Happy Monday

Boy - I've got a list !
1 - went for a run around the lake on saturday morning. My usual manatee pace, but everything felt great.. including the new Mizunos ! wahoo ! Although, I need some good new running socks... I'll be researching that

2 - summer cold = ew. Sunday, it decided to get the best of me. So I'm hangin' low until I can breathe again !

3 - Napa 2 Sonoma Half Marathon was yesterday. I'm diligently watching their website to see when registration opens up for 2011. I'll keep you posted. Also, if you check out their website, there's a coupla pictures from the race. B E A U T I F U L :) Rob asked me the other day why I wanted to try / attempt yet another half marathon. My answer, I want to complete one not injured ! I did everything right for the first one, had a shin splint. 2nd one I was complacent. Totally didn't train and figured I wouldn't have a problem. My own fault. 3rd one.... trained perfectly. Followed dr's orders, got up to 12 miles without any problems and then a stress fracture, from nothing i did wrong. So I just want to be able to finish one not injured. End of story.

3 - while digging thru the Napa 2 Sonoma web page, I found a blog called... danerunsalot. It's this amazing guy (or crazy... your decision) who, in 2006, decided to do a marathon every week ... 52 marathons in one year. He did it ! He's blog is pretty snazzy. And he has a shirt that I love - "This isn't sweat, it's liquid awesome.

4 - YUM - I love Bethenny :
Tuna Burger:
4 pounds sushi-grade ahi tuna
5 basil leaves, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
2 heaping tablespoons black sesame seeds
4 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
4 tablespoons honey

Wasabi Mayonnaise:
2 tablespoons wasabi paste
3 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise (such as safflower)
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lime

Tuna Burger:
Combine all ingredients and form into 12 patties.
Grill, turning once, until medium-rare.
Top with wasabi mayonnaise.

Wasabi Mayonnaise:
Combine all ingredients. (If you are pressed for time, wasabi mayonnaise can by found in most upscale supermarkets and health food stores.)

And last, are you a runner or a jogger ? This is from Dane's blog and I was impressed. So read away :)

Difference Between a Runner and a Jogger
By Dane Rauschenberg • July 19, 2010

As the total number of marathon finishers increases, and the average marathon finishing times get slower and slower, the debate about how slower marathoners are ruining what it means to be a “marathoner” has raged on. To some extent, I understand the viewpoint of those who state that those in the five-hour range or slower are “dirtying” what it means to be a true marathoner. For example, if you say you play baseball and are a baseball player, the understanding is usually that you play in the big leagues and are, at the very least, one of a select few hundreds of people in America that are good enough to play that position. If not, and you just play beer league softball, well, then someone can easily categorize you as such.

However, if one were to scoff at the five-hour marathon finisher the same way we would the guy with the gut and 40 ounce aluminum bat swinging for the fences, they would risk being ostracized for their unenlightened opinions about what it takes to be a true marathoner. I mean, I truly do get it. For people who define themselves by speed, not necessarily everyone should be allowed to call themselves a marathoner. But then we get to the obvious question: where is the line we draw? 4 hours? 3:30? Maybe sub-3? Heck, soon we may have a world record under two hours. Can people only 2:30 and under be real marathoners? They would still be over a minute per mile off the world record. Isn’t that slow and therefore demeaning what the other real marathoners are doing? Obviously, there is not a time goal that fits all criteria for this line of thinking. As such, there has to be a better way to decide what makes a real marathoner, or real runners.

Recently, I was at the Boilermaker 15k in Utica NY. I had the chance to partake in a great conversation with Kevin Hanson of the Hansons-Brooks Distance project. This creation of Kevin and his brother Keith is an Olympic development squad that most recently put Brian Sell into the Olympics as a qualifier in the marathon. Obviously Kevin, who surrounds himself with only the speediest of the speedy, must be disgusted by the plodders out there sullying this wonderful sport, right? Not even close.

Kevin and I came upon just about the same conclusion and feel that we were able to easily define what the difference is between a runner and a jogger. In our opinion, this difference is having a goal. Not obtaining a goal, not having a fast goal, but plain and simply having a goal. If you are going out to run for a reason and a purpose, with a goal in mind (whether it be to get fit, to get faster, to improve your mental health, etc.) you are, without a doubt, a runner. Sure, hopefully it is a realistic goal or one that is not somewhere on along the lines of “I want to decrease my marathon time by one second” but a goal nonetheless.

Everything else falls into too much of a gray category. What is fast? What is slow? In the end it matters not. It only truly makes a difference if there is reason why you are putting on your shoes. Then, regardless of your time, you have just as much in common with the elites as anyone else.