Yum & Yuk

Interesting post about thinking beyond "smart growth." Smart growth is a start. But it's not enough. "I’ve now come to the conclusion that smart growth is critical to a sustainable future, but it can only get us part way there. The truth is that much of what can make people habitat great cannot be quantified or put into identifiable categories. The process of creating a better, more sustainable world – anchored by better, more sustainable places - is as much art as science.Our communities of the future must not only reduce carbon emissions, save land, and encourage use of transit, walking and bicycling. They must also contain beauty, warmth, places of solitude and reflection. They must be significantly more dense than sprawl, but also sometimes forego additional increments of density in order to maintain light, limit noise, provide privacy, and respect a human scale. They must be conducive to engaging the intellect and the spirit."

Image: source.

Another new addition to the podcast line up (I need a lot now that I'm back to bike commuting and centuries - it's possibly the best part of riding. The only issue is having the self restraint to save up some good 'casts for the long rides....): Opinonated: The Feminist You Were Warned About.

So, I've been of two minds for a while about whether or not I wanted to train for another marathon (I did my first, and only, on May 1, 2011). I loved the experience of becoming a distance runner, and race day was one of the best days of my life. But it was a huge time commitment and definitely hard on my body. Anyways, when I saw that there was a Nike Women's Marathon in SF in October, I decided to enter the drawing and let fate decide. Well, apparently fate thinks I have another marathon in me! I found out today that I got in. I have lots to say about how I'll train differently this time around, my fears and hopes, etc so...stay tuned!