Catching Up on Margie's 3-Day News

It's been well over a month since I posted to my blog and a lot has happened in that time. Some of it even has something to do with my walking and fundraising!

A friend of mine made a donation in honor of someone she knew who had breast cancer. Nothing terribly unusual about that. However, the unusual part is that the person she knew who had breast cancer was named Mike. Did you know that men can and do get breast cancer? I don't think I knew it until I started working on my 3-day fundraising campaign last year.

"The overall ratio of female to male breast cancer in the U.S. is 100 to 1. Although it sounds like a small number, 1,970 men will be diagnosed, and 390 will die from the disease in the U.S. in 2010." - Komen Facts for Life, Breast Cancer in Men

So Mike's name is being added to my hat as the first man with breast cancer that I actually have a connection to.

Another big thing that has happened to me is that I had surgery at the end of May. This has and will get in the way of me starting on time with the 24 week training schedule. It was a laproscopic procedure, so recovery is supposed to be quicker than traditional surgery. While I think this probably is the case, it is definitely not going as quickly as I'd like. I am 9 days out, and haven't had much pain in the last few days, so that's awesome. But I'm more surprised at the fact that I still get worn out from the littlest things -- If I do more than sitting on the couch, I really end up wiped out. I am taking it easy and listen to my body, but I had hoped that by now I would have a slightly higher energy level than I do and that I'd be a little more able to take care of myself again. Clearly I had unrealistic expectations. My kids and husband (and friends) have been awesome doing everything -- as a matter of fact, my husband should probably get husband of the year. In the meantime, I am doing my best to let my body do it's healing and trying really hard to find even more patience. Patience has never been a strong suit of mine.

I will probably still follow the 24 week training schedule which started this week, but I'll be skipping the first several weeks of it and then, when I'm ready to walk again, I will modifiy things until I catch back up.

June brings the end of the school year. I was PTA President at my son's school this year, and the board memebers traditionally pitch in for a gift to thank the President for her service. When I was asked what I wanted, I told them that I personally didn't need anything, but that it would mean the world to me if they would apply that gift money to my walk. The result was a $130 donation! I couldn't be happier about that. Volunteerism at it's best!

I am also thrilled to see that my teammate, Nancy, has passed the half-way mark in her fundraising! We're both well on our way to having the $2,300 we need to walk in November!

That should catch you up with me and my 3-Day journey for now.

(6/8/11) Fundraising: $35, Total: $1,755
(6/7/11) Fundraising: $120, Total: $1,720
(5/25/11) 3.1 miles walked in 59 minutes
Total miles walked this year: 95.6
(5/21/11) 4.2 miles in 1 hour 25 minutes
Total miles walked this year 92.5
(5/15/11) 3.4 miles on treadmill in 1 hour
Total miles walked this year: 88.3
(5/14/11) 2.3 miles
Total miles walked this year: 84.9
(5/7/11) 4.1 miles in 1 hour 22 minutes
Total miles walked this year: 82.6
(4/28/11 - 5/1/11) 5.2 miles
Total miles walked this year: 78.5
(4/27/11) Training: 2.1 miles in 39 minutes
Total miles walked this year: 73.3
(4/22/11) Fundraising: $610, Total: $1,600
(4/21/11) Fundraising: $35; Total: $990
(4/20/11) Fundraising: $200; Total: $955