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....