As we stood out there asking for donations on Saturday, I was amazed at the stories we heard. It seemed like many of the people who stopped to give also had a story to tell about how Breast Cancer had touched their life in some way, and thanked us for what we were doing. A lot of them were about how they had already done the walk, or they had a relative or friend with breast cancer. There are two that will remain with me for a long time:

One woman, who was obviously not going into Publix, pulled her car over, walked to the ATM machine and pulled out a twenty dollar bill , she came over to me and pressed it into my hand….and she stated with tears in her eyes that she had just lost her Mother to breast cancer a month ago, and she hoped we raised more money than the foundation knew what to do with!

There was another pair of  sweet African American ladies, a 90 year old Mother, and her daughter (60’s?) , Miss Fannie……they gave to Grace on their way into the store, and gave to Catherine on the way out of the store (”these beautiful babies” she called them!)..and she turned to me and said “you know, I’m not too old to get the cancer”. How right you are Miss Fannie…cancer can affect anyone, regardless of age, race, color, or creed. Let’s hope we are making a difference in helping to stop this horrible disease.

I’m trying something new out for the pictures, so bear with me!  I uploaded them to my Flickr account, so there is a link to each photo, and you can comment on them here, or there

Cheryl & Catherine at Hollybrook Plaza Publix 3/25/06
Gracie with her donation jar
Our fabulous display table
Happy to be out of the shade!
Catherine – who can resist?
Ready for a night at the strip club?
$466 when all was said and done!

I uploaded our other 3 Day pictures to Flickr also.  The best part about Saturday – the stories we heard.  Just a teeny taste of what’s to come on the walk, no doubt!  I’m sure Cheryl and I can find some time to share the experience this week.

Our fundraiser on Saturday was a HUGE success…I was pleasantly surprised with the generosity of my fellow man! We stood outside of the Publix for almost 5 hours holding out our buckets, and came up with a grand total of $466 !! HUGE PROPS to my niece Catherine (Colleen’s daughter) who ran to her “station” by the door about 5 seconds after we arrived, and stood there all day asking everyone near her if they would like to donate..and had a huge smile and “Thank you have a nice day” even to those who chose not to give! She never complained about being on her feet all that time, and never lost her positive attitude!

Tonight, as I was cutting and taping furiously to finish up our 3 day poster in time for tomorrow, my 6 year old son made his own poster.  He used a sheet of regular white paper and carefully traced lines on it so his letters would be straight.  He presented it to me proudly when he was done, instructing me to take it with me tomorrow to my fundraiser.  It reads:

Breast Cancer

Publix is donating money to help the breast cancer people.  Please feel free to donate money!   

I’ll be sure to display it with pride tomorrow

This was my first weekend of back to back walks, did 6 miles with Dana on Saturday morning, and then got ambitious and did another 6 miles on the trail by my house on Sunday! Combine that with the mile I did each day with my dog, Snoopy, and I logged 14 miles this weekend! I have to say, since walking with my waist pack on that my lower back has been acting up, and I am going thru a lot of Icy Hot! I’m going to try popping a few Aleve before I walk and see if that helps.

Krista had a 2 mile walk this morning, started nice & early 7AM.  I think pushing her adds at least an additional mile.  Wore my new orthotic inserts.  I’ve had the worst pain in my heels and finally went to a doctor.  Apparently, my heal ligaments were swollen 3 times the normal size causing all the severe pain.  So, I had to have custom fitted orthotics.  I tell those of you that haven’t started their training, PLEASE start.  You need to find out 1) if you have the right shoes for your feet & 2) make sure you don’t have any foot problems.

Spent a wonderful day at the beach.  I know I got another couple of miles in there too!

Cheryl & I walked this morning on a trail I put together by my house.  We did great, 6 miles in hour & half.  The time went so fast, I know we are ready for 10 miles next week.  We are going to plan on making several different paths by each others houses in order to mix it up.  Since we don’t know what kind of trail we will be walking in Phily, it’s best to do as many different routes as possible.  After the walk Cheryl got me all hooked up to get online and start posting my comments.

Last week I walked 4 miles pushing my daughter, Krista.  She weighs 35 lbs & the stroller weights at least 10 lbs, so that 4 miles really felt 8!

I’m walking again tomorrow morning (5 miles) and then heading to the beach!  I’ll do more walking at the beach. 

I’m trying to wake up early and walk 2 miles every morning during the week.  That is going a little slow, but I’m working on it!

I just got off the phone with Deb, our 3 day coach. I was inquiring about when “out of towners” should plan on flying in, where to stay, etc. She told me they have not firmed up the route yet, and when they do that they will release some travel aids with walk route, times, and recommended hotels. She did mention that opening ceremonies are at 6 AM (That’s OH-SIX-HUNDRED for those of you who do not like to get up!) , and closing ceremonies are around 4:30-5pm, and they shuffle you along on the last day to keep that time firm. So anyone who is flying in, plan on being there Thursday night, and flying out late Sunday night or on Monday. I don’t know about the rest of you, but Dana and I are planning on getting a hotel room close to the walk site for Thursday night.

Sunday I met up with Cheryl to do some walking on a local trail.  The trail is marked every half mile, which proved once and for all my pedometer is WAY off.  We walked from 11am til 1pm and it was HOT out.  We were happy to see the water station halfway through our walk.  We started off as a group of 6 – me, Cheryl, my three kids (Catherine walking, the other 2 riding their bikes), and our niece.  About a mile in, I sent the 2 younger kids and our niece off to the playground.  Can I just say how cool my 10 year old is?  Not only did she walk 6 miles with us, in the heat, she didn’t complain at all!  She actually looks forward to walking with us each week.  She really impresses me.

We also used our new fanny packs so we can start getting used to them.  Cheryl and I bought the same one from Ebags, and they were pretty comfy with lots of spaces to stick things.  The bags sit on our hips, so no chafing around the waist, and they have a lot of padding too. 

I had gone to Busch Gardens with the family the day before, so between that and walking the 6 miles on Sunday, I was done.  I came home and fell into a coma-like nap that lasted til almost 6pm Sunday night.

Funny how just a month ago we were walking in 45 degree temps and talking about hot chocolate during our walk.  This week it was over 80 and we were dreaming of Slurpees!

Just spent a 4 day weekend at Disney, but that did not deter me from training. Our hotel, Disney’s Caribbean Beach, had an insert in the paperwork with a marked jogging/walking trail, including mileage! Dana and I did 3.6 miles on Saturday morning around the lake before everyone else was up…include all of the “Park walking”..and we probably covered a good 15 miles this weekend!