Give and Take

I'm pretty happy the humidity has dropped and temps are lower this week as my continued battle with the heat during training is really getting exhausting. 

Last weekend I did 11 miles on Saturday and while it was not nearly as hot as the Saturday prior, it was still pretty darn hot for being outside and walking for hours. 

I stayed local for that walk, going from my neighborhood into Old Town where I met a friend for breakfast. After catching up with her I headed down King Street to the waterfront and then turned north, on the Mount Vernon trail. I walked along the trail, up to the airport before shifting into Crystal City at Four Mile Run. My initial plan was going to keep me on the trail longer, but I needed to be in a location with more opportunities for shade, water fill ups and A/C breaks. I made my way up Crystal Drive to Long Bridge Park which I had driven by countless times but never walked through before. Then I came back the same route, through Crystal City. That hadn't been my plan either, but I decided I needed to follow the metro way bus route back to give myself an out if needed. I was quite tempted to take the bus home on several occasions, but I kept walking and eventually made it back. 

During the walk I was being pretty hard on myself for the slower than normal pace and my need to take frequent breaks, the weather wasn't nearly as bad as the week before. Then I finally woke up to the fact that while no, it didn't feel like it was 102 degrees, it was still over 90 degrees and my body is not at all acclimated to physical exertion in that kind of weather. 

And that's where the give and take comes in. I've been pushing myself to follow the training plan, even when common sense says otherwise. So I'm going to stop that now. 

This weekend I'm traveling to the beach and don't particularly want to spend my Saturday there walking 12 miles. I was going to get it in Friday night before getting on the road, but again, that's pushing the boundaries of common sense a bit too far. 

Instead I'm going to take advantage of the great weather this week and get longer than normal walks in on Tuesday and Thursday nights, aiming for five miles instead of the three mile walks the training plan calls for. I'm still aiming to do the suggested seven miles I am supposed to on Sunday, but if I decided being a beach bum takes precedence that's ok too. 

I'm adding distance each week and will be ready for the Avon Walk come mid-October. But I don't want to be so focused on sticking to the plan I'm sacrificing either my safety in the heat, or my last beach weekend of the summer. 

Common sense and give and take or compromise aren't usually traits I have a problem with. But straying from the plan, well, that's not my strong suit so this whole endeavor is definitely impacting me beyond just miles walked. 

Generous Support

I continue to be surprised by how my fundraising total just keeps going up.

My philosophy for fundraising when I started out was that I basically had to be shameless in asking everyone I know for donations, and be consistent in posting updates on Facebook and Instagram to remind people about the event. And I've been doing that. In fact, at times it feels like I don't post about anything but the Walk on Facebook and I've got to tone it down!

So the fact that my strategy is working, and people are giving shouldn't be surprising, but I'm still taken aback at times when I get the email alert about another gift, especially when they come from old friends who my only current connection with is social media.

And then I remember, how much this isn't about me.

Sure, some people are giving just because they want to be supportive of me personally and the effort I'm putting in to the walk. But breast cancer is so pervasive and impacts so many lives that I know most of the donations have nothing to do with me at all.

Those giving want to support the work of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade to improve breast cancer outcomes and reduce disparities in survival rates at the community and national level. They want to provide support for the individuals and their families going through treatment and fund research to prevent others from facing the same. They want to give in memory and honor of their loved ones who have faced this terrible disease as well. 

Last year when I completed the Avon Walk I had the names of 12 women in my life who battled breast cancer on the sign I wore during the walk. Since that time I have two more names to add to my sign. 

Right now I'm 2/3 of the way to raising the required $1800, but I'm only just over 1/3 of the way to meeting last year's total of $3400 raised. 

I hope if you are able you'll consider donating. This issue is really important to me, and I know to many of you as well and the more money I can raise, the more people can be helped. 

Closing the Loop

Setting out at 7:15 am

Today's training schedule called for an 8 mile walk.

Earlier in the week I mapped out my route and decided I'd get started as early as possible as the heat was going to be brutal today.

The first two parts of that plan were on track, but right around mile 6,  when there was nothing to be done about it, I realized my 8 mile route was actually a 9 mile route. Sigh...

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

I set out from Gravelly Point, the parking lot right off the GW Parkway by National Airport. My plan was to walk the Mount Vernon trail to the Key bridge and then cross into Georgetown. From there I was going to walk down M Street to Pennsylvania Ave to 15th Street and then back across the bridge to the trail and my car.

Things started off fine, though I was definitely hot. I was slightly questioning my sanity during miles 1-3, but kept pushing along. I had never been on the section of the trail between the Memorial and Key bridges before, so that was nice. There's definitely a lot of shade in the area leading up to Roosevelt Island and I had a nice view of a huge white bird (heron? osprey?) hanging out riverside in the mud. They trail was pretty crowded with bikers, runners and a few others walking like me.

I crossed the Key Bridge into Georgetown and once I got there took my first break, for about 10 minutes in the shade at Francis Scott Key Park. I filled up my water bottle (20 oz consumed) and then made my way through Georgetown to Pennsylvania Ave and past the White House. At this point I veered off my original plan and headed two blocks off route to my office. I needed to grab my FitBit charger and figured cold water and an A/C break would be good too. (60 oz consumed)

When I got into my office I re-mapped my route, just to check and see exactly where things stood and that's when I realized I had a problem.

original route

Actual route

When I finished mapping it I discovered I was pretty much exactly at the 6 mile point (yay!) but instead of 2 miles to go I had 3.1. Um... what? I knew I added four blocks to my total by stopping at the office but that wasn't enough to make a difference of 1.1 miles! Then I pulled up my original route and realized my mistake. When I was drawing it out I had closed the loop, but hadn't kept going in tracking the part I had to walk twice, the distance along the Mt. Vernon trail from the 14th Street Bridge to Gravelly Point. Oops!

With no way to shorten things at that point, I headed back out to wrap up, where the actual temp had reached the high 80s and the feels like was 102. I did a mile and a half to just past the Jefferson Memorial, took one last 10 minute rest in the shade and then headed back into full sun for the walk over the bridge and much of the final stretch back to my car (80 oz consumed).

I returned to my car 3 hours and 55 minutes after I set out. Feeling hot and miserable, but glad I accomplished what I needed to!

Smiling once I was back in the car. Probably
just because the A/C was on full blast!

Touristing & Training

This weekend the training plan called for a six mile walk on Saturday and a five mile walk today.

The weather forecast called for temps that felt like 100 degrees and thunderstorm on Saturday. So, I shifted things and got the six miles in on Friday after work. The weather was pretty perfect - mid 80s with a nice breeze and DC wasn't actually completely overrun with tourists, so that was a plus too!

I left the office and headed towards Union Station and then over to the Capitol Building and down along the National Mall past the Washington Monument, up into Foggy Bottom and then back over to the office past the White House. After living here for 7 1/2 years and working downtown for over 2 years the fact that these are place I can walk by whenever I want still has not gotten old!

Today I ended up breaking up the five miles, doing 3 1/2 in my neighborhood this morning and then getting the rest in while playing tourist again, this time in North East DC at the National Arboretum. It was my first visit there and there is SO much to see! Despite the lower humidity it was still pretty toasty in the sun, so the visit to the Arboretum was a mix of exploring on foot and by car but I have no doubt I got another 1 1/2 miles in. 

While sometimes I'm still questioning why in the world I'm doing the Avon Walk again, I am enjoying the opportunity it provides to get me out of the house exploring the great things the DC area has to offer!

Plans Are Coming Together

The fact that I'm doing the AVON Walk in New York City this year instead of DC means there are some added logistics that have to be taken care of.

First up, and most exciting, I found a friend willing to tag along and cheer for me during the walk! My friend Nicolette is going to travel to NY with me which makes me very happy. I don't mind doing the walk on my own, but I really like the idea of having a familiar face at some of the rest stops and at the finish line! Also, in the worst case scenario of rain she can meet me with dry gear to change in to. (Yes, I'm me, so of course I already have a rain plan worked out.)

Once that was decided, Nicolette and I both booked our train tickets and I booked the hotel. Well get to New York City midday on Friday, October 14 (and hopefully see a show that night) and then I'll walk and walk and walk Saturday and Sunday. Nicolette heads home late Sunday afternoon and I'm staying on until Monday so I don't have to get on a train just after finishing a very long walk!

The other thing that happened this week in terms of preparation is I got new sneakers. It's recommended you get new sneakers every 300-500 miles and I'll put 295 miles on mine just during training. The AVON Walk also recommends you wear different shoes Saturday and Sunday, so I'll begin to break in this pair now and at the beginning of September I'll get another new pair and then keep rotating them during my walks and for the big walk.

And, that's where things stand. This weekend will bring a six then five mile walk and hopefully cooler temperatures to complete them in!