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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!