The Party has started, care to join?

Hey folks, this will be the easiest post ever for me to write. That's 'cause I have a guest blogger...

May I present, no-blog-Rachel's first ever weekly AVON Walk update for Boobie Tuesday! Take it away Rachel...

Donna asked me if I'd mind writing a bit about training for the Avon Walk in time for each Boobie Tuesday (I'm horribly embarrassed to admit that it freakin' took me a while to figure out where that name came from. Not one of my brighter hours..). Well if I can make myself believe that I can walk 39+ miles over 2 days, wouldn't it be kind of ridiculous to think that I couldn't write a couple of paragraphs about what it's taking to reach that goal? Kinda.

So here I am.

It started with Rachael's idea of running/walking/swimming/whatevering a total of 100 miles by April 1st (check it out). I decided to take on that challenge as a way to get off my butt and back into the habit of exercising. Well there's something about knowing that there are lots of people out there who are doing the same thing toward the same goal that I have found completely energizing. So that got me thinking about what challenge I wanted to take on once April 1st came around. Long story short, and partially thanks to Donna, I found my challenge. The Avon Walk! Sure it's a lot of miles, and sure I have a lot of money I need to raise ($1,800 minimum but my personal goal is twice that) but I can do it! My walk team? Knitters for Knockers. Check out my AVON Walk personal web page. (dudes, she's already raised over a grand!)

So starting last weekend, off I went. Bought some good socks and a fanny pack that holds 2 water bottles, some Gu energy gel in case I'm caught mid-walk with the shakes, and I was off! I increased my mileage and frequency of the walks I'd been doing, and really started keeping track of what I'm doing - paying attention to pace, backing off a little if I'd worked hard the day before, etc. I have a lot of time to train, but as I've never done anything like this, I really want to be careful to avoid shin splints, or any other injuries along the way. For advice, I've been emailing various bloggers (including Donna! Hi Donna!) for advice - and they have been incredibly supportive (again - Hi Donna!).

Duh moment of the week (and I hope I don't have one every week): My shins were sore. My feet felt stiff and hurt during a walk. Brilliant idea, Rachel try stretching your feet. Duh. Since that epiphany, I've been giving them a good stretch when I'm in the bathtub or shower and it makes a world of difference!

Today was the first formal Knitters for Knockers training walk - we did just over 9 miles! Holy Cow! I was hot and tired, but really I felt great. No blisters, nothing especially sore. Though I am writing this on Sunday instead of Monday so my entire entry isn't about how much I hurt. Tomorrow's walk will be a very short one - just enough to stretch out the muscles that I know will be complaining. K for K is a great group of women- I'll tell you more about the team another time. Next entry - probably not so talky - but I wanted to give a little background this time. See you next week!

Rachel, you talk as much as you want...it's for a great cause! If any of you want to show Rachel some blog luv and support, just leave a comment, she's a regular reader (I have regular readers!) and will spot them. OR, send me an email and I'll forward it to Rachel.

Someday Rachel will catch the blog bug, start one of her own and will finally step over into the light that is blogging.

GO BEARS! (hey, who said that?)