4+ Weeks and Counting

4 weeks and 2 days.  That's IT until we start walking!  Excitement and a little bit of panic is setting in.  We are well on our way to getting everything together for the walk (and remember, you have 2 non-campers in the house!).  We both are breaking in our 2nd pair of shoes.  And who knew things like socks were so important?!  Actually we did, since we've done this before but seriously, those $12 socks really are worth it.

Next week will be filled with lots of walks!  The plan is to get a long walk or two in, hopefully, as well.  Last Sunday we set out on a 12 mile training walk.  Annnnd, now cue in the rain.  It started out a great walk, cloudy but cool and overcast.  A few miles in, the drizzle started.  Not so bad!  We kept walking and kept our 20 min/mile average pace.  It really wasn't awful until we started getting sprayed with water from cars going 50mph.  Yikes.  So we headed back and got in 6 miles.  Not a bad day but not a 'long' walk either.

Walking we will go!

"The greatest step is out the door."  ~German Proverb

9 Miles...Check & a Reality Check

The weather in Boston is perfect for training!  Sunday we got in a 9-mile training walk.  It was a great chance to try out our gear and learn what works/what doesn't.   It was a sunny but not overly hot day, so that helped make the walk pretty nice.  It was also great to get out on the roads and walk; walking at the park on the track works, but it's much easier to make the time & the miles pass when you're actually walking somewhere.

We were averaging 20 minutes miles and it felt like a nice, relaxed pace.  We stopped 4 times and at the end, we were tired but felt pretty good, considering.  I thought I'd be sore today being the day after, but I have to say that I'm happily surprised that I wasn't.  Kathey got a little of that 'road rash' as they call it on her ankle and I got a hot spot on my foot (but no blister yet, thankfully!) so we in pretty good shape all in all.

It's going to be a really hot week later in the Northeast (someone said almost 100 on Wednesday?!) and little K is out of school as of Tuesday, so training is going to be a bit of a challenge in the coming weeks.  We do have plans for some walks while she's in summer camp, but it's going to take much more effort when I don't get those school hours to train.  One way or another, it'll get done.

My recently diagnosed friend of a friend had her mastectomy last week.  She's recovering & getting ready to learn the rest of her treatment plan.  Stay strong & fight hard.  You're not alone; your fight is our fight.  We're all in this together to find a cure.  

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.  ~Winston Churchill

~A