My second half marathon

This past May I ran my second half marathon. As I did last year, I ran to fundraise for the organization I work for which serves youth experiencing homelessness.

For those new to this blog, I have not been running for long. I began last March (of 2013) when I decided to try the half marathon portion of a local race in Denver, The Colfax Marathon. For me it was all about fundraising, a way to support a cause I believe in so strongly (young people living on the streets).

This year my training was a little different. Winter seemed to go on and on here in Colorado, and although I am good running in cool temperatures I don't like running in freezing temperatures. So my training was affected, or some might say I chose to train less.

I finally got some good runs in, paid attention to some vegan athletes I follow through social media, and started to build my confidence for the upcoming half marathon.

Since last year when I began running, I sure have begun to enjoy it. At first it was a task, a tough one at that. Now I feel in my comfort zone when running, a chance to think or not think, to just be and breathe. It's a pretty good feeling. I also feel, no matter the distance of a run, that I am doing something good for myself, my physical being as well as my mental being.

May 18th came quickly this year and before I knew it I was at the starting line. A cool morning, and I was super excited. A co-worker of mine ran with me, and that made a huge difference.

The 13.1 mile route is rather flat. All the better for me. By the fourth mile I felt rather good. As I pass each mile I do a check of how I am feeling: breathing, good; feet, good; legs, good. Up until mile 9 or so. By then the sun was in full force, I had to go to the bathroom really bad, and I felt that my whole body was giving up.

At the mile 10 station there was no line at the port-a-potties so I could finally go. I covered myself with water and drank water and Gatorade. I felt refreshed. After a good start from that station I felt better, back to being energized and excited.

At mile 12 some Colorado firefighters from the annual calendar were in the middle of the street shirtless and giving hi-fives, that was nice!

After 2 hours and 41 minutes I crossed the finish line. My goal, a goal I had though of at the race last year, was 2:30. Yet I beat my 2:55 time from last year.

And I had a blast. Not just with the race itself but with everything I did before the race to train.

It is quite a shock to me that at 48 I love running.

If you are interested in running, a great website and a great support system I have found is here: VegRunChat . I've met many wonderful people here and gotten some great inspiration.

If you are interested in just getting more active, perhaps doing something other than running or in addition to running, No Meat Athlete is a great resource. Of course both of these sites honor my plant-based life, and if you are not veg or vegan I think you could still get a lot out of them.

Thanks for reading!

Looking at ourselves

This past week sure has been eye opening for me. To read more on that go back one post and read "no homo". Through that post and conversation and comments that were a result of that post, I have realized things that are hard for me to stomach.

Forgive me while I just share some random thoughts.

I have been part of the vegan community for along time. I know we have our faults. A community filled with so much passion and compassion in trying everyday to decrease animal suffering is also a community as diverse as any other. We all come from from different parts of the country (and world!) and we all have our life experiences outside of being vegan.

Also, we all have different reasons for becoming vegan and participate in different levels of activism.

This isn't only in the vegan/animal rights communities. I find it in local politics, the LGBTQ communities I am part of as well as the homeless activist community I am proud to be a part of.

Regardless of what community we are a part of and are passionate for, we are a representative of that community. Like it or not, our actions and our life steps have an affect on what others may think of our community.

For me as a vegan and animal rights activist, I am very aware that I represent the billions of animals that suffer for food, fashion and entertainment. I am asked about that all of the time. If I am acting like an ass, and folks know I am vegan, it doesn't look good for the voiceless animals whom I am trying to help.

Racism, heterosexism, sexism, homophobia, hate, etc. have no place in the vegan/animal rights communities.

The more I wrote about "no homo" the more I learned how many people use the comment. People in the vegan/animal rights communities. It was totally disheartening.

Many times in my life I have to look in the mirror and take a good look at who I am and what I am doing. My language, my behavior. How does someone feel about veganism after an encounter with me? Do my posts, tweets and comments reflect well for the voiceless?

I don't like when I hear homophobic comments at vegan events. I don't like realizing that there is acceptability by vegan athletes around the term "no homo".

So I speak out against it. I let folks know that what they are saying is offensive.

And then I go back to that mirror and take a good look at myself.

Thanks for reading and thanks for being a voice for the voiceless.

Going to the Olympics? Say you're gay!

The disgusting and disturbing stories continue to flow in from Russia. Gay and lesbian people are in a dangerous situation there, not only being targeted by violent thugs on the streets (many times wearing police uniforms) but also by politicians in the legislative system.

With the Olympics coming up next year in Sochi talk has turned to boycotting the Olympics. Sending a message to Mother Russia that your hate and violence towards gay people is unacceptable.

Unlike ours here in the US, but that's another blog post.

I'm sure there are many gay athletes who will travel to Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The International Olympic Committee is still trying to figure out how safe these athletes will be if they come out. Russian law is pretty clear that they, and anyone openly supporting them, could be arrested.

Yes, just for publicly saying you are gay or publicly supporting gay people.

My idea is this: Go to the Olympics, whether you are an athlete or a fan or a family member or you just like to watch winter sports. If you are an athlete, blow the Russians out of the water. If you are an athlete or any of the others I listed, say you're gay.

That's right, tell the Russians you're gay. Tell the folks at the airport, tell the hotel employees, tell the taxi driver, tell the restaurant folks, the bankers, the gift peddlers, the security people and any Russian you run into: I am gay.

Wear a t-shirt, paint your nails rainbow colors (Like a Swedish athlete did this past week), carry a little sign, make a huge sign for the whole world to see.

I realize that we gay people ask a lot of our straight allies and those who support equality. This would be a huge ask. HUGE. Imagine what it would look like to the Russian bigots and violent predators towards gay people if tens of thousands of people in Russia for the Olympics simply said they were gay! 

We have to speak out against this. Bigotry, hate speech and violence against gay people has to be met by those of us who support equality for all. We cannot let them have the only voice. Furthermore, I feel that I absolutely MUST take action to be a voice for the gay and lesbian people of Russia who live with the threat of violence or arrest every day, and yet still come out publicly and still show up for protests.

I am gay and I support my sisters and brothers in Russia.

Thank you for reading.

My training continues

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!

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!

"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 love Racquetball!

 Many years ago I used to play racquetball at the YMCA where I was a member back in Norfolk, VA. I loved the game. It was tough.

When I moved to Colorado 14 years ago I stopped playing. That was until a couple of months ago when a good friend of mine who also goes to my gym (the Wheat Ridge Rec Center) say yes to an invite to play. We have been playing every week since.

We typically can get three games in during our one hour court reserve time. This past Saturday he beat in me in all three games. The week before it was me beating him in all three games.

I love racquetball! It is a lot of fun and each time I place I feel like I get an intense workout. I can pretty much feel every part of my body because of all of the stretching I do during a game. I wouldn't say I'm a good player yet, but I sure do have a blast.

In other blog posts I have written about eating healthy, going to the gym and even about the time I tried a personal trainer. I as approach 47 years of age I am paying more and more attention to my health. Simply being vegan is not enough for me. The exercise part is crucial. That's where racquetball comes in.

Racquetball is part of my overall health plan, and it's a blast. At least for me. I wanted to share about my love for racquetball for two reasons:

I know many folks who try their best to eat well, as I do, and don't like to exercise. I wanted to offer a way to exercise that could be a lot of fun. And believe me, you will get your heart rate up!

The second reason is because (and remember that I am not a doctor or nutritionist or anything close to that) I think that eating well combined with exercising a few times of week is the best for me. I feel better not only physically but mentally. I have a great time with a good friend. And I am sure that it is good for my heart and other parts of my body.

Want to play with more than one person? No problem. You can play with two, three or four people!

So check it out! Not every gym has a racquetball court but it shouldn't be too time consuming to find one. Most gyms have a racquet and balls that you can borrow. Eye protection would be good too!

Let me know what you think if you try it!

Thanks for reading!