10th Event Delay Again

I trained all Summer and had my Fundraising complete. I was all ready for San Diego and really looking forward to it. Now it’s the Monday before the 3-Day and I wake up with a sore throat, headache, and ear pain. Feels like an ear or sinus infection. Coincidentally today was also the day that I got the e-mail from Komen about the Health Questionnaire. I am not feeling horrible and I doubt that I am infectious but it looks like I am going to have to put off event 10 for another year. I am not going to take chances of making anyone else sick and I really want to be at my best when I am traveling. I am going to miss being out there but it’s the right thing to do. I have already registered for Denver next year and some of my team is also registered for San Diego so at this point I am going to just start my fund raising and decide later which site to do next year.

Not Stopping at 10

I have been relatively healthy this year and am feeling pretty good. I am thankful for that.  Unfortunately I have heard of too many friends and family that are battling Cancer.  I also had a bit of a scare myself earlier this year where I found a small lump on my chest.  I saw the Dr who ordered an ultra sound and mammogram and they analysis did not look to be a concern but I have to follow up in a couple months to check again.  These factors together have led me to sign up for another 3-Day next year.  I will be walking in event number 10 in San Diego this year and have registered to walk in Denver next September.  As always I am forever grateful to all who have and will continue to support me as I walk to raise money to help others fight Breast Cancer and to hopefully one day find a cure for Cancer.

God Bless

First Weekend Training Walk

 Took advantage of some decent weather and free time to do a short training walk.  I call it short because it was under 10 miles.  It was still decent though as I had not been walking more than 5 miles yet this Summer.  Was able to do the 6.5 Miles without any issue so will be looking to do a longer walk soon.

6/10 Training Walk

My 10th Komen 3-Day Event

I have been trying to complete my 10th Komen 3-Day for several years now.  I have been interrupted by family issues, covid, and changing jobs.  I registered for the 2022 San Diego 3-Day last fall and had met my fundraising minimum by the end of January.  Then I started having respiratory issues.  I had Covid in December and again in March and my lungs had been giving me all kinds of issues off and on that made training a real challenge.  I got to the point in June that I put my 3-Day registration on hold because I just didn't think I was going to be able to do it this year.  Well I decided today that one way or another I am going to try and walk in San Diego.  Over the last month I have worked with my Doctors and tried different medicines and right now I have been able to exercise for a couple weeks straight and my lungs are actually feeling pretty decent.  It's time to get into some more serious training and get ready because San Diego is waiting.  I e-mailed the San Diego coach and asked for my registration to be reactivated.  I worked hard to raise the money and I really want to complete my 10th event.  After that I am not sure what the future holds for participation but we shall see.

3-Day # 10 Postponed Again

 I have been stuck on 3-Day # 9 for a little while now.  I had thought that after Philly in 2018 I was back on track and would hit my 10th last year in San Diego.  I ended up having to postpone that due to lots of stuff happening at home and the timing just not being right.  That meant that my 10th 3-Day instead would be this year in Dallas.  That however will not happen since Covid has shut down the 3-Day along with many other activities.  That means that at least at this time my 10th 3-Day will be back in San Diego in 2021.  Hopefully it will be safe to travel and gather by then.

Komen 3-Day 10th Walk Delayed

I had planned to be in San Diego this weekend for my 10th Susan G. Komen for the Cure event.  I am not there this weekend because I had some things going on at home that really were more important than being away this weekend.  I have contacted the Komen Coaches and they were able to roll my donations into next year so I am in pretty good shape for 2020 in Dallas.  I hope that my teammates and all that are walking in San Diego have a great weekend.  

Another Training Walk

Only 44 Days until San Diego.  Need to get some miles in.  Short walks during the week.  About 5.5 for Today . http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/gp/bookmark/view/id/7418212

Today's Training Route

45 Days to San Diego.  Not quite as nice as yesterday but not bad.  

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/gp/bookmark/view/id/7418191

Today's Training Route

46 Days to San Diego.  Nice Weather for a Training Walk Today.  Only 3.5 Miles Today

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/gp/bookmark/view/id/7418189

Back to Back

First Training Walk for Philly

Set out to do a 10 Mile training walk today but only made it about 8.5 before I had to cut it short because of the heat.  I really don't like walking when it's hot out and it was low 70's when I started but less than 3 hours later it was over 80.

Philadelphia 3-Day 2018

This past Thursday I was dropped off at the airport at about 4:30 in the morning to catch a flight to Philadelphia for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.  I was really looking forward to this since I had not been able to walk for the last three years due to some health and work issues.  That was not going to be an issue this year.  I had turned off my work phone at noon on Wednesday and had no intention of turning it on again before Tuesday when I went back to work.  This would also be a new experience for me since I was traveling fairly light for the 3-Day.  This year in Philly they were going to trial having camp hosted at a Hotel instead of the traditional camp so I didn't need many of the things I would take if we were camping outside.  My suitcase and I made it through security quickly and then I had to wait for my flight.

Once I arrived in Philly I had to make my way from one terminal to another to wait for a couple of my teammates that would be arriving soon after I did.  We were going to share a cab over to the host hotel.  Before long we were all over at the Hilton at Penn's Landing and were checking out the setup.  There was a steady stream of walkers arriving all afternoon.  The Hilton had done a nice job of getting the place ready for all the walkers.  The staff was friendly and welcoming and there was pink everywhere.  We went out to lunch with another walker that we were talking to in the Lobby as we had plenty of time to kill before we had to be anywhere.  It was good to have time to catch up a bit and talk to other walkers to see what they thought of the setup and what to expect as I had not walked in Philly before.  Before I knew it, it was time to get some sleep.  5:00 would come way to early.

Our team gathered at about 6:00 on Friday morning to take a couple pictures and get ready for the day.  We started the day with four members of the team.  Our fifth member Lisa would not be joining us until around dinner time as she had some work obligations for Friday but still was going to walk with us on Saturday and Sunday.  We lined up outside and skipped the opening Ceremony to get out on the route a little earlier.  The route opened at 7:30 and we were out right away.  Normally our team ends up walking in at least two different groups for much of the day.  Our Captain, Kathy, and Stephanie like to walk a little faster than I normally do so they end up ahead of me most of the time.  When I walked in Tampa, Marcia was new to our team and I walked with her that year since she has a pace that's closer to mine.  Sometime on Friday afternoon Marcia and I met a woman named Megan who was walking by her self and she joined us for the afternoon and ended up joining the team for the rest of the weekend.  Megan had done a couple of the Avon walks but had never done the 3-Day before.  She enjoyed the weekend enough that she has already signed up for next year.

Once we got back to camp for the day we took our traditional end of day picture and I had to grab my gear and check into my room for the weekend.  I did not get assigned a room at the Camp Hotel. I was in a different hotel about a block away.  It was an easy walk even after walking 20 miles.  Once I had checked into my room and cleaned up I went back to Camp to relax before dinner.  Bank of America had brought it a bunch of massage chairs and I spent a little time in them and it felt great.  We spent some time during dinner talking about the day and I heard that the route for the day was quite a bit different than previous years.  That was good to hear since I was not all that impressed by the Day 1 route.  It took us through some rather sketchy areas of Philly.

Day two started much the same as Day 1 but just a little bit earlier.  The route opened at 7:00 so the team met at 5:45 for breakfast and to get ready for the day.  One of the attractions on Saturday morning was walking by the Art Museum and getting pictures taken with the Rocky statue.  Marcia had even brought along some pink boxing gloves for her picture. After she and Megan had taken pictures with them she decided to leave them there so that other walkers could take pictures with them as well.  Once we left there we ended up walking along a river for quite some time and I was surprised at how many people were out rowing on the river.  Crew must be pretty popular there since I saw quite a few different teams out practicing.  We ended up crossing the river and walking along a nice trail to get to lunch.  After lunch we walked through the Zoo on our way back to camp.  Quite a few people stopped to take pictures in the zoo sign as our team did.  That was one of my favorite pictures of the weekend.  The trip through the zoo was fairly quick.  We had a straight line path setup to follow and really didn't get to see much of it.  I think the highlight of the zoo for most of my team was having a place to stop and buy a diet coke  :-) .  Once we were back at camp we got cleaned up and had dinner and got ready for the camp show.  One of the highlights of the show is when the youth corps gets to get up and tell why they wanted to be part of youth corps.  Stephanie's son Blake was on youth corps but I didn't stay for the show as I was really dragging.  I had gone to Medical before dinner to get a couple blisters drained and was really tired as I was not sleeping great in the Hotel.  Medical was setup very well.  They had a podiatrist and some of his third year students there to get experience dealing with blisters and foot issues.  They did a great job taking care of my feet.

Day 3 started early again but this was a strange Day 3 since we were staying in a Hotel and didn't have to get up extra early to pack our tents.  I had to go back up to Medical to get some things to wrap my blisters for the day after breakfast.  I ended up wearing my backup shoes for Day 3.  I had forgotten how much my feet swell after walking for long distances and my newer shoes were just too tight.  At one of the pit stops before lunch I borrowed some scissors from Medical so that I could cut out part of shoe to take some of the pressure of my little toe.  It still looks pretty ugly today.  We were making some pretty good time on Sunday and we ended up being in the top 100 into lunch.  We were not in a huge hurry to leave lunch though since we less than 4 miles after lunch till we got to holding.  On our way to holding we walked past the Philly sports complex.  It's actually a pretty cool setup.  All of the homes for their major sports teams are clustered together and within walking distance of each other.  I know that I have to be careful when I say that because my idea of walking distance does not match normal people's idea of walking distance.  As we got closer to holding at the Navy Yard the Philadelphia Eagles Drum line was there to greet us.  Got to love some percussion to keep you going.  We arrived at closing early and had some time to kill.  After a couple pictures at the finish we had to say goodbye to a couple of our teammates.  Lisa had to leave right away to catch an early flight out that night.  She had been traveling for work and needed to get home.  Megan got to spend a little time with us at closing before her ride but she had to leave early as she was going to spend some time with her niece for a special birthday.  Kathy was a little bummed about being in Philly for this day as well.  She is very dedicated to the 3-Day and fighting Cancer but her son was finishing up a 4 Day 500 Mile ride today to raise money for Scholarships in the names of  Illinois National Guard Members who lost their lives in service our nation.  It's a ride called the Gold Star 500 and she is very proud of her son's dedication to this cause.  I think I know where he gets that dedication from.

The time before closing didn't take quite as long as I thought it would.  We spent time discussing the weekend and what we thought Komen needs to do to breath life back into the 3-Day.  The 3-Day is a special event and we really want to see it growing again.  After closing ceremonies it was back to the Hotel for a little dinner and rest before calling it a night.  The team members that were still there on Monday morning got together for breakfast one last time before Stephanie and Blake had to head for the Airport.  They had an earlier flight than the rest of us.  Kathy, Marcia, and I were back at the Airport for our flights soon after.  It didn't take long to get through security so I had a lot of time to kill.  Our plane ended up taking off about 20 minutes late because we couldn't push back from the gate on time because a fuel truck lost a week directly behind the plane and we had to wait for them to fix that.  It was a pretty uneventful flight back after that.  I had a great time but was really glad to be home.

All in all the weekend was a huge success.  The Walkers and Crew for Philadelphia had raised $2.1 Million Dollars.  I have mixed feelings about the Hotel experiment this weekend.  I like the fact that I didn't have to sleep in a tent this weekend.  I have had issues with my Asthma in the past and tents don't exactly help that.  I also know that knowing that you won't be staying in a tent may attract new or return walkers.  I do think that some of the community is lost with this kind of camp though.  According to some people I talked to the cost of the traditional camp and this setup was about the same with the Hotel as one of the sponsors so with all things being equal I think that this would probably attract more people.  I was also really happy that I was able to finish the entire route this year.  This was my ninth walk and the fifth that I had completed the entire route.  In the four that I didn't complete sometimes it was just a couple miles and other times it was complete days.  I want to keep working to complete as many as I can.  Everyone on our team was able to complete the route this year even though a number of us had to visit medical for a little help with blisters and other issues.  The support that the 3-Day provides for the walkers is really top notch.  During this weekend we talked about where we want to walk next year and we have decided on going back to San Diego.  So far we have a definite four going and who knows what will happen in the next year.  It was good to see my friends again.  I have been walking with Kathy, Stephanie, and Lisa since 2007 and last walked with Marcia in 2013.  Megan was a welcome addition to the team also.  She fit right in with the group.  Some day we may not have a reason to walk and I will be ok with that. Until then it's good to know that I have friends that I will see when we get together to continue to raise money to find the Cure.

Many thanks to all that donated to help us continue this fight.

God Bless

Another Training Walk

Set our for a training walk early this morning to get some miles in before it started getting warm.  Lots of overcast so good walking weather.  Started getting warm as I was getting closer to home so I stopped at Culvers to get a little ice cream and cool off.  That worked great.  11 Miles is an improvement over the 8.5 last week but not as long as I would like to have done today.  Going to try for more next weekend.

First Longer Training Walk for Philly

I set out early today with the goal of walking about 10 miles but had to cut it short at 8.5 miles since it got hot sooner than I thought it was going to.  My body doesn't react well to the heat once it gets above the lower 80's and today it passed that before 11:00.  Will schedule another for the next weekend that the weather cooperates.

New Shoes for Philly

Yesterday I started breaking in my new walking shoes for the Philadelphia 3-Day. So far they are very comfortable but I only put a couple miles on them today. Big shout out to Chase at @perfrun in Oak Creek for taking time to help me find the right pair. Got a nice pair of ASICS for this year.

Count Down to Philly

I am now 90 Days out from the Philadelphia 3-Day and decided to start using my Blog again to track some of my training and preparation for it.  My Fundraising is going well and I am less than $300 from my minimum now so I am not at all worried about meeting/exceeding that.  The last time I walked the 3-Day was four years ago so I kind of needed some new walking shoes for Philly.  I stopped by our local performance running store today and tried on a bunch of shoes until I found a pair that I think will work quite well.  They are really comfortable and should wear well.  I will start wearing them tomorrow to get them broken in for the 3-Day.  I think I may have sent out a wrong number in one of my early fundraising e-mails.  I think that I said that this year would be my eighth time walking the 3-Day.  This is actually my ninth time walking.  I figured that out when I went back and looked at the previous walks.  I am really looking forward to getting back to this after missing the last three years.  Did some training walking today at the gym.  It was a little too hot to do much training outside.  Walking when it is 90+ is miserable.  My first 3-Day in Chicago was like that and despite that I returned and have done more since.  Hoping that next weekend is better and I can get out and maybe do 10 miles on Saturday

3-Day Year 9 Postponed

In October I was scheduled to walk in Philadelphia for my ninth year walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.  I  won't be able to do that this year however because of a battle with Anemia that I had earlier in the year.  I did not really recover from the Anemia until the beginning of June and between that and a very hectic work and home schedule I am just not going to have time to train to get ready for my walk this year.  I did contact the Coaches and will be able to roll my fundraising into 2016 so that I can walk next year for my ninth year.  I was looking forward to walking in Philadelphia as a new city for me this year and will miss my teammates but I will be back next year.  I just don't know in which city yet.  Once again thanks to all of my supporters that continue to believe in this fight.

Back to Fitness Routine

For the last several months I have not been getting nearly enough exercise.  I just didn't have enough energy to do much.  I was diagnosed as anemic in January and have adjusted my stomach meds and am taking iron supplements to address that issue.  I finally feel like I can try to get back into some kind of routine to start working back to shape to walk in the 3-Day in October.  I am going back to tracking my steps with my fitbit and using myfitnesspal to track calories so that I can try to lose weight and get in better shape at the same time.  I started out today with half an hour on the treadmill and hope to work up to an hour within a week or two.

2015 3-Day - Fundraising

This afternoon I spent some time printing up sheets for the Super Bowl Pool that I run as a fundraiser for my walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.  This is the second year that I have run this as a fundraiser and it really helps a lot.  A full grid nets $1000 towards my $2300 Fundraising minimum.  I am really thankful that I have family that helps me sell the squares.  Now that my fundraising is in decent shape I need to start spending some time on the treadmill getting ready for when the weather gets decent here and I can start walking outdoors.  With only 251 days before the Philadelpha 3-Day I don't have time to waste.

Twin Cities 2014 3-Day

For 2014 my team had decided to minimize travel and return to a City that some of us could travel to without flying. Part of our team had walked the Twin Cities before and had enjoyed it. We saw it as an opportunity for the rest of the team to experience it. As typical, my 3-Day weekend started on Thursday with my travel day. I was driving and picked up one teammate in Waukesha and then went on to pick up another teammate and her daughter outside of Madison. We made pretty good time and we were in the Twin Cities a little after noon. We met our last teammate at the Hotel and went out for lunch because it was so early and we needed to be back to get back for the team meeting that afternoon for our teammate that was on Youth Corps. It was another early night as the bus to opening comes way to early.

The rest of the weekend did not go quite as I had planned. I was still getting over a sinus infection that was irritating my lungs and the weather was not cooperating. At the start of Day 1 the humidity was about 98%. I could feel the humidity as soon as we started walking. It was aggravating my asthma within a mile or two. I took my inhaler and that helped for awhile but by mile 8 or so it was getting difficult to breathe again. I decided to take a sweep van to lunch and see if the rest would help. After lunch the humidity went down a little and I was able to walk from lunch to the end of the day.

The beginning of Day 2 was not a good one for me. The humidity had been high all night and spending a humid night in a tent was not a good night. I had gotten very little sleep and my lungs were still bothering me. I had intended to sweep right to lunch but since that was not an option I walked a couple miles and then got on a sweep van and went to lunch. I was there very early so I got to watch walkers come in and leave. I got to sit and talk to several other walkers that had come in early in sweep vans also. One woman that I tWalked to had walked six miles on Day 1 and was hoping to do that on Day 2 and 3. That's all she was capable of walking because her Cancer had come back. She had been fighting off and on for mor than 10 years and she walked the 3 Day each year. It didn't matter to her how many miles she walked. She raised the money and was there to walk what she could. After lunch I decided to go back to camp and check out to go to a hotel for the night. I was not going to spend another sleepless night in a humid tent taking my inhaler every 4-6 hours. Finding a hotel was not an easy task since this was the opening weekend of the Minnesota State Fair. I did manage to find a room and spent the night with air conditioning and that helped me quite a bit.

On Sunday morning I was up early because that's what my body expects for Day 3. I decided that since I couldn't walk I was going to be a walker stalker for the day. I made it to the first cheering station about the time the first walkers were coming through and stayed until my teammates came through. I managed to meet my team at lunch before I headed to holding. Holding and Closing were much the same as I remembered from my previous walk here. Once we were done with closing it was time to say goodbye to Kathy as she was the only teammate that was not driving back to Wisconsin with us. We had an uneventful ride back and I was home before midnight.

The weekend was not what I had planned but was still a great experience. I got to see old friends and meet some interesting new people who once again reminded me why I have to keep walking. Thank you all for your continued support. Next year will be my ninth year walking and it will be in a new city for me. I have heard good things about Philadelphia and look forward to walking there.

God Bless

Greg