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!

Treadmill Training

Training has begun! Initially I imagined myself doing most of my training on the treadmill at the gym. I had always done a pretty good bit of my training for my races on the treadmill so I thought that would be perfect! This week I had to do 3 miles on Tuesday and today. Have you ever walked on a treadmill for 3 miles? Do you know how long it takes? I was shocked! It took me 57.5 minutes to walk 3 miles on the treadmill. I know what you are thinking...."you are getting ready to walk 60 miles and you are already complaining about how long it takes." Here's the thing. Walking outside for 60 miles while I am talking to people is not hard. Walking on a treadmill for 3 miles with no one to talk to and nothing to listen to and it is 5:00am is very hard. But I have decided that once my summer gets started, I will probably do a lot of my miles outside but on the days when I have to walk for a certain amount of time, I will do that on the treadmill.

Marti and me at a Race for the Cure about 7 years ago

So far, this week, I have logged 6 miles. I still have two 3 mile walks to do (which will be done outside) and then a 30 minute workout. This morning, I did cut 2.5 minutes off of my time on the treadmill so I wasn't quite as late getting to work.

My fundraising is almost complete! I quickly raised $2300 so I increased my goal to $2500 and I am $50 away from that goal. Should I raise it again??

On a sad note, one of my bestest friends, Marti has had to back out of the walk due to health issues. Marti was the one that talked me into the walk so I was so upset that she wasn't going to do it with me. I got a little nervous about doing it on my own. Then it hit me, there are lots of women that have to go through the cancer battle on their own. The people that I know that have been affected have had tons of support and family and friends that have taken care of them, gone to treatments with them, done races for them and really just been there. There are some women that have no one. They battle on their own every day. Surely I can do three days by myself for those women. The other thing I started thinking about was that I would make lots of new friends while I was walking.  But it looks like I will have a partner in crime after all. I had been talking to another one of my bestest friends, Edie, about doing the walk and after a lot of thought, she has committed! We are going to have a great time but we will miss Marti! She adds a special bit of pizazz to any occasion!

 JDM