Thursday, December 2, 2010

A Life That Was Changed...

Finally! I give you pictures of my 3-Day adventure! I wanted to use the pawprint slideshow. I mean, a team full of CCLs, how perfect would that have been?! But it cut off the photos too much, and I had to go with this theme instead. *whine*

The 3-Day for the Cure was a once in a lifetime experience for sure. It was hardly the Kumbaya-singing lovefest the 3-Day online community promotes, but it was a good experience. One I'm glad I had. I do feel changed by it. In a very positive way.

I also feel a bit lost now that I don't have it to obsess about. A good, hugely relieved lost, but lost. Like I'm forgetting to do something. Like buy socks.

Unfortunately, thanks to my size and sometimes my sugars, my pace during the walk was too slow, and I was forced on to sweep vans several times. But I was able to finish more of the walk than I ever imagined I could. I'm really proud of that fact. But I am most proud of myself for the fact that not once the entire time did it occur to me I could quit and check in to a toasty, pillow-filled hotel room. Not once. Never. Not at all. I'm really surprised now that it didn't. And pretty freaking awed about it.

Thank you so much to all my donors! Thanks to you, I was able to raise $2,560! You'll never know what your financial support meant to me, or how many lives you saved.

You didn't have much money, but you gave it anyway...I am a life that was changed...I am so glad you gave.


I also want to thank my encouragers and my prayer warriors. Everyone who asked me about the walk, who told me they were proud of me, who assured me I could do it.

And my bestest besties and phenomenal mother whose constant texts and calls got me through those three days...like Skyler, who somehow made me laugh in the midst of a pink Kool-Aid festival about the fact I'm too slow. Raff, who surprised me by not trying to talk me out of the Red Zone but telling me to kick some tail instead. Meg for sending me some medical TLC in the form of one very hot fictional doctor.

My mom for the training and travel support. Her training waned during one incredibly horrible year for her, but her support never did. She paid for a major portion of my trip. She even paid the charges for texting me encouragement! I especially appreciate the fact she was so terrified I was going to lose my diabetic feet but didn't tell me until after the fact how much she didn't want me to do this because she was so worried I would.

Thanks to everyone who played any role whatsoever in my 3-Day journey. I will never forget how many people truly believed I could do this. How many people are so proud of me. How many people have changed my entire opinion of myself with your belief.

Maybe it was a Kumbaya lovefest after all.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

DEE-VINE Forecast!

Three days 'til the 3-Day!!!

The weather forecast couldn't be any better!!!

10 Day Weather Forecast for Phoenix, AZ - weather.com

Friday, November 5, 2010

One Week!

So there are only seven days until the 3-Day!

I can't believe it's that soon! When you sign up for the walk, you think you've got a couple zillion years to prepare and poof! Time zooms along as usual and before you know it, you're making a last minute list of things you need to get this weekend. Because this is the last weekend you have to prepare!

I'm alternating between levitating and fainting! Levitating over finally seeing my teammates and hanging out with them! I can't wait for that, for our pre-walk dinner, for our post-walk dinner celebration with two bonus Catsters, for our hot stone massages, for whatever geeky sightseeing I can talk them in to...oh, and yeah, all the crazy, wonderful, amazing fun we'll have on the walk itself!

And I'm so not kidding when I say this...I also can't wait to see the 823 pictures (at least) I'll take!

I'm so excited for an hour or so, terrified for ten minutes or so, frantic about all I still need to do for another 15 minutes or so, excited for five minutes, terrified...

Fat Girl Walking wrote a post that included some great advice: "enjoy what you've already accomplished."

So I have been. I've been beaming, pretty much, that I've made it this far. Logged as many miles as I have, learned as much as I have about shoes, blisters and socks, actually bought that hideous sleeping bag contraption...

I've beat myself up so much about not training enough, still not losing weight, spending too much money on this thing. But in the past week, I've reached the point of being ecstatic I've come this far. I've reached the point where I figure I'm as ready as I'm going to be, and you know, that's ready enough.

Last year at this time, I thought walking a mile was a big deal. And I did it so rarely, it was a big deal when I did. So enough miles of training or not, still 1000 pounds to lose, I've been more active this year than I've been since I was probably 16.

And that, all by itself...is pretty freaking awesome!

Friday, October 22, 2010

:O :O :O :O :O

21 Days Until the Event!

Three weeks from today.

*faint* *faint* *faint again*

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Just Call Me a Cowgirl!

I wear spurs!

Or at least a spur. I wear it all the time. Because...

I have a heel spur!

Urgh.

Funny, but not really, story.

Almost this entire year, while training for the 3-Day, I've had pain in my left heel. I thought for oh...three months or so...that it was because I was so out of shape and hadn't built up my endurance. I thought it was because I switched to sandals in the summer. I thought it was because I was fat.

I tried so many different shoes hoping they'd help. They didn't. I've tried inserts hoping they'd help. They haven't.

Finally I started whining to my mom so incessantly she couldn't help but listen. "It feels like I've slammed my heel down on concrete repeatedly until I shattered every bone in it. Now it feels like that ALL the time. Weird thing is, it stops hurting the longer I walk. And hurts the most when I get up in the morning."

She informed me that's how her foot felt when she had plantar fasciitis.

D'oh!

I started googling, and yeah, sounded just like it. I googled best shoes for plantar fasciitis and found my New Balance 1200s. They didn't do a whole lot for the pain, but hoo boy, do I love 'em otherwise! I started stretching my foot, popping lots of Ibuprofen and doing everything the doctor told her to do to get rid of her plantar fasciitis. Except stay off my feet.

Didn't help a whole lot.

I finally broke down about a week ago and went whining to my doctor. He did an x-ray and informed me I have a heel spur. Whipped out the x-ray and showed it to me. OK, I'm nuts, but I think it looks pretty cool. Like a shark's tooth sticking out of my heel bone!

He said it's probably been building up for 15-20 years and started hurting so much because I've increased my walking big time.

The good news is, he told me what to do about it and said I can still do the 3-Day.

The not so good news is, he said losing weight would help a lot.

First, he gave me some supersonic Aleve or something. Gotta admit, as much as I hate taking pills and as good as I am about forgetting to take them, I'm loving this anti-inflammatory. And not forgetting it so much.

He told me to ice my heel 20 minutes twice a day, how to stretch it before I get out of bed, how to stretch it before I walk. And he told me to get heel cups or a heel cushion. The cushion sounds like the pillow one of my old bosses had to sit on after her hemorrhoid surgery. I couldn't find the cushion, but I finally found the heel cups. They're gel cups that wrap around your heels and unlike inserts, don't irritate the rest of your foot. I gotta say, so far, I'm really loving those puppies!

Admittedly I haven't walked as much as I should have this past week. Okay, I haven't walked much at all. But I've done everything I'm supposed to, and my heel is feeling much, much, much, oh so much better. I also have worn my tennies non-stop. To heck with any other shoe, the 3-Day is now days away!

Days.away.

:faint:

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Hometown Hells Hills!

What do you do when stupid football is taking up all your flat walking routes?

You get the dumb idea to take a walking tour of your hometown. You do this last Saturday, and you think, wow, this is such a cool place. So beautiful. Wow. I've never noticed that before. In all these years! Wow, the Sonic bathroom is a million times nicer than I ever thought it would be. And dang, why didn't I take a picture of that hysterical new "Downtown Business Section" sign?

And just a mile or so in, it hits you.

Even the flat places in town...the places you always thought were flat in your car...are freaking Mount Everest.

And after you do the scenic walking tour, after you climb those flat hills you used to sail up as a skinny teenager...you find a rock solid blister as big as a dime on the right side of your heel, and you can't bend your knees until Thursday.

But you feel pretty dang awesome for being as fat as you are and still making it to the top of that mammoth hell hill without stopping!

Here are pictures of the hells hills and other cool places:



Our old church building. It had beautiful stained glass windows that we moved to the new building, and dark sloping hardwood floors. It was a wonderful sanctuary that would never fly nowadays, when church is less about worship and more about entertainment. I had no idea the lighting was going to turn out like this. Cool, huh?:



Heading towards the dike. When I was little, I used to live near it, so I spent a lot of time playing on it and walking across it:











View from the dike looking down at the town (aka business section):



Oh, the places you'll go!:



Getting ready to climb the hell hill:



I MADE IT!!! I MADE IT TO THE TOP! I wondered if my muscles fondly remembered the good 'ol days when my mom, neighbor and I walked five miles a day and climbed this very hell:



Break time!:



Back on flat land on Sunday, I tried out the pom pom my teammate Laura sent all of us. I wanted to make sure it wasn't going to drive me batty on the walk. I'm happy to report, it's good to go. I didn't even know it was there. In fact, I couldn't quite figure out what the woman who told me she loved my "tassle" was talking about. Anyway, one of the ribbons fell off, and I loved what it did. You can't really tell it from this picture, but it landed in the shape of THE ribbon. Coolness again, huh?:

Friday, August 27, 2010

New Training Partner!

My cat Tessa is as crazy about strolling as I am about chocolate. So the other night, my mom and I finally broke down and tried to fit the stroller in her car, so we could take Tessa on my training walk.

It worked! We had to turn the stroller--and Tessa--sideways to fit it in the car, but she didn't mind. She only yelled twice as we drove to the track.

Then she strolled for three miles before she started getting that hairball on its way look about her.





You know she's been gloating about her big adventure to the other cats ever since. ;)

Sunday, August 22, 2010

To Heck With This!

This:



Plus this:



Plus shoes, socks, clothes, water bottles, fanny pack supplies, etc...

Does NOT compute.

This sleeping bag is too little for my hugeosity anyway, so it's going back. Which means I need an even bigger, heavier, thicker sleeping bag.

And what exactly is the point of a sleeping bag anyway? You might as well be lying on nothing.

Yeah...I'm staying in a hotel.

Monday, July 19, 2010

And Another Reason...

I got this message from a fellow 3-Day walker the other day. She's on another team comprised of CCLs and wanted to share this wonderful burst of inspiration:

Just wanted to share with you that yesterday I had lunch with my friend Maria who was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago when she was only 38 years old. She had a very aggressive cancer and even after a double mastectomy she is not cancer free - she has been on chemo continuously since her diagnosis. Unfortunatley her cancer has spread to many areas - lungs, liver, bone - and she recently had to go back on IV Chemo - she was on pills for 1 1/2 years. The good news is that the new chemo is doing the job and she is doing well and it has regressed. Amazingly enough she is still living a pretty functional life - working, taking her kids to soccer games etc.

Her dr. has told her that her cancer will always adapt to the drugs and when it does she has to go on a new med that the cancer is not yet resistant to - this will be the case for the rest of her life. She also said that without organizations like Komen there wouldn't be nearly as much research for new drugs. So thank you ladies for walking and making a difference. We're keeping people like Maria alive and that is no small thing my friends.


The donations, the support, the love, the blisters...they DO make a difference!

So does the weather. I was able to walk seven miles Saturday. It was cloudy, breezy and apparently not very humid. I was so relieved to discover I can log some distance when I can actually breathe!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Why She Walked

I don't know how exactly, but I stumbled across this blog a few weeks ago. It's the blog of Jennifer Hoffman, an AZ 3-Day walker. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. It was treated successfully. But like it so often does, her cancer came back. Metastacized. Much like Casandra's did.

I was intrigued by her story and added it to my favorites so I could read her older posts. On days when I really need a reminder why I'm putting my diabetic, hormone loopy, insanely fat body through this.

Today, one of those days, I found this post:

http://www.08azbreastcancer3dy.blip.tv/

This video is her story, the story of why she walked.

It's also why all of us walk.

(And get all weepy and feel bad about griping about it being too *bleeping* hot to walk. Why, although I so hate myself for signing up for the 3-Day in what has to be the worst weather year ever, I still can't wait to do it).

Jennifer died April 21, 2009.

Monday, July 12, 2010

T-Minus Four Months!

See this blank stare I have going on? This "Whaaa?" expression on my face?

It's only FOUR MONTHS until the 3-Day.

Only four more months to train. And figure out what all I need for the walk. And shop for it. And...pack for it.

*gulp*

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Bid on Boobs!

My teammate Laura is auctioning off some super cute stuff to raise funds for her trek! Check it out and bid away!

Bucks4Boobies

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Shopping = Cross Training! Yeah-huh!

Yesterday, I went to get fitted again for shoes. This time I went to a running store where they have more than one brand of shoes, and no weird Chinese shoes that aim your toes at the ceiling.

I ditched the shoes I've had. They were OK, but as I told the new fitter, they felt like they were trying to make my feet do something they don't want to do. She seemed to understand what I meant. She said they may actually have too much padding, which was making them so stiff they feel like they have no cushioning whatsoever. Weird.

I gave them to my mom/personal trainer. Decided to let her walk around looking like she was born with a birth defect that requires her to walk on stilts instead.

Of course, no running shoes are exactly beautiful, but I do think the ones I ended up with now aren't quite as ugly. This time I got New Balance 760s.

I told my mom before I went in, if they've never heard of the 3-Day like the last place, I'm not letting them fit me for shoes for it.

So I go in. I say, "I'm walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. "Oh, yes! That's great! When?" "November." "Cool, well come on over here and we'll get started." She seemed to know all about it. Asked me if I'm walking in memory of someone. Measured my feet, twisted my knees around, marked on my feet, watched me walk back and forth in the store, then filmed me on a treadmill. And then she says...

"So you're training for a 5K?"

It was all I could do not to roll off the bench laughing. What? What? I thought she'd heard of this thing. "Um no," I said. "I'm walking SIXTY MILES. In three days." She got that now-famous glazed, "Yeah, right," expression, but then was all chirpy excited about it. I wondered why she had completely ignored me when I said I need a shoe at least a half-size bigger than normal. Clearly, who would need to avoid losing toenails for a 5K?

This is still cracking me up. Who would TRAIN THAT HEAVY TO WALK THREE MILES? Seriously? I'm rolling on the floor again. I hope I don't sound terrible saying that. When I started this thing, I thought it was a miracle if I could hoof it a mile. And I barely could! But at this point, two miles feels like a stroll around the yard. So train for six months to walk three miles? I'm equal parts sorry, proud and excited that that thought is just slaying me!

Anyway...I hope I like these shoes. I wondered if she gave me the same ones I actually tried on in the store when I had to cram my feet in them this morning. They're not long enough, I know that already, but I'll need new ones before the walk anyway. So if they work otherwise, I can get a half size bigger next time. So far they're pretty tight, but I get ten days to try them out and break them in. And I have to say, I LOVE the wavy laces!

The great thing about this store also, they had some of the stuff I've been wanting to try. I've read so many recommendations on 3Day blogs that I have quite the running list. So I got a pair of the Injinji toe socks (in pink!) and finally the uber-recommended, ever popular Glide. I also got some DeFeet socks to try because well...they have pink ribbons on them. I did somehow, so far at least, resist the pink Pepper Spray.



It's so hot it would be utterly suicidal to walk here today. Think I'll cross train by finishing Eat Love Pray. So I can get Janet Evanovich's Sizzling Sixteen on Tuesday! HEY...if I got an Ipod before Tuesday...could I download it to listen to while I walk? There's a thought...

Sunday, June 6, 2010

View From the Top

Today I made myself mix it up. Instead of forcing myself to do the hilly route at the beginning of my walk, I did it at the end...when I was tired and sweating buckets. It was harder than at the beginning, definitely, but I huffed and puffed and made it.

Here's the view when you get to the top and level off before going back downhill.



Thursday, May 13, 2010

Slacking!

I haven't walked in um...well...a few days now. Like um...well...five or so.

My left knee had started hurting all the time. Especially after I'd been sitting for a while. I couldn't decide if it was switching to sandal weather that caused it or all the walking. It's finally stopped, so that's a good result of my slacking at least!

I think the real reason I haven't been walking is I'm just taking it easy before the official AZ training schedule starts in a few very short weeks.

Mmm-hmm. Yeah, that's why!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Oops!

I'm still so embarrassed! The other night when I went with my mom to vote, a woman was seated beside some people I know really well. We greeted them, and my mom was all "Oh hiiiii, how on earth are you?" to the woman beside them. And I recognized her right away.

Or at least I thought I did.

I grinned really big and said, "HEY! Thank you for your donation!"

She was saying, "Hey, I haven't seen you in sooooo long!" at the same time. But she sort of froze and looked confused by my donation comment.

I was still beaming and almost said, "Huh? I just saw you at at the grocery store a few weeks ago." But I kind of froze, too.

When we walked on in to vote, I asked my mom, "Wait a sec...who was that?"

My mom told me it was our old neighbor! I hadn't seen her in years. I had thought it was a friend from church who had donated recently to my walk! The only good thing is, my mom could see the resemblance and why I had confused them.

So I thanked someone for a donation who I hadn't even asked for a donation! I'm seeing donors where there aren't any! I may be a bit obsessed. Or is it possessed?

You know, after I voted, I should have gone back out and asked her for a donation since I'd already thanked her for one!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Six Miles and Miles of Memories!

I think I experienced a miracle on Saturday. I walked six miles with absolutely no breaks. Six entire miles without stopping!

I'm pretty sure this is the first time in my life I've ever walked six miles without stopping! And I know it's the first time while training for the 3-Day that I walked six miles without my sugar crashing, my feet exploding with hot spots or me having to dash off for a potty break!

Yesterday, I set out determined to do four miles, but yowza! It was 90 degrees! The first truly humid walking day of the year. So I managed two. As I sweated buckets and fought off the urge to toss my cookies, I decided two miles was pretty dang good.

Then last night I heard that Frank, a wonderful friend from church, died. He was in his 80s and had been battling emphysema, but he was the kind of person that, no matter what, you kind of thought would be around forever.

I've known Frank almost as long as I can remember. He had a jolly, booming voice I hope my memory will always be able to hear. He was a kind soul and very generous. He and his wife donated huge to my walk just a few short weeks ago. It seems surreal that I won't get to tell him how the walk goes. At least not face to face.

I remember years ago after he had a heart attack, he stopped smoking and started walking. We'd often pass him walking all over town. I know--despite the fact the miles are so not as long in your car as they are on your feet--that he walked several miles a day. We'd wave, and he'd flash us a big grin and wave back.

Now I know, when I'm trudging along about to keel over on Day Two (or hey, probably on Day One), that I'll picture him walking, flashing that big grin, waving and supporting me. Like he's always done.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Not Enough Sand Training!

I'm back from the beach. And I have to say, despite walking all over the beach, I just didn't get in enough sand training. I'm pretty sure I need to go back for more training like say...this weekend. And then pretty much every weekend after that!

Ah, well, I can dream, can't I?



I can't believe it, but I wore this dreadful thing all over the beach. Yeah, I got some funny looks.

Ah, well, I can believe it was the fanny pack and not my windblown teepee shaped hair that was getting all the funny looks, right?



My mom and I walked to the second pier. Here I am trying to (unsuccessfully) hide my fat behind a pole. I always thought this pier was at least four miles or so down the beach. Measured it with our GPS, and it's a whopping 1.1 miles from our hotel. Woo woo.

I'm hoping the reason I always thought things were so much farther there is because I've always been walking barefoot at the edge of the water, my feet sinking in the sand, and it's seemed like a long, long way because I've had to shake sand and sea off my toes every step.

Ah, well, I can hope that's the reason anyway.



I'm twice as big as my personal trainer, and there's no denying it in this photo. But I wanted to show off the new boardwalk they've built. It's really nice. A great place to train. I plan to train on it next week when I go back.

Ah, well, I can pretend anyway.



And that was my favorite part of sand training. HEY! I needed this, too. I was training for sleeping on a hard lumpy surface, after all.

Ah, well, I can delude myself that's what I was doing anyway.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Sand Training!

Tomorrow I'm off to the beach for some sand training!

My mom has already been trying to figure out how many miles it'll be to the second pier, or way up above the beach houses, or down to...acck!

Hopefully I'll also be able to squeeze in some ocean gazing training.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

New Shoes!

Saturday I went to get professionally fitted for new shoes. I went after walking four miles, making sure my feet were properly swollen (and probably properly stinky as well).

But I think I did the wrong thing. Instead of going to a running shoe store, I ended up at a store that fits people with foot problems like hammer toes and bunions and an apparent desire to never bend your feet naturally. They had all of about two choices of shoe brands.

One style had some funky Chinese words scrawled on the shoe. The part where the ball of your foot goes pointed straight up in the air while the heel sat flat on the ground. On another pair, the heel was lower than the rest of the shoe. She brought out still another pair for me, a pair of Egg Rolls or whatever they were called, and well...no one would wear them for their looks. They looked like moon boots without the boot part.

She explained to me that they are the best running shoe possible as far as longevity goes. They build up muscle strength, and they give you great back, hip and knee support. Apparently they also support your ankles really well. The thing is, and it's not such a small thing really...they make you feel like you've walked two miles for every one.

Yes. I had explained to her I will be walking 60 miles in three days. So why she thought I'd relish the thought of feeling like I've walked 120 in three days instead...is pretty much beyond me.

She had me do four laps around the store in them. They felt like my heel was falling off the back of the shoe. I hated them after about three steps, but I obliged and did the four laps, stopping to gawk at really cute sandals on the way around.

Then she put the other option on me. Brooks Addiction shoes. They're apparently the best running shoes you can get, and as far as I could tell, they were comfortable enough to buy. I actually needed an 8.5w instead of my usual 7.5w.

So here they are. My polio shoes:



They actually are kind of photogenic. Because they don't look even remotely as good as this in person. I feel like I'm standing on platforms to make my legs the same length. As I did my laps in them, I stopped to hint how much cuter the other Brooks running shoes were. She said no, the cute ones were way too curvy for my feet. These, and the Egg Rolls, are apparently the only styles that will work for my very straight, wide feet.

Nice to know there's some part of my body that isn't overly curvy.

I suppose I will grow to love them. As long as they're comfortable and will carry my giant butt 60 miles, who cares what they look like. Right?

Right.

Oh, and those really cute sandals...they were $220. Um. Yeah. TWO-HUNDRED-TWENTY DOLLARS for a glorified flip flop. I stuck with the $100 polio shoes.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Arch Support!

I'm in a bit of a funk about my walk. For some reason, my feet are killing me. They woke me up this morning, they were hurting so bad.

Then I went to the endo the other day. I'd gained weight. GAINED! Whaa? How in the? I'm trying to ignore her scale and focus on the fact my jeans are literally about to fall off me and soon I'll look like a fool with my pants on the ground.

But that's always easier said than done.

I have to go back in a few weeks. My sugars have been insanely all over the map, and we're trying to figure out why...walking, bad Insulin, Easter candy... Hopefully the scale will have moved in the right direction by then, and that will revive me.

Meanwhile, though, there's the bottom line...I'm already tired of walking!

Fortunately, the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure Powers That Be must anticipate this will happen. Because I don't think there could be a more supportive community on the Internet! From the Web site with its tearjerking, awe-inspiring videos, to the 3-Day Facebook page featuring photos and links, to the many posts on that page from other walkers, I keep finding so much inspiration. So many reminders I can do this. So many reasons I can't--and won't--fail.

Possibly the most encouragement has come from the blogs of other 3-Day Walkers. Some of my favorites so far are Meanderings of a 3-Day Mom, Kristen Walks and Leanne...the Walker.

There's this post on 60 Mile Thoughts that had me leaking all over my desk and deciding I really must stop reading these blogs in any location where I might have to explain the mascara streaks.

And most recently I found the blog of Fat Girl Walkin'. I gotta love and couldn't relate more to her blog title! She's also walking her first 3-Day in Arizona this year.

I had no idea there were so many 3-Day bloggers! I'm loving their inspiring posts, their song playlists, their humor. I'm sure I'm going to find about 320 more favorites before November!

Then of course there are my teammates' kick-tail blogs, Laura Treks and Diana Treks. It's great to be able to keep up with their training progress this way.

My teammates' support has been amazing in other ways as well. Our captain Sue Lyn recently sent us some great training tips and has organized our fundraising efforts with Rock, Paper, Scissors. Laura obviously just told me how to link directly to other blogs on Blogger. Diana is a fellow Lost junkie, so that provides a welcome distraction from walk talk.

MY BBFF Skyler keeps nagging encouraging me to walk at lunch. And my mom keeps blowing her training whistle.

And, as I was walking the other day, stressing a bit about the $2,300 I have to raise, it occurred to me I've already raised $1,530! $1,530!!! Past short-lived sales job experience taught me I wouldn't be able to sell sunblock in the Sahara, so I never would have thought I could raise this much money for anything before I took on this crazy challenge. But the donations have kept rolling in. I am so grateful and in awe of how generous my friends and my church family have been. Wow. It's just...wow.

So I'm going to keep trudging through this extremely temporary funk with a whole lot of support from my "Web." And I'm thinking a short break may be in order. I may just cross-train this weekend while sitting with my pants almost on the ground at a baseball game.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Trekkin Down the Bunny Trail!

On Good Friday, my personal trainer (aka Mom) and I did our first long training walk. It was in the 80s and HOT, but it was actually beautiful weather for walking.

We started on the riverfront, cut over to World's Fair Park, walked down the Strip and...Pit Stop! I had decided we just had to go down the Strip, and I'm pretty sure that last minute route decision had absolutely nothing to do with the fact we would pass a McAlister's.

My mom, who doesn't want to do the walk because she "could never ask for all that money," informed the guy at McAlister's why we were walking and told him we'd gladly accept a donation. His donation was more ice and more tea. Which, at the time, was a pretty awesome donation!

I was hot and sweaty and more than a little sunburnt already. In case you can't tell:



And we were off again! You can tell how my teammate Laura http://lauratreks.blogspot.com/2010/04/laughter-in-rain.html is pretty much half my size because we have the same fanny pack, and it looks HUGE on her! On me...it looks pretty tiny:



I still can't believe I walked all over town wearing that thing. But you have to practice with the equipment you'll be using on the walk. And I can definitely see how handy a fanny pack will be!

We cut through the Trial Gardens to practice walking on gravel and dirt:



And get a load of this! I actually got in some porta potty practice! Oh...EWW! EWW EWW EWW! Those things are oogy. Of all the sacrifices this walk requires, I'm pretty sure this is the biggest:



As you can tell, my mom is taking her role of Personal Trainer pretty seriously:



We saw this at the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial, and I loved it. I think it also applies to the 3-Day:



By the end of the walk, my clothes would have stood up by themselves, I had been heckled by some teen-aged guy for walking around in a fanny pack looking like a Pink Michelin Man, and I had learned a lot. I discovered I need to drink even more than usual (as much as I drink in a day, that's just...astonishing). I learned I can walk farther than I ever imagined I could. And most important of all...I learned I really need new shoes.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Rochambeau!



Trekkin' for Ta-Tas is doing a fundraiser! Rock, Paper, Scissors is an adorable jewelry site that specializes in cute pendants, rings, keychains, etc. Fifty percent of proceeds from any purchase will be donated to our team!

You can purchase items directly from the Rock, Papers, Scissors site, http://www.rpsetc.com/.

Please enter the code trekkin for any order you place so that we will be credited for the order.

Thank you so much for supporting our team!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Pink Glove Dance!

I stumbled across this vid today of the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center performing the Pink Glove Dance for breast cancer awareness! Apparently it's huge and I've been living under a rock (or somewhere besides youtube) (or HEY! on a walking track!) because I hadn't seen it, yet.

I love it all, but I think the funniest part has to be the woman in the background in the waiting area. She NEVER moves! Doesn't look real at all!

I hope my teammates don't get any pink ideas that we have to wear these things...I think they smell funky.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Shopping Counts as Training, too! Right?

Here it is. The first of what I'm sure will be many splurges I'll blame on the 3-Day. I tried so hard to resist this, the most over-priced water bottle that ever lived. But it's so cute...so funny...so PINK...that I just couldn't. It just insisted I take it home with me. Who was I to argue?



Then a few days later, I wandered into this foreign section I'd never been in before. It was called something like...CAMPING...and it had all this strange gear I've never had any desire whatsoever to own. I made lots of mental notes about googling what 10-degrees means on those sleeping bag thingies. And then I found this, the first fanny pack to audition for my walk.





It came with the water bottles. The entire set only cost $4.97 more than my pink water bottle cost all by itself.

Seriously, though, do you think I have enough water bottles?

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Countdown!

Am I the only one who freaks out a little bit when I see the countdown on the Participant Center page?

I mean, there it is blaring at me in black and white...

254 days until the event!

Okay, that's still a long time, and a whole lotta training days left. And I'm so excited about it, I can't wait!

But still... *gulp*

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Four Miles!

I'm up to four miles! At least I was on Saturday anyway!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Training Progress: Oh My Aching Back

I had ups and downs training this weekend.

The big up was I had brunch with Trina, a long-time, wonderful friend from church. She did the 3-Day Walk in Atlanta back in 2008 and was so excited to hear I'm doing it that she wanted to meet with me to talk about it.

She calmed ALL my fears about it and gave me some really great advice. She said you can walk a lot slower than they make it sound like. Woohoo! That they all got a lot slower every day. Can't imagine why. She told me if I wear acrylic socks I won't get blisters and gave me the name of a nearby shoe-fitting store. She told me what local walking excursions to avoid using for training and which ones to train on religiously.

She had some great photos of t-shirts walkers wore. They had some hysterical names and some hilarious slogans on t-shirts! So quite possibly her best advice was to make sure I take pictures of all the t-shirts and team names.

I was so pepped up from our meeting, I was ready to do the walk tomorrow. Mentally anyway.

But then, yesterday, my mom and I got overly giddy from the sunshine and warm temps and decided throw a lap on a hill in to our walk. I was hearing the angels yelling for me to come on in when I finally at long last topped that hill. Huffing and puffing and dodging my heart leaping out my chest, I was freaking a bit that I'll have that much trouble on hills. Somehow, back on flat ground, I did finish an entire three miles though.

Then I went home and took the cats strolling. I tried to take the kittens for the first time, but Little Grey quite vocally informed me strolling is not her cup of McAlister's tea. Once the others heard her hollering, they hid. At least until it got dark. Then Omega decided to sleep in the stroller.

Today...my back hurts, my legs hurt, my arms and shoulders hurt (I also lifted weights on Saturday) and oh heck...EVERYTHING hurts. I've been seriously doubting I can walk at all today.

But then I saw the awesome fun stuff my teammate Laura is collecting for us to wear, http://lauratreks.blogspot.com/2010/02/up-to-something.html, and I got all excited again. Now I think maybe I can survive walking a mile or two at lunch.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Auction for the Cause!

This is a portrait drawn by my brother Brian of a little girl hoping for a world without breast cancer. "Pigtails" is 17x22 Bristol Board. It's an original pencil work and comes framed. He's auctioning it off to the highest bidder. The proceeds will go to my walk.



If you'd like to bid on it, please let me know in comments. And if you're interested in viewing more of his work, this is the link to his Web site:

http://www.nobullart.com/index.php?L1=gallery&gallery_id=C5B8B8GQ4Q

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Snow Walking!

My mom and I walked three miles in the snow Sunday! Well...in the snow flurrying all around our heads and not actually sticking to the ground snow. But still...we walked in the snow!

And I walked THREE MILES! I'm up to THREE MILES.

And then the snow has kept me from walking much since.

I hate this! If this is what real winters are like, no wonder northern peeps hate winter so much.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Training Progress, Week One

I don't believe it. I've walked seven days straight. I hoofed it every day last week during lunch. Over the weekend, my mom and I walked two miles each day. Outside. In the freezing cold frigid, snow-spitting air.

Then I walked at lunch today.

And you know what?

I'm tired.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Pitch a...WHAT?

I finally got around to reading the 3-Day walker handbook.

And my eyes are still saucers.

It turns out on this walk I have to...

PITCH A TENT!!!

WHAT? *hair standing on ends*

Pitch a tent? Bring a sleeping bag? SLEEP ON THE GROUND?

My poor teammates are probably not aware of this, but I've never been camping in my life. I don't even own a sleeping bag. Actually, I never have.

I've never had even an ounce of desire to sleep on the ground. There are bugs there, and worms in the ground, and oh ew. Yeah, granted I guess there's a tent floor and a sleeping bag blocking them from me, but oh ew.

And get this! There's no electricity, so you can't re-charge your cell phones! How primitive is this? Now honestly, I couldn't care less about the phone except for one thing...how the heck will I update Facebook?

Didn't Sue Lyn say the camps are really nice and they treat you well? Mmm-hmm.

*giggles* Oh, well, as long as one of my teammates knows how to pitch a tent, this is going to be even more of a fun new experience than I thought.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Fight Like a Girl!



One of my work friends in another department not only donated huge to my walk, she brought me this t-shirt. She'd bought it last year in support of a walker in another event. She said she has one and had bought this one for her boyfriend, who, for obvious reasons, hasn't worn it once. So she thought maybe I can use it on the walk. While we love love love the message, the t-shirt is brown. We tried to figure out the logic behind that design scheme!

We laughed over her apologizing profusely over it being covered in cat fur. As if any of my clothes aren't covered in cat fur. It'll fit right in to my wardrobe!

It was such a sweet gesture, totally unexpected. I'm so grateful for her support. I have a feeling this is going to be one heartwarming adventure.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

I'm Walkin, Yes Indeed!

Here's a story, of a nutty lady, who was delirious from her lack of curls...

Sometime in '08, I half-heartedly said to my mom, "We should walk in this 3Day walk thingie in memory of Casandra."

My mom mumbled something incoherent. I imagine if I had heard what she said, it would have sounded like, "You won't commit to walk two miles a day, you expect me to believe you'd walk 60 miles in three days?"

I admit that aside from honoring Casandra's memory, basically the main reason I was somewhat half-hearteadly considering it was because there was a walk in Chicago and I figured after we walked, we could reward ourselves by (1) me getting to visit my bestest bestie Skyler there and (2) I'd finally get my mom to Wrigley Field. So when that suggestion was met with the mom's usual "Are you high, Claree?" glare, I forgot about it.

Then this year...or possibly late last year...my awesome pal Laura posted on Facebook that she had joined a team called Trekkin' for Ta-Ta's and would be doing the Susan G. Komen 3Day for the Cure walk in Arizona this year.

I posted a comment and must have gone nuts and mentioned that I had considered doing that.

So poof! Sue Lyn wrote on my wall asking me to join her team.

And poof! Six million reassuring Facebook messages from Sue Lyn, Laura and Jen later, every single excuse I came up with not to do the 3Day flew out the window. Lovely year for my BFFs to be unable to do a Bling Trip. Ducky time for me to be working a stone's throw from all kinds of places to walk at lunch. I mean, sheesh, even my endo, who I admit I was hoping would slap me up side the head and tell me I was nuts, did a happy dance when I asked her if it was possible. She was all over it, telling me she'll help me, turning cartwheels, etc. Said that even if I don't lose weight, all this walking to train for it will be great for my sugar.

Sigh.

And poof! While I was blogging trying to talk myself out of it, Laura said if I do it, she'd make a blog for me! Even though, you know, I blog like once a decade.

And poof! I was sitting at my desk, the registration page filled out, gasping for air, unable to make like Nike and just hit the "next step" button. I IMed Skyler and said...talk me into doing this. She was so happy she turned a few cartwheels herself. (Or was that the day she was high on spray paint fumes? No). Anyway, she talked me into it!

So poof! I found myself finally, finally, finally c-c-com-comm-committing to do this.

And the mega-talented Laura was true to her word! Now my teammate, she made this super cute, super pink, super fabulous, just awesome blog for me.

I do the not worthy bow to thank her profusely for making it for me! It so rocks!

And that's the way I became a Trekkin' Starch!