It's Not a Rumor--150 Days to Go!

I was looking at my page on the Komen site and it said that the walk is 150 days away...wow! Really?! I know that's about five months, but it will FLY by! I'm walking with the training group about once a week. I always try to go Saturdays since the week nights are hard. But it's nice to walk with other people and get to know members of the training team so I joined them last night. They are a really nice group of (mostly!) women. Afterwards, a small group of us ate at Denny's and chatted for a while. Of course, since it is mostly women, there's always a little "scoop" on something going on with someone or a favorite story of "stuff" from last year. I'm just glad that none of it is about me :0) LOL. It's not bad, you just know how women can talk...but you have the real news, 150 days to go! Kim is doing amazing work on the fundraising ideas up in Sacramento while she nurses a sore ankle. Our Fuddruckers fundraiser is less than a month away...stay tuned for the details!

Training Season is Here!

Training season for 2009 has started! "Boob Camp Bekki" got us all out a few weekends ago for a quick walk around Santee Lakes.



It was good to get out and get walking. It was kind of fun to be the "old pro" and answer the newbies' questions but mostly, it was good to be around the wonderful gals who'd welcomed me in a newbie last year and exchange 3 day stories! I'm going on another training walk tomorrow, so I'd better get to bed!

The Three Little Piggies Conquer the Mud Run!

My 2008 WP (walking partner), Laura, and our friend Mylinh, joined me in the Mudrun my sister's church hosts every year. I'd done it once before and was looking forward to tackling the course once again. There are mud pits EVERYWHERE and did I mention the HUGE hill that is probably as steep as Juan Street? I'd already signed up for the mud run when I had hand surgery, and the PA wasn't sure I should attempt the course. I decided to go for it anyway, and wore a glove over my incision to help keep the mud out.



I do believe that the yellow glove created a fashion statement all of it's own. In fact, I very well may make a whole outfit around yellow gloves for the next mud run! It was a blast but it is a very dirty event! You pretty much just plan to trash your clothes and your shoes afterward, so if you join me next time, just make sure you are wearing your oldest workout clothes!

Still Walking!

It's been over three months since I've blogged on this site and boy, has life been crazy! My biggest obstacle in keeping up on things was an unexpected hand surgery I needed back in March. For months I'd had a very small bump on my hand and all of a sudden one Saturday morning, it started swelling and became very red. I went into the urgent care clinic on Monday after work and was referred to an orthopedic hand surgeon, who fit me in for a Wednesday morning appointment. He in turn felt that it would require surgery, as it was getting bigger even as I was on antibiotics, and would most likely get worse before it got better. He made room for me in his surgery schedule for the VERY NEXT DAY! And five days after it started swelling and showing signs of infection, I was wheeled into the operating room and put under general anesthesia.

When the doctor opened up the abscess, all he found was...pus. He was expecting to find a splinter or some kind of foreign matter. He had the pathologist run extra blood tests, but all came back "normal." There wasn't any explanation for what caused the infection...until a few weeks later when two small plant horns worked their way out of the healing, 3/4" incision. Talk about STRANGE! He had warned me that he may have missed something after the surgery. And the thorns had most likely worked themselves down fairly deep. He and I were both relieved to finally find out what caused the problem in the first place.

The surgeon did a fabulous job. I still have some scar tissue at the incision site which means don't have 100% range of motion back but I'm happy with all that he did. My training took a back seat for several weeks but I'm still pretty comfortable with a six mile walk.

I'll catch you up on a few more things that have been happening as I now actively train for the 2009 Susan G. Komen Three Day. Stay tuned for more blogs to come in the next few days!

Ten Miles!

I did ten miles on Saturday. Woohoo! Four at home with "Leslie" and another six plus at the Lake with my friend, Ang. I have to tell you, I could feel it the last couple of miles! I remember thinking as I got into my car..."and this is only half a day's walk in the three day!" Ugh, I remember THAT pain. It had been a while since I'd done more than six. I don't think I've walked more than six since the three day, actually. I'm still not too worried about long distances. There's plenty of time for that. But I won't walk more than a half marathon until at least mid-summer. I'm trying to focus on building speed in the lower distances. I'll start by going from walking four to six miles regularly to ten. I'll take it nice and slow, then move up to 13.1 (what can I say, I impress myself when I say, I just walked a half marathon!). And at some point, maybe I'll even give jogging a try. But it felt good to get out there and do some serious walking. Anyone else want to join me at the lake next time?

6 Months

Today marks the sixth month anniversary of my Aunt Jil's death. It seems hard to believe that she has been gone that long, it feels like it has only been a few months. I wanted to go out to the cemetery this weekend, but a long lingering illness kept me close to home. Perhaps next weekend. We miss her. So much. Her presence at family gatherings. Her thoughtfulness. Her love. From month 5 to 6 was emotional for me. I remember from my grandpa's death that it took at least 13 months to feel some semblance of normal. I remember that because I'd heard the first year was the hardest but on the first year anniversary I felt even worse. Yet within a month or so, I realized that indeed, it did seem to get easier.

The illness also kept me from finishing my ten day challenge with Leslie. I made it seven days. Took some time off. And am now doing another four miler for my workout, one that is slightly less intense as the other one.

I found some information on "whfoods.com" last week about the benefits of eating at least five vegetables and fruits a day in relation to preventing breast cancer as well as the re-occurence of breast cancer. I'd wanted to make an intelligent blog out of it, but I'm pretty worn out from the past two weeks. Please excuse me for cutting and pasting this information. On the left side of the home page, click on the link for "All About Organic Foods" and then enter in Lentils, or any other foods you want to know more about.

"Americans have one of the highest breast cancer rates in the world. One's risk for breast cancer is related to one's lifetime exposure to estrogen-like substances. These include any of the natural and man-made chemicals to which the body responds similarly (but sometimes much more strongly) than it would respond to estrogen.

"While one out of eight American women develop breast cancer, the rate of breast cancer in Japan is about one-fifth of that in the United States. Researchers attribute much of this discrepancy to differences between the standard American diet and the low-fat, nutrient-dense native diet and of the traditional Japanese diet.

"There is tremendous controversy regarding the role of dietary fats in the development and progression of breast cancer. However, evidence is building to show that the types of fats you eat and levels of other nutrients in your diet may greatly influence how your body processes estrogen-like substances, which clearly affect the risk for breast cancer.

"Breast cancer survivors who eat 5 or more servings daily of vegetables and fruits, and exercise moderately, can cut their risk of dying from breast cancer almost in half, even if significantly overweight, shows a study just published in the June 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

"Researchers at the Cancer Prevention and Control Program, San Diego Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA, enrolled 1,409 women diagnosed and treated for early-stage breast cancer between 1991 and 2000, and followed them through December 2005.

"The combination of consuming 5 or more daily servings of vegetables and fruits with regular moderate exercise (equivalent to walking 30 minutes, 6 days a week), was associated with a significant survival advantage - a 44% reduction in risk in obese as well as nonobese women. If you've been diagnosed with breast cancer, you can greatly improve your odds of living a long and healthy life simply by enjoying a daily half-hour's walk and delicious meals featuring the World's Healthiest Foods."

Above or Below the Neck?

Ang and I were going to walk at the lake this morning, but this stomach thing I've got going on didn't allow for it. I did get in a walking video. I'm done with day 7 of Leslie Sansone's 10 day challenge. I've actually been able to keep up with it despite the ickies. Normally, the rule is (as per Running Magazine) at the neck. Sick above the neck (cold, allergies), you are good to exercise. It is not recommended for illnesses below the neck (chest cold, flu, stomach trouble). But I had started my ten days and wanted to follow it through! Three more to go. And hopefully I'll get back to the Lake with Ang this coming weekend!