With the Christmas season came the need to do a bit of rearranging in our garage. Decorations needed to be pulled down, and we needed to make space for the presents we needed to hide as well. As we did all of this, the thought occurred to me that once again, we have a lot of junk to get rid of. I was in this position lat year and ended up having a yard sale to benefit my 3-day walk. I know that at least ONE of my team members is in the same position, having seen her garage with my own two eyes. I think I’m going to look into planning a garage sale, maybe in March, to once again kick start my walk fundraising.

Still not sure what to get me for Christmas? Feel free to donate to my walk for 2008 – it’ll be a tax deductible 2007 donation for you! My fundraising goal for the 2008 walk is $1800, and while I know I can make it, it’s always a daunting figure looming over you, especially when I look at my “total raised so far” and see it stuck on $0.

For that matter, donate to ANY charity right now – tis the season, and all that! Don’t have money? The gift of time is always welcome

So here I am, a week past the walk.

Compared to last year, I recovered much quickly. I spent a few days taking naps, and going to bed early, but my aches and pains disappeared quickly. Even my blisters are gone! My sister, on the other hand, who walked a full 2 weeks before I did, still has foot issues. We did a walk this weekend and after just 3 miles, she had a nice bloody sock. Ewww!

This time last year, I was still limping around like an invalid. The walk was definitely harder this year, but I bounced back nicely.

The Tampa Bay 2007 3-Day Walk for Breast Cancer:

1,900 walkers (up 200 from 2006)
340 volunteers who made our meals, helped us cross streets, and tended to our wounds
$5.4 million dollars raised by the walkers in Tampa (up from $4.7 million in 2006)
$15,000 raised by the top fundraiser, a woman named Dee
3 days
60 miles
1 is the number of nights I slept in a tent
1 old friend, Kim, and one new friend, Tara with me for most of those miles!
1 San Diego dentist? No, but plenty of walkers from all over the world!

Here’s a picture of us at the end – Kim, me, another Kim, and Tara in front:

This time tomorrow, I’ll be several miles into my 2nd 3-Day walk. I’m nervous! I packed up all of my things last night, and went down my checklist to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I’ve got all of the cheering stations printed out for the family, complete with maps. I’ll be seeing them a lot this weekend, I hope.

I’ll see you all on the flip side!

The 3-Day is stressing me out.

Anytime you take on an event like this, it’s a big deal. Walking 60 miles, camping, the fundraising…who wouldn’t get stressed? I’ve been taking it all in stride though, because I’ve done this before. I didn’t think I was worried…until I had a crazy nightmare this weekend about showing up at the 3-Day without any money, and without bringing any clothes to wear.

I guess that proves that my biggest fear is being unprepared for the walk. I definitely haven’t trained as much (read: not at all) this year, and I won’t have the people I walked with last year with me, so it’s a whole new group to break in, so to speak. I need to hit the ground running, literally, and figure out if Kim (my tent mate) and I walk at the same pace, and if not, who does walk at the same speed?

Showing up without money and clothing may be the least of my worries.

I met my sister, Cheryl, today for lunch, and got to see her 3-Day feet in person. Ewwww! She no longer has 10 toes, she’s got 10 pigs in a blanket attached to 2 very swollen feet. One toe was completely wrapped in gauze, and the others were…well, ickly. Blisters and redness and just a little taste of what’s to come for ME in less than 2 weeks.

Umm…I can’t wait?

My sister is at her 3-Day walk in Philadelphia RIGHT NOW. She’s probably trying to fall asleep in her tent as we speak. Err, as I write. It’s actually going to work out well for me that she’s doing the walk a full 2 weeks before I’m doing my walk in Tampa. Since we didn’t camp last year, this will be our first experience doing so. I fully expect for her to fill me in on everything once she returns. I did talk to her today, and she said it was very noisy at camp when she was trying to sleep, and she recommended ear plugs. I bought some today, plus I’m planning on bringing my iPod to use at night to drown out people (talking, snoring, etc.)

My sister will be walking in Philly in just ONE week! I really wish I was going to be there with her. With each passing day, I get more and more concerned about walking in Tampa in the heat. I’m a big wimp. Then again, I know that if it’s cold and / or rainy in Philadelphia, I’d be a big wimp about that too. Basically, I want to walk only on sunny days when it’s about 80 degrees out. Can that be arranged?

In just 2 weeks, my sister and her cousin will be walking in the 3-Day in Philly. She was actually in New Jersey this week for business, so she was able to see first hand how the weather is. Hopefully, she’ll have a much drier experience than we did last year. I really wanted to be there with her, and briefly considered volunteering as a crew member for her walk, but in the end I decided it would be too much traveling, with my walk coming up just 2 weeks after her walk. Hopefully she’ll be able to call me during the walk with an update. I don’t think she’ll have internet access like we did last year, thanks to Sindy’s laptop!