Yeah for Sunday

I started off the day with some serious fuel from the one and only Silly's. It was my first Silly's brunch experience and came complete with complimentary donut holes that they made vegan for me! During the late morning hour, I had a bird's-eye view of the Patriots Day race here in Portland. The winner seemed to be five minutes ahead of the next contender. His stride looked effortless and he gave friendly waves to the crowd as he crossed the finish, as if he was out for a leisurely neighborhood jog. Very very impressive. Mid-day consisted of intervals of napping and reading the NYTimes. The NYTimes magazine had a great article on whether or not sugar is poison. I have already eliminated high fructose corn syrup and have been toying with the idea of as little refined sugar as possible without going crazy. The article argued well enough that I may just religiously avoid the stuff, though I have always been a bit of an enemy of the sugar-haters. Science is science, I suppose. I am trying to squeeze in some longer runs now. I did 50 minutes today and felt great at the end. I think I may try for a bit over an hour next week. Portland is so damn beautiful when it isn't snowing or raining! Showered and in jammies already, I am going to finish the day off by catching up on some more reading, hanging out with Jonas the furball flat-faced kitty, and ....well...I just may have brought home some Silly's vegan cake today that may have to get in my belly!

brunch

Windy run today. This cold has got to end sometime soon! Just had brunch at Local Sprouts Cafe- a vegan BLT on delicious gigantic homemade bread slices, good coffee, and a Bomb Diggity vegan whoopie pie for later. Should have done my long run today perhaps! I am trying to maintain my base and really clean up my diet in the next couple of months before I begin my actual marathon training program. Ummm...after today that is. It is tough to feel motivated with this cold spring weather. Please sun, come soon.

green elephant

Just filled up all of those calories I burned today at one of my favorite places to do so: The Green Elephant. It has become such a mecca for us vegans and I am so happy to see that they are busy everytime I go. Chinese brocolli with crispy so fillet, extra spicy. There is absolutely nothing as fabulous as the meal after a long run. And of course I had to come home and bake some vegan cookies and my place smells so wonderfully of gingersnaps. Life is quite good at the moment.

monday run

Almost 60 degrees today! Just finished a long prom-to-prom run and should have worn a t-shirt. This city is so beautiful right now. The kids are in the park, the dogs have their heads out the car window, people are busy getting their boats ready down on the wharf. I feel fortunate to live in a place where natural beauty is still appreciated and conserved. Portland is lucky to have Portland Trails. I am sure I will run them all at some point through the summer. Show Portland Trails some support this Thursday at Portland Pie Company locations. Shipyard is donating money to Portland Trails for every pint sold and you can register early for the Portland Trails to Ale race. I will be doing that one. Running+beer+beautiful scenery+summer=perfection! Happy spring everyone!

I'm Back

I decided to get this blog up and running again as I prepare for the Maine Marathon, which I will be running for a charity that I am very passionate about. I hope that you will keep up with me on my journey. I will be posting some vegan info and probably too many of my meal descriptions, some training information as I begin my training, and some random stuff I want to share about my advocacy for the animals and the oceans as well as some great resources I find along the way. For those of you who are following because you know and love me, thanks for all of your support. For new friends, thanks for checking it out. It is going to be a fun summer!

It is official!

The results are in. I accomplished a personal best on an 80 degree day along the beautiful coast of Maine! I finished at 54:50 and for not being a 'real' runner, I feel pretty good about an 8.79 mile. It was even a bit faster than I thought. I came in 2,390 out of 5,613. It felt really really good to pass people and not so bad as usual being passed. I had fun hanging out with co-workers who I had never really spoken to and who were extremely supportive and enthusiastic. I finally feel like an 'insider' when it comes to running! The only problem is that I couldn't sleep last night so I am beat. So, it is a glass of celebration wine then off to bed. Congrats goes out to all 5,613 strong people of the Beach to Beacon!

Beach to Beacon complete!

Well, I survived the Beach to Beacon. At this point in my training it didn't feel long- but it sure felt hot, and crowded and fast!

It was really well put-together and had a great feel. I tried to shrug off my competitive tendencies and focus on my own time...easier said than done. The official results are not yet in but I think I came in at around 55 minutes (what I was shooting for) but I was certainly giving it all that I had at the end.

So, I would like to shave off a minute or two for the Trails to Ale. That is the next goal. And mentally I need to work on the fact that my marathon will be more that 4 times what I just did! I still have two whole months to make it happen!