I DID IT

I walked all 60 miles. I have blisters. I was sore. But I did it. It was a great experience, even with all the pain. Will I do it again next year? Ummm, no. I would maybe crew, but not walk. But as much as I said I would never do it again, 2 days after the event, I am not nearly as positive. I can see doing it again in a couple of years, IF I can figure out how to remain blister free for the duration of the event.

The blisters are really what did me in. Tami in the medical tent at lunch on Day 3 was my hero. She lanced my blisters, and then wrapped them so well they felt 10 times better. Unfortunately they still hurt, just not nearly as much. As a sidenote, Tami is a breast cancer survivor, walked last year, and was medical crew this year. We had each other in tears.

The blister on my pinky toe was wrapped by a teammate before we started out the last day. She did a great job, but in hindsight I should have had it lanced when the others were lanced. I just didn't want to mess with it, it hadn't been bothering me enough to worry about it until the others weren't bothering me, then I realized how much it was bothering me.

Oh well, the blisters are fading now, ans as the sign that became my mantra said: Blisters don't need chemo

The walk starts tomorrow

I have to be there at 6 am! And then we will walk 20 miles tomorrow, 22.7 miles on Saturday, and 17.3 on Sunday.

I hope the rain stops before 6 am, that the weather is coolish, and that my feet hold up. That is all I can ask at this point.

I am feeling trained enough, and I am prepared for blisters, etc.

Thanks to all of you who followed me! Sorry the last month has been lacking in posts. Rest assured it was not lacking in walking (there was another 18 mile walk in there, in much warmer temps!)

I'll post again when the walk is over!

Week 20 plan

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 5 miles

Wednesday: 45 min cross-training

Thursday: 6 miles

Friday: 45 min cross-training

Saturday: 18 miles

Sunday: 15 miles

Since I did my 18/15 this weekend, I'll be doing the 10/8 I was supposed to do this weekend. I am also hoping to actually walk at least one of the weekdays and do some cross-training one of them, also!

Big Weekend

My sisters and I opted to change the 18/15 weekend. We did it this week instead of the scheduled 10/8. The 18/15 is the longest training walk on the schedule.

We walked 20 miles yesterday and 15 today, for a total of 35 miles in 2 days!! I now believe I can actually complete the walking of the 3 day! I am not sore, I am not in pain anywhere, I am a little tired, but not overly so. The only thing that hurts, and it is only a very slight pain, is the soles of my feet. There is hope!

I walked the 20 yesterday in new shoes (New Balance 645), that are exactly like my old walking shoes except a 1/2 size bigger. I got them on Friday on clearance for less than $30! I was very excited. They were fine, I still need some cushy insoles, though. We chose to walk on a multi-purpose trail from Cannon Falls to Red Wing. We stopped for lunch around the mid-point in a little town with basically one place to eat. Thankfully the food was wonderful! Two of my sisters were a bit giddy by then, so there was entertainment, too!

I walked the 15 today in my other new shoes (Brooks Defyance 2). They were even better than my old shoes. The balls of my feet hurt less than they have in my other shoes. We walked a different multi-purpose trail from Shakopee to Chaska and back. We got to stop in Chaska for lunch that way.

Both trails were beautiful, and we could not have asked for better weather. Yesterday was cloudy and the high was maybe 65 degrees. Today was sunny, with a high of around 75. Neither day was humid. Perfect walking weather, which probably was a good thing!

Week 19 plan

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 5 miles

Wednesday: 45 minutes of cross training

Thursday: 6 miles

Friday: 45 minutes of cross training

Saturday: 10 miles

Sunday: 8 miles

My sisters and I are actually planning to do our 18/15 this weekend. Hope for pleasant weather!

Week 18

I have been delinquent.

Actually, I kinda felt the need to take back my summer. So the kidlets and I have been spending some time doing summer things. We hit a few programs I wanted to go to, we had a picnic in the back yard, and we watched fireflies. In short, we have been enjoying summer. I intend to do a bit more of that. Training for this walk feels like it has taken over my life, and I just can't let that be the case. So I am feeling less guilty about not walking during the week, and I am grateful that this weekend I have a recovery weekend with far fewer miles to do.

Last weeks plan was this:

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 5 miles

Wednesday: 45 minutes of cross training

Thursday; 6 miles

Friday: 45 minutes of cross training

Saturday: 17 miles

Sunday: 13 miles

Since I did 17 last Friday and 13 last Saturday, I swapped those for last weekends 8/6. I also just didn't walk or cross train at all. And I am OK with that.

I did go and buy new shoes last weekend. But I am not sure I am keeping them. I went to one of the partner stores for the 3-day, and I have to say I was utterly unimpressed. He brought me 3 pairs of shoes, and I think he honestly thought that was sufficient. I am not assertive enough to have said no, bring me more, so I ended up with one of those 3, and I am just not sure they are OK. And I bought some arch support insoles that I think I have to take back. The arch support is good, but they are hard and hurt the balls of my feet. That is where I have the most pain to begin with, so I think I need something that is going to accomodate that better. In all a HUGELY disappointing trip. SIGH.

Thursday and Friday training

I went to make jam on Thursday, but still got almost 3 miles of walking in.

Friday I walked 17 miles. In spite of my desire to keep this weekend a recovery weekend, I got sucked in and I walked 17 miles. Thankfully we walked on a bike path that was a railway, so it was flat. No hills. And there was lots of shade. It was mostly overcast anyway, but it was still nice to have the trees for the moments when it was sunny. Did I mention it was flat? And humid. It was really humid. But I have no blisters, and I used no moleskin. YAY! I still need different shoes. The soles on mine are getting a bit worn.

Week 17 plan

Monday: rest (greatly appreciated!)

Tuesday: 5 miles (um, I rested)

Wednesday: 45 minutes cross-training (does house cleaning count?)

Thursday: 6 miles (I'll get less than 5, but that is sufficient for my feet)

Friday: 45 minutes of cross-training

Saturday: 8 miles

Sunday: 6 miles

It is a "recovery" week on the schedule. Most of my team is switching this weekend with next weekend (and walking 17 for Saturday and 13 for Sunday). I haven't committed to that yet. I am feeling the need for a recovery week! So I am not sure which I will do...

The week that was

I haven't been updating like I should be, sorry about that. All the walking has kept me busy, as has life in general! So here is the recap of week 16:

I skipped both Tuesday and Wednesday, to let the blisters heal a bit.

Saturday I skipped the shoe clinic (there was just not time in the day!), helped my sister move, and then walked part of the Minneapolis chain of lakes. It was a pleasant walk, but it was 15 miles! No amount of pretty scenery can make 15 miles painless. I ended up with a hot spot on the bottom of my left foot. I put moleskin on it when we had about 2 miles left to go, but that only sort of helped.

Sunday I did 11 miles. Kiddo walked 2 of them with me. It was so fun to have him along! He talked a blue streak, so it went by fast. I think I'll try taking him on a few more walks with me!
I walked 5 more after I dropped him off at the park (with Kutey and DH). Then I walked 4 more in the evening with 2 of my sisters. It was good to break it up. The blisters on my heels were much better, though still covered in moleskin. The one on the bottom of my foot required a cut out of moleskin covered with another piece in order to reduce the friction.

So there you have it, I walked a marathon in two days. Yes, I know, 15+11 is only 26 and a marathon is 26.2. We went over both days, so I figure it was more than a marathon...

Week 16 plan

Here is this week's training plan:

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 4 miles (due to the blisters, I will more than likely rest this day, too. That and it is supposed to be 90+ degrees!)

Wednesday: 30 minutes of cross-training

Thursday: 5 miles (we'll see how the blisters are!)

Friday: 45 minutes of cross-training

Saturday: 15 miles

Sunday: 11 miles

I am hoping to go to a shoe fit clinic on Saturday, and my sister is moving that day, so 15 miles might be a bit of a stretch--especially if the middle of the day is 90+ degrees!

Sunday Training

I did all ten miles. 10 PAINFUL miles. The blister from yesterday has turned into more than one blister, on both feet.
Actual blisters. On my feet. Heels, to be precise. The outside of the heel on both feet. I can't figure out just what happened. My shoes have been SO good up to this point! The only thing I can think of is it was warmer, and more humid, so maybe my feet were more sweaty?

I walked to a nearby park/recreation area where they have hiking/horseback riding/mountain biking trails. Well, sort of. The hiking trails seem to have been deemed low maintenance. they have not been mowed recently, so the grass and weeds were very long. And there was no breeze, so the bugs were TERRIBLE. And I hadn't realized how hilly the paths were. I was anxious to get out of there, but there is only one way out--to finish the loop. So I did, and then I left and went back to my city streets and sidewalks. I love to hike, I have done my share, but these paths were not appropriate for hiking!

Saturday Training--Update

Um....I have a blister. A BIG blister. On my heel. I had managed to get to this point in my training without much in the way of pain or injury--OR BLISTER! Sigh. I might have to drain it in order to walk again tomorrow.

Saturday Training

I was up and out the door by 7:30 am. I finished walking before lunch! YAY! I did all 14 miles, I never got out the ipod, and after a brief rest at home, I feel like I could walk some more! That is encouraging.

Week 15 training

I feel like all I will be doing for the next bazillion weekends is walking, walking, walking!

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 4 miles

Wednesday: 30 minutes of cross-training

Thursday: 5 miles

Friday: 45 minutes of cross-training

Saturday: 14 miles

Sunday: 10 miles

Sunday Training

I walked 9+ miles around the same lake as Saturday (only 3 laps this time) with my sister. Honestly, I don't know that I would have done all 3 laps if she hadn't been there. I was tired. My legs were tired. But we did it. Made it all the way around 3 times. I tried some Spenco insoles in my shoes, that lasted one lap. The arches weren't high enough (and these were the high arch ones!) I am a bit sore, but I am not sure if it is from the walking or from clearing the sod and weeds out of my garden! I finished that project on Saturday night, so it could easily be either!

Saturday Training

I just came back from walking 13+ miles. It took me about 3.5 hours, so I was a bit slower than normal, but not too bad. My feet were really hurting by the end of the walk. I was watching for the markings on the pavement much more than I had been the previous laps (I did 4 laps around a local lake--3.34 miles per lap). Now, of course, I am thinking "and I have to walk 9 miles tomorrow, too? NO WAY!" Hopefully my feet will have recovered slightly by then. This is the worst they have been on a walk. I'll be looking into new shoes, me thinks :(. It should be noted, also, that I walked all by myself. Contrary to popular belief, I will walk long distances without my sister prodding me.

Friday Training

I cross-trained by prepping my garden (yes, it is getting late to plant a garden, I know). This may not seem like much work, but consider that I haven't had a garden in at least 6 years and that in that time the garden has gone largely untended. It really was cross-training, trust me. And I did it for 2 hours. It gave me a new appreciation for the pioneers who "broke sod" to farm. They did much bigger expanses than I did (and yes, they used horses, but still!). It isn't easy!

Thursday Training

I actually walked! I only got in 4.25 miles before it got dark, but some is better than none!

Week 14 plan

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 4 miles

Wednesday: 30 minutes of cross-training

Thursday: 5 miles

Friday: 45 minutes of cross-training

Saturday: 13 miles

Sunday: 9 miles

Week 13 summary

One word: Lazy.

I did a little walking and biking with the kids on Wednesday. And I walked just under 5 miles on Sunday.

Otherwise, lazy.