It's official, I have the tee shirt

I signed up with Team Prevention (tinyurl.com/3mytoh) to walk the Philly Half-Marathon. (http://www.philadelphiamarathon.com/page/half-marathon) My Girl Scout friend Betsy was thinking about joining me. But I just saw on the website that it's sold out. So that won't be possible.

I'm not sure if I can do it at the minimum 16- minute mile, but I will complete the course. My best time is about 17.3 with other people talking and walking with me. Alone it's more like a 30-minute mile. As you know, I get easily distracted.

The breast cancer walks are more like a walking party. For the half-marathon you need to concentrate and move fast. Those that are really successful must power walk. You have to finish all 13 miles in 3.5 hours. I've got my mothers joints, power walking is out of the question.

But there's no turning back now, today my Team Prevention tee shirt came. It's pink and mostly sleeveless, which is kind-of funny for a November event. More than likely it's going to be cold! I assumed it was going to be performance fabric and it is so I'm glad I ordered the 2x. It just fits.

But first things first. The Avon next weekend. The 3-Day the following. After that's over I'll go to a track and try to walk fast. IF I could finish the 1/2 in 3.29.9 I'd be excited. But I'll be happy if I finish in 4 hours.

Training Walks have "taken" me to Kentucky again

I use Beewellmiles.com to track how far I walk. It's a cool website from Bumble Bee tuna. You walk, they give money to the Network of Strength, a breast cancer organization. Fifteen cents a mile, up to a million miles, or a $150,000. Now that's what I call a lot of money.

So tonight I realized that my training walks have taken me to Barb's in Louisville (as the crow flies) again. I think it's much earlier than last year. That's the middle number. So far my walking is $93 of the $150,000. Pretty cool since all I'm doing is putting one foot in front of the other.

The first number blows my mind. That's my training from 2008 and 2009. It does not include the 3-day because you can only log 20 miles a day. That broke down to 23.5, 22.5, and 14. So I opened Google Earth to see where I've walked to. (as the crow flies.) It turns out that it's someplace I always wanted to go...the four corners of America (Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico). Right in the middle of access to some of the greatest national parks in the country. By the end of training season I should make it to San Francisco, or maybe Mexico. Depends on how my crow decides to fly. It's a finicky crow. Like me, it get's sidetracked.

But playing with Google Earth gave me an idea. Maybe actually dreaming about going there I should actually do it. I'd have to keep training to be able to do all that climbing. No fundraising involved.

Anybody up for a roadtrip?

Pedometer tales

In 1989, while we were both working regular 9-5 jobs my neighbor (and now friend) Mary Liz walked every morning about 3.5 miles up some steep hills in Fountain Hill at 6 am in the morning. Slowly our jobs became more irregular (ML also had a few back and foot surgeries), our lives changed and we've aged. We have settled in on four days a week schedule at 6:30 am. The route is much easier, but still aerobic. Occasionally ML has some trouble completing the "easy" 2.25-mile route and needs to stop. Soon I think she'll stop walking totally. But I know that she'll fight it all the way. My sister Sharon is now joining us on occasional walks.

The walks with ML began quite serendipitously. I was trying to lose weight and went on a crazy exercise program that no person could continue. I walked, did Calenetics, water aerobics, machines, and Jazzercise. I lost 80 lbs and gained it all back and then some. ML was also walking. We'd run into each other and started start walking together. It evolved into a great habit. We get to complain about our families and our jobs, and celebrate the good things in life. (Mobile therapy is a lot cheaper than the kind on a couch.) And found a good friend.

High blood pressure motivated me into taking walking more seriously. I discovered the 10,000 steps a day plan and attacked it with gusto. I bought my first pedometer. I wrote down every step. I broke it in a few months and bought another exactly like it. It fell on the floor, in the toilet, it was stepped on and pretty much suffered any other abuse you could throw at it. (It reminded me of the classic Timex commercial. "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.") I signed up, trained for and did the 3-Day. My pedometer became part of me.

In April it was announced that we were having a pedometer challenge at work. Come get your pedometers. I put old faithful aside and got one of the official ones. The clip broke in a few weeks. I went back to old faithful.

I've taken two big falls on training walks. The last one killed old faithful. A pedometer can only take so much.

I went to Dicks Sporting Goods that afternoon to get another. The pedometer challenge was looming, and I want the $100 prize for my fundraising account. I had it one day and lost it. It kept popping off. I knew I did eight-miles that day, I mowed a lawn, plus daily walking and errand running. I guestimated my steps for the pedometer challenge.

The next day Pat said she looked in the neighbors yard for the old pedometer. So I bought another one at Target after work. Yes, the fourth pedometer in as many months.

Last night, my neighbor paid me for mowing the lawn (it goes in the fundraising account.) She said, did you lose your Bluetooth?

No.

Hmm. I found this in the yard.

It was the lost pedometer.