new raffle prize and raffle date

I have a new prize to add to the list-

Pamper Me Prize
A natural pedicure complete with vegan polish from Groom in Portland (groomportland.com)
Any salon service at Head Games Hair up to $85 value (headgameshair.com)

These two will be given as one prize. I have decided to extend the raffle sales until the Gentle Thanksgiving meetup on November 12 in order to allow more time to sell tickets for such great prizes, and also to give me an audience to announce the prizes! The money will still all go towards the marathon funds- I will be giving thanks that it is over! Go to meeup.com to register for the Maine Vegan Meetup Group and to rsvp for the event. (You will not have to be present to win, though we would love to see you).

Raffle Prizes as of 8/18

Here is a list of raffle prizes. I am grouping some things together as I see fit. Right now with all of the prizes, chances of winning are pretty good. Get your tickets today!

*Bard Coffee Gift Basket www.bardcoffee.com

*Whole Foods Prize gift basket and gift card wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/portland-me/

*Sweets and Prize- 13th Cookie Cookies and Merchandise 13thcookie.com and dessert of your choice from Modern Vegan modern-vegan.com/

*Merchandise Prize-wallet and book from Herbivore Clothing herbivoreclothing.com/
t shirt from Pangea's online vegan shop www.veganstore.com/
copy of book 'Lucky Pigs' by Susan Rooker www.ahavapress.com/

*Dinner and a Massage-$50 gift card to Green Elephant greenelephantmaine.com/ and a thai yoga massage by masseuse Laura Vecchio

*Go Shopping Prize- 5 20% off coupons for Rosemont market rosemontmarket.com/ and a gift certificate for Vegan Essentials online shop veganessentials.com/

*Eat in Portland- $40 gift card for Pepperclub/ Good Egg pepperclubrestaurant.com/
$25 gift card for Silly's www.sillys.com/
$25 gift card for Sebago Brewing sebagobrewing.com/

I expect a few more so I will update as we go. Let people know about it and contact me for tickets!

Books!

I am very excited to read two books I just picked up from the Portland Public Library.

'The fate of Nature: Rediscovering Our Ability to Rescue the Earth' by Charles Wohlforth
http://fateofnature.com/

'Demon Fish: Travels through the Hidden World of Sharks' by Juliet Eilperin
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/18/137256747/sympathy-for-the-demon-fish

new raffle goodies from two lovely ladies

I have new raffle prizes to announce from two lovely ladies that I know:

A Thai Yoga Massage by masseuse Laura Vecchio

Winner's choice of vegan dessert by Chris McClay of Modern Vegan. http://www.modern-vegan.com/


massage. dessert. lordy, I know some cool folks. BUY SOME RAFFLE TICKETS. To do so contact me at veghed77@yahoo.com.

Sweet Sixteen

I conquered 16 miles today after setting out to do 14. It felt pretty damn good to have the energy to go a couple of more once I hit my goal. I felt strong and am running long distances in about 9 minutes 30 seconds, just 30 seconds away from my 9 minute per mile goal. I am learning that the secret is about 100 calories every hour. It really cuts down on the bonking problem.

The unfortunate part of the day was having to work immediately after 16 miles. I felt very drowsy but made it through and celebrated when I got home by a long bath, a peak organic Pomegranate Wheat Ale and vegan nachos.

I am going to continue my celebration with one more peak and a vegan whoopie pie. Some may say all of this indulging is counter-productive but I say I should celebrate pushing my body farther than it has ever gone before. I just must not think that I still have 10.2 more to add to it October 2!

Thanks to my Bro

I just had to write a post about my sweet brother, Joe and his lovely gal, Sarah. While biking last night, they came across a starving kitty under the porch of an abandoned building. They put the cat in a room in the building, went back for the car, got the cat, fed it, and brought it to the animal shelter in town. They told me there is an unlocked enclosure outside where they left the cat. While there, they noticed another cat someone had dropped off in a cardboard box and made sure that animal had food as well. I checked out the place online and it looks top notch. Lucky kitty! I hope she is getting all of the care she needs.

http://centralaroostookhumanesociety.org/

And while on the subject of cats, Jonas loves it when I get new sneakers as much as I do!

Whale Poop and New Shoes

A friend at work taught me about something I never considered before: the benefits of Whale Poo!


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/101012101255.htm


Not only are they intelligent, beautiful and social beings, but their shit does the ocean good. Even more of a reason to save them.


On a different not, I just received new kicks a few days ago. I decided that it might be a good idea to break them in with my 12 mile run on Sunday. I suppose that wasn't the most intelligent of decisions because my hips hurt so bad through that night it was waking me up. (I really need to find a way to work massage into my budget). The good news is only one very small blister and a great purple pair of Asics Gel Nimbus. Thanks to my awesome mother for donating a pair of shoes to my cause. THANKS MOM!

The Beast that is my Belly

Damn, it is a good thing I like to run. I am sure there are people who hate to run that feel drawn toward the challenge of the marathon, but I cannot imagine the months of mental turmoil they must face. Running is my meditation and I still feel myself cursing the morning every once in a while and wish I could be having a 'normal' summer of boozing and lazing on days off. That said, I had a really great run today after taking two days off (actually following scheduled rest days on my training plan for once). I felt strong and ran fairly hard the entire 8.5 miles. I think I averaged about 8.6 minute miles when all was said and done. I am shooting to do the marathon in under 4 hours, which means sustaining 9 minute miles and pushing at the end.

I think my solution would be to drop five pounds by October 2, though I am finding it tough to find the balance between enough calories to sustain these crazy long runs and too many calories justified by these crazy long runs. I seem to be a bottomless pit on my rest days, and assume this may be because my body is healing itself. But I need to tame the beast that is my belly. I need to teach it who is in charge. I need to deny it vegan pizza. I have an especially unfortunate addiction to Whole Foods Sesame tofu- fried tofu pieces sauced up with this sweet and savory sesame magic. It is cheap, and in the place I spend 8 hours 5 times a week. Damn you, sesame tofu. Damn you all to hell.

Wish me luck on my belly battles!