This last weekend Mom and I were scheduled to walk just 10 and 8 miles on Saturday and Sunday respectively. We decided to do a flip-flop, and instead walk our shorter 8 mile walk on Saturday so that I could get to the KU/K-State game on time. Mom stayed the night on Friday, and we got up early on Saturday and took the dogs for a quick 4 mile walk. We dropped them off and got a quick snack, and then headed back out for another 4 miles. We were done with our 8 miles before 9 a.m.! Mom is always amazed when we walk that far and it seems like we're just getting started!
On Sunday, our plan was to start our 10 miles around Mom's house in Topeka, and then to head off to Chapman where would attend a special ceremony at Mom's old church before finishing our walk around the tiny town. Unfortunately, after feeling a little crappy all week, I woke up Sunday morning feeling really sick, so I sent Mom out on her own to walk the first five miles. I slept a little longer, and then stopped off for a sprite and saltines before heading on to Topeka later in the morning.
Thankfully Mom had already done 6 miles by the time I arrived to pick her up for our Chapman trip, so after the ceremony we were able to easily walk our last 4 miles while sightseeing around Mom's tiny hometown. There were only a few neighborhoods of the little town that we didn't walk through! Walking around the city park brought back some memories for me as well, since I spent many hours playing in that park with my cousins as a child. It was really a fun day and quite an adventure!
Unfortunately, by the time we got back to Topeka that evening I was feeling the stomach bug in full force, and I've been in bed for the last two days trying to kick it. I just want to make sure I'm over the illness completely before I go back to work, since we have another big 18 mile walk this weekend! It's our last big walk before we head to San Diego in just barely over 2 weeks!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Lazy Weekend of Walking
You might have noticed that I never blogged about last weekend's training walks. That's mostly because Mom and I didn't walk together last weekend, and partially because I slacked off quite a bit on the walking I did do! After our 18/15 walks the weekend before, we were only scheduled to do recovery walks of 10 and 6. Mom did pretty well on her own, walking about 7 and 6 on Saturday and Sunday respectively. I, however, only walked about 6 on Saturday before going to the KU game, and then only walked about 4 on Sunday while walking dogs at the shelter. I was pretty lazy--but it was only because I had so many other things going on!
This weekend is another easy weekend since we did back to back hard weekends when we changed up the schedule a couple of weeks ago. We're supposed to do walks of 10 and 8 on Saturday and Sunday, but will probably only do 8 tomorrow since there's another early football game to schedule around. On Sunday we're taking a special trip and doing our 10 miles in a special town, so hopefully I'll have a good story to tell after our walk!
This weekend is another easy weekend since we did back to back hard weekends when we changed up the schedule a couple of weeks ago. We're supposed to do walks of 10 and 8 on Saturday and Sunday, but will probably only do 8 tomorrow since there's another early football game to schedule around. On Sunday we're taking a special trip and doing our 10 miles in a special town, so hopefully I'll have a good story to tell after our walk!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Fundraising Progress
I've been slacking on the 3-Day updates lately, but that's only because there's been so much going on! Last Thursday, on the same day we had our Pack Jack's event at Set'em Up Jack's, the Wellness Committee at my office (headed by a very dedicated and motivated Pam) put on a fundraiser for my team over the lunch hour. They sold donated pizza and baked goods and raffled off a bunch of other goodies and raised almost $400!! It was amazing! At the event, another of my coworkers gave me a $500 donation for the team as well, which will put my mom over her $2200 minimum once it posts to her account! Since Eric is only about $800 away himself, we are getting very close to being finished with our fundraising!
The evening at Jack's went pretty well also, with 40 or so people coming specifically to support our team. I haven't heard from Dan about how much money we raised, but hopefully soon I'll be able to deposit another $100 or so into Eric's account. I'm glad we're getting close, because there are only 23 days until the event!
Thank you to everyone who came to the work fundraiser, to the Jack's fundraiser or just made a donation to my mom's or brother's account recently! I am so thankful that fundraising is almost over!
The evening at Jack's went pretty well also, with 40 or so people coming specifically to support our team. I haven't heard from Dan about how much money we raised, but hopefully soon I'll be able to deposit another $100 or so into Eric's account. I'm glad we're getting close, because there are only 23 days until the event!
Thank you to everyone who came to the work fundraiser, to the Jack's fundraiser or just made a donation to my mom's or brother's account recently! I am so thankful that fundraising is almost over!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The 15 That Followed
As I mentioned yesterday, I was a bit worried about doing our 15 miles on Sunday after Saturday's 18, since Mom had been too tired for back-to-back long walks the previous weekend. When she got up Sunday morning, however, she didn't have too many aches and pains and was eager to get started. We decided to start with just a 5 mile loop, but about 4 miles in, Mom decided that she wanted to go for coffee. We went a couple of miles out of the way to McDonalds, where we enjoyed coffee and a fruit and yogurt cup! It was a very nice break!
McDonalds is only a couple of miles from home, so once we got home we had already knocked off about 7 miles of our day, which was great! After a short reload of fluids and snacks, we headed back out onto the walking trail, this time with a particular destination in mind! Chad was on his way to watch the Steelers game at Set'em Up Jack's, which is all the way across town--but in reality that's only about 6 miles! We decided that Jack's would be the perfect motivation, since as soon as we arrived we could finally eat lunch!
Since the restaurant was only 6 miles away and we needed to do 8 miles, we took our first detour up to campus, where we walked past the new football facility and up Campanile Hill. We stopped off at the Union to fill up on drinks, and the nice girl working at the gift shop there even inquired about our walk! It's really nice when people ask what we're doing instead of just staring/laughing at our fanny packs and water bottles!
We walked around campus a little and took in the fall beauty while I showed Mom all the new facilities that had been built since Eric and I had been in school. After our little tour we headed east towards Jack's, stopping once for a pit stop and more water at Kwik Shop. At that point we were only about 2 miles away, and we needed closer to 3 miles to be finished, so we took a slight detour to the Lawrence Humane Society, where I knew my friend JoAnna would be volunteering. I'd originally thought that I might be able to come join her after our lunch/walk was complete, but when I realized I wouldn't have time before they closed at 4, I thought it would be good to stop by and tell her hi anyway.
After chatting for a few minutes with JoAnna we headed off to Jack's, but since it was less than a mile away and we needed 2 miles, we sort of took the long way. We walked through some neighborhoods, past an elementary school where I volunteered in college, past a preschool where I subbed in college, and then back around to the restaurant. When we arrived we'd walked just over 15 miles on the day and Mom hadn't had any problems at all! I was so proud of her, and we enjoyed a huge, yummy meal at Jack's to celebrate!!
McDonalds is only a couple of miles from home, so once we got home we had already knocked off about 7 miles of our day, which was great! After a short reload of fluids and snacks, we headed back out onto the walking trail, this time with a particular destination in mind! Chad was on his way to watch the Steelers game at Set'em Up Jack's, which is all the way across town--but in reality that's only about 6 miles! We decided that Jack's would be the perfect motivation, since as soon as we arrived we could finally eat lunch!
Since the restaurant was only 6 miles away and we needed to do 8 miles, we took our first detour up to campus, where we walked past the new football facility and up Campanile Hill. We stopped off at the Union to fill up on drinks, and the nice girl working at the gift shop there even inquired about our walk! It's really nice when people ask what we're doing instead of just staring/laughing at our fanny packs and water bottles!
We walked around campus a little and took in the fall beauty while I showed Mom all the new facilities that had been built since Eric and I had been in school. After our little tour we headed east towards Jack's, stopping once for a pit stop and more water at Kwik Shop. At that point we were only about 2 miles away, and we needed closer to 3 miles to be finished, so we took a slight detour to the Lawrence Humane Society, where I knew my friend JoAnna would be volunteering. I'd originally thought that I might be able to come join her after our lunch/walk was complete, but when I realized I wouldn't have time before they closed at 4, I thought it would be good to stop by and tell her hi anyway.
After chatting for a few minutes with JoAnna we headed off to Jack's, but since it was less than a mile away and we needed 2 miles, we sort of took the long way. We walked through some neighborhoods, past an elementary school where I volunteered in college, past a preschool where I subbed in college, and then back around to the restaurant. When we arrived we'd walked just over 15 miles on the day and Mom hadn't had any problems at all! I was so proud of her, and we enjoyed a huge, yummy meal at Jack's to celebrate!!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Biggest Weekend
This past weekend was the biggest weekend in the entire 3-Day 24 week training program. This was the weekend of the 18 and 15 miles back-to-back training walks--a weekend so big that there's even a special milestone sticker to commemorate it! These big walks are actually scheduled for this coming weekend, but since I have the KU homecoming game and a wedding to go to on Saturday, I knew there'd be no time for walking 18 miles!
So Mom and I swapped last weekend with this weekend, and took on the big one right after our grueling 17 mile walk last weekend. I wasn't so worried about the 18 on Saturday--I knew Mom would handle that just fine--but I was definitely worried about the subsequent 15 on Sunday. Mom has struggled a bit on the long Sunday walks, so I encouraged her to stay the night so that I could help motivate her the next day.
For a new and different place to walk on Saturday, Mom and I drove to the little town of Baldwin City, which is just about 20 minutes south of Lawrence. It took a while to get there because of fog, but we arrived at about 8:15, just before the town came alive for the annual Maple Leaf Festival. It was still really chilly outside, so we layered up and started walking around the town, coming back to the car every few miles for drinks and snacks. For our first pit stop we went to Kwik Shop, where we had to wait for at least 20 minutes to use the restroom because the place was so crowded with tourists!
Instead of going downtown for the parade, we decided to go against the foot traffic to head out to the edge of town, where we saw the old train depot and the antique train to nowhere. As we headed back towards the festival we stopped for a quick stretch, and we'd already knocked off 6-7 miles. Our goal was to walk 14 in Baldwin before heading back to Lawrence.
After walking around some residential areas and seeing the train we moved into the downtown, where we milled about the hundreds of booths of crafts and art. We walked through the old-fashioned carnival area and actually stopped at the petting zoo and petted some farm and exotic animals for a while too. It was all very entertaining! We walked around the Baker University campus for the first time--it was really pretty! After taking in the sights and dodging the crowds for a while, we headed towards the north end of town and walked around some really nice neighborhoods there and walked around the high school.
After one last trip back to the car, we headed back down to the festival and bought a few items that we'd seen in our first walk through. We would have gotten finished a lot sooner had we not spent so much time milling about the festival and dropping by local shops! We were still able to finish our 14 miles by about 2:30, at which point we headed back to Lawrence to watch the KU/OU game.
Mom did a lot of napping during the game, and after it was over (a mere 4 hours later) we headed back out for our last 4 miles. We took the dogs along this time, which always takes longer for all the sniffing and squatting and leg-lifting, but we managed to finish the day by about 8:30 or so. Mom didn't get tired necessarily, but she did have some weakness and lightheadedness that we think was probably due to minor dehydration. We didn't wear our fanny-packs around the festival during the day so we probably didn't drink nearly as much as we needed to!
Since our 18 mile walk took so much time to talk about, I'll save the 15 mile story for tomorrow!
So Mom and I swapped last weekend with this weekend, and took on the big one right after our grueling 17 mile walk last weekend. I wasn't so worried about the 18 on Saturday--I knew Mom would handle that just fine--but I was definitely worried about the subsequent 15 on Sunday. Mom has struggled a bit on the long Sunday walks, so I encouraged her to stay the night so that I could help motivate her the next day.
For a new and different place to walk on Saturday, Mom and I drove to the little town of Baldwin City, which is just about 20 minutes south of Lawrence. It took a while to get there because of fog, but we arrived at about 8:15, just before the town came alive for the annual Maple Leaf Festival. It was still really chilly outside, so we layered up and started walking around the town, coming back to the car every few miles for drinks and snacks. For our first pit stop we went to Kwik Shop, where we had to wait for at least 20 minutes to use the restroom because the place was so crowded with tourists!
Instead of going downtown for the parade, we decided to go against the foot traffic to head out to the edge of town, where we saw the old train depot and the antique train to nowhere. As we headed back towards the festival we stopped for a quick stretch, and we'd already knocked off 6-7 miles. Our goal was to walk 14 in Baldwin before heading back to Lawrence.
After walking around some residential areas and seeing the train we moved into the downtown, where we milled about the hundreds of booths of crafts and art. We walked through the old-fashioned carnival area and actually stopped at the petting zoo and petted some farm and exotic animals for a while too. It was all very entertaining! We walked around the Baker University campus for the first time--it was really pretty! After taking in the sights and dodging the crowds for a while, we headed towards the north end of town and walked around some really nice neighborhoods there and walked around the high school.
After one last trip back to the car, we headed back down to the festival and bought a few items that we'd seen in our first walk through. We would have gotten finished a lot sooner had we not spent so much time milling about the festival and dropping by local shops! We were still able to finish our 14 miles by about 2:30, at which point we headed back to Lawrence to watch the KU/OU game.
Mom did a lot of napping during the game, and after it was over (a mere 4 hours later) we headed back out for our last 4 miles. We took the dogs along this time, which always takes longer for all the sniffing and squatting and leg-lifting, but we managed to finish the day by about 8:30 or so. Mom didn't get tired necessarily, but she did have some weakness and lightheadedness that we think was probably due to minor dehydration. We didn't wear our fanny-packs around the festival during the day so we probably didn't drink nearly as much as we needed to!
Since our 18 mile walk took so much time to talk about, I'll save the 15 mile story for tomorrow!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Pack Jack's!!!
Yesterday we finalized the plans for the 3rd annual "Pack Jack's" fundraiser for the 3-Day! Our extremely generous friend Dan, the owner of Set'em Up Jack's on 23rd street here in Lawrence, has agreed to again donate 25% of every bill from the evening of October 23rd to our 3-Day team.
If you can join us next Thursday at Set'em Up Jack's, Mom and I would love to see you and would very much appreciate your support!! Click here to download the flier! We hope to see you at Jack's on the 23rd!!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
An Amazing 17 Miles
It's Tuesday now, but I think I'm still tired from this weekend's walking! On Saturday morning, Mom came over from Topeka and we started our 17 mile journey, which we had to break up into parts. We walked the dogs almost 3.5 miles, dropped them off, and then headed back out for a much quicker 3.4 miles by ourselves. By 10 a.m., we were already finished with almost 7 miles of our walk and Mom hadn't even blinked.
There was a KU home game on Saturday, so I quickly showered up and got ready to go to the game with Chad while Mom relaxed and lounged around with the dogs. She actually dropped us off at the game so we wouldn't have to deal with parking, and while we cheered on the 'Hawks Mom did some reading at Borders coffee shop. It was pretty hot during the first half of the game, so I was a little worried that our last 10 miles would be a struggled because of the heat. Mom came back and picked us up after our victory (after I walked about a mile in flip flops!), and at home she decided to take a bit of a nap while Chad and I ate an early dinner/late lunch.
I let Mom sleep a little, partially because I thought she needed it, and partially because I was afraid it would be too hot for her after we'd gotten so hot at the game. However, when we headed back out on the journey at about 4:30, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We headed downtown, walked through a park, walked up the massively steep hill onto campus, passed one of my office buildings and the construction site of the future hotel, wound up another large hill beside the stadium, and wrapped all the way around campus until we came to the Union. The campus was so beautiful and was still filled with tailgaiting students who'd been at it the entire game day!
The Union stop was about five miles in, so we did a little relaxing and stretching before filling up with snacks and fluids and heading back out onto the trail. By the time we left the Union it was getting close to 7:00 and was starting to get dark. We wrapped back around the Campanile on Memorial Drive to the other end of campus, walked down through some neighborhoods of partying students near campus, headed back downtown, walked down New Hampshire to avoid the Saturday night crowds but still got some odd looks from people, and then started heading back west towards home. By this time it was pitch black outside, and Mom and I were both getting really tired! With about 2 miles left we slowed considerably, but we kept plugging along until we arrived back at home at around 8:30. Mom felt better about the fact that I was extremely exhausted too!
Needless to say, I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow Saturday night! My feet hurt terribly when I got out of bed Sunday morning, but I walked about another 6 or so miles that day. Mom got in several miles as well, despite being extremely sore. Hopefully our next long walk won't be such an exhausting all day event!!
There was a KU home game on Saturday, so I quickly showered up and got ready to go to the game with Chad while Mom relaxed and lounged around with the dogs. She actually dropped us off at the game so we wouldn't have to deal with parking, and while we cheered on the 'Hawks Mom did some reading at Borders coffee shop. It was pretty hot during the first half of the game, so I was a little worried that our last 10 miles would be a struggled because of the heat. Mom came back and picked us up after our victory (after I walked about a mile in flip flops!), and at home she decided to take a bit of a nap while Chad and I ate an early dinner/late lunch.
I let Mom sleep a little, partially because I thought she needed it, and partially because I was afraid it would be too hot for her after we'd gotten so hot at the game. However, when we headed back out on the journey at about 4:30, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We headed downtown, walked through a park, walked up the massively steep hill onto campus, passed one of my office buildings and the construction site of the future hotel, wound up another large hill beside the stadium, and wrapped all the way around campus until we came to the Union. The campus was so beautiful and was still filled with tailgaiting students who'd been at it the entire game day!
The Union stop was about five miles in, so we did a little relaxing and stretching before filling up with snacks and fluids and heading back out onto the trail. By the time we left the Union it was getting close to 7:00 and was starting to get dark. We wrapped back around the Campanile on Memorial Drive to the other end of campus, walked down through some neighborhoods of partying students near campus, headed back downtown, walked down New Hampshire to avoid the Saturday night crowds but still got some odd looks from people, and then started heading back west towards home. By this time it was pitch black outside, and Mom and I were both getting really tired! With about 2 miles left we slowed considerably, but we kept plugging along until we arrived back at home at around 8:30. Mom felt better about the fact that I was extremely exhausted too!
Needless to say, I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow Saturday night! My feet hurt terribly when I got out of bed Sunday morning, but I walked about another 6 or so miles that day. Mom got in several miles as well, despite being extremely sore. Hopefully our next long walk won't be such an exhausting all day event!!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Easy Weekend (Physically)
So last weekend our schedule had us only walking 8 miles and 6 miles on Saturday and Sunday respectively--sort of a recovery week after our 15/11 miles the weekend before. Mom was supposed to go to a friend's house near Manhattan, so she was going to try and get a few miles in here and there during her visit, since there wasn't very many miles to do anyway. Unfortunately, I never really got to ask Mom about her walking because a much more important issue came up on Saturday morning--her brother passed away unexpectedly. She zoomed passed Manhattan and onto Chapman to be with family, and has been there most of the week. I haven't asked her much about her walking, nor am I really worried about it. We're going to do our 17 miles this weekend and we'll just take it easy as we get back into the long miles.
On Saturday morning before I found out about my uncle, I took a 4 mile walk downtown, went to a yoga class, and then took the 4 mile walk back home. I kept a really fast pace on the way there, but on the way back, after 1.5 hours of yoga, I was pretty pooped! I struggled to keep my pace under 15 minutes per mile, but ended up with an overall 8 mile pace of about 14:40. Not too bad since we've not been walking nearly that fast during most of our training!
I'll admit that I didn't walk my full 6 miles on Sunday, which really isn't anything new since I've skipped a lot of my Sunday walks this year. I'm such a slacker! Hopefully I'll not struggle too much on days 2 and 3 in San Diego! :)
On Saturday morning before I found out about my uncle, I took a 4 mile walk downtown, went to a yoga class, and then took the 4 mile walk back home. I kept a really fast pace on the way there, but on the way back, after 1.5 hours of yoga, I was pretty pooped! I struggled to keep my pace under 15 minutes per mile, but ended up with an overall 8 mile pace of about 14:40. Not too bad since we've not been walking nearly that fast during most of our training!
I'll admit that I didn't walk my full 6 miles on Sunday, which really isn't anything new since I've skipped a lot of my Sunday walks this year. I'm such a slacker! Hopefully I'll not struggle too much on days 2 and 3 in San Diego! :)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Two-Thirds
I was going to post a blog just a couple of nights ago about reaching the milestone of being half way done with my fundraising. Thanks to some mustard money from Chad's fundraising efforts, I received the official "congrats your half way there" email message from the 3-Day coaches last night. The crazy thing is, thanks to an ultra generous gift from Chad's Aunt Meg, today I'm actually over 2/3 of the way done with my fundraising!! This is a big relief, since I have a feeling I'll be helping the rest of my family raise their $2200 as well!
Thanks to everyone who has so generously and faithfully supported me in my efforts!!
Thanks to everyone who has so generously and faithfully supported me in my efforts!!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
15 Miles of Lovely Lake Shawnee
This morning Mom and I got up early to walk since it was unfortunately going to be hot again. We headed out to Lake Shawnee for our second walk there. This time I didn't forget the camera--I actually brought two of them! We got there just in time for a wonderful sunrise.
The weather was so cool and nice for the first few miles we couldn't have asked for better weather. We started on the opposite side of the lake this time and walked in the opposite direction, since last time we'd taken a wrong turn at the part of the loop where the sidewalk wasn't yet complete. This time we got about half way around the lake before taking about a half mile detour off the trail in order to get to a restroom. It turned out to be the perfect detour when it was all said and done because the lake loop was 7 miles, and our detour on each loop made it exactly 7.5!
After our first pit stop we continued past the camping area and then on past the golf course and back up and around to the botanical garden where we started. It wasn't even until the last couple of miles that the weather really started warming up. We got the first lap done in just over two hours and took a nice break to fill up on liquids and snacks. We didn't break for too long though, since the weather was heating up pretty quickly. I peeled off a layer, but unfortunately Mom didn't have a layer to peel.
We took off in the opposite direction of our first lap for a change of scenery. The heat immediately began to take it's toll. We walked around the golf course again, relishing any shade that came across our path. We slowed considerably because of the heat, so when we made it to our off path pit stop location, it was wonderful to drench our bandannas in cold water help keep us cool. We went over to a shady shelter nearby and had a nice rest in the shade with some more snacks before heading back out onto the trail.
It had gotten so hot by this time we ended up having to take a detour in the next mile over to the convenience store so that we could by some more water. We soaked our bandannas once again, filled up our water bottles and headed back out to finish the last 2+ miles. We walked back over the dam and in and out of the bends on the west side of the lake until we finally made it back to the car. That last mile or so was very hot and seemed very long!
We got a lot of good pictures on our two laps around the lake, which you can enjoy in the slideshow below. There is also a quick video at the end of a cute little bunch of Canada Geese.
After we finished walking, Mom relaxed in the shade for a while while I walked through the botanical garden and took TONS of pictures with my good camera. I haven't loaded those pictures onto the computer yet, but I'll definitely share them so you can get an idea of how gorgeous that area of the lake is!
Mom and I had a big lunch after our walk, and then I was pretty much wiped out for a couple of hours after arriving back home. It was over 85 degrees by the time we finished, and that heat definitely took it's toll. I was really proud of my mom for sticking it out all 15 miles!
The weather was so cool and nice for the first few miles we couldn't have asked for better weather. We started on the opposite side of the lake this time and walked in the opposite direction, since last time we'd taken a wrong turn at the part of the loop where the sidewalk wasn't yet complete. This time we got about half way around the lake before taking about a half mile detour off the trail in order to get to a restroom. It turned out to be the perfect detour when it was all said and done because the lake loop was 7 miles, and our detour on each loop made it exactly 7.5!
After our first pit stop we continued past the camping area and then on past the golf course and back up and around to the botanical garden where we started. It wasn't even until the last couple of miles that the weather really started warming up. We got the first lap done in just over two hours and took a nice break to fill up on liquids and snacks. We didn't break for too long though, since the weather was heating up pretty quickly. I peeled off a layer, but unfortunately Mom didn't have a layer to peel.
We took off in the opposite direction of our first lap for a change of scenery. The heat immediately began to take it's toll. We walked around the golf course again, relishing any shade that came across our path. We slowed considerably because of the heat, so when we made it to our off path pit stop location, it was wonderful to drench our bandannas in cold water help keep us cool. We went over to a shady shelter nearby and had a nice rest in the shade with some more snacks before heading back out onto the trail.
It had gotten so hot by this time we ended up having to take a detour in the next mile over to the convenience store so that we could by some more water. We soaked our bandannas once again, filled up our water bottles and headed back out to finish the last 2+ miles. We walked back over the dam and in and out of the bends on the west side of the lake until we finally made it back to the car. That last mile or so was very hot and seemed very long!
We got a lot of good pictures on our two laps around the lake, which you can enjoy in the slideshow below. There is also a quick video at the end of a cute little bunch of Canada Geese.
After we finished walking, Mom relaxed in the shade for a while while I walked through the botanical garden and took TONS of pictures with my good camera. I haven't loaded those pictures onto the computer yet, but I'll definitely share them so you can get an idea of how gorgeous that area of the lake is!
Mom and I had a big lunch after our walk, and then I was pretty much wiped out for a couple of hours after arriving back home. It was over 85 degrees by the time we finished, and that heat definitely took it's toll. I was really proud of my mom for sticking it out all 15 miles!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Softball and Sunburn
Mom and I took our long training walk on Sunday this week since I had a wedding to go to on Saturday. We made plans to walk later in the day than we do normally, thinking that it wouldn't be any problem since the weather has been so beautiful lately. Unfortunately, Sunday ended up being the hottest day we had in weeks! Despite the less than ideal weather, we still walked about 14.5 miles when the day was over. We were really pooped!
Our walk was kind of a fun adventure because we had a particular destination in mind. We started from our house at around 11:00 or so, and we headed towards the softball diamonds on the southwest edge of town, where Chad had a game at 1:00. We stopped for a snack in the shade about 4 miles in, and then arrived at Clinton Lake Sports Complex at about 1:30. We cheered Chad's team to a victory for the league championship, and then relaxed with a few teammates for about hour in a shady spot of the parking lot. Chad brought us a refill on food and water, so after snacking and hydrating we headed back out towards home. As we left the softball diamonds I quickly realized that I had not prepared well that morning--I hadn't put any sunscreen on my arms at all and was wearing a sleeveless shirt!
Thankfully, on the way home we got a little bit of cloud cover to help with the heat, and we made another pit stop at Kwik Shop when we were almost halfway back to our house. We had another nice picnic of energy bars and Gatorade, and then we took off for the last 4 mile leg of our journey. We arrived home at exactly 6:00 p.m., a mere 7 hours after we left home! Fortunately, only 4.5 of those hours were actually spent walking!
Chad greeted us with a lovely dinner, which was fortunate since we were both famished and exhausted! The heat was especially draining, but Mom handled the walk like a champ! I, on the other hand, ended up with a ridiculous sunburn! :)
Our walk was kind of a fun adventure because we had a particular destination in mind. We started from our house at around 11:00 or so, and we headed towards the softball diamonds on the southwest edge of town, where Chad had a game at 1:00. We stopped for a snack in the shade about 4 miles in, and then arrived at Clinton Lake Sports Complex at about 1:30. We cheered Chad's team to a victory for the league championship, and then relaxed with a few teammates for about hour in a shady spot of the parking lot. Chad brought us a refill on food and water, so after snacking and hydrating we headed back out towards home. As we left the softball diamonds I quickly realized that I had not prepared well that morning--I hadn't put any sunscreen on my arms at all and was wearing a sleeveless shirt!
Thankfully, on the way home we got a little bit of cloud cover to help with the heat, and we made another pit stop at Kwik Shop when we were almost halfway back to our house. We had another nice picnic of energy bars and Gatorade, and then we took off for the last 4 mile leg of our journey. We arrived home at exactly 6:00 p.m., a mere 7 hours after we left home! Fortunately, only 4.5 of those hours were actually spent walking!
Chad greeted us with a lovely dinner, which was fortunate since we were both famished and exhausted! The heat was especially draining, but Mom handled the walk like a champ! I, on the other hand, ended up with a ridiculous sunburn! :)
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
13 Miles of Sprinkles
Despite the record amounts of wet weather we've had around here lately, Mom and I managed to get our 13 mile walk done outside on Saturday! As I drove to Topeka in the rain on Saturday morning, I feared that we'd be forced into the mall again, and I was not looking forward to it! When I arrived at Mom's house it was barely sprinkling, so we rushed out the door and knocked off 2 miles or so before stopping back at the house for a quick pit stop. The rain seemed to be holding off, so we got brave and went for a 5 mile loop around the house, and although some significant rain came down about 3 miles into the loop, we pressed on and made it home before getting completely soaked. After a snack and a change of socks, we headed back out again, and thankfully by this time most of the rain had blown over completely. We walked another 4 miles or so before making another quick pit stop at home, then headed back out and knocked out our last two miles. By this time it was not only not raining--the sun was actually shining and we even got a bit warm!
I guess there was nothing really very interesting about our walk this week, but I have to say it's so nice that we no longer have to get up before the crack of dawn in order to beat the heat. I am so thankful for this cool fall weather! It's making the walking so much more enjoyable!
This coming weekend we'll be taking on 14 miles, but on Saturday rather than Sunday. I have an out of town wedding on Saturday, so we're swapping the training walks for the two weekend days. This means that Mom will be walking 10 miles by herself on Saturday, which will be her new solo record! :)
I guess there was nothing really very interesting about our walk this week, but I have to say it's so nice that we no longer have to get up before the crack of dawn in order to beat the heat. I am so thankful for this cool fall weather! It's making the walking so much more enjoyable!
This coming weekend we'll be taking on 14 miles, but on Saturday rather than Sunday. I have an out of town wedding on Saturday, so we're swapping the training walks for the two weekend days. This means that Mom will be walking 10 miles by herself on Saturday, which will be her new solo record! :)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Yummy Fundraiser
My husband is helping me out with my fundraising this year since he knows I have a long way to go and a short time to get there (73 days, to be exact). He decided to help me along by making several batches of his famous homemade spicy mustard (of which all our friends are big fans) and "selling" them in exchange for a donation to my 3-Day account. Last night at his softball game he gave out about 8 jars along with my 3-Day "business" cards, so hopefully I will get a few donations as a result! Thanks to my dear hubby Chad for the help!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
My Mom the Rock Star
The weather was so cool in Lawrence this weekend, Mom and I didn't even take off for our long Saturday walk until after 9 a.m! It was so nice to sleep in a little for the first Saturday in many weeks. We started our walk with a 3+ mile loop around our house with the dogs, and after dropping them off and having a snack and a quick rest, we headed back out on our journey. We walked from our house about 4 miles to J&S Coffee, which is near 6th and Wakarusa. It started sprinkling during the last mile of this leg, but we just pulled caps out of our packs and continued on our merry way in the rain.
At the coffee shop we enjoyed warm drinks and split a muffin and bagel, and after 20 minutes or so of hanging out we headed back out on the road. We took a slightly longer way home, dropped by Dillons for a quick potty break, and then walked the last 2+ miles to our house. As we walked up the last hill before arriving home, the Garmin beeped to let us know we'd gone 12 miles total. Mom actually started celebrating by jogging up the hill!! She'd walked 12 miles and still had energy to spare! My mom rocks!
At the coffee shop we enjoyed warm drinks and split a muffin and bagel, and after 20 minutes or so of hanging out we headed back out on the road. We took a slightly longer way home, dropped by Dillons for a quick potty break, and then walked the last 2+ miles to our house. As we walked up the last hill before arriving home, the Garmin beeped to let us know we'd gone 12 miles total. Mom actually started celebrating by jogging up the hill!! She'd walked 12 miles and still had energy to spare! My mom rocks!
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