Attempting 15 miles, touristing in Europe and fundraising update

Sorry I've been so remiss in updating the blog! I had two really good days of walking a few weeks back, followed by a cold that knocked me out and a trip to Europe.

But now I'm back and very focused on the last 6 weeks leading up to the Avon Walk!

Looking back...

February 28/March 1

My plan was do to 15 miles on the 28th and 7 on March 1 and I came close to succeeding.

On the 28th I did the first two miles in my neighborhood when I met some friends for brunch, and then I set out in the afternoon for downtown DC and a route I had mapped out which was 13 miles long. I started near Metro Center and headed for Georgetown, meaning miles 2-4 were entirely up hill. It was sloooow going and tough, but from there mostly downhill. I wound my way past the Cathedral, through Woodly Park, Adams Morgan and Logan Circle, back to Mass Ave. From there I headed east, towards Capitol Hill. My original plan had me walking to 8th SE, but I cut south when I hit 4th and started heading back. I walked along the Mall the whole way back, instead of my planned route down Pennsylvania, but still ended up a bit shy of my goal at 13.5 miles total.

March 1 brought sleet and general ickiness on the weather front, so I hit the treadmill. I managed to get 5 miles in there, by never doing more than 40 minutes at a time, so I didn't have to stare at the numbers and feel like I had been on the treadmill forever!

I felt pretty good after the two days of walking, and again didn't just collapse after the long walk, but went to the grocery store.

Europe

I had done some tweaking of the training schedule because as it was designed I was set to walk 13 miles the first Saturday I was in Europe and 15 the next. While I knew I'd get a good bit of walking in while being a tourist, I also knew my travel plans involved lots of time in the car and lots of time with a 3 year old. In the end I had two really good days back to back - hitting just over 10 miles both days. Later that week it was followed by two 6-7 mile days, so I feel pretty good about where I am.

Fundraising

I came back from my trip and was shocked to discover thanks to a few mailed in donations I am 96% of the way to my required $1800! Thank you all so much for the support! My teammate Mary is about 70% of the way there so we are both feeling good about our progress.

This weekend I'll be walking 17 miles on Saturday - my longest walk to date! Wish me luck!