probably what Egg Foo Yung is supposed to taste like.

- NOODLES!!!! so good. All kinds.

- MSG!

- Numbing spice

- Streetside Fish

- Pork with sweet red peppers

- Bowdzah! (don't know how to spell it...so good...)

- This funnel cake like stuff...oh man!

- Warm Soy Milk

- DUMPLINGS!!!!! boo-yah

- Winter Squash

- Lotus

I can say in all honesty the food in China is great! As stated, the best food that we ate was prepared at home. (Same as in America...that's my opinion). However, the restaurants had their pluses as well. The service was unbelievable. The nicest place we ate was in a place in Chengdu called Wu Yuan...translated I think as Garden of Deep Meaning. It was a tea house extraordinaire. Dishes were like pieces of art. It was remarkable. I've never seen anything like it. And the best part was it tasted as good as it looked! Take this rabbit dish for example:

One final note: Lia used chopsticks the entire time! This is rather amazing because the day before the trip was Lia's first day ever handling them. On that occasion she had to stop because of hand cramps! By the end of the trip she was a pro! Here's a photo of chopsticks set out to dry in order to be reused...hmmm....