Because you can't blog while walking
Some people have pointed out that I've been a little lame in my blog posting of late. Sorry. I've been busy. Already I'm in over my head with my gardens (yard and vegetable) -- who knew you had to water every day here beginning in April? That is, on the days it doesn't snow. It's a lot of work and so far I'm doing okay, though only okay. Martha Stewart won't be giving me any gardening awards this year. My onion tops got a little scorched and my strawberries didn't transfer well. But I have pea sprouts and small spinach plants. There are tiny lettuce heads growing, my beets and radishes are coming up, and the broccoli looks great. My carrots are slow to send up shoots, but I have hope they'll get with the program soon. There are weeds between the rows, but I've been vigilant about the rest. This weekend I hope to install my drip irrigation watering system which will be on a timer and should help me not kill things as the heat sets in. There's still hours of weeding ahead; I had been warned that the abandoned plot I inherited contained a lot of weed seeds, and so for that's proving true. Our yard looks decent thanks to good landscaping and the in-ground sprinkler system. Funnydad's on a major dandelion eradication mission, which he seems to enjoy. Go for it, I say.
Gardening takes a lot of time, and while there is a certain bumbling quality as I learn how to garden in an arid climate, it's not what's keeping me away from the blog. The real time sink these days is that I'm training for a big 40-mile walk, the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Walking, as you may have noticed, takes time. Not a fast sport, and I have to work up to long distances. Last weekend when I walked 13 miles it took four hours. That takes a chunk out of your weekend and squishes other things into the rest. Something has to give. If it's any consolation, I am not keeping up with the laundry either, as my daughters remind me with, "Mommmmmm, there's no underwear in the drawer againnnnnnnn."
Sadly, 13 miles kicked my butt. I'm not sure how I'm going to be ready for this event in six weeks. When I'm inclined to be positive, I remind myself that a month ago I couldn't walk six miles without similar pain, so there's some progress happening. I walk shorter distances and do my best to cross train during the week, but the weekends are when I can carve out time for long walks. I'm training with two other women here, and like I said, the first week we trained together we walked six miles. Very tough -- not during the walk, but after. The next we did 9.5 and I felt fine. Next we hiked a mountain to build endurance, which hurt like hell, worked my butt and thighs, felt like a fantastic accomplishment, but I think it set me back a little in mileage. Fitness is definitely part of it -- my muscles, strength, and endurance have to be up to snuff -- but a large piece of the Avon Walk difficulty is the beating your feet take, and for that you need flat out miles. I mean, after these walks I have seriously sore feet, like they are when you have to stand on them all day. Sore feet that stay sore for a while after you take off the running shoes. Tender, too, like the kind of feeling you get just before blisters form -- which is probably what is happening. My legs and butt are sore the next day. Oh, I'm pooped when I get home. I feel proud, too. But my feet, man, they are not happy puppies. Next weekend we're going for 15-18 miles. Wish me luck. I'm enjoying all this -- the work, the challenge, the exercise, the getting to know new people, the getting to know walking paths around Boulder, and the helping a good cause. But it's a lot of work.
The thing is, six years ago, when I lived in Brooklyn, I walked a 12-mile walk to raise money for the MDA. I walked it with my friend Tricia, and we thought it was no sweat. We didn't train for it, we didn't prep in any way. And when it was over we both thought, oh, that was easy. And I distinctly remember the next day discussing with Tricia how we were not sore at all. Why does 13 miles incapacitate me for the rest of the weekend now? Was all that walking I did all the time in New York really what made it so easy? Was I that much younger then? Am I that out of shape now? And, could this general decline in daily walking have something do with the weight gain I've been fighting of late? But, seriously, six years ago 12 miles was no sweat and now it knocks me out for the rest of the weekend. It's contemplative.
I haven't written about my upcoming Avon Walk on this blog yet, but chances are you're aware I'm doing it. Recap: it's a fundraiser for breast cancer. It takes place in the Rockies, roughly between Keystone and Vail, and I'll be walking a marathon one day, sleeping in a tent, and walking a half marathon the next. And in order to do this I have to raise a minimum of $1800. The event is well-attended, with 1500 expected at the Rocky Mountain walk alone (there are seven others across the country), and the feeling of the crowd is, by all reports, amazing. There are survivors of this horrible disease, people in treatment, friends, family, strangers all banding together to help find a cure. And, all testing themselves with this walk of up to 40 miles. Some will walk less: the altitude affects a person up there (it's 3000 feet higher than Boulder), and some people are doing this while in chemo and radiation treatment. If you haven't supported me yet, please do. Click here to go straight to the Avon page and pay with a credit card -- you can even give anonymously if you want to. You can give whatever you're comfortable giving. I've received 37 donations ranging from $10 to $150.
Two of the women I've met while training for this are fundraising inspirations. One has raised more than $7000, the sixth largest amount of any walker in the Rocky Mountain walk. She did it just like I am raising mine -- by sending out emails to her friends. Her friends are a responsive group, and within 24 hours she had all her required $1800 raised! One high school friend of her husband's sent a check for $1000! Another woman I've met is organizing a benefit golf tournament to raise the money. She's walking with her aunt, and together they have rented a golf club at a tournament rate. They're charging people to participate, and have gotten sponsors for all the holes. They've had food donated and lots of prizes for raffles. They will each clear at least the required $1800, and then some, after they pay the green fees for their participants and cover their other expenses. It's a lot of work, but after months of clawing my way up to my fundraising goal, it sounds like a great idea. So there's hope for you, my guilty readers who haven't donated -- if I do this walk again, I won't have to plead for donations. Instead I'll entice you to attend a fundraiser.
So, there you have it. Why I haven't been posting. The walk isn't until the end of June, so posts may be a little thin until then. If you check this page and don't find anything new, think of me, out there toughing my feet and building my calf muscles.
Gardening takes a lot of time, and while there is a certain bumbling quality as I learn how to garden in an arid climate, it's not what's keeping me away from the blog. The real time sink these days is that I'm training for a big 40-mile walk, the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Walking, as you may have noticed, takes time. Not a fast sport, and I have to work up to long distances. Last weekend when I walked 13 miles it took four hours. That takes a chunk out of your weekend and squishes other things into the rest. Something has to give. If it's any consolation, I am not keeping up with the laundry either, as my daughters remind me with, "Mommmmmm, there's no underwear in the drawer againnnnnnnn."
Sadly, 13 miles kicked my butt. I'm not sure how I'm going to be ready for this event in six weeks. When I'm inclined to be positive, I remind myself that a month ago I couldn't walk six miles without similar pain, so there's some progress happening. I walk shorter distances and do my best to cross train during the week, but the weekends are when I can carve out time for long walks. I'm training with two other women here, and like I said, the first week we trained together we walked six miles. Very tough -- not during the walk, but after. The next we did 9.5 and I felt fine. Next we hiked a mountain to build endurance, which hurt like hell, worked my butt and thighs, felt like a fantastic accomplishment, but I think it set me back a little in mileage. Fitness is definitely part of it -- my muscles, strength, and endurance have to be up to snuff -- but a large piece of the Avon Walk difficulty is the beating your feet take, and for that you need flat out miles. I mean, after these walks I have seriously sore feet, like they are when you have to stand on them all day. Sore feet that stay sore for a while after you take off the running shoes. Tender, too, like the kind of feeling you get just before blisters form -- which is probably what is happening. My legs and butt are sore the next day. Oh, I'm pooped when I get home. I feel proud, too. But my feet, man, they are not happy puppies. Next weekend we're going for 15-18 miles. Wish me luck. I'm enjoying all this -- the work, the challenge, the exercise, the getting to know new people, the getting to know walking paths around Boulder, and the helping a good cause. But it's a lot of work.
The thing is, six years ago, when I lived in Brooklyn, I walked a 12-mile walk to raise money for the MDA. I walked it with my friend Tricia, and we thought it was no sweat. We didn't train for it, we didn't prep in any way. And when it was over we both thought, oh, that was easy. And I distinctly remember the next day discussing with Tricia how we were not sore at all. Why does 13 miles incapacitate me for the rest of the weekend now? Was all that walking I did all the time in New York really what made it so easy? Was I that much younger then? Am I that out of shape now? And, could this general decline in daily walking have something do with the weight gain I've been fighting of late? But, seriously, six years ago 12 miles was no sweat and now it knocks me out for the rest of the weekend. It's contemplative.
I haven't written about my upcoming Avon Walk on this blog yet, but chances are you're aware I'm doing it. Recap: it's a fundraiser for breast cancer. It takes place in the Rockies, roughly between Keystone and Vail, and I'll be walking a marathon one day, sleeping in a tent, and walking a half marathon the next. And in order to do this I have to raise a minimum of $1800. The event is well-attended, with 1500 expected at the Rocky Mountain walk alone (there are seven others across the country), and the feeling of the crowd is, by all reports, amazing. There are survivors of this horrible disease, people in treatment, friends, family, strangers all banding together to help find a cure. And, all testing themselves with this walk of up to 40 miles. Some will walk less: the altitude affects a person up there (it's 3000 feet higher than Boulder), and some people are doing this while in chemo and radiation treatment. If you haven't supported me yet, please do. Click here to go straight to the Avon page and pay with a credit card -- you can even give anonymously if you want to. You can give whatever you're comfortable giving. I've received 37 donations ranging from $10 to $150.
Two of the women I've met while training for this are fundraising inspirations. One has raised more than $7000, the sixth largest amount of any walker in the Rocky Mountain walk. She did it just like I am raising mine -- by sending out emails to her friends. Her friends are a responsive group, and within 24 hours she had all her required $1800 raised! One high school friend of her husband's sent a check for $1000! Another woman I've met is organizing a benefit golf tournament to raise the money. She's walking with her aunt, and together they have rented a golf club at a tournament rate. They're charging people to participate, and have gotten sponsors for all the holes. They've had food donated and lots of prizes for raffles. They will each clear at least the required $1800, and then some, after they pay the green fees for their participants and cover their other expenses. It's a lot of work, but after months of clawing my way up to my fundraising goal, it sounds like a great idea. So there's hope for you, my guilty readers who haven't donated -- if I do this walk again, I won't have to plead for donations. Instead I'll entice you to attend a fundraiser.
So, there you have it. Why I haven't been posting. The walk isn't until the end of June, so posts may be a little thin until then. If you check this page and don't find anything new, think of me, out there toughing my feet and building my calf muscles.
Comments
My girlfriend with cancer (who I mentioned to you in an earlier e-mail) just had a double mastectomy at 33. Kudos to you for doing the walk!