Maria & Me (Training Week 7 - 33 Miles)

Maria & Me after our 5 mile walk.

Saturday was a gorgeous spring day in New England. It was in the low 60's and sunny. My day started with a fun breakfast with Father Ignacio and my GF, Jean. Father Ignacio is from Columbia and the three of us have been spending time together once a week to help him master his english. I think his english is just fine. Breakfast was followed by a 10 mile walk and a 5 mile walk. Maria met me for the 5 mile walk. It was a nice change to have someone to chat with while walking. We completed the 5 miles in under 2 hours.

Lately, when walking alone, I have been listening to audible books on my IPOD. I have been alternating between a recording of the New Testament and a new-to-me author, Kim Harrison . A bit of an odd combination of things to listen too. Kim Harrison writes fiction books about witches, vampires, and pixies. The New Testament, well it's the New Testament. It is read by several people in different voices and is done really well. I find that I am hearing things that I missed when just reading it.

Training Week 6 - 26 Miles and Chris

LOOK!!!! LOOK!!! Flowers!!!!!!

Spring is here - even if it did snow yesterday. Thankfully I was home from my walk by the time it started. I was actually on the phone with my DSis when we discovered the swirl of snowflakes falling from a mostly blue and sunny sky. You Gotta Love New England!!

I spied this clump of flowers on my Sunday walk along Farm Road. I was walking alone. DH had a previous engagement (see the picture at the bottom of this post). This weekend's walks consisted of a 6 mile route to my DP's with a pit stop, then 2.25 miles home, a 2nd pit stop, and then a 5 mile loop for a total of 13 on Saturday. Sunday was a merger of 2 loops I have done before to total 7 miles. The weather was cold, back to long underwear, but the sun was shining.

Saturday's first route was new to me and I unwittingly included a hill that is steeper than Brimsmead Rd (see my previous post for a picture)! As I was struggling to make my way up this nose bleeder, I had thoughts of my friend Chris from PA. She is walking in DC with us and is a cancer survivor who very recently was given a good bill of health. It is funny, I have yet to meet Chris face to face, but we talk almost daily through our cooking group and I feel as though she is a dear friend to me. As I was struggling with myself to climb this hill, I had Chris with me, walking next to me, encouraging me every step of the way. I could hear her voice, see her smile, and feel her presence. I thought to myself, if Chris can beat this illness with a great attitude, grace, and sense of humor, then I can climb this crazy hill without whining. Thank you Chris for pushing me along!


DH's prior engagement..........

He is a cutey though isn't he?

Training Week 5 (24 Miles)

No Long Underwear!!!!

Hola My Friends!

That's right - Sunday was warm enough to leave the long johns at home - woo hoooo!!!!

My Sunday walks are in the afternoon after church. DH and I did 6 miles yesterday. It was gorgeous out - 59 degrees. As you can tell I was quite excited to NOT being wearing 3 layers and long underwear. My new hydration belt seems to be working well. It holds two bottles and a pocket for keys, etc. I took DH on my 6 mile route that goes through a few neighborhoods. In the first mile is Brimsmead Street. This hill may not look to bad from the bottom, but when walking up it you will find yourself out of breath.

My Saturday walk was 12 miles. There was a Ladies Luncheon at my church, so I made a 6 mile route to the church and walked it home to make my 12 miles. The Luncheon was fun, the food was good, and the company was rowdy .


While walking last weekend I kept looking for signs of spring. Most everything was still snow and ice covered, but I did come across this - motorcycle! A definite sign of warmer weather.

Bad Blogger

I know - I Know I have been a Bad Blogger. It is a good thing no one really reads this besides me! I will be back to update my training progress. For now I wanted to post a couple of pics of Fatty Cat. I was looking for signs of spring on my walks last weekend. I finally found one when I got home......

Mr. Fatty Cat rolling on the back walkway and enjoying the warm bricks

What a happy kitty!

I'll Be Back