Week 15 - Tennessee Women

Hello. This week marked 15 weeks left before the big event. I feel totally prepared and yet completely unprepared all at the same time. If the weather is nice I can happily walk for hours, but if it's the slightest bit hot, I'm fairly miserable. Probably okay for the actual event since it's in October, but not so much for all the preparation that's going to have to occur during July and August.

One of the things that helps to keep our minds off the heat is getting to take time to really look at all of the houses on our various routes. To explain, we are very fortunate to both live in the same neighborhood that has been in the process of revitalization over the last 10+ years. It covers the full spectrum - from stately Victorians to quirky cottages from the 20's and 30's - and lots of craftsman bungalows in between. A great way to get all of our miles in is to meet halfway between our houses and then snake our way back and fourth through all of the neighborhood streets. I drive up and down these streets every day and am aware of the beautiful houses that surround me, but walking gives you a much better perspective on all the work and love that people have put into these homes - reclaimed front porches, restored gingerbread detailing, thoughtful landscaping, and charming picket fences. It passes the time pretty quickly - and helps to give you ideas for your own on-going home improvement projects as well.

We're also lucky in that our church is located in our neighborhood and many of our friends and fellow parishioners live here as well. This means that usually when we walk we run into at least one person we know. This past Saturday we saw three. One was out walking her dogs and joined us for a few blocks. Two others were stopping by the neighborhood bakery as we walked by and came out to chat with us for a bit while they ate their breakfast. These same friends, neighbors and church-goers are also the first ones to donate on our 3-Day web-pages. Many of them have also added names of their loved ones to our list of people that we are walking for.

So while training for the 3-day may not always be in ideal or enjoyable weather, I will be keeping in mind how lucky I am to be walking up and down these streets filled with beautiful scenery and wonderful community. And when we walk our 60 miles in October, I will be keeping these same friends and neighbors in mind and thanking them for making it possible.

Friday, July 11, 2008 - Tennessee Women

Each week participants of the Atlanta Breast Cancer 3-Day get an email from The Virtual Trainer (sounds a bit off putting, doesn’t it?). Participants have two courses of action for training, the 24-week or the 16-week plan. The Tennessee Women (Kristen and Peggy) chose the 24-week plan because we knew we needed all the help we could get. We started out great and followed the plan for a few weeks. We grew especially fond of every Monday because, according to The Virtual Trainer, it was a rest day. One Saturday morning we walked six miles and were patting ourselves on our tired backs until we realized we had accomplished less than half of what we would be doing each day for three days. I needed Monday to get there in a hurry.

In order to make me feel like I was accomplishing something, even when she wasn’t, I purchased a pedometer and wore it constantly (except on Mondays). Don’t think this is what The Virtual Trainer had in mind, but it is interesting to see how much you walk in a day without realizing it.

Well, this is officially Week 16 and counting down. It was the Tennessee Women’s plan to be up to date at this point, or in terms of miles for this week eight by today, Friday, July 11, 2008, with another 14 scheduled for the weekend. Ain’t gonna happen. Between having to work for a living, some medical issues, blah, blah, blah, we are not going to make it this week. So, we called the Georgia Women and guess what? They are behind as well. Somehow it makes it better when all of us are messin’ up together. More on Week 15 and maybe Georgia will chime in.

Ta, ta for now!
Peggy