Mixing Ultras and 5K runs (no politics)

This morning, I decided to make my humiliation complete and compete in a
local 5K running race. This was the Brimfield 5K. This is a well run 5K that many local runners shoot for; I’ve seen the winning time go under 16 minutes. Typically, 250-350 people do this race. The course is accurate and flat.

This year’s result: 24:09; mile splits were 7:49, 7:46, 7:48, 0:44 (yes, in the US, we have mile markers at 5K runs). This is 9 seconds off of my best 5K of 2009, and the fastest since my June and August ultra marathons. My PB on this course is 20:50, but that was 10 years ago, prior to my getting infested with the ultra bug.

One thing I’ve noticed: longer ultras tend to slow me down; to wit:

March 28 5K : 24:41
April 12: muddy 100 miler in 47:55 (“staged” style)
April 25 5K: 26:30 (Wildlife Prairie Park)

9 May 5K 24:29 5K
17 May Marathon walk 5:14:26
23 May 5K 25:40
25 May 4 mile 31:58

30 May 5K: 24:00 (blankey-blank-blank!!!)
6 June: 24 hour, 66 miles (50 miles in 12:46)
20 June: 15K in 1:27:23 (just wanted to finish without walking)

(9 July: 6:42 mile (downhill)

18 July: 5K in 24:59
(22 July: 1600 track in 7:03, solo)
2 August: 12 hour trail (11:36 for 29.3 rocky trail miles)
(5 August: 1600 track in 7:19)
8 August: 5K in 27:21 (grass)
11 August: 5K in 26:30 (track, after 800 in 3:18)
15 August: 5K in 24:09

I haven’t crunched the statistics yet, but it appears that I am slower in the 1-3 weeks after a marathon or ultra walk.

15 August 2009 (am, later)

Workout notes 5k race: 24:09 (Brimfield), 7:49, 7:46, 7:48, 0:44. This is my second best 5K run of 2009; I wish I could have squeezed another 10 seconds out.

I passed many in the last mile; that felt good. Yes, there was some spandex too. One of the younger ladies wore half length black spandex tights and had super-obvious VPLs.

Barbara went with me, bailed me out when I found out that I had no checks left in my check book. She walked her race in 57:37 and I walked the last .75 miles.

Results: oddly enough, though she finished dead last (254/254), Barbara was 3rd in her AG. I was 5/14 in my AG, and 82/254 overall.

Politics

Note: the Republicans cry “socialism” but fight for the “socialism that is there”.
Why can’t they just admit that they are for government involvement to a point? (Reason: that would blow their simple minded arguments to their simple minded constituents out of the water).

One note on style: my guess is that many of my non-virtual friends may be put off by the rudeness of the newscaster. But let’s face it: one of the problems with the pro-Democratic party elements of the media is that, in the name of civility, we have let the Republicans get away with blatant lying for far too long.

If the Republicans are against “socialism” let them be consistent about it: let them speak out against those forms of socialism that are popular, even among many (but not all) of their Republican constituents. Of course to do so would be political suicide.

If the Republicans really are “screw you if you are unfortunate enough to get a health problem but are unable to pay for it”, let them say so out loud. They won’t.

For far too long the Republicans have used our civility against us. No longer.

If a Republican wants to say “I believe in government involvement (or “to a point” ) but I don’t like this program because of X, Y, or Z”, fine! Let them say so and let them speak their piece. Treat them with politeness and respect. They might even have a good idea to offer.

If a Republican says “I don’t believe in government involvement in health care matters and therefore I am against medicare”, let them say so and treat them with politeness and respect.

But if all they do is cry “socialism” or “fascism”, go ahead and let them have it; show them to be the liars and hypocrites that they are.

As far as the “no one watches MSNBC” candard:

Fox News Wins Ratings Race (Again)
Fox News retained its #1 spot, averaging more total viewers in Monday-Sunday primetime (1.959 million, up 24% over May 2008) than CNN (767,000, down 22%) and MSNBC (756,000, up 10%) combined. HLN came in 4th with 535,000 total viewers, up a staggering 41% over May 2008. In weekday primetime, Fox News averaged 2.292 million total viewers, again more than MSNBC (891,000) and CNN (842,000) combined. HLN came in 4th with 618,000 total viewers.

In the Monday-Sunday prime demo (A25-54), Fox News took first with an average of 463,000 viewers (up 30% over May 2008), again more than MSNBC (250,000, down 9%) and CNN (194,000, down 37%) combined. HLN came in 4th with 192,000, again up a staggering 40% over May 2008. In the weekday prime demo, however, HLN (219,000 viewers) bested big sister network CNN (216,000 viewers) for the third place crown, while Fox News averaged 561,000 viewers and MSNBC averaged 270,000 viewers.

MSNBC Beats CNN (Again)
May was the third month in a row that MSNBC beat CNN in the weekday prime demo and the second in three months beating CNN in total viewers in weekday primetime, solidifying its standing as the #2 network in weekday primetime. Additionally, “The Rachel Maddow Show” was up 60% in total viewers over the 9PM timeslot a year ago (895,000 in May 2009 vs. 560,000 in May 2008 for Dan Abrams’ “Verdict”), and up 14% in A25-54, where it beat “Larry King Live” at 9PM for the 7th time in 8 months.

Programs
Fox News claimed 9 of the top 10 programs in weekday primetime, with the “O’Reilly Factor” (2.989 million total viewers, 702,000 A25-54) leading the pack for the 102nd consecutive month. “Hannity” (2.165 million total viewers, 551,000 A25-54), “Glenn Beck” (1.962 million total viewers, 472,000 A25-54), “On the Record with Greta van Susteren” (1.814 million total viewers, 452,000 A25-54), and “Special Report with Bret Baier” (1.784 million total viewers, 392,000 A25-54) rounded out the top 5. MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” was the only non-Fox News show to crack the top 10, coming in at #10 with 1.094 million total viewers and 323,000 A25-54.

Olbermann, Cooper Shed Viewers Year-to-Year
May 2009 was the first month since September 2006 that Keith Olbermann’s “Countdown” declined against the previous year in the A25-54 demo. In May 2009, Olbermann averaged 323,000 A25-54 viewers, down 21% from his primaries-fueled May 2008 average of 408,000 (though up considerably from May 2007′s average of 200,000). Olbermann has been a ratings juggernaut for several years on MSNBC, with his last year-over-year monthly decline coming in September 2006 (compared against September 2005′s numbers, which were inflated due to Hurricane Katrina coverage).

My guess is that Olberman will continue to decline; he made his biggest splash when he was one of the first to express outrage over some of the excesses of the Bush administration. He’ll have to adjust without President Bush being there.

Maddow’s show is a bit more informative and she sometimes brings on Republicans. She doesn’t let them BS, but she does let them talk and get their legitimate points across.

15 Aug 09 (pm)

Posts of the day; we will be leaving for a 5K run in about an hour.

President Obama’s weekly address

If you wish to see President Obama’s town hall in Montana, you can see the whole thing here.

Humor (sort of)

A cat gets an online high school diploma; then again this cat couldn’t possibly be any dumber than some of the students that I’ve seen.

Speaking of academics, classes start soon and I’ve seen students starting to text during class. Yes, that irritates me, and I don’t like the idea of being a baby sitter. Some professors are using this device, but I understand that this device is illegal.

Science Interestingly, you sometimes hear people whine about atheists hurting the cause of educating the public on evolution. Here is some pushback against that “meme”. But the huge irony here is that atheists (in general) are leading the way for research into evolutoin!

More Science: the universe can be a hard place; here is a neat list of some “violent” natural activity that is out there.

Politics Yes, racism still exists (open racism) and yes, it affects people’s response to President Obama. This story is about some Ohio police forwarding racist stuff about President Obama from their work computers.

Politics Rachel Maddow did get something wrong on Thursday’s show: she reported that Shirley and Bannister currently represented grassfire.org; they haven’t since 2004. But Shirley and Bannister did more than attempt to set the record straight. Maddow hit back, hard.

Oh yes, she interviewed a principled conservative Republican representative on her show. Yes, Rep. Gao and I don’t agree on much, but this is what principled opposition looks like.

Paul Krugman: points out that Senator Isakson (who is in favor of allowing end of life counseling be covered) did call some of the “death panel” smears “nuts” but wants some distance between him and us.

Some more political humor
Tiny Frog has a funny quote

This is the spirit of it (I saw it at a Bill Maher board on facebook)

More on Health Care

A Peoria area doctor has been pushing for single payer for a long time.

PEORIA —

For more than a decade, Dr. William Albers has been one of the area’s singular voices on a singularly radical solution to the crisis in health care.

He has educated, debated and advocated the merits of a single-payer health plan in forums both large and small, talked to doctors, politicians and average citizens. And he is more convinced than ever that a health care system financed largely through private, for-profit, employee-sponsored insurance is a fool-hardy approach.

“We’ve had a private, free enterprise system for many years. In the last 15 years, the quality has gone down, the costs have gone up. Is this the system we want to continue?”

Now that reforming the nation’s health-care system is hot topic number one, Albers and others who agree with him – for instance, 16,000 members of Physicians for a National Health Plan, including President Barack Obama’s former primary care doctor – find their voices have largely been banished from the meatiest part of the debate.

A single-payer plan, based on the idea of Medicare-for-all, is the simplest, most effective means to provide universal health care coverage and cut national health care costs, Albers says. It’s estimated a single-payer plan would save $400 billion a year in reduced administration costs. It’s the only proposal that assures full universal coverage, he says.

“But in this country, the term ‘single-payer’ automatically shuts off discussion for many people, part of it is philosophical concerns about big government taking over, part of it is misinformation.”

A public option, or government-sponsored insurance plan, is one of the more controversial aspects of the current debate, in part, because it would compete with private insurers. A single-payer plan, however, would end private health insurance coverage, particularly employer-based coverage, as we know it. Single-payer is not on the table, Albers says, “but it’s the elephant in the back of the room.”

[...]
Albers, 75, is officially retired from the medical school, but he still sees some patients in Peoria and at the clinics in other cities. He still flies his plane to at least one of the cities when the weather is nice.

Here is a companion article that dispels misconceptions about single payer:

Myth: Interference. Patients will lose choices.

In a single-payer system, you have more choices rather than less, compared to a private system.

If you have private health insurance, most likely you’re in a network, which means you have to see a physician in the network, go to a hospital approved by the network or PPO (preferred provider organization.) You have to get prior approval for most tests.You have to get prior approval to go to a specialist. You can’t go to any old specialist.

In a public system, any provider who wants to can be a provider for Medicare or Medicaid. The number of doctors who don’t accept Medicaid is a problem, but the level of choice in a private system is not better.

It’s not the government bureaucrat between the patient and the doctor, it’s the insurance company.

Myth: Rationing, waiting for treatment.

There’s the fear that, to limit costs, there will be rationing with long lines for services, emergencies that go untreated. It’s true that in many countries with national health-care services and universal coverage, there are waiting lists for certain procedures. But that does not usually include emergency services.

The other side is we already have rationing in this country, only it’s based on ability to pay or not having adequate insurance. Patients who are not covered ration their own coverage by not going to the doctor or not going until disease is well established. They don’t take medicine because they can’t afford it. That’s rationing, as well. I think that’s worse than the rationing in a government system.

Myth: Government medicine, by nature, will be of lesser quality.

I don’t think that’s true.

Again, the VA is a good example. It was a laughingstock about 15 years ago. If one looks at it objectively, the VA provides high-quality care with high satisfaction at a cost of about $1,500 per patient less than private or public plans, even though they have a sicker population.

The VA is not perfect but it provides good care; military medicine is not perfect, but it provides good care.

It doesn’t have to be bad just because it’s run by the government. Nobody’s advocating setting up a bad program.

Edited and condensed by Pam Adams.

More: At Daily Kos, I modestly suggest that maybe President Obama knows what he is doing. Of course, we (on the left) have our “peanut gallery” who hyperventilate and throw tantrums the first time some “setback” is reported in the media “Obama doesn’t know what he is doing”, “Obama = Bush”, “Obama is a right wing corporate sell-out”, “Obama is a Republican”, etc. Often these claims are made by people who have never served on a committee and who have never even won as much as city council seat.

I wonder if Republicans have to put up with this from their friends.

Health care: town hall with Representative Fudge in Cleveland: Mano Singham’s report.

I’d like to see more of this at town halls:

A Democratic lawmaker, faced with a batty question at a town hall Wednesday, derided conservative pundit Glenn Beck for propagating lies about health care legislation.

Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) was asked, “Why are all Americans being forced into a government-run health care and insurance plan when only 46 million out of 312 million are uninsured?” The questioner went on to suggest that most people without insurance could get it without government assistance and concluded, “I’d be willing for the government to buy insurance policies for the 8.2 million chronically uninsured, but the other 37.8 million are not the responsibility of the American citizens and … and I am unwilling to throw my present health care away for them.”

Larsen responded: “With regards to the first comment about being forced to buy health care, I’ll say it again… The bill does not force anybody to buy health care … The bill does not force people to change their health care plan. If you’re in a plan, you will not be forced into the public option. You will not be forced into the health insurance exchange. Now folks will say that’s not true, but I’ve got facts on my side and you’ve got Glenn Beck on your side. It’s just not going to play out that way.“

Video:

Of course, the Republicans think that they are winning (following is from the Dick Morris e-mail list). Then again, many of the same people thought they were going to win in 2008 too.

From Dick Morris:

Obama’s Poll Numbers Plummet.

He Will Do Anything to Start Obama Care.

Dick Morris Has a Plan to Stop Him.

Read More Below.

Dear Dickmorris.com Reader:

Barack Obama and his radical friends in Congress are on the run. They know Americans are shifting away from supporting his so-called healthcare “reform” program.

As Dick Morris, the chief strategist for the League of American Voters, says, “Obama’s plan is nothing less than a slick attempt to nationalize all of America’s healthcare.”

Dick has prepared a powerful TV ad that exposes Obama’s takeover.

You can see the TV ad by Going Here Now

Dick’s ad also warns seniors that when Obama adds 50 million new patients into the government system, it will collapse Medicare, causing massive rationing of healthcare to people who paid taxes all their lives.

Obama and the Democrats in Congress can’t afford to lose the seniors. They are a key swing group.

Polling data shows our message is getting out there.

A new Gallup poll out this week shows that seniors overwhelmingly oppose Obama’s plan.

For example, lower percentages of seniors expect the reform plan to benefit them personally than any other age group — and more expect their medical care to worsen than improve by a margin of 39 percent to 20 percent.

And only 34 percent of seniors think healthcare reform would improve medical care in this country.

It’s no wonder that Obama’s overall job approval ratings are plummeting.

Have no doubt: Democrats in Congress are running scared.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Official Website: Glenn Beck’s flip flop on healthcare after switching from CNN to Fox

Highlights from the latest Daily Show headline coverage and guest interviews from the week of August 10th.

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