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Back from my hiatus/ very special announcement

It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve blogged consistently, and that’s because work is bat shite crazy right now (excuse my language). I’ve run the Eastern States 20 Miler and the Fool’s Dual Half Marathon & 5k and celebrated my birthday since then.

Lots has been going on, but I also have a very exciting announcement to share – tomorrow is my first day starting as a track coach at my school! If you haven’t been following my blog for long, I don’t like to reveal exactly where I work for confidentiality’s sake – but, my school serves students ages 3-22 with blindness, low vision, deafblindness, and hearing impairment. Many of our students use wheelchairs, some have little or no vision, and others have significant restrictions in their mobility. All of our students, regardless of their challenges, are encouraged to participate in track if they are medically cleared by their doctor. That being said, I CANNOT wait to start coaching – I’m so excited to be able to see my students in another setting and to share my love of running with them. I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say once I get started with it, but tomorrow is the first day and I’m crazy nervous/excited. Wish me luck!

And now, because I’m too lazy to write about all that’s happened in the past couple of weeks and I’d rather go eat some more mac & cheese, here is a photo dump from my phone:

before Eastern States

new wave rider 16′s – I’m now hoarding running shoes in addition to compression socks

Derek got me running shorts for my birthday! I only have one pair of wicking shorts so this was especially nice of him.

Derek sent me flowers at work for my birthday! Total surprise! Hiding the bear from Chuie.

everyone out for my birthday!

cheesing in between dance moves. I LOVED my dress – From asos.com

La Mer watch I bought myself for my birthday. So cute & from Target!!! Can’t wait to wear it to work.

we found a castle in Gloucester?? after the Fool’s Dual

definitely wished I had gotten an invite to this party

latte from the Lone Gull in Gloucester – love me some post-race coffee

vegan mac & cheese made with Daiya also known as the crack cocaine of vegan cooking

Are you a track coach? Ever coached any other sport? Any tips for me?

What do you like to do to celebrate your birthday?

What have you been doing the past 3 weeks?

Tags: blind running, coaching, deafness, gear, gifts, Half marathon, hearing impairment, low vision, marathon training, running, track, Training

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Categories Adventures, deafblindness, deafness, gear, gluten-free, marathons, running, speech pathology, training, Uncategorized, vegan

Eastern States 20 Miler recap/ vegan farmer’s market finds

1 Apr

** This post was started last week, then put off until now**

Hello from my couch!

I’m watching The Voice, my most favoritest show on TV, and multitasking on my phone, which drives Derek nut butters.

happy before starting the Eastern States 20 Miler

So last week we ran the Eastern States 20 Miler in Portsmouth, NH. It was pretty merptastic. The weather was great – sunny and 50 degrees – and the course was gorgeous going along the coast of NH down to Salisbury, MA.

BUT, there weren’t any mile markers or time clocks, and this sharp little tack forgot to wear her watch. So, I had no idea how far I had gone when I started to get tired and discouraged. My right calf also started cramping about an hour before we finished, and I had to keep stopping and stretching it.

I was really disappointed with my performance during this race because I basically gave up towards the end. I think my time was either 3:00 or 3:01, but I’m really not sure because we didn’t have time chips. But I got a sweet sunburn! And it was nice to get another 20 mile run under my belt before Pittsburgh.

this is what not seeing the light of day all winter and then spending 3 hours in the sun will get you

Would I run Eastern States again? Maybe, if I remember to bring a watch – but let’s be honest, I’d rather eat the jelly and soup that I bought at the Saco River Farmer’s Market the day before.

vegan finds for the win

Pure maple syrup, 3 kinds of vegan/gluten free soups & gluten free/vegan jalipeno cornbread from The Soup Guy, blueberry & strawberry cinnamon jams from Above the Dam Jam, and a blueberry Sea Crunch bar. I love farmer’s markets mostly because I like talking to all of the vendors about their products and how they got started. The guy at Above the Dam Jam, for example, explained to me that he and his wife started their jam-making business after his wife decided to stay home with their 3 kids. He was so stinking nice and the jam is friggin amazing.

What do you buy at farmer’s markets?

Have you ever run a race without time clocks or mile markers? Did it drive you cuckoo banana crackers?

Tags: Eastern States 20 Miler, farmer's markets, Food, gluten free, Marathons, races, running, running injuries, Special Diets, Training, vegan

Comments 1 Comment
Categories Adventures, gluten-free, injuries, marathons, running, training, traveling, vegan

New Bedford Half Marathon 2013 recap

19 Mar

I woke up this morning to about 4 inches of snow on the ground and was SO SO SO SO pleased to get a call from the boss man that we didn’t have to come ry into school today. Chuie is clearly also very pleased that I have snow day today, too.

With the weather like this, it’s hard to believe that tomorrow is the first day of spring…guess this Boston winter had to go out with a bang…

…That’s how I feel about that.

Fortunately, the weather was a lot nicer during my race on Sunday. Mary and I ran the 36th annual New Bedford Half Marathon in New Bedford, MA, which is about an hour or so south of Boston.

I was super pumped to run a half since I usually run full marathons, and let’s be honest - a half marathon is wayyyyyyy more fun. I went into the race with the hope that I could beat my time from the last half I ran in September, which was 1:53:32. I’ve been incorporating some speed work into my training for Pittsburgh, and I was pretty sure that I could run a fast race if I put my mind to it.

Before the race, Mary and I took some pics and tried to warm ourselves up. It was sunny but FREEZING and really, really windy. Do you see what’s going on in the background of this picture? Yep, that little tent almost took out someone’s car. I didn’t realize what a good action shot this was until like a minute ago.

I don’t have any pictures of the race itself because I was seriously pushing it the entire time. I didn’t wear a watch or anything, but there were time clocks at each mile so I had a good sense of my pace. The wind was really pushing into us hard for most of the race, making it that much harder to maintain the 8:45ish miles I was going for. It actually got to the point where I thought I might throw up because I was giving it all I had. The last couple of miles had a few gnarly hills thrown in, and I figured my time was really going down the drain at that point, but somehow I finished in 1:48:04 with an average of 8:30/mile. I seriously couldn’t believe it – I beat my last PR by a solid 5 minutes!! Mary PRed too, so it was a pretty awesome day for us.

It did get me thinking, though, – how do all of you Boston Qualifiers do it?!?!?! There is no way in hell I could have kept an 8:30 pace for another 13 miles. Bravo to you, seriouslawwww.

And let’s not forget it was St. Patty’s Day! After getting home, showering, and tending to Bobby, Derek and I went over to our friends’ house and played Cards Against Humanity, ate a buttload of vegan mac & cheese (recipe to follow), and drank some Magner’s Irish Cider.

Have you ever pushed it so hard in a race you thought you might puke?

BQs – how long did it take you to qualify?

Have you ever played Cards Against Humanity?

What do you do on a snow day?

Tags: Boston, Half marathon, Marathon, New Bedford Half Marathon, New Bedford Massachusetts, Saint Patrick's Day

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Categories gluten-free, injuries, marathons, running, training, Uncategorized, vegan

So I’ve been conferencing & hoarding compression socks

1 Mar

I am sooooo happy it’s Friday. This week went by quickly but I just cannot wait to sleep in tomorrow morning!

I’ve been at a conference the past two days and it’s been a nice break from the regular work week. The conference was held by professionals from Pasadena Child Development Associates, a group of therapists and professionals who specialize in assessing and treating pediatric feeding disorders. I got some cool ideas and I’ll share more about it tomorrow.

The conference was held downtown near Copley Square – I haven’t been downtown in so long I felt like a tourist! Today on our lunch break I discovered this awesome juice bar at the Back Bay T stop:

I got a juice with celery, ginger, apple, kale, and spinach. It was good but had this zing to it that I could almost feel in my nose with each sip.

I also got some Go Raw cookies with my juice. I friggin LOVE these…they’re vegan, raw, and gluten free and super duper delicious. I’m thinking about bringing them in a baggy as fuel during long runs. Maybe I’ll try them out on Sunday….

And speaking of running, I kinda sorta made an impulse purchase during my mid morning break at the conference today:

I now have 5 pairs of Pro Compression socks and still haven’t even tried them during a long run yet. They’re just so cute and they’ve been having major sales lately…I couldn’t say no! You can get these shamrock socks 40% off with free shipping right now with the code SMO3. Do it!

I am going to sleep HARD tonight. Fingers crossed that Chuie won’t stand on my face at 6:30 tomorrow morning….

Do you obsess over any workout gear? Have a bunch of colors of one particular shirt?

Been to any good conferences recently?

Do you juice? What do you put in your recipes?

Tags: feeding disorders, feeding therapy, Marathons, Pasadena child development center, running, swallowing disorders, Training

Comments 2 Comments
Categories deafblindness, gluten-free, marathons, running, speech pathology, training, vegan

Vegan cooking; I have a new crush

5 Feb

Today’s workout:

7 mile run before sunrise

cold, dark, sleepy

I never thought I could do it, but I actually got up at 5:30 this morning, got dressed, and went outside into the sub-20 degree weather to run. I’ve never run more than 6 miles before work for fear that I wouldn’t get finished in time or I’d be too tired for the day. I was really shocked when I got back home in less than an hour – I think it was because I was rockin out to some new tunes:

Have you heard his album yet? It’s really good!! He’s got a really positive outlook and his lyrics are actually meaningful – a pretty stark contrast to popular hip hop which is basically just garbage with a good beat. I’m into it. And I’m not gonna lie, he’s pretty sexy

Ever since I’ve been back from FL, I’ve been eating a primarily vegan diet. Over the holiday break, I had way too much time on my hands and watched a few too many documentaries on Netflix. One of which, was Vegucated - this is a documentary about 3 New Yorkers who voluntarily go vegan for 6 weeks and document their journey of learning to cook vegan foods, finding out where the meat & dairy they usually eat comes from, and experiencing the benefits of a plant-based diet. There are some really shocking visuals of what happens at slaughter houses, dairy farms, and so-called “cage free” and “free range” facilities. I was so horrified by all of the images that I started sobbing on the couch next to Derek and vowed I would never eat another animal product again. The movie isn’t all scare tactics, though, and I recommend it to anyone who is curious about veganism or healthy eating. Just fast forward through the animal cruelty parts – you’ll get a warning beforehand.

Eating vegan for me has actually been really easy, which is surprising because I also have gluten sensitivity and strive to eat a gluten-free diet. I think a lot of people hear vegan + gluten free and think it’s impossible, but it’s not! I bought myself a couple of good cookbooks and have been making almost all of my meals at home. My favorite cookbook right now is Chloe’s Kitchen.

Chloe is a vegan chef who made a name for herself by winning Cupcake Wars and all of her recipes are DELICIOUS. I also really appreciate that her recipes don’t have an excessively long ingredient list and aren’t difficult to make. Derek has loved all of them and hasn’t complained once about anything I’ve made being vegan.

Tonight I made her yoga cookies, which are made out of gluten-free oats, gluten-free all purpose flour, chocolate chips, walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, shredded coconut, agave, and canola oil. They’re sooooo good nom nom nom nom nom nom.

How adorable is she?! I can’t tell if I have more of a crush on her or Macklemore.

One thing I’ve noticed since I’ve been eating exclusively vegan is a significant change in my energy level. I used to feel an afternoon slump and barely be able to open my eyes in the morning. Not anymore, though – I am literally wide awake ALL THE TIME. It’s actually becoming kind of a problem because I’m having kind of a hard time falling asleep at night. It’s an OK sacrifice, though, because I’ve been feeling really alert at work. I also feel like I’m losing a little bit of weight, but I haven’t stepped on the scale in a couple of weeks so it’s hard to really know for sure.

Off to bed (or at least try) now – It’s snowing again here in Boston…shocker…

Have you ever considered a vegan diet?

Do you workout in the morning, afternoon, or night?

Do you think Macklemore is attractive or am I cray cray?

Tags: gluten free diet, macklemore, marathon training, running, veganism

Comments 4 Comments
Categories gluten-free, marathons, running, training, vegan

Foodie Friday: Bob’s Clam Hut

22 Dec

Another reason to love Maine: gluten-free beach food!!!

Derek and I are visiting his parents in Maine for Christmas, so yesterday we decided to go on a little adventure to Kittery. The weather was really poopy, so we picked Kittery because it has a bunch of outlets and stores – good indoor activities.

Before we left I checked the Gluten Free Registry to see if there were any good places in Kittery, and low and behold I found ‘Bob’s Clam Hut’ on Route 1.

This place was fabulous – the lady at the counter was super friendly, the atmosphere was very casual, and the prices were reasonable. Their gluten free menu was awesome – any fried seafood could be made with corn flour, they had gluten free lobster stew, and gluten free rolls for any sandwich.

I got a crab roll sandwich on a gluten free roll with French fries. Delicious!!!

I was SO happy!!! It had been a long time since I’d had some good comfort food, especially at a restaurant. Way to go Maine! Just another reason for me to be obsessed with this state.

Did you eat anything awesome today?!

Tags: gluten free, Maine, travel

Comments 1 Comment
Categories gluten-free, traveling

Va Va Voom

24 Nov

Today was Chuie’s first trip to the beach – and also his first time off leash…look at how well he did!

I’m such a proud mama

We took Chu to Biddeford Pool for a quick walk/jog before heading to Portland again.

When we got to Portland, we immediately went to Bam Bam Bakery as planned. Let me just tell you, this place is a gluten-free goldmine.

I couldn’t believe how much variety there was here – every pastry you could imagine, muffins, granola, bread, pizza slices- and all of it gluten-free. I honestly could have spent an hour staring at everything but I made an impulsive decision to get the spinach quiche with chicken chili soup, and a lemon square for dessert.

The soup came with what was by far the most delicious gluten-free roll I have ever eaten. It tasted like real, glutinous bread!!!

The quiche was warm and buttery, like real pie crust. And the lemon square – Lawd have mercy! Derek and I split everything and he thought it was all to die for. Two thumbs up!!! If you’re in Portland and gluten-free, you MUST make your way here!!!

To walk off our carb coma, we headed trough the Old Port with Chuie and looked around. We randomly found this little train and I jokingly said ‘is that the Polar Express?!’ – well it actually was!

How stinkin’ cute is this?!? Apparently the train rides around part of Portland and on board you get hot chocolate, cookies, and a surprise from Santa. There were little kiddos getting on the train wearing their pajamas! I nearly died from the darlingness. Inspiration for a new speech therapy activity maybe?

We were getting pretty cold from walking so we picked Chuie up and carried him in to a few stores to warm up. Nobody seemed to care that we brought him in, in fact everyone was daunting over him as usual. It must be nice to have perfect strangers coming up and telling you what an angel you are or how adorable you look all the time.

Although, do you really blame anybody for that? Holy poo this dog is cute.

After some browsing and a little spending of that money burning a hole in my pocket, we decided to get some warm beverages to totally get into that ‘relaxing Saturday stroll’ kind of mood. We walked over to Mornings in Paris because why on earth would you go to Starbucks when there are coffee shop gems like this:

This place was awesome. The lady at the counter was actually French! I have no idea what she said to me, but it sounded really pretty and I think ‘va va Voom’ was in there somewhere. I ordered a hawt chawclate for Derek and a red velvet latte for me.

The inside of the place was decorated in vintagey travel ads and shabby chic trinkets. It was so warm and cozy, and it really felt like I had momentarily stepped into what I imagine Paris looks like. Loved it!

Here’s Derek sporting a pirate eye while sipping his cocoa:

We walked around a bit more but it was starting to get dark and really cold. Oh, another highlight of the day was seeing these horse drawn carriages around town:

Chuie really didn’t understand these creatures at all. Every time we saw them, he barked and made the weirdest noises I’ve ever heard him make. It started to get really funny because these dang horses seemed to always be right around the corner waiting for him!

Thank you, Portland, for another great day! Although hopefully next time I can think of more adjectives besides ‘cute’ when describing things all day. I felt like i was channeling my inner Kourtney Kardashian and it was slightly scary.

What do you like to do when you visit a new place? Try a new cafe? Buy a souvenir? Chat with a bum?

Tags: Biddeford, gluten free, Maine, Portland, traveling

Comments 1 Comment
Categories Adventures, gluten-free, traveling

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therunningspeechie

Back from my hiatus/ very special announcement

Eastern States 20 Miler recap/ vegan farmer’s market finds

New Bedford Half Marathon 2013 recap

So I’ve been conferencing & hoarding compression socks

Vegan cooking; I have a new crush

Foodie Friday: Bob’s Clam Hut

Va Va Voom

Upcoming Races

Donate to Free Wheelchair Mission

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