3 Days of My Life

3-Day Walkers!

I’ve received so many great e-mails from fellow walkers that I wanted to devote a special page just for YOU. I also want to thank all of you again for your feedback and comments—they really mean a lot to me.

Random Tips

I want to include some random stuff as it occurs to me, in an effort to keep the journal entries from getting out of hand. More information can be found in, surprise, the information page, but these are just things that pop into my head during training. So, in no particular order...

Stretch Opposing Muscles We all know the importance of stretching, but sometimes we forget that if a particular body part is bothering us, it’s vital to stretch not only that muscle but also its opposing muscle (e.g., bicep/tricep or hamstring/quadrocep). Don’t neglect easily overlooked muscles, like the front of the shin.

The Morning After A lot can be determined by how well (or not well) you feel the day after a training walk. It’s good to keep in mind that even if you are sore and tired after walking, if you wake up feeling ready to go the following day, you’re in good shape. Don’t be discouraged if you feel especially sore or tired after walking. Stretch, hydrate, get a good night’s sleep. See how you feel in the morning. Pay attention to what’s stiff and sore. Don’t overdo it the day after a long training walk, but remember that you will be walking three days in a row. This is definitely achievable if you take it slowly and listen to your body.

If You Can Rub Your Stomach and Pat Your Head... You can eat and walk at the same time. I like to be as light as possible while walking, so unless we’re going on a loooong walk, I usually just plan to grab a bite at the halfway point, if possible. But yesterday, I decided to bring an apple and a Clif Bar (my favorite—Cookies and Cream), and even tho I didn’t feel hungry at all during our walk, I munched away. It really made a difference in my energy level. I definitely wasn’t as tired as on some previous walks. It’s not only a good idea for energy, but good practice for the walk. You’ll be eating and drinking a LOT as you walk, so it’s good to get in the habit of that now. The central theme of this paragraph? Food is Good.

Check Your Pledge Updates When you think about the volume of pledge forms and checks the Avon office has to deal with, you won’t be too surprised to hear that they do make the occasional mistake. This past week, my friend and walker buddy Elma received verification of a donation made to her from Lamb, Little. Hmmmm, how strange! That’s the company my mom works for, and the company who had made the exact same donation to me at the same time! Either Lamb, Little is very, VERY generous, or there was a mistake. We haven’t completely sorted it out yet, but since Elma’s walker number is 3690 and mine is 3689, it’s not hard to figure out where things went wrong. That’s why I prefer to have pledges sent to me. I can keep track of who, when, how much, and when I sent the pledges to the Avon office. This makes it much easier to sort out potential mistakes.

Music

Music is such an great motivator for me. And even tho we’re not supposed to even train with headphones, when I walk by myself, I MUST have music. And then I don’t mind at all walking alone. In fact, it’s a great way to sort through things, let your mind go (not too much!), and feel inspired. Nothing inspires me more than the music played during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of last year’s walk. One song in particular stuck with me, tho I didn’t know its title. It had a children’s choir, chanting, and a really moving melody. I read in some Avon 3-Day literature that music from the movie Amistad had been played during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, so I set out to find that song. I checked amazon.com for the list of songs on the Amistad soundtrack. The first song listed, “Dry Your Tears, Afrika,” sounded like it might be the one, so I played the song clip. Yes! I highly recommend the whole soundtrack, but especially this song. Play it while you’re walking (but be careful) and you will be inspired.

My great friend Susi made me a tape of all the music played during the ceremonies:

“Passion” by Peter Gabriel
“You’re No Different”
“I’m Forrest Gump”
“They’re Sending Me to Vietnam”
“The Wedding Guest” (all from the Forrest Gump soundtrack)
“Doe Eyes” (Bridges of Madison County soundtrack)
“Dry Your Tears, Afrika” (Amistad soundtrack)

“Bittersweet Symphony” by Verve is another song that was played during Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

So if you need something to get you going, and you promise to be very careful, listen to some of this music. If you’re walking with friends, SING! Don’t worry about how you sound. If it calls attention to what you’re doing, all the better. Maybe people will donate just to make you stop!

Carry It With You

Always have a copy of your pledge form with you. You never know when you might have the opportunity to hand it to someone. I carry a pledge form along with my letter and a self-addressed stamped envelope with me at all times. Last year on one of our training walks, we stopped off at the place where my two friends had had wigs made for them when they were going through chemo. We chatted with the store’s owner for a few minutes, and she expressed an interest in pledging. Man, I whipped out that envelope so fast! This year, a clerk at an Evanston shop was eyeing my “Ask Me About the 3-Day” pin, and did, in fact, ask me about it. My hand hovered over the envelope in my purse, ready to present it. However, the clerk said she had just that day written a check to someone else participating in the walk. But at least I was ready!

Chocolate Donut

I feel like I complain a lot about various aches and pains, etc., in my journal, so I want to stress what a really wonderful and positive experience this is for me...and should be for you, too. We all need to remember what a great thing we’re doing; this is especially important during training. So, give yourselves a pat on the back EVERY DAY for committing to this cause. Then go have a chocolate donut. You deserve it!

Inspiration

This week, I watched Eco-Challenge on TV, and, boy, if I thought my feet hurt after last year’s walk, just looking at some of the participants in this event really provides a contrast. Ugghhhh!!! These people! How do they do it? The Eco-Challenge, if you’re not addicted to reality TV like me, is a race through challenging terrain (in this case, Borneo), in which about 75 teams of 4 people trek thru jungle, canoe thru whitewater, rappel down cliffs, and just basically suffer through horrible conditions, heat, humidity, mud, dehydration, exhaustion, and LEECHES!!!! It really made the 3-Day seem like a picnic in the park. Which, of course, it isn’t, but still. It just boggled my mind how these people were able to overcome incredible physical and mental setbacks and complete the event. One of the team members quoted what I think is a Buddhist saying:

Pain is mandatory. Suffering is optional.

I love that saying. While I don’t believe pain is mandatory for 3-Day walkers, it’s certainly possible, as are extreme discomfort, discouragement, and doubt. These may be conditions we all will have to deal with, but I believe we can choose to deal with them in a positive and constructive way. That doesn’t mean you should ignore pain or not listen to your body when it’s telling you to STOP and REST or even to STOP period. But if we can accept the reasonable amounts of discomfort and work through it, keeping in mind our goal, the walk is going to be a much more rewarding experience.

OK, no more preaching! But if you want some more inspirational quotes, I’m going to add to the following from time to time. If you have any you want to add, send ’em in:

Great Faith. Great Doubt. Great Effort. —The three qualities necessary for training.

Where there is great doubt, there will be great awakening; small doubt, small awakening, no doubt, no awakening. —Zen saying

The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it.—John Ruskin

Slamm-ogram!

At least, that’s what they should call a mammogram. Actually, the 2 I’ve had were not that bad in terms of “slammage.” My first was 2 years ago, at Nordstrom’s (I remember they offered a free makeover for all mammogrammees, but I never redeemed it, for some reason.) A year later, when I started seeing a new dr., she was somewhat alarmed by...a lump in my breast! But I assured her there were more where that came from, and as she poked around, she did, indeed, find at least 4 more. Just another of those wonderful things I inherited from my mom: little fibrous cysts that make breast self-exams so much fun! But my new dr. wanted to play it safe (fine with me) so she ordered an ultrasound, which turned up absolutely normal.

A month or so ago, I received my reminder letter from the Breast Imaging Center at Evanston Hospital and promptly put it on my pile of “To Do” stuff, and promptly forgot about it. Until! I felt a painful spot on my left breast. Now, I know that’s not necessarily anything to worry about, but it did remind me to make the mammogram appointment. When I mentioned the sore spot (and that it corresponded to one of my little lumplets) to the technician, she whisked me into the ultrasound room a little quicker than I would’ve liked. However, once again, everything is A-OK.

So the moral is: Know your breasts! Mine just happen to be lumpy, but I know where each lump is and how it feels. The second moral is: Don’t let your mammogram reminder sit on a pile gathering dust. My appointment was only a month later than it should’ve been, but a month can make a big difference.

Walking Dreams

By now, most of you (especially Chicago walkers, who have less than 2 months!!!!) will be having dreams about walking. This is completely normal. I remember a dream I had last year in which I was on the walk, and stopped at a stranger’s house to take a bath. A few weeks ago, I dreamt that a large group of women (including me) had been taken hostage by another woman and were being forced to walk indefinitely. It just so happened that Elma and I were walking together, and I said, quite cheerily, “Hey, this can count as a training walk!” and then looked down at my shoes and said, “And isn’t it lucky that I just happen to be wearing my walking shoes? Can you imagine how awful this would be if I weren’t? And THEN I looked down again and realized that I had only ONE SHOE!! Oh, NO! As luck would have it, however, our group of kidnapped women just happened to be walking by an outdoor shoestore, where I tried to steal a left shoe, but it was the wrong size. The woman who had kidnapped us suddenly appeared, and I raised my hand and asked if we could please go shopping for shoes, since I had lost one. She was agreeable, and that was the end of my dream. Soooo, I guess a dream interpreter might say that I feel forced into doing the walk and that I’m afraid of having the wrong shoes (or no shoes?!). Who knows. Last night I dreamt that I was watching 3-Day Walkers going by from a second-floor balcony. I ran to put on my 3-Day shirt, so as I waved to them, they’d know I was a 3-Dayer. Well, I couldn’t find my navy blue long-sleeved shirt from last year, so I wore the gray shirt we received for this year’s walk. I waved and yelled; it was so much fun! But why wasn’t I walking...????????

The setting: Day 1 of the 3-Day Walk. I’m in this big room with zillions of other walkers, where we are all packing up for the walk. I’ve got bags and suitcases in front of me and am trying to narrow down what I need to bring. I realize that I’d forgotten to pack a bunch of stuff, including extra walking shorts and T-shirts. I also find that I only have one disposable camera, and I meant to bring 3 (I really do intend to bring 3 this year; last year I used up one in a day and a half.) Someone tells me there’s a gas station/convenience store not far away, but there’s no TIME! I decide to try to run across this big field to the store to buy cameras, then change my mind. I then discover that I have my regular camera and figure I’ll use that for the first day and buy disposable ones at some point. There’s also a food counter in this room where people were ordering stuff to eat. I’m with Kristina, who has already eaten. I want to order something, but again, there’s not enough time! At the last minute, however, I decide to order a cheeseburger and shake (there’s good walking fuel!) but then remember I have to meet Elma in front of the gear truck. But I don’t know WHICH gear truck because we never got any of the ID bracelets or walker cards that we got last year. I go into another huge room filled with walkers already lining up (help! we’re going to be last!) and hear someone else yell Elma’s name, and...there she was! OK. Back to the room where I was packing. I find another suitcase full of shoes! About 2 dozen shoes—all in great condition, tho I know somehow that they’re really too old to wear on the walk. Then someone hands me the cheeseburger I’d previously ordered. It was 99 cents.

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