Do You Want a Revolution?

I'm down and out with a stupid left leg. So no running report to post. Here is a political commentary though.

Here is what I think. by Charlie Reese

What do you think? Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy, The Federal Reserve Bank does. One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank. I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority.
They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.
No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.
Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to. It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.
I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.
When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red. If the Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ. If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way. There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel newspaper.

Sore

Still sore. Time to dust off the hybrid bike. Rode 17 plus miles in 1 hour 20. Shins don't hurt but my butt does. Got passed by several pelotons that roam the Woodlands on weekends. They might have been wondering what I was doing. It's hard to get any kind of speed on my bike. 13.1 mph average with 23 mph as the fastest. Garmin tells me I burnt 1158 calories. Not bad.

I was jealous of runners I encountered.

No Pain, No Pain

One unifying theme in these running blogs; pain. Why? Because distance running, no matter your speed is all about pushing the outer limits of your physical self. What resides at the outer limits? Pain. I never seem to get the same pain twice. On my way up to Chicago this week, I picked up the latest Runner's World and there was a timely article on shin splints. Hah! It was talking to me. But not having run since last Sunday with the extraordinary Mr. Cook himself for about 13 miles, I wanted to go out and shake off some cobwebs.

Distance: 4.61 miles
Time: 42 min 45 secs
Pace: 9:16 min/miles
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7 (112.72)
Weight: 171 lbs.
Calories burned: 578.9 kcal

Mile 1: 9:25
Mile 2: 9:03
Mile 3: 9:14
Mile 4: 9:36
0.62: 5:26

Stiff. Took a while to shake off the stiffness and general heaviness. I'm sure eating bad foods in Chicago had something to do with it. Never the less, the contentment that comes right after running and sweating is hard to beat. It must be the sense of accomplishment.

April In Review

I closed out April with 113.9 miles under my shoes. Not as impressive as some of my TIR teammates but pretty productive for me. Listening to one's body should be a mantra with long distance running, something I don't do too well. I'm going to try to be better at it though. As I close out the month, my left shin has been letting me know that it's there. So, to alleviate any pain problems later on, I am going to take the next week or so a little easier than normal.

April has been pretty good to me. I became faster by notching two 5K P.R.'s. I am now a sub 24 minute runner. Pretty cool. I can now dare to dream of breaking 23 minutes and becoming a 22 minute and something seconds runner. That would be awesome.

RTW 5K P.R!

I did it! New 5K P.R! Woo Hoo!

Time: 23 min 53 secs
Pace: 7:42 min/miles
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7 (86.62)

Mile 1: 7:30
Mile 2: 7:41
Mile 3: 7:56
0.1: 0:44

It is also my first time going sub 8 min/mile for all 3 miles. Once again, I went all out from the start and just hung on during the last mile. The wheels almost fell off but I survived. The heart managed not to explode out of the chest cavity, just barely.

Karen came and ran also. I think she P.R.'ed too!

Mucus Membrane Alert

I woke up with a runny nose. Was that a pun? But then, it was runny not running. Conversations with myself went like this today.

Devil Me: "I don't think I have the energy today."
Angel Me: "Oh, I don't know, the weather seem nice enough, besides, you'll feel better after a few blocks."
Devil Me: "I don't know, the legs are super heavy, I don't want an injury."
Angel Me: "OK, I suppose you can make it up at Memorial Park during your lunch today. Maybe 2 loops? Them crushed granite will prevent injury. Most definitely."
Devil Me: "Never mind, I feel good now! I'm going out there to Run!!!"

Time of Day: 6:01 AM
Distance: 4.24 miles
Time: 36 min 35 secs
Pace: 8:38 min/miles
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7 (83.52)
Weight: 174 lbs.
Calories burned: 541.1 kcal

The nose kept on running. So far this morning, I've taken 4 of those tiny Benadryl pills. Very drowsy. I can use a nap right now.

Mile 1: 8:59
Mile 2: 8:42
Mile 3: 8:48
Mile 4: 8:17
0.24: 1:48

I'm going to take Friday off and race on Saturday. Then, a 7 miler on Sunday before Mass.

I hope I'm not coming down with something.

Recovery

After running away from Memorial Park with my tail between the legs (come to think of it, "running away" is probably a bad example in this case) I laced my GTS's again and headed out. Except, being the wimp that I am, I ran with the temps in the 70's. That 10 degrees difference made me go from seeing my life flashing by to just plain old, "why do my legs feel like lead and why are my quads so tired?"

Distance: 4.6 miles
Time: 40 min 19 secs
Pace: 8:46 min/miles
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7 (79.28)
Weight: 174 lbs.
Calories burned: 587 kcal

Pace was all over the place.

Mile 1: 8:59
Mile 2: 8:42
Mile 3: 9:03
Mile 4: 8:35
0.60: 5:00

One last attempt at the record books this Saturday before the summer inferno settles around here. I'm going to see if I can achieve New Balance.... and hit 23:59 at the RTW 5K.