i think i've watch too much "law and order"

I didn't go to the Moon Walk. My heart is broken. I so wanted to do it. But I couldn't bring myself to walk next to Central Park, alone, wearing a bra. I've watch too much Law and Order. I know what happens in Central Park at night.

I asked friends / family /random people what to do and all but one said don't go. I posted the question on facebook and got two replies.I expected a large opinionated response.

The Moonwalk people said there would be tons of people and volunteers and police along the route. But the fact remains that doesn't happen when I'm in a half. That happens for the first 75, 80 percent of the people. Those of us bringing up the rear, get nothing. Sometimes not even a finish line. The food is gone, the tents are being taken down, everyone has gone home. It even happened at the Biggest Loser race.

So instead of having to look at pictures of me wearing my outfit, I submit this drawing:

1. The cap they gave me. The top is pink and white stripes with a blue brim. That means half-moon. (the full marathon is the full-moon.)

2. An old black bra (the one they gave me didn't fit. It's in the goodwill box) with a large Sex In The City style flower in the center. I used it for the 3-Day. Also recycled would be recycled magenta beads that I've picked up at cancer events.

Also, I'd be wearing my flesh colored generic Spanxs camisole to cover the belly fat. Really, nobody wants to see that.

3. My HipKlip flower purse. Big enough for ID, phone, a little money, tissues and of course the camera. No backpacks were allowed. When you check your bag they put your stuff in clear plastic bags.

4. Tutu. We were given a mylar blanket and instructed to tie it to our fanny pack or wear it around our waists as a reflector. I cut it up and made it into a tutu. Good thing I had others from the 3-Day.

5. My bib. I'm #2224. We were instructed to attach it to your pants. You have to use a marker and write the number across your chest and on your arms.

6. Black crop pants. Prevents chafing and covers a very ample butt.

7.  Birkenstocks. Don't I wish. No I would have worn my black and pink sneakers. I'm not crazy.

looks like I'm walking nyc in my bra!

Today registration opened for the July 26th moonwalk in NYC. I wanted to do this event last year. But I found out too late.

From the website:

The Girls are back in town … and the boys, so sign up now for Walk the Walk’s famous Power Walking challenge. Thousands of women and men will be choosing from a Half Marathon (The Half Moon) or go all the way… a full 26.2 miles the Full Moon Marathon distance, and you can be sure that every step that you take is not only going to help you become more honed and  toned…. your fundraising will help to give New Yorkers the best care for breast cancer,  for the best outcome, regardless of their circumstances!

Plus…what make this challenge really exciting and unique, is that everybody will be wearing the charities trademark, decorated bra!  Not what you would expect to do on a Saturday night and  if that takes you slightly out of your comfort zone then think ‘Rockettes’, think magical jewels and feathers to sparkle your way around Manhattan.

I mailed the others in every two feet, and my friend Gail from the 3-Day. Hopefully someone wants to come along. If not, I'll go alone. I signed up for the half, and the 4-5 hour time slot so I can have fun along the way. It went to 7 hours. The times started at 2. Really, 2? Who can walk 13.1 miles in 2 hours? Not even super-walker-Michele can do that! Mostly, it's so they have enough shuttle buses to take you back to the start point.

The walk starts on Randall's Island, the campsite for the Avon. You meet at 8 pm and eat. The food is vegetarian and organic. You had a choice between pasta and rice. (Bonnie, rice...no gluten...just saying.) At 10 pm you hit the streets.

And I only have to raise $150. That's probably already in my spare change jar. But if you want to donate to this insanity, click the half-marathon link above.

If you want to participate in the insanity and join Bonnie's Boobies, than click on this link. The more the merrier! Oh, and the pink footed boobie birds will get a makeover for this race.

a month of pink

It's October. We all know what that mean, the world is pretty in pink for breast cancer awareness.

Since I did the 3-Day (this weekend the pink army rocks Philly! Go Gail!) I have amassed a large pink wardrobe. Both fitness and work clothes. Bonnie and I will try to wear pink everyday. I think we can do it.

I should have taken pixs when we started, but the roomie would have thought I was odd.

simple walk

Today we did what I call the Wegman's Walk. It's a simple walk that can be anywhere from 2-9 miles. It's relatively flat with just a few rolling hills. I used it a lot training for the 3-Day. It has 3 bathrooms,  a parking lot, and a grocery store to stock up on supplies when you run out. Since we are doing the difficult Bear Creek Volkssport walk tomorrow, today we wanted to keep it simple.

The basic route is a big square. We left Wegman's lot and headed down to Stokes Park Road. Headed out Stokes Park to Jacksonville. There were only 3 cows at Koehlers. Where have all the animals gone?

Then we headed out Jacksonville toward Advent church. At some point, my hand hit Lydia's and soon she said, "I'm bleeding!" My nail must have scraped her. It was my first, first aid stop in a long time. Thank goodness the hospitals give out purse size samples at race events. I had one in my backpack. After cleaning her boo-boo, we continued on.

Across from Advent is Hanover Elementary School. The lawn was lined with pinwheels. For the entire length of the property. They participated in Pinwheels for Peace on the 21st. I think every grade must have participated.  A few fell over, or came undone. Bonnie started fixing them. Lydia and I helped. We fixed all but two. The paper was laminated, so the rain right now should not destroy them.

The rest of the walk was uneventful. We turned right onto Crawford Drive and headed toward Wegman's. Then we decidedto add another mile, and took the loop thru the subdivision.

Afterwards, we took Adonis for his walk. Total mileage 4.5.

Yesterday, we walked with Betsy in her neighborhood. We went about 3 miles.

Tomorrow is the 10K at Bear Creek.

.

reflections .... realizations

I've been blogging since about 2007. My brother had started to blog about boomerangs and the blog was free from RCN. I think it was called the RCN Journal. I signed up (Tall and Fat Tales) and had nothing to write about. It laid dormant until that summer when my international student, her friend, Bonnie, my brother and his wife went tubing on the Delaware. The story was unbelievable. I finally had something to blog about. My first post was "Tubing on Willy Wonka's Chocolate River".  It included stories on graffiti on my garage, and the "do not use or you will die" sign on my 50-year old furnace, and some walking adventures. Normal, mundane stuff. Nothing on a regular basis.

Then high blood pressure happened in October of 2008. One of the family curses. I needed to get serious about exercise and diet. I was 256 pounds. My blood pressure was over 200.


I found quickly that I could not just walk for the sake of walking. I bored easily. Everyone who reads this blog knows that. I needed a goal. I saw one of the sappy commercial for the Koman  Breast Cancer 3-Day in winter of 2009, did a little research, and signed up for the 3-Day. My friend Karen was dying of the disease. It was perfect. Plus she lived in Philly. She'd meet me at the finish and I'd collapse at her place. Sadly she died before that could happen.

Regardless, I was motivated and began training. Part of the online fundraising platform was a blog, and it was a way to keep me accountable. If I missed a day of training, and then blogging, my sister was sure to call. "Didn't you walk yesterday?" she'd ask. After it was over, I printed it all out and stuck it in my photo album because once the 3-Day was over, it would be gone.

At the same time the mundane stuff remained on Tall and Fat Tales.

I liked blogging and finally had something to talk about. Training for the 3-day I lost about 10 pounds and 3 dress sizes. In one summer. Clearly I was all fat. (I wonder what the number is. My BMI is still 44!) I gave up drinking massive amounts of soda and started to eat better.

After the 3-day I moved my walking adventures to Tall and Fat Tales. Then the notice came from RCN. No more blogs. It didn't occur to me to make a copy. All that is gone. Now I have books printed.

When I did the Walk Your Butt Off test program in fall 2011-winter 2012 I weighed in at about 236 pounds. I didn't even notice I had lost another 10 pounds. How is that possible?

Still I was discouraged. I was still FAT. I am still fat. Nothing I did — at least in my head—seemed to take the weight off. I was still wearing the same sizes I wore after that first 3-Day.  I was walking my ass off and doing half marathons, climbing stairs, changing my diet over and over, going to nutritionists and to no avail. That's what motivated me to sign up for the Sugar Crushers test panel.

When I started the Sugar Crushers test panel I weighed in again. This time I was about 226. I don't remember. Numbers aren't my thing. But it looks like I had kept off the WYBO weight loss. This time I lost 8 pounds in a month. But dang it was hard. The restrictions nearly drove me screaming down the street. I can't function like that.

That being said, over the weekend the light bulb went off. In four years I have lost 40 pounds and kept it off. (Sorry, no pixs of me in 2007-08. Clearly avoiding camera. Or maybe deleted them.) I'm not really sure if I can see it. (Though I do remember thinking I looked hot in the black and white. Clearly that was a mirage.) I am going to own and embrace that fact. Forty pounds is not insignificant. Perhaps I am not failing at this after all. I'm just doing it really, really, slowly. I only have 18 more pounds to go before I hit my goal of "onederland". Anything after that, pardon the pun, is gravy.

I will do this. Hopefully it won't take two more years.

my worse 5k time in 3 years, but for a good cause

Today was the Kridersville Covered Bridge Challenge. As I write this it is 87 and humid.

We've done this race twice before (2011, 2012). It's always hot. And the course never changes significantly.  It starts with a small hill up from the covered bridge, and you turn a corner, go down a bit. Then you go up. And up. And up. For 3/4 of a mile, turn a corner and go up another 1/4 of a mile. Everything that comes after that is a walk in the park. They don't call this a challenge for nothing. You choose 5 or 10K if you run. No choice for walkers.

As always, the parking was great, the potty lines short and there was a massage area. The massage area had no line so we all got a free massage. I thought, dang, this is going to be a great race.

Traditionally, I stay with Lyd until we get up that monster of a hill. Then I can sprint ahead, and finish with a decent time. That was not meant to be this year.

As we went up the hill, Lyds head began to pound. She was sweating way more than necessary for the conditions. We were going slower than normal. Then about halfway up the hill, she stopped briefly to drink water. Two minutes later, projectile vomiting. She continued to try to walk, but looked worse and worse, with more vomit.

When I trained for the three-day they always were worried about heat stroke. We had to watch a video about it. It wasn't pretty. Today, it looked like that was unfolding in front of my eyes.

Lyd stopped under a tree and I went for help. Where the hell was the sweep girl on the bike? It probably took me 10 minutes to arrive at the water stop. The water girl had a phone, and called someone at base. I felt a little better and headed up the second hill.

In the distance I saw bike girl coming toward me. When she saw me she turned around and went back. WTF? I finally found her, she was chatting with the crossing person at the church. I told them both that they had a walker down, 1/3 of the way down the big hill.

When I reached the cemetery a fire truck was pulling out. I was guessing he was headed to Lyd, but didn't take chances. I stopped again and told the traffic guy. He told me everything was under control and help was on the way.

Feeling better, I picked up my speed a bit and continued on. But my head was no longer in the game. At about the 2.5 mile mark there was another water station, and a little past that, two people with hoses set on sprinkler. Gee did that feel mighty good.

When I finished, I found Bonnie and told her the story. We were trying to figure out what to do next when the ambulance dropped off Lyd.

They wanted to take her to the hospital but she said no way. (By the time the posse arrived—bike girl, ambulance, fire truck, a couple in a van, and someone else—she was feeling better.) They checked her for heat stroke. They checked her BP. Everything was getting better because she knew what to do as she waited. And she had done everything right—poured water over herself, soaked her bandana in water and put it around her neck, and cooled down her face. She also managed to get some water to stay in. She moved to a more densely shaded area. She sat down.

All is well that ends well. But we need to develop an emergency plan. Bonnie and I were helpless at the finish line. That is not happening again.

Almost forgot, my time—60:03. My worse time in years. But being a Good Samaritan takes time.

Lyd has plans for tomorrow so Bonnie and I will do two of the Passport to Fitness walks.  Lower Mount Bethel Twsp. Trail, and the Jacobsburg State Park, Henry Woods Trail or the D&L at Hugh Moore (a two-fer). Hopefully the trail markers are easier to find than the one at Lehigh Gap. Lydia went back there yesterday and still didn't find it. Then when she was posting on FB, she saw it. She was there, read the signs and missed it. Can you find it?

really walking the walk

I've walked to Bethlehem and Jerusalem in the middle east, Nome, and come July 1, around the world. When I was training for the 3-Day, I almost made past Nashville, and the next year almost made it to Des Moines. But I really haven't walked anywhere. It's was just virtual tracking. Mile for mile or minute for mile...how the crow flies.

Dave Brown (in safety green) is a member of the Liberty Bell Wanderers, the Volkssport group I belong to. He set-off yesterday on a eight-month journey from Atlantic City to San Francisco to raise awareness for Ovarian Cancer Research, in memory of his wife Joan. Real walking. 14-miles a day. It takes a lot of planning, fund-raising, walking and coordination.

I really had wanted to go to AC yesterday with the rest of the group and walk that first 14 mile leg. But I had two jobs yesterday so it wasn't possible.

God speed Dave. Safe journey. Raise that $110K and kick cancer's butt.

If you want to follow Dave's journey, here's the blog or follow him on FB. All the hash tags in the FB posts (#) make me think there is a twitter feed, but I didn't see any. Also there's this interview on Fox. (I borrowed the photo from the blog.)

Me, I haven't even done much walking this week. I'm barely getting 8K steps in a day. I'm in full up-to-my-ears in grading and other commitments time. Today I did a long walk with Betsy and have finally cracked the 10K barrier, but I won't make 15K.

However, it's now the "month that shall not be names" and Bonnie begins training for her mini this weekend, so that mileage should start piling up. Now that it's getting light earlier, and staying light longer, I'll also be able to go back to my first thing in the am walks. So much better. Do it and done. No excuses.

No walks for me Saturday, though. I have an all day GS event, and then I'm driving friends to the airport.

The St. Patrick's Day 5K is on the 17th. Hope I'm ready.

around the world in 365 days?

As you know my family, aka "the Scoobies" are participating in the Idita-walk. Symbolically walking the route that the sled race takes. One mile =one minute of exercise. If you walk 30 minutes a day you can make it in a month.

Just before I left for class, I received an email from my brother Dave. A few members of his church is participating in a Virtual Walk To Jerusalem activity for Lent. It begins tomorrow. It's being organized by churches in Jim Thorpe. Dave asked whether or not we could walk two directions at once.  I said sure. Half kidding. Half not kidding. That got me thinking on my way to school. Is it possible to make both trips?

Nome to Jerusalem is 5726 miles as the crow flies over Russia, China and the middle east. If everyone arrives in Nome by the end of February, I'd have to walk 192 minutes everyday.  It's almost the same as Bethlehem (Pa.) to Jerusalem—5773. That will be really tough especially with three jobs. That's three hours of walking a day. That's training for the 3-Day times. I sent for the info anyway.

But it got me thinking about something. How about a virtual walk around the world? July 1 to June 30-365 days. Can it be done? The circumference is 24,900+ miles (some say 24,901 some say 24,906...let's round! I like rounding. And the world is round, right?) Divided by 365 that comes out to a rounded 68 minutes a day. (One mile=1 minute.) That is so doable.

If someone doesn't want to walk the whole world we could do continents using a web app like MapCrow.com. Plug in two cities and it will tell you the distance as the crow flies. For example—North America. You could plug in the northern-ist most city in Greenland and the Southernmost city in Central America and get the distance. For South America it is 4,750 miles from Panto Gallinas, Colombia to Cape Horn, Chile. Want a bigger challenge, then calculate Asia. A smaller one Australia. Fun right? And you get to learn geography as a bonus.

July 1st I leave for my round the world adventure. Anyone want to come along?

a sea of pink

Today was the Making Strides breast cancer walk. There was a lot of people.

Is anyone familiar with Connestoga Street?  We came down the hill to the historic district and out Old York Road, down Union Blvd., and back Connestoga. When we reached the little bridge, about halfway down, We could see people still coming down the hill! A mile plus solid of people.

Kathy had a death in the family, and Bonnie had a conflict, so Sharon went along and did the first section of the walk. Pooped, and unwilling to walk up both the Center City and New Street hills, she bagged and went back to the start line. Lydia and I finished the route. It was better—we could walk slightly faster, but not extremely fast because of all the people.

The highlight for me was see in my friend Gail, who has been doing the 3-Day for about a decade. We trained together when I did it.

I think I probably did in excess of four miles today. Walking from the parking garage to the site and back, and then walking Adonis on his 1/2 mile route.


Now, it's off to a Mexican joint for dinner!

camper scamper 5K

This 5k was billed as a trail run, but it was closer to being cross country. It was hard, but fun, and an hour away— Horsham. But I really wanted to do a real cross country 5k. It started maybe two years ago with an episode of the Biggest Loser. They were in Australia and running thru the woods and thru water. I was hooked.

About a month ago Lydia and I did a 5K at the Seed Farm. It was rustic and hard. Close to a cross country, but not really.

Today's was true cross country—grass, wetlands, forest, fields, meadows, rocks, roots, bridges... After parking we were greeted by this sign. At several places. (The logs of the cabin were vinyl siding!)

They clearly forgot to mention the killer black walnuts. Almost lost my ankle a couple of times.

Bonnie decided Thursday she'd walk. Clearly while she was on the DL she practiced silly faces. Or else she had something stronger than hot chocolate for breakfast!

Just off the DL Bonnie cleaned my clock at 55:02. That's a hair less than 3 MPH. Not bad for the terrain.

I finished in 55:55, and Lydia in 63:04.

We stayed for the awards and we won none. But the lady in front of me came in 3rd place for the 60+ age group. But I won a Mary Kay basket in the bib-number raffle. Me and Mary Kay. Now that's funny.

After dropping off Bonnie, we came back to my house and Sharon and I took the dog for a walk.

Right now the back of my thighs, where they join my butt hurt.

Speaking of aching legs and butts. Some walking friends are participating in the Breast Cancer 3-Day in Philly!

no more pink sneaks?

I've been noticing for awhile that my pink sneakers are shot. Just look at the bottoms. From what I read you have about 600 miles in a pair. I'm well past that I'm sure. Sadly I just bought them in February or March.

So I said to the roomie, "wanna go for a ride in the car?" Amazingly she said yes. So off we went to my favorite sneaker store New Balance. A corporate sponsor of the 3-Day, all their shoes are made in Massachusetts. That's right. We still make a couple things in America and I'm buying them.

As you've seen in many posters my sneakers are pink. A percentage of the sales go to Koman. I'm looking at the clothes and the clerk asks if I need assistance. I point down and say "Need these in a 10."

"Pink has been discontinued."

"What?"

She shows me gray. "They have plenty of pink". The thought behind the color change is that the pink gets dirty quickly. Personally I don't mind dirt, but I guess others did.

I was disappointed but I bought them. They also had a sneaker slide in the same gray, much less pink, but the insole has the Koman logo. Guess my shopping trip can go in the budget as philanthropy!

While I was browsing I found this shirt. Now if you've ever sat in one of my classes, this typeface —hobo—is on the never-use list. (Morris Fuller Benton, 1910.) It has been miss-used and abused so badly since the advent of personal computers. Clearly this is warped for effect.

I was also looking at pants. During the summer I've been wearing my regular shorts. I have yoga pants and knee length pants that I wear. However, neither of them are really practical for Zumba, or Stretch and Tone, or any type of group aerobic-like class. I need shorts. I want them tight, but not spandex. And I want pockets. I kept going back to these and leaving them. They were a bit pricey. Finally, when the clerk asked the inevitable "will there be anything else?" I said "yes". Then I asked her about how they fit. That's when she told me they have a built in panty! She said they are form fitting but not tight. They move with you, but won't stick to you. And they aren't baggy. I bought them. Both the t-shirt and the pants fit like a dream. The shorts are exactly what I wanted. You'll see them tomorrow. I'm wearing them for the Iron Pig 5K.

When we returned home I sat down at the computer to type this up. The roomie says, "if they discontinued your pink shoes, maybe you can find them on the internet." Some days she's so smart. I searched. I found. I bought. The girl who three years ago did the 3-Day in Birks, now has three pair of sneakers.

Now I just need to find out in NCC is still recycling the old ones. If worse comes to worse I can take them to the Nike store in Tannersville. They always have a bin.

the new gym plan

This plan changes frequently.

For the summer the gym at school doesn't open till 7 am. We start work at 7:30. No one else comes in until 9-ish. So the plan late yesterday was to walk then go to the gym for a half hour and stay a little later.

We had even talked about taking gym orientation. (I'd rather clean a toilet.)

Then my colleague sent me an email for something called "sunrise power".  I quote: "Formatted for all skill levels. (They haven't met me!) Calls focuses on resistance and power moves to strengthen, tones and defines every major muscle group in your body.  Burns fat, burns calories and builds lean muscle!" OMG I think I'll die. And it starts at 7:10.

The new plan is to go to work much earlier, work in gym clothes since there was no one else there, go take this class, and return to work before our colleagues arrive. We might still have to stay a little later.

Too bad the dirty girl isn't till fall. I'll be "buff" and ready to go.

Meanwhile today I joined my friends team for the Lehigh Valley Cure Search Walk. It short and slow, but her daughter is battling leukemia, and this is the group they work with, so I volunteered. If you want to donate money to her team go here. I already kicked in the minimum. I hate fundraising.

(I always laugh at the 3-Day commercials when they say "fundraising was the easiest part." Bull.)

relieved

My friend Angel forwarded me a portion of an email this morning (translated from French, no doubt) from Michèl. We'll be doing the One Day Hike together.

"Oh and plant a bug in Gayle's ear that I will most likely need to reduce it down to the half-walk. Work is killing me and I have done no training. NONE. I don't even know how I will make the half!"

Since he's her friend, I asked if he'd back out totally. She replied "He's not the back-out type".

So it's a go. And I'm relieved that it's (more than likely) only 50K. 30ish miles I'm confident I can do. I haven't trained really well, but I've walked a lot and adrenaline will kick in. It's not like the 3-Day where you do and then do it tomorrow and again the next day. I can channel that energy. And I hear Michèl is very competitive.

I still wonder about where I'm meeting him, where we are sleeping when we are done, and how the heck will I gt back to my car. I'm sure this will work itself out. Angel travels the globe with him without incident. Trust. It's hard for me. But I'll do it.

the good new and the bad news

Photo from my photographer-brother Dave. He's been on the trail and to Harper's Ferry.

Update on the walk. 

The good news it's a 50K. That's only 31-ish miles. I think I could do the 50K with some training. I did 25 miles in one day for the 3-Day. Time to train might be a challenge. When I was doing the 3-Day my Saturdays and Sundays were spent walking most of the day.

     The bad news. Angel's friend Michel wants to do the 100K version. He likes a challenge.  Yep, that's 62 miles.  Yikes! I'm not very confident on 62 miles. He did assure me that we'd stay together and if one leaves we both leave.  His exact quote to Angel "I'll take care of her ass—I'm very good like that". After walking 62 miles my ass should be smaller. It's the old part I'm concerned about. He's half my age. 

     There is food, potties and a sweep van along the way. Terrain should be fairly flat. It follows a canal path.

     It begins at 3 am and goes to half-past midnight.

     It's sponsored by the Sierra Club and called the One Day Hike.  The website describes it as "a challenging and fully supported annual event". They limit participation to 350 people. Registration opens February 1. 
     Yes I am crazy to think about it.

50 miles in one day?

This morning I received an email from Africa. It was from my friend Angel who is traveling with her friend Michel to Africa and France.

The email said "He also wants to know if you'd be interested in a one day 50-mile hike from DC to Harper's Ferry that he does in May. He says it's lovely."

Fifty miles one day?

I did the math. At 3 mph it's about 16 hours. I think that I could do. But for 16 hours? At 4 mph it's 13 hours. That would be a lot harder. It's in the Blue Ridge mountains. Would we cross or follow the mountains. Crossing mountains will certainly make me slower. And no time for distractions like photographs.

An additional consideration. Those times are without bathroom or food stops. I never used the bathrooms much at the 3-day or Avon walks. What I drank I sweated off. I guess you carry granola or power bars and maybe fruit?

And blisters? My feet were so sore after the 3-Day. And I could barely walk over the finish line after the second Avon.

I don't think I can do it, which, I guess is the reason why I want to do it. I'm becoming obsessed with the idea. I want to write back "hell yes".

Am I crazy?

Crazy enough to write the trainers from my program to see how to train.

I borrowed the photo from http://kayedacus.com/2009/07/31/fun-friday-places-id-like-to-revisit/

i'm new to 5ks ....

I'm just a fat girl who likes to walk with people. That's why I started every two feet. The idea remains, but I took down the FB page because only "family" posted and it was kind of silly. I could talk to them one-on-one.

A week or two ago my niece Lydia, asked me to "friend" someone on FB. Michelle wanted to try 5ks. So I did. And she signed up for the one in Nazareth on the 24th.

Then I got a message from her. "Since you do so many of these, what is an approximate time for finishing?"

That's a really good question. 

For a newbee? 55-65 minutes. To get Lydia moving, I had her try a 1-mile fun walk.  Her first 5k with us and her friend Kathy, the Jingle Bell Run/Walk last December, was about 62 minutes. (I hate saying hour and two minutes. Sounds so long.) Kathy was about 64 minutes. Both have been doing them about a year now and are down to the low 50s. I come in now (after 3 years) at about 49-51 minutes. But I don't walk nearly as much as I used to. I could be closer to 45 minutes I bet.

The more you walk the better and faster you get. Especially if you do intervals. (1 minute quick, 3 minutes slow. Slowly it turns upside down that you're doing 1 minute slow, 3 minutes quick.)

But it's not really about time, is it? It's about starting and finishing even if you're the last one over the line. Don't compete, just complete. I was that person a long time. It wasn't until I started walking with Bonnie, who has a quicker pace because of all the gym time, that I sped up. She's also very competitive. It was good for me. Even if I do call her "Jillian".

I suggested to Michelle that she keep a  little notepad in the car so she can write down the time and date (and race name of course) so you can see your progression. I'm sure a phone has an app for that. Or you could write it on your bib if you save them.  Also write down challenging terrain or severe weather so if your times are way off you know why. I know when I see a gravel trail it will slow me down. (53 minutes!) The Parkway kills me.

I forgot to tell her to take pictures.  Drats.

I am not a trainer or exercise coach. Any advice I give is based on a mere three years experience. A little of that came from being a training walk leader for the 3-day and the Avon and a 12-week First Strides class. It could be totally off the mark. It could be right. If you're serious about starting an exercise program "talk with your doctor". I know nobody does. But I don't want anybody suing me for bad advice.

But the fact remains that Lydia is now moving, and I'd like to think that it's because I helped her. Sharon is also moving much better. When I started with her we stopped 3 times every walk.  So I have a tiny track record with family.

I'd love if there was a half-marathon just for walkers. Or a 10K or a 15K. I need challenges to keep me motivated.

I'd love for every two feet to be a viable walking group. I'd love to have a competitive 5K for walkers only. Or even better a noncompetitive 5k-10K-15K. You pick how far you want to challenge yourself.  It would be a clover leaf so that each circle finished and started at the same spot. That would be so cool.

i got thrown out of the pool!

Today was the Quakertown 5K Dash and Dip. We didn't quite dash, and we dipped and then I got tossed out of the pool. I was dressed inappropriately! Excuse me, the old man in the Speedo was dressed inappropriately, not me.

But that's the end of the story. You'll have to cool your heels to find out why.

We —Sharon, Lydia and I— met Kathy in Quakertown. Bonnie is still on the disabled list. We're hoping to pull her off the bench for the Alburtis 5K.

Before we start, let me say how wonderful Kathy looks. She's half the size of when I met her at the Jingle Bell Run. The baggy clothes she's wearing are not doing her justice. I think she had her surgery soon after Lydia. She's working the program to the letter and it shows. Way to go Kathy!

I picked up our goodie bags Friday night so we didn't need to register.

We arrived maybe a half hour early. It was hot, but we found some shade and waited for the race to start. Some headed to the bathroom. We all came prepared to battle the heat. Friday I had bought some sports drink and mixed 1/3 with 2/3 water in two bottles to take along. Lydia brought a bottle of G2 and Kathy had something yellow mixed. I think Sharon was drinking Propel. Maybe not. Again, stay tuned.

This race started on time. It was two loops of the park plus a serpentine in the parking lot.  "If you return in 12 minutes, and aren't Kenyan" the announcer said, "we'll know you only did one loop." Stereotypical yes. Funny, for me yes.

It was fairly flat. A few minor rises in elevation. Nothing I'd call a hill. There was some shade, some macadam, some stones, and a little dirt. I did not try to break any records and tried one power spurt. Didn't last long. I came in at about an hour, on the nose. Crappy, crappy time. Then the guy said they miss measured the course.

I was also having a problem with my New Balance Toning sneakers. I was walking over on them like I did when I was a little kid. Guess they need to go in the Soles4Souls bin.

Kathy and Lyd walked together most of the route. Then the G2 decided it didn't agree with her and she booked it to one of the many port-o-potties. Kathy kept going and came in at about 65 minutes. Her pedometer on her iPod said 3.7 miles. They announced it was 3.25.

When Lyd re-emerged Sharon was going past and they walked in together. They came in at a hair under 68 minutes. Sharon looked like shit. On the way home she said she was queasy but wanted to finish. She said she was drinking a lot. She handed me her water bottle and it felt full. She poured a lot out when we got home. So what was she drinking   those tiny cups they give you on the route? I sent her over to the very bored EMT people. They checked her out, forced her to sit and drink.

We went to the pool. I wore those horrible shorts because I knew I could swim in them. Lydia dove in as is also. Kathy brought her suit. I haven't been in a pool in a million years, and I was actually afraid to jump in. Once I got wet I was better. None of us could swim. Kathy and I could keep afloat, but Lyd doesn't have any skills.

After playing in 5 feet for a while we went to the kiddie pool. It's padded! They have this mushroom shower thing that's fun. Then we went to the slide. That's where I got in trouble.

First spot of trouble. I'm to fat for the slide. Too wide I guess. I got stuck. It had water running in it and I had to push myself to the bottom. The bari-sisters had no problem.

I finally got down and the life guard calls me over. Tells me I need to get out of the pool. I was dressed inappropiately. Huh? He was talking softly and I only heard every third word. My shirt was apparently the big problem. I was covered. I had a bra on. Oh wait. I had a beige bra on. The reason you do that is so you don't see your bra thru a white shirt. Maybe he thought I was doing a wet t-shirt thing? Oh vey. I have neither the body or the boobs for that!

So we left. We were close to leaving anyway I guess.

Speaking of boobies. Yesterday they closed the route for the 3-Day in Boston because of the heat. It was too dangerous to walk. today they opened the rout at 6 am so people could head out early. They might close it early again if temps reach 100. Here, it's 93 and seems less humid. I hope my sister 3-day-ers get to finish the rest of their walk and do so safely.

temptation ...

This is the commercial that is pushing all my buttons. It's to sign up for the 3-Day. I've done it twice. I've done the Avon twice. I cannot do it again. It's not the walking. I'd walk from here to California for Breast Cancer research. It's the fund-raising. For this event you need 3 grand. I hate fund-raising. I stink at fund-raising. I stink worse at asking people money or stores for contributions. I can't, I won't do it again.

Last year I planned a fund-raising dinner and had the chefs and some volunteers lined up. I forgot to reserve the space. I'm a scatterbrain. I live it the moment and let each day revel itself. I am not a planner. That was my sister Elin.


All I Can Do from Komen 3-Day for the Cure on Vimeo.

Komen, please stop running the ad. I'm powerless over it. I have to run out of the room or turn down the volume when it comes on.

i did the turkey trot in sneakers!

Today was HPI's Turkey Trot. Some towns actually have there's on Thanksgiving. I wore my pink sneakers for the whole race. I didn't fall or anything. Amazing.

It started and ended at the Luckenback Mill.

I really wanted to take pixs of some of the people. Runners and workers in Moravian garb, there were even a couple as Native Americans, and that select group of crazy peopl wearing tiny shorts and tank tops on November 28.

I ran into someone from the 3-Day. Donna, part of Gail F's team, and her husband. Donna took the pix of me. Another sourpuss shot. I'm beginning to think that I'm always a sourpuss! Am I?

Donna's hubby was running, she was speed walking. Her goal was 45 minutes. Mine was not finishing last. We started together and then she was off.

On Main Street I got behind a couple and their shaggy dog. The dog was a pain. He wanted to sniff every leaf and every Christmas decoration downtown. I almost tripped over her several times. Thank goodness I walk with Izzy and Logan, I know how to do the doggie walking dance. I finally managed to pass them.

After Main street we went under the bridge to Sand Island, made the 1-mile loop and came back out to Lehigh. We walked into the wind a lot. Then we went around city hall by the sculpture garden, through the historic area, and back down to the Mill via the "Musikfest" path.

I got past the Mill and couldn't find the finish line. At first I thought they had already taken it down. But then I noticed it past the tents, under the Broad Street overpass. I probably lost 20-30 seconds in my confusion. I actually stopped. I crossed the finish at 52.35. I was not last. At least 10 people were behind me.

I guess that's okay. But I walked as fast as I could and tried not to get distracted. And still got 3MPH.

Next week is the Jingle Bell Run/Walk. My brother Dave might do it with me. He kicks butt on the treadmill and elliptical at the gym, and thinks maybe he can make it out on the streets. I'm sure he can. Plus he'll have his wife Barb as a cheerleader. I bet he beats me by at least 5 minutes.

The 3 day and the Nor'easter

 I brought this over from my 3-day blog. Since it's a major portion of my walking experience, it must be represented.

The Event
The 3-Day (-2) finally happened on Sunday. Shaku and her niece Tanuja picked me up at 4:45 a.m. and we drove to the Philly Naval Yard, where they bussed us in school buses to Fairmont Park.

It was raining when we arrived. There was at least an inch of standing water on the grass. This is where we would have been camping if it were a true three-day. It's good they canceled.

We finally met up with Shirley, Lori (Dixie Cups), Jen and Angie (Girls Kick Asphalt). It was organized chaos.

The 3-day organizers set up the start line as they do on each day with the big blow up balloons and the alley of flags. Nevertheless, there was no opening ceremony to inspire us. A DJ was playing music and the speaker from last year's 3-Day (I'm guessing the head of the Philly affiliate) opening ceremonies was attempting to motivate us. It was not working. I was already cold and wet.

I do not know whose brilliant idea it was, but they lined us up in the muddy grass instead of the street. I guess to keep us out of traffic. However, I am a woman on a mission, so there is no use complaining. As they say in the Nike ads, "Just Do it."

Shaku and her Tanuja got out first, then me, the "Cups" and "Asphalt." It took maybe 45 minutes to get thru the shoot. By rest station one, I had lost everybody.

I walked the 3-Day alone; again. It was much harder this year, with the rain and the cold. I had to concentrate hard not to fall; it was olde city day; lots of bricks, slate and cobblestones.

Again, this year my footwear was the topic of conversation for the people who passed me.

The course was different. We walked thru Fairmont Park and came out near the Zoo. It was early in the morning and the animals seemed to notice the unusual activity. The giraffes seemed to be especially puzzled, they were thinking "who left the humans in so early in the morning". We came out in the Frog Parking Lot and entered Manchua. The overpass walls are covered with animal murals. I only took a shot of the lions, because I couldn't spend 10 minutes taking pictures! It was in Manchua that I started taking pictures of the murals. Maybe I should do a walking mural tour.

The rain slowed down and even stopped for a time. It looked like the sun was battling to come out. I peeled off some layers, but then I had to carry them.

I took no breaks at the rest stations. I stopped to use the bathroom if there was no line, and to fill my water bottle. I wanted to rest, but there was just no place dry to sit or lean. I just kept pushing thru. I was planning a big stop on South Street with Bonnie, Beth and Sharon. But they were lost and told me not to wait. They could not find "the hippest street in town!" Santa needs to bring them a GPS unit for Christmas.

As I passed Geno's and Pat's Steaks in south Philly I noticed, the huge lines filled with hungry walkers wearing pink. Lunch was the next stop and they were not waiting. (Geno's had the longest lines.) They were eating south Philly soul food.

A short time later, still in south Philly, mile 12 I could not go any further. My body said no, no, no. I saw a church with huge marble stairs and they looked dry. I sat down. It felt wonderful. Three 3-day safety bikers stopped to ask if I was okay. I was cold, wet, bored and tired. I felt like I had walked all 60 miles. "Sure" I said, "as much as I could be. Just stopping for a break." Those 5 minutes rejuvenated me, and I was off again.

Lunch was the last rest stop. It turned out to be a pseudo finish line: they scanned our tags, fed us lunch, and we picked up our shirts... things that usually happen at the finish line. We were told to wait in the auditorium and we would walk as a group the last three miles to closing ceremonies. The clouds were getting black and the wind had picked up. The temperature was dropping. I think the organizers did not want us waiting in the holding area by closing ceremonies if yet another storm happened thru.
I ate lunch outside, not in the cafeteria, my first real food since the night before. (At 4 am, I had a Tastycake Kandycake. That doesn't count as real food, right?) It was a sandwich made of thick, yummy, multi-grain bread with spinach, sprouts, humus, and peppers. I picked up a bag of Cheezits, but did not eat them. (Last I saw them they were on the kitchen table. They evaporated.) I also picked up a bag of grapes that I ate later at the Navy yard while waiting for the lost scoobies. I only ate about half the sandwich. I wasn't hungry.

I left the school and started walking to the finish. So did many other walkers. After sitting a while and eating a little, I felt even better. As I arrived at the Navy Yard, I was getting excited. I could hear people cheering. The finish line.

I chose to wait for Bonnie and the gang to cross it. As we entered the crowd of people were there, but the balloons were not. The flags were not there*. No official finish line. What a disappointment.

We did not stay for closing. We drove back to Coopersburg and had margari-tatas and Mexican food at Casa Toro. Seemed appropriate since I had a fundraiser there.
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ps. Just looked at the photos on line. Looks like the closing ceremonies were held at the school!

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Non-Day One
It's the first day of the 3-Day and I'm sitting in my living room working like always. There is something wrong with this picture.

As noted in the previous post the first two days were canceled. The third day will go on. When it was believed that only day one would be canceled I had several call, the first from Beth, saying "don't be a hero. If you want to stop, I'll come pick you up." That's a really nice feeling. I don't think I would have taken anyone up on the offer. I'm stubborn. I probably would have ended up in the hospital.
Sunday, it will still be cold and raining and windy and a Nor'easter. I was kind of pouty today because I was disappointed. It really didn't rain much, it was the lull between the two storms. It was cold.
The FAQ I just received was in QA format. It says: "How will you provide us a safe walk on Sunday when the forecast is similar to Friday and Saturday? Part of our decision to cancel Friday and Saturday's events was the physical deterioration of our camp location which prevented us from implementing the camp portion of the event that occurs on those nights." On the news it said the big tents were sinking in the mud at the park. Talk about dangerous. It continues: "We have made additional accommodations on Sunday's route to include more indoor stops providing locations for participants to stay warm, extra buses to pick up participants along the route and heated tents at the holding area.

Ultimately our participants know their physical limitations better than anyone else and we do rely on them to listen to their bodies. If walkers have reservations about their ability to participate under these weather conditions we recommend they either skip the walking portion of the day and join us in the holding area at Navy Yard or take advantage of the SAG vehicles along the route."
Beth is still coming down. So is Sharon. I'm not sure yet about Bonnie. I guess she'll decide in the morning. No use getting anybody getting sick, other than me.

On the news we saw group of out-of-towners hitting the malls to walk. The FAQ opened with "We realize it has been a challenging weekend with the extreme cold and rain and today you showed us what it means to be a Breast Cancer 3-Day participant. Inspiration is the word that defines you, the 2009 Philadelphia Breast Cancer 3-Day community. Walkers and crew members alike have shown us this weekend nothing - including the rain and cold, or a modified event - will stand in the way of your fight against breast cancer. You laced up your shoes, organized your own indoor walks throughout Philadelphia today, keeping the spirit of the Breast Cancer 3-Day community vibrant for all to experience. As event organizers and beneficiaries of the Breast Cancer 3-Day, we applaud your strength and thank you for being the true heroes in our collective goal to put an end to this deadly disease."

Because our event was canceled, we don't have to pay a registration fee next year. But I won't be doing the 3-Day next year. If I do an event, and that's a big if, it will be with Bonnie and most likely the Avon 2-day.

We also have the option of walking in one of the upcoming walks. Again from the email FAQ: Can I walk in another city in 2009 since I didn't get to complete the Philadelphia Breast Cancer 3-Day, even if I participate on Sunday, October 18th? Yes. You can choose to walk in one of the remaining five 2009 events if you raise the fundraising minimum of $2,300 for the Philadelphia event (you have until November 18th to meet that fundraising minimum). If this is something you would like to pursue, please email our coaches at ----@The3Day.org to transfer your registration to another event. You will be notified as to when you can begin the online check-in process for that event via email." Sounds really tempting but face it I don't fly and the remaining events are in Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Dallas, Arizona (beautiful but ick) and San Deigo.

So Sunday will be it for me. Energizer is a sponsor. Maybe I'll see the very wet pink bunny.

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2 DAYS CANCELLED!
It's been quite a night. The rumor mill has been working overtime. Here's the official word.

"In light of the extreme cold, windy and wet weather conditions, the Philadelphia Breast Cancer 3-Day will now be a one day walk on Sunday. We will not walk on Saturday since the weather forecast currently does not show improvement. The weather has also caused physical deterioration of our camp location preventing us from implementing the camp portion of the event. As organizers of the Breast Cancer 3-Day, our main priority is to ensure the safety and welfare of our participants. After consultation with medical and safety experts, a modified version of the event was determined to be the most appropriate action.

We will start our walk on Sunday, October 18th, at 7 a.m. from Fairmount Park, located at 2030 Belmont Mansion Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19131. We will walk the route originally planned for Sunday and end with our Closing Ceremonies at 5 p.m. at Navy Yard, located at Intrepid Ave., and Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19112. Additional logistical information for Sunday's event will be posted on this webpage by tomorrow, October 16th, at 5 p.m. Please monitor the weather and dress appropriately for the current weather conditions.

It disappoints us to have to change your journey because we know the level of dedication shown by you, our participants and volunteers, especially after you've spent months training, fundraising and devoting your time to help fight breast cancer. Please know we are committed to showing you the best Breast Cancer 3-Day possible despite what Mother Nature has served us. We look forward to seeing you Sunday!

Bummed.