Missing Vacation and Friendly People

Here is a picture of Echo Lake in Presque Isle. I spent a good deal of time adventuring around Aroostook State Park and this was a picture taken from my favorite day of vacation. My mother and I rented 2 brand-new kayaks from the park and just spent the afternoon paddling around. It was a wonderful recovery week before crunch time.

I have decided to graduate from my beginner running plan to the intermediate because I feel the beginner isn't really challenging at this point.

Logged 70 minutes today with about 8 minutes of total uphill time. It ended up being about 7.8 miles when all was said and done. This puts me at 8.75 minute miles. My marathon goal is to keep it a bit below a 9 minute mile so I am at a good point with three months to go.

I had a great run tonight. Lots of smiles from passers by. The most wonderful moment of the run, though, was on East End beach trail when a girl- probably about 10 years old- slapped my a high five as I passed her. So cool. I wish Portland always had the energy it did tonight. As I sit here I can see the salt lining my arms. Time for a shower and some grub. I am thinking a quick fake mac and cheez with brocolli. Yum!

vacation

Well, I managed quite a successfully restful vacation. I say restful, but the entire week was pretty full of activity and sport. I managed not to run even once but hiked and kayaked and even golfed for the first time besides a driving range. It seems watching lots of golf on television teaches one a thing or two about the swing because I did alright considering it was my first time.

Kayaking may be my favorite activity besides running. There is nothing more relaxing than being out on a still lake, hearing and feeling the water rush around the sides of the boat, pulling the paddle smoothly across the top of the water, causing an interruption in the otherwise flawless reflection. There was a beaver dam...no a beaver mansion and a seeming mile of lilly pads. It is a restorative, therapeutic past time for me and I hope it is only the beginning of a life long hobby.

The hiking was gorgeous though buggy. I did try a wee bit of sprinting toward the summit which gave me a stronger understanding of how delightfully crazy mountain runners are. Damn, it burns. And now I am afraid I may be a couple of days away from a run yet. My foot was munched upon by some insect and is now swollen like a little ol' ladies. It is itchy and gross and hopefully not infected. Oh, Maine. Summer is so short and the black flies are so mean.

Forks over Knives

I just finished watching Forks Over Knives (forksoverknives.com), a documentary about the amazing medical benefits of a plant based diet. The movie was completely inspiring, even as someone who is already sold on the idea. The whole foods aspect of a healthy diet is so, so important and one that I tend to sometimes neglect because, when busy, vegan processed 'junk' food sure comes in handy. But as a vegan and, dare I say, athlete- I should always be making time to fuel my body the correct way. Half-assed nutrition is not for marathoners! Besides, I suppose you could say bananas are pretty convenient. Oh yeah, and nuts. Perhaps apples. Even those tiny little carrots that come all washed in a bag. So, yeah, handy might be an excuse for eating stuff that feels good.

I can't even begin to discuss all of the poignant things I learned in this film. The most striking statistics are the ones that claim we could feed all of the starving people in the world with the grain that we feed cows to fatten them up for burgers. Seriously, people- we could solve world hunger. Not to even mention heal our bodies and the environment. And why don't we? Because we like our burgers and food and politics are so wrapped up together that it is a problem even my cashew puree 'mac and cheez' can't even sort it out.

I enjoyed seeing the athletes in the film and wish that there had been more footage to support the fact that people can be strong on plants. Mac Danzig and Rip Esselstyn are amazing and proof that vegans can be very manly indeed. The wimpy vegan should really be a stereotype of the past.

I hope that running this marathon will show people how damn healthy a plant- based diet is. In order to be the best advocate for that, I pledge to eat as healthy as possible so people can see how I thrive. I hope I can make 26.2 miles look easy...and sexy:)

northward

As I prepare a trip to visit my mother in Aroostook county, I am gearing up for a 'recovery' week filled with outdoor adventure. I will run only as I feel like it- no schedules or times. But I will be hiking and kayaking in one of the most beautiful, untouched places in Maine.

I have been thinking a lot about how the city dweller lifestyle has taken some of the nature-lover and adventurer out of me lately and I am really hoping that this trip will revive that. I have always wished to be someone who spends time outside doing things a bit more daring than my comfort level. Truth is, I am in better shape then ever so now is the time. I believe I am going to check out the Maine Rock Gym when I return. I also want to take advantage of the kayaking trips right here in Portland. It looks very affordable to be a kayaker without having your own kayak! Lastly, I am considering starting a trail-running club with co-workers at Whole Foods. Trail running is much safer and more fun in numbers.

I feel like I really need to embrace my current physical fitness and become one of the outdoor-types that I admire so deeply. I think it is crucial that we stay connected to this big wide world- to this endangered environment. It is necessary to be reminded why it is so important to fight to save it!

Putting the Fun Back In

If you are a technical runner focused on splits, PRs, track work and such, this is probably going to make you cringe: I have decided to switch to a marathon training plan that measures runs by time not distance. My previous plan is proving to be a lot of time spent mapping routes or doing routes like back cove with mile markers. It seems to be taking the fun out of running for me. With this change, I can put on my shoes and hit the road and all I need to do is set my watch. As far as hills go, I will still do some repeats but I run really hilly runs anyway. I will do some speed work as well but that is about as technical asI am going to get. I have always found running to be meditative and I really don't want to lose that aspect of it, marathon or not. Following a training plan that is too technical makes it seem more like work. I think that supplementing the training with Insanity workouts is really helping.

Today will be a 40 minute run, Insanity max cardio conditioning and cardio abs.

bad air

So I went out for my hour run this morning, feeling strong and well fueled from the previous day. Alas, the entire run was a struggle. I felt heavy. I couldn't get my lungs to fall into rhythm with my feet. Yuck overall. I chalked it up to allergies and humidity. Later, I find out I could blame it on poor air quality- that there was even a warning to limit time outside. It really did feel like I was breathing in some sort of sludge. One of my toughest runs in a while.

Overall, the training is going well. I decided upon a 'beginners' marathon training plan and am supplementing it with Insanity workouts (a dvd set of high intensity circuit training). I have two more weeks of the 90 day workout series and will then begin P90X. The high intensity cardio training seems to really be helping with my lactic acid threshold, as well as allowing me to sprint a bit harder. I am enjoying the challenge, and the beginner plan is going to free up a wee bit more time for fundraising.

In the next couple of weeks, I will really be concentrating on nutrition- making sure I am getting the right amount of carbs to keep my fueled. If anyone knows of any good resources, let me know.

Early to bed tonight. I feel like my body needs a long slumber.

Bluefin Tuna Depletion worries

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43194638/ns/us_news-environment/t/bluefin-tuna-escapes-endangered-species-list/

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/05/sea-shepherd-to-defend-bluefin-tuna-in-libyan-waters.php

As I embark on this journey, I feel such anxiety and worry about the state of our oceans. It seems as though people have simply blocked things out of their mind.

Take, for instance, the state of bluefin tuna. Between the insatiable American appetite for sushi and the BP oil spill, their numbers are in serious decline worldwide. They did not make it onto the endangered species list, a move that would have protected them in US waters. Many people would say that tuna are good eatin' so, why not? I would say, why wipe out a species when we have more food options than anywhere else in the world? People seem oblivious to the chain reaction that is caused when we wipe out an entire fish population in the ocean.

I have posted a link to two articles. One about the US depletion and one about the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society who are heading to Libyia to try to stop illegal tuna fishing in a war-torn land. Please read them and consider changing your fish choices. Maybe even consider veganism, for a couple of days a week or a lifetime.

Who is to blame for the surge in sushi popularity anyway? I can think of 7 sushi places I could walk to right now! I blame 'Sex in the City'. Did those ladies eat sushi because it seems like the whole world wanted to follow what they did for a few years? I urge you to go out next time you get sushi- order an avo-cuke roll and an Inari maki (sweet tofu pocket stuffed with rice). Yum yum. Seriously. (And I recommend Fuji in Portland because it is great fun to watch the sushi guys behind the bar check out ladies and snicker to each other in Japanese).

Portland's Vegan Eateries

I sent out an email to a large portion (okay maybe all) of my email contact list which included a lot of contacts from a vegetarian food festival I previously helped with. The email was a plea for help of any kind- money, food, services, parties...pretty much anything to help with my marathon fundraising and/ or training.

I am currently in awe of how cool our local restaurants are. Green Elephant wrote back within a couple of days to let me know there was a gift card waiting for me at the restaurant and I opened my snail-mail box today to find a gift card from Silly's! I am so very impressed and touched by what I have already received. I live in the right town to do this, I think. Now I just have to decide how to best use my cards....stay tuned!

My URL

I received my donation page url today. Check it out. It is beautiful. My goal is $2000. I have some real work ahead of me but saving the oceans and the creatures of the oceans is something that I will find energy to try to do. I am perhaps more excited about this than I have been about just about anything.

www.seashepherd.org/marathon-bell