Week 8 Training

I just realized that all my posts lately have been 3 Day related… I guess that just goes to show the commitment needed for the event right?  I mean I've been talking about and brainstorming about the 3 Day since August of last year, meeting with the team since October, fundraising since November, training since April… now that we are so close to the event, training is sucking every last spare moment I have [or so it seems].  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE doing the 3 Day [its addicting, you should try it] but every year about this time I can only think about all the time I will have when its over.  I  promise I will snap out of it soon as the excitement for the event starts building and the packing panic begins… but this week I'm just a bit whiney [and I'm seriously hoping it doesn’t cause blisters!]. 

Week 8 Training (scheduled/actual):
Mon – Rest/Rest :)
Tues – 4 miles/5 miles
Wed – 30 min cross/none
Thurs – 5 miles/6 miles
Fri – 45 min cross/none
Sat – 17 miles/17 miles
Sun – 13 miles/ none (thunderstorms won!)
Total – 39miles/28 miles

Yup I'm a bit behind… and a bit sunburned from Saturday…  It felt great though so the training must be working!  Here’s to hoping the weather starts to cooperate on the weekends… and I'm starting my no rain dance for August 13-15!

101 Things You Should Know (41-47)

47.  There is no mistake so great as the mistake of not going on.   

46.  Always tell someone where you are going, because once you are in the sea of walkers, you are impossible to find.

45.  Tata Triage aka the medical tents are a great place to go for even the most minor bumps, aches, and blisters.

44.  You really need to check this out!

43.  The Crew is AWESOME and deserves a thank you at all times. This includes Safety, Medical, Pit…

42.  Bring a pair of really warm socks to sleep in and closed shoes (think crocs) to walk around camp in. Flip-flops are easy but very cold when the grass is soaked with dew.

41.  We walk because we must. We are strong because the journey demands it. Together in body and united in spirit, we lay down our footsteps for this generation and the next. This is our legacy.

Week 9 Training

Wow the countdown is moving fast!  We are a mere 2 months away from the Michigan 3 Day now and I just don’t know where the time has gone!  The team has its last fundraiser next week and we are getting oh so close to everyone meeting their fundraising minimums.  This past Saturday a few of us went to the 3 Day Expo and suddenly it hit me – I need to pack!! AHHHH!!  Packing is about the 2nd most important thing you can do on the 3 Day – well I think so anyway – and it becomes a complete obsession!  I am nowhere near being ready and I have this horrible urge to go out and buy my  gallon baggies NOW!  Maybe I will get some of my packing anxiety out when I do the packing demo for the team at July’s meeting? 

Since we are getting sooo very close to event day, the miles are starting to really stack up…  Including week 9 I've logged about 161 miles since April 26th and that number will be growing dramatically the next weeks!

Week 9 Training (Scheduled/Actual):
Mon: Rest/Rest
Tues: 4 Miles/none
Wed: 30 min Cross/ 5 miles
Thurs: 5 miles/ none – team meeting!
Fri: 45 min Cross/ 5 miles
Sat: 14 miles/ none – went to the 3 Day Expo instead!
Sun: 10 miles/14 miles
Total: 33 Miles/ 24 miles

Yup I was 9 miles off plan for this week but I did the best I could with the time available.  Week 8 is currently on track as long as the weather cooperates… we’ve gotten hit by oh so many storms the last few weeks and last night even had tornado warnings (which I slept through!).  This weekend we have a team 17/13 mile back to back training planned and I'm praying any storms wait until after we are done walking each day!

101 Things You Should Know (48-54)

54.  Lives will be spared because we cared. 53.  You may want to do some practice hair runs – showering the night before, sleeping with a wet head, no electricity…

52.  Getting on the sweep vans does not mean giving up.

51.  Bringing an extra battery for your cell phone is a stellar idea.

50.  The one who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the one doing it.

49.  Mail from supporters means more than I can tell you.

48.  The Remembrance Tent is an indescribable place to reflect on your journey, the reason we do this and to shed a tear.

Wait… it’s not August yet!

When you are on the 3 Day you see many, many things that you don’t see in your “normal” life. 

Things such as men wearing fake boobs, vans decorated with bras, signs on the laps of guys with holes that say “free mammograms!”…  pretty much anything boob related goes because we all know that we are there supporting the same cause – the fight against breast cancer.  So I have become somewhat desensitized to crazy sayings and off the wall decorations… or so I thought…

Today while driving from one of my hospitals to another, I saw this and for a split second I thought it was August in Metro Detroit…

Have Your Ticket Yet?

60 Days Until 60 Miles (& Week 10 Training!)

The countdown is moving oh so quickly and I can’t believe we are just 2 short months away from the Michigan 3 Day!  The team is getting closer and closer to our fundraising goal and we have 1 more major fundraiser *cough*Eclipse VIP Night*cough* left!  I’ve been fundraising, walking, fundraising, walking, fundraising… well you get the picture!  So staying true to my promise, here is my week 10 training!

Week 10 Training (Scheduled/Actual):
Mon: Rest/ 7 miles
Tues: 4 Miles/ 0 miles – Culver’s Fundraiser!
Wed: 30 min cross training/5 miles
Thurs: 5 Miles/3 miles
Fri: 45 min cross training/none
Sat: 12 miles/ 0 miles – Bridal shower across state
Sun: 9 miles/ 14 miles
Total: 30 miles/29 miles

Overall not too bad…just 1 mile short on a very busy week! One thing is still blatantly obvious – I completely suck at cross-training!  Oh well, the best preparation for walking 60 miles is… walking!  And I'm certainly trying to do as much of that as possible. 

Week 9 is off to a slow start so far – I was very good at the “rest” day [if you can count doing laundry until 1am “resting”] but today it’s pouring down rain and I had some things that just had to get done!  No really, they did… maybe I can tell you about them one day but for now they remain secret except to a select few!  Tomorrow i’m back to walking though and then a team meeting and then more walking and then the 3 Day EXPO and then more walking… yup that’s my week… maybe I will get in another post or two?

101 Things You Should Know (55-61)

61.  After the walk is over, keep drinking water and Gatorade – your body will still need the fluids and electrolytes. It is not uncommon for walkers to end up in the ER on Monday morning.

60.  When you walk into the Port-a-potty, you will notice a small, open plastic container attached to the wall. It is not a garbage receptacle. It is not a fanny pack holder. It is a urinal. Now you know.

59.  Hug your fellow walkers! 

58.  You may want to put the next day’s clothing in your sleeping bag overnight so they are as toasty warm as the rest of you!

57.  You must bring your own water bottle – you will want a wide-mouthed one for easy access. You may want to consider bringing 2 – 1 for water, 1 for Gatorade.

56.  Walk etiquette includes the phrase “On your left!” and stepping off the route to take a cell phone call.

55.  Take your time. It’s a walk, not a race.

Its A VERY Big Day!

“June 12th, 2009 – …My doctor was nearly certain - in fact said he would be "very surprised"- if my full pathology came back as anything but benign. 

We were both a little shocked when I went in to have my stitches out a week ago Friday and found that "Bob" had been sent to the Mayo Clinic for a second look. He said he would call me as soon as the reports from Mayo came back...

So that is basically how exactly 2 months after my 30th birthday, I got the phone call telling me I have cancer.”

One year ago today at approximately 4:30pm I listened to those words and had no idea how much life would change.  This past year has been one of the worst and best years in my life.  I don’t know that anyone but another cancer survivor can truly understand that statement...  It changes you in so many unexpected ways that you will never be the same person you were “BC” – before cancer.

Today is a day to celebrate every moment, to appreciate the little things, to stop and smell the roses, to live life to the fullest, to shout it from the rooftops! 

I am here, I am healthy, I am loved, and I have a very long life in front of me.

I am spending this weekend by celebrating 2 family birthdays and a bride-to-be and of course doing more than a little walking and it just seems so fitting.  Welcoming another year and and celebrating one of life’s big events is truly a gift… being healthy enough to plan on walking 14 miles on Sunday seems like a miracle from some of my lowest points last year.

Friday I had my 6 month post treatment labs drawn and next week Friday I see my Endo for my 6 month follow-up exam.  Even though I don’t expect any surprises there is that anxiety bubbling just below the surface…

For today, I am pushing all of that away and am remembering that today is worth celebrating because life is worth celebrating!  Life in all its ups and downs is simply a gift every single day. 

Today Every day is my most precious gift.

Eclipse – A Shameless Plug

Have you heard of the Twilight series and a certain new movie coming out in just 20 days?  Are you as anxious as I am to see Jacob, Bella, & Edward on the big screen again?  What if you could get VIP seating to see the movie on opening day, get popcorn & pop, a gift bag full of goodies, and make a donation to Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure all at the same time?  Well I have super exciting news – you can!!

Team Pink PediCures is hosting an Eclipse Movie Premiere VIP Party on June 30th and you can purchase your ticket for just $35!!!

Your $35 gets you: access to the VIP party at 6pm, gift bag full of PINK goodies with a few Twilight surprises for good measure, appetizers, games, silent auction, prizes, VIP seating to the 7:45p showing, popcorn, pop & more!  Oh yeah and $25 of your ticket goes straight to the 3 Day!  Now what’s not to love?  Just click on the little button on the top right – yup the orange one that says “BUY NOW!” -to buy or for more information.

Have you gotten your ticket yet?

Week 11 Training

It hit me earlier this week – training is in FULL swing and its getting more important to have walks carved into the schedule rather than trying to fit them around everything else.  The weeks seem to be flying by and the 3 Day will be here before I know it!  Training is starting to ramp up

Week 11 Training (scheduled/actual):
Mon: Rest/Rest
Tues: 4 miles/7 miles
Wed: 30 min cross-train/none
Thurs: 5 miles/ 5 miles
Fri: 45 min cross-train/ none
Sat: 6 miles/ 6 miles
Sun: 5 miles/ none
Total: 20 miles/ 18 miles

Only 2 miles short this week and a whole lot of cross training behind… as long as I'm getting miles in I'm not as concerned about the cross training.  Week 10 will be challenging because it calls for 30 miles and we have a fundraiser at Culver’s and I have a bridal shower on Saturday!  I’m planning on getting in at least 28 of those miles but am hoping to do at least the full 30.

How many miles do you have planned for this week?

101 Things You Should Know (62-68)

68.  The support from the communities we will walk through will be overwhelming – I recommend no/waterproof mascara.

67.  People eating lunch while checking their feet for blisters won’t be as gross as it sounds now.

66.  You will really really really want to have your friends/family at the cheering stations!   Start recruiting your cheering squad now!

65.  If you haven’t already, read the Underground Guide.

64.  Be proud of your daily accomplishments in training, fundraising… You are making a difference!

63.  The 3 Day is 3 days of how the world should be.

62.  It’s ok to laugh while you are crying.

You’ve Got Mail!

Did you know that there is a post office in the 3 Day camp? Did you know that letters and cards can be the best encouragement to get that walker out on the route for the 2nd and 3rd day (miles 20-60) when their body and their mind is telling them “What the heck are you doing to me?!”  You can be a part of the 3 Day by sending your favorite walker a piece of mail or two for them to open on event!  

If you would like to send some mail to me or my team here is what you have to do:

1. Click HERE or on our team logo to the right of the screen and pick the name(s) of the individual(s) you want to send to.

2. Address the envelope to:
3-Day for the Cure PO
ATTN: (INSERT NAME OF PARTICIPANT)
P.O. Box 611
South Lyon, MI 48178

3. Post the letter no later than August 3rd, 2010 (if mailing from the USA – if out of the country please mail it no later than July 20th).  We can only accept letters or postcards – packages and boxes will not be accepted.

Trust me we really, ReAlLy, REALLY love mail!!! Please consider sending something to myself or to one or more of my team mates!