Those little reminders....

Every so often, we get a poignant reminder of exactly why we walk. In the past two days, it happened twice. And with a big fundraiser scheduled tonight, the timing was almost unbelievable.

First up: Home Depot
Stef & Kraig stopped at Home Depot to pick up canvas belt  thingy-ma-bobs for our fundraiser tonight ... something to put our raffle money in, instead of fanny packs. They got up to the registers, and were flagged over to an empty one by a cashier.

The cashier asked if they were doing a fundraiser (buying six of these things must be a dead giveaway!). Stef explained that we were doing a fundraiser for the 3-Day for the Cure, a walk for breast cancer. The woman then told Stef that her sister recently died of breast cancer, leaving behind a 16-year-old daughter, who is now living with her 16-year-old cousin and uncle. And oh, by the way, that 16-year-old cousin's mom died of breast cancer too.

And today, we met Jacqueline.

Stef, Kraig and I did a 10-mile training walk today. There's a five-mile loop right around the neighborhood, but we needed to get in a little more to make it an even 10 miles. So we walked through the neighborhood a little. We got to the corner of my street and Stef says, "eh, that's good." Nah. I said we could probably get the full 10 miles in, if we went around the corner and down the next street. We're slogging along (that last mile is a beast) when we passed an older woman who was gardening.

She saw the three of us walking, wearing our bright pink shirts. She smiled and said, "Cancer walk?" We smiled and Stef said we were training for the 3-Day for the Cure. We walked past her a little, and she said, "I was just diagnosed with breast cancer this week."

We put the brakes on. Seriously? We just randomly walked down a street, and came across a woman who was just diagnosed with breast cancer. The amazing part was her attitude. She got a little teary when she started telling us, but she was so confident. "I'm going to beat this," she said. "I'm not going to let it kill me. I'll die of a heart attack instead."

We'll try to keep walking by Jacqueline's house, to see how she's doing. We may never see her again, but she'll be in our thoughts and prayers as we're training, and as we're walking. She's a fighter. I don't know if she'll win her fight. But I know without a doubt, that she is the reason we are walking: So someone's grandma doesn't have to hear those words, "you have breast cancer."

Five in Five? Bring it!

I love trinkets. And challenges. I'm a bit competitive, in case you hadn't noticed. So when I got the email today from the Komen folks, challenging 3-Day walkers to get five donations in the next five days ... I'm all over that.

So how about it, my friends and family? How about it, my college and high school friends? How about it, colleagues? 

Surely there are five of you out there who would be willing to make a donation between now and 11:59 CST on May 21? Any donation at all. And easily done online through my 3-Day fundraising page.

What's the reward? A spiffy beaded thingy-ma-jig (pictured at right) that I'll get on the walk. Woo hoo.

Seriously though, the reward is huge. Immeasurable really. The reward is being part of an effort to end breast cancer. Being a part of the largest non-governmental funder of breast cancer research. Being part of something big. Something bold. Remember: I'm walking 60 miles in three days. Can you make a donation to support that?

A wee bit like childbirth?

I've decided the 3-Day experience is a little bit like childbirth ... you sort of forget stuff. Conveniently.

Like the 'hotspots' after a long training walk. Or the feeling of, "I need a protein bar or I'm going to pass out," during a walk. Or waking up with sore body parts that aren't normally sore (the balls of my feet?).

With just 15 weeks to go (100 days tomorrow!), training is picking up a lot. We walked 8 miles on Sunday at Stony Creek Metropark (an awesome 3-Day training spot, since it's a six-mile loop), and got in a quick 5 tonight. But it's that point where five miles is "quick" .... a big change from just a few weeks ago.

We have 24 miles to get in this week, and I'm grateful for every one of those miles. Because it's those miles that are going to help build up the callouses on the balls of my feet. It's those miles, and the 24 miles next week, that will help toughen the inside of my heels, which are a little tender today.

That was a hard thing to remember on Monday, when I woke up a little stiff... the training isn't just to make sure I can actually walk 60 miles in three days. It's to make sure that my body is ready to walk it, and my mind is ready to enjoy it. That's why we set a goal to train 585 miles over 24 weeks -- so that we have the callouses to make it through 60 miles in three days.

So goodbye pedicures. And hello training... I forgot how hard you were!

Chugging right along

This week marked the start of our 16-week countdown ... for 'normal' folks, 16 weeks is a long time. Heck, that's four months.  For the 3-Day walker, that's about the time you start to realize you've got some work to do! Fortunately, "Team Toucans" is well on its way...

Fundraising: We passed the $10,000 mark in our team fundraising efforts! As of now, we're at $10,350, which is 75% toward our overall goal. And Julie & Jenn reached their fundraising minimum.  We made a serious dent in our fundraising with the Tiger's game Opening Weekend, when we raised $1,000 by staffing a concessions stand with 13 of our friends and family. And coming up, we're hosting "Tickled Pink," a night at Go Comedy to see their improv show, "Allstar Showdown." We still have tickets available! We bought out the house, so there are only 100 tickets to be had. Right now, we have about 20 or so left, so if you're interested, let one of us know!

Training: Here's where we're chugging right along. I'm at 109 miles logged so far ... a little below this time last year, but at 85% of the recommended training miles to this point, I'm OK with that. We're getting close to the weather breaking for good, so I'm hopeful that life will slow down just a tad to allow me to walk a little more. Actually, just waiting for it to get warmer (and lighter) in the mornings would be helpful ... getting in Thursday night walks (average 5 miles) is difficult with the kids' schedules.

And with that, we're chugging right along. We're making progress with fundraising and training. And counting the weeks. Just 16 weeks.......