While I am kind of just running right now with no near term race goal, my running strategy loosely follows a typical training plan for a half marathon – about 4 days of running including a long weekend run of 8-12 miles, an interval run and a couple of tempo/easy runs. I don’t have a race scheduled but I am sure I will find something that I want to run soon – at least I will be ready for anything up to a half marathon distance, right? I am relatively injury – free (knock on wood) with the exception of some pain in my hip – particularly on downhills. I’ve logged about 30 miles on my new pink kicks that I got just last week
The Seattle Rock n’ Roll Marathon is on June 26, 2010 and I’ve been debating the full vs. the half. I ran the half marathon last year. This debate is a blog post in and of itself…
(concerns: several out and backs and hills in the 2nd half)
On the food front, veganism gets easier and easier especially with articles like these popping up in the news regularly:
- Meat Safety: How Well Done? Chicago Tribune , January 21, 2010
- California Firm Recalls Beef Products Due to Possible E. coli O157:H7 Contamination, USDA website, January 18, 2010
- Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned, New York Times, December 29, 2009
I do have to remind myself that there is a fine line between being a vegan and an activist. I think many veg/vegans want to share what they learn about the meat industry, the factory farming abuses, the health issues, the humanity issues etc.. etc… easily becoming an activist or vegevangelist as I’ve come to identify myself on occasion. But many people simple don’t want to know: “don’t tell me, “I don’t want to know…” And on some level, I guess I can relate to the sentiment. After all, didn’t I run around as a cheese loving vegetarian for the last 20 years – living happily in the dark about the realities of the quality and health risks of milk/dairy and horrific abuses of dairy cows and their little babies?
It’s hard, however, to “not know” these days. The media reports, bloggers like Erik Marcus with his popular and informative blog: http://www.vegan.com/, best selling books like Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Eating Animals” all report the realities of the meat, dairy and egg industries and all through mainstream media outlets. These are the pros, the people I will quote or point to their links for all things vegan…. and that will be the extent of my vege- evangelism. Unless of course, you do want to know – then I would love to share thoughts, ideas, concerns and recipes!
To be honest, evangelism in general has never been a favorite thing of mine and despite my passionate views on animal factory farming methods, if you dont’ want to know, then you don’t want to know and it makes me uncomfortable to be the one that others might point at and whisper “why that sanctimonious vegan __________!”
