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

Training - Week 3 (14.2 Miles)

Brrrrrrr - You gotta love New England! This weekend I decided to walk around the west end of Marlboro for my Saturday walk. It was a bit brisk out, 22 degrees and VERY windy. I had mapped out my route on this really cool website called USATF. You can map street by street where you will walk and the program will give you mileage. Then you can save the route and share it with other people. The routes that I have saved all start with my initials in the name. The route I mapped out measured to 7.2 miles and reached 3 miles at DH's office (for a pit stop).

And yes all of my walks are planned with pit stops.

Sunday was a 3.79 mile walk with my honey. It was a balmy 39 degrees out and overcast. I took this picture on Farm Road. The house in the background is a typical Old New England farm house.

And last but not least here is Mr. Fatty Cat relaxing by the fire with DH. What a way to spend a lazy afternoon.

BTW A bit of advice - If you drop your pedometer in a toilet bowl full of water, it most likely won't work right again.

Training - Week 2 ( 17.9 miles total)

3 months until our Avon Walk!

I can't believe it is coming up so fast. I have started a 12 week training program provided by The American Cancer Society/Avon Walk. If you click on the link above you will be able to see the schedule. Starting last Saturday I will walk Saturdays, Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Last weekend called for 4 miles on Saturday and 3 miles on Sunday. I was able to walk 6.1 miles and 3.25 miles. Believe it or not DH walked with me on Sunday! It was nice to have some company and to share the afternoon with him. He has promised to be my Sunday walking partner (Sunday's are the short walks).

I set out Saturday morning at 8:05. It was twenty- two degrees and very windy, but the sun was shining, look how blue the sky is! I finished my walk at 11:25 which included a brief pit stop at my parent's house along the way. The sidewalks are still partially covered with snow and ice. The conditions make walking challenging as most drivers do not like to share the road.

Here is a creek that runs under Concord Road.




Ooops - I almost forgot! I got a great deal on these boots this weekend. Macy's - marked down from 5o something to 14.70 - cute 'eh?

Sunday Gratitudes (On a Monday) 1-26-09

I am grateful for my full pantry.
I was at the grocery store after work one day last week. I was running low on staples and so I was plodding through the store finding the things I needed. As I reached for a bag of flour it occurred to me how blessed my husband and I are. If we need something from the grocery store we can just go and get it. And by "we" I mean "me" that man has not been in a grocery store since 2007 and that was the first time in ten years.

My point being - there are too many people and families that can't take that small liberty. To go pick up a few things at the grocery store. Times are tough and thousands of Americans are losing their jobs everyday. This sadly forces many people to have to make the hard choice of where to spend the money they have - food? prescriptions? clothes for their children?.

Last month Matt, a friend of mine, invited me to a volunteer opportunity at his church. It was for a program called Angel Food Ministries. Angel Food Ministries is an organization that distributes food at a low cost. It is able to do this through bulk purchasing power and an all volunteer work force. A local church is usually the pick up location. Participants can call in their order or place it online.

As volunteers, Matt and I helped purchasers collect their order and bring it to their vehicles. The program is open to all people but a majority of the participants are people in tough situations. We hear a lot of stories while we help them collect their order and do our best to offer support through encouragement and prayer.

Sunday Gratitudes 1/4/09

I am borrowing the Sunday Gratitudes idea from my friend Carrie in Idaho. Thanks Carrie! (I know it is really Monday - hey I am trying)


This is a picture of my DH and his best friend from childhood, Kante. The picture was taken 1/31/05, the day my wonderful DH was baptized in our Church. What a wonderful experience that whole day was and we were blessed with many friends and family to share it with.

Kante is living out of state right now. He was home for Christmas and he and his GF spent a day with us. It was fun to catch up on each others lives, to share the stories, the laughter, and the concerns. We enjoyed a yummy meal at the best Chinese restaurant in the area, Lotus Blossom, and then went to the Saturday evening service at Candleberry Chapel . You should checkout the web site.

I am very grateful to have Kante as a part of our family and life. Kante has had his trials in life. Some of which were scarier than many of us will ever experience. But he came through them with grace, dignity, an a wonderful sense of humor. Hi faith in God is inspiring to say the least.


Mr. Thorpe and his second grade class.