150 and counting

After my 12 mile walk this morning I've surpassed the 150 Mile mark in training! After about another 250-300 MORE miles I'll be ready for the 3-Dday! Seems a little overwhelming thinking about it that way, so I'll just concentrate on my 7 mile walk tomorrow! Oh yeah, my new sneakers are doing great as the distance increases, so it's about time for me to go buy a second pair and start breaking those in as well. Want to make sure both pair are ready come August 15th!

Shhhhhh

Yesterday I had the privilege to visit the 3-Day sites for this year! Along with a handful of other past walkers and crew we were shown the sites and layouts for the Opening Ceremony, Camp, and Closing Ceremonies, along with some of the 1st day of the route. What a treat to have a sneak peak of the 2008 event ~ its really gets me even more excited for the walk this year! All the info is TOP SECRET until the 3Day has all the signed permits, etc. SO, don't try asking me the locations because my lips are sealed! And as you know - I can keep a secret so you're out of luck! :-)

Free exfoliation

Happy Memorial Day! We finally got some beautiful weather this weekend so I think I've officially retired my walking gloves and hat. That is, unless the hat is to keep the sun out of my eyes! Today was also my first walk of the season where I needed to lather the sunscreen on before I even walked out the door. The sun was shining, it was warm, everyone was out and about! It was also extremely windy. The first few blocks the wind was OK, but as soon as I started walking along the ocean, the wind was whipping the sand around and I literally had to walk with my left eye closed because it was closest to the ocean side and the sand hitting my face was brutal. Not to mention I could feel the sand sticking to my face and body. The sunscreen not only protected me from the sun, but it had just enough stickyness to give the sand something to attach to. After about a 7-8 mile walk I was caoted in sand. I came home and immediately has to rinse my face ~ although it felt more like a sand exfoliation!

Fundraising

Sunday I met up with Cecelia, my buddy from the 2007 walk, for a 10 mile training session in Burlington. The weather was perfect ~ warm, sunny and a mild breeze. I love it when nature is kind to me while I'm walking! Cecelia and I have plans to do a fundraiser at a Super Walmart at the end of June, so we spent some of the time chatting about what we should bring/sell/just ask for donations. After holding a bunch of these events last year with a zillion baked brownies and popcorn, I mostly learned that the majority of shoppers are far more interested in just making a donation than "buying" a brownie. So, this year we're going to go the easy route, skip the baking, and sell some 3 Day bracelets we have along with some really cute wine charms Cecelia made. I do need to find a card table to set up in front of the store, so if you have one handy and are willing to lend it to me for a weekend, please let me know! :-) Stay tuned in about a month to see how we make out at Walmart!

Volunteer

Have you been thinking you'd like to get involved with the 3-Day, but not quite up for walking 60 miles? There are always plenty of volunteer opportunities to become part of the 3-Day family. And trust me as a past walker......we REALLY appreciate all the help we can get!

What does it take to be a volunteer? Pretty much just a good attitude! Who can volunteer? "Anyone! All ages are welcome to volunteer at designated cheering stations along the route. Closing Ceremonies volunteers must be 10 years old and accompanied by a parent or guardian for those between 10 and 17 years old." ~ quote from the 3-Day.

Click here for a description of 3-Day volunteer descriptions that exist in citites across the country. At this point, the exact positions aren't posted but you can subscribe to the Volunteer Bulletin and you'll be notified as positions become available. Then it's up to you to decide if there's something that looks like a good fit. Trust me, this is definitely one of those experience which you get far more out of than you could ever put into it!!!

Cold Ears, brrrrr!

Can someone please tell the Weather Gods that it's the middle of May and I need some warm temps?! On Tuesday morning when I walked weather.com said it "felt like 39 degrees" and this morning it "felt like 48 degrees." I made myself retire my gloves last week so I kept my fingers warm inside of the long sleeves of my sweatshirt. But my ears didn't have that luxury. They were SOOOO cold with the cold wind coming off of the ocean! Here it is almost the end of May and I actually saw one person walking with ear muffs. Smart girl. Wish it had been me! The weather forecast for the next few days is 70-80 degrees, so by Memorial Day I hope to be retiring the sweatshirt and permanently digging out the short sleeve tops. Wish me weather luck!

6 miles and counting....

Yesterday I took my new sneakers out for a 6 mile walk and they did perfect!!! Up until know I've only worn them for 3 mile walks. Why? Because any walk longer than that the weather wasn't exactly perfect and I didn't want to get them dirty! I know that sounds insane, but I've been walking and looking down at dirty sneakers for so long, I wanted to relish the clean ones for as long as possible! (here's a pic of my actual new sneakers)

All sorts of Company!

I was down in Plymouth Friday night, so Saturday morning meant I was walking through the beautiful trails of The Pinehills (my parent's neighborhood). It was raining pretty hard in the morning, so I left around 10 am once the rain stopped.

I was thinking of the women participating in the Avon 2Day walk which was happening this weekend in Boston. Last year it rained all weekend during their event, so I guess it was better this year if they only had rain for a few hours. I'm not sure what's worse - the rain they had, or the 100 degree temps I had last year for the 3-Day. I guess the weather gods like to test how dedicated the Breast Cancer walkers are!

Anyway, back to Pinehills. The trails there are really serene. And they have a few hills which is good for my training because most of my routes in the city are flat, but the 3-Day route has a bunch of hills. Of course, as I'm struggling up a hill I'm not exactly thinking it's a great thing, but it's so easy to have perspective when I'm home sitting at my computer!

Toward the end of my 1st 5-mile loop there was a women walking behing me and when I turned around I noticed she was wearing a pink ribbon hat. Naturally I struck up a conversation! Turns out we had a lot in common - she was visiting her daughter, me my parents, she was wearing the hat because her 85 year old mother is a BC Survivor (30+ years!), my 92 year old grandmother is a Survivor, and randomly both her daughter and I work at Talbot's! Small world isn't it?! We only walked about 1/2 a mile together, but it surely helped pass the time and Maryann was a really nice lady!

Then I got even more company on my second 5-mile loop. My Mom met me for the last 2.5 miles home. The end of the walk is always more difficult than the beginning so it was great to have her to chat with and pass the time. And what a tropper she is to join in my training!

D.C. Buddy

Last Saturday was another 10 mile walks....seems like I a have a few of those these days! A couple days before I talked to someone I met through the 3-Day message boards, and she lives close by in Dorchester so we decided to meet up to walk together! Sarah is walking in the Washington D.C. event in October, so her training schedule is really only just starting. What a trooper to join me for the first 8 miles of my walk! She's way ahead in training now!

Inspiration

Let me tell you a story about a truly incredible long distance walker......
Last year when I was trying to decide if I should sign up for the 3-Day walk I did a lot of research to find out exactly what it entailed. Like most people, I was terrified about both the fundraising and the physical challenge of the training. Not to mention the actual 60 mile walk!

One of the people I came across in my research was Barbara Jo Kirshbaum. She's a legend in the long-distance walking world. And here's why......she participates in about 15 walks EVERY YEAR! And she raises an astounding amount of money. She started about 10 years ago, when she turned 60, so she must be about 70-71 now and she's still walking 15 of these events every year.

2008 is a huge year for Barbara Jo. In November, at the end of the walk season she'll have completed ONE HUNDRED WALKS and raised ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!! That's right. An ordinary woman made this committment and personal challenge, and has spent the last decade single handedly raising $1M! She's only $48,000 away from reaching her milestone so there's no doubt she'll reach her personal goal.

I've never met Barbara Jo (she walks in the Avon Boston walk in May, but not the 3Day event in August). But I love to read her blog and follow her progress for inspiration. Not to mention reading her story last year gave me a lot of confidence - if she can walk 15 events and raise about $150,000 every year, than surely I could raise a little bit of money!

btw - she's NOT a Breast Cancer survivor, nor is anyone in her immediate family. She started these walks for a variety of reasons, but mainly to make a difference. And has she ever!

Rain, rain, go away

Not exactly great walking weather this weekend. It rained off and on both Sat & Sun morning, so I walked a little later each day to avoid the heavy rain. Yesterday my timing worked out pretty good. I wasn't as lucky today. I spent most of the walk trying to avoid puddles, or stopping to wait for cars to pass by so they wouldn't splash me when driving through the flooded street. It drizzled during most of my 8 mile walk and I eventually dug out my rain poncho for the first time. On a good day, I look weird walking down busy Morrisey Blvd with a huge fanny pack (my gas station friend even asked me about it yesterday), but with the rain poncho on I'm sure most passersby think I'm some deranged homeless person. The poncho is like a giant black trash bag, but it's open on the sides so I can reach back and get my water bottles. Although a great feature, it's HUGE, and fits over my fanny pack with plenty of room-to-spare. I caught a glimpse of myself and had to laugh - the fanny pack may look odd on a regular day, but when it's covered by the poncho you have no idea what's under the poncho and I look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame! Attractive, huh?

Friendly Wave

Yesterday was my 1st 10 mile walk of the year. And did I need to rest afterwards!!! :0) When I walk my usual route, any walk over 10 miles brings me by Neponset Circle and the Shell Gas Station. Last year on my first long walk I stopped by that gas station to fill up on water and gatorade but I had forgotted to bring money in my fanny pack. Needless to say, the gas station attendant was more than a little skeptical when I promised to come back later that day to pay for the drinks. NOT getting drink refills really isn't a safe option when you're walking 10+ miles! True to my word, I paid later that day. From then on, whenever I would get to the rotary and the same guy was working, he'd wave to me from the window as I went by. Fast-forward a year, and the guy must have been shocked to look out the window and see my familiar figure (ie. Fanny Pack girl!) walking again! I stopped on my way back for drinks, a bathroom break and a quick hello. Although I'm sure we wouldn't recognize each other in civilian clothes, it sure is great to get a friendly wave after 5 miles of walking!!!