The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

This weekend was planned to be a big fundraising blitz outside of Walmart. I had a lot of success doing it last year, so I went back for more.....just not with the same results. My walking buddy Cecelia was going to do it with me, so we chose a SuperWalmart in Salem, NH (equal distance for both of us to get to) and each planned to set up at one of the entrances. Figured we could double our money by reaching every Walmart shopper. Although the theory was true, the clientele wasn't exactly up for donating. I haven't seen that kind of chain-smoking by so many people since the 80's! Not to mention most of them were covered in tattoos and a frighteningly high percentage were missing some teeth. This was clearly "the Ugly" part of the weekend. Not exactly what I was used to from my suburb grocery store and Walmart locations from last year!

After one particularly bad hour when I only received $10 in donations, I decided I wasn't going back there on Sunday. I called the Stop-n-Shop in Plymouth I visited last year and arranged to go there on Sunday instead. Cecelia was still up for visiting Walmart, not to mention the Plymouth location is probably 1 1/2 hours away from her house so not really worth it with the price of gas these days! So she headed to Walmart and I to Stop-n-Shop.

Sunday I was up bright and early and headed to Plymouth. The weather went from overcast and misting rain on my way down to bright sunshine, high humidity and not a cloud in the sky when I reached Plymouth. Instead of wearing the raincoat I had packed, I had to go in and buy sunscreen to make sure I didn't get scorched in the blazing heat b/c there wasn't any shade outside. Instead of chain-smoking, tattoo covered folks not donating, I saw suburban moms and dads toting their green recycling bags into the store in order to save the environment. And they were very generous! This first hour or so was definitely "the Good" part of this experience.

Unfortunately "the Bad" came much too soon. After sitting outside for a very short time I could feel the extreme heat and humidity taking a toll on me. I kept trying to drink water, and even went inside the grocery store on occasion to get a little air conditioning. It wasn't enough as I could tell my body temperature was rising and I developed a splitting headache. Some form of Heat Exhaustion was setting in and then the nasaeu and vomitting started. Later my Mom read about it online and it said not to drink water. Guess my body was just finding a way to get rid of the water!

A really nice teenage boy who worked at the store retrieving the Grocery Carts came over to see if I was OK and even volunteered to call someone for me. I thought if I just got out of the sun and went inside I would feel better. Unfortunately it wasn't that simple. This boy moved all my stuff inside and set me up in there. Not as good for the donations, but at least I didn't feel as if my temperature was at a boiling point. Then the chills started so I had to put on a sweatshirt. Even that didn't help. And I was so weak I couldn't imagine taking my few things to the car or being able to drive a car. Seeing as my parents live close by, I called my Mom and she had to come pick me up. After a few hours of sleep I woke up a normal temperature, although still a little queasy. But today I feel fine. And famished from not eating yesterday! That's how I know I'm back to my old self!

Here are some pics of my set up:

It's Official!!!

The "Travel Information" was posted on the 3Day site today so I don't have to keep the secret of the locations any longer! Opening Ceremonies will be held at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro (actually in the parking lot, not the stadium) and Closing Ceremonies will be at UMASS Boston. I'm so excited to be starting somewhere different as it means we'll get to walk through some new towns this year. But I sure will miss the great Natick Fire Department spraying us with water on that 100 degree day last year! Hope those folks down in Foxboro are just as nice!

Last year I had hoped to walk faster and have time on Sunday to stop for a drink with my walking buddies at a local restaurant close to Closing Ceremonies as a little pre-celebration. This year the Closing Ceremony location may have changed, but we'll still be going by that restaurant to Cecelia and I can try and stop this year!

Save the Date: Sunday, August 17th at 4:30pm Closing Ceremonies will be taking place at UMASS Boston.....would LOVE to see you there!

Castle Island

I haven't walked after work in about 2 weeks because I've been so busy and there just hasn't been time. But tonight I made plans to walk 5 miles with Caroline. Well, to be honest, I made plans to walk (was thinking maybe 3 miles) but she suggested 5. Who am I to say No? Not to mention I'm supposed to be this seasoned walker who's smart enough to know I need to get in as many training miles as possible! We walked 2 loops at Castle Island and home again.

And I did it all in the new pair of shoes I bought last week. After re-tieing the laces a few times I think I finally got it right and they felt great! Now I just need to break them in over another 100 miles or so and then they'll be ready for the 3Day!

When I got home I worked on my photo collage for my fundraiser at Walmart this weekend. Have to make another sign and decorate my Donation Jar and then I should be ready to go!

Saturday Pictures

Caroline did a great job of capturing the 15 mile walk Saturday on film. Or I guess these days, on disk?! Thanks for sending these along so I could include on the blog! Here are some of the shots from our trip around the city. The 1st is as we're about to start the walk at Carson Beach in South Boston.


In front of the State House and still "thumbs up" for all of us! I don't think most of these guys knew it, but a "thumbs down" on the actual 3Day means you need some help and the Sweep Van will stop to pick you up.


Not sure why this looks so small compared to the others but it's a great shot of us walking through the Boston Common. Who'd a thought we were in the middle of the city?!


Lunch - Best part of the day! Food and sitting down, 2 major luxuries! Not to mention the Food Court at South Station has just about anything you might want so everyone had plenty to choose from after walking about 9 miles.


While we were walking at Castle Island someone noticed (sorry I forgot who!) that the city skyline was the backdrop. Don't think most people looking at the view were thinking "yup, I walked that city in the last few hours!" So of course we had to stop and take a picture!

No photos of the Mr. Frosty ice creams because we too busy enjoying them!

Marathon Weekend

After walking 15 miles Saturday I walked 11 miles Sunday for a total of 26 miles this weekend. Just like they run in a Marathon! Sat was my great walk, wonderful company and great scenery.

Sunday was not as glamorous. My usual route is down Morrissey Blvd in Dorchester past things like Jiffy Lube, Gas Stations, etc. unlike the beautiful things I saw on Sat. But I can do it in my sleep so it's easy to bang it out by myself. And I had a Baby Shower in the afternoon so I had to start early in order to have time to walk 11 miles and still make it to the shower on time.

The walk was fine and as I came back into the building a neighbor was walking in with her Sunday Globe. She asked me if it was hot walking and I said "I'm always hot walking" When she heard I had walked 11 miles she said "really?" I said "yes" and she turned back around and said "Did you really say you just walked 11 miles???" "Yes" "Good for you" said in a voice of amazement. I think she was probably looking at her copy of the Globe thinking that in the time I'd walked 11 miles she'd probably had some coffee and dressed to go next door to pick up the paper from the corner store. Heck, sometimes I'm still amazed about the distances I walk and then still go do other things like attend a Baby Shower. It's better I don't think about it and just get it done! And then go to sleep as soon as possible!

Can't wait to see Jeff and Liv's cute little baby due in August!

Training Walk #2

Saturday I led my 2nd walk and I think it was a great success! There were 8 of us in total and everyone walked about the same pace so we stayed together for all 15 miles. That is actually quite a miracle to have 8 strangers stay together that long! And to top that off, everyone seemed to get along well and throughout the day I think pretty much everyone spent some time talking to every other walker.

I actually knew half of the folks ahead of time which definitely helped me remember the name. There was Donna and Jeff my old next door neighbors from ages 5-8. Their daughter Missy and I are still friends, so we've seen each other periodically over the years, but probably haven't spent that much time together in over 2 decades! Then we had Cecelia, my walking buddy from last year. Caroline, my new Southie walking partner that was laid up with a sprained ankle for a while. Then 3 new 1st time walkers, Eileen, Cheryl and Melissa (Caroline's friend). What a great group!!!

We started in Southie, walked to the North End (you can't get there once the shops open or during lunch time or you'll loose all your walkers to the lure of the N. End!). We walked through the Haymarket Farmer's market and stopped to buy fresh peaches and apples. Yum! What a treat to have some fresh fruit while we walk! Then through the Public Garden and Boston Common. We all stopped at the South Station food court for lunch and a little break. And then treated our fellow diners to quite a show as 8 people changed their socks right in the middle of the food court! Heck, this time of year it's all about taking care of my feet above all else! Then we walked back to Southie and around Castle Island. Even managed to stop at Mr. Frosty for an ice cream cone to enjoy during the last mile of our walk. Overall, a really scenic route I love and I think everyone enjoyed!

2 Shockers - Caroline just finished rehabbing her ankle and had previously only walked 5 miles at one time. Yet she managed to walk 15 miles Sat! The other shocker is that Donna showed up looking perfect - full makeup, hair, everything. That's not surprising, but the fact she looked just as immaculate AFTER walking 15 miles was shocking! If I even start THINKING about walking 15 miles I'll start perspiring, but not her. Wish I was that lucky!

Thanks everyone for a really enjoyable walk!!!!

Chaperone

A month ago I met Emily through the infamous 3Day Message Board. She's only 15, turning 16 this week, and she's participating in the 3Day! Isn't that remarkable at such a young age?! She signed up to do the walk with 2 friends who are both 18 and therefore could serve as her chaperone during the event. You have to be 16 to walk, but if you're under 18 you need a fellow walker to be your chaperone on the event. Anyway, her two friends "flaked" as her Mom told me, so Emily needed a chaperone in order to still participate. Or course, I volunteered!

Emily lives about 3 1/2 hours away in NH, so we've been emailing during the last month. This weekend her family and friends were heading to Great Woods for a concert so we took the opportunity to meet up yesterday. What a great family! We chatted for about 45 minutes and I showed them my scrapbook (still had it in the car from the Expo). I'm so excited to be walking with Emily! If she's doing this at 16, you can imagine the wonderful things she'll be up to as she gets older! Go Em!!!

Expo

Yesterday I volunteered at the 3Day Expo....a Pep Rally to get everyone ready for the big event! The Expo is just a wealth of information. There are workshops on training, packing, how to treat your body, how to put up your tent, etc. I was stationed with Yvonne, another walker, at a few tables covering "Finding a Training Walk", "Fundraising" and "Joining a Team." As walkers came over the tables we would talk with them each of these topics and answer any questions they had. I brought along my scrapbook so that was on display as well. I'm happy to report it's still clean and in good condition!

The Expo was a lot of fun and I met a ton of walkers. It's always nice when you see a familiar face on the actual 3Day, so I'm looking forward to having even more 3Day friends during the walk! OOOH, and one other fun thing....They held a raffle at the end of the event for all the volunteers and I won a $30 Gift Certificate to Marathon Sports!!! Perfect timing seeing as I need to buy and break in my second pair of sneakers this week!

No pumice please

I treated myself to a Pedicure and my toes look great! However, when it came time for the infamous pumice stone I had to the tell the woman I couldn't have that part of the process. The pumice is the BEST part of a pedicure as it takes off all the dead skin and leaves your foot as smooth as a baby's bottom. In walk season the last thing you want is soft skin on your foot because it's bound to turn into big blisters on a 10+ training walk. The rough skin is something you work hard to achieve during all your training as a natural protection against blisters. I actually get nervous when I even see a pumice stone!

The woman didn't speak english, so here I am trying to tell her "NO pumice" and taking my foot out of her hand and she pretty much just thinks I'm insane! She had to get an interpreter and then just put the stone down and moved on. I'm sure she's still wondering why I didn't want that part, but if I couldn't explain "no pumice" successfully, how was I going to explain the 3Day?!

Heat Stroke

In case you haven't heard, we're having a heat wave in Boston. Yesterday it topped out around 93 degrees and was very humid. When I walked out the door at 8:30 am for my 9 mile walk the heat and humidity slammed me in the face. I should have known what I was in for....

Last year the 3Day temps were pretty tough - 100 degrees Friday and 93 degrees on Sat. And both days kicked my butt! I was slow and exhausted both days thanks to the heat and humidity. Yesterday was pretty much a flashback to last year.

Although I was walking slower than normal I was doing pretty good until about mile 6. At that point my legs started feeling tingly and I knew I needed some food and gatorade. I stopped at the grocery store at mile 7 to buy a power bar because I just didn't feel like eating the raisins and nuts I had in my fanny pack. Actually the heat and humidity usually takes away my appetite so nothing is tempting. Wish that could happen more often!

After sitting down on a bench eating the bars and drinking some water most of the tingling went away. So I got back and up and slowly started walking the final 2 miles home. It was tough. Every emotion was raw and the heat was really beating me down. I heard someone toot toot their horn in a friendly way, so I dragged my head to look up. There was a nice husband and wife in a pickup truck who smiled and waved at me. I half-heartedly smiled back because that was as much energy I could muster.

I didn't know the couple but this happens every once in a while on a training walk. Someone can tell I'm training for the 3Day (pink ribbon hat and fanny pack must give it away) and they beep and wave to cheer me on. It's always nice when this happens, but on Sunday I was so worn out and my emotions were on edge that I started to tear up. Now it really reminded me of last years walk because I started to cry last year when the heat and exhaustion set in. You know what this means? It's time for everyone to start praying REALLY hard that the temps are a balmy 80 degrees, no humidity and no rain for this years walk! While you're at it, pray for that kind of weather for my training walks too!

1st Training Walk!

Saturday was my 1st time hosting a Training Walk and overall it was a success! There were 8 of us in total and we managed to get in most of the 13 miles before the real heat set in. Thank goodness! We met at the beach in South Boston, and walked into Boston, the North End, through the Public Garden and Boston Common, the outskirts of Chinatown, and then around Castle Island in South Boston. Overall, a pretty good mix of the city!

I handed out directions to everyone, and we started walking. Pretty soon it was obvious that of the 8 of us, we walked at 2 paces: fast and not-so-fast. You probably guessed I was part of the not-so-fast group! I walked w/ 3 others (all 1st time 3Day walkers, although 1 of the women has participated in several Avon 2 Day walks, so I consider her a veteran)!

About 9 miles in, one of the girls I was walking with began feeling "woozie" so I hung out with her for a few minutes until she felt better. It's amazing how quickly that feeling can come on, and how just as quickly it goes away once you eat and drink something. She decided to cut out the last 4 miles, so I walked back with her while the other 2 kept going. Didn't want to lose one of my walkers! Once she was on her way home I finished up those 4 miles without trouble.

The only problem on my 1st ever Training Walk? I had a wrong turn listed on my directions! WHY?!??!?! I had worked so hard to make sure everything was right because the last thing I wanted to do was send someone the wrong way. Unfortunately my worst fear came true! Here's what happened....

I had printed directions and last week drove with Keysha to make sure they were correct. I made those changes at work, photocopied the directions so every walker would have a copy and was all set. On Friday night I decided re-format the directions so they were cleaner to read. I fogot the updated set up directions was on my work computer, so when I re-formatted using the file I had on my home computer the error in turning wasn't fixed. So, I got the 4 fast girls lost! Luckily they were familiar with the city and only walked about 1/2 mile before they realized I must have done something wrong and they turned around and got back on track. I can't even imagine how horrible it would have been if they didn't realize I did something wrong! Sorry girls! When you sign up to walk 13 miles in the heat, you sure as don't want to walk 14 miles!

Hopefully my next Training Walk is error free! Or perhaps it was a freudian slip and I didn't want to get lapped by the fast walkers? Just kidding! :-)

Finally we train!

About 6 weeks ago there was a post on the 3-Day Message Board asking if anyone wanted to train in South Boston. I naturally replied YES!!!! Caroline lives a few blocks away so we made plans to meet up. It was a comedy of errors - we were both waiting for each other on different city blocks, To make matters worse, I didn't have my cell phone so naturally we each thought we had been stood up! Luckily we realized we were just directionally challenged and made plans to walk the following weekend.

Then more misfortune intervened....

Caroline twisted her ankle playing softball and has been busy going to Physical Therapy ever since. Having an ankle/leg injury is my biggest worry so mentally I could feel her pain! Luckily she has rehabbed like a champ and tonight we finally we met up for a 3-4 mile walk. The weather wasn't great - foggy and damp - but we were troopers and went for it. Great lady, and the miles flew by in no time! Hopefully she'll have her ankle brace off soon and be back to 100%. And luckily it happened early in the training program so there's plenty of time to get up to speed and ready for the 60 miles in August!

Training Walk Leader

In case you haven't figured it out, I walk A LOT! And one thing I know for sure ~ it's more fun to walk with people! So, I decided to become a Training Walk Leader so I could post training walks on the 3-Day website and invite others to join me. Anyone can become a TWL, you just need to read the handbook, attend a Conference Call on your role and then you're ready to post a walk!

After doing all the prep work, I've spent the last week coming up with a 13 mile route for Sat. A "good" route just means there are bathrooms and places to get more drinks every 3 miles or so. After mapping the route out online, I drove the route with my Little Sister Keysha last night. She was a HUGE help as a navigator and writing down notes about bathrooms and mileage markers as we went. Thank goodness she was with me!

I've posted the walk on the 3-Day site and invited some folks who live in the area, so it should be another great walk meeting some new folks! One thing I've learned ~ you can never go wrong meeting new 3-Day walkers because they are a kind, good-hearted bunch!

ps. This picture is of the small "Legacy Pin" I'll receive for my efforts as a TWL. Legacy Pins are a BIG deal on the 3-Day and people like to collect them! My theory has always been "less is more" but I will attach the pin to my lanyard I wear around my neck with my ID on the event. Who knew the 3-Day had jewelry?! :-)

Pub Crawl

After walking my required 7+ miles this morning, I met up with my friend Suzanne for "Dot Day." Dorchester is the town next to South Boston (where I live) and unbeknownst to me, they have their own celebration every year called Dot Day, complete with a parade and appearances from the Mayor and Governor! Suz's friend Tracy has a bar in Dorchester along the parade route, so she has a party there to celebrate. A group of 18 met in Quincy and took a chartered bus over to Peggy O'Neils for the festivities. I couldn't join them on the bus because I was busy walking, but I managed to meet up with them later and even squeezed in another 3 miles of training!

Seeing as they close off a bunch of roads for the parade, I drove to my local Stop n Shop, parked my car, and then walked 1.4 miles (in the 85 degree heat) to the bar. Tracy had closed off the parking lot, and set up a band and tables in the space, so it was a regular old block party right in the middle of the city. What a beautiful day for it! Not to mention Tracy is one of the only people left on earth who has any Strawberry Blonde beer in stock, so I got to enjoy my tasty strawberry beer, out in the sun, while listening to the band! Not to mention, I added another 3 miles roundtrip to my training. I don't think it's possible for a day to get any better! :-)