I began running in 1998. I've been running competitively ever since! I've had to take time off for injuries and childbirth, after years of searching and misdiagnoses, I'm finally SURE I have Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome and Fuctional Popliteal Artery Entrapment. My legs always bothered me, but I normalized it for a very long time and just thought it was a combination of training fatigue, being injury prone, and being a wuss. I've probably had it for a while and just managed it with low mileage, frequent breaks, and lots and lots of warm baths and foam rolling. I'm trying not to look to far into the future, but even as a 36 year old mom of two, I can't help but wonder what else I'm capable of.
Wife and Mom
In 2006 I met and fell in love with Matthew Germain after years and years of waiting, he proposed and we got Married in 2014. We have two girls, Raea Elizabeth, and Maebel Ann and they bring more love and light into our life everyday! Parenting and managing a family with training isn't easy, but in my sometimes weekly, sometimes monthly, and sometimes biannual recaps on my blog, you can check out how I manage (or don't manage) that balance!
Teaching
I began teaching in 2010 and have been doing it ever since! I am licensed in Moderate Special Needs k-12. I've mostly taught Kindergarten and 1st grade, but as the years go on I find strengths in teaching writing and have been moved to 2nd and 3rd grade where the curriculum is a bit more demanding. This year due to the pandemic, I got moved up to 4th grade so that I kept the same students. I don't think I can ever go back to the littles! All of my students have Autism Spectrum Disorders, and most of them require Behavior Modification to help them access their education. A lot of what I have learned at work can be applied as a parent as well (although it's MUCH harder with your own!). Behavior Modification techniques can be helpful for hot parenting topics such as sleep training and potty training! I'll share my successes and failures with you here! I may even share some of the crafts and projects we do! Science tends to be a big hit with my students!