Motivational Monday - Highlights of the 2010 3-Day

As many of you know 2010 ended in a very busy and at times rather dramatic fashion, (cough, Matt's Thanksgiving day appendectomy, cough) but now that things have calmed down I am finally sitting down to write and reflect on the highlights of the 2010 3-Day.

The first thing that needs to be mentioned is the pouring rain that sunny San Diego experienced throughout the 3-Day. The rain definitely presented a new challenge for walkers but in the end both Julie and I agreed that it made the experience that much more special. Honestly it brought tears to your eyes to see the line of pink walkers with their shoes wrapped in anything waterproof they could find. Such dedication. I'm honored to have been a part of this!

Another highlight was Matt surprising us on my birthday (day 2) by meeting us at lunch, wearing a kilt, lots of pink, with his face painted (pink of course). After we ate lunch in his truck to escape the pouring rain, he walked the last 6 miles of the day with us. Julie and I realized that we got A LOT more attention walking with a man in a kilt. Good news is that we think we have him convinced to participate in future years. :-)

Day 3 was my favorite day by far. Although we experienced more rain, this time Julie and I were prepared after having wrapped our shoes in saran wrap and duck tape. We also decided to hustle throughout the day, push past lunch and meet Matt and my mom and dad at the finish line to share some Basic Pizza and beer before closing ceremony. Best idea ever. And best tasting pizza ever!

As always the people who support the San Diego 3-Day made the experience. It's amazing to me how many people in our community spend three days of their lives outside (this year in the pouring rain) cheering on walkers. Smile Guy and lil Grin, Hookers for Hooters, the dancing hula girls, ALL of them truly make the walk so much easier. As we completed the final mile to closing ceremony, and you walk past all the supporters, I think it would be impossible to not start crying. That's the moment when I realized that I cannot consider walking in another city if it means I would miss out on the support in this wonderful 3-Day city.

So next year I will celebrate my 30th birthday at closing ceremonies. Who wants to walk with me? Julie and I have already signed up and formed our Breast Coast Walkers team. Join us!

P.S. to see more pictures of our 3-Day experience check out my album on Facebook

Wordless Wednesday - Some of the cuter 3-Day fans

You see some pretty strange, yet adorable things while walking the 3-Day. Such as little boys wearing pink bras...What strange things have you grabbed pictures of during an event?

Training Tuesday - Wussy and Whiney and Weather challenges

There are now 46 days until the San Diego 3-Day for the Cure. Time to really get my butt in gear so that I am fully prepared to walk the full 60 miles.

This past week has had some crazy weather. We've had highs in the 100s in San Diego, with heavy humidity (remember that us Souther Californians are big wusses when it comes to weather). Then we had thunder storms, which turned back into sticky, icky heat. Now we are back to rain. So, needless to say, training outside has been a challenge. I know, I know, most of you deal with this all the time, but again, Southern California = wussy and whiney about weather.

On Saturday afternoon, my boyfriend and I decided to do a walk in our neighborhood. Despite the heat and humidity we were feeling adventurous and took this trail that we had never been on. Feeling more adventurous, when the trail ended we decided to climb our way out of the canyon rather than back track. Enter the phase of Lyndsey being a whiney walker, complaining about my legs getting scratched and itchy. Sigh...at least we did make it though.

I'm excited because we also scheduled a trip to Zion National Park roughly one month before the 3-Day. I think it will be the perfect opportunity to get a 15 mile hike in as part of my training.

Training and Motivation

The physical act of training, of putting one foot in front of the other for mile after mile is an incredibly important aspect of 3-Day preparation. But another important element is staying motivated to keep all of the 3-Day prep pieces moving. We’re all experiencing it, the stress of trying to balance your non-3-Day life such as work, school, kids, friends, community obligations, etc. with the 3-Day life which entails long walks, cross-training, fundraising, fundraising, fundraising.

How do you stay motivated? One thing that has really helped motivate me lately is the book Promise Me by Nancy G. Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. I’ll admit, the book makes me cry, a lot. And sometimes the stories of the treatment of breast cancer in earlier years horrify me. But those stories also motivate me because I know how far we have come in the treatment and prevention of breast cancer.

This particular quote stood out to me as I was reading a chapter about the 2009 San Diego 3-Day for the Cure. It sums up the experience and brought back hundreds of wonderful memories from that walk.

“We can’t overstate the importance of the millions of dollars generated for cancer research, but the impact of the SGK 3-Day for the Cure is in the lives it changes as well as the lives it saves. It speaks to the tandem goals of survival and survivorship. You fight for your life. Then you live your life, regardless of what others think of your particular mode of self-expression.” Pg 100-101

That quote really sums up the experience of the 3-Day and the reason why we continue to be involved year after year. This quote helps motivate me. What motivates you to keep walking, training, or doing whatever it is in your life that you sometimes feel challenged by?

* I wrote this on Tuesday but fell asleep on my couch before posting. So another day-late Tuesday Training blog.

Motivational Monday - One person really can make a difference

Once again I'm a day late with my post for Motivational Monday but honestly it coincides perfectly with the fact that today Nancy Brinker's (founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure) book Promise Me hits bookstore shelves.

Most of you reading this blog know that Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen that she would do something to help the fight against breast cancer. What I think is so motivational about the story of Nancy and Susan is that one woman was able to make such an enormous impact. In 2009 Nancy was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama, who remarked "Nancy lay awake at night wondering if one person can really make a difference. Nancy's life is the answer."

This is why so many of us walk in the 3-Day each year - we know that we truly can make a difference.

I want to close with some words from the book where Nancy remembers how she first realized the power of fundraising and change. "It was my earliest inking of what goes into the chemistry of change: moment meets messenger, information becomes action. Hearts and minds shift to a new paradigm, money happens, and it all comes together." Look at how far her movement has come. I'm proud to be a part of this organization.

The publisher allows you to post a link to an excerpt from the first chapter of Promise Me. Be sure to check out the link if you're interested in reading this story.

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Wordless Wednesday - Something Pink

One of my favorite photos of the 2009 San Diego 3-Day! Me, Julie and Danna posing with some of our favorite San Jose policemen! The guy in the helmet later pumped us up when he played "Living on a Prayer" for us while hoofing it along the Mission Beach boardwalk after having already walked close to 20 miles on day two!

Training Tuesday - Or Trying to remember when my last walk was...

In order to be a better blogger I am trying to create a schedule for my 3 Day blog. This is still a work in progress, but I’ve committed to writing a “Training Tuesday” post each week. Today is Tuesday so despite the fact that I didn’t do ANY training last week, you still deserve an update.

I started training a couple weeks ago for the 2010 3 Day. So far I have done a handful of walks that average between five to seven miles. Other than last week when I was sick, these walks have felt really good and well paced. I’ve done the Torrey Pines hill a couple of times already and do a lot of my other training at the San Diego zoo, which has some great hills.

All in all, I feel great about the 3 Day, however I do struggle with finding time to do my training walks. While trying to manage working full time, taking marketing classes for my job, working on my history masters thesis, and trying to stay on top of my normal work out routine, it is really hard to find time to do long training walks. Every time I decide to do a training walk it means there is something else that I should be, but won’t be doing. Any advice out there from all of you super busy, yet well-organized people?

A glimpse of 2009...

Danna, me and Julie after finishing 40+ miles! What a great feeling it was to know that we only had one day left to walk. I couldn't have done it without the support of both of them! I can't wait to do it all over again with Julie!

Why I walk...

Dear Friends and Family,

Currently breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women worldwide. While this is a sad reality, the situation is improving daily, in part due to organizations such as Susan G. Komen. Since its inception, the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure has raised nearly $500 million to help pay for vital global breast cancer research and local community programs supporting education, screening and treatment. This year, as I celebrate my 29th birthday, I will walk for the second time, pledging to raise $2,300 and walk a total of 60 miles to help eradicate breast cancer.

Most of you know my inspiration for participating in this amazing event. It’s been over seven years since my mother was diagnosed with and survived breast cancer. It’s an interesting thing when your parent becomes sick and you assume a more parental role in life. I drove her to six months of chemotherapy treatments that left her sick and weak. I cut her hair short when it started to fall out. I safety proofed our home for someone with a weakened immune system. Through all of this I watched as my mother proved time and again that she was the strong one in our family, demonstrating courage, determination and a sense of grace with each new situation. I was there to help care for her during the tough times, but I was also there to see her strength and to be inspired by her survival. I witnessed firsthand, all that medicine and science can do to ensure that a cancer diagnosis is not fatal, and that a daughter still has her mother.

Every year medicine and science make incredible strides in the fight against breast cancer. When my Mother was diagnosed with cancer it had been thirty years since her mother, my grandmother was diagnosed with the same disease. In the seventies a breast cancer diagnosis almost certainly meant a full mastectomy. In the twenty-first century cancer is caught early, treated quickly with less evasive surgeries and followed up with a personally devised combination of chemotherapy, radiation, and other medicines. Today for women diagnosed with breast cancer early, the five-year survival rate is 98%, making it one of the most survivable cancers. Despite this great progress in the time if takes you to read this letter another woman will receive a breast cancer diagnosis, and in the next 90 minutes 34 women will be told they have breast cancer. Together we can continue this progress so that one day NO women will ever be told they have breast cancer.

The progress that we have made towards eradicating breast cancer would not have been possible without the generous help of millions of people just like you. After working in development and fundraising, I know firsthand just how much impact we can all have on the world when we each give what we can. It is with this knowledge that I am not only raising funds as a walker in the 2010 3- Day for the Cure, but also continuing my annual donation to my local Susan G. Komen office and donating to my own 3-Day fund to help me reach my goal. I know that my donation, when joined with thousands of others in San Diego is truly making an impact in the fight against breast cancer.

Please help me reach my goal by following the link to my personal donation website. As I prepare to walk 60 miles to demonstrate how important it is to me that we find a cure for breast cancer, I need your help.

Take a walk with me to help eradicate breast cancer.

Many thanks and much love,

Lyndsey

Welcome to my 3-Day blog!

I am really excited to start this blog to share with my friends, family, and the 3-Day community, my experience as a 3-Day walker. I will be posting photos and sharing stories from the 2009 San Diego walk, as well as updating everyone on my progress with fundraising and training for the 2010 walk so please check back for updates!

I’m going to post in a separate blog my fundraising letter, but also wanted to share with everyone how you can donate. If you go to www.the3day.org you can search for my name by clicking on the “Donate” tab and then “Search for participant.”

Thank you everyone for your love and support!