Day 3 - The End

As you can imagine, we had no trouble sleeping after Day 2. We got up around 5:15am and started our day. We got dressed, took our tent down, packed up our stuff and took it to gear check, and ate breakfast. After we got all of that done, we headed back to the medics. I had three more blisters popped and had my feet wrapped up in the hopes that no more blisters would form. That's not exactly how it ended up though. We got started a little earlier on Day 3 so we didn't feel rushed at every stop. Edie was freezing but I thought the temperature was comfortable. I think my favorite outfits were the ones we wore on Day 3. I loved the houndstooth applique. Everyone kept saying "Roll Tide!" It helped that Alabama had won their game the night before.

Our strategy was to keep walking. If we stopped for too long we knew that it would be over. We were worn out! We did have a lot of great scenery though. We walked through some beautiful parks. We went through some more beautiful neighborhoods. There was one lady in the afternoon that stood on her porch and sprayed the hose on us. It was a nice, cool refreshment. We also walked through the campus of Georgia Tech and Emory. Those campuses were much bigger than Judson :-).


A little after mile 7, I stopped and had a few more blisters popped and my foot wrapped again. I was hoping that it would last me to the end. As tired as everyone was, they were still having a good time. While I was having my foot wrapped, the Youth Corp were giving "Wobble" lessons. I didn't feel like I needed a lesson in wobbling on Day 3 but I realized they were talking about a dance move :-). The Youth Corp was awesome. It is a group of pre-teens and teenagers under 16 that help out with cheering stations, handing out drinks and snacks and trying to keep the general morale up and they did a great job. Their parents were walking the 60 miles so it was a way to get the whole family involved.

When we stopped for lunch we went ahead and got in the medic line...again. Same old, same old...I had blisters popped and the feet wrapped. The doctor said they were basically there to do whatever that could to make us comfortable enough to finish. Once we left there, Edie and I decided we wouldn't stop unless we needed to. Our legs were definitely on auto-pilot at that point and we just had to keep moving. Finally we came close to Turner Field and we knew that was it!

There were crowds of people on either side of the walkway that were congratulating us and thanking us for walking. There were families of survivors and survivors themselves. If we had had any energy we probably would have cried but I didn't have it in me. And then we were done! It was such an awesome feeling. We had accomplished something that many, many people couldn't do. We ended up not even staying for the closing ceremony. We both had to drive back to Tuscaloosa that night and we knew that would be harder and harder the later we stayed.

I pulled into my driveway around 9ish that night and I think I was still in shock. I had a gorgeous banner, that the kids made for me, hanging on the wall. I hardly said a word and I was out like a light. On Monday morning, I got up and headed to the day spa. Edie and I had lunch there too and I asked her if she kind of had an empty feeling and she said yes. We had participated in this outrageous event, met so many people and heard so many stories. We had been training and fund-raising for 6 months. We had been talking to all of our friends and family about it and we both felt like "now what?". It is very hard to explain. I'm so glad I did this walk and I am a better person for it. Maybe I'm just a little sad that it is all over with.

Thank you so much for all of the support that you have given me and thank you for following my whole journey. I don't know that I will participate in this event again but I do highly recommend it to everyone. You will come away with such a great feeling....I promise!

Day 2 - The Longest Day

After an awesome and exhausting first day, it was a little hard to get up the next morning. We probably went to sleep somewhere between 10:30 and 11:00 the night before. I woke up at some point in the middle of the night and felt sick. I got up and got a small bag of potato chips (salt) and some water and went out in the lobby to eat. After that I felt better. Walking back in to camp, I noticed that there were several people up and walking around as well. We all looked like zombies from the show "The Walking Dead" :-)
Anyway, Day 2 we started out a little slow. We were moving a little slower but we weren't moving as bad as we thought we would! Before we left we had decided we would save our most outrageous outfit for Day 2: our tutus and shaggy bras.

We wanted to wear this outfit because we knew it would help with our morale. We were in a great mood all day and we were excited too because my Mom was going to be at mile 14! We had to be out of camp by 8:30am and we were hoping to be out by 7:45am but we ended up running a bit behind. Our outfits worked too! Everyone we walked by would tell us how much they loved our outfits. The crew told us how much they loved them too. It would really cheer us up when we felt like just sitting down.  I felt like the hills were worse the second day but it could have just been because my muscles were sore.

sea of pink behind us going uphill

We did have a few good downhill slopes but I think that might have been where I got my blisters. We walked through the most gorgeous neighborhoods. There were huge houses and mansions. Atlanta takes their yard decorating very seriously. It was fun to see all of the Halloween decorations. I would love to go back at Christmas.

I forgot to pack an extra pair of socks that day. At first I thought I would be okay but the closer we got to lunch I knew I was going to need socks. We walked by a little strip mall and it had a North Face store. I went in and bought the most expensive pair of socks I have ever bought! $17 for a pair of socks!



Four Boobs

Day 2 was much like Day 1 except that our muscles were a little sore so we were moving a little bit slower. All along the route there were people that were dressed up, people handing out candy and drinks to us, and cheering us on. We even ran into a couple of women dressed as boobs. They were giving out sweet tea! We walked most of the day with a childhood friend of mine from middle school. Her name is also Jessica. We had not seen each other since 7th grade! We met up with my Mom at mile 14 and we briefly told her about what we had done that day and the day before. Seeing my Mom, gave us the inspiration to make it the remaining six miles. When you do so many miles a day your legs and feet are sort of on auto pilot. We just kept going until we could stop for good!
 


me and childhood friend, Jessica



me and my Mom, our inspiration

Earlier in the day when we stopped for lunch, I took my shoes off and realized that I was starting to get some blisters. I covered those areas with mole skin so I could make it the rest of the day. The mole skin helped where my blisters were but I did manage to get more too.
 
When we finally made it back to camp, we went to our tent, went to the showers and then went to eat. Again, we didn't eat much because our mouths were so dry that it was hard to swallow anything. We really weren't hungry either. After dinner we got in the medic line. I ended up having a podiatry student look at my feet. He lanced the two biggest blisters and sent me on my way. I noticed two more big blisters before I went to bed and had to wait until the next morning to have anything done about it.


Roll Tide!

We actually had a little time before they turned the lights out! We got most of our stuff packed up and made sure we had everything ready for the next day. We were definitely moving slow and we were definitely hurting. Once they did turn the lights out we were playing around on our phones (had to check the score of the game!). Finally we couldn't take anymore and we fell fast asleep.
Day 2 was very hard but it seems like everytime it got tough you had some sort of reminder of why you were doing this. That feeling kept you going until the very end.


40 miles done!!

Pre-Walk and Day One

We are back! We had such a great time and it truly was an awesome and humbling experience. I don't have time to blog about the whole weekend all at once so I will break it up into 3 posts.
Edie and I got to Atlanta Thursday evening. We stopped in Leeds on the way to do a little outlet shopping. We had every intention of going out for a nice, relaxing dinner but that didn't happen. Once we finally got checked in and got to our room, I went into the bathroom. I looked all over the place and then came out and asked Edie to go in the bathroom and find the toilet paper. She couldn't find it and we called the front desk. Ten minutes later they bring us some toilet paper and about 2 minutes after that we finally found it!!

Do you see the toilet paper in this picture??

It is underneath the counter. It wasn't pulled down enough so that we could see it. After that whole fiasco, we ended up going downstairs to the bar and grille and we had hamburgers. So much for a nice dinner!

Once we were done eating we really only had a little bit of time to get our things together and go to bed. We got up at 3:30am Friday morning to get ready and get our bags packed. We got downstairs and had a quick breakfast and got on the 5:30am shuttle to the Opening Ceremonies.

me and Edie on the shuttle to Stone Mountain

 It was freezing!! I had on a long sleeve shirt, a short sleeve shirt, and a jacket and I was soooo cold! Edie and I took a few pictures and went to the "facebook" tent. In this tent we could stand in line and sign up to have facebook update our pages when we hit certain points. There were so many people in this enclosed tent that it was actually warm in there and we were thankful for the line. Edie ended up buying us sweatshirts to wear so that was one more layer we had to wear. By mile 3, I was shedding layers because the sun was finally in the sky!

Finally time to get it started!!

We had such a great day on Friday! Everybody was in a great and festive mood. We were so excited to finally get started. Edie and I made a friend during some of our first miles and she remained with us the rest of the day.

These guys were awesome!

The whole experience really exceeded my expectations. I was amazed with how great the crew was and how excited they were. They really would lift your spirits when you were starting to lose it and they were always very concerned with our safety. There is a motorcycle club in Atlanta that volunteers to do this event and they travel to different intersections throughout the day to make sure we get across the street safely. They had their radios on full blast and they were dancing and singing and getting us to do the same. The excitement was definitely contagious. The majority of them were dressed in pink and many of them were in pink kilts. I think at every street we crossed there was someone there reminding us to use that time to stretch while we were waiting for the cars to go by. I was really amazed by how much they cared about our well being and about what we were walking for.

The best sign we saw all day!

We met a woman that was carrying the survivor flag. She was amazing! During the whole weekend, whenever you saw her she was always smiling and dancing and just happy to be alive and have this experience with her group of friends. She was truly one of the most inspirational parts of our trip.

I will tell you something about Atlanta that you may or may not know. Atlanta is mountainous! I would say it is hilly but I don't really think that is the best word to describe it. Edie and I trained on hills and a few inclines but we did NOT train on mountains. I couldn't believe how steep and how long some of these streets and paths were. They would definitely take your breath away and they were definitely "hands on the hips" hills if you know what I mean. Now, we had a fantastic time walking that first day but I am not going to lie; we were thrilled when we saw the "Camp Ahead" sign!! The time had come and we needed to rest.

Feet in the air!

Before I even went to get my luggage or the tent, I got down on the floor and put my feet in the air. My feet were so swollen and I needed to get the blood moving in the other direction. I actually had a few people that got down next to me on the floor to do it too! We finally went to eat but we felt like we were having to force the food down so we didn't eat much. The food was delicious though. We found a very nice man that helped us learn how to get our tent up and we finally made it to the shower truck at about 8:30pm.

a sea of pink tents

The shower truck was an experience. It wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be but it definitely wasn't like the shower at home. By the time we made it out of the showers the lights were out and we had a little trouble finding our tent. Then it finally hit us that we didn't bring our pillows. I knew that mine wouldn't fit in my bag but I meant to figure out a way to do it and I forgot. So we ended up using the sweatshirts we got that morning for our pillows. We did have a hard time sleeping the first night. It is very hard to slow your muscles down after walking for over 20 miles.

There is so much more that happened that first day and it is hard to remember all of the details. The most important thing on that first day was that we made it through the first day and could continue on the next. The medic line was pretty long and we did see some people getting on the sweeper vans but it looked like most people would make it to day 2. I will blog again tomorrow about Day 2 but I have pictures up on my facebook page as well!

20 miles done!

All My Bags Are Packed...

I'm ready to go...I think. I spent the last hour or so trying to pack four days worth of clothes that I can layer, a GIANT tutu and a sleeping bag into one suitcase that has to weigh less than 35 pounds. I got done and my bag weighed 29 pounds! Then I remembered that I didn't pack my pillow :-( Not so sure the pillow is going to make it. But the good news is somehow I managed to fit all of this...


...into this!

 

Edie and I leave for Atlanta tomorrow. We are going to take our time getting there (aren't there some outlets in between here and Atlanta??). We will have an awesome dinner and a relaxing night with no kids! I hope we won't be too excited to sleep! Festivities start around 7ish on Friday morning. Thank you for all of the support, financially, mentally and emotionally! I won't be able to blog while we are gone but I am bringing a journal so I can write everything down and blog when I return!



7 More Days!

We are officially a week away from our 3-day walk! People keep asking me if I am ready and my response is "Yes!" I am ready to get on the road and walk my little heart out. I am ready to meet new people and hear their stories. I am ready to see parts of Atlanta I would otherwise never see. I am ready!

Edie and I went shopping the other day to make sure we had everything we needed. I found some snow suit bottoms that would be perfect for this occasion. She is very cold-natured so I had her try them on. I think they look great with the shoes. What do you think? 

Edie reached her goal the other day and both of us continue to get donations. We are SO VERY appreciative for the support!

Today was our "credential day"! I printed mine this morning and it actually seems real now. We are leaving on Thursday to stay the night in Atlanta. Friday morning we are on a shuttle bus headed to Stone Mountain! Atlanta here we come!

2 More Weeks!

We are really getting in to an actual countdown now...2 more weeks! Our training has pretty much been non-existant for the past couple of weeks but life gets in the way sometimes. We still feel very confident about the whole journey and we know we can do it.

These days we are finalizing our outfits and making sure we have everything on our packing list. My sisters were kind enough to dedicate my birthday present to 3-Day merchandise for Edie and me. We feel like we are definitely ready to go. I think we have gotten to a point where we are tired of talking about it and we are ready to act!

I wanted to give you some information from the spectator portion of the website. They have finally given us an idea of where we will be and at what times. The final map won't be available until the week of the walk. They have also given us an address if you would like to send a word of encouragement while we are at camp.
Send letters to:
Susan G. Komen 3-Day
ATTN: JESSICA MITCHELL
1025 Rose Creek Drive, Suite 620-373
Woodstock, GA 30189

Envelopes only, please. No boxes or large packages. Mail must be postmarked no later than October 9th in order to ensure delivery at the 3-Day Camp Post Office. Please note: This address is not the actual location of camp, but a PO Box for mail delivery only. Any mail that is not received by the Susan G. Komen 3-Day by October 16th or retrieved by the participant by November 5th will be destroyed.

I know it is a long shot but on the off chance you are in the Atlanta area or would just like to make a road trip to cheer us on, here is the info you will need.
On Friday, October 19, our journey begins at Stone Mountain Park. There will be cheering stations at:
Mile 4.0   
8:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Downtown Stone Mountain
Stone Mountain Welcome Center
891 Main Street
Stone Mountain,GA 30083

Mile 14.2
11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Downtown Decatur, Old Courthouse
101 E. Court Square
Decatur, GA 30030

On Saturday, October 20 there will be cheering stations at:
Mile 14.2
10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Lindbergh City Center
Main Street between Lindbergh Avenue & Garson Street
520 Main Street N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30324

Mile 18.3
11:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Peachtree Street between 3rd Street & 8th Street
Atlanta, GA 30308
* Do not park in church or other private parking lots.

On Sunday, there will be cheering stations at:
Mile 5.5
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
John Howell Park
833 Virginia Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30306
* Do not park at Inman Middle School or in church parking lots.

Mile 11.3
11:00 a.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Freedom Park, between Euclid Avenue & Moreland Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30307

On Sunday we end at Turner Field with Closing Ceremonies starting at 5:00pm.

Thank you for all of the love and support you have given so far! You will never know how much we appreciate it!

Oh, My Aching Back!

So in my last post I blogged about my back and the bulging disc. The meds the doc put me on didn't really have any effect on my back so he sent me for an MRI. I had forgotten how tiny that tunnel is that they send you through and then I started to panic and think what if something happened to the guy doing the MRI while I was stuck in that thing! Anyway, I made it out okay and it is definitely a bulging disc and he suggested a nerve block. I had the block and my back is feeling a little better. The doc also mentioned that my MRI shows that my back bone is arthritic. Great! I am 33 and already arthritic. I have physical therapy twice a week right up until we leave for Atlanta so I should be good and stretched out by then.

We will miss our long walk tomorrow. Mindy is having her first slumber party for her birthday and I am positive that there won't be a lot of sleeping going on tonight.

Edie and I have been working on our wardrobe for the walk. So far we have two outfits picked out and we are working on our third. I finally managed to get another pair of shoes and I feel like they will carry me to the end.

one of our shirts

my awesome walking shoes

 We are only four weeks away! I can't believe that we have actually come this far. When I started all of this I was a little unsure but I know we are going to have the best time! I have added a list of people that we are walking for to my sidebar. If you would like for us to walk in honor or in memory of someone that you know please tell me before we leave!

I Am A Color Runner

before

 That's right! I am a color runner! I have been stalking this race for awhile and I was so excited to have the opportunity to do it. The plan was that all of us were going to do it but it rained the ENTIRE time and Mason did not like being soaking wet. Danny and Mason went back to the car and changed into some dry, warm clothes while me, Mindy and Marti looked like drowned rats. We really did have a great time even though we were soaking wet. Mindy thought getting doused with colored powder was awesome and Marti and I did too. If you have a chance you should really sign up for the Color Run in Tuscaloosa. You will have a great time!

after

taking pictures through ziploc

Training is getting a little bit more difficult because of scheduling. School is in full swing and so is Alabama football! Roll Tide! I have also had a health set back. Nothing serious. I was experiencing some numbness in my right hip and went to the doctor. It turns out that I might have a bulging disc in my back. Like I needed anything else to bulge! Anyway it is pushing on a nerve and that is what is causing the numb feeling. I am taking prednisone and some muscle relaxers to help relieve it but I have to go back next week if it doesn't get any better. Edie and I will run into tail-gating tomorrow during our long walk. We've decided we will get in as much as we can. I think it will be a lot of fun. I never get down to the Quad during football season so it will be interesting for me to see.

My children have been raising money for the school by participating in the Boosterthon Fun Run. This is a wonderful way for your school to raise money. It helps promote fitness which is what I love about it. My kids have the best time doing this every year. They get pledges for every lap. The laps cap off at 35. They both made all 35 and they were exhausted.

Over 5 Hours of Conversation

after 15 miles...not too shabby!

As promised, here is my blog post on what Edie and I talked about during our 15 mile walk around Tuscaloosa and Northport on Saturday. I think I counted only one pause in our conversation and it lasted about a minute. These topics are in no particular order and don't even ask me how they got started.

• migraines
• how late we stay up
• work
• how to keep your kids from worrying
• how different kids are 
• wishing we could sit some of the kids down that we see everyday and tell them that it really doesn't matter in the long run...about anything!
• what we would do to different homes that we saw along the way (change the color, the porch, the concrete animals, etc.)
• power bills of huge houses
• tree houses
• how people walk different
• how hungry we were or how thirsty we were
• how many lawyers there are in Tuscaloosa
• medications
• t-shirts for our 60 mile walk 
• how much fun we will have on our 60 mile walk
• how she knows the sizes of her husbands clothes and shoes and he knows hers but Danny and I couldn't tell you what size the other one wears
• part time jobs
• The Bama Belle
• BBQ
• how much I wanted a Coke and I don't usually drink them
• family members
• breast cancer (naturally)
• almost getting hit by a car
• the creepy, white van that was parked next to Edie's car at snack time
• how much I loved the orange that I ate at snack time and I usually don't eat oranges (the watermelon was dang good too!)
• how good Edie is at packing snacks
• changing our socks after 10 miles actually made a difference
• the nail technicians we had the day before
• funerals
• porta-potties
• how fast apartments are being built in downtown Tuscaloosa
• scary people and how I think they are going to attack us
• what Edie was going to eat for lunch when we got done
• Dairy Queen
• homeless people under bridges
• how bad we smelled
• ghosts 
• Honey Boo Boo
• how some clothes match in the dark but when you get outside they actually don't match at all
• how hot it was and how the sun was sucking the oxygen out of our bodies
• gangsta walking through the shade
• dogs
• we should have worn hats
• how doable this might be (60 miles in 3 days)

We also did some singing and some dancing and there were probably 20 or more other topics but it is really hard to remember when you finish 15 miles!

Indoor Camping?

 Edie and I were going through our packing checklist trying to figure out who was going to get what and we noticed that a tarp was on our list. We found out that the tarp is to be used in case of rain. I decided to check with our coach to see if this was something that we should be worried about. Edie and I are not campers and we just assumed the tents were water proof. Guess we were wrong! The coach emailed me back and said that actually we will be camping indoors! Edie could not be more thrilled about this! I am excited about the fact that I don't have to worry about rain or the freezing cold but I have to admit that I was kind of looking forward to the experience of camping out. We will still be camping in the pink tents but we will be inside a convention center or something similar. The negative side of this is that the concrete floor will NOT be as comfortable as the grass outside.

Today, we decided to go shopping for supplies and to price a few things. I ended up with a sleeping bag. We couldn't find any sleeping bags that were pink for adults. All of them were for little girls. So I got a green one and I like it so it will have to do. We also looked at "fanny packs". They are also called "lumbar packs". I prefer the latter :-). I would like one with a water bottle. I sweat A LOT as I have mentioned before and I feel like I will need water the whole time instead of every 3 miles. I need it to hold the water bottle, cash, drivers license, camera, socks, etc. so it has to be kind of large. I tried one on that I really like but it has two water bottles and I feel like that might be a bit much. If it comes down to it though that is what I will end up with.

We missed this past weekend of training due mostly to weather. It was pouring down rain with thunder and lightning so we decided it was meant for us to take a break. We will be doing our long walk of 15 miles this Saturday. I think I will make Edie in charge of all snacks from here on out. She packs quite a spread for our long walks and it helps our energy level so much. Thank you Edie!

We've had several people ask us what we talk about for that many miles. We never run out of things to talk about. Sometimes we dance and sing! This Saturday, I will try to remember to do a post with a list of topics that came up on our 15 miler. Something for you to look forward to!

August has been a horrible training month for me but we have been so busy with school starting back! My little second grader and my little preschooler take priority over the walking and I definitely needed the time to get used to our new schedule. I think we are finally getting into the swing of things so hopefully the training will kick up! About 9 weeks to go!





The Great, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Great: I have fantastic news! One of the women I was walking in honor of, Jill Montgomery, just had her double mastectomy after months of chemo and radiation. The pathology came back ALL CLEAR!! Thank you for all of your support and prayers and congratulations to Jill and her family!

The Good: Training is going well. I was able to get back on track this past week and I feel much better. I'm not going to lie to you...the training is tough, especially now that we are getting into our double digit mileage. Overall, it isn't bad and we are making it through. Edie has almost made it to her fundraising goal and then we are on our way! We watched the safety video the other day and it really got us pumped up! Edie was a little concerned when they went over the camping and what sort of weather we could end up camping in but she still showed up for our 12 mile walk this weekend so I guess she is still on board!



after 12 miles

The Bad: I SWEAT! I mean, WOW! This morning, Edie and I met to do our 12 mile walk and I promise you I was sweating before I even got my car locked. I am seriously a bad sweater! By the time we were halfway through I could have used a whole new set of clothes! I decided to look it up and did you know that a person is born with about two to four million sweat glands?? If that is the normal amount then I am positive that I have about a billion :-) The picture that I took after my walk today really doesn't even do it justice. I couldn't wait to get home and take a shower and get rid of those soaking wet clothes! I wasn't feeling that great between mile 10 and 11 and it is probably because I was dehydrated. I went through 4 bottles of water and 2 gatorades but still, hours later, I am feeling the effects of slight dehydration and I think it is due to the excessive sweating. Thank goodness, October is cooler than August!

The Ugly: and boy is this ugly! When I was running, I really never had these weird things happen to me but I finally decided to take a picture of my bruised toe to show you the kind of damage that walking has caused. Now, this bruised toe is nothing compared to the damage that breast cancer can cause but it is my own little battle. I would like to apologize. I naturally have ugly feet and toes but they aren't normally purple. This toenail has actually already fallen off and grown back before it bruised up but I had kind of forgotten about the bruise until I took my nail polish off. I will probably have to cover it up soon because it is so gross!

Well, there you have it! Just a short little update on the great, the good, the bad and the ugly!

Halfway Point

I am now at my halfway point in my training. I never thought I would be able to make my fundraising goal by this point and I am thrilled that I actually haven't had to worry about that at all! The training has been great. There have been some tough times but I've always managed to make it through. This week I have been struggling with some motivation issues and haven't done my walks but I have decided today that I'm through with that excuse. I will get up in the morning and get started again. In the grand scheme of things, missing one week out of 24 isn't that bad.

Last weekend, we traveled to Diamondhead, MS and I was so proud of myself for getting up at 6am on Saturday morning and walking 10 miles. I had no idea where I was going but I really enjoyed it. The unknown scenery was a great distraction and it didn't seem like I had been walking for 3 hours.

I have been going to yoga on a regular basis and I'm surprised how much I like it. My yoga pants are thrilled to be living up to their name! I like the fact that in yoga there are several different ways to do certain positions. I am definitely always in the beginner position but it doesn't bother me. I just like the stretch. I have been very surprised with how much it helps with my headaches too.

Recently, I found out that a girl I went to college with was diagnosed with breast cancer and I have added her to my list of people to walk for. No matter how much I have learned about this disease, I was shocked that someone that young could be diagnosed. It really can happen to any of us!

Looking forward to getting up in the morning and getting started again! I got an email from Komen saying that I can check-in now and print my credentials. I can't believe it is getting that close!

The Need To Clean

I am going through a summer cleaning phase at the moment. I want to get rid of everything! I am one of those people that in order to really clean something,  I have to make a bigger mess. At this point, the cleaning phase is only mental. I haven't actually physically started doing anything. I'm just so exhausted! No excuse, right? Actually, I'm afraid I will get started and then I will have to leave it for some reason and I will never come back to it. I want to make sure I have PLENTY of time.

My kids have WAY too much stuff. I don't even know where to begin getting rid of stuff. Mindy manages to find the smallest areas to hide stuff in and she isn't organized at all when it comes to putting stuff back where she got it. There are game pieces, puzzle pieces, nail polish bottles and don't even get me started on the ponytail holders! These things are everywhere! Mason actually does a better job at keeping things organized except in one small area which makes things a little easier. I am actually thinking of rearranging his room. My husband will be thrilled!

My dream would be for someone to just show up at my house and go through each room and get it organized and deep cleaned. I would want that person to throw things out and then I would never know what we got rid of. Basically I need a deep cleaning lady or man. I would hope I would only need this person once or twice to get me started and then I could keep up with it on my own. Just out of curiosity, I looked up the average rates for a professional organizer: $55-$85 per hour. Maybe this is a career path I should look at!!

I'm no hoarder by any means but we could really use some help with the process. I think I use up all of my organizational skills at work. I am absolutely OCD about my desk and if any one removes something from my desk or just puts something where it doesn't go, I will notice. I'm not like that at home. None of us are actually.

I know this has nothing to do with my fund-raising or my training but I needed to just kind of "talk" it out. On another note, the training is fantastic. On Saturday, Edie and I did 8 miles. It was going fine and then after about 1.5 miles it started raining. Not a hard, pelting rain but just a steady rain. It stopped raining as we were getting closer to our cars. We were soaking wet but proud of our early morning accomplishment.

Moving At a Snail's Pace

I am trying to hard to keep my eye's open at work and it isn't working out so well for me. After a couple of weeks of no rain, it is finally looking like it might rain. Even if it doesn't the dreary atmosphere has me so tired and moving at a snail's pace. My walk yesterday was pretty slow and it wasn't even cloudy yet. But you have your fast days and you have your slow days.

Last week was sort of a rest week since we didn't walk over 5 miles all week. But this week they are bumping us up to 8 and I think next week is 10! This week is my ninth week of training! I am trying very hard to stick to my schedule and I'm not doing too bad at all! For the month of June, I completed 62 miles. The mileage will only get higher and higher! When I was running and training for my other races, I never had blisters or bruised up toes (until the race was actually over). Walking has given me blisters and I swear my middle toenail is going to fall off any day now since it is such a dark shade of purple.

My walks have been extremely hot. I am sweating bullets by the time we are done. But I definitely feel like I have gotten a good workout. The yoga is helping as well, especially with my migraines. I didn't realize how much it helped until I skipped a few times and my headaches started coming back.

Things have finally calmed down a little at home now that swimming lessons are over. The kids are enjoying the air conditioning and an occasional trip to the pool. I have noticed that whenever I have a conversation with Mindy, it centers around a television show or a commercial that she saw. So we have decided to start limiting her T.V. time. What do you limit your kids to?

Busy, Busy

I should have posted so much sooner but it seems like every time I turn around there is something to do. Between swimming lessons, dentist appointments, hair appointments, doctor appointments, work and training I am exhausted! But I gotta keep moving.

I had a pretty slow week last week with my training but it might have been just what I needed. I have been having a lot of knee pain and left foot pain. Last Thursday, I was supposed to do five miles. The only time I would have had would have been at 5 in the morning. My walking partner was all for it but when I got up at 4:30, I really wasn't feeling it. I told myself, you made a promise and a commitment to do this 3-day challenge. I really needed the extra sleep but I got in the car and drove to her house. When I pulled in her driveway the house was completely dark. I said a little prayer, "If I am supposed to go home and get more rest just let me know." I waited for 10 minutes and decided it was time to go back to bed. It turns out her son had been playing with her phone the night before and turned the sound down. I'm telling you, these kids can really mess up your phone now! Mason almost made a purchase on mine the other day! Anyway, I didn't do the 5 on Thursday and then I didn't do Sunday either. Sunday we went to the indoor pool so I did a little bit of water aerobics to try to strenghten some muscles. Today, I felt much better when I was walking so I think it was a good idea to rest some last week.

I had a very challenging walk a week or so ago. It was raining cats and dogs outside so I just decided I would go do my miles at the gym. I got all my stuff together and when I walked in the gym, all the TVs were off. I was super bummed because without the TV, I wouldn't have anything to look at. There weren't a lot of people at the gym either so I couldn't even people watch. I turned my iPod on and started walking. About a half of a mile into my walk, my iPod battery died. Seriously? It was the absolute worst workout ever! BUT, I finished all four miles!

So, the walks are going great. I am feeling great. The closer it gets the more excited I get and it will be here before I know it!

me with my sisters and brother

I want to end this post by thanking everyone that has donated to Susan G. Komen 3-Day on my behalf. I want to give a big shout out to my sister, Maureen for putting me at the $3,000 mark with her donation tonight!! My family has been so supportive during this process and I definitely couldn't do any of it without them!

Jill Montgomery

Jill and Marti

As you know, my friend, Marti Scarborough started this team. Unfortunately, because of her own health reasons, she is unable to participate. Marti was inspired to do the walk by her dear friend Jill Montgomery. I have met Jill and she truly is an amazing person. Below is what Marti wrote about her friend, Jill Montgomery.

"This journey is about this most AMAZING woman I know, Jill Montgomery. I was blessed with her in my life after our youngest children, Emily and Josh, now age 15, became friends years ago. We have developed a friendship that blesses me daily. I truly smile everytime I think of her. She is so inspirational that I would never be able to do her justice by trying to use words. There are so many that come to mind when Jill is involved. Jill and her family can literally "light up" an entire room when they enter. All of them radiate true beauty. A beauty that will never fade because it comes from within.

Jill and her husband

Jill, is a 45 year old Wife, Mother,Daughter, Aunt, Cousin & Friend to hundreds of people in our community and throughout the State of Alabama. She has been involved in helping others with cancer for over 25 years having worked in Hospice, General Surgery nursing and The American Cancer Society. She is the mother of two girls(ages 15, 18) but actually is the mother to every child who enters her home. She loves having fun with all her "kids" and their 2 dogs are the joy of her life.

 

On February 14, 2012 she was diagnosed with infiltrating ductal carinoma found on self exam. Biopsy revealed a 1cm tumor of high grade which will respond to immediate chemotherapy and surgery in the future. Her outlook is so inspiring and positive but she knows the times ahead will be difficult. Please add Jill, Frank, Anna and Emily to your prayers. We know that God will use this trial for His glory and to help others as this disease continues to "try" to destroy God's beautiful creation of women. Jill loves to make others laugh and now it's our turn to help her keep that smile throughout each phase of treatment. "

 

Jill just finished up her chemotherapy treatments yesterday!! She is now on to Phase II of her treatments. You can donate today to help Jill and thousands of other women beat this fight against breast cancer at www.the3day.org. Please make a donation toward Jessica Mitchell's or Edie Kyser's fundraising efforts. As Jill and Marti would say, "WE GOT THIS!"

Jill and her family

 

Holy Cow!!

Happy National Running Day! I always celebrate this day with a run. Today, on my training schedule, I had to do 15 minutes of cross training so I thought what better way to cross train than with my old running workout. Holy cow!! I felt like I was running through mud. My shins were hurting so bad that I started to wonder if I would be able to lift my feet because those muscles just wouldn't work! I continue to be surprised at how different running and walking are. When I laced up my running shoes today they felt so different from my walking shoes. I also didn't realize that walking and running used such different muscles. I don't think I will be running again anytime soon. Today's little jog made me realize how badly I need to do some strength training. So, it looks like I will be spending some time in the weight room! Wish me luck!

4 Weeks Down...

...20 to go! After a full month of training I have done a total of 49 miles. The longest walk I have done so far in the training is 5 miles and this coming weekend I will move up to 6. Things are going great. I have horrible knees but I'm hoping in the coming weeks and months I will lose a little weight and I think the pain in my knees might ease up. It's amazing what extra weight will do to all parts of your body!

I have been doing my shorter walks on the treadmill at the gym and then my longer ones I do around town. Having someone to walk with really makes the time go by so much faster and when you get done you are surprised that you have just done 5 miles. My team partner, Edie has been doing the long walks on Saturday with me. She said it was a good thing she was such a chatter box because we will have no trouble finding something to talk about for 3 days! I am very thankful for that. My friend, Taffy has been doing my Sunday morning walks with me. We both agree that these walks can be a very good source of stress relief besides the yoga we are already doing. We also spend the entire time talking and it is nice to have someone to complain to or to help sort out a problem or just to be able to ask each other questions that we wouldn't ask anyone else.

I never realized how nice walking can be. When I run, I really can't have a conversation with anyone because I will run out of breath way too fast but walking gives me the luxury of exercising and talking and I am loving it!

My original fund-raising goal was $2,300 and in my letter writing campaign I said I really wanted to be done with my fund-raising by May 30. As of May 30, I had raised $2,810!! WOW! I couldn't ask for better friends and family to help me with this experience. Don't worry, I haven't stopped! I would love to make it to the $3,000 mark!

Feeling HOT, HOT, HOT

Boy, it sure has been hot the past couple of days and from what I understand it isn't going to get any better! I have been doing great with my training. So far I have walked a total of 37 miles in the month of May. I did my longest walk of 5 miles on Saturday with my teammate, Edie. It was hot and humid but we made it through. So far, the only problem is with my knees. I really need to start doing some strengthening exercises to get those muscles toned.

It is very nice to train with someone that lives in the same city. I haven't really done that before. When I did my Las Vegas Half Marathon, my friend Taffy and I did a couple of our runs together but this will be the first time I really have someone to do those long walks with. If you know Edie she is never at a loss for words so that will be so nice since I tend to run out of breath if I talk to much! I know that will get better with time but right now it is nice.

Don't forget that the fund-raising hasn't stopped! I have raised my goal to $2,800 and hope to raise it again. Edie just got started on her fund-raising so if anyone wants to help her out they can do that too. The money all goes to the same place anyway.

Thanks for all of the help and support you have given me so far. I know I will need it in the coming months! Have a great Memorial Day!

Spare Tires and Gas Masks

Now that I have your attention! Over the course of the past year, I have been "trying" to lose weight. I tend to start with a good goal in mind and then kind of drop it later. Even through running, I never really managed to lose that much. Surprisingly, when I think about myself, I don't consider myself overweight. BUT, when I look at myself in the mirror I could be the Michelin Man's twin sister. I have two areas of concern: my flabby upper arms and my "spare tire" or some lovingly refer to it as a "muffin top". "Muffin top" sounds tastier which is the problem. So, I have decided to start calling it my "spare tire". I have to get rid of it!! (along with the flabby arms, of course).

The thing is, I'm not sure that I can. No matter how hard I try, I think I will always have it. From what I understand, belly flab is the hardest thing to get rid of. Help me please!! Do you know of any exercises that will completely help with my upper arms and my spare tire? How about any certain foods I can eat to help with it? Please leave me a message and let me know.

One of the things I hope to get out of doing the 3-Day is to lose a little bit of weight. I am currently about 40-45 pounds overweight. YIKES! How did I get to that? How does it happen? Could it be the late night snacks or the kind of junky food that I somehow ALWAYS choose to eat? Surely that isn't it, right? Okay so I know that's what it is. The good news: we have just about sworn off most fast food burger places. All it really took was for Mindy to hear from a friend of hers that chicken nuggets were made from pink slime. Kids are so funny but her decision has actually helped us eat out a lot less.

Now onto the other topic: gas masks.

 

How would you like to be on the treadmill walking next to a guy wearing one of these? I was at the gym yesterday and a guy walked up with one of these in his hand and continued to attach it to his face. At first I really did have a little bit of a self esteem attack but in the end, I realized he meant to wear this and wears it every time. The only thing I could imagine was that he was either training to hike Mount Everest or he was training for the military. But, once I got home, I did a little research and found that a lot of people that do professional MMA use these during their cardio training. Also, people that do Crossfit sometimes use them. This girl will not be walking with one on, that's for sure!

Kathi Davis, Happy Mother's Day



My mom and me

Me and Mom doing Relay for Life when I was 16.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers in my life, relatives and friends! This day makes me think of the main person I am doing the 3-Day walk for, my mom, Kathi Davis. My mom has four children including myself. A house full of four children and one bathroom can really stress a mom out! My mom always did the best she could with what she had. Both of my parents didn't get home until about six every night so we did a lot on our own but we never went without anything that we needed. I get a lot of the qualities I have from my mom. She is a very hard worker and totally dives in to her work. There were times when my mother would bring some work home. Doing that allowed her to spend time with us as well as get some work done. I do the same thing with my work. One of the things that neither one of us is good at is delegating. We both have a hard time letting anyone else do anything because we know it will be done right if we do it ourselves. My mom also allowed us to have a lot of independence. When we came home with homework, we were responsible for doing our homework and studying for tests and bringing the required items to school the next day. If we asked for help it was given but other than that we were on our own. I try to do the same thing with my kids. I appreciate the fact that my mom did that. Since I work at a school, I see a lot of children that have absolutely no responsibility when they are younger and once they hit high school it is a nightmare! I could probably go on and on.



Mom and me during my bridal portraits

When I got engaged, my mom was very happy for me. She was however, disappointed that Danny and I would not be getting married in the Catholic church. But, she went with me all over Huntsville to find a place to have our wedding. Getting married was one of the happiest days of my life. We got married in October and everything was great! In January, we found out we were going to have a baby and everything was really great! A couple of months after that, my mom let us know that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. It felt like the world stood still. I didn't know how to respond. I think it really didn't sink in for awhile. Whether I was ready or not, it was coming.


Me, my mom, my sisters and my niece at my baby shower

I didn't have much of a reaction for awhile. I knew that she had breast cancer but I wasn't around it. I wasn't there to go to treatments or doctor appointments. I wasn't there when she lost her hair or picked out her wig. Not to sound selfish but I had a lot going on in my life about two hours away. I was a newlywed expecting a baby in September. I did call a lot to find out how things were going but I really was sort of removed from the whole situation. The first time I really had anything really affect me was when friends of my moms threw a baby shower for me. The doctors didn't think it was a good idea for her to attend the shower. She was very susceptible to germs and they didn't want her to get sick. She promised she would wear a mask. So, to make her feel better, we all wore maskes. We even tried to decorate them. It was a nice laugh in the middle of such a hard situation.

My mom with Mindy. She will hate me for using this pic.

As the due date got closer, the doctor told her it wouldn't be in her best interest to come to the hospital when I had the baby. I was so upset. When you have a baby, your parents are supposed to come and be the first to see! what was I going to do? My mom didn't listen, my sister managed to get her in and out pretty fast. I was so glad that she was the first one to see Mindy.

My mom was responding well to treatments and before long she was cleared. she has been a survivor for over 7 years. I don't know what we would have done if she hadn't made it. She has tried her best to always help all of us. My older sister and brother live within 15 minutes of her and she has helped them through many things over these last 7 years, good and bad. My younger sister was able to have her at her college graduation. I, personally, don't know what I would have done without her when Mason was born. She came to stay with us for a week and a few days later I called her and cried and said I needed her to come back. I was suffering from post partum depression and couldn't take care of my family. She immediately came to our aid and stayed for another week.



My mom with Mindy. My mom's hair grew back in very curly.

I am lucky. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and survived. I am able to call her and say "Happy Mother's Day!". There are a lot of daughters, sons and husbands who no longer have the opportunity to do that same thing because their mother/wife lost the battle.
My mom and I don't always see eye to eye. In fact, a lot of the time we don't but she is an extremely important part of my life and the life of my family. I love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!