I knew signing up to run a half marathon was a crazy idea. Back in high school ( along time ago) a ran a10K, which is about 6 miles. I think the most I have run since were 1.5 mile runs while in the Navy and maybe a 5K sometime back. I have not run at all in the 12 years or so.
For those of you who, like me just a little while ago, do not know, a half marathon is 13.1 miles.
The half marathon I am running is part of the Colfax Marathon on May 19th.
I know, it's crazy. And the only reason I would ever consider doing something this crazy is to help animals or others without a voice. This time it is for the youth experiencing homelessness we serve at Urban Peak, where I work. I have created a fundraiser out of this crazy idea, hoping to raise $2,000 for the young people we serve.
You might know that crazy people don't like to do thinks alone, so I asked Mike to join me. He is now signed up and training as well.
It is not easy. I have to admit that it is a lot more fun that I thought it would be, but definitely not easy. I have been doing most of my training at Sloan's Lake, a Denver park about a mile from where we live. It's roughly 2.5 miles around the lake and I don't seem to get bored. Lot's of people and lots of dogs. Oh, and geese and ducks. So I am always looking at something.
Last weekend I ran the most I have ever run in my life, 7.22 miles! I couldn't believe! My nephew was with us last weekend. He is an amazing runner. He said that I was within striking distance of the half marathon. That of course made my day.
I have had a couple of short runs since last weekend. Both were tough. Sometimes, like other things in life, it's a struggle. And, like I try to do with everything else in life, I keep my eyes on the prize. The prize is not training or even finishing the half marathon. The prize is being a voice for the voiceless and supporting youth who are in a difficult spot.
After every training run I post a video. They're not pretty. If you'd like to see them my YouTube account is under vegandude.
I have gotten a lot of strength from many of you who are always working to be healthier and more physically fit. I am totally grateful.
More to come. Thank you so much for reading!
Zuma beach.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Fire Tim Pernetti at Rutgers
Mike Rice, the head basketball coach at Rutgers, was fired yesterday morning. He was fired based on the same information the school had back in November, the only difference was that now the whole world knew of his cowardly, pathetic and violent behavior.
Tim Pernetti, Rutgers Director of Intercollegiate Athletics failed in his job. He failed to protect young people from a clear abuse of power.
Fire Tim Pernetti.
From Mr. Pernetti: "I spent more time with that option on whether we should fire Mike or not than any other option," Pernetti said on WFAN Radio Tuesday. "At the same time, the results of the investigation and where we ended up, the determination was made to suspend him."
Some investigation. Look at the videos. Then fire the guy being violent, abusive and using anti-gay slurs. Mr. Pernetti saw the videos back in November.
Didn't something similar just happen at Penn State. That case involved sex abuse. Yet the same abuse of power existed, and people who knew about it did nothing to stop it, let along shine a light on it.
Does anyone at Rutgers believe that Mr. Pernetti is a shining example of someone young people should look up to and respect? Should anyone have faith in his judgement?
Let's speak truth to power. Hopefully those in power at Rutgers will tell Mr. Pernetti to take a hike.
Thank you for reading!
Tim Pernetti, Rutgers Director of Intercollegiate Athletics failed in his job. He failed to protect young people from a clear abuse of power.
Fire Tim Pernetti.
From Mr. Pernetti: "I spent more time with that option on whether we should fire Mike or not than any other option," Pernetti said on WFAN Radio Tuesday. "At the same time, the results of the investigation and where we ended up, the determination was made to suspend him."
Some investigation. Look at the videos. Then fire the guy being violent, abusive and using anti-gay slurs. Mr. Pernetti saw the videos back in November.
Didn't something similar just happen at Penn State. That case involved sex abuse. Yet the same abuse of power existed, and people who knew about it did nothing to stop it, let along shine a light on it.
Does anyone at Rutgers believe that Mr. Pernetti is a shining example of someone young people should look up to and respect? Should anyone have faith in his judgement?
Let's speak truth to power. Hopefully those in power at Rutgers will tell Mr. Pernetti to take a hike.
Thank you for reading!
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
"Fu**ing Faggot" - proper language at Rutgers
UPDATE: Mike Rice has been fired. Rutgers should also fire Mr. Pernetti who clearly failed in doing anything about this until the public found out.
I hesitated writing the title of a blog post that includes words that make me uncomfortable. I assure you this is a direct quote, and because of the power of the two words combined, I decided to go ahead with the title.
I was enjoying morning time with the furries watching the CBS Morning Show and watched as they showed video of the Rutgers (university in New Jersey) head basketball coach Mike Rice hit, pushed, threw basketballs at and shouted gay slurs to his players. One of the things I heard him say on the tape is the title of this post. He also called his players "fairies".
As I have written about many times here, language is huge. In a time when it seems equality is getting stronger and more and more people are getting comfortable with the idea of gay people getting married let alone existing, we get to watch video of a very well paid man call someone this.
How far have we seriously come when the worst thing a coach can think of calling one of his players to denigrate him or make him feel small is a faggot?
And just in case you're wondering, this guy, as of this morning (April 3, 2013) still has his job.
The violence. The words. These are not actions and statements from someone who should be respected in any way. This guy is a coach!
Fire him. Today.
From the athletic director Tom Pernetti on suspending the coach: "This was not an easy decision for me to make but absolutely necessary to ensure what is best for our program."
Seriously? He saw the video in November! It seems he is now only taking action because of the video becoming public. By the way, thank you ESPN for showing the video. It was not an easy decision to suspend him?
I simply don't get it. Oh, I get the world of sports. I don't get that any university, school, program, etc would want anything to do with a man like Mike Rice.
Fire Mike Rice. Fire him today.
Thanks for reading.
I hesitated writing the title of a blog post that includes words that make me uncomfortable. I assure you this is a direct quote, and because of the power of the two words combined, I decided to go ahead with the title.
I was enjoying morning time with the furries watching the CBS Morning Show and watched as they showed video of the Rutgers (university in New Jersey) head basketball coach Mike Rice hit, pushed, threw basketballs at and shouted gay slurs to his players. One of the things I heard him say on the tape is the title of this post. He also called his players "fairies".
As I have written about many times here, language is huge. In a time when it seems equality is getting stronger and more and more people are getting comfortable with the idea of gay people getting married let alone existing, we get to watch video of a very well paid man call someone this.
How far have we seriously come when the worst thing a coach can think of calling one of his players to denigrate him or make him feel small is a faggot?
And just in case you're wondering, this guy, as of this morning (April 3, 2013) still has his job.
The violence. The words. These are not actions and statements from someone who should be respected in any way. This guy is a coach!
Fire him. Today.
From the athletic director Tom Pernetti on suspending the coach: "This was not an easy decision for me to make but absolutely necessary to ensure what is best for our program."
Seriously? He saw the video in November! It seems he is now only taking action because of the video becoming public. By the way, thank you ESPN for showing the video. It was not an easy decision to suspend him?
I simply don't get it. Oh, I get the world of sports. I don't get that any university, school, program, etc would want anything to do with a man like Mike Rice.
Fire Mike Rice. Fire him today.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Friends? Re-evaluating relationships.
WARNING: After editing this and re-reading it several times, I have realized that this can feel like a pretty heavy post. After all, it's about relationships!
Mike and I were at church today and the sermon hit me really well, in a good way.
For a while I have been thinking about friendship, and what that means, as opposed to say, an acquaintance.
Back in January when I was laid off I got a nice dose of reality around who my true friends were. Not that true friends who didn't reach out to say they could help didn't exist. I know people are busy and a friend losing a job may not be a time when you want to reach out. The amazing thing, and something I will be forever grateful for, is that so many of my friends did reach out, did check in, did ask if they could help in any way.
All of the love and support I received simply blew me away.
And then there are those friends I am connected with on Facebook. Recently I have seen a couple of them at different events and they couldn't even swing by to say hi. Have you read those posts on Facebook or Twitter that talk about not investing in relationships that you put a lot into but the other person doesn't? I forget the exact saying, but do you get the idea.
That pegs me directly.
I do get that a friend on Facebook may or may not be an actual "friend". I am trying to go in that direction though, where all of my Facebook friends are actual friends.
Putting more into a relationship than the other person does gets old. I'm 47, have done that most of my life, and as healthy people say, "that doesn't serve me well anymore".
Where am I going with this? Friendship is a two way street. If both parties (and I include myself in this) don't want to give to the relationship, then perhaps the friendship is not that important to both people. Which is not a bad thing. If the relationship is important, well then maybe it's time to reach out for coffee, dinner, a hike.
I just realized that a friend of mine might be reading this and thinking that they need to reach out. Please don't, unless you were going to connect anyway. This is not about any one person, it's about me feeling like I give a lot to something/someone that isn't interested in giving back, or in giving at all.
My friends and family have been uber supportive these past few months. The reality is that true friends and good family always are supportive and loving. They may not call all the time and you may not see them often, but they are there. And when you need them the most, you know it.
There are some people in my life who are important to me who may not know it. I need to change that. There are others who for some reason or another are just not close anymore. That's cool, as long as I haven't done anything to hurt them or to piss them off.
Whew! What a post. Thank you so much for reading. Can you relate to any of this? I would LOVE your feedback, at least so that I know I'm not totally crazy!
Mike and I were at church today and the sermon hit me really well, in a good way.
For a while I have been thinking about friendship, and what that means, as opposed to say, an acquaintance.
Back in January when I was laid off I got a nice dose of reality around who my true friends were. Not that true friends who didn't reach out to say they could help didn't exist. I know people are busy and a friend losing a job may not be a time when you want to reach out. The amazing thing, and something I will be forever grateful for, is that so many of my friends did reach out, did check in, did ask if they could help in any way.
All of the love and support I received simply blew me away.
And then there are those friends I am connected with on Facebook. Recently I have seen a couple of them at different events and they couldn't even swing by to say hi. Have you read those posts on Facebook or Twitter that talk about not investing in relationships that you put a lot into but the other person doesn't? I forget the exact saying, but do you get the idea.
That pegs me directly.
I do get that a friend on Facebook may or may not be an actual "friend". I am trying to go in that direction though, where all of my Facebook friends are actual friends.
Putting more into a relationship than the other person does gets old. I'm 47, have done that most of my life, and as healthy people say, "that doesn't serve me well anymore".
Where am I going with this? Friendship is a two way street. If both parties (and I include myself in this) don't want to give to the relationship, then perhaps the friendship is not that important to both people. Which is not a bad thing. If the relationship is important, well then maybe it's time to reach out for coffee, dinner, a hike.
I just realized that a friend of mine might be reading this and thinking that they need to reach out. Please don't, unless you were going to connect anyway. This is not about any one person, it's about me feeling like I give a lot to something/someone that isn't interested in giving back, or in giving at all.
My friends and family have been uber supportive these past few months. The reality is that true friends and good family always are supportive and loving. They may not call all the time and you may not see them often, but they are there. And when you need them the most, you know it.
There are some people in my life who are important to me who may not know it. I need to change that. There are others who for some reason or another are just not close anymore. That's cool, as long as I haven't done anything to hurt them or to piss them off.
Whew! What a post. Thank you so much for reading. Can you relate to any of this? I would LOVE your feedback, at least so that I know I'm not totally crazy!
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