Training in the icebox

Workout notes At about 6 am I decided against using the treadmill and went outside for 8-10 miles. Enjoying dry roads, I decided to push it to 5.75 miles and then return. It was crisp (15 F, or -10 C) but the roads were good and traffic was light.

But then it started to snow. The footing was, for the most part, ok, but the light snow cover managed to obscure large portions of hardened ice, thereby inducing me to cry out to a non-existent deity to condemn various inanimate objects to eternity in hell-fire. Also, traffic had returned to the streets, and at several intersections, the sidewalks were buried under a foot of snow and ice. One had to be creative at how one crossed the streets.

Then my stomach rumbled a bit and only a very quick final mile to my house saved me from having a, ahem, **itty walk.

Of course, I had to quickly peel off the 20 pounds of sweatgear; this whole experience almost made me look forward to using the treadmill again.

But, 2:37 for 11.5 cold, sometimes slippery miles (13:38 pace) isn’t that bad for me, as it wasn’t a difficult effort.

Speaking of walking, a friend finished the 50K Olympic Trials racewalk in 4:49, which is about 30 minutes slower than he had hoped.

Jeff Salvage has a report and photo spread here.

Here are photos of Ray Sharp.

Good going Ray; of course, every time I think about him I realize that my age is not an excuse for my slowness.

Politics What is a so-called superdelegate anyway? These are delegates that you don’t vote for; typically party leaders and the like. Here are the Illinois superdelegates:

Obama
Gov. Rod Blagojevich (IL)
Sen. Barack Obama (IL)
Sen. Dick Durbin (IL)
Rep. Melissa Bean (IL)
Rep. Jerry Costello (IL)
Rep. Danny Davis (IL)
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (IL)
Rep. Phil Hare (IL)
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (IL)
Rep. Bobby Rush (IL)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL)
DNC Constance Howard (IL)
DNC Margaret Blackshere (IL)
DNC Hon. Emil Jones Jr. (IL)
DNC Hon. Iris Martinez (IL)
DNC Tom Hynes (IL)
DNC Willie Barrow (IL)
DNC Michael Madigan (IL)

Clinton
DNC John Rednour (IL)

Uncommitted
Representatives:
Dan Lipinski (IL)
Rahm Emanuel (IL)

DNC Members:
Hon. Carol Ronen
Hon. Darlena Williams-Burnett

Members-At-Large:
Steve Powell (IL)
Edward Smith (IL)

Former DNC Chairmen:
David Wilhelm (IL)

Nat’l Dem. County Officials:
Hon. Margie Woods (IL)