We’re back from our annual Seattle trip.  It was another great year – family fun, urban living, good eats, pacific beach, crescent lake… sea level running!  I decided not to run the Seattle Rock n’ Roll half marathon this year.  I ran the race in 2009 and 2010 but after spending the first part of this year plagued with injury, I decided to limit my races this summer.  I have to admit, I kind of regret it  -  running at sea-level was particularly awesome this year!  It must be the runs up to Barr Camp but I found myself cruising through the urban jungle at near-race paces and it felt pretty effortless.

view from Kerry Park. I ran by several times!

kids @ Crescent Lake

rainbow over Crescent Lake

kids @ Ruby Beach

flying kites @ Gas Works Park

fireworks @ Lake Union. from the couch.

It was an amazing trip – we really love the area!   It’s time to get back to work – Barr Camp Mountain Race is in a week and a half!

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 2^nd 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 __________!”