Post-Race, Celebrate America 5K, May 31, 2010

Carrie & Alisha, Post-Race
Drowned RATS

Pre-Race, Celebrate America 5K, May 31, 2010

Carrie & Marilee Pre-Race

Celebrate America 5K TODAY

Today, I joined some of my fellow teammates at the Celebrate America 5K in Alpharetta, GA. It was a cold, rainy and very wet Memorial Day today. (And my birthday!)

Force of Soles' Captain, Sally, myself and Marilee walked the 5K while Alisha ran the 10K. Marilee and I finished at 1 hour, 2 minutes, while Alisha finished her 10K at 1 hour, 15 minutes. Sally finished first among us, but I don't know her final time.

The rain certainly made it interesting. And I learned my shoes ARE NOT waterproof! ;( However, despite the rain, it was a good morning! ;)

Planning to spend the rest of today with my husband, Andrew and the "sisters" (sister-in-laws whom I adore)! ;) We won't let no rain get us down today!

Woo hoo!

AND... I ran into a neighbor who said she'll be joining our team! ;) Yippie! Force of Soles is GROWING! ;)

Memorial Day 5K

I'll be walking a 5K on Memorial Day during the Celebrate America 5K in Alpharetta with my teammate, Sally Gozder and sister-in-law, Alisha Woods! It's also my birthday! ;) Yeah.

Training Saturday, May 22

Met Beth and Marilee at Riverside Park at 8 AM. (More were expected, but the Sat AM hour may have deterred them?) We walked 3 miles back down Riverside and up the back entrance through Martin's Landing subdivision. Those Martin's Landing HILLS were rather brutal. :) But, we have to be prepared for ANYTHING! It was a good walk overall.

Force of Soles is GROWING!

Yeah. Welcome new team member, Marilee Knellinger, former President, Atlanta Ski Club! ;) We're a Force of 4 Soles!

Training Wednesday, May 19

Another beautiful night for a training walk with my FIRST team member! And team members to be. Again, we met at Riverside Park in Roswell for a short training walk.

Terri, Bill, Marilee and Angela joined me for a 1.75 mile walk along the river. It was a great "intro" walk for some new walkers!

I'm not crazy. I just want to make a difference!

I read this on another blog and found it interesting and might help explain WHY I'm walking 60 miles in 3 days!

First Time Walker Tip #10: They might not “get it”….
March 25, 2010 / Posted by Jackie in 1st timer tips

Last year, I was a first time walker. I remember being overwhelmed at how unprepared I felt. I didn’t know what camp would be like, or how our days would go. I felt like I was going in totally blind. My only saving grace was having a tent mate who’d BTDT and could give me tips. This year I’m walking with a, what I consider to be, good sized team of first-time walkers. So I’m going to start posting some small, but helpful, first time walker tips. Things I wish I’d known before hand (or things I did know before hand thanks to my walking buddy, and that came in very helpful)

If we want to be honest with ourselves, walking 60 miles over the course of 3 days isn’t “normal“. In fact, if you walk up to someone who has never heard of the 3day before and tell them what you are doing, you’ll likely be called “Crazy” or “Insane“. Because it isn’t normal. It’s long and tiring and it seems very over-the-top when you first think about it.

I mean, for both first time walkers (FTW) and veteran walkers alike, how many of you said “I’d love to, but gosh, that’s a lot” prior to registering. How many of you questioned your ability to complete it? Probably most, if not all, of you. Heck, I know I did. It took me 2 years of wanting to sign up before I finally did. It took a healthy dose of courage and a friend signing up with me to get me over the hump.

So to hear someone say “Yeah, I’m going to get $2,300 in donations, then walk 60 miles in 3 days” might sound a bit outlandish. You can’t really blame them for such a surprised reaction.

But what you CAN do is explain it to them. Explain to them that the event is meant to be “crazy“. It’s meant to be “over-the-top”. It’s not intended to be “normal”. After all, this is supposed to be the most inspirational and extreme event that benefits Breast Cancer Research. It’s meant to push your boundaries and have you question “can i finish this?” so that when you do, you will know you did something extraordinary. You were a part of something bigger than a bake sale. You were a part of the Susan G Komen 3 Day for the Cure.

So when people ask “Are you crazy?!” Say, “Yeah. Maybe a little…. but here’s why…” and explain to them that in 2009, the Dallas Event alone raised over $7million. Explain to them that the estimated $105million dollars raised in 2009 (15 events x $7mil) will help further research that will ensure that their daughters have a brighter medical future than their mothers did. That the money raised will provide low cost mammograms for women who are uninsured or underinsured. That the money will directly affect the lives of millions and millions of people.

The thing I’ve noticed is that the people who think it’s “crazy” to walk that far… they don’t get it. They don’t get what the event stands for or how emotional it is. I’ve found that when people learn more, research more, ask more questions, or even show up and cheer at an event, something clicks. They get it. They understand why it’s so big. They understand that if it were just a 5k, it wouldn’t be as huge and successful. It wouldn’t be as powerful. It wouldn’t have the same impact on our medical future as the 3day does. So encourage your friends to read more about it, help answer any questions they have, And invite them to come see you at a cheering station or at closing ceremony.

If you can help them “get it” you may have doubled your impact towards this disease, simply by passing the kool-aid on to the next First Time Walker ;)

Force of Soles - First TEAM member!!

Yeah! Sally and I are very happy and proud to announce Terri Pero, Office Manager of the Atlanta Ski Club is our very first team member on our newly formed team, Force of Soles!

Thank you Terri for taking this journey with me and Sally! ;) We look forward to walking and fundraising with you!

Force of Soles - Please support our newly formed team!

Sally and I formed our own 3-Day team, Force of Soles! We're very excited and hope to build the team and have some real fun this summer! Let me know if you want join our team and walk 60 miles for breast cancer research in 3 days! Together, we can make a difference!

If you don't want to walk, we'll take your money! ;) Collectively, our team, Force of Soles would like to raise $30,000.

Leaving Pink Diamonds to Start Own 3-Day Team

I want to thank my former 3-Day team, Pink Diamonds (and Neda and Jackie) for your support. I wouldn't have considered doing the 3-Day if you hadn't invited me!

Training Monday, May 17

Starting my own team has inspired to me to get SERIOUSLY training. ;) Even before our new team was "official" or even officially named, I decided to begin recruiting for the team to be and begin training walks with anyone interested in joining us!

So, Monday night, I met Fawn and Alisha and walk we did! ;) We met at Riverside Park on Riverside Road (near Roswell Road) and walked about 3.5 miles by the river. It was such a pleasant walk and the company made it that much better! We didn't even realize how far we'd walked until later! ;)

I am inspired to continue this journey that much more. Thanks Fawn and Alisha for being my "walking buddies"! ;)

Signed Up for 2 more Walks Today!

My June race calendar is quickly filling up! ;) I just added two more races:

Sunday, June 6 | Harris Jacobs Dream Run (4 miles) Dunwoody

Saturday, June 26 | BeltLine 5K Run/Walk (West End) Atlanta

My plan is to find at least two per month between now and the 3-Day. :)

I'm HALFWAY to my donation goal!

As of today, I'm proud to say, I have raised $1,250 for Susan G. Komen 3-Day! ;) Thanks again to everyone for their generosity! I still need $1,050 to reach the minimum required to be allowed to walk, but please keep your pledges coming! ;)

After-Race Silliness at Ikea

So, after the race had ended, we decided to visit Ikea. Alisha had never been there before and she's buying her first house in a few weeks, so we trodded over to Ikea for another 5K! SERIOUSLY, it's THAT big!

While shopping, we got a little silly and had some post-race fun!



Alisha at Ikea.

Susan G. Komen 5K, May 8 Pre-Race Photo-Op

Chuck, Sally, Carrie & Alisha at the Starting Line

Susan G. Komen 5K, May 8, 2010

What a wonderful day! ;) I was so excited I woke up before the alarm went off and got up BEFORE the roosters! ;) Alisha came to our house to ride with us to Atlantic Station.

The race started at 8:30 AM. We arrived at Atlantic Station at 7 AM to meet up with my teammate Sally and her husband, Chuck. There were SOO many people there! Later, we found out 17,000 people came out to walk the 5K! WOW. Not to mention the thousands who were there just to support! ;)

Just in the nick of time, my other friend, Becky, arrived to join us for the 5K too! ;) We'd already made our way toward the starting line and was just waiting for our cue to begin walking. We soon discovered we were still in the midst of some runners and were literally getting run over for a few minutes! Whew! ;)

This course started in front of Atlantic Station just before the big yellow 17th Street bridge. Turned right onto Spring Street, turning left onto 5th Street for one block and turning back down West Peachtree Street to double back onto 17th Street were we ended in the BACK of Atlantic Station for a sponsor and exhibitor expo.

Andrew and I received our 5K Race T-Shirts and I'm proud to say I completed the walk in 1 hour, 7 minutes (with one mid-race pit stop). heehee

Many thanks!

I have received some more donations. And want to thank everyone for your support! ;) Please keep em coming! I'm now almost halfway there!

Got the T-Shirt!

Crossing the Finish Line

The 2010 Boulder Dash 5k @ LaFarge Quarry

Boulder Dash–Waiting to Line Up

1 hour; 2 minutes

I did it! ;) 2010 Boulder Dash 5K. 1 hour; 2 minutes! ;)

It was my first 5K EVER. And it was awesome! ;) Yeah... In the beginning was experiencing some strange cramping in my feet/toes. (Need to look into some proper walking shoes.) I took my time and walked the whole way. Wasn't in a hurry... Had a great time. Met some very nice folks! Definately WiLL do it again next year.