Off and running ...

OK, not really running. But this week, we're officially off and walking! It's "Week 24" ... the official start of our 3-Day Training Season. (To my fellow grammar nerds, those first caps are intentional... this IS a proper noun, you know.)

For most of the world, 24 weeks means six months. Which is a really, really long time. But for me (and my fellow 24-weekers), this time will fly by. We start following the recommended training schedule provided by the Komen folks (12 miles this week), but it also means that it's really time to get things moving. For us, this includes:

Fundraising!  Our fundraising efforts have begun...

• I dropped my donation letters last week, to ask all of my friends and family for their personal support by way of a direct donation to my 3-Day account. (If you didn't get a letter, it's just because I don't have your address, lucky you. But you can still show your support by donating online, today!)
• Brackets for Boobies launch in the next two weeks... Our annual March Madness fundraiser is a great time -- a chance to have some fun during the NCAA tournament, a chance to win some money, and a great fundraiser for the 3-Day. (Last year's winner took home $350, and we raised $350 for the 3-Day at the same time!)
• We're bringing back Tickled Pink at GoComedy this spring. We had a blast last year -- the evening included an improv show at GoComedy in Ferndale, pizza, prizes and more. We bought the house again, so we have to sell 100 tickets... watch for details coming soon.
• We're planning for another Garage Sale at Stef and Kraig's house. We did it two years ago and found it to be a really good fundraiser. It's a ton of work, but well worth it. If you have anything around the house that you've been looking to get rid of, give us a holler -- we'll come pick it up! 

So, it's off and running ... or at least walking quickly.  Next step: Hoping for spring to get here so we can actually walk outside!

I should be working. (Or, "This sucks.")

Yes, I should be working right now. Instead, I'm writing a hastily pulled together post to vent. I think I jinxed myself last week when I posted about how I was so fortunate that no one in my immediate circle has been affected by breast cancer. Strike that. A dear co-worker (my "right hand" and an incredibly amazing woman) got a call this afternoon that she has breast cancer.

I can't even imagine. Being in my office, working away (and unlike me, she was really working I'm sure), when the phone rings. "Hi there... biopsy positive ... lumpectomy ... schedule things... we'll be in touch."

There are no words. No words for when you answer that call. No words for the co-workers who hear you sobbing in the office next door. No words for when you have to tell your husband and two pre-teen daughters that life is about to be turned upside down and inside out.

Actually, the only two words that come to mind are "this sucks." Classy, eh?

So all I can do is send positive vibes (contrary to the two-word sentiment above) and hope for the best. If you have a moment, spare a positive vibe for my friend Debbie. She needs them right now.

It's the most wonderful time of the year ....

I know... Christmas is over. But in my little pink bubble, it is one of the most wonderful times of the year... It's 3-Day Pre-Season. OK, there's no such thing. But really... With the downer of closing out Christmas and New Year's, with a half foot of now-grey/yucky snow on the ground, grey skies and sick germs all around, the start of 3-Day season is a welcome distraction.

It started right after Christmas on a rather somber note. Bridget Spence, a blogger and 3-Day advocate I have been following, wrote a post to essentially say goodbye and ask that we not forget her. She was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer at age 21, six months after a clinician told her she was too young to worry about a lump. Throughout years of treatments and clinical trials, she has been a tireless advocate for breast cancer awareness, including speaking at a Komen leadership conference in 2012. (I strongly encourage you to watch her speech on YouTube. It's only 11 minutes and so worth it. If I ever need a reminder why I walk, this is it.)

By now, you're wondering why that's part of a good thing.

What happened after Bridget wrote her post to say goodbye? An amazing, tremendous, uplifting and inspirational thing happened. What happened is exactly what Bridget asked when she said, "Please, don't forget about me." Within days, thousands of people spoke up and said "We could never forget you." Today, there are more than 200 comments on her blog. Numerous posts on other sites. And most amazingly, nearly 1,000 people (that I know of) are participating in "A Pearl to Bridget," a grassroots effort to make sure Bridget knows how many people she has impacted. I won't go into all the details; you can read more about the project on Coral Levang's blog or on Facebook (not sure if the link will work). Needless to say, I've sent a pearl. Two actually. Just because.

So that launched the 3-Day Preseason for 2013. All that uplifting "pink family" stuff.  It continued this week seeing the new 3-Day commercials on TV (check out the great "join us" video ... and consider yourself invited!). Then an acquaintance from work signed up to walk. And I got an email from the Komen folks that because of my repeat walks, I'm part of the "Commitment Club" (really just means I get free towel service on event... yahoo!). And I'm working on my donation letters (yours is coming!). And I'm really, really looking forward to getting together with our new teammates for dinner and maybe even some winter walks (we joined a new team this year... yay for new friends!).

So it is one of the most wonderful times of the year. My world is turning a lighter shade of pink, which is a fresh relief after looking at dingy grey skies and dirty snow.

We did it!

The weather was beautiful. The company was awesome. The cheering was plentiful. The cause was great.

This year's 3-Day for the Cure was perfect.

Going in to this year's event, I wondered if it would feel like a let down after last year. I had a great first year experience, and wasn't sure if my expectations would be too high to be realistic.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

This year's walk experience was so different than last year. If I had to give it a one-word description, I think I'd pick FUN.

Our walking company this year was just amazing. We started out with the four of us (Stef, Kraig, Greg, me) and after lunch, ran into Sandra and Kathryn, friends of ours from training walks with the BC Babes. We then found Cheryl (a solo walker who we trained with a few times). And throughout the weekend, we ran into Missy and Pam (walkers from another team).  (You can see photos of the event on Facebook, in my public photo album.)

Top row (left to right) - Greg, Sandra, Stef, Kraig, Pam
Bottom row (left to right) - Missy, Kathryn, Cheryl, Me

 That's probably a boring way of saying: We walked with some amazing people! We laughed a lot. We sang. We danced. We teased. Walking with this group of people at various points throughout the three days made the miles go by so much more easily. And when we were hurting, there was someone right next to you to push you through.

Walking 60 miles is really hard. (I started to write my litany of aches, pains and complaints, but erased it -- that's just not how the 3-Day should be remembered or thought of. Or as Sandra would say, "That's not how we roll.") But when you've got great company, great weather, great cheerleaders and a great cause, the "fun factor" trumps the challenges.

So thank you to each of you for making this experience so amazing... from my walking pals to our home-base cheerleaders (mom, you were amazing!), to our family (thanks Keith for handling all the home/kid duty) and those who sent camp mail or encouraging words on Facebook/Twitter posts. Thank you.

And now, let's resume regular programming. For a little while at least. We've already registered for 2013 (we'll be walking with the BC Babes, our training pals) and we're plotting out our strategy for fun. Are you ready?

This is it ...

It's sort of like Christmas ... it's here, it's finally here! After months of fundraising and months of training, it's finally here!

My grand total, going in to "3-Day Eve" is $2,615. I got a surprise donation last night from a colleague at work, who saw I was walking and had been affected by breast cancer in his family. That unexpected donation amplified my experience this week -- I asked on Facebook for names of people I could walk for -- the fighters, the survivors, those remembered.  I was completely unprepared for the response.

I don't know which it was, the number of people who had someone to add to the list, or the people who asked for someone to be added when I had no idea they were personally impacted. It underscored how pervasive breast cancer is, and really was a stark reminder of why I walk. I shed more than a few tears that night, and I'm sure it's just the beginning.

At the same time though, there are so many happy moments in this walk experience. I'm really excited to walk with new friends we've met this past year, and excited to meet folks I've only chatted with through Twitter or Facebook. The weather looks like it's going to be OK (I'm hedging there, only because I don't want to jinx anything!!), the route is going to be interesting, and the company is going to be spectacular.

So come along with me on this amazing 3-Day journey: Follow along on Facebook, watch us on Twitter (#the3day), or stop along the route to honk and cheer on a walker. It's an incredible experience, and we hope to share it with you!

10 days and counting!

Just 10 days until the Michigan 2012 3-Day for the Cure. That's not enough time to panic that I haven't trained enough (I have) and too much time to panic that I'll forget to pack something (I'll live). It's also the point in time that I start my obsessive check-the-10-day-forecast-every-10-minutes behavior. Like I can control the weather. Or my obsessive nature.

Having "watched" the Boston and Cleveland 3-Day events through Facebook and Twitter (follow #the3day -- it's quite active during a walk!), I am really getting excited about everything that is to come (in just 10 days). And there are a number of ways you can participate with us:

• Come to a cheering station! The rough estimation of our route is posted and cheering stations are listed for all three days. There's nothing like the experience of a cheering station -- the walkers love it, the cheerers (is that a word?) love it, the community loves it. You don't need to bring anything, other than a smiling face. (Well, you might want to bring some water for yourself, but that's up to you!) Even if we don't see you, or you can only stop by for a little while, it's huge. Cheer for each walker as if it was one of us! (Quick side story: Last year, a friend wanted to bring her daughters to a cheering station, but it wasn't going to be a time that Stef and I would see her. I was bummed we would miss her and the girls, but felt such pride that someone cared enough to go out and cheer on someone else.)
• Look for us along the route! A very sketchy route is posted online, and it'll give you an idea of where we'll be through the three days. If you see some folks in pink along your daily travels, honk wildly and cheer out your window! 
• Follow along and be a virtual "walker stalker" -- On Twitter, walkers and supporters are quite active using the hashtag #the3day. You can also follow @the3day - they post quite a bit from the event. (I'm @jencarbary)  On Facebook, we'll post photos and commentary when we can -- enjoy!

 OK. Off to check the weather. So far, so good.

Time to rally ...

Somehow, time flew by. We're just under four weeks and counting, until the 2012 Michigan 3-Day for the Cure. That's 28 days. Less than a month. Yikes.

This weekend was our "big" back-to-back training weekend -- we walked 18 miles on Saturday and 15 miles on Sunday. This training experience really gives us a good idea of where we're at and helps prepare you mentally and physically for three grueling days. (Example: I ended up with two huge blisters in a spot where I normally have a callous. Time to figure out how to get those to heal, quickly, and become callouses!) Overall, we had fun -- we hooked up with the "BC Babes," a large team on the east side, and walking with them both days. They're a great group to walk with, and I'm looking forward to seeing them on the walk.

The other big landmark that comes at this 4-week mark is all of the event information that gets released:

• Camp mail -- One way to show your support is to send walkers "camp mail." After we're done walking Day 1, we come back to camp, get our tent set up, take a shower and eat dinner. We'll then stop by the "Post Office" to see if there's any camp mail. Last year, going through that mail was one of the most amazing experiences on the walk. It's a connection back to the "real" world, a reminder of all the people who supported us through this experience, and a motivator to keep going, even though every muscle in your body screams "stop!" Visit our "event information" page for more details on how to send camp mail.
• Cheering stations -- I had no idea what to expect from cheering stations last year. The first one we rolled up on blew me away. To walk down the sidewalk and have people cheer you on was incredible. I didn't know any of them, and they didn't know me. But it didn't matter: They wanted to encourage and motivate us, and it worked. (Of course, I had to keep my sunglasses on so everyone couldn't see me bawling!)  Check our event information page to get the details on cheering stations... and please know, if you can't be at a cheering station when we'll be there (we tend to walk quickly), please just go -- cheer another walker on as if it were one of us. They'll appreciate it more than you could ever imagine. (Quick side story: The first year when Stef walked, we went to a cheering station. We hung back and waited for her to come by, then walked up to the road, cheered for her, hung out with her for a few, and then left. I look back now and am so regretful that it's all we did. I felt goofy cheering for people I didn't know. Now, I can't say it emphatically enough: Please, please, please, don't feel goofy. Don't just wait for "your" walker and leave. When I go through a cheering station, those are someone else's loved ones cheering me on. And they make me cry every time. I see each of you in every one of them, so please, give another walker that same experience!)
• Social media updates -- As a sponsor of the 3-Day, Bank of America is offering something new this year: A "Smart Card" that we can pick up at Opening Ceremonies. The card will be linked to my Facebook page, and will automatically post where I'm at, at 'key' points along the route. Fun to try, so we'll see how it goes.  I'll also be posting on Facebook and Twitter through the weekend (have to figure out how to synchronize it all beforehand), so you can follow along.

So there you have it. I thought we were busy with fundraising, but now it seems even busier (if that's possible). Four weeks. Plenty of time to pack. To finish training. To get prepared.  Eeek.