fitness challenge 4 & 5 -- boxing and a bike built for two

My friend Angel has built a fitness space in her garage.  Her garage is huge. the people that own the house before her made it two stories and had a print shop over the car space.  Some is used for the bike and mower storage like any other garage. But does yours have a sink? Her 10-year-old has claimed most of that space for her play house (and storage for outgrown toys).

A portion of the playhouse is made into a fitness center. There are hand weights (Angel used to lift 20 pounds. Say what?) from 20 down to three. The child uses fives. Mom 10s. There is a punching bag, sparing gloves, mats and all kinds of fun stuff.

Yesterday I tried boxing. I played about 15 minutes and was wiped out. I spent about 5 minutes punching Angel. I had to be sure to hit the yellow dot otherwise I'd hurt her hands. "Harder." "Faster." she would say.  The sweat was pouring off me. (My fitbit didn't budge. Maybe I should have placed it on my wrists?)

Then it was time for the bag. A little low for me but it was still quite a workout. Angel is petite and the child is 10. It works at that height for them. That bag is a lot harder to move and control than I thought. It looks so easy in the movies.

Then we attempted the bicycle built for two. Someone gave it to Angel and she took it to the bike shop to have it checked out. A few weeks ago her and her daughter tried it, but Angel isn't tall enough to stand while on the bike. Gayle to the rescue.

First I tried it myself. Cumbersome, but doable. Then We tried together. There is a slight hill at her house, and we couldn't get started. We walked it to the top of the hill and tried again. We got it going and moved forward. We looked like a drunken sailor, but we did it. Eventually it smoothed out, we figured out breaking, balance and starting and stopping. Angel also had to figure out body language.  Then I got overconfident and we tried to turn into the alley and almost hit someones bushes. Oops. We only went 2K and I felt like I rode 5 miles.  Next time we are going to walk it to the bike path and try there. And take someone along to take pictures!

Afterwards we drove up to Mosey Wood to pick up the child at camp. "Worse time ever*" she declared as we met. And then spent the next half hours talking non-stop about how much fun it was and what she wants to do next year. 10-year-old drama.

Now I am headed off to pick up my niece. She's helping with a gold award project today—a walking tour of the murals in Allentown. Apparently there is more than the one in post office and in the art park.  The whole gang, plus, is going. She needs 10 for it to count. I think I'm delivering eight.

 This is Blue Franklin "Houdini" Ackerman-Parry. His name is really just blue, but when he escapes and gos to the neighbors the children call him Franklin. I call him Houdini because of his love of the escape.


 (*Roommate issues and a counselor who frowns on middle of the night latrine runs.)

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.

Avon Walk--With a laptop on my back

Originally posted on my Avon Blog the day after the walk. This is a bit more permanent.

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October 9-11...with a laptop on my back

Event weekend. We left P'burg about noon, by the we gassed up, banked, and picked up everyone. We hit Brooklyn at about 2. Surprising, but traffic was heavy. The event eve party had already started.
We got settled in our room and went in search of lunch, and found Trader Joe's, came back and went to event eve. It was sort-of like Expo at the 3-Day but tons more fun. There were people begging for money so that they could walk. Some were as little as $100 short, others much farther. One lady was $1100. I wouldn't have went. We have till about Dec. 1 to get all the $ in but I guess they weren't willing to give over their credit card number to assure the donations. For $100 I would have. For $1100, no way.

We met Beth and Pat's walker buddy Tara several times thru the weekend bu the first was at Event Eve.
At event eve we collected lots of stuff. Pedometer, water bottles, blister block, hand sanitizer, lip balm (of course they were Avon), pink ribbon pins, etc.

In the hall people were hawking their wares to make their money. I bought a big button that says "blisters don't need chemo." Also bought one that says "walking chick" and one for both Beth and I that said "I'm a street walker".

I took my laptop to do my online classes. The hotel internet was $14.95. I took my lap top to all the usual wi-fi places and nobody was free. (Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, McDs, Dunkin Donuts....) I guess they don't want people hanging out all day using the Wi-Fi. When I came back to the hotel, angry, I was riding up the escalator when the light bulb went on. I'm an idiot. (but then you knew that.) Avon is in there checking people in, and registering people for next year. They had to either bring an internet connection or are using the hotels. So I sat outside the ballroom and turned on the laptop. Opened "airport" and there it was on the list. AVON1, AVON2. Now I pray they didn't ask me for a password. The 1st one did. The second one didn't. I shoot, I score, I get into class. However my cell phone died the minute I reached Brooklyn.

We went to a pub for dinner and hit the hay early. We needed to be up at 3:30 am to make the 5 am shuttle. With three people in the room it would be a challenge. It went well and we got downstairs by 4:45.

The shuttle took us to Pier 84 where bagels and orange juice awaited us. The opening ceremonies started at 6:15 and we hit the streets by 6:45. I had my laptop in my backpack. No way I was letting the gear guys have it.

This is the route for Saturday. We started at Pier 84 (about 42 street) and walked up the riverfront to about 149th street. Then we walked all the way back down to city hall, across the Brooklyn Bridge, back the Manhattan Bridge and back uptown to about 110th and then over to Randall's Island near the Tri-Boro bridge for the night.

We met up with both Pat and Diane that had done training walks with us. We walk part of Saturday with Pat.

Along the route was also the Youth Crew. Girls from 10-14 who sang familiar songs with much different words and cheered and were very perky. They had yellow shirts like ours with Youth Crew on. At camp a few had t-s on that said the "Itty Bitty Titty Committee" I didn't get a pix.
We stopped in Brooklyn, about 18 miles, and bussed it to Randall's Island. The route closed at 6:15 and we heard Diane was still out there. She refused to come in. Sounds like me if I was alone. (Although I think if they said get in the van I would have. At Koman you get disqualified for not following the rules.) They had a van follower her and eventually a police escort. She did all 26 miles and finished at 7:30. Last I heard she had feet full of blisters and started walking on again Sunday. She was finishing come hell or high water. Fool.

I loved camp! podiatrist, PT, chiropractors, yoga, massages and 5 SHOWER TRAILERS (filled with Avon products. The pink shower gel was nice. I wonder if the boys got pink too?). No lines!. So I showered, and had my first chiropractors visit (fun!), a massage (1st time, fun!), and then I did the machine-foot massage in their tent (2nd time-fun!). A couple of Boy Scout offered to set up my tent. I resisted the urge to say scram, and said sure. Why not. Took three tents before we got one that wasn't wet and had poles. Didn't get to take a yoga class.

FYI Avon's blister block is great. Might have to order some. So is their vanilla hand sanitizer available at every rest stop 2.5 miles apart. Food was so-so.

Sunday we got up about 5:30 showered again, took down the tent and found what looked like litter. It wasn't. It was a ribbon to wear, that pixies delivered to certian tents during the night. It represented that every 3 minutes someone is diagnoised. We decided to share wearing the ribbon, but I wore it the whole time. Apparently they were also given out on the room. By closing there was lots of them.
We ate breakfast and hit the streets. We left the island and were going around Central park. All of it. We had to deal with lots more traffic and a lot more stop start. At one point a woman (not a walker) fell down the steps of a store and was in the middle of the sidewalk, face down. Our little medical car radioed for help (good thing he was there...karma, it's a good thing) and stayed with her until the ambulance came. The walkers had already covered her with mylar blankets. Someone said she looked like she was having a seizure coming out of the store.

We stopped walking at lunch time. Beth's feet really hurt, so when the bus drove us to the finish line we cross the line, took our victory pix, and she headed for the medical tent.

So for me it was a good training walk. For Beth it was a personal best.

Koman, here I come.