Week #3……….Ready to go!

Last week, Great week for training…35 miles total!.....WooHoo!….the weather is much cooler now, so I was able to get outdoors and beat the boring treadmill. On Saturday, I walked on the trail in Orange Beach…..12 miles! It was a beautiful day. Then, the Pink Heals Tour was here in town, with Pink fire trucks and a great turn out for the local fire departments participating in Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I was also able to find some more BC shirts to wear when we walk in the 3-day, so we will all be pink! On Sunday, I also got back outdoors and walked the track around the park in Foley. I wasn’t able to get started early like planned, but the wind was blowing, so it didn’t seem like 78 degrees and I was able to walk just fine. Although on Friday I started with a rash late in the afternoon. I noticed it when I showered after walking. It was not real bad, so I didn’t worry with it. Saturday after I returned home to shower after my eventful day, the rash area had started to spread and it was also much brighter that it started out. I still didn’t really worry with it, no time, busy, busy. LOL! Sunday, when I woke, the rash was not as red but still there. As I continued to walk Sunday afternoon, I could tell it was spreading, so in order to get to a clinic and then to a pharmacy before they closed, I had to cut my walk short (only 8 miles), go home, get a shower and head to the Gulf Shores clinic. I was told I am having an allergic reaction to something and which has caused hives. Now, I am on steroids with a strong antihistamine @ night and Benadryl during the day. Fortunately, it does not itch unless I start sweating and even then it is not unbearable, so I am grateful for that. I am hoping it goes away before I leave! LOL! Otherwise I will have red splotches all over me!
I did order some pink battery operated tree lights for our tent, so hopefully they will come in soon. Also, asked our local airbrush artists in our Wal-Mart in Gulf Shores about making a flag for our tent and he said no problem, so now all I need to do is bring him a pillowcase or something for him to use for a flag. I am also stocking up on other things I need for the walk, blister band aids, moleskin for the blisters, friction block, emergency blanket, poncho, drop cloth, clothes pins, tape, scissors, twine, air mattress, battery operated air pump, light for my hat and other misc things you would never think you would need, but experts who have walked several 3-day events advise it. We are hoping to be over prepared! LOL! Is there such a thing?
Please continue to pray for my mom. Her scan on her lungs came back with another 25% improvement, but they are going to remove a lump in her arm that has come up. Also, remember my friend Lundy in your prayers. She went back to the Sacred Heart hospital yesterday for her second round of chemo for her Leukemia.
I am still $400 away from my $2300 needed, but no worries. Things will happen, gotta have faith!

Week #4

Well as week 4 began yesterday, I was able to get 12 miles in. I discovered a small blister in the calloused part of my heel on the inside at the very bottom………….and………..I lanced it and cut the dead skin off and now it burns every time it gets wet!.....I know, I know…..not very smart, but I do it every time………..Anyway, I walked 15 miles on Saturday and 12 on Sunday and other than the blister, I am fine! WooHoo! Now, I have to keep the mileage up this week and continue on the training schedule. I also have to think about some tent decorating ideas. If any of you have any suggestions, please let us know. We are thinking about some rope lighting that is battery operated and a pillowcase to hang that has the Alabama flag airbrushed with our team name on the front and a brick wall image with the names of the people we want to honor by walking airbrushed on the backside to hang above our tent in an arch that we will make from an additional tent pole. Put your minds to work and see if you can help us think of some more things to do.

I am registered!

REGISTRATION!!!!!! I completed my online registration today! It is official…..I will be walking 60 miles. I have also chosen my tent mate! Woo Hoo! I still have some more money to raise, but I went ahead and registered anyway. I am still trying to get a few donations and do a raffle to help with my goal and I have been trying to get in touch with the manager @ Daylight Donuts to see about selling discount cards as a fund raiser. If you have any other ideas of fund raisers, please send me a message. I NEED THE HELP! Thanks to all of you who have been constantly praying for my mom and my friend Lundy. Mom is still doing well and Lundy was able to come home after 4+ weeks in the hospital. The power of faith and prayer are magnificent. Thanks to all of you for following and supporting me on this journey!

Week #5!

As week 6 progressed, I received a few more donations! Woo Hoo!!!! …. I still have a few more friends that have promised to donate, so I hope to get even closer to my goal as these next few weeks go by. I was close to my mileage goal this week! That is a plus! It has become difficult to stay motivated while walking on a treadmill, but I am so glad my mother has let me use the one she has because it has been unbearable outside. I sure hope it cools down in the next 5 weeks in Atlanta! Please pray for cooler weather! I began using my waist pack this weekend to get used to the weight and having something on my waist. Training went well with that. Week 5 mileage goal is 44 miles. I have started out good with 10 miles on Sunday……Mom’s Dr. visit on this week went well. They are cutting out some of the prednisone so maybe she won’t suffer so much from her eyes being so swollen anymore, but still be able to have some lung capacity………Keep her in your prayers………This past Saturday I went to the Flora-Bama Soccer Tournament in Orange Beach. My dear friend that I have mentioned in an earlier blog is still in the hospital battling Leukemia and her son was in this tournament. It was really upsetting to her to be in the hospital and not at the field, so she asked if there was anybody who had not made other plans and could go to please go and give Turner some support. I have watched Turner grow up and he has been extremely close to our family and I love to watch him play, so Kent and I went to the tournament and sent some support to him while he was on the field……He did a great job out there and the team came out with a victory. Please keep Lundy in your prayers as she fights to get her blood counts up so she can come home………….

Counting Down!!!!

Only 6 more weeks until the 3-Day! Last Sunday, we left for Gatlinburg, TN to spend 5 days with my parents on a small vacation. The time spent together was great. Mom was able to enjoy being away and get out and see the sites. Although the leaves had not really changed and the weather was not cool, we enjoyed the beautiful view from the top of the Smokies. We visited Gatlinburg, Cherokee, Dollywood, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. We even went to the Dixie Stampede. Great show! We also took a train ride on the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad from Bryson City to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. We left the Smokies on Friday to head to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama -vs- Penn State game. It was fun to visit and tailgate with my family. On the way home, we decided to stop and visit with my grandmother for awhile, so we went through Maplesville. It was a good visit with her. She looked good but was walking gingerly due to a broken toe. We finally made it back to Foley around 8pm. I was able to get some walking in while we were gone, but now I have to really dig in and get with it these last few weeks. I am still only $600 away from the required amount, but hopefully something will come in soon.

Only 9 weeks left!!!!!!

Well, I have just 9 short weeks of training left. Time has flown by and yes, I have not been doing the training that I should have been. I had been having pain behind my right knee when I would walk over 6 miles, so I had backed off some in order to not injure myself so badly that I would not be able to do the walk in October. I visited Running Wild in Fairhope on August 20th. I must say, I cannot remember the last time I had customer service like that. The girl in the shop immediately welcomed me to the store and asked if she could help me. I explained to her about the walk and about the pain behind my knee and also that I had switched from walking outdoors to walking on a treadmill. She explained to me the mechanics of walking and after observing my walk, explained to me what my problem was, I pronate and need stability shoe. She brought me 3 different pairs of shoes to try. After spending about an hour trying each pair and then alternating with a different shoe on each foot, I choose a pair. I tried them the following weekend and was amazed and how they worked. I was able to walk the 10 miles I was used to without any pain in my knees or feet. I have tried to get back on track with my 10 miles on Saturdays and Sundays. This week will be a challenge for me......I am trying to get 5 miles in each afternoon. We will be leaving for vacation on Sunday, so I will have to get those miles during the week and get my usual 10 miles in on Saturday. We will be driving all day Sunday, so walking will be out of the question. I am also pushing myself to walk 5 miles a day while we are on vacation and I am hoping to get a 10 mile walk in there somewhere because I will not be able to walk 10 miles the following Saturday. I am striving to get my mileage up and keep it there and also stick with my gym schedule to keep up my cross training that is required. I am only $600 away from the required amount to participate. I am hoping that I get some more donations soon, so that I can finish with my registration.

Please put my dear friend, Lundy Adcock, on your prayer list. We found out Tuesday that she has Leukemia and they are not sure what type or what avenue to take in treatment at this point. Her case is baffling the specialist here at Sacred Heart in Pensacola, so please pray that God will lead him in the correct direction to get her some relief from the severe pain and on a track to recovery. Her family has been very close to my family for 20 years and they are very dear to my heart.

Trying to get back on track!!!!!!

Sorry to keep all of you wondering how my training is going both @ my new job and with the walk...........well, the new job is going great.......the difference in working for people who care about you, your well being, and your success is a huge reflection on the company......I have not meet anybody here who is truly not happy to be here and truly enjoys all aspects of the company and the jobs they are doing.....you can see it everyday.........

Now for the training for my walk............well, last week did not go as planned.....I did walk 3 miles during the week and then 8 miles on Saturday but Sunday was a bust................This week was better although I didn't do any weekly walking, I was able to get in 8.75 miles in on Saturday and 8 miles on Sunday......I have been experiencing some discomfort behind my right knee while walking.....Not really sure where that is coming from.....maybe because I have not been keeping up my mileage for a month or so and then tried to start out where I left off @ 10 miles.....I should actually know better than to do that!!!!! Have I lost my mind to think I could just pick back up @ 10 miles without a struggle..........NOT!!!!!!! Well, I will continue to improve as August progresses.......I am shooting for at least 4 days of walking during this week and then I hope to get up to 10 miles by this Sunday......