It came as a shock to some when the Cato Institute ranked the US as no. 17 in the world in “freedom”. The interesting thing is though, that they use several categories to rate “freedom” and not all of these resonate with many Americans.
That includes me. I’ll explain: when I hear “freedom” I think “freedom to.”
For example: in my city, you can’t burn leaves or trash. I, along with many Americans, view that as a RESTRICTION on freedoms. True: I consider it a wise and necessary one: such smoke stinks and can make others sick. So, in my view, that is a case where surrenders a bit of freedom for the public good, just as one does when one obeys a speed limit.
On the other hand, others would view the ban on trash/leaf burning as an ENHANCEMENT of freedom: freedom from pollution and freedom to be healthy.
I had the same view with COVID restrictions, mask mandates and vaccination mandates. I saw all of those as necessary and wise restriction on freedoms for the greater good (not make others sick). On the other hand, others would view these as enhancing “freedom from being made sick.”
Today was kind of routine. But what is interesting is that I filmed pull ups from different angles, and what a difference it made!
Note: all of these sets of 5 (done while fatigued) were pretty much the same quality (and yes, too much kipping)
Front, and low: “looks like zero pull ups!”
Similar set, very different angle:
Now, I had my wife hold the phone high and from the front:
Yes, the chin was over the bar; I even tapped it on the final rep.
It goes to show you: angle makes a lot of difference in what you “see”. What is clear is that I am away from the bar; that is probably due to my not wanting the bar to rock.
The weight part of the workout: (mixed PT)
5-5, 5-5 (both 5 chins, 5 pull ups), 10 pull ups, then 3 sets of 5 (seen above), 2 attempting to be strict, then 47-48 second hold.
Downstairs: only lower inclines and deadlifts.
Lower incline (lots of messing with the rack settings) 2 x 134, 2 x 134, 10 x 114, 10 x 114, 3 x 134
deadlift: deficit: 10 x 107, 10 x 133, 10 x 195 (all felt good),
I am easing back into working a bit. I had time for a nice walking workout:
2 mile warm up (just under 16 min/mile) 2 miles (lane 2) 12:15/11:37 for 23:53 2 miles outside (just over 16 minute/mile)
I need to pick up things at least once a week. Then 1 medium walk (6-8), 1 longer walk every other week (try for 10?) with a medium on off weeks (5-7) and “filler/for my back” walks on other days, and weights.
It seems as if every summer, I use the time off period as a training camp of sorts. During the academic year I work out, but I have a set period of time to get it in. I can rest more between sets during the summer and the weight I can handle goes up.
Today: PT, then pull ups: (really took my time here): 10 single pull ups, 10 single chin ups, 5 mixed grip, 5 mixed grip, 8 pull ups, 5 pull ups, 5 chin ups, 5 chin ups then 4 sets of 2, pull up, chin up, both mixed grips.
Downstairs and I gave myself 45 plus minutes for the bench press. 5 x 134, 5 x 155, 5 x 155, 5 x 155 (grind on set 3), 1 x 160, 1 x 170 (ugly, but hips were down)
high incline: 8 x 89, 7 x 89, 7 x 89
curls: 3 sets of 10.
Followed with W. Peoria 5K walk after lunch at a commuter pace. 16:40 mile 1, 15:30’s after that.
Commentary: I’ve started to think about past days: the running in the 1980’s and again in the late 1990’s. Ok, I miss it..and the lifting too. Yes, I am grateful that I can still walk distance (some day I won’t be able to do that) but I hate how weak I’ve become.
I remember the races too. Yes, it was fun being further up in the pack, but that was mostly being a younger male. Still..I enjoyed being among the hard bodies. Now I am in the back with those with knee braces, back braces, gray hair, and yes, the new/over weight (by runner standards) and, based on pace, that is where I belong. What you gonna do?
I am still thinking about the posts about some in the running community “not being welcoming” (whatever that means) to newer or slower runners.
That got me to thinking about what I saw recently, at an Indiana Fever WNBA game. Some lady had on a shirt that said “I watched women’s basketball when it wasn’t cool” and I had to smile. I did too: University of Texas from 1985-1991 then Bradley 1991-present. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a woman’s final four (1986-1987…front row seats, no less!) and watching several highly ranked college teams, including several national championship teams.
But yeah, there are those new to the sport, either as fans or participants.
Back in 2022, the Illinois football team went 8-5, which, by Illini football standards, is a breakout season. And I remember long loyal fans posting stuff about bandwagon fans; many asked for tolerance of them.
And, I wonder if there is some of that going on between those who have been running a long time vs those new at races (e. g. the newbies lining up way too far up front, running/walking 4-5 abreast, coming to a complete stop without warning and realizing that there may be some behind them, going out way too fast and clogging things up, ESPECIALLY on trail runs, etc.)
And there are those like me, who kind of miss being with the “hard bodies” running the 6-7 minute miles and are now at the back of the pack with the slow, lame, overweight and fellow old people. I remind myself that walking slowly is a lot better than not being able to walk at all. I don’t love being this slow, but I love being able to walk and beat most of the current race cutoffs.
And I have to remember that, back in the day, I, in my current state, would have been too slow to make the cutoffs for many (most?) of the races. It was common to have 5 hour cut off for a marathon (San Antonio back in 1981) I ran a 3:48 and felt like an absolute failure.
So, without the army of slower runners, there would be no races for me to finish.
That leads me to think about my first marathon: the Maryland Marathon in 1980:
During my senior year in college, I decided to run the Maryland Marathon. That was me at about mile 18 or so; note the cotton shorts, cotton shirt and the New Balance 730s. Those were state of the art shoes back then.
Though I had several 50 mile weeks, I did no run over 15 miles. So the marathon was a bit of a rude shock. I hit mile 10 in 1:15, half way in 1:37 and slowed to 2:38 at mile 20. The finish: 3:33. Boy, was that last 10K a death march! It wasn’t just for me though; I managed to keep something like a shuffle (and flipped off a kid who said “here is a fat one”) and people were walking at this point; not everyone of course.
My buddies (who went to the race with me) ran 2:38 and 2:59. I ran 3:33 for 1054 out of 2229 men; the median time for the men was 3:36. There were 201 female finishers; two friends of mine finished in 3:30. The median female finisher was 4:05.
How do I know this? I still have the program!
I know that some racewalker finished in the 4:30-4:40 range; I remember asking “is that good?”
I knew that Olympic walkers walked at about 7 minutes per mile (3:05 pace) and didn’t know what a “good but not elite” walker would do.
Now, I wonder why the median time for both the women and men were so much faster than present day median times, even among the younger age groups.
It isn’t age, though the marathon used to attract a somewhat younger crowd; still the median Maryland Marathon time is about 30 minutes faster than the current median for men 20-40 by the above table that I linked to.
Or could be that there was more of an emphasis on the 10K back then and people then moved up to the marathon after they’ve had some running under their belt.
And it could be that the current popularity of the marathon means that it is attracting those with no talent for it.
Example: one of my older buddies was a speed burner in college. He ran the then 440 yard dash in something like 47-48 seconds (slightly faster 400 meter time). Yet, his time for the 2 mile was over 13 minutes, 1 minute slower than I! And his marathon PR was about an hour slower than mine. He was faster than I ..a LOT faster but he has no slow twitch fiber at all (ok, very little of it).
Caution: when I talk about SLOW in a marathon, I am talking about people *I* might see were I to try one again; over 6 hours on a normal road course types. I used to consider 4-5 hours to be super slow but now, that is well beyond what I can do.
Of course, Memorial Day is to honor those military members who died in the lien of duty. So, strictly speaking, this does not pertain to me. But I have a few things to say anyway.
Yes, I served in the US Navy. But my contributions were, at best, minimal.
My dad served 23 years in the US Air Force and went to Vietnam twice. He made it back, with body, mind and emotions intact, though he had some emotional scars. How could he not have those?
The first time my dad left for Vietnam, I was a grade school kid and my mom held it together when he left and grieved in private.
The second time, my dad went for a short tour as a “replacement.” (ask yourself why a replacement might be needed) Dad did NOT want mom to wait with him at the airport (Yokota AFB, Japan) ; at his request, she dropped him off at the front. As we drove away, dad cast a long look at us and Mom was crying. (I was 14-15, I think). I was “it isn’t for that long of a time..” and Mom was more realistic “we HOPE not, Son.” “Dad will be ok, right?” “We HOPE so, Son.” Then the reason for Mom’s tears started to hit me.
Another time, Dad drove me to the Yokota airport to see off one of his friends who was going to Vietnam (as a “replacement”). We just sat with him and engaged in some small talk, just to keep him company. Only much later did it dawn on me why Dad did that.
Much later, while still in 8’th grade school, the end of the war was announced. We celebrated! NO ONE cared about “who won, who lost”; we were just happy that our dads wouldn’t be going there anymore (and it was dads in those days, at least at our school; it may have been different at other military bases).
So, as far as Memorial Day: I hope I live long enough to see a time where there will be no need for them any longer (as in, no more sending our young people out there to die or be maimed.) I know that is wishful thinking.
Anyway, I posted the Ray Charles version of America the Beautiful. We played that at Dad’s Memorial Service back in 2004. It was one of his favorite songs by one of his favorite singers. I always tear up when I hear it. The visuals in this version are also very powerful.
I wonder if the Chiefs might be quietly turning things around. Yes, they lost this series to the Cedar Rapids Kernels 4-2 but the Kernels are one of the league’s finest teams, and the Chiefs enjoyed a dramatic 6-2 win on Saturday night. It was 2-2 going into the bottom of the 8’th when the Chiefs scored 4 and then held in the top of the 9’th.
The announced attendance was 3004, but this is one time I actually believe the number. The announced attendance on Thursday was 1000, but rest assured that the actual “butts in seats” count was maybe 200-300; the place was empty (at least the lower part). This Saturday: encouraging crowd. Not quite like the old days yet, but summer is coming.
Ok, then came Sunday night. The tables were reversed: 6-2 Kernels and frankly the game was never close. The Kernels hit a home run on the first at bat and another on the first at bat vs the reliever, and then another. The crowd was much smaller though not as bad as Wednesday.
Commentary I am a bit worried about the franchise. The scoreboard is in disrepair (missing rectangles) and the crowds, while not as bad as they were in 2021, appear to be somewhat smaller than they were last year. BUT, maybe things will pick up in June and July. And, of course, I hope that some of the current talent jells and mixes well with the second half of the season talent, and maybe they can make a run at a playoff spot for the second half of the season (their league gives spots for both the first half and second half).
Sunday: I had a slow 4 mile (4.2 mile) commuter walk after some deadlifts:
1 inch bar (1.25 inch deficit) 10 x 107, 10 x 133, 10 x 195, 10 x 221 (these felt good) Wagon wheel trap bar: 8 x 260 (grip problems; didn’t want to risk the final 2 reps) 4.25 inch advantage
6 inch trap bar: 10 x 280 (felt strong here)
Today: Same as last Friday. 5 hill Bradley course, 1 extra lower loop, the Barbara plus just a bit more for the watch. 8.2 in 2:00:30 (14:40 for the 1.03 on Moss/Cooper). I felt good the whole way; only mild stiffness. That is good given the deadlifts the day before.
I am sort of new to Threads and, I think due to my Instagram preferences, I’ve been shown a bunch of recommended posts about distance running, especially about those who run public races.
There are many topics of debate and discussion. One of them is about the tendency for the slower runners to overvalue finishing long races like marathons and undervalue running shorter races faster. These are the types that are more impressed with a 4:30 marathon than a 4:30 mile; the latter is orders of magnitude harder to do. Example: as a younger man, I’ve showed up fat and out of shape and broken 4:30 for a marathon. But my fastest mile ever is only 5:30, and that about killed me.
But that isn’t what I want to talk about here.
It seems that many slower runners (e. g. the type that I can beat walking..or used to be able to beat while walking) are thirsty for affirmation from those who are good at it.
Here is such a thread. TL;DR: she was travelling by public transportation to a half marathon, overheard someone saying that they were going to a half marathon.
“I told him that I was too, we had a nice chat for a couple of minutes. Then he told me his target time and asked mine. (1/2) I cheerfully replied that I’d be about an hour behind him and he instantly lost interest in the conversation. It just stopped, he didn’t even look at me for the rest of the journey.”
Now of course I was not there so I don’t know the facial expression, if the guy she was talking to had other stuff on his mind, or whatever.
But, I’ll just say this: my PR is 1:34 (1999) and I had little in common with those running, say, 1:05 or faster. The faster runners: they were concerned with racing (e. g. dropping the competitors), pushing themselves to the limit, etc.
I, on the other hand, was more concerned with time/pace. My catching someone meant I’d finish 134’th instead of 135’th…not much difference. I was after a PR, or “fast” (for me) time and the calculations are different. The mentality is different and the training is certainly different.
Now, well, I am looking to get under 3 hours as a walker (IF I can get to the 1/2 distance at all) and not hurt my back in the process. I am worried about cut offs, aid stations running out of water, keeping nausea under control (keeping the ability to digest water) and increasing heat (an extra 90 minutes can mean a good change of temperature)
I have little in common with the sub 1:40 runners; I am more likely to talk to the slower people (slower runners, older runners..overweight runners and other non-elite walkers).
And I am ok with that. Evidently, some of the newbies aren’t.
“Our community does not talk enough about how deeply unwelcoming it can be to beginners. For goodness sake, we all started with couch to 5k or something once upon a time…”
And that is absolutely UNTRUE for me! In fact, it may have been untrue for most of the runners back in 1980, when I started running in public races.
My background: high school sports, college rowing and club judo, and the military. Back in high school I used to run for conditioning purposes. My times: 5:54 for the mile (as a 210 lb lineman) and 13:30 for the 2 mile. In college (Naval Academy) these improved to 5:30 for the mile and 19:30 for the 3 mile (roughly 20:20 for a 5K) before I started to dabble in public road races.
Furthermore: I had experience on the playing field and on the practice field. I had struck out, made errors, missed tackles (once leading to a TD), missed blocks, missed free throws, gotten pinned and had coaches “gently” suggesting how I might improve my game. I also had experience in the military, getting yelled at by Marine officers, etc.
So, going into public races, I expected them to be hard and I well understood that there were levels to it. I was a “plodding fitness runner” and could not be expected to be seen in the same way as those who were good at it.
I wonder: the attitude about races appeared to be different in that era. I know that average times were much faster. Whether that was because most runners of that era came in with sports experience OR had team experience themselves, or some other factor, I do not know. Running clubs had groups, but they tended to be for those who already worked themselves up to a certain level.
Now I do miss those days. I tell myself I missed the comradery of the performance seeking runners (most of those I ran with cared about their times) or do I just miss my younger, better working body.
Now to my workout of the day. I started my PT at about 8, walk at 8:30 and finished..yes..about noon. I took waaaay too long. But I had a nice lag between finishing my walk (9:30) and really getting going with the pull ups (about 10). I got water, stretched some more, etc.
Walk: one loop course: 56:50 at the 4 mile mark 4.15 in 59 minutes. 42:40 at mile 3. It was perfect weather.
Now to the weights: did super setting with rotator cuff, monster walks and psoas marches:
10 pull ups, 7 chin ups, 5 chin ups, 7 chin ups, 5 chin ups, 10 pull ups, 7 pull ups, 5 chin ups (to make up for bad reps) 56 reps in total.
Bench press: 5 x 134, then 3 sets of 5 x 154 (big red plates), then 10 x 134 (wanted more). Lots of rest between sets here.
High incline (tied in) 8 x 90, 8 x 90, 7 x 90 (lots of rest between sets 2 and 3)
curls: 3 sets of 10.
When I look at this I think “gee, this isn’t much.” And yet it took time.
Barbara wanted to go to a Fever game, and being that it was in Indianapolis, that meant taking her nephew and roommate. Well, call it a mini vacation.
Of course, she is caught up in the Catalin Clark craze. Personally, I had long wanted to see a WNBA game so now was my chance.
I admitted that, while I expected to enjoy the game, I enjoyed it more than I thought that I would.
Upshot: the Sun (undefeated as of this writing) won 84-82 but the Fever played hard and well. And while Clark IS a good rookie, I’d honestly say that she was not the best player on the court or even on her own team. Kelsey Mitchell (no. 0) had some great slashing drives to the basket.
I’d say that Alyssa Thomas, no. 25 of the Sun, was the best player on the court.
Still the crowd was lit, the game was very well played; high energy from both teams.
In case you were wondering: with fees: 82 dollars a ticket for section 107 (club) row 1. One could get in for 10 dollars had one wanted to sit in the upper deck, but this was special for Barbara.
Commentary Much has been said about the C. Clark craze and some of the resentment it has brought out.
Yes, too many CC fans were naive in thinking that she would just show up and dominate like she did in Big Ten play. Yes, I remember Larry Bird leading the Celtics from 24 wins to 61 in his first year and to the title in his second, and Magic Johnson leading the Lakers to the 1980 title in his first year (0k, they also had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but the Lakers had sucked for 4 years with him) but those guys were generational talents. To expect that from a rookie is to be delusional.
Then there is probably some resentment about this new rookie getting so much publicity …when other, currently better players aren’t getting nearly as much.
And there is the whole “PR package too” : attractive white gal with a conservative appearance (no rainbow colored hair, no nose ring, no body full of tattoos, no outlandish eyelashes). One would have to be crazy to deny that this contributed to her popularity.
And so, I’d expect that she get a bit of “welcome to the WNBA, Rookie” treatment from time to time.
WNBA players: Cry they don’t get enough money because nobody watches*
Also WNBA players: Aggressively try to end the career of Caitlin Clark, the one person bringing in big viewers.
The WNBA is full of the most trashy, greedy, unintelligent, classless hypocrites on the planet! pic.twitter.com/vJxnIHPEeF
Life of an old goat 