Training Week One: In Review

As you know, this was my first official week of training. While I'm usually a stickler for completing every single mile on my training schedule, I have to admit I was kind of a slacker this week. My plan was to walk two miles every weekday and then 5/3 on Saturday/Sunday. On Tuesday, my evening walking plans were scrapped when our friend Dan invited us to go out to the lake after work. We had a great time (I did a little swimming while the guys took turn skiing and wake boarding), but we got home too late to do any walking.

I made up a mile that I'd missed by walking 3 miles Wednesday morning, but then Thursday after my second steroid injection for my back (this time closer to my tailbone--ouch!) I was way too sore to consider walking. I made up another mile by walking 3 miles Friday morning, which was really okay since that pattern was a little bit closer to the suggested weekly schedule anyway.

The best part of my first week of training was this morning's 5 mile walk, because I had lots of company! My good friends Amber, Beth and Kristin got out of bed way before the sun came up to meet me at 6 a.m. for my first long training walk! It was great!! Having people to talk to makes the time just fly by, and these friends are always great company! I am so thankful for them!

Pre-Training Walk Walk

Although my 16 weeks of training doesn't officially start until tomorrow, yesterday morning I took the dogs for a 3.4 mile jaunt in preparation for my first "long" walk next weekend. The weather was overcast and 70 when we left, which was a nice treat for a July morning in Kansas! While I aspire to walk around 4 miles an hour during training, with all of the dogs' stopping and sniffing and peeing and waterbreaking, we took just about an hour to make it that far.

I'm really excited for my 5 mile walk next weekend, primarily because I have friends who are going to be walking along with me! It will be such a nice treat to have company of the two-legged variety! My friend Amber was the first to volunteer as my walking partner, and then a few of our other friends agreed to join in the fun as well. I've mapped out a 5 mile loop starting from Amber's house using MapMyRun.com, which is a great website for measuring routes for walking, running or biking without driving them in your car or using a GPS. Anyway, it should be a fun way to start my weekend walking!

A Week Away From Training Day

One week from today, I will officially start my training, and I'm very excited! During the last week, my 3-Day future seemed a little uncertain after an aggravation of the bulging disc in my back that happened on July 4. For five days I couldn't walk without excruciating pain, so I was having a hard time imagining how I was going to walk 60 miles in a few months. Thankfully, last Thursday I had my first epidural steroid injection (which was actually scheduled prior to the July 4 aggravation), and I'm so glad to report that it has already made a huge difference! Only two days later I was feeling almost normal, and tonight I actually walked the dogs for the first time! The steroid used was a time-released drug that should actually peak in a couple of weeks, so hopefully I'll continue to improve and be 100% healthy by later this month! I'm ready to walk!