The journey

So a number of people have asked what in the world ever possessed me to take part in the Breast Cancer 3-day. To their credit I guess I don't appear to be the "obvious" sort to take part in that journey. No one in my family has been diagnosed with breast cancer, I've got wretchedly bad knees, I think camping means staying at a Holiday Inn, I don't like to sweat, and yet I signed up and I'm training to do this thing.

This is something the girls and I discussed last year, but we determined it was too late for us to get trained and raise the money. This year we determined it was the year to do it, and we are. I turned 30, I need to do something big...at this point my "big" thing isn't going to be an engagement, a marriage, a child, so I'm going to walk 60 miles over 3 days to end Breast Cancer. The ring, the man, the baby, they can come along at any time, but this could be a once in a lifetime experience. It's possible that at mile 15 my knee will blow and I won't be able to walk the remaining 45 miles, but I'm going to try. This is something big that I and I alone can control, it's not luck, it's not anything other than hard work, determination, and a desire to change the world.

I admit that at times this task seems overwhelming, the idea of raising $2200 to take part in this walk is something big, especially since October is racing up on us and I've yet to hit the $600 mark. Granted, the team has made plans for fund-raising events this summer, but honestly the economic situation in the country is not making this easy for us.

The walking is hard - my feet have never looked so bad! Calluses, blisters, rough spots - my lord my feet hate me right now! I haven't had a pedicure in months, I'm buying gatorade like it's my job, I'm getting out and sweating (oh how I hate to sweat). I'm doing this thing. At this point walking 7-miles in the heat is enough to make me close to miserable, but I'm trudging on. Do I stick to my training plan every day, no, not even close. I am taking this journey one day at a time and one step at a time. But I'm trying. I'm going out and trying something new and different and somewhat overwhelming. I'm pushing my body in ways I haven't since I was 15 and played high school sports. I'm learning about wearing the right sneakers (and choosing the ones that do the best job, don't look the best), finding the right socks, looking for all the little things (like Body Glide) to give me a little edge in my training, I'm even finding out about the best workout clothing - it's like a whole new world out there. No, it's not a marathon, I'm not going grind out 26 miles in 4 hours, I'm doing 60 over 3-days. It's going to be hard but I'm going to do it - this is my something big for turning 30.