Above all, Try something

Goal: 5 easy miles So I thought it might be difficult to find...

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Goal: 5 easy miles

So I thought it might be difficult to find good and safe places to walk in a big city, but this place is perfect for walks. I can walk in so many different directions and discover new things every day. There is sidewalk everywhere. I did not want to venture too far since I am new to this place. I found this park called Herbert Taylor Park within a mile walking distance from my apartment. So I figured I might as well start close. It was a wooded path with trees everywhere. I felt like I was in the middle of the woods, not in the middle of Atlanta. It was 8 pm by the time I started my journey, so it was a little sketchy to walk in this secluded park in the middle of Atlanta. So I decided to meander elsewhere around the new area. I ended up walking the 5 miles I needed.

Moving Day

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Goal for today: 30 minutes CrossTrain

The suggested 24 week training schedule has been very helpful in keeping me on track, but there are ALWAYS conflicts it seems. Today was move-in day for me into my new apartment. I think a few hours of carrying boxes and rearranging furniture counts as cross training, right?

"Today all I had to do was rest. DONE."

Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

“Today all I had to do was rest. DONE.”

Destination

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

It always seems easier if I have an end destination for these walks. Today I planned on hanging out at a friend’s house. Turns out it is 4 miles away from my house. Perfect distance for a walk. I did not like having to barrel through the tall weeds on some of the roads nor the daunting hills in his subdivision. Eagle’s Landing Country Club can be a zoo. But I made it.

"so walking a few hours through a craft fair counts as walking 4 miles, right?"

Mon, 28 May 2012 23:55:55 -0400

“so walking a few hours through a craft fair counts as walking 4 miles, right?”

This whole walking thing..

Mon, 28 May 2012 23:44:45 -0400

So walking 5 days a week is a lot more difficult than I expected. So many excuses get in the way…

1. I am tired

2. It is hot outside

3. It is getting dark outside

4. I am tired

5. I am busy

I hope it will get easier though when I have a treadmill in my apartment complex

Under Armour

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

I will be outfitted in Under Armour it seems. I went to Tanger Outlet with my mom to pick out some athletic gear. Of course everything in the store is expensive. it is good quality, but with five items in hand I had spent $150. Well, my mom spent. But still. So I have shirts and a light jacket just in case. I already have a few pairs of running shorts, and my shoes are being broken in every time I walk. Now, I need to pick a pair of socks to stick with. I need to get the ones I tried on at Fleet Feet honestly.

worries...

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

So today I started to think about all the random things besides walking that go into this event.

I need to worry about hydration- My body is permanently dehydrated. I drink maybe one cup of liquid a day-water, lemonade, or anything. I do not even drink when I eat sometimes. It is kind of odd. But I cannot be that girl who gets swept up by the ambulance because I have passed out due to dehydration.

I need to worry about carrying capacity-I never thought I would be out shopping for a waistpack. I always associated such things with women above the age of 40. Not something I can honestly say I look forward to wearing. However, I need to have my phone, an extra pair of socks, blister care, and other odds and ends at my disposal. I need to be a walking girl scout-ready for anything.

I need to worry about the what ifs-what if my contacts bother me half way through the day? What if I need an energy boost? What if it rains? What if I get horrible blisters the first day? What if? What if?

with momma

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

So today I was supposed to walk an easy 3 miles, doing 10% in my Vibrams. I ended up doing 2.9 total with 1.5 miles in the Vibrams. It was easier to walk to the end of the neighborhood and back, and then switch shoes, than to do the 0.3 miles in the Vibrams I was supposed to do. So I walked the first 1.5 miles in the Vibrams. My feet did not hurt at all. I did trip once, which kind of hurt. Imagine scraping your toe on concrete, but with a thin layer of protection.

I then did the next 1.4 miles in my tennis shoes. The tennis shoes feel a little bit more comfortable, but I notice more potential spots for blisters. They seem to rub a little on the heels, so I need to experiment with some different ways of tying my laces.

Hey, I put some new shoes on,And suddenly everything is right,I...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:18:10 -0400

Hey, I put some new shoes on,
And suddenly everything is right,
I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody’s smiling,
It’s so inviting

Day After Five Fingers

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:36:35 -0400

Boy are my calves sore. All the sites said they would be, but of course I thought I would be special and they wouldn’t. The outside calf muscles are sore, but nothing worse than if I would half worked out yesterday. I think I will definitely stick to the 3-5 times a week plan for then next two weeks. I don’t want to overdo myself. I have read blogs about people getting stress fractures and the like from not easing into this new type of walking. Vibrams provide you with no support. They are basically socks with tough soles. I am excited to see how this all pans out.

I bought a pair of ruby Mizunos just in case. Plus I will need to start consistently walking soon, and my feet will not be ready for three miles in Five Fingers by next week.

Time to walk in them. Vibram recommends wearing them for and...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Time to walk in them. Vibram recommends wearing them for and hour or two for 3-5 days a week for the first two weeks. Seems crazy. They seem so comfy. I took them out for a spin to my tutoring job. I could not help but curl my toes against the desk as I was tutoring. They make you want to jump around, be outside, and climbing on things.

shoes or barefoot?

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:45:04 -0400

So I have always wanted the Vibram Five-Fingers, but they cost $100. And I usually have a $20 shoe budget. But I need to buy new shoes for this event anyway, which will cost around the same price. So is now the perfect time to get them?

I went to Fleet Feet Sports to get my feet measured to see what the perfect fit for me would be. At first the specialist told me I would need some support because he put me on a treadmill and recorded how I ran in a traditional shoe. But then as I tried on more shoes, he realized that the more stable shoes were actually trying to change the way I walk—which isn’t the best thing. So we ended up choosing the Mizuno shoe that costs $115. But if that shoe was just offering cushion, why not get the minimalist shoe?

So, I went to the Backpacker to look at what they had to offer. It wasn’t much. She really did not know what she was talking about, and there were not a lot of shoes to choose from. I was still a little weary about purchasing them because they did not fit perfectly.

So I went to Half Moon Outfitters. They had a wider selection. And the salesman even told me I was looking at the wrong ones for pavement walking. He sold me a pair within 15 minutes. They were $85, so $30 cheaper! They are not pink like the ones I looked at, but simple black. Oh well. I guess I will have to “pink” up my outfit instead.

First donation

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

When I got that first e-mail telling me that I received a donation. I was ecstatic. As more and more people left my Facebook conversation, I was beginning to worry. But then I got the email. It sure feels good to not have $0 in my account.

Thanks girl

So the 24-week training program officially begins May 4th, but I...

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:36:00 -0400

So the 24-week training program officially begins May 4th, but I might as well make sure my tennis shoes still fit. I think I have been to the gym like 4 times this semester. I downloaded this app that tracks me via bluetooth and tells me how long my route is and my pace. I will definitely be using that a lot. The library is only 0.6 miles away from my house but I turned it into an even 2.0 miles.

I guess I know I will not pass out on the first 2.0 miles..

Message to Facebook

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Yesterday

Danielle Espada

Dearest Friends and Family,

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except for skin cancers. About 1 in 8 (12%) women in the US will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime. This is why I am walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day. I will be walking 60 miles over the course of 3 days on October 19-21. That’s like walking almost the distance of a marathon each day.

I hope that you will share this awesome experience with me by supporting me in my fundraising effort. Net proceeds from the 3-Day support groundbreaking research, scientific programs, and grants. The 226,870 women who will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2012 depend on these efforts. No other organization provides as much support as Susan G. Komen in this fight.

You might ask, why am I personally making this commitment?
I will walk to honor my mom, Paula, who is a breast cancer survivor, and my grandmother, Marilyn, whom I never had the chance to meet.

Yes, I fear that I will not be able to raise the money. Yes, I fear that I will be one of the many who will not finish the event due to blisters and pure exhaustion. However, these fears are nothing compared to what a woman and her family experiences when she has to fight breast cancer. When searching for senior thesis topics I ran across a site that said, “If you attempt something that you don’t think you are capable of doing you will stretch yourself physically as well as mentally. In fact, you may even surprise yourself at how far you’re really capable of going.” This led me to choose to train for this event.

I pledged to raise $2,300 in donations. So I need your help. Would you please consider making a donation? Any amount honestly helps; even it is a few spare dollars that you would normally leave as a tip at a restaurant. If all of my friends on Facebook, including you, donate $1 each, that is $1000—almost half way to my goal! Every little bit counts.

You can give online at The3Day.org. Just follow the link below to visit my personal fundraising webpage to make a donation. You can also call 800-996-3Day to donate over the phone. You can also mail in a donation. The donation form can be found through the same link below. Please forward to those whom you think might help me in my quest. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

P.S. It’s tax deductible!

Sincerely,
Danielle Sword
Participant ID: 5184812

Why I chose this...

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Plan A

My first initial plan for my thesis was to take a month-long road trip along the Western part of the US with my roommate, Lauren. But then she got an offer she could not refuse. She got an internship offer thats starts in May (when we planned on going).

Plan B

Well maybe we can just do a 10-day trip in California. Then I could compare it with a 10-day trip by myself along the East coast. But that was just not to the standards I wanted for my honors thesis.

Plan C

Travel along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. I did not walk to bank on having the time or money for that type of commitment.

Plan D

Finally, I discovered what I wanted to do. I thought about doing the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, but I did not think I would have enough time to train and raise money by the deadline in October. In the long run, I decided to do it anyway.

I crewed at the Atlanta before, and my parents have been doing it every year for quite some time. I wanted to go beyond volunteering. I want to actually walk it this year—to honor my dearest mother of course.

The cause is a good one. The event is a good one. And it will challenge me. Life is not worth living if you do not challenge yourself.

Welcome to the 3-Day! I just paid my $65 to register for the...

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Welcome to the 3-Day!

I just paid my $65 to register for the event in Atlanta. It was easy to fly through and fill out the form because I have volunteered before. But I never had to agree to raise $2,300 before. Eeeeek! If I do not raise the money then it will come out of my pocket. Eeek! I best be writing to all my friends for donations. Because I will be needing them.

"Do one thing every day that scares you."

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

“Do one thing every day that scares you.”

-
Eleanor Roosevelt