Surprise! An Update!

Not only have I not been good about updating this blog, but I’ve gotten sidetracked and haven’t been walking as much as I intended. My excuses have been soccer season and a change of jobs, but now I’m ready to get back in gear.

April 30 – a week from tomorrow marks the official “Day 1” of The 3-Day’s 24 week training calendar. During each training week, Monday’s a rest day, an easy walk on Tuesday, Wednesday cross training, Thursday moderate walk, Friday cross train and Saturday and Sunday easy walks. Week 1 – all the walks are 3 miles.

I’m tired of walking around in circles and I’ve been intending to make use of the Silver Comet trail. It’s an easy drive to the Hiram parking area from home and there are a couple of entrances near my commute from work which I’m thinking might make it a good option for those Tuesday easy training walks. It doesn’t have the hills I’ll need to incorporate, but it’s a very pedestrian friendly trail. So today I headed to Hiram and walked to the Florence Road area. It was a 6.32 mile round trip and boy am I slow—2 hours and 44 minutes! That’s a rate of 25 minutes for one mile—slower than I would have guessed. I started out walking too fast (my normal pace) and quickly started to feel the threat of shin splints. I really need to remember to warm up and stretch. I did a little backwards walking (thanking Jennie for that tip) and a little bit of stop and flexing and managed to avoid any continued pain. I stopped a few times—not more than a minute or two, but I still took a rather ambling approach. I had started the morning off with a pint of water and a cup of coffee that was probably another 16 oz of liquid and was equipped with 2 liter bottles of water for the walk. The problem with walking too slowly while keeping yourself well hydrated is that the bathrooms don’t come along quickly enough! So…my bladder will likely be the motivator to keep myself moving at a more rapid pace than I assumed this morning. Traffic on the trail was light but steady. By far the bulk of the traffic was bikers—mostly serious-looking bikers with serious-looking gear, clothing, and equipment. There were a few recreational bikers—families and couples. I saw one tandem bike and 5 recumbent bikes. There were 2 skaters, one crouched into speed form, the other with more of a “Saturday in the park” sauntering gait. There were maybe a dozen or so joggers, 3 dogs, a handful of other walkers, and a few toddlers being pushed or pulled while their mom or dad exercised. Birds and squirrels were common—I even saw a cat; I heard a bunch of agitated ducks or geese near the Cobb County border and on my return, heard the telegraphing of frogs from the same marshy area. I was less excited to see the squished snake, the dead mole, and the patch of hair representing something far removed from its original animal form. I didn't see any horses being ridden though there were plenty of signs suggesting that it would not be an unusual sight.

I enjoyed the walk and had no problems with my feet or breathing. (Though every time I get up and move around this afternoon, my joints and bones remind me that the rest of my body isn’t quite as use to this as it needs to be.) I’m already planning what I’ll do differently for my Tuesday walk (it will be shorter in duration, I’ll stretch first, and I’ll be more cognizant of bathroom locations!)

I feel good about putting some serious effort into this today. It is kind of a mental “re-kick off” that I’ve been ready for. I’ve had a few other boosts to the motivation recently too. A few more donations have made their way into my fund and my Houston sister contributed a pink ribbon visor and pink ribbon socks to my walking wardrobe. I won my former job’s “Healthy Living” weight loss contest (greatest weight loss measured as a percentage of starting weight). The organizer asked if I wanted the winnings ($160!) to go to my 3-day and I had to agree it was a great suggestion so I’m looking forward to that too. I also got Doug to check and we confirmed that the registration checks for the Peachtree Road race have cleared (my confirmation of acceptance). Jennie’s going to walk with me in that one—willing, if not quite enthusiastic—I’ll take it anyway.

I’m liking the new job. I’m impatient and wish I was more up to speed than I am, but I’ve got more training coming along over the next few weeks so that should help put me into a position of being able to make more of a contribution to a very busy department. But it feels good to be back in the familiar world of SFA and Rx companies. I’m still figuring out the best approach to the commute. In general, I’ve been leaving home around 6:15 and that helps me avoid the bulk of the morning traffic (not counting the 2 hour and 45 minute commute the morning that Six Flags had their free admission promotion.) My early arrival hasn’t translated into an early departure, so the afternoon drive has been slow and long though I'm learning lots of new roads and communities in both Cobb and Douglas Counties.

I’ll be traveling much of the month of May, which will mean I’ll need to keep an even closer focus the training schedule. The 3-Day support—training walks and meetings are finally starting to appear on the calendars. So far—nothing is geographically convenient. Walks are in Gwinnett county or Jasper; events are in Alpharetta, etc. I thought I would have had many more opportunities by now to hook up with other walkers but maybe that will continue to increase so that by the time I get through with this initial burst of travel I’ll be able to join in on some of those walks.

Thanks for reading and for your support!