It's GOOD to be Selfish

I had a lousy day at the office today.  A fairly common occurrance lately.  It would have been REALLY temping to come home, grab a glass of wine, and sulk on the couch. 
 

That really wasn't an option though, because there was laundry to do from our weekend trip, bills that need to be paid, and floors that needed to be mopped.  On top of that, our daughter was spending the night at a friend's house, so the hubby and I could have had a nice romantic dinner for two. 

However, I didn't pay bills.  I didn't do laundry.  I didn't eat dinner with my husband, (although I did kiss him for mowing the yard.) I was home about 2 minutes when that pink chart hanging from the refrigerator glared at me.  (Can a piece of paper glare?)  3 miles to be done.  Today.

Today was NOT going to be a good day to put in miles.  I was grouchy.  Tired.  Hungry.  My to-do list was ridiculously long, and it was already almost 7pm when I walked in the door.

It was about 7:10 when I walked out the door, gym bag in hand.  I had made a decision -- I was going to be selfish.  The laundry could pile up, and the cat could lick the floor clean if she wanted.  I was headed to the nearest YMCA.

Over the next 2 hours I put in 20 minutes cross training on the Nautilus equipment.  I did three miles on the treadmill in pretty short order, walking at least a 4mph pace and even running for a bit.  I took out some of my frustrations on the moving belt, and enjoyed a rare chance to watch tv.

Then, I spent 15 minutes in the whirlpool tub, letting the jets massage my legs, back, and feet.  Ahhhh.... MUCH BETTER.  It was dark when I left, but I even stopped by the grocery store on my way home.  By the time I got home, my hubby had already gone to bed, so he didn't get to witness my much improved mood from when I walked in the door earlier.

The hardest part about doing a 3-Day is finding the time to do the training.  There's ALWAYS going to be something pulling at your schedule - everyone is busy!  But I know for me, if I miss more than a day of walking, I get down on myself for not making the time. 

Getting the training miles in requires you to be selfish.  To say "these things can wait, my training is important."  To carve out the time for YOURSELF, your goals, your dreams of making it those 60 miles.  Having a hot tub waiting at the end of the walk definitely is a perk, but some days, I just walk around my neighborhood.  Other days I go to the park.  The important part is giving yourself permission to take the time to do your training.

Wouldn't you rather walk than fold towels anyway?

Follow Us to Pied Piper Creamery!

We are SOOOO excited to announce that our team is getting its very own ICE CREAM FLAVOR! 

Yes, it's true, starting Sunday there is going to be a Music City Spirit flavor of ice cream, available exclusively at Pied Piper Creamery.  How COOL is that?  We think it's crazy cool. Here's the SCOOP:

Our team will be at the Berry Hill location of Pied Piper this Sunday, July 10th, from 1-5pm.  We'll be scooping ice cream, taking donations, and having all kinds of PINK fun.  We hope you will bring your friends, family, neighbors and random strangers to Pied Piper at 2815 Bransford Avenue. 

What exactly does the spirit of Music City taste like?  That's a good question, and one we're anxious to find the answer to.  The Ice Cream Queen herself, Miss Jenny Piper, is hard at work whipping up our special flavor.  We've given her some suggestions, but the only thing we know for sure is this:  it will be PINK!

There's a whole lot of goodness that's wrapped up in this announcement, and we're not just talking yumminess!  For starters, a portion of sales from all ice cream sold Sunday at that location goes to our team.  That means if you'd prefer a dish of Trailer Trash, a cone of C is for Cookie or whatever yummy flavors they have on Sunday, you're still going to be joining the fight against breast cancer. 

Then a portion from each scoop of Music City Spirit that's sold from that day forward will also go to the cause.  It's only available for a limited time, so make plans to get there soon if you can't make it on Sunday! 

And the cherry on top of all of this is that we LOVE supporting local businesses.  Take a minute to cruise on over to the Pied Piper website and read about how Jenny's dream became a reality!  (Go ahead and like their Facebook page while you're at it, ok?)

So, we hope you will come out and see us this Sunday in Berry Hill.  Real close to 100 Oaks but in a much cuter neighborhood.  You could come after lunch, but we recommend skipping the midday meal so you have more room for ice cream.  1-5pm.  2815 Bransford Avenue, in Berry Hill.  All the cool kids will be there!

Walker Wednesday: Meet Joyce

Team Captain Joyce Rizer is a veteran of the 3-Day.  She did her first event last year in Washington D.C. and is proud to say she walked ALL 60+ miles!  The story of how she came to do her first 3-Day is posted here.

The story of how she came to do her 2nd 3-Day is sprinkled throughout this blog.  She's the team blogger.  And she hates writing in 3rd person, so that's gonna stop right now.

Last year, I shaved my head and raised pretty much all of the money I needed to meet my minimum fundraising requirement.  This year, it's going a lot slower.  But I'll get there!

When I look back over my story for last year's event one particular line makes me sad:  "Unlike so many who do the 3-Day, I haven't been personally affected by this disease."

I now have a dear friend who's currently in the fight.  She was diagnosed in April with IBC - Inflammatory Breast Cancer.  The most aggressive kind.   She's counting her time left on earth in days now.  The cancer is winning, and I know my friend will have lost her battle by the time we get to Atlanta.

At some point I hope to be able to blog more about the conversations we've had about breast cancer.  But for now I'll share something she said that keeps playing over and over in my head:  "This is 2011.  It's completely ridiculous that people are dying from this disease."  For all the research that's been done, the advances that have been made, there is still SO much work left to do. 

Sorry... I got off on a little tangent.  (Anything to stop talking about me!)  But here we go:  I'm a native of Central Illinois, a graduate of Illinois State, an employee of Sirius XM Radio, a life-long Methodist, a lover of country music, a really lousy gardener, a wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, niece, mentor, friend, neighbor, and 3-Day walker.

And this year, I'm a Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure Ambassador! 

24 Weeks To Go!

Today starts our 24 Week Training Program!  No more "Pre-Training" -- it's time to get SERIOUS about this walk.  How serious?

We walk 4 days a week.  We cross-train 2.  And we rest 1.

Our first week we will walk 12 miles.  Our last week we will walk 65.  Before you begin training, you need to be able to walk 3 miles in an hour.  I think we all can do that.  SO -- here's what our first week looks like:  (We don't add the second day of cross-training until Week #5)

Mon:   REST
Tues:   3 miles
Wed:   REST
Thurs:  3 Miles
Fri:      30 min XTrain Easy
Sat:      3 Miles
Sun:     3 Miles

Here we go!

Bald for the Cure ~ 1 Year Later

I can't shave my head again, but walk 60 miles in 3 days?
I can do that. But I need your help!
www.the3day.org/goto/joycerizer

Walker Wednesday: Meet Lauren

Lauren Rickels is very excited about doing her first 3-Day this year! She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from the University of Tennessee. She and Ryan have been married for 7 years and are parents to 2 boys, Zach (3) and Austin (11 months). 

Lauren is currently staying home with her boys and loving it! She has a double stroller that allows her to take the boys on training walks. Zach even gets out and runs beside her sometimes!  Austin just took his first step - he'll be walking with Mommy in no time. She is a Pampered Chef Consultant and loves scuba diving, traveling and sports.  

Lauren did The Race for the Cure a few years ago. She and Joyce play bunco together, and when she first heard about the 3 Day last year she thought it was an amazing thing to do. It has been in the back of her mind that she would love to do something like that, so when Joyce told her that Music City Spirit was walking in Atlanta she decided to go for it! 

Lauren is a Georgia native, and she's counting on her friends and family to come out and cheer her through those 60 miles!  She knows what an impact breast cancer can have on families and is happy to be part of the 3 Day to help find a cure.  Visit Lauren's 3-Day page by clicking here!

Lauren is also sponsoring the Pampered Chef Fundraiser going on now for Music City Spirit.  Please browse the catalog online and enter Sarah Holton as the hostess when placing an order.

Pre-Training

This might sound crazy, but doing a 3-Day walk is really SIMPLE.  Not easy, by any means.  But simple.  Because Komen has this all figured out for you.  They do 15 walks each year, they know what we walkers need.  And first and foremost, we need instructions!

When you register for a 3-Day you have access to your own Participant Center.  The PC is like your own little library, full of resources on everything from packing to fundraising to training.  There's form letters, email addresses, and most importantly -- a training schedule.

Clearly, you can't walk 60 miles in 3 days without some training.  Serious training.  Komen gives you 2 options for training -- a 16 week training schedule or a 24 week training schedule.  Seriously, 16 weeks?  No thank you, we'll take 24 -- and then some!

Our 24 week training schedule starts Monday.  At that point we have a schedule laid out in pink and white with 4 days of walking, 2 days of cross-training, and one day of rest.  (Oh how we will learn to love Mondays!)  Before starting on the official training schedule, we need to be able to walk 3 miles in an hour, comfortably.  Check!

We've been getting together once a week since February and walking for an hour.  Just getting out and getting moving is SO important.  And possibly even more important than the movement itself is getting in the habit of getting moving.  Knowing that you're going to get up early (or come home from work, or sneak out after the kids go to bed) and lace up your sneakers, and get those miles in starts a good habit that is going to be SO needed over the next 24 weeks!

Pre-training is as much for the walker's family as it is for the walker.  They need to warm up to the idea that you're going to be gone more than usual, you're going to be tired when you get home, and you're going to want to talk about fundraising for hours at a time.  Pre-training is the pre-game warm up, it's the time to start shopping, and it's the mental preparation you need to take off running (err, walking fast!) as you start the countdown on Week #24 Day 1.

Here we go!