Quack is Whack

At 5:30am my alarm buzzed on Saturday morning. I quickly dashed to turn off the alarm as I woke both my husband, three dogs and our house guests slumbering in the neighboring room. I quickly dressed, rapidly applied body glide to my feet and ankles and got in my car amped for my 12 mile walk with my C.B. partner Stephanie.

I never imagined I would look forward to waking up before dawn on a Saturday morning. Instead I rushed along to the trail Stephanie planned for us, got turned around once or twice (as per normal) and arrived at our set location only a few minutes late. I am sure the suggested pre-walk nutrition team of the 3-day would be horrified at my pre-walk meal of an iced latte, banana bread and stick of gum. I should have taken better efforts to eat a balanced, hearty meal as I wasn’t feeling very well and had taken over the counter medicine to suppress what felt like an oncoming cold. I brought snacks to enjoy on breaks but this is a big 3-day no no, walkers continuously learn how important eating and drinking are. It would have been worth getting up an extra 20 minutes early.

Steph and I set out about 6:45am and began a lovely walk that included trails blocked by flooding, attack ducks (I did run like a girl, but hey, I AM a girl), the blaring Texas sun (and heat), far too many spider webs, many a scantily clad male jogger and a sight of some sort of crane or large bird that scared me at first (hello! Still a girl!). A small re-route due to the flooded trail added a couple miles to our original journey and four hours later we returned to our vehicles and I was sporting some pretty intense tan lines that have now prohibited me from wearing about ¾ of my wardrobe. Oops. At least my SPF 55 kept me from a sun burn. Hopefully my early morning ramblings kept Stephanie mildly entertained as I kept her from finishing her audio book.

This twelve mile walk did not physically affect me as much as I thought it would. I was tired but I didn’t feel pain in my legs or body a few hours later. In fact I felt the walking helped me to feel refreshed!

Then came Sunday morning. I now have a sinus infection, a fever, a healthy dose of antibiotics and my lovely mother on the way to bring me her marvelous chicken soup when I got home from school. I do not feel that the walk was my downfall, more so not taking the proper steps to prevent a cold. A key ingredient to success in this walk and as I’ve learned now, and in most any outdoor activity, is preventing the problem before it happens. Thanks to the body glide and band aid blister aids I’ve prevented plenty of ailments, and I’m going to make it a point to be more conscious of these things ahead of time.

I am taking most of the week off to recover and plan a grand return this weekend with another long walk with Steph. I also completed online check in! Now it’s just a major shopping trip to REI and WALMART to get packed and ready.
Until then, here are so great “action” shots as I tried to save my extra pair of socks from the Ducks of Fury (thanks to Stephanie’s Camera Phone).









Until next time,

Nikki

Hello fellow walkers!

My awesome walking partner, Nikki, inspired me to do something this morning that I have been trying to do for years.

Get up early and workout!

I am not a morning person and very much enjoy my sleep, so it was tough to do! I always workout in the evenings but have always tried to talk myself into becoming a "morning workout" person. Nikki has been getting up early to walk a bit in the morning, so I finally did the same today. Hopefully I will continue doing it, even after our walk is over! This event has already led to some great experiences so far...I can't wait for the 3-Day to start! I am very much looking forward to walking as a team!

We've got our big 12 miles on Saturday! This will be the farthest distance for me to walk for this event and I hope the weather cooperates with us! I ended up walking in the rain again on Saturday, without the bags on my feet this time. It's much easier to walk without the bags...I am not sure that they did much good anyway. My feet are going to sweat in the bags (and get wet) anyway, so I figure I might as well not wear them to avoid sliding around in my shoes. It was nice actually, but whenever I was stationary my feet would itch like crazy from the moisture! So let's hope for dry feet and no rain during our 3-Day!!

I hope everyone has some great walks this weekend! Oh, and I have some 30% off coupons for Lady Footlocker, Champs Sports, and FootAction if anyone still needs to buy any shoes, clothes, etc. There is a printable coupon to use in-store and a coupon code if you want to shop online...expires Sunday, 8/26! Just email me and I will give you the info!

~Stephanie G.

God loves us!

Elise & I walked 13 miles on Friday! We started a little before 8am & it took about 4.5 hours. We walked from my house to my gym which feels like more than 6.5 miles when I drive it! It wasn't too bad though because we had 3 rest stops with water and it was so cool out. Okay, maybe 'not as hot' should be the words I use. When I realized that the sun was hiding behind the clouds, I also realized that God loves us! When we did 12 miles the week before, it was horribly hot & sunny! The back of our legs felt burned! This time it was gorgeous!

My mom & dad stopped by to see us so that was a nice little break. Also, we have made friends with the Highland Village landscaper so he honked & waved to us. We met him the week before when he caught us running through the city sprinklers & told us that it was bad water & we should shower off immediately. Our legs didn't turn green so we ignored the warning. Anyway, he is now our friend! E, we should give him a name. We also stopped by my mailstore to say hi to my girl there. It was such a social journey!

We also passed the time by playing the Alphabet game with Bowling For Soup songs. So for each letter of the alphabet, you have to come up with a song that begins with that letter. I won't list them here...but I will let you know that there are only 3 letters that don't have songs. Jaret told me he would work on this & would keep it in mind when writing the next album!

I am now taking the next two weeks off - at least for long walks due to my kids' schedule & my vacation (if Hurricane Dean doesn't change those plans!)! So it will be short walks till we do 15 miles on the 7th of September!

By the way, Elise is already packed. That cracks me up!

cheers - mo

okay, well it wasn't the next day

here are the results from our walk. i tripped twice and we hit hands 3xs.

i went on the the 3-day and took:
advil
bedroll
camera
deo
elise
foot powder
gatorade
hat
igloo (wishful thinking)
jenny
kleenex
latern
mo
nikes
ob
pillow
quote "something motivational by ralph waldo emerson"
rest
shower shoes
tent
utility belt
visor
white ass
xcitement!! (with a dance)
yard sign
z...i can't remember z!! z...hmmm... okay mo, what was z?!!

we have 13 on friday! hopefully, it won't be as hot.

bye-elise

let the games begin

so, i know this may come as a big surprise but i am damn tired of walking. i mean tired and bored of walking. my ipod might have to start coming out with me to help pass the time. (this is the point in our training where everyone starts leaving encouraging messages for us. you don't have to know us, i am sure there are plenty of strangers reading this blog. we would be happy to hear from you!)

tomorrow mo and i are going on a big walk. 12 miles. i don't know that i have ever walked 12 miles. but we will tomorrow and it will be great. i decided we could play "i went on a picnic and took a..." to pass the time. i already started with, "i went on the 3 day and took, advil." so tomorrow's blog will contain the list of thing we would take and maybe some fun pics.

i am starting to get all my gear together. bought a fun sleeping bag and some tent accessories. so far, so good.

until tomorrow...

elise

Re-Fueling

Do we have updates on our injured Besties? I know some of our members had surgery or were in casts within the last few months - how is everyone doing?

All hopes I had of a kick-butt training week inspired by my fuel from the Expo crumbled as I fell ill on Sunday and spent the entire week resting (when not at work) and trying to heal. I know it is more important to stay healthy than attempt to go six miles while feeling feverish. I did feel I had fallen into a slump and have been very frustrated about this. Yesterday I started to feel better and managed a brief 1.5-2 miles with my husband and our dogs. I was shocked that I felt a bit sore afterwards and I barely used the muscles I have been exercising!

I will be back on track tomorrow morning and plan on making an 8 mile trek (to follow the 16-week training program), followed by a 6 mile on Sunday. I purchased my second pair of walking shoes from New Balance yesterday to switch of for the walk. *Don't forget the 15% discount at New Balance everyone!!!* The blog Melissa posted all the more ignited my desire to push farther and walk faster. And my goodness - brave Steph in the rain! I guess we do need to prepare for all elements and I need to stop wimping towards the treadmill when there is a little rain.

I have a question for all that read this and the Besties - is anyone using an actual pedometer on their walks? I normally map my routes using Google's GMaps Pedometer but I plan on doing some training walks in new areas and could use some guidance on what pedometers are worthwhile and how well they work.

Have a great weekend Besties! Let's all meet our walking goals!

Nikki

my friend has breast cancer

For the past few years, I have worked out most mornings with my two friends, Robin & Diane. In fact, whenever I train for the walk by using the treadmills at the gym, Robin & Diane have been with me - just like this morning. You might know them - Robin Roberts & Diane Sawyer.

This week Robin announced that she is having surgery tomorrow & undergoing treatment for breast cancer after finding a lump in early July during a self-exam. She wrote the book 'From the Heart: Seven Rules to Live By,' and this week she added an eighth rule - EARLY DETECTION! Did you know that 80% of those that are diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history? I was surprised by this!

So tomorrow, Elise & I are walking 11 miles (thank you to my husband for being home to get the kids to school!) and I will remember how blessed I am that I'm able to walk in the 3 Day and the meaning of this endeavor. I will also remember, as I do everyday, that I am blessed to have a bestie like Elise. Robin has Diane to walk along side her as she travels the Breast Cancer Survivor road. Elise & I are going to send her a Chestie Bestie shirt too.

Happy Trails - mo

Got boobs? Get checked - no matter what your family's medical history says!

How to look like a crazy person

Well, of course it had to rain yesterday during my training walk. Of course! I really wanted to wimp out and lay on the couch, but I had already made plans to walk to Hobby Lobby to get some supplies to decorate training gear. I am decorating shirts, hats, etc. so that when people see me walking, they see WHY I am walking. One of the important things to me about this cause is support and awareness...so that's what I'm aiming for, even in my training. I was already excited about my shopping plans, plus I thought this would be a good time to test all of the walking-in-the-rain tips.

So I packed up a backpack (so I could carry the supplies home), got the bags on my feet to keep them dry...pretty much just covered myself from head to toe.

So here I am, ready to head out looking like a weirdo!

Ahh, yes....and I had my mace! My boyfriend went out and got me mace :)

The first thing I realized was that I do not enjoy walking with grocery bags on my feet. Makes your feet slide around in your shoes. ALOT. So that was pretty darn annoying. And rainwear is not exactly breathable, so although I kept out of the rain, I think I drenched myself in my own sweat...yum!

People were staring quite a bit in Hobby Lobby and I got all kinds of strange looks!! I can't really blame them though, I would probably do the same thing :) I was in one aisle and this guy kept sneaking glances at me over and over and over, like he was trying to figure me out. It was so funny, it even made me giggle a little bit even though I was trying to pretend I didn't notice. I realized that my feet were really starting to itch as I was walking around in there, so I knew my feet had somehow gotten wet. When I got home, my foot was halfway through the bag. Next time I think I will try ziplock freezer bags! I made it out with tons of ideas and tons of cool supplies.

Oh, and I stopped to refuel on the way home...


Hey, I was really hungry and there aren't many choices when you're on foot! Besides, McDonalds hamburgers are kind of a good protein/carb balance. I guess :) Oh, and my hands are not usually that swollen!!

Saw bunnies on the way home again...


I made it there and back in good time. I am trying to get my pace up to 3 miles an hour..I think that is what they have recommended... I am resting Friday night and going for another 6 miler Sat and an 8 on Sunday. Hopefully :)

Oh, and my wonderful boyfriend gave me a great calf and foot massage right before I passed out in bed...how awesome is that!?! I kinda think it might have something to do with the fact that he walked with me Monday night and got to experience how long and tiring it is, so he can appreciate the soreness...but whatever the reason, I'll take it!!! I think I might try to go for a foot/leg massage every week if I complete all of my walks, just to treat myself and keep myself inspired.

I hope everyone else is doing great in their training and staying safe!

~Stephanie G.