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......

Beginning of Week #14

Well, I was able to get the treadmill and get it unloaded into the house, but that is as far as it went.........all day Saturday, I shopped for something to wear at my new job......I cannot wear jeans everyday over there, so I thought I could just find a few simple, comfortable dresses that are not dressy to wear until after my 60 mile walk, so that I would not have a bunch of pants that were too big........that is I am hoping to loose a few pounds with the rest of the training I have to do.......BUT, that did not happen.......I have other pants that are not jeans to wear, so I only bought 2 pair and that will do until after the walk.......I am very anxious to start on Wednesday, although I will probably not meet anyone I am working with until Thursday.......Wednesday is all paperwork and security stuff with the HR Dept.......

Exercising: Today is Zumba at the YMCA, so I will attend that and then after I get back to the house, I want to see if I can walk about 3 miles.....My plan for the week is to walk 3 miles after I return home after going to the YMCA and then I will push for 6 miles on Thursday and Friday. Goal for Saturday and Sunday is to get back on track and do 10 miles each day.....Weekly total will be 41 miles, I am only required to do 24 miles this week, so if I stay on track, I will be great......

Mom: She is still doing well at this point. She has started back on the chemo tablets and is only taking 1/2 of what she was taking when she started out. I hope she can continue to do well.....Please continue to keep her and my Dad in your prayers......

Gotta get back into the groove

Well, sorry it has been so long since I have posted......It is now the middle of week #15. I have been busy with tons of things these past few weeks....We went out of town for the 4th of July, visited with Kent's Aunts, Uncles and cousins on our way to Columbus, GA where we stayed and enjoyed some dirt track racing on the 4th in Phenix City, AL......It was a great get away and a great visit with family. Before I left for the weekend getaway, I turned in my resignation here @ Bon Secour Fisheries.....I fell it best for me with the situation in the gulf to find a new employment at a place that I feel will offer me a firm ground to stand on.......I truly hope that I am wrong and they are not effected in the coming years by the oil in the gulf.....there are lots of folks here that I care for and this is a family business that has been here for generations and it is heartbreaking for something to happen to their business. I will be going to Columbia Southern University, but I do hope to keep in close touch with the wonderful friends I have found @ Bon Secour Fisheries.....I have been keeping up with my cross training, but my walking has almost been nonexistent.......I hope to solve that this weekend.....I plan on getting the treadmill from my mom on Thursday pm and will get back on track Saturday.....Great news on my Mom last Wednesday....Her scan showed 1/3 decrease in the tumor in her lung and the small nogels are also shrinking.....She began the chemo again on Saturday (7/10) and will only be taking 1/2 the dose, so we are hoping she will be able to get through the entire 12 weeks this time without the liver enzyme levels going too high........Please continue to pray for her strength....