Walking to Cure Diabetes - October 8, 2011

My mom and I had a wonderful morning at the Walk to Cure Diabetes. We got there early to enjoy the pre-walk events. There was live music, healthy snacks to have, massages and lots of volunteers with free samples to share.  It was a 1 mile walk, but I did a second lap for a total of 2 miles. I wanted to walk slow with my mom on mile 1 since she is older and not in as good shape for longer distances. So, I didn't worry about my pace for today's event. It was more about being there to support my mom and enjoy the day. It was a fun day and I am glad I participated in it.

Here are some pictures of our day:



Mom - finishing up the walk



Enjoying talking to the volunteers

Post walk massage! Ahhh!

Welcome to the walk from Kermit Brown from MTSU

My mom - She is a superhero!

It was a great day for a walk. I was very glad to do this walk with my mom. She did a great job!

Walk to Cure Diabetes

What's one more charity walk? I can do it! My mom recently became diagnosed with pre-diabetes. She found out that our town is doing the Walk to Cure Diabetes this Saturday and wanted to get involved. I decided to join her. The details of the event are here : Walk to Cure Diabetes

I'm very proud of her for wanting to do this. She is in her 70's and wants to be more active. Even though it's only a mile walk, this is a step in the right direction. I hope to post lots of pictures of our adventure!

It's been a very busy week at work so I haven't had time for posting. I have made time to get to the gym this week and hope to be able to workout in my hotel next week. I'll be traveling with my job for the next few weeks so I'm trying not to get stressed out about that. I hope to stick to my healthy eating and get some exercise every day.

What are your active plans for the weekend? Any races?

Running setbacks

Charity walks memorabilia

I noticed I have accumulated quite a collection of race shirts from the events I have done. This madness began a few years ago when I decided to get healthy and thought doing charity walks/5k's would be a good start.

Looking at my memorabilia puts me in a better mood. I'm glad I have been able to help some of these charities raise money. Why am I in a bad mood? Tonight, I tried to do my running workout outside. It was not good. Here in the south, we have had a heatwave for several weeks now, but I thought if I waited until the sun went down I could do it. I need to train outside soon, since I have a 5k planned in a few weeks. It was still around 98 degrees when I started and unfortunately there wasn't much shade in the area. I ended up shortening my workout and feeling like a failure. I am so used to running on the treadmill that I felt extremely awkward on the track. And the unbearable heat didn't help. At least the 5k I am doing will be early in the morning. Hopefully that will make a difference. Days like this make me miss living in the Pacific Northwest.

Spokane WA

Riverfront Park in Spokane

Mornings and evenings are so pleasant there, even in the summertime. The humidity here in the south is dreadful.

The running trail

Siegel Soccer Park - nice area with running/walking trails

My passion!

 Looking at my race shirts remind me of the reason I do this. Tomorrow will be a better day. I'll give it another try.

Great Strides Walk - for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

I thought I was doing a 5k today, but it turns out to only be a mile walk. It;s for a good cause, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. A group of ladies from my church walked in honor of one of friends, Christine. The name of our group is S.A.L.T. sisters. This stands for Sisters Actively Learning and Teaching. I am very proud to me associated with these wonderful ladies!

It was a nice cool morning for the walk and no rain. I took my poncho just in case! I think I need to find some events that are at least a 5k in the future. I enjoy the walks but I need to increase my distance.

Before the walk, I got up, had my coffee and breakfast. I ate a banana and a piece of whole wheat toast with organic peanut butter and a cup of Silk light chocolate milk.

Here are some pictures from the event.

breakfast - banana and whole wheat toast with organic peanut butter

my t-shirt from the walk

Me and my mom

And we're off!

live music at the walk

After the walk, since I was already at The Avenue, I decided to get my hair cut. I think it turned out nice.

It was a good morning but since the walk was only 1 mile, I think I'll try to do a running workout later today.

Have a great weekend!!

March for Babies Walk - May 1, 2011

Today was the day for the March for Babies walk in my town. I walked with my daughter, Jan'a and her friend, Deborah. It was a lot of fun! I was a little worried since I woke up to thunderstorms this morning, but it cleared up before the walk started. It was a 2 mile walk but I'm not sure if it was really 2 miles or not. But since this is a walk for charity, I'm sure they aren't too concerned about whether the mileage was accurate. I'm glad to be able to contribute to this charity, since Jan'a was premature herself. This is the 3rd year I have participated in this walk and I'll continue to do this in years to come. I'll post more pictures when they are available. Several photographers asked if they could take our picture! It must be the matching shirts that did it. In my several years of charity walks, I don't think that has ever happened before!

We are ready to Walk for Babies!!

After the walk, we were pretty hungry so we went to Cracker Barrel. We weren't too interested in the hot dogs they had provided. I ordered a semi-healthy breakfast with a multigrain muffin and a yogurt parfait. But I had to have ONE biscuit with blackberry preserves. Yummy.

March for Babies - May 1

I'd love for you to help support me in the March for Babies walk this year. Here is my March for Babies webpage - Its very easy to make a secure donation from this site. My walk is only 8 days away and I have not met my goal yet! I'm looking forward to the walk, since my daughter and her friends have decided to join me. We even had some t-shirts made! The t-shirts just came in today. I'm so excited!!

I'll be sure and post pictures before,during and after our event to share!

Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick. I'm walking in March for Babies because I want to do something about this. And I need your help.

Please support my walk. Making a secure donation is easy: just click the 'donate now' button on my page. Thank you for helping me give all babies a healthy start!

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

Exercise check in

Last night, I decided to do a cycling workout and a strength training workout with hand weights. It was a good workout. I'm glad I was able to get up and do something! I could have and should have done more but at least its a step in the right direction.

I decided to pack my workout clothes this morning as a reminder to exercise after work. I'll let you know how that works for me. I'm trying to get back on track. I have 2 walks scheduled for May. That alone should be enough motivation to get me up and moving! I'll be participating in the March for Babies walk for the 3rd year in a row on May 1 and Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis on May 14. My goal has been to try and run/jog at least a mile for each one. I'm going to make that happen!

Also, if you would like to donate to either of these causes, I have information on my blog.

Thanks for your support!