Over the last month, Jill and I have enlisted Kellie as our personal trainer to make sure we could be in the best shape for taking on the 50 miles that lay ahead of us.
Beth joined us for the first two weeks and we can't wait until she's back with us. Meanwhile, Aunt Wendy has stepped up and joined us for the hour on the weekends. Last weekend we almost had Becky joining us too. Chatter and laughter make the hour fly by.Kellie has been great working with us and each of our different needs. I recently had surgery and she tailored exercises for me that wouldn't impact my healing. Initially, I felt like we had to really push ourselves - we were with a personal trainer after all. But Kellie, while she pushes us, she also encourages us not to do more than we can handle and to take breaks. She has a way of being more 'personal' than 'trainer' and the intimidation of the first week has melted away.
I believe doing this has also helped my recovery. After my surgery, I felt exhaustion like never before. I couldn't imagine getting out of bed, nevermind getting dressed or leaving the house. My body and limbs felt like cement blocks. My mind was foggy and I didn't always know what day or time it was.
After our first session, I could barely keep my eyes open but felt motivated that I would get better and get back to 'normal' feeling sooner than later. I brought an iced coffee with me as my 'reward' and I was proud to have made it through afterwards. It also helped to celebrate Christmas after our first session. And by 'celebrate' I mean Beth gave Jill & I our Christmas presents in the back parking lot. Yes, this was in April.Another factor in all this was the weather. It really hadn't gotten much better since my last post. Sans the snow, but hello wind! The first two weeks we trained with Kellie, we probably would have bailed on walking because of the weather. The idea of training for the walk indoors was foreign to us, and now I look forward to it.
This week, we are supposed to begin our 'training schedule.' It is our intention to stay more on top of the training schedule set forth by the National MS Society. It involves walking 3-4 times per week with gradually longer walks on Sundays. The 18-week 'ideal' program begins tomorrow with a 3-mile jaunt.
My intention is to rise early and head to Weekapaug for a sunrise walk. However, I don't believe the clouds, fog, and precipitation will want to cooperate with me. I may just have to plan a quicker route from my house. I still intend to go in the morning though. It is easier to get things done then, and I won't want to after going to dinner.While we start really walking this week, we have been busy chatting and planning. Jill took the liberty to assign areas to the team for the long walks based on a rotation of our home towns. I believe the full team right now is 6 awesome walkers - none of whom live less than 20 minutes to each other. I think Kate and I may be the closest?
We will be doing a Yard Sale fundraiser at the end of June, and another event at the end of July. Something small may pop up in August and then the Challenge Walk will be here! When I put it like that, it feels like it is happening tomorrow.
Our first order of shirts came in also. Kate designed the lettering on them. (Go Kate!) They are bright
orange. I think my t-shirt guy, Ben, likes to make sure we won't be over looked. They came out great and I look forward to wearing mine at 5am tomorrow. I won't blend in with the fog!
The next few months are going to fly by. I hope to keep you updated with our progress and antics as we go. Or you can just join us and become a Hot MesS yourself!
