Please Mr. Postman

I have a couple trivia questions for you all today…

What does every 3-Day walker love more than anything else? 

Answer: Cheerleaders!

What is a close second to that? 
Answer: Mail!

This is my 4th 3-Day and every year the cards and letters I get from friends and family help me keep my mind off my aching, blistered feet and focused on the reason I need to go out and walk 20 more miles the next day.  A little encouragement really goes a long way!

With just 66 days to go until the Tampa 3 Day, it’s time to get your letter writing skills polished up.  You can start sending mail to your favorite 3-Day walker today!

Send letters to:

3-Day for the Cure Post Office
ATTN: (INSERT NAME OF PARTICIPANT)
PO Box 40013
St. Petersburg, FL 33743-0013

Envelopes only, please. No boxes or large packages. Mail must be postmarked no later than October 18 in order to ensure delivery at the 3-Day Camp Post Office.

Blisters for Boobies!

Have you noticed the little mileage tracker creeping up over there on the sidebar?  That means I am *officially* in Susan G Komen 3 Day training mode!  I am finishing the 2nd week of a 16 week training plan with 10 miles tomorrow. 

Yes, I said 10 miles tomorrow.

I will be walking with my team for approximately 3 hours starting at the lovely hour of 6am on a Saturday to beat this crazy heat.  All in the name of boobies everywhere.

I am no stranger to this event.  This will be my 4th year walking the 60 mile journey. I’m no stranger to walking in heat indexes of 100+ degrees or temps that dip into the 30’s. I’ve seen team members go down with mild dehydration and I’ve seen them spend hours in the med tent being taped up.  The 3 Day is no joke and the 500 miles of training prepares you for that.

But one little problem has plagued me every year.  Blisters.  And I’m not talking a little tiny bump on the side of my toe. I’m talking heel encompassing, foot swallowing, toe engulfing blisters.  By the end of each event, my feet are so sore I hobble around like I’m 100 years old. 

I have tried everything… band aids, blister bandages, Moleskin, Duct tape, Body Glide, powder, Vaseline, soaking my feet in Epsom salts, socks, different socks, and then two pairs of socks at the same time, new shoes, more new shoes…  It doesn’t

matter.  My feet just blister.

I have learned a few tricks along the way… like wrapping my 2 last toes on each foot with Meijer fabric bandages to prevent little tiny blisters on the pads of those toes.  And that moleskin just refuses to stay put on my heels unless I use fabric {not paper} medical tape to encase the moleskin.

So far this year… {knock on wood}… I haven’t gotten any blisters from training.  It is too early to declare victory just yet, but I have to admit I am pretty excited by this lack of development!  Tomorrow’s 10-miler {the first of the season} should be a pretty good test.

But even if they do pop up again this year I will cheerfully wrap them up and remind myself…

Let’s Try Something New: SOCS

I’ve seen a few bloggers do this (Jenn, Dutch, Fadra) so I thought I would give it a try… and who doesn’t need a good brain dumping now and again, eh? Here goes…

 

Ok so I’m hoping my timer actually works because I dropped it just as I was about to begin typing.  Plus it’s ancient and I never use it anymore because I have the handy one that comes on my stove.  I guess we shall see! 

 

Today I’ve been up since about 5:30am – yes it is a Sunday and no I did not have to work.  I tried to go back to sleep, it just wasn’t going to happen today.  So I got up and made some quiche and then started my day…

 

If you didn’t know, it is national Cancer Survivor’s Day and I donated my FB status to SU2C/Livestrong in honor of the day.  Then I decided cancer needed just a bit more a$$ kicking and I made up the team logo for the 3 Day and flyers for our upcoming event Grillin for the Girls.  Take that cancer! And as my lovely cousin so wisely put it in her status: Suck it cancer!  And now it is not even 2pm and I feel like I’ve been very productive – GO ME!

 

What else is on my mind… oh let’s see… a little thing called GRAD SCHOOL.  Do I want to do it?  Do I not?  And if I do, what for?  How can I make that happen with a FT job?  And then there is the WHERE question… perhaps the biggest one of all…

 

And with that my friends we have the buzzer… hmmm maybe my brain needs more than 5 minutes to fully dump?  Or perhaps I just need more practice… either way – Happy Cancer Survivors Day to all my fellow survivors out there!  Oh and if you didn’t know… yesterday was Hug Your Cat Day.. so make sure to hug your feline friend!

…

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

• Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
• Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw. 
• Link up by clicking on the button below! 

Wordless Wednesday

Nutty Part 2

Did you notice something new on the bloggy blog perchance?

I’ll give you a biiiiiiig hint…. its right over…

<==============THERE================

Yes ladies and gents, I’ve drunk (drank?) the Kool-aid once again!

In 2009 I told you all I must be nuts because I had just signed up to walk 60 miles in 3 days… for the 3rd time… in the middle of treatment for my thyroid cancer.  Perhaps I was suffering from cancer brain at the time?  So what is my excuse for signing up for my 4th…. hmmmmm… let’s expound on that, shall we?

My 3rd 3-Day was nothing short of amazing.  I was able to walk with one of my inspirations - my aunt who is a breast cancer survivor.  My mom experienced her first 3-Day as a medical crew member.  I watched another of my aunts carry the “Birthdays” flag in Opening Ceremonies.  Watched as my team mate succumbed to the evil thing called dehydration.  I had blisters covering my heels and between my toes and road rash covering my calves. (ps: no one tells you but your skin does weirdo stuff in a post-cancer world)  And I didn’t know it at the time but I saw Jenne Fromm in one of her last 3 Day events as National Spokesperson… gonna miss that girl this year. Walked in ridiculous heat that fast approached the 100F mark.  And as a team we raised almost $20,000 even in the crappy economy of Michigan!

And why was all that amazing you ask?  Because of moments like these…

World Cancer Day

Every year 12 million people receive a cancer diagnosis.  Of those, 7.6 million will die of their disease. 

I am one of 12 million who heard those words in 2009.    It’s amazing how isolated you feel when you hear those words yet there are 12 million others that have heard the same thing within that year. 

Reading the statistics above, I feel extra lucky today that I am a survivor.  Did you do the math?  Those numbers mean that over 60% who have cancer die of cancer. But it is estimated that 30-40% of those deaths could be prevented and as many as one third could be cured through early diagnosis and treatment.

It’s time for us to fight this global epidemic. Click on the logo above and sign the declaration urging our global leaders to come to action.

A cancer patient will thank you.  I thank you.

Clicks Wanted

A few things you can do for FREE to support some causes:

Vote for Ethan Zohn in GQ’s Better Man contest. Ethan is a cancer survivor and advocate as well as an AIDS/HIV advocate. He also won Survivor: Africa [you know, as in the TV show] and he used his winnings to found Grassroots Soccer to fight HIV/AIDS. Final tally is TOMORROW! You can vote once per email address. [no they don’t spam you after you enter]

Vote for Crash’s Landing in the $100,000 Animal Shelter Challenge. Crash’s is currently 6th in the country [No 1 in MI] and the top 3 shelters will win prizes! Voting goes through December 20th for the top prizes. My Aunt is a volunteer here and I'm not sure how she doesn’t come home with a new kitty every night! [only one vote per computer, per day – no email needed!]

And one of my favorites: Click daily to support FREE MAMMOGRAMS! All you need to do is click on the big pink button. And since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, your clicks count DOUBLE! [after all, the best things come in pairs] They also have some pretty cool PINK merchandise. ;o)