Any Dream Will Do

This past weekend I had the pleasure of watching my sister perform in her high school's musical. They did Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was a wonderful show! The central theme was "trust in your dreams". There are moments when I have my doubts about being able to do the 3 Day Walk...being able to raise the $2200....but I will still persist in following my vision.

It's been awhile since my last post. I felt it necessary to honor those affected by the VA Tech shooting by observing some time of silence. I know of one person who goes to school there. Fortunately they were not involved with the shooting but they, along with everyone else in that community, definitely were feeling a roller coaster of emotions.

It's been a busy few weeks. I've been slowly ramping up my training. 2 weekends ago I was babysitting for my best friend. I went for quite a bit of walking, accompanied by her dog (Buddy) and her son (AJ). Last week, I went back down to the Kelly Drive area and logged 5 miles (the most in one consecutive walk). Afterwards I headed to Trader Joe's and picked up some indian and mexican fare.

Fundraising for the 3 Day continues to be slow. I have been hoofing it to local businesses asking for donations, but to no avail. Most of them are allowing me to put out a collection jar at the checkout counter, so I am thankful for that at least. The first jar, which I placed at a local mom-n-pop general store, actually yielded $21 & change in the first week. I'm hopeful that the rest of them will "bear some fruit" as well.

I've actually gotten quite creative with decorating the containers so that they catch the eye. It's amazing what one can achieve with a little construction paper, glue, and fabric paint (which works on paper too).

I have also looked into setting up a bake sale at a local retailer over Memorial Day Weekend. I did some cost analysis and even if I end up BUYING everything (sodas, juice boxes, snacks), there will still be a decent profit margin. My sister has agreed to do some face painting at the event, which I'm sure will bring in good money. And I think I may actually have a lead on some gift cards from local restaurants and businesses. I will sell raffle tickets and have 3-4 prizes (1st being 50% of the money from the ticket sales, the other 2-3 being the gift cards).

Guess that is all for now. Have a great week. To donate, click HERE.

Rest In Peace, 4-16-07

For anyone who was directly affected by the shootings. For anyone who knew someone who went to school there. For anyone whose heart breaks for those killed. May you all find comfort.

Forget Regret, Or Life Is Yours To Miss!

A line from Rent, one of my favorite Broadway shows! Granted, I've only seen 2 Broadway shows (and technically, Phantom was seen on tour while in Philly) but even so....

This phrase is one that can apply to so much of life. A breakup, a bad day at work, feeling like a slug b/c of being out of shape. You can either sit around and brood about it or you can brush it off and makethe next day better. "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes", a quote from one of my favorite childhood books, Anne of Green Gables.

It has been a dead week training-wise. PMS always wipes me out. All I want to do is eat and sleep. I didn't even attempt to do any form of exercise until Saturday.

I went to NYC because I had tickets to see "Anne of Green Gables" in an off-Broadway production. I have read the books and seen the videos countless times. The show was in a small theater (Lucille Lortel) but it was very well done. I really enjoyed it. While I was in The Big Apple, I decided to make a whole day out of it. I walked along Times Square and around the Theater District. I had dinner at a wonderful restaurant called Broadway Joe Steakhouse (located on 315 W. 46th Street, between 8th and 9th Ave). I had a NY Strip Steak (cooked to perfection), a Cosmopolitan, and NY Cheesecake (heavenly).....see a theme here? I checked out the Toys R Us in Times Square. They have a ferris wheel in the middle of the store. They also have a realistic looking, mechanical TRex from Jurrasic park and the Empire State Building made out of Legos (complete with a Lego King Kong). And, on a whim, I picked up a ticket to the evening showing of Rent. I had seen it last summer and once I was back in NYC, I decided that I wanted to see it again. It was just as fun as the first time. Perhaps a bit MORE fun b/c the actor who plays Angel (Justin Johnston) really brought a lot more silliness to the character than when first saw him. I checked on Google Maps Pedometer and found that I actually walked over 5 miles. No wonder I'm tired!

The weather was rainy and dreary on Sunday. I felt a bit worn out from my busy day in NYC so I took it easy. Watched some movies, caught up on my emails, napped.

Monday marks the start of the official 3Day 24 week training schedule, which means that my lazy week is OVER. DONE. Hasta la vista baby!!!

To Donate, click HERE.

PMS SUCKS!

Water retention. Mood swings. Non-stop cravings for sweets, fried foods, and salt. Knowing that even though I made it to the gym twice this week and walked 4 miles yesterday, I will still show a gain when I go into Weight Watchers tomorrow morning. Spending all day fighting the constant urge to sleep only to go to bed at night and find myself tossing and turning well over an hour before FINALLY falling into a fitful (completely UNrestful) semi-sleep.

What else can I say?!?!

If anyone wants to cheer me up by donating to my 3 day fund, click HERE.

Got My First Donation...HOOT HOOT!

I am so excited!!! I clicked onto my donation page and saw that my "amount raised" was not at $0.00 anymore. Many many thanks to my friend (and fellow "hooter"), Kristen.....my first official donor.

Who are the Hooters? About 2 yrs ago, my friend Christine invited me to join an online message group affiliated with Self magazine. Some of us formed our own little group and have kept in touch through e-mail. It started out as a support group for fitness and weight loss. Over time, we became a support group for many other difficulties that life likes to toss into the mix. We share the good times too. It's amazing how close we have all become and yet, to the best of my knowledge, none of us has ever met in person.

How did we become the Hooter Girls? It started when my mom rescued a screech owl (fellow in the picture). I can't remember all of the details now, but I shared the story with my online pals. Somehow, the topic arose that we needed a mascot....and settled on the owl. We picked a name....Sir Humphrey. So we are Sir Humphrey's Hooters.

I think it is interestingly ironic and fitting that my first donation for a BREAST cancer walk came from someone who "hangs" with a group of HOOTERS. If you would like to make a donation, please click HERE.

Start slow.....End strong!

On Wednesday I made a wonderful discovery in the heart of NE Philly... Pennypack Park. A coworker recommended it and I am glad he did! Acres of forest, miles of paths (both paved and natural terrain), flats and hills. A training utopia!!! The path that I took, which ran along a stream, was very scenic and relaxing. I have no doubt that I will become a frequent visitor here, especially in the hot summer months (plenty of shade).

I had 2 goals this week. The first was to integrate some cross training into my routine, which basically means participating in a variety of activities besides walking. Not only does this break up the monotony of doing the same thing over and over, but it also helps to broaden the range of muscles which I work. This is a benefit because it will help increase my strength and stamina for the 3 Day as well as reduce the risk of injury due to overuse of the same muscle groups. I was successful in this goal because I made it to the gym twice this week to do some strength training and use the elliptical machine. It wasn't easy for me to do this. For one, I have not set foot in the gym in at least 6 months (probably longer). I also had to wake up at 5:30 in the morning in order to get my workout in before work. I am NOT a morning person....at.....all. Given the choice, I would sleep until 10am every single day. But I also know myself well enough to realize that waiting until the afternoon to go to the gym would result in many skipped sessions ( I cannot tolerate being there when it is crowded). So I consider waking up way before any normal person should the lesser of 2 evils. It's only 2x/week....I'll survive.

My second goal was to increase my my walking. I wanted to try for a total of 12 miles total. On Wednesday I did 2 miles on my lunch break and another 2 miles at the park after work. And that is ALL that I did. I had taken an unplanned day off Monday to recover from Saturday's walk. And as tired (and sore) as I was this morning, I cancelled my plans to walk today. I was beating myself up for "wimping out" but then I realized that was silly. Even though I walked less than I wanted, it wasn't because I was slacking off. I had added 2 days of weight lifting into the mix. It's better for me to listen to my body telling me it needs a bit of a rest rather than to force myself to stick to a possibly unrealistic schedule and then "burn out". I also have to remember that a) I only started training 2 weeks ago and b) the 3Day is 6 months away. I have time to gradually build up the intensity of my workouts...I don't need to be at 10 miles/day in the next week or 2. I have to be patient....be consistent....be smart.

To quote activist Marian Wright Edelman: "You're not obligated to win. You're obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day"

If you would like to make a donation, click HERE.

My Aching Legs!

I've had a productive few days. My original plan was to skip any walking over the weekend and focus instead on other aspects of preparing for the 3DayWalk. I went to the 3Day website to register (to make a donation, click HERE). I sent out emails requesting donations to several friends and family members. I went to the store and bought some additional workout clothes.

Friday night I drove to my parents' house in upstate PA. Saturday morning I woke up and on a whim, decided to take the dog for a walk. For those of you who don't know the family, that may seem like a simple enough statement, so please allow me to explain something about the dog. Jack is a beautiful black lab, full grown in size but a puppy mentally (not sure of exact age but I think it's slightly less than a year old). If anyone has ever read the book, Marley and Me, that explains Jack perfectly. Boundless energy. Chews, jumps on, & chases EVERYTHING. And although I'm not sure that it's officially recognized in animals, he is has all the symptoms of ADHD! Don't get me wrong, he's a wonderful dog. Great temperment, and very affectionate. But he needs to walk 3-5 miles a day (maybe even twice a day) in order not to drive the family insane. The walk was 2 1/2 - 3 miles long. It felt like 10. It was a toss up if I spent more time dragging Jack away from something of interest (such as, every other corn stalk in the field through which we walked.) or struggling to keep him from dragging ME towards the next item that caught his attention. And I mustn't forget some tense moments where he attempted to pull my arm off in order to go over to the dogs at a house across the street. The dogs were standing guard at the edge of their property, fur raised and growling.....Jack somehow interpreted that as "oh look, they want to play!". Sure, if your definition of play is "chew you up and spit out the pieces"!!! When it was all said and done, I considered it a successful walk. Not only did I log in unplanned miles but by doing so with Jack, my arms got a bit of a workout too. And the walk tired Jack out enough that he actually slept for a little bit.

My legs are still feeling it this morning!!! I am definitely waiting until tomorrow to do any more training!