My Plan

Yes, I know today is Veterans' Day and also the very cool 11/11/11, but today is special to me for another reason.  Exactly one week from today, I will begin the 3 Day for the Cure Walk!  Nine months ago my sister and I committed to participate in this walk in order to raise money for breast cancer research and to honor and remember our mother.  We formed the team "Annie's Angels" and our aunt, cousin and two friends soon joined us.  One of our friends decided to drop out, but the rest of us have held strong despite some pretty major obstacles.  You might want to call us team gimpy.  It has been a struggle for all of us to train for this event.  My aunt had to have surgery on her foot, Jenny broke her leg, Brenda's daughter needed major surgery with an extensive recovery time.  And then there's me.  I will be doing this walk as I start my 6th month of pregnancy.  Slightly less than ideal circumstances, huh?

I talked to my doctor about the 3 Day walk at one of my first appointments this summer.  She told me that she didn't want me to do the entire walk and asked me if I could modify it.  I've given it a lot of thought since then.  I presented my plan at my last doctor visit and it was approved by both my doctor and my husband! 

• My first modification is staying at a hotel instead of camping.  My fellow team members were happy to support this change.
• Each morning I will walk approximately 5-6 miles and then take a shuttle to the lunch location.  I will rest there and wait for my team.   I have also promised my doctor that I will drink lots of water and gatorade and eat at every rest stop.
• After lunch I will walk another 5 miles or so and then take the shuttle back to camp where I will wait for my team so we can have dinner together.  
• After dinner we'll head to our hotel for a (hopefully!) good night's sleep.

If I stick to this schedule for all 3 days it should allow me to meet my goals.  It is important to me to be able to participate all three days of the event.  I don't want to wear myself out or push myself too hard so that I put the baby in any danger.  I would really love to finish all 60 miles of the course, but I know that wouldn't be wise.  I will be satisfied with doing 30 miles in three days.  That is still a lot of walking and I have still raised over $2300 for breast cancer research.  Best of all I get to spend 3 days with some of my favorite people and honor my mom's life! 

I think my mom would get a good laugh out of me doing this walk with my big belly, but I also know she would be supportive.  I can imagine her making embroidered shirts for all of us to wear and giving all of us big hugs.  My mom did many hard things during her life and overcame many challenges.  She suffered much physical pain, but continued on with a smile.  I'll be thinking about her as I walk.  I love you mom!