Yesterday I ran a half marathon in the Knoxville Marathon.
Pictures
And they’re off!
The herd lumbers up the hill.
Staggering into Neyland Stadium.
Waiting for the medical staff to carry me out.
Race Information
Distance: 13.1 miles
Time: 1:58:32
Placement: 339/1,205
Trivia: Beat Mayor Haslem by 5 seconds
Overall, the marathon was a fun event. The weather conditions were close to ideal (it took mee less than five minutes to realize I should have gone without the sweatshirt). I don’t have much experience with these kind of events, but the race seemed to be pretty well organized and run, particularly for an inaugural event. The course was clear and there were ample volunteers along the route. Police took care of the traffic at intersections. Water stops seemed okay (though I only used one). The only negative thing for me was that they ran out of T-shirts in the size I had ordered.
In a few ways, my experience was a study in what not to do. Top five mistakes (in ascending order):
(5) Eating a bunch of junk food the night before
(4) Less than five hours of sleep beforehand
(3) Staring out a little too far in the pack (you’re boxed in for a while)
(2) Only two weeks of distance training
(1) Doing the last training run on Friday
Number 1 had the most direct impact on the race, for I felt my calf muscles a little throughout the run. I had intended to do my last run on Thursday, but it was wet that day. So I went on Friday. Not enough recovery time. Had I felt a little fresher and started out at a little faster pace, I might have shaved a few minutes off the time. For I generally felt good until the last couple miles, when my side started bothering me a bit.
One amusing thing I hadn’t anticipated was how, uh, overhydrated a few of the runners were. Within ten minutes of the start some of them were already peeling off to relieve themselves–in spots just a few feet from the course. Guess modesty takes a back seat to the clock on race day.
I don’t know if there will be another marathon next year, but if there is, I might give it another try. Who knows, I might get really crazy and go the full distance next time.
Federalizing Family Cases
To a large degree, I’ve ignored the news the last few days. But I did catch pieces of it. And what I’ve seen is simply amazing. Just when you think GOPUSA can’t sink any lower, it does. Who would have imagined that we’d see emergency sessions of Congress and a president rearranging his travel schedule just to continue feeding a woman who’s been virtually brain dead for 15 years?
As this Digby post highlights, most of these “life saving” lawmakers really aren’t interested in your run-of-the-mill vegetative state victims. But when the religious right comes calling with a poster child to fan the flames of the latest culture war we’re witnessing the lengths to which they go to appease. What was all that we heard about limiting the reach of the federal government?
If the Democrats really wanted to fight fire with fire (crass politics), they’d turn around this wedge and shove it right back in between the business and religious right wings of the GOP. I’m sure there are plenty of money folks who aren’t too keen about the prospect of indefinite medical care and litigation for patients in a persistent vegetative state.
Blogosphere Affirmative Action
Oh brother. The blogosphere is too white and too male. [Apparently livejournal blogs don’t count.] What to do?
If I change my identity to a female Kenyan, will I get more trackbacks?
Newsmashing
Paul Boutin takes a look at how web page markup technology could be incorporated into blogging.
I’m obviously not a computer geek, for I don’t recall seeing this kind of application before. But it looks like it could enhance the blog reading experience.
Crime TV
No, it wasn’t just my imagination:
As critic Tim Cuprisin says, CNN has “seemed ready to give Smith her own show.” And now they are: Thursday night at 10pm, NewsNight will be preempted for “Ashley Smith: A Hero’s Journey.” It’s a special edition of People in the News. (Last night, NewsNight became “26 Hours: Inside the Manhunt.”)
I stopped watching stuff about this, but someone was keeping track. Mind you, this was a few days after the incident
> 7pm: Anderson Cooper 360: “What did Ashley Smith do that may have saved her life?,” CNN.com asked. (Anderson is in Beirut.)
> 8pm: Paula Zahn Now: The show examined “the possible reasons behind Atlanta’s killing spree.”
> 9pm: Larry King Live: “Brian Nichols’ brother speaks out in an exclusive prime-time interview,” the teaser said.
> 10pm: NewsNight: Aaron Brown’s first block was devoted to the shooting aftermath.
We had a few good comments below on why this story has received so much attention. I get some, but not all of the reasons. More on that later.
Providing Rhetorical Aid To The Enemy
President Bush yesterday [emphasis added]:
I like the idea of people running for office. There’s a positive effect when you run for office. Maybe some will run for office and say, vote for me, I look forward to blowing up America. I don’t know, I don’t know if that will be their platform or not. But it’s — I don’t think so. I think people who generally run for office say, vote for me, I’m looking forward to fixing your potholes, or making sure you got bread on the table.
Wow, there’s a great idea. This guy really does get dangerous when he strays from the teleprompter, doesn’t he?