Training Walks

I am a Training Walk Leader, a 3-Day Ambassador, and a first time walker. I hosted my first training walk yesterday (that actually had a participant). I live in a "non-market area" so there aren't very many 3-Dayers around...20ish within 25 miles of me. I have been doing my training walks by myself and listening to my ipod or talking on the phone (both are things that you are not allowed to do on the event or during official training walks). I discovered how much more fun it was to walk and talk with someone else during my walk, but I did also miss my upbeat music to keep me moving. If you haven't looked into a training walk in your area I strongly encourage you to do so. It's a great way to build the 3-Day community before the event and it gets you use to walking with the 3-Day rules. I loved exchanging fundraising ideas with Jillian. She has also done the walk before so she was able to pass along a lot of advice to me a newbie. It might be scary to go join a group of people (or one or two people) that you don't know for a training walk, but trust me you won't run out of things to talk about. We walked 5 miles in 1.5 hours and it felt like 20 minutes. I walked the same route the week before and it felt like it took 3 hours. Check out the training calendar on the 3-Day website or message boards for upcoming training walks. If you need help finding a training walk in your area all the coaches and they will be happy to help (or become a Training Walk Leader yourself so others can come join you). It's usper easy and if your going to be walking anyway you might as well have some company, right?

My FAVORITE Fundraiser

I am one week into my new, favorite fundraiser and so far I have $120 from it. So, what is this super fun fundraiser you ask. I'm flamingo flocking!!! Here's how it works...people make a $25 donation and I in turn send a flock of 25 plastic flamingos to the yard of their choice. I then go in the middle of the night (usually around 11) and set-up the flamingos in the front yard. I then hang a ziploc baggie on the front door with a few additional flyers, a donation form, and also a sign that explains what the flamingos are for. The flamingos stay in the yard for just under 24 hours...I go back and pick them up sometime between 9 and 11 to take them to the next house. I also have a sign in the front yard stating that this is a fundraiser for Susan G. Komen and has my phone number on it. So far I haven't had any phone calls from random strangers that saw the flamingos and wanted to flock someone else, but everyone that has been flocked has passed them on. My flamingos have been in 4 yards in the last week! I am trying to figure out how to get into some other social circles to get more business. I hope I can keep this going until the 3 day. I have about 12 weeks left so this fundraiser alone could raise me $1,200. That would be AWESOME!


I got my flamingos from Oriental Trading Company (they have lots of great breast cancer gear as well). I bought the Twirling Flamingo yard stakes (set of 6 for $9.99). These are on the small side, but still seeing 25 flamingos in someone's yard gets attention. If you want to go bigger the best (aka cheapest) place is gotpinkflamingos.com here you can get 24 flamingos for $60 plus shipping.

What are your favorite fundraisers? What has been the easiest?

Training isn't just about walking

Training to walk 20 miles in one day, much less doing that for 3 days in a row, is a very hard thing to do. I know we all know how to walk, we've done pretty much everyday since we were a year old. But training yourself to walk that far for that long is about more than just muscle conditioning and endurance training. It's about finding out what works for you while you are within a few miles of home and not stuck out on the 3-Day with something that annoys you, or worse yet, hurts you and causes injuries.

Things to think about and try out on your walk...of course, you need to find the right shoes. Everyone's feet are different and everyone walks differently so what might be "THE PERFECT" shoe for one person may hurt you like crazy. I recommend visiting a local running store (not a chain place) and getting a professional fit. They should watch you walk and make recommendations for you based on how you walk. Also, make sure you break in you shoes for a few weeks before the 3-Day. It might seem like a good idea to open a brand new box of shoes full of cushioning at the starting line, but trust me it's not.

Another important thing to think about are your socks. Here again everyone is different. Some people like thick cushioned socks and other prefer a thin sock. Get a few pairs and try them for yourself. Some recommendations I have are Thorlos and WrightSocks.

Other things to consider what clothes are comfortable and don't cause chaffing. What will keep you warm or cool (depending on what the weather is when your walking). Also, what type of fanny pack or back pack will be most comfortable while walking and hold everything (I'll post later on what you should carry) that you need including one or two water bottles. You'll want to be sure you train with full bottles of water/sports drink and a fanny pack full of what you'll be carrying on your walk. You might not thing that the extra 5 pounds of gear will make a difference but on the 18th or 19th mile for the day it might be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Don't forget you'll want to spend sometime training in the rain and trying out your rain gear. It's easy to say during traing or I'll just wait til later today or tomorrow to go for that wealk because I don't want to walk in the rain, but remember on the 3-Day there's no waiting til later or tomorrow to start walking. You don't want to get out and on the first mile of a rainy day find out that your shoes leak really bad or that your poncho has a hole in it. Take a short walk in the rain to check everything out. Oh and a tip I picked up from someone else (can't remember who) but to keep your feet dry (or drier at least) in the rain take some plastic bags and tie them over your socks and shoes. Plastic grocery bags work great, just be sure they aren't tied too tight because you don't want to cut off circulation.

Good luck with your training!

This week

This week I have made progress in my journey. I have officially raised $599 with another $60 that hasn't been applied to my 3-Day account. I have officially hit the 20% mark...Woohoo! I know I still have a long way to go, but I really a little better with 20% of my funds raised. I have several great money makers coming up...2 garage sales, my flamingo flocking, and my friend who for her house warming is asking for donations to support me. Here's the specifics on the fundraisers you can have a part in.

Garage Sales: I'm having one in Wichita, KS on Saturday, May 29th 8am-2pm. If you have any items you'd like to donate please let me know ASAP so I can arrange to get them from you. Than I'm having another in Omaha, NE mid-June (I'll give you the specific date as soon as I have it).

Flamingo Flocking: I have a collection of 25 PINK flamingos that will migrate to your friend's front yard for a day for a $25 donation. Contact me to pick a date ASAP!

I'm also hoping to get permission to collect donations in front of some local stores for a few weekends during the month of June.

Also, this week I have walked 7 miles and I have a 7 mile walk tomorrow and another 6 miles to do on Sunday. I'm getting more and more excited everyday...I look forward to my walks and I love getting outside.

My 3-Day purchases this week will also involve my fanny pack and shopping for shoes. I'm going to get professionally fitted tomorrow and will then be looking for the best deal on my "ideal" shoes.

I love this challenge and I can't believe that 14 weeks from today I will be camping out in a sea of pink tents with a couple thousand other walkers. I can't wait!!!!

Fundraising letters

Today, I sent out 45 fundraising letters. I had sent out e-mails and some facebook messages before and had gotten some ok response. Today I went for good old fashioned snail mail. I sent these to people that I had e-mailed also, but that had not responded. There are people out there that would rather see the effort put into getting a letter in the mail than just an e-mail. Also, it's so easy for an e-mail to just be deleted or to be read on an blackberry or iphone when they are on the go and don't have time to donate right then. They may never go back and look at that e-mail again. If you haven't sent out actual letters I strongly recommend doing so. While letters can get thrown in the trash or put at the bottom of the junk mail pile that letter is more likely to get more notice. Also, don't forget to follow up once a month to update them on your training progress and the fundraising progress.

Good luck!

95 days

I have 95 days until I take on the ultimate challenge. 95 days left to raise the $2,300 that I still need to meet my fundraising goal. 95 days until I am walking 60 miles over 3 days in the August heat that is Chicago. Everyday I ask myself...what have I done? What can I do today to get myself ready for this scary, yet awesomely wonderful journey. Well, everyday I train...I walk or I do some type of cross training. Everyday, I think about, I research, I plan some way to raise the money. I can do this! This is another first step on this journey and I hope to keep this updated with my progress. That is my new goal for today. Please join me on this journey and follow this blog. Your comments will help keep me going.