Just Plain Silliness

Sometimes you just get so tired after a lonnnnnngg day, you just need to have fun with cardboard cutouts.

“I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes.” ....Oprah Winfrey

....so, there I was, half way around Sharon Woods Friday evening, and my feet went all crazy on me. Have you ever had a toe spasm? Believe me, not fun. I knew I was eventually going to have to get really good shoes to train, and then, later, to do the walk, in (two pairs are recommended), but I wanted to get some use out of the shoes I had. They were brand new, as of the beginning of April. The first couple of weeks they were fine. But then one Sunday, once again in Sharon Woods, I developed a blister the size of Rhode Island. It took two weeks for it to heal. And since then my feet have ached every time I wore those shoes for an extended period of time, like anything over 10 minutes. Anyway, I guess my feet finally had had enough and went on strike. The rest of the evening they would go into spasms, looking like hideous curled talons. ---hmmmmm, note to self: clip toenails tonight....

I got up early Saturday and headed out to Dublin to the Columbus Running Company. There I met Matt who evaluated my feet (yes, my arches are high enough for a VW Bug to drive under, and they roll to the side so much they could cause a small tsunami) and stride, to determine what shoe would be good for me. Matt's good....the first pair I tried on felt like heaven. My little tootsies audibly sighed in relief. Just to make sure, I tried on a second pair and they just weren't the same.

Yes, these shoes are a little flashy, all chartreuse and silvery, but they feel divine. And, again yes, they are 'way more expensive than I usually spend on athletic shoes, but if I'm going to make this thing work, and finish the 60 miles on foot and not carried in on a stretcher, I have to invest in good shoes. That's it! I'm investing in my feet.

So, the lesson for the weekend is to always wear good shoes to protect your feet. And not to eat White Castles on a training day. 'Nough said.

Woo Hoo, My Training Kit Came!

I love it when I get packages! My official 3 Day training kit came. As you can see, Katie was thoroughly inspecting the products for quality. There's a shirt, a nifty blue visor, very cool socks, a water bottle, a two-bottle fanny pack (hydration is very important), one water bottle, and something called "Glide". It's supposed to help keep me from chafing. The only thing I'm disappointed about is the shirt....I got an XL, but it looks small. Very small. But maybe it just looks smaller than it actually is. I hope so. Tomorrow is a gym day. I haven't been in a while so I'll probably be very sore.

Training Day vs Sleeping Day?

The votes are in, and sleeping won over training.

I had fully planned on getting out to Hoover and "walk the steps" today. Hoover is one of the area's reservoirs, and there are a series of steps on either side of the spill way....157 steps on one side, and 123 on the other. One "circuit" is down and up one set of steps, across the spill way, down and up the second set, back across the spill way to my starting point. Last week I was able to do two full circuits before I dropped from exhaustion.

Anyway, with yesterday's Walk for the Cure, and then working 5 hours at my part time job, I logged in 21,309 steps on my pedometer. That's 8.076 miles! By the time I got home at 11:30 p.m., I wasn't even able to stay up and watch my favorite show replay, The Real Deal on TLC. I think I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow. And today, I just needed to sleep.

All this tells me I have a lot of work to do over the next 5 1/2 months if I'm this tired after only 8 miles! But the good news is that I have two workout buddies lined up. My friends, Suellen and Hester, both want to lose some weight and get in shape. I'm confident that we can inspire each other to reach our goals.

Columbus Walk for the Cure 5K

The morning was perfect for a 5K. Although it was on the cool side, the sun was out and the sky was blue. I met Hester at the Lennox B&N and then headed downtown. You know how big the event was going to be, just with all the other cars heading the same way we were. Fortunately, Hester knows the ins and outs of downtown driving and we found a parking garage very close to our starting point in the walk. Excitement was in the air and everyone was in a great mood. We had fun listening to the music and looking at all the people, reading their signs and just enjoying each other. This was the first time Hester and I had done something on our own, and it was nice to have some bonding time. Including the 5K (3.1 miles), and the walk to and from the parking garage, we logged 5.6 miles on my pedometer. That's a really good training day! Since neither one of us had had time for breakfast, and we were both starving, we stopped and had lunch at Champps. Man! Were they packed! And 95% of the other diners were Walk participants, as well. What a great day!

Star Power On My Side

Stinger, the Columbus Blue Jackets mascot, stopped by the store this evening to give me a hug and wish me luck on my journey to San Diego. Hopefully, this will be only the first of many celebrity sightings to come my way!

"You're Walking 60 Miles?? You Must Be Kidding!"

So……who is Sue Brillhart and why am I walking 60 miles for her? I’ve been asked this question several times in the past few days since I started my blog. The answer is:

Sue was the much loved mother of one of my dearest friends, Nikki. She was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago, and a lumpectomy was performed to remove the growth. After treatment, her prognosis was pretty good, and Sue went back to living life to the fullest. She even went through a double knee replacement, and felt wonderful afterwards.

Then early in 2006 she found another lump. This time the doctor opted for a mastectomy, followed by chemo. Unfortunately, this cancer proved to be an aggressive and relentless foe, moving into her lymph nodes, and then later into her bones. Finally, there came a point when nothing more could be done. In January 2007, Sue slipped away from this world surrounded by the people she loved most: her daughters, Nikki and Danielle, sons-in-laws, family and friends. Nik’s loss has been profound, as I’m sure it was for Danielle and all of the other people who knew and loved her.

I was never blessed with meeting Sue, but I’ve heard much of her; her warmth, her sense of humor, her sense of community, and above all, her love of family and home. The world will not be the same place without her. That’s why I’m doing the 3 Day Walk for the Cure. If collecting a little money and walking 60 miles will keep one family from experiencing the pain and loss that Nikki and Danielle have, then it’s all worth it.

It's Official!

Well, folks, I did it! I'm officially signed up to do the 3 Day Walk for the Cure in San Diego! Hopefully over the next 25 weeks I can really get myself into shape. I weighed in at 216.2 last Wednesday. Yikes! I need to lose a minimum of 35 pounds before then, or my poor little tootsies will be crushed under all that pressure.

I hope you will come back and follow my journey. I will take photos along the way, and maybe even get you to chuckle a little bit.

Finally, on this my first ever posting, I hope you will consider helping me get to San Diego. I need to raise $2,200 dollars in pledges in order to actually participate in the walk. Please visit my Walk for the Cure home page at: http://www.the3day.org/sandiego07/princesspixie.

Toodles!