Thursday, September 29, 2011

What about the Pack?


I've been asked a couple times in the past month about what type of waist pack to use during the 3-day event. Be sure to check out this post at the end for more information on waist packs. Meet my pack. I ordered it from shop3day.com in 2008. I keep thinking I will replace it with a newer and fancier one, but never get around to it! Besides this one is broken in!
Most important feature, is to have a waist pack with dual bottle holders. Water bottles should have a wide mouth and be easily refilled.
  • Extra Socks! Keep at least one extra pair with you if not two or three. If it rains, you will want extra dry socks. If we have high temperatures, again you will want additional socks.
  • Blister Care Kit (Band-aids, blister pads, mole skin, alcohol wipes and Neosporin) The Medical Tents will have all of these supplies as well but nice to have your own in case of emergency on the route.
  • Nail Clippers and Scissors
  • Vaseline and/or Body Glide: for your feet
  • Hand Sanitizer/Anti-bacterial wipes & Sunscreen
  • Poncho and other rain gear
  • Mylar Blanket: these can be used on a cold morning and as a blanket to sit on during lunch
  • KT Tape: I found this product last year when I was experiencing minor knee pain. I hear its great for shin splints, planters fasciitis, lower back pain and others!
  • BioFreeze: This product is also available at the Med Tent, I just have my own!
  • Hot Hands: For a cold morning,you can put these in your gloves or pockets to help keep you warm. (gloves not pictures)
  • Seamless Wrap: Perfect to use as an ear wrap in the morning, keep your hair out of your face and keep your hair dry if its raining.
  • Camera
  • Zip Lock Bags
  
I used the ziplock bags to keep everything organized and dry so I can easily accessed during the walk.  Don't worry about forgetting something. What you don't have your teammate or Med Tent will have for you! I am pretty sure I'm a known notorious over packer, I just think I'm extra prepared! Don't forget to check out the complete pack list for more packing essentials!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Atlanta 2-Day & New Research

This past weekend was the Atlanta 2-Day, in which my mom and Erins mom both participated. I am very proud of them for their fundraising efforts and (raising over $2,800 between the two of them!) and for walking every step of the 30 miles! I may have heard my mom say she was thinking about the 3-Day next year! Way to go Moms & Thank You!

If you have donated or completed a walk for Breast Cancer, you are part of the road to the Cure! If you haven't already heard, there is very a promising new study from the Penn State College of Medicine that was published last week.


In tissue culture dishes in the laboratory, 100 percent of the cancer cells are destroyed by the virus within seven days, with the majority of the cell death proteins activated on the fifth day. In another study, a fourth breast cancer derived cell line, which is the most aggressive, required three weeks to undergo cell death.

Read more on Penn States website. I hope you will continue to follow this research with me! Its an amazing feeling to be part of something this immense! (Right Mom & Cindy??)

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Anniversaries

Today, September 20th is Mike and I's 3rd wedding Anniversary! Its amazing how time flies, as it seems like we should only be celebrating our first anniversary! 

Today is a happy day for us, and a day to celebrate! However, there is another anniversary I look forward to celebrating soon, which is the end of cancer. Last week, I was asked if I would participate in the Opening Ceremonies of the Atlanta 3-Day next month and carry a Future Flag! The flag I was asked to carry is Anniversaries! This flag symbolizes future anniversaries in the world without breast cancer and our determination that there will be a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime. If I was asked to carry any flag, I would have accepted it without hesitation, but I don't think I could have been chosen for a more perfect one. Look for me this year, because I'll be on stage proudly carrying the Anniversary flag!

2010 Opening Ceremonies


Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Hill Training

If you haven't been stalking the Spectator Info site to get a rough idea of where we'd be walking this year, you don't know that our walk is likely to have the majority of the miles ITP! (inside the perimeter, 285) This is a new course for the veteran Atlanta walkers, which is exciting! For those of you who are not Atlanta natives, you probably don't know how hilly Atlanta can be! I'd almost put money on it that we will see hills that don't compare to Cardiac Hill  or Colony Square Hill on day 3! Don't let the hills scare you, because you can do it.  

If you have been following the training plans and keeping up with your cross training, those hills will not bother you! 

In 2008, when I completed my first 3-day, I can tell you that I did not train with enough hills, and many of my training walks involved relatively flat courses. I remember really struggling on the final day. My knees were killing me, and day 3 was the day we walked through hilly downtown Atlanta.  The course included a couple ominous hills like "Cardiac Hill" and "Colony Square Hill". I remember thinking about a piece of advice my dad has given me for years as I approached each hill.  He'd say, "your body can do what the mind can visualize". To add to that, I remembered the first time I saw my mom's best friend Toni, when she was going through chemo. I visualized myself completing all 60 miles of the Atlanta 3-day Walk for the Cure, so Toni never had to see another chemo treatment. Thinking about her helped me as I pressed on for the CURE! 

Take on those hills, because, you can do it! Your blisters will heal, the soreness in you knees will go away, you will recover from a 60 mile walk! Right now, cancer is in our world, and while I wholeheartedly believe we will live in a world without cancer very soon, today we are not there. Keep pressing on, the goal is in sight (another quote from the pops). Thanks to SGK for the Cure, we will see the day! Keep Pressing On!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Social Media at its Worst

In case you were wondering, my bra is pink, I like my purse on the chair, my shoe size is 7, I'm zero weeks, and I'm always craving heath bars. Now, when are we going to talk about the real issue, CANCER?
Its that time of year, again, where mysterious facebook status start to pop up leaving people questioning. Last year, there was a little bit of national attention from women posting the color of their bra as their facebook status. Then later in the year, we started to see "I like it on the floor." Translation, another message was sent around to women to post, where they like to put their purse. Another example, posting your shoe size, and most recently fictionally posting about how many weeks pregnant you are and the type candy you are craving. When the first post started about posting of bra colors, I did not participate and took the attitude, if it reminded one woman to do her monthly self breast exam, why not? But more recently, I have been unable to figure out how posting a status without definition will raise any kind of awareness about Breast Cancer.

When I first saw any of these trends, do you know what I did? I didn't think about Breast Cancer. Wasn't that supposedly the point of all of the aforementioned trends? There has not been one mention of cancer in any ones status, but isn't the point education for awareness? I have no problem with non-traditional marketing to get a message across, but what kind of message are we providing here? This "campaign" has provided little if any awareness and no monetary contribution to research that will find the cure or recognition to survivors. 

I believe that we will find the cure for cancer in my life time, and if you haven't noticed this is my passion! I want to be part of this movement, because I believe wholeheartedly that I can make a difference. Sunday evening, I saw one too many of my friends posting about a fake pregnancy and the candy they were craving. I updated my facebook status to the following:
Seriously people, fake pregnancies and candy have nothing to do with Breast Cancer Awareness. If you want to do something, how about making a donation to a cause or sign up to actually do a walk for the cause. Here are a few suggestions, and when you make that donation or sign up, we can talk. http://www.the3day.org/, ww5.komen.org or http://makingstrides.acsevents.org/
Immediately, I had friends on my side and even re-posting my status. Thankfully, I realized that I'm not the only one who feels this way. One friend even took it to the next step, and immediately made a donation. Not only did she make a donation, but she made the following post:
My birthday is a few days away and Breast Cancer Awareness Month is just around the corner. For my half-way-to-50 present this year, I'd love it if everyone could donate to Crystal Elster's team for this year's Atlanta 3-Day for the Cure! There's a 'Donations' link on her blog: http://3daycrystal.blogspot.com/. Whether $5 or $500, it all helps!! ♥
I was taken aback and even shed a few tears. I have not seen or talked to Alicia since college and she left for the Peace Corps. We've just been those typical facebook friends! Her kindness and belief in the cause helped spread the word to her 600+ facebook friends was truly amazing. Thank you Alicia for making a difference and spreading the word!
If I have not convinced you of anything, you obviously have not read Bridgets story. Maybe facebook status should trend to how many months of chemo/radiation you've had to endure, the drugs you've had to take, your side effects, and even more importantly, the celebration of being a survivor. Education & Awareness, People, pass it on.