Pickle Dilled

Perfect socks found: the Asics Kayano Low Cut Foot-Specific socks. Tested on road and trail, short distance, long distance and ultra, dry and soaked, powdered and un-powdered, BodyGlided and un-BodyGlided feet. Ultra thin most everywhere, thicker in the places that keep them from sheering through on long runs and where a little extra padding helps, no blisters so far, zero heel slippage, and totally 100% cruelty free -- Asics is even certified free from sweatshop labor. And the added bonus of the socks making my feet look like bumble-bees. Brilliant.

Eating for Peace

In looking back through John Robbins' website for his brilliant article on the slave labor ubiquitous in the chocolate industry, I found a talk he had posted some time ago by the Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh on Mindful Consumption entitled "Eating for Peace". He is an eloquent speaker, and it is a beautiful talk, well worth reading.

It is easy, for many of us, to look upon our fellow beings with the level of compassion that says: you are worthy of life, and I will not eat you. It is also a relatively easy deduction that in this critical time of impendingly-irreversible climate change, making dietary choices that promote rather than prohibit the health of the environment is a pretty good idea. And to those for whom both of these concepts seem difficult or inconvenient, and to all of us, here is the point:
It is a moral outrage that ANYONE, ANYWHERE should have to suffer the pain and despair of malnutrition and death due to starvation when there is a simply ridiculous amount of food on this planet. Yes, there are political and social-instability factors that play into the distribution of global food resources -- but when the largest nations on Earth transform unthinkably vast amounts of inexpensive nutrition into comparatively little product that is not necessary for human health and out of reach financially to all but the top 5% of the world's population simply because of a preference for the taste of animal flesh, then something is terribly wrong. Isn't it?

Racing for Jenny

On July 5th, Jenny McCune, a friend of mine from Bozeman and someone very dear to me, sustained a serious spinal injury in a cycling accident during a training ride; she is currently paralyzed from the shoulders down, and is undergoing treatment at the Craig Hospital for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation and Research. Jenny is a very large part of why I am where I am today with athletics; she coached and cheered me through my very first competitive event when I was anything but fit, encouraged me through low times to take advantage of the power of the great outdoors and physical activity, hiked and biked with me at speeds I hope I never consider to be my "most difficult" again... and, most importantly, believed when I didn't that I had the inner strength and the courage to push my limits, find my mojo, and cross as many finish lines as I choose to cross -- in athletics as well as in life. And I am hardly the only one who has benefited from knowing this extraordinary soul; her fellow team-mates, other state and local athletes, women in the community whom she inspired to get out and get fit with Team Women in Sports, the Montana and Bay Area Buddhist communities, her family, and numerous other avenue-connections of friends and those grateful for her encouragement, example, enthusiasm, energy, or all of the above... and so, not surprisingly, a very large web of a community has exploded with love and support for Jenny who, in the midst of something so profound and difficult, is facing her condition head on and finding the blessings in the hand she has been dealt. In other words, she continues to teach me.

My travels to Bozeman were to have included plenty of visits with Jenny and her husband/my yoga teacher/also soul family Ed, and I was sure she'd be training with me for the triathlon and ultramarathon I have planned during my time there... but as this event itself shows, life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. Still, the races remain. And so does the fact that someone I love very much will now be working very hard for a long time to regain her ability to do the outdoor activities that she loves, that we used to do together, that I was unable to do when I was so sick this past year... that I am able to do now.

So I am honored, now, to be racing for Jenny -- the Treasure State Triathlon in Bozeman on the 19th and the 1st Annual Lubrecht 50k ultramarathon on the 26th of August. I have competed in many races before where the fees or donations have raised money for a disease or a cause or a patient -- it is such a great privilege to race towards the goal of helping a friend. The costs involved for Jenny and Ed are of course substantial, and I am hoping to help defray any fraction of that by asking for your sponsorship of me for these events, in whatever denomination you are willing and able to give. If you know what a powerful and healing force training and competition have been in my life, if you know and love Jenny and have not yet had the opportunity to give to the fund, or if you simply feel touched by her story, I ask you to please join me in honoring her with these two races as a celebration of all that she has done for me and others and all that she is only beginning to accomplish for herself.

Donations may be sent to:
the Jenny McCune Benefit Fund
First Security Bank
206 East Main Street
Bozeman, MT 59715

Donors: to be included in updates about the race outcomes and Jenny's progress, please post a comment or send me an email.