Komen 3 Day Walk

This racing bib is from my friend Sara in Wales who regularly blogs. I'm learning all sorts of stuff from her. Anyway, on the bib, I am listed as Sue in Italia, my original blog name before it morphed into Cancerland

So this August, my name will be on my friend's back as she does the Susan Komen 3 day 60 mile walk. I decided to go on one of their shorter training walks today as I know some of the participants.There is a large group in Ann Arbor that trains regularly headed by my former neighbor whose girls are Josh and Shanna's ages. At one point, her younger daughter was Josh's girlfriend. Now she (the younger daughter) goes to school at the university right next to Shanna's apartment. The other is a professor at Mt. Holyoke, also in Massachusetts. Small world. I hadn't seen their mom since Josh graduated 10 years ago so it was fun catching up. Also usually training is a woman I met in the infusion room and later, she was scheduled on the same radiation machine as me so we'd catch up every day that I was in treatment. Neither of us had hair when I saw her last so it would be fun to see her again but she wasn't there.

Today we went 7.5 miles. Yesterday, they went for 12. As I run regularly, I figured walking has to be easier, just way more time consuming. They are very organized with mandatory water and stretching stops. Everyone has this cutsy cancer paraphernalia attached to them along with squeaky toys that sound like frogs. I looked quite bare with no water bottles, hat, toys, buttons, dangling chains, pink ribbons galore festooned to myself but I am used to exercising by myself out in the boonies. A few of them are cancer survivors: one woman I spoke to at length has stage 4 cancer in her brain, lungs and bone kept somewhat in check by Herceptin. But she will be walking the 60 miles! Another woman is an oncology nurse whose beloved cousin died in her early 30s of BC leaving behind 2 toddlers. I walked 3 of the miles with her and another 3.5 miles with my former neighbor. Her little girl stressed to me the difference between little girls and boys. She'd come over when she was 4 and I would set up art projects for her and Josh. She would carefully and expertly color between the lines and write her whole name, including a long last name. Josh would scribble a bit and signed his name with a backwards J. She was very articulate whereas I was sending my boy Josh to speech therapy. Finally Josh told her he wouldn't play with her anymore because she was 'bow-wing'. She'd beg him to reconsider but he was heartless. She'd stop over a few times after that to show me various missing teeth ( a common obsession of 6 year olds) but that was the end of their relationship until middle school.

Afterwards, some of us went out for iced coffee (it will be 90 today!).

I am down to one dog today. It was decided that Sunny would be happier at her own place so Naomi and Dontae are at the house with Dakota while Josh and Julia wine taste in Northern Michigan. I did have Dakota all yesterday. I will train her to have more manners: no more begging, no peeing in the house, etc. Julia already has made some headway with her. My friend and I took her on a long walk yesterday to tire her out (Naomi does not). She slept at my feet last night.

Should I lift weights today? Was walking enough?