3-Day Saturday

...subtitle: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (not necessarily in that order.)

I think I should abandon the "3-Day Thursday" concept altogether, don't you? Trying to blog on a specific day takes the spontaneity (that word looks wrong, but I looked it up and I did spell it right, amazingly enough!) out of the whole blogging thing-- I just don't have the discipline to blog according to a specific schedule.

Anyway, I'll start off with "The Ugly" picture, to get it out of the way:

This is what my right heel looks like. It's pretty ugly, isn't it?? It's my own fault, though... I've tried out my new running shoes a couple times now, and I think they feel pretty good. So this morning, I decided to get up early- well, the dogs get us up early every day: their stomachs ring the breakfast alarm at 5 am- but I decided to stay up after feeding them and go walking. I set out to do 8 miles with a potty break in between, to give myself a more realistic idea of what I'm getting into when actually walking the 3-Day. Above is what my heel looked like after I finished. I knew the right heel rubbed a bit, but I don't have any moleskin (yet!), so I just decided to go for it. {now for a total aside: Tom took this picture-- he said (rightfully so) that only someone who loves you will take a picture of your blistered foot just so you can document the experience for posterity --any other bloggers out there have similar experiences??}

When I stopped back at home for my potty and snack break, I put more anti-friction powder in my socks and taped up my heel with some duct tape (I read on the internet about using it in a pinch if you don't have moleskin). About mile 4.05 (right after I left the house for the second loop around the neighborhood, actually), my heel started smarting, and my calves and legs started protesting loudly.

The Bad: a) I didn't put sunscreen on beforehand-- so, I have a bit of a burn. It was pretty pleasant outside when I started out, and for some reason I associate needing sunscreen more with the temperature than the amount of sun that's shining. Maybe it comes from all those years of living somewhere (the Midwest) with months of gray, overcast skies?

b) also bad, my attitude- I think I must have wanted to give up at least 6 times on the second loop around the neighborhood: thoughts like, "am I really sure I want to do this?" and "there's no way I can do this" were pretty persuasive, along with the nagging shooting pains from my heel.

The Good: a) I actually pushed through it, and I finished!! (I even jogged a couple times, although my overall walking pace was a lot slower the second time around.) I didn't even take any shortcuts through the neighboorhood- I did the entire 4 mile loop! I know I have a long ways to go to build up my endurance for 3 days of 20 miles each, but for me, this is going to be a lot more of a mental thing than a physical thing, for sure.

b) even greater: when I got home and took off my shoes and socks, I turned on the computer to check my mail-- just the normal check for emails from my Yahoo groups, the comic strip I have delivered to my mailbox-- nothing special. I had a very unexpected message in my inbox: I had sent a donation request letter (asking for a donation of goods for our raffle fundraiser) to one of the local stores we shop in. I was going to give it a few days and call them back next week, but the manager beat me to it: he said not only would they be glad to donate $100 in merchandise (way more than I had anticipated) for the raffle, but they're also going to donate to my fundraising campaign, too!! (woo-hoo!!!) I was TOTALLY not expecting that!! So, maybe this pain and suffering is worth it, after all...?? I definitely know it is; it's just easy to forget. (the store is the wonderfully helpful Maricopa Ace Hardware, by the way-- a really nice neighborhood store where they're glad to help you with whatever you need, and they make fresh popcorn in the afternoons.)

For me, this walk is turning out to be so much more than just a "walk." It's turned into lessons in finding out that sometimes the answer is "yes" when you ask for something. (If you don't ask at all, then you for sure won't get what you want, right? And if the answer IS no, then you just come up with plan B, because it's an important enough goal to keep on asking.) Also perseverence, and believing in myself (this one is a hard one for me, but on November 15th when I've walked 60 miles after having raised at least $3500, then hopefully I will have learned- a little, anyway).

you all have a good rest of your holiday weekend, and I'll do the same (wearing my flip-flops!!).