Pictures!

The weekend was a big success, so thank you to everyone who helped send me to Dallas this year. I managed the sixty miles pretty easily with very little back pain and absolutely no blisters. It was great! I hope to write more about it in the near future, but for now, enjoy the pictures!

Ready, Set, Go!!

I'm 99% packed this morning, and all that's left to do is walk the dogs before we leave. I'm so excited! Just 24 hours from now I'll be starting out on my 60 miles! Last weekend I was able to complete 10 miles Saturday and 10 miles Sunday without any problems at all, so I'm hopeful that my back will hold up for 3 times that amount if I take care of it this weekend. I've packed lots of icy hot patches, ice packs, ibuprofen and all-natural muscle relaxers, so I think I'm all set! I finished up my memorial list and ironed it onto a little banner to wear on my waist pack. Now everyone will see who I'm walking for when I pass them! ;)



When I registered a few weeks ago I thought I would be going to Dallas without knowing a soul. Now that Brandy and I are planning to tent and walk together, I'm sure the event will be tons more fun. Did I mention I was excited??

I won't have access to any blogging while I'm away, so my reports on the event will have to wait until next week. Thanks to everyone for your loyal support that has enabled me to participate in this wonderful event!

The Barrel House

Last Thursday about 15 of our wonderful friends and family members came out to The Barrel House for the 3-Day fundraiser. I can't even describe what an amazing job Danny Williams and his staff did putting on this event! They went above and beyond in every way imaginable. The entire bar was decorated with pink ribbons and balloons, and all the staff members were decked out in pink as well! Danny had procured a donated keg of beer from 23rd Street Brewery, and along with the money from the cover charge at the door, the proceeds from the sale of that beer was donated to the 3-Day! They publicized the event on Facebook and through other means, so by the end of the evening, there were quite a few people there for a Thursday night! The support from The Barrel House was just outstanding and amazing and I couldn't be more thankful.

Although not many of our friends were able to make it out on a week night--especially a gloomy and rainy one--we had a terrific time with the friends who were there. The pianists were great--one in particular was amazingly funny and talented. We had a blast singing along to all the songs and watching the antics of the entertainers. It was so much fun! We're definitely hoping to go back again soon!



Thanks again to all of our fabulous friends who took the time to come out and show their support. I appreciate it so much!!

Barrels of Fun

As most of my friends and supporters already know, the owners of The Barrel House (the newish dueling piano bar in Lawrence) offered to host a fundraiser in support of my participation in the 3-Day this year. The event is this Thursday, October 29, starting at 7 p.m., with the pianos starting at 8. The Barrel House located at 729 New Hampshire. The cover charge is only $2, and The Barrel House will be donating all of the door proceeds to the 3-Day! They are calling it the "Pink Out" and encouraging everyone to wear pink!

If you haven't been to the Barrel House before, it's a ton of fun, and the crowd (at least the night that we were there) is very diverse, with people of all ages coming out to enjoy the music. The pianists are outstanding and play tunes from all eras. It should be a fun night, so grab your friends and head downtown! I would totally appreciate your support and hope to see all my friends there!

Gearing Up

I spent the bulk of my evening preparing for my trip to Dallas, even though the 3-Day is still two weeks away. I just couldn't help myself--I'm getting really excited! I think my renewed excitement mainly stemmed from the fact that over the weekend I actually met someone who is going to Dallas as well, and now I have a tentmate and a walking partner!

This meeting wasn't exactly accidental, in that my new friend Brandy is actually friends with Chad's coworker Suzanne, and Suzanne gave Brandy my email address. We corresponded last week and met up on Saturday to walk a few miles in Topeka. She's a very nice first-time walker who also walks about my speed, which is an added bonus! Now I'm really looking forward to actually knowing someone else in Dallas!

So this evening I went to Target and picked up all of my travel toiletries and a few other supplies, and then I went down to the basement to pull out my sleeping bag and camping pad. I didn't actually start putting things in my duffel, but I did start gathering everything together in the anticipation of packing!

One of the other things I did in preparation was to lace up my shoes with some new laces that I splurged on last year. I think they're pretty perfect, don't you?

18 Miles Under my Belt

Yesterday my training walk went wonderfully, and I completed all 18 miles I set out to do. I walked 5 miles to my friend Kristin's house in the morning, walked another 2.5 miles with her, walked the 5 miles home, took a lunch break, walked 2 miles with Chad and the dogs, and then walked another 3 miles just with Chad. Five miles was a long walk for my hubby, and I was so thankful to have him along for the ride! Ten miles by myself is about all I can handle without going a little crazy!

I had every intention of getting out today and walking another 15 or so, but yesterday afternoon after I got home my darn bulging disc flared up again. I've been flat on my back ever since. My long training walk will just have to wait!

Done!!!

Wow--I can't thank everyone enough for the amazing generosity this year. Your support has been absolutely phenomenal--and fantastically speedy!! Tonight it's been exactly two weeks since I registered for the 3-Day and posted my first donation request to Facebook. Since then I've sent out almost 100 emails and raised $2,345!! Thank you so much friends! I so appreciate your support!

Amazing Donations!

Although my training might not be going too well this year, the fundraising has been fabulous during these first 10 days! Thank you, friends, for your amazing generosity! Chad's Aunt Meg got me started, just like she did last year, and my mom's friend Carol was close behind. The donations have been steadily pouring in, and today I got a $500 donation from a friend who is also a breast cancer survivor! Thank you so much--you know who you are! :)

Along with the donations of money to my 3-Day account, this weekend I also got a terrific in-kind donation as well! Let me start the story by saying that the right shoes are extremely important when walking 60 miles, so the first year I did the 3-Day I went to a specialty shoe store and was professionally fitted for shoes (which were very expensive) for the walk--and they ended up fitting so poorly that I couldn't even wear them after the first couple of months of training! After that I went to Famous Footwear and fit myself for my shoes...and I've had terrific luck with all the ones I've picked out on my own--not to mention I've spent way less!

So anyway, I was just thinking that I needed to get out to Famous Footwear and get some new shoes for this year's walk, and then I was talking to our friend Ryan, who owns/manages Brown's Shoe Fit in downtown Lawrence. Ryan said that instead of giving me a donation of money for the walk this year, he would actually donate my shoes--and I don't mean the cheap $50 shoes I've been buying myself the previous 3 years! I went down to his store on Thursday, and Ryan let me try on several different (all pink, of course) pairs, and in the end he GAVE me these awesome Pumas, with some fancy Thorlos as well!



This was an amazing gift, and I can't thank Ryan enough for his incredible generosity! Hooray for Ryan at the Lawrence Brown's Shoe Fit! :)

It's Official

Despite the fact that I haven't been training very seriously, I am still planning to walk in Dallas next month, and I just made that plan official! You can be the first one to donate on my 3-Day fundraising page! More to come soon!

Recruiting

Last week I sent out a recruitment letter to a bunch of my friends--basically any of my friends who I thought might have the slightest interest in participating in the 3-Day with me. I have a couple of friends who have had close family members with breast cancer, so I was hopeful that someone would be moved to participate, but no such luck. I have to admit I'm a little down that no one was interested and a little discouraged that I still don't have a team. Here's the letter that I sent out:

Dear friends,

As you all know, in each of the last three years I've participated in the Breast Cancer 3-Day--a 60 mile walk that raises money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. In 2006, just after my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was recruited by my friend Cindy to walk with her team in the Kansas City event. Two years ago, when there was no KC event, I recruited my friend Vikkie to walk with me in San Diego--the largest of the 15 annual 3-Day events. The San Diego event was absolutely amazing, and I wanted my mom to have that experience, so last year I recruited her and my brother to walk 60 miles with me in southern California. As you can imagine, watching my 62-year-old mother complete all 60 miles was incredible, and last year was definitely the most meaningful of my three 3-Days. I could go on and on about what a fabulous experience the event has been, but most of you have probably heard me talk about the event in person or seen it through my pictures.

This year, even though my mom has decided not to walk, I'm planning to walk in my fourth 3-Day. I'm walking again because I still want to honor my mom and celebrate her three years of being free of breast cancer. I'm walking again because so many other women in my family and in my life have been forever changed because of this disease. I'm walking again because 15% of breast cancer survivors will someday have a recurrence. I'm walking again because I have a higher than normal risk of developing breast cancer myself. I'm walking again because I can.

My plan this year is to participate in the Dallas/Fort Worth event. It will be an easy drive and I'll be able to stay with family the nights before and after the walk. It's not until early November, and the weather in Dallas should be comfortable by that time. I'm telling you all of this because I want you to consider walking the 3-Day with me. While I will likely be participating regardless, I would much rather make the journey with friends! I'm asking all of you specifically, because you're all people that a) are in good enough shape that you could get by with just 12 weeks of training, and b) are friends that I'd love to spend more time with! Some of you have even expressed interest in the past or have a passion for fighting against breast cancer, making you the perfect person to walk with me! :)

I won't deny that this endeavor is slightly time consuming, so I totally understand if your work/school/child schedule won't allow for training and fundraising. Each participant is required to raise $2200 in order to participate, and although it's much easier than it sounds, it still requires some effort. In addition, in the month prior to the event, the Sat/Sun walks take a pretty good chunk out of the weekend. While training for a walk might seem a little unnecessary, it's definitely essential if you want to avoid blisters and other injuries! However, for the first two years I followed the 3-Day's suggested 24-week and 16-week training schedules, and I definitely felt over-prepared. Last year I modified the 16 week schedule somewhat, and still did not find the 60 miles especially challenging. This year I've devised a much shorter 12 week training schedule that I'm confident will be sufficient, and that schedule will start next week! If you'd like to see the schedule and get an idea of what it would entail, you can check it out here: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXc8jjDet9vFqP3sBFlh5a4KHMa9GD61_GxveYj2YDG47p-wFxX54EjnAcxdP6O6Zl92G-Wh_SvjEXM7D3wxVSLD5-7baEhKyNxwlzpImBgfg_Z0dWaCCUE1GhDbhsAqQgaFKGG_Us_bI/s1600-h/training09.jpg.

There's a ton more information to check out on the web if you think you might be interested. Here are just a few links:

My personal 3-Day journal--http://3dayjournal.blogspot.com/
My personal pictures 2008--http://picasaweb.google.com/kimluce99/2008112420083Day#
Pictures 2007--http://picasaweb.google.com/chadluce/20071115SanDiego#
Pictures 2006--http://picasaweb.google.com/chadluce/2006BreastCancer3Day#
The 3-Day Website--http://www.the3day.org
Some videos from the 3-Day--http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Videos
(the first one is my favorite)

Should you decide to participate, I promise the 3-Day will be an experience you will never forget, especially if breast cancer has affected your life or your family in a profound way. My mom still faces the physical scars and complications from her surgeries every day. She can't forget, so I can't forget either--which is why I keep walking. As one of the participants in the video (who I actually saw again last year in San Diego) said, "I have two choices: I can be here, or not...I'm just glad I'm here." That completely expresses how I feel. I hope you'll consider being there too!! If you're at all interested...give me a shout! :)

Hugs,
kjl

Since that didn't motivate anyone to join me, I've gone out looking for anyone in the Lawrence area who might be doing Dallas this year, so that maybe I can join their team or find a training partner. I've posted a couple of messages to the 3-Day Facebook page, so hopefully someone in my area will see them and respond! I feel like a walker without a home!!

Dallas, Anyone?

It's that time again. The 3-Day season officially started a few weeks ago. For the last several months I've been contemplating participation this year, and I'm leaning towards driving down for the Dallas event. It would be relatively close and inexpensive, and since it's not until November, the weather wouldn't be bad at all. I invited my mom to walk with me again, but she isn't feeling up for it this year, which means that I'm currently a team of only one. To remedy this, in the next couple of days I'll be sending out an email to a bunch of my friends encouraging them to participate in the 3-Day with me. Hopefully my recruitment letter will work. :)

Technically, I'm under a bit of a time crunch since I'm making this decision a little late. The 3-Day folks recommend 24 weeks to prepare, and as of right now there are only 13 weeks until the event. I'm not worried about the fundraising--I think that's always a bit easier when the crunch is on. I'm actually not too worried about the training either, only because I've done the 24-week and 16-week training schedules and have felt over-prepared both times. I'm pretty confident that I can prepare myself sufficiently in the next 12 weeks, partially because I walk pretty regularly as it is--I just need to add some long walks on the weekends. Here's the 12 week training schedule I've prepared for myself.


That doesn't look too bad, does it? Anyone interested in coming to Dallas with me? Anyone? Bueller?