Training Update

I am several weeks into my training now for the AVON Walk for Breast Cancer. Beth has been a Godsend to me, as she is a wonderful conversationalist, and helps me to forget that we have been walking for hours on end...this was very apparent on Sunday when we walked 14 miles in 4 hours. We left at about 5:30am, walked ALL over town, and at about mile 8, returned to her house where my car was parked, grabbed some cool drinks, and changed our socks. We also saw her neighbors, getting their newspaper. Several miles later, we saw the saame neighbors across town at a lake where we were both walking...when we returned to her house at the end of our walk, the same neighbors had returned home, showered, and were driving most likely to church, all the while, we were still walking!!!! Wow...walking takes up a lot of time! We walked 21 miles last weekend, and it wasn't too bad. I did get my first blister on the bottom of my baby toe, but not much for 21 miles of distance!

In addition, I am incredibly overwhelmed by the support I have received, and the donations. I am almost at my fundraising goal, and so grateful to each of the families and individuals who have made donations on my behalf. THANK YOU ALL!!! However, Beth and I are a team, adn we both have to raise the money, so the fundraising challenge isn't over yet. Also, I am thankful for my supportive family. My husband has been great about watching the boys while I am out, and we all know that it is a huge time commitment to walk this much! Thank you also to my mom who has given me tons of training tips, and thanks to all of my friends and family who have said that they are proud of me. I really do appreciate it!

On a funnier note, Beth and I don't ever run out of things to say. It's quite funny to think about all of the things that come up in conversation over the course of a 4 hour walk! Kids, family, marriage, cooking, work, school, friends, weather, training, exercise, tv, books, recipes, crafts, and anything else you could imagine! Such fun to have a girl-friend to share this with! We are both excited about experiencing the event. It is supposed to be a very moving experience, and I can already tell that it will be, and is, as I am training and hearing the amazing stories of survival and fighting of incredible women and their families. In fact, just this weekend, as we were getting tired and complaining, about mile 10, Beth said "everytime I do this, I just think about how much easier this is than all of those women getting chemo" and she is so right, not just those getting chemo, but also those getting chemo, fighting for their lives, and also training for this walk. God bless them all!