Check-in!

Well, it is done! I have checked-in! I have Theresa my tentmate! I ordered the towel service. I commited to pay the last $355 if I don't get it by event day. I got butterflies in my stomach when I thought about how close the 3Day is! Yikes! I am excited and scared at the same time!

Oh I got my new shoes, so I have two pair now. If I could only find the time to get all the other things I need. Maybe this weekend...hopefully!

5 weeks left!!

It has been over a month since I have posted. Crazy how fast time passes! I have been doing okay with my training. I managed to get about 73 miles since I last posted (about 4 weeks). Last week was my longest week yet, I logged about 22 miles. I have been walking in the mornings and during lunch time. Still not getting many miles on the weekends. I still haven't found the time to get in any really long walks. Gonna have to do that sometime soon, since we only have 5 weeks left! Kind makes my tummy hurt to think about how close it is! Hope I make it through the event weekend! Fingers crossed....

I did my first 5K event yesterday. The Go Run to benefit USA Cancer Center. It was fun. I walked with a couple of my friends. Could have walked faster but we decide just to enjoy the walk. There were over 600 participants. It was cool.

Then the family went to the Coca-Cola Club Summer party at Presley's Lake. It was good food and friends. The water was great and the girls had a fanastic time. I was so tired by the time we got home. But it was a good tired! lol!

So week five training starts, hopefully my results will be good! Oh I have logged over 200 miles total! While that is way short of the training it is still a HUGE accomplishment for me! yay!

I'm back...hopefully....

Wow can't believe it has been a month since I have posted. I have been so busy. Getting everything ready for K3 and getting through the first week of school. She did great [and so did I]. Ha! My uncle passed very unexpectly this month. My Mom's only brother. It was such a shock. We have been trying to get through that. It takes time...

We just got back from a mini-vacay this weekend to Vicksburg [bottle show]. It was really nice to get away after a stressful few weeks but it wasn't long enough of course.

I have been trying to get walks in when I can. I haven't been keeping up with the training schedule. It has been really hard to find the time and energy.

My fundraising has been good. I have less than $500 to go! I think I should make goal before check-in! I just hope I can get my body ready too!

I am going to 'start' again with my training & hope that I can keep up with it. I have logged about 130 miles which is great but that is less than half of where I should be. I hope I will be ready in 10 weeks. I guess all I can do it keep trying and hope for the best.

Oh and my team mate got married this weekend!! Congrats, T!! So happy for y'all!

Back injury and slow recovery

A week ago I started my week 15 training. Did a 3 mile walk as scheduled. The next day, Zoe slipped off the bed and was going head first toward the floor. Out of instinct I reached out and grabbed her with my left hand, I was holding Fiona in my right arm. Well, I kept her from falling but in the processes pulled my back. Zoe weighs about 40 pounds so that was 40 pounds of dead weight pulling straight down. She pulled me forward and I actually heard and felt my back pop! I let her gently down to the floor but then I couldn't stand back up right. It took me a few minutes to straighten up. Needless to say, it hurt really bad! It was a strange injury. It went from my left lower back down to about half way of my thigh but also went across the front from my lower back to my groin. Then after about 2 days it started to hurt on the opposite side in the middle of my back and around to the right groin. Very strange. So for the last week I can been taking care of that. Trying to get better and not make it worse which isn't easy when you have a 3 years and a 7 month old.

So anyway, I have felt pretty good for the last couple of days so I decided to try for a walk today. It started out fine. I took the pace slow at around 2.5mph. It felt good to walk again but at about a half a mile I started to feel it in my back. Both left lower back and groin. I keep going for a few but it only continued to get worse so I decide not to press my luck. I didn't want to make it worse. I'll try again tomorrow.

Maybe I can add a 1/4 to a 1/2 a mile to each walk this week until I am back up to speed. Then hopefully next week I can get back on schedule. Keep your fingers crossed.

Haven't posted in a while!

Wow! It has been nearly two weeks since I have posted! I just have't been feeling it! My motivation has been laxed to say the least. It has just been one thing or another. I have been increasing on my weekly miles but not my daily walks. I seem to be stuck at 6 miles! I should have already increased to 7s and 8s by now & this week calls for a 10! Man I am so far behind schedule! I hope I can get moving and get back on track or I may not be ready! Ugghhh!

Good news is my fundraising went really well for June! I am more than half way and I just mailed out 20 more letters! I am hopefully that I will at least make that goal. It is looking good so far!

Well, only 15 weeks to go! Gotta 'Move it, move it!'

End of week 18

Wow, another week gone by. These weeks are starting to go by too quickly. Again I didn't have a great training week. I only got in about 10 miles. I really have to ramp this up. I guess I am just gonna write June off as a slow month and try to have an amazing July!

I finally got some relief from my contact dermatitis (go into something when doing yard work at Granny Alma's a few weeks ago). I had to give in a actually go to the doctor. I couldn't stand it anymore. It had gotten to the point that I felt like things were crawling on me and I was scratching my skin off. It was keeping me up nights too. It had taken over! So I went on Friday and got some steroids, antihistmines & cream. I finally had some relief. I am not completely rid of it but at least I can function now. So that will hopefully not be an excuse for not training any longer.

My fundraising finally picked up. My letters have started to pay off. I am now at about 54%! I have a few more letters to mail and still have plenty of people promising donations that haven't come through yet. Hopefully, things will continue to come in and I will reach and surpass my goal soon!

So my agenda for this week is to get back to walking every day even if it is only 2 or 3 miles at a time. Every step counts....

Wrap up of training week 19

Well it was a slow week training wise. I did manage to get in 12 miles but that is 7 miles short of goal. I walked the 4 days as suggested but the mileage for each walk was below suggested. I also didn't get any cross-training in. It was a busy week but I'm not gonna try to make excuses. I just didn't do what I should have done this week. Maybe this coming week will be better. Dad found me a used treadmill so maybe if I can get it I can bring my mileage up. Hopefully!

Good news is I had a great weekend with family, celebrating all the great dads in our family. I am very lucky to have a amazing hubby who is a fantastic daddy too, a wonderful father who is still making us laugh and a great father-in-law unlike any other. Our family is very blessed!

Tomorrow is a new week so I am going to go into it with optimism and hopefully it will produce a great training week.

Gotta get movin'!!!

OK so the previous two weeks have been horrible for training. I haven't come close to the mileage that I need. I am having such a hard time finding/making time to walk.

I almost had heatstroke Friday afternoon. Then I just couldn't get up Saturday morning and we were busy until late Saturday evening. Then Sunday we went to Granny Alma's in Georgiana (hour & half north) to do yard work. We were there all day and come home totally exhausted. Then Monday, I was off work, took Fiona to Dr for 6 month checkup and did other errands, then it rained all afternoon. Finally, it stopped and I was able to get a 3 miler in before dark. It was really tough because I hadn't walked in 2 days. My legs hurt later in the evening.

So I put out a call for a treadmill, maybe if I have one at home at least I can walk on the days it is too hot or too stormy. I'd rather walk on the treadmill than not walk at all. At least I can build my strength and stamina even if it isn't as good as outdoor walking. I won't have skipped days where my legs can get sore.

I also sent out another mass email soliciting donations. I actually made $45 in about 10 minutes! More than last time! & it will get double through employer matching! I sent in on our payday, hoping that would help. ;-) I also have gotten two donations from the letters I sent out a week or so ago. I hope that is only the beginning and that the money will start rolling in!

Well, I'm not sure what kinda walking I will get in today. It is storming again but maybe it will move on through and I can walk this evening at home. A few miles is better than no miles!

I won't be able to walk at lunch during the week for a while. Our latest project is such a beast that we are having daily meetings at 1:00 until it is complete! Ugghh! I will also be missing my BS and Yoga classes too! I really hate that! I really enjoyed those classes but they are at 12:30. I plan to pick them back up when this project is done!

Oh and the shoes appear to be great! I didn't feel any rubbing or toe smashing. My feet were sore but I think that was because I hadn't walked in two days. I really think they are gonna work out nicely! The boob compressor is good too. I actually felt like I had better posture and my neck didn't hurt at the end. So maybe everything together will help improve my training.

New Shoes

So yesterday didn't go as planned, I was supposed to go to BS class at 12:30 but instead I had a meeting at work at 1! I wasn't happy! That is the first time that I have missed class since I started. So then yesterday afternoon, I was gonna walk, well I left work at 4 and it was 96 with a heat index of 102! Ugghh! I did not want to get out in that. I really should b/c I need to get used to it but that was just took much so I decided to go shoe shopping instead. That counts toward training right? Ha!

I went to McCoy Outdoor on Springhill Ave. It was recommended by several people. I had never been there so I had no idea what to expect. Well, it is exactly what it says and Outdoor store. They have everything! Like a mini-Bass Pro. Anyway, I found the shoes. It was a small section but they had all the styles that I had read about. Well, I was told to find Mr. Joe Sims, that he was the go to guy for shoes. Actually he found me. I told him about the walk, that I was a novice, this was all new to me and that I needed help. He said that I came to the right place.

He took a look at my feet, my stance and my stride. Then he told me everything about my feet even my size. I know my feet but so did he! I was impressed! He said I have what you need. He goes and gets me a pair of Asics. I try them on and it was like a glove! They felt so good. He explained why they were what I needed. I was convinced. He did actually bring out a second pair just for variety but they didn't feel as good. I was sold on that first pair! Of course, I had no idea how much they cost b/c nothing was price so I was hoping that I didn't just fall in love with a $200 pair of shoes!

Then he suggested a pair of wet-wicking socks. Those suckers were $13! For one pair of socks! But he said and I have read that the right socks are vitial for comfort and preventing injury.

Then he ask me the dreaded, 'Do you have a sports bra?' Uggghhhh! I knew that I needed one but I just hate those things. They are so constricting and ugly! I do need to protect the girls though so I told him no that I needed one. So he goes to that section and says, this is the best selling and I think you will love it. It looked like a torture device to me. Just a big band of convining fabric! They he turns to me and says 'You look like a 38 DD.' I was like what the hell he knows boobs as well as he knows feet! Crazy! I said well, that was pretty damn close. He said well in these bras you usually need to go smaller so nothing jiggles! So I tired on my size and the smaller one and he was right! I had to go with the 38. Oh and since I had never bought one of these I had no idea if it fit right so here I am showing off my girls, all compacted in this bra, to the shoe salesman! Ha! Good thing I'm not modest! I found the whole thing quite humorous! And so did Pete! He said 'Damn, I'm in the wrong line of work!' LOL!

So I ended up with one pair of shoes, one pair of socks and one boob constrictor!! $170!! I guess that isn't bad considering that these items should keep me comfortable and injury free.

I sure hope that I love everything. I won't get to try them until tomorrow but I am excited about the prospect of true comfort! And if I love them, then I will know what to buy next time and I won't have to give the salesguy a show! LOL!

The dreaded treadmill

Well, I finally got some miles in for the week. I logged 4 on Monday and 5 yesterday. I did both days on the treadmil here at work. I really don't like the treadmill but at this point I would rather use it than not walk at all. I am hoping to get back outside soon. Between the heat index and the storms it isn't easy. I have BS class today and Yoga tomorrow so I probably won't walk again until Friday. Hopefully I can walk outside by then.

I can say this though, I feeling a little lacking in motivation this week. I'm not sure why. I just don't feel as pumped as I have in the weeks prior. Maybe I am just tired. Work has been a real strain lately so maybe that is it. Well, hopefully the blahs will pass quickly and the excitement will return.

Lacking mileage

Well, didn't get the miles in this weekend that I had hoped. Saturday morning was just bad from start to finish. I don't even want to talk about it! Then Saturday evening we went to visit some of Pete's bottle collecting friends and didn't get home until after midnight. I am used to begin up that late but I was really extra tired. I still planned to get up early Sunday to walk though. So Fiona woke up at 6 needing a bottle so I gave her one and thought that I would get up in a few to walk, well then next time I opened my eyes it was 9:30 & Zoe was crawling in bed with us! Oh well, so much for my morning walk! Ha! Well, as the day went on it started to rain and continued to rain and rain and rain! If I was training for swimming I would be in good shape but walking was out. So no miles on Sunday. That left me about 10 mile short for the week but maybe I can make them up this week. Oh well, minor setback. Maybe I need to get a treadmill
(even though I hate them) for days like that. It is getting harder and harder to find time to walk when it rains just about every day. Something to consider...

4 miles with the girls

Finally got a walk in. It has been a couple of days. I had planned to go yesterday evening but we ended up at the in-laws so Pete could work on plumbing. By the time we left, I was too drained (no pun intended) to do anything. Luckily this evening I felt ok enough to take the girls for a walk.

We had a good 4 miler. Zoe made it 2 miles and then she wanted to go help daddy (we are prep-ing our den for wallpaper and paint). So Fiona and I continued on, she did so good, not a peep. She just looks around and enjoys the ride. She slept for about 30 minutes and just chilled for the rest of the time.

I really wanted to go for 6 miles but as dusk appoached the bugs started to get annoying and it was getting close to eat time for Fiona. So we wrapped it up at 4.2 miles.

I'm hoping to get in at least 6 in the morning (70% chance of rain). Maybe the rain will hold off until later in the day.

Anyway, I felt pretty good tonight. Hopefully tomorrow will be good as well.

More Letters in the Mail

I haven't posted in a couple of days. Hasn't much been going on (besides work being chaos). I did BS class yesterday, first day of new schedule (Wed instead of Tues). It was a little tough because it has been more than a week since our last class. Did yoga today...it was tough too. We did some new moves, lots of hamstring stretches and the now dreaded frog pose! Wow was that painful! Thought my legs would dislocate! I can't even explain it to you but we looked like a bunch of flat frogs! Ha! I'll be sore tomorrow.

Anyway, I got 20 letters in the mail today. Which will hopefully mean 20 donations in the near future! I sure hope so because my till hasn't moved in a month! Gotta get some money coming in.....

Hope to walk tonight at home with the girls. If the rain holds off we should be good to go....

Sometimes I even amaze myself

I can't believe that I just did what I did! First of all I just walked my longest walk yet...6 MILES!! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I did struggle some with the last mile. My left hip decided that it had enough and tried to stop working! It started to feel a little like bone grinding on bone. Ouch! But it wasn't quite so bad that I had to stop. I only had a mile left so I pushed through the pain. Hopefully as the miles increase my hips will adjust and the pain will subside (I've had hip and lower back issues for many years).

Now the more shocking part of this walk, I got up at 7 am!! If you know me, you know that I am NOT a morning person! I don't do mornings well. I hate getting up early. Well, I broke my own 'sleep as late as possible on the weekend' rule and got up for this walk! I knew that to get in my miles I would have to. I didn't get to walk yesterday because it stormed all afternoon & today it is supposed to do the same. So I knew that I had to get up early to walk. The temp would be better too. So I did it!!! I left the family snoozing in their beds and went for it!

It actually worked out well. Temp was okay. Still really hot but not 95! Too early for any of the neighborhood dogs or kids to be out & very little traffic.

I hoped that the fam would sleep right through & they pretty much did. They had only been awake about 15 minutes when I got back and were still in bed. So they still go their sleeping late in so I would be the only one with cranky pants today from getting up too early. LOL! [Hope not]

Now I'll just have to see if this was a fluke or if I can continue with this morning walking thing (well on weekends). I'd have to get up at 5 to do this during the week...ummm...not gonna happen! Ha!

Wow I just walked 6 miles before 9am...amazing! ;-)~

Lightning!

I only got in just over a mile today. I was hoping for a nice long walk. It was ovecast with a nice strong breeze so I was enjoying it. I didn't know it was gonna blow in a huge thunderhead (very quickly)! I was just hitting a mile when I saw a huge lightning bolt. I mean huge! Luckily I was in site of my car so I quickly headed back with 'lightning' speed. Ha! I love watching lightning storms but from a safe location not while walking on a tree lined trail. I'll make up the miles during this nice long holiday weekend! Yea!

Indoor Track

I decided to try the indoor track today because it is so hot outside at noon. I got there and found the lap length sign - 1 lap = 1/10 mile. Oh good grief! It is a very short track! But I walked it anyway. Wow was it ever boring. Even with my music and people watching, the time really dragged on. Oh well, the temp was nice. I did fine until about 4 miles and my feet started hurting. I think the floor is too hard. It felt like I was walking barefoot. So I knew I wouldn't be able to go too much farther but it worked out because for some reason the rec center was closing early today and they kicked us all out at 2. I got in 4.5 miles though. I felt pretty good just a little pain in my feet from the hard floor.

I'm not sure if I will keep using that track or not. It is nice not to get heatstroke when walking but it is so boring and that floor is so hard. I'll see how my feet feel tomorrow before I decide.

BS Sub

I can't lift my arms. Our sub apparently loves to workout arms not that we didn't do legs but man she was brutal on the arms!!

Next week starts the new workout schedule, looks like BS will now be on Wednesday so I'll have to adjust my training schedule [just when I was getting into a routine].

Isn't this supposed to get easier??

maybe when I quit walking at NOON!!!

Barely managed 3.8 miles today, it was soooo hot!!!

First injury

Only got in a mile today... I apparently injured my left calf. Not sure when or how. May have just overdid it yesterday when pushing the girls. Oh well, I didn't want to make it worse so I quit after a mile. Bummer....

New Training Partners

Today was the first time that my girls joined me on my walk. Well, I walked, they rode. They both did so good! Zoe asked questions about everything along the way which kept my mind off of the extra 50+ pounds that I was pushing & Fiona played with her elephant and looked around until mile 2 when she fell asleep. She slept the remainder of the walk. I am so proud of both of them. They had a good time and I got a good workout!

We'll see how they do tomorrow. I hope they continue to like it. It sure would make scheduling walks easier if I could take them with me.

Yea for the Reeves Girls!

4 MILES!

I just complete my longest walk to date...4 miles! I did this on a new route at a new time. It was tough! The last half mile thought it would defeat me but I prevailed! Barely! It was soooo hot out today and I forgot my hat! My face was purple when I got done! However I wasn't as tired as I thought that I would be. Yeah!

This is week 2 of my training. So far so good. Monday I did 3 miles & Tuesday I did an hour of BS. Both went well. Oh except that I got to BS class late and had to be in the front of class! So I didn't even notice the workout because I was too worried if anyone was noticing me work out! Ha! Never be late to class again!!

My new route for walking has been named the swamp route. I leave from work and walk around a swamp that is on the outskirt of USA campus and back to work. It is a nice walk. Mostly shaded but about 80% off road which I will have to get used to. I did enjoy it though. I have added it to my collection of routes!

The new time...noon! It was hot! But I had to walk early today because of after work obiligations today and I thought I'd go for the longer distance today because we will we going to visit friends outta town on Friday (my usual long day).
So I am now 4 miles closer to the 3Day! Yippee!

1 measly pound!

How can this be?? All this exercise, walking, water drinking & food reduction and the result is a loss of only 1 pound! 1 measly little pound! Needless to say I am just a little disappointed! BooHoo!

Oh and I've heard 'you are building muscle & muscle weighs more than fat'! Maybe so but I have so much extra fat that I thought for sure that some of it would fall off along with all this muscle building! Ugghhh!!

I had really hoped to be able to wear some shorts since the weather is getting so hot! Oh well, I guess wearing long pants has the benefit of causing more sweat so more calories burned so more weigh loss...right?!? Bah! Not with my luck!

Week 1 Complete!

I completed my first week of training today!! I logged 3 miles today...12 for the week! I keep thinking 'wow, I walking 12 miles this week!' that is so hard for me to grasp! I have so many more miles to go but I really feel like I did something this week. I haven't logged any kinda miles like this since training for high school track tryouts (didn't make the tryouts though...tore ligaments in my ankle 2 weeks before tryouts...ugghh)!

Today's walk was my first at home. I walked our street (it is a horseshoe) for the first time. It is about 1/2 mile so I had to do 6 laps to get my 3 miles. It was an interesting walk b/c the part of the street just past our house is in really bad shape so I had to weave my way around the small ponds. I felt like I was trying to hide my path from anyone who might follow. By the end of 6 laps though I pretty much had a path figured out. It should be better when it isn't full of water. At least I know that I do have this route if I need it. It may be repetitive but at least I have a place to walk.

So one week down and 23 to go. I am ready for week two. I hope my body is!

Trail Walk

This was day 3 of my training. I decide to take a different path today one that included a mile or so of trails. Trails that I have never been on before. It was very nice but tough at times. I don't think I'll be taking that path again anytime soon though. I nearly slid down a couple of times. My shoes just aren't made for trail walking apparently. I did enjoy the walk though.

I got up close to a family of geese. 6 adults and at least a dozen babies. I wanted so bad to scoop up those babies and taken them home but the parents were very protective....hissing and posturing at me! I was very cautious as I passed them. I didn't want a goose bite in the bum!

I made it through unscathed, however a few minutes later, a bug flew down my throat and I thought I was going to choke to death! As I was hacking and coughing, the headline flashed into my head 'Fat girl found on trail with bug in her throat and goose bites on her bum!' Not a pleasant thought! LOL!

Mother nature has a sense of humor...enjoy her beauty but be cautious, nature can be dangerous [& not necessarily tasty]! Ha!

Anyway, I did survive this walk. Logged another 3 miles. Yippee!

Oh yeah, tip of the day: Don't skip lunch! A powerbar is not enough to sustain you through a 3 mile walk. Even with a little extra bug on the side!

BodySculpt

Did BS (I like that acronym...lol) again today. I wasn't as sore as I thought I would be. Our instructor decided to change things up today to give us a break from the brutality she put us through last week. [so kind of her] No step today, instead resistance bands. I wouldn't say they were easy but I did much better with that than with step. We did a lot of upper body too. I have next to no upper body strength. My arms are gonna be noodles tomorrow. Over all it was pretty good though. I didn't pass out or fall down. She even complimented me by asking if I was a student! Ha!

Second time doing BS - check.
Second day of training - check.

On my way....

RIP Robyn

We lost one of the beautiful ladies that we are doing the 3day walk for; Robyn Shaffer. She lost her battle with breast cancer this morning.

Damn cancer sux! We have got to find a cure!

Official 24 week training

I started my 24 week program yesterday. Walked 3 miles in 60 minutes. It was very hot but I did okay.

Today is bodysculpt. I hope I can do it. I'm not sore anymore but I still 'feel' my muscles when I move certain ways. All I can do is try!

Yoga

Today was the day to take on Yoga. I am still so sore so I didn't know if I would be able to do it. Again, I tried figure out an excuse not to go but my co-worker had decided to join me so I couldn't abandon him. It was his first time doing Yoga as well. So off we went...

I was pretty shaky at first b/c of my leg soreness but I managed to stay upright. A few of the moves really push my muscles to their limits. I was stretching muscles that I didn't know even existed. It was very calming though. I enjoyed the relaxing breathing. I could really feel my body loosening up. Toward the end I was starting to get a little tired but then we got to the best part... Corpse pose in the dark (nap time)! I actually felt very good when we finished. My legs even felt better. That was very beneficial and I will go again! Yea!

My first 3 mile walk!!

Well, to add to my pain, yesterday was to be my first full 3 mile walk. I honestly didn't think I could do it. I really didn't want to even try. Just getting outta my car was a challenge! But I went anyway, I crawled outta my car and went for it. The first 5 minutes was brutal. I couldn't get my stride right. My legs didn't work like they should. So I stopped after a few to stretch, oh wow was that horrible! I really wanted to just go back to my car but I didn't give in. UGGHHH!!

I got to moving again and gradually it got easier. I took a new path to extend my time and just hoped that I didn't end up a mile away from my car and my legs would give out. But they kept going, well for a while. I could start to feel the fatigue at about 2 miles which was the longest I had done up to this point but I pressed on. I had to, I wasn't anywhere near my car! ;-) I really started to struggle at about 50 minutes. My body was done. I slowed my pace but had to keep going! Where was my damn car?? I made it through that last 10 minutes and there over the hill was 'black magic'. [Yep my car has a name!] LOL! I had made it! I tried to stretch out but all my legs wanted to do was sit so that's what I did. The ride home was nice! AC blasting, no shoes, 28 ounces of water. Ahhhhh!

BodySculpt Results

So yesterday I was sooo sore that I could barely move! BodySculpt apparently kicked my butt! My legs were (I should say are b/c the pain is not gone) so sore. Sitting down, standing up, walking up & downstairs...normal functions that are now nearly impossible!! I had to laugh at myself trying to get down the 3 flights of stairs at work yesterday (& so did my hubby and my coworker...turds). Anyway, the hurt is crazy but I feel good about it. I keep telling myself that it will all be worth it when I have a wonderfully scuplted body! HA!

I will go back...crazy I know!

BodySculpt!! OMG!

Well I did it! I just made it through the BodySculpt class! Barely made it through I should say. That was just plain painful! I am soooo outta shape! It was lunges & squats & crunches & weight lifts & I don't even remember what else! My parts were tremblin & shakin! I thought they would revolt but I held it together. It was really tough but I did it! I am actually pretty happy with myself. I held my own with a group of college kids. I don't think I had to stop any more than anyone else.

I am stoked. I will go again next week. My body will be sculpted! Ha!

Oh on a side note...I have had 32+ ounces of water already today (ugghhh). I really dislike drinking water!

Short walk...

I got through my walk in the park today. I only did 30 minutes. That was all I could do. My chest started hurting & I felt like a headache was coming on so I didn't overdo it. I'll sure be glad when I'm over this sinus crud.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try a strength training class at USA. It is called BodySculpt. Sounds painful to me. ;-) Hope I don't chicken out....

Not a good day for walking...

I'm suppose to walk today. This week I was planning to begin my official 3Day training program. I want to do the 24 week program since my fitness level is so low & this is week 25. However, I have a horrible sinus infection. I missed my Friday walk because of it. I thought I would make up for missing Friday by walking this weekend. I didn't. I felt so bad all weekend that I couldn't walk from the backdoor to the garage without becoming winded or coughing. I do feel a little better today but I my head is still stopped up, I can't breathe through my nose and I get winded quickly. I'm gonna try to walk anyway.

If the rain holds off, then I'm gonna try to walk in the park. If it doesn't I'm gonna see if I can find the USA campus indoor track. Hopefully, I can find it and not get a ticket for parking on campus without a parking tag.

Caught up...

I think that brings me up to date. I could go on & on. As I'm sure you have figured out, I am a talker! ;-) If you made it through all this, I hope you will come back and follow my continued journey. At least from now on, the posts should be shorter.

Back to money makin'

I really hate to ask people for money but I know this is for a good cause. This research needs to continue. A cure must be found. So I finally got back to my letter (that I created weeks ago) to send to family and friends (have to start somewhere). I never did get envelopes so that is on my weekend to do list. Oh and stamps too.

Theresa and Susan have suggested several fundraising ideas. They are looking into auctions, raffles, speghetti dinners, etc. I guess I need to get back to that too so that I can contribute some ideas!

Welcome aboard Susan...

Earlier last week, we added a new team member! Yea! Her name is Susan, she is a friend of Theresa's. We are so glad to have her join us. I can't wait to actually get to meet her in person. ;-)

Not another excuse to quit!

So the walking continued, I was consistantly walking 30 mins(1.5 miles) 3 days a week. However, my foot hurt! I was not happy with my shoes but I hadn't convinced myself that I was dedicated enough yet to invest in expensive shoes. I tried adjusting the laces, different types of socks, no socks, still my foot slid forward, my big toe joint ached and my little toe and his slightly bigger sister would get all tingly! I started to dread each walk. I researched and read and figured out that I needed an orthotic to support the metatasals and arch. So let the hunting begin...

Getting back to it!

I tried to motivate myself by reading other peoples stories, by thinking of why I had decided to do this in the first place, by telling myself that not only does the cause need this but I need this! So I took a new direction. The weather had finally warmed so I decided to try walking in the park (Municiple 'Langan' Park). I had to figure out when I could do this. It wasn't like walking downstairs to the gym. Again I decide afternoons would be best, I had to time it right though so that I could get there, walk and head to get the girls without getting stuck in crazy Mobile traffic. Since I had never actually 'walked' at the park, I had no idea what was there in the way of paths, sidewalks, trails, etc. The first day, I just picked a sidewalk and started walking. I knew that if I walked for about 30 minutes it would be about 1.5 miles so I walked for about 15 minutes then turned around and walked back. I didn't want to go off on some trail somewhere and it take me an hour and a half to get back. Anyway, I enjoyed that walk. The sun was out, the wind was blowing, birds chirping (some where squawking...there are lots of seagulls there). It was nice. The next time I decided to make a loop around and on that walk I found a trail map on a little post so now I could see where the paths met. Cool... Again I enjoyed the walk, I could feel my motivation being renewed. Yea!

In the meantime...

While I was trying to conquer my laziness demons, Theresa and I had to come up with a team name. Wow that was more difficult than we thought it would be. There were so many ideas but we found out that a lot were already registered. So one day I asked Jerry for some ideas, he too came up with lots of good ones. We couldn't decide so Theresa took our top ten and put it to a vote with her co-workers and 'Itty Bitty 3Day Titty Tour' won by a landslide. Jerry gets credit for that one. Thanks Baby! Theresa thought that we now needed some shirts with our team name, etc. so she got to work on that. She spent many days, sample after sample, until she came up with something that she was happy with. Yes, I helped too, but basically I just made a few suggestions. She did all the work. Well, they turned out great! Save the 'boo' bees on the front & Itty Bitty 3Day Titty Tour on the back. Awesome...

We also spent time discussing fundraising ideas, again lots came to mind but putting them into action would be difficult. It was still early in the journey...we still had time. In the meantime, donation were actually coming in, I was up to about $400 in a month and I hadn't done anything. So I had to get back to my walking program, friends and family were doing their part by donating so I had to do mine by walking!

Let the walking begin

So I was ready, I had a place, time, shoes, ipod & motivation. I'm can do this. I actually don't think I did too bad the first few times. I walked for 20 minutes at a time (about a mile), 3 days that week. When my second week started, I was already trying to talk my self out of it. I didn't like the treadmill. I didn't like sharing the gym with others. While I like the people that came in, I just didn't like walking with people being there. I was self conscious I think. Anyway, I stuck with it for about 2 weeks. I had worked up to 30 mins about 1.5 miles. Then I missed a day because of a meeting. Then another day because I forgot my shoes. Then another day because well I don't even remember why. The next thing I knew, nearly a month had gone by and I was walking maybe once a week. Ugghhh! I wasn't supposed to let this happen but I knew why it did. I didn't like it. It was boring. So now what?

Where and when to walk

At the time I started all this, it was still really cold here (we had a crazy way below average winter). And this southern girl so not like the cold! So I started out in the exercise gym at my work on the treadmill. I would go for about 30 minutes at the end of the work day before leaving to pick up the girls. I knew afternoons would be better (even though all I wanted to do was go home) because I am soooo not a morning person (ask anyone who knows me).

Getting physical

I had actually been trying to motivate myself to start doing some sorta activity to get back into shape (hourglass not round) before taking on this challenge. I had spoken to Jackie about some activites. She was doing the C25k (couch to 5k). She was very motivated. She sent me all kinda of info but it is a lot easier to read about it than to actually do it. But now in addition to her motivation, I had this cause to motivate me.

The shoes...

Oh yeah & I didn't own a pair of walking shoes, nothing that I could even attempt to walk any distance in. I do have shoes (lots of them...another blog for a another day) but none for exercise or walking. So I started researching shoes...undaunting! Luckily I had a new friend, Jackie, that had just started her after baby exercise journey. Her baby boy is a month older than my baby girl. She was a shoe research maniac so I quizzed her. She gave me all kinds of info. Anyway, finding shoes wasn't fun. I have high arches, narrow heels and an old injury to the metatarsal head/joint (big toe joint). I finally settled on a pair from one of the big box shoe stores. Thought I would try those for a while, then maybe if I stuck with this, I would upgrade.

Me...a walker?

So while I was waiting on my 'Walker' packet from 3Day, I decided to focus on the physical side of this journey...WALKING! I knew that this was going to be harder than raising the money. I had just had my second daughter in December. I had done basically no real physical activity in nearly a year. I am in the double digits for extra weight. I have never been a big fan of exercise. Oh & I love to eat! Boy this is gonna be a challenge... BUT if these women can battle breast cancer and beat it, then I can get off my lazy fat ass and go for a walk! ;-)

Getting started

First thing I did was to post my intent to facebook, then I sent an email to a few family members & friends and then posted an email to my works electronic bulletin board. From this I got lots of positive feedback and several immediate donations. My sister-in-law, Tracy, gets credit for being the first.

About my writing style...

By the way, I do talk to myself all the time (normal? mental? ... who knows), I ramble, I don't always use correct grammar, punctuation or capitalization; who needs it. ha! Pretty funny considering I'm a QA engineer. Actually, I type like I speak (probably incoherant most of the time). My mind moves way faster than my fingers so the outcome you get isn't always clear. Hope you don't have to difficult of a time following along. ;-)

How it started...

One day back in March my high school friend, Theresa, posted to facebook that she had signed up to walk in the 3day for the cure. I was curious as to what this was so I click her link and begain reading. Interesting... So I emailed her to find out her scoop on it. She said that her Mom had just be diagnosed with cancer and she was drawn to this cause. After doing some more reading, something happened. I can't even explain it. Something spoke to me, 'you should do this, you can do this.' I responded to her to say that I was interested. I then emailed my husband to tell him that I was thinking of doing this. All the time thinking to myself, 'you are crazy...walk 20 miles in one day, raise $2300 in 7 months, leave your family for 3 days...E you have lost your mind'. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. My great Grandmother had breast cancer, my Aunt Mary is a survivor, so after discussing it in length with Jerry, I decided to go for it! As I was registering, I was thinking, 'what am I getting myself into'. Oh well, here goes...

creating a blog

I am trying to figure out how all this works.