Barbara (my wife) Shows off her age group medal

She took first in her age group in the 5K (about 57 minutes) and she won’t let me forget it.

I couldn’t talk her into going to a museum (her foot was sore) so we watched Wilson’s War on pay per view. I can recommend the film.

As for me: I need to find a better way to “budget” my pace; after all it is going to get hot and what is an appropriate pace at 75 is not appropriate at 85. Also, I should have done some heat training (e. g., done some of my walks with sweat gear to make myself used to sweating.

I noticed that early on, many of the runners were dripping with sweat whereas I was relatively dry. That isn’t good early on.

Politics It seems that Obama really wants to heal things up with the Clintons and to repair some of the damage that they, and to be fair, circumstances, has caused to their relationship to the African American community.

I just read Times Online article that is just full of new information. Here is a link.

I think what made my eyes pop the most was the entry of Al Gore into the fray. Finally. And on May 31, no less (see final blockquote). I think the author here has some very good sources.

Senior officials on Obama’s campaign believe Bill Clinton has the unique status and political gifts to reunite the party after such gaffes. They expressed confidence that the former president would rise above the perceived slights and grudges of a hard-fought campaign and work flat out for an Obama victory in November’s presidential election.

….

“He’s brilliant, he has got heart and he cares deeply about the country. It’s tricky because of his position as Hillary’s spouse, but his involvement is very important to us.

“Bill Clinton will give permission to Hillary supporters to come into our camp and become one party. He is critical to this effort.”

And it appears that Hillary’s RFK fiasco may be driving this new, behind the scenes solution:

Obama has an important bargaining chip which could tempt Bill Clinton into the fold. Friends say the former president is distressed by the rift in his relationship with the African-American community after he was affectionately described in the 1990s as the “first black president”.

His wife’s reference to Robert Kennedy’s shooting touched a raw nerve among a community which has long feared that the first black candidate to have a serious chance of entering the White House will be assassinated, just as earlier champions such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were.

William Galston, a former White House official and Hillary Clinton supporter, said: “One part of him [Bill Clinton] deeply regrets the schism that has opened up with the black community and he would welcome the opportunity to redeem himself.” Campaigning for Obama would go a long way to restoring good relations.

In all honesty, this is music to my ears! Though I didn’t mind the tough campaigning, I didn’t care for all of the negativity, race baiting and especially that awful statement that HRC made yesterday. I know that she is better than that.

You know, there was a time (just a few months ago) that I really enjoyed defending HRC against wingnuts. Even in New Hampshire, though I was disappointed that BHO didn’t win, I was genuinely happy for her and her supporters. I want to return to that state again.

Andy Payne Marathon walk: 6:16 (S P L U T)

Here is what you need to know: it was 75 F at the start and 86 F at the finish, and the humidity was steam-bath like. Or put another way, the winning male runner ran a 3:11.

Note that Barbara walked her 5K in 57 minutes and won an age group medal. In fact, she took FIRST! (Don’t ask her how many were in her age group ). But what I am impressed with is that she has worked through recovering from foot surgery earlier this year (2008).

Ok, what about me: I was at 4:10 at mile 20 and it took me TWO HOURS, SIX MINUTES to finish the last 6.2 miles. Why? Same old same old; at mile 22 I really got overheated, and at mile 23 I sat down for 10 minutes. Mile 23 seems to be tough for me. I tried to get up, dropped to my knees, puked (just a little) and then I rubbed ice all over my body. The aid station crew were unbelievable; I need to find out who they are and send them a card.

The gave me ice, water, and a diet Mountain Dew to get me going, and after spending 30 minutes there, I was able to resume walking at a reasonable pace. I did lose 3 places during this pit stop.

The course is roughly this: you do about 1.5 miles (2.9 km) on bike paths, then you circle Lake Overholser three times; each lap is a bit over 8.1 miles (13 km), then it is just under .5 miles (about 800 meters?) to the finish.
So, here is the rough tale of the splits: 18 minutes for hte 1.5 out, 1:42 for the first loop, 1:44 for the second and, drum roll please, 2:31 for the last loop (plus the .5 or so, so the loop was about 2:24).

The good: I finished this time.

The bad: I sucked. I didn’t suck for the first 20 miles though, and my 17.7 mile split was 3:45, or better than I did the (albeit hilly, but cool) Austin 30K at the beginning of the year.

Note: I was 6 minutes faster here at mile 20 than I was at my Quad Cities DNF.

One final note: Congratulations to the race director and all of the volunteers; they stayed out there on a hot day and really took good care of us. I wouldn’t have finished without them.

Oklahoma City Day One

Workout notes Nothing yet, nothing today. I am about to drive to Lake Overholser to do the Andy Payne Marathon; 75 F now, 85 F forecast for the finish, slight chance of thunderstorms during the first 2 hours (first lap) but not likely.

Yesterday we visited the Truman Library and Museum; it was very well put together and well worth the visit. It never struck me just what sort of problems he had to deal with; I knew about the A-bomb and Korea but there was much more than that.

Politics: Hillary Clinton should have never brought up the assassination of Bobby Kennedy as a reason she should stay in the race.