Does my backpack make me look fat??

This weekend, mom and I had the privilege of meeting John, a fellow walker in the Austin area. He recently moved here from Dallas and is training for his 3rd 3-Day walk! He has walked the DFW 3-Day since 2007 and was able to give mom and I great training tips, give us a lot of insight as far as what to expect during the walk and it was so nice to meet him and walk with him.

John has put together a website aimed at spreading the word about the 3-Day and the fight against breast cancer. He is really a champion for the cause and I think his website is a wonderful tool to bring awareness about the 3-Day and as a resource for those walking, those thinking about walking, and those supporting walkers. He asked mom and I to do an interview at the end of our walk to answer a few questions and we were glad to help.

Although, after looking at the video I do wish we had been able to do the interview before the walk, have a bit of time for lipstick application, and been able to review our Saturday Night Live skit before the taping....truly, we look like we're on SNL....and does my voice really sound like that in real life??



In all seriousness, thank you to John for doing what you're doing. It is so inspiring to hear other stories of those working to find a cure! To visit John's website go to http://60miles3days.com

"All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." ~ Norma Desmond, Sunset Boulevard

Who Are You!!

Children are a gift from God....yes they are! Oh how I love my kids, we all do. I could go on and on about how special, wonderful, thoughtful, etc., etc., but we all know our kids hang the moon - right?!?

But have you ever thought about the things you don't know? I think there is a reason some smart person said...what you don't know won't hurt you. I mean, yeah, makes sense, if I don't know well then it really can't hurt me.

Well, I know it now! Right there...on the last leg of our long walk today. I stop with 'precious' aka, Kristen to take a little breather, let her right hip stop hurting, get a drink, re-group. I said this spot is good, this is where Tiffany and I stopped on Sunday, a little shade.

She says, it sure is a good spot...where I smoked my first cigarette! ......

Wait...what?!? One more time....

She is laughing so hard she can hardly tell the "story" but it went a little something like this...she was 18, scared to death, blah, blah...I said, I'm taking your picture and this is going on the blog.

She is still dying laughing and said, that won't be good since this is a blog about breast cancer - well you know what, there are consequences for your actions little girl~even if it was 7 years ago!

xoxo,

Vicki

Don't Leave Home Without It...

All I'm saying is that even walking costs me money! We are in the midst of serious training for the upcoming walk and that means we have reached the 10 and mile weekend walks. We found out the hard way that you can't just take off and assume you'll be okay, especially in this heat.

In an effort to look the part, we made a smart purchase of a Camelbak...meaning, small backpack and water...cold water, all you have to do is open up a handy little tube. Hey, they may not be the cutest accessory you'll ever purchase, but believe me when I say, they do serve a purpose.

Water, Tylenol, energy beans :), dry socks, phone, bandanna, we are good to go! Tiffany and I head out last Sunday (we waited for the temperature to reach the high for the day) and have our little "cabbie" Mother, Nana, aka Danny DeVito from Taxi, drop us off at 183 and Avery Ranch for our approximate 8 mile walk. We chose this particular route because it has sidewalk access almost the entire way back to Tiffany's house, our stopping point...home sweet home.

The route was actually pretty good, things went well, except this little camel ran out of that cold water about 4 miles into the walk! It's at that point I realized I had forgotten to pack one very important item...money! I did try at one point to get some water, but something about that sink in that little bathroom in the back of a not so clean utility room at the corner store made me re-think that in a hurry. It was in that moment I decide that Neil Diamond was right, money does talk and my next trip would include not just money for water, but a $20 should cover anything you could need on a walk! Right?...

Tuesday...Kristen rolls to town and we decide to get in another tough training day. Good deal, and we'll start early to avoid some of the heat. Great idea (and it was). We roll out of the driveway around 8:25 am and much of the walk was not only pleasant, but productive.

Productive...how so you ask? Well, we managed to walk past a possible site for Kristen's wedding reception. Yes, you heard right, wedding reception, and no, she's not dating anyone...it was just for fun. Big Daddy...breathe. And then about 3 miles down the road we visited with someone from the Chapel she might use for the wedding service. That was harder since we met the sweetest woman, she invited us in (yes we went in silly!)...we had to NOT make eye contact when she smiled and said he must be a very special young man! Yikes...we're taking a different route next time, but she was very nice. As you can see, we were very productive and then back to business. And...we're walking.

Back on track, several miles down the road and sun beating down on us, we decide that we will finish our walk at about the 8-9 mile mark, take a load off, call for a ride home (something we didn't actually plan out), and hey...we have $20, we'll eat lunch at Waterloo since it's conveniently located at our stopping point. We're not totally stupid when we plan these routes. We were actually thinking we were pretty smart...for about 5 minutes!

We situate ourselves on the patio, order our drinks, start tossing around our ideas of what sounds good, and it's about that time that we realized a "little" something...either 1) their prices have increased significantly in the past couple of weeks or 2) we've never really paid much attention to how much it costs to each lunch at Waterloo!

Faith...it's all about faith people! We've done our mileage, we're tired, deserving of a break and some grub, there has to be a way. We sort of went with the attitude of it will work out somehow. We plan to call "DeVito" to pick us up, surely she will have some cash. I guess it was on our 3rd attempt to reach our ride that we realized we hadn't actually mentioned needing a ride, we just assumed she would be available. I'm not sure the exact moment we acknowledged that we were approximately 10 miles from our house...by foot, $7 short of paying our tab, and didn't really have a plan B...but I think we were both borderline "concerned"

Enter Tiffany :)

The call went a little something like this:

Me: Hey Tiff, we're in a bit of pickle...you may have to "get sick" at work and come get us

Tiff: What...where are you guys? What's going on...did you walk the 10 miles?

Me: Yeah, we're at Waterloo, but we can't reach Mother, we have no ride and we don't have enough $ to pay for our food...IDEA!!!! Hey, could you maybe twitter and see if anyone is in this area and could come get us, bring us some money??

Tiff: Which Waterloo?

Me: Parmer and Avery Ranch

Tiff: OMG...that's awesome! Send me a picture. Me, okay, don't leave your desk, my phone is almost out of battery!

Me: (to our waiter)...um, could you take our picture (with the phone that's almost out of battery)...and can you be sure to get the food in it...we are trying to twitter and get some money because we don't have enough to pay you!

We eat, start throwing around names of people that might be able to come get us, bring cash and not judge us too harshly! Susan Bennett, Leslie Curlee, The Loj...she was actually the reason I reached out to twitter! Gotta love the people that actually look at that thing.

But...all's well that ends well! DeVito finally turned on her cell phone...turns out my dad had been (still was) on the phone with his brother. Our little "cabbie" came to the rescue! She said she wanted to be our coach not our taxi - we love her!

I guess American Express was on to something when they said don't leave home without it! I know I won't, even if it is just a walk in the park :)

xoxo,

Vicki

It's hardly fair...

It has been difficult to get in all of my walks this Summer because my schedule has been so stinkin' crazy. Saturday's are the "big mile" days and not kidding I have been out of town like 9 of the last 11 weekends. It's always a challenge to try to map out routes and find the time when you're away, but it CAN be done. It just so happened that last weekend was our longest walk to date and my sister was in town. We were really glad to be able to spend that 3 hours of walking together! Mom, on the other hand, was on vacation visiting my brother in Oregon. She assured us she would walk too!

So Saturday morning rolled around and Kristen and I woke up and began the madness. Not gonna lie, I haven't had much difficulty with the walking until now. I had done my 6 and 7 miles and while I felt tired I wasn't totally spent. But this weekend....well, we only made it to about the 9 mile mark and we called for backup. My Nana came and picked us up and rescued us into air conditioning. Here were our problems:

1. We didn't take water with us. I'm not going to carry it for 10 miles, but I either need to hide it or maybe even get one of those things that goes around my waist to carry a water bottle. (NO, not a fanny pack....give me a little credit) The fact of the matter is I was very, and I mean very close to passing out and I didn't even realize it until we stopped. I have passed out before and I had ALL the symptoms...it was kind of scary.

2. We hadn't eaten anything. Which is fine until you're gone until 11am and you have burned 800 calories and had no water. We were running on empty.

3. Kristen's hips were hurting. Bad. She was sore for about 3 days. I think she is going to try taking Advil before her walks from now on.

SO, there were a few miscues but that's why we train. So we know the good and the bad and what to do and what not to do for next time. In other news I was completely blister free which is a huge plus. Upgrading to the thicker socks really helped. I have 3 miles to do tonight, 5 tomorrow and then this weekend is 10 on Saturday and 6 on Sunday. My SIL is in town from New York and claims she is going to do the 10 miler with me. I'll see if her tune changes tonight when she steps off that plane into all 105 degrees of her "welcome home."

In other news, mom had a pretty decent walk this weekend in Oregon. It was interesting to see the photos she took along the way versus the landscaping Kristen and I saw along the way....

She said she took a lot of pictures with her real camera too and not just these with her phone. She'll share them when she gets back!

In case you're wondering, we didn't take pictures of the dead grass and the dried up ponds here in Texas. Maybe next weekend!

The Dance....

Last night I was watching So You Think You Can Dance like I do every Wednesday night, and I was picking out my favorite dances and deciding who I would send home...and then....

And then choreographer Tyce DiOrio stunned me. He put together the most moving, beautiful, heartbreaking, fantastic piece about a woman battling breast cancer a friend standing by her side during her battle. I watched it twice and cried like a baby. It's just phenomenal.

Reminder....

I received this e-mail today from the Austin affiliate for Susan G. Komen Race for the cure. That is the 5K that many cities support. We have had a team for the last 4 years, so I receive many e-mail updates and reminders when they are gearing back up for another race. This e-mail in particular caught my eye. I'm sure it was her photos. I'm sure it was her precious 4 year old kissing his mommy. His very sick mommy. Please take the time to read her story below.

It's a gentle reminder of why we walk....

Michelle Bynum is the honorary race chair for the 2009 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

As I sit in this big recliner watching the clock on the wall tick, I am emotionally conflicted. I am planning a wonderfully happy event. I am planning my little boy’s birthday party. He is so excited and I can’t help but be excited for him. Reid is turning five years old this weekend. I never thought I could love something so much. He is funny, frustrating and fantastic, and at four and contrary to his wishes, I want time to stand still. Like every parent, my heart aches as I realize my baby turned toddler has disappeared…my “big” boy has emerged and is growing by the minute. However, as a mom diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, time has an entirely different meaning to me.

When I was diagnosed with late stage breast cancer in 2005, I was so worried Reid would never know me, much less have me at his side blowing out five candles. Ironically, “time” is both my friend and my enemy. Each morning that I wake up, I am so thankful for the time I have with my friends and family. Life is so very good. On the other hand, time is running like sand through my fingers. I am desperate for a cure to this dreaded disease or at least for more medical options to extend my time with Reid. We scan next week to see if my current chemotherapy is working. My tumor markers are up, so there is need for concern. If this chemotherapy is not working, there is only one drug left to try in the current “FDA approved” arsenal.

NOW is the time for a cure. If we can put a man on the moon, surely we can figure out a way to stop this madness. I pray I get the opportunity to plan Reid’s 6th birthday. Actually, I will shoot for the stars and pray that I get to plan his 16th birthday. So it is time to climb out of the big recliner. Chemotherapy is over for today….time to get on with life and on with the party!!

With all my heart,
Michelle Bynum

Let's find a cure, friends.

Fading...

Last night I was out doing my walk and I started fading around the 6.5 mile mark. I was tired after a fun weekend at the lake and I knew I was only about 10 minuted from home. That's when, as luck would have it, my iPod saved me. It was on shuffle and "Love Lockdown" came on. I immediately thought of Jeanine and Phillip's routine last week on So You Think You can Dance and I got hyped! I popped my shoulders and did my pathetic version of their dance and it totally revived me. Next up on my iPod was Battlefield by Jordin Sparks and then I was home! I'm so hyped about my new downloads!