This Susan G Komen woman has it all together.  I mean seriously, people have been doing this walk for years and they really do a nice job getting it organized.  They make everyone feel at home – even if you are huddled in a tiny tent in a giant tent city. 

There is almost anything you would want at camp.  Someone to cook you dinner – and you don’t even have to do the dishes! Chair massages, a clothing and accessory tent to do a little shopping, a lounge AND showers in a tractor trailer!!!

I can’t even describe how impressed I was with this – I mean really – who thinks of these things?!  The showers were clean, hot and just about the most wonderful thing at the end of 20 miles.

At camp there are a few activities on the big stage for entertainment.  There is a tent decorating contest and the introduction of our favorite little fans; the Youth Corps.  The Youth Corps is made up of young people between the ages of 10-16 that cheer, encourage and volunteer throughout the 3-day experience.  They are an amazing group of young people and I can’t wait to meet this year’s group!

Check back soon for tips on packing for the 3-Day!

I’ve got mail?!

Here’s a sneak peak at how to put a smile on that tired walker’s (aka me) face when they arrive at camp. 

Send them mail!!!! Seriously, it’s super exciting to get a piece of mail – especially if it’s not a bill.  So you aren’t able to contribute financially but want to support your walker? Send them a card, a note or a drawing or a photo from that adorable child or dog of yours.  Funny, inspirational, stick figures whatever – it’s all greatly appreciated!

So here’s the info – but the most important detail?! All mail must be postmarked no later than July 12^th – otherwise they won’t have time to sort it and get it to camp.

            3-Day for the Cure

            ATTN: Name here (Amy Kelly if you’re looking for suggestions  J)

            P.O. Box 181270

            Boston, MA 02118

They say envelopes only please. Don’t forget the deadline, all items received after that will be returned to sender….and no mail wants to be returned.  Just so you know; I have been known to send my own postcards from camp to super special supportive folks <wink, wink, elbow nudge>.

Stay tuned for more spectator information as the walk gets closer.  I’ll tell you more about cheering stations and the closing ceremony.  Thanks again to all my supporters I can’t believe the walk is only five weeks away YIKES! Thanks to the help and support of people like you I’m only $900 away from my goal!

68 miles down....loads more to go

My, it’s been a busy month – where has is gone?! I’ve been walking all over I tell you.  My husband and I went to Oakland, California to visit our family (and explore wine country of course).  We had a great time visiting and got to explore quite a bit by foot – we even walked across the Golden Gate Bridge!! The views were amazing and it was great to fit a little training in while on vacation. Across and back the bridge is approximately 3.4 miles.

Well now it’s back to work and the rain seemed to return with us.  I managed to complete 9 ½ miles on Sunday and it felt great.  A lot of people ask me – how do you do that? How long does it take? Aren’t you bored?  The answers are easy.  If you put one foot in front of the other over and over again your really start to get the hang of it. Seriously though, I can’t imagine doing it without company or an audio book or two. Currently I am listening Anne of Green Gables.  I loved reading this when I was younger and it’s been fun revisiting it.

Tonight I’m planning on 5-8; I guess it all depends on the weather and my feet.  Breaking in a new pair of kicks today – love that new cushy feeling!!  

I will not wear a fanny-pack

Okay, so there's a lot of opinion about what type of bag to carry on the 3-day.  The overwhelming suggestion - a fanny-pack.  Really?! Seriously?! What the heck is flattering or the least bit attractive about a fanny-pack?!  I won't be the first one to tell you, it's not a fashion show.  Although you'll likely see a lot of getups, men in fabulous bras or just overall draped in pink.  Pink hair, pink wings, pink boas - you name it you'll see it. When it comes to the practical, realistic, real stuff? You're not seeing fashion - it's all about comfort and being practical.

You won't see a lot of people wearing back packs, the only ones I saw? The Men With Heart.  They carry a full back pack - full of all the goodies you can want or need on the walk.  They carry because they are not only there to walk and raise money, but they are there to support the women walking - by carrying extra supplies or singing a fabulous songs.  The state house recognized these awesome men recently and I say it's about time.  They are an awesome motivator, supporter and an overall inspiration to anyone within shouting distance of the walk.

So what's that photo above you ask?? Well that is what EMS calls a waist pack.  So there, I refused to wear a fanny-pack and well I didn't....exactly....  Overall it held what I needed and I barely noticed the thing.  It's important to train with whatever you plan to walk with and I found the 'waist pack' to be just the thing for the big event.

Oh Deer!

I'm back on the trail! If you look closely you can see one of the perks of the trail, a little doe staring at me.  I saw one just like her last year on a drizzly day too.  It's a beautiful place to train for the big event.

It's been a very busy month at work.  I work at a college and Saturday is graduation.  This week has been full of celebrations and year end events so it has been tricky getting in the miles.  Tuesday morning I logged 8 miles before work! "How long does it take you to do that?!" people ask me.  Well I'll tell you, quite a bit of time! If I can average 17-18 minutes a mile I'm doing well.  Keep in mind it's important to stop, stretch and grab a snack every so often.  Today I walked another 8 miles and broke it up by enjoying a PB&J next to a pond.  It isn't hard to do this when you have such beautiful scenery to distract you.  Of course audio books on the iPod help a lot too.

I'm almost half way to my fundraising goal with just two months left to go YIKES! Lots more training to get to only 35 miles logged so far.  When I reach 100 I get to break in my new sneakers, can't wait.

Where the heck has she been!?

Okay I’m back. I took a small vacation to my couch with a box of Kleenex for the past several days.  I haven’t had a cold in YEARS and this stupid thing knocked me silly. I didn’t want to go to the doctors but I finally dragged myself there only to have them minimize my misfortune as the ‘common cold’. Really? There was nothing common about sleeping 13 hours at a time and being unable to walk in a straight line, ah well.  I’m on the road to mending and finally made it to the gym this morning.  I haven’t walked any further than the kitchen in a week so it’s time to get back to training!  I hear we will have some beautiful weather this weekend and I’m looking forward to getting back on the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail soon!

Free massage? Yes please!

Now, I consider this spring weather! Sunday I went to the Kickoff Training events sponsored by New Balance.  Can you believe I actually won another 1 hour massage??  This here is one lucky (soon to be pampered) lady.  A lot of people showed up for this event, sounds like we will have a lot of company on this walk in July.

Above is a shot from the 2010 walk, my walking partner Christina, I and the New Balance shoe – sporting non other but New Balance shoes love it!  Looking at the absence of sweat and the fact that we still have smiles on our faces I would say that this is earlier on Day 1 (pre-blisters and ankle injuries).  That was the easy day.  We were running on little sleep and pure excitement!  

As of today my fabulous donors have brought my fundraising totals up to $600 wahoo!! At this rate I’ll make my $2300 goal in no time. I’m starting to get super excited and anxious for July to get here already!  Thanks again to my friends and family for their continued support.