Great Mammaries from Day 2 of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure

Don't let the smile on my face fool you. I won't lie to you, Day 2 of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure in San Francisco was, um, how shall I put it?

TOUGH.

The day started out cold and foggy, which is NOT what you want when you're walking across the Golden Gate Bridge. Still, looking down into the San Francisco Bay and seeing a dolphin weave its way in and out of the water kind of made up for it. So did walking through the charming town of Sausalito. I felt fine until mile 15, when my legs really started aching, and despite a great massage at the Energizer tent, they still haven't recovered from today's walk.

I'm still optimistic that a good night's rest (and more ibuprofen) will get me through Day 3, but I'm going to take it Very. Very. Slow. I will make sure I stretch and hydrate at each and every stop, and rest as long as I need to. I may even hitch a ride on one of the sweeper vans (not because I need to, oh no, only because I'm blogging the event and I have a journalistic interest in how the sweeper vans pick up walkers who can't go on, which doesn't include me.... does it??). Anyway, who cares if I'm the very last person to finish? I'm the Energizer Keep Going Blogger, and I need to keep going.

Instead of focusing on my aching calves and quads and hamstrings, I'd rather focus on the people who made the day more enjoyable -- the cheering squads and crew members along the route. It's amazing what an energy boost one gets from seeing so many people out there to support you!



This trio showed up at various locations throughout the day, no less than SIX times. By the end of it I felt like we were fast friends.



These hotties had the funniest slogans on their posters. I know they were probably there to support their girlfriends but when you're delirious with exhaustion and pain it's easy to convince yourself that they're there for you.



The Coast Guard showed up all dressed up in pink, just for me and my friend Robin (delirium can be a fun thing, you know).



The Hookers for Hooters are an absolute hoot! Their madam is a 2-time breast cancer survivor, and every year this group comes out on each of the 3 days to cheer people on.


See, I knew this event would be challenging. I knew it would be meaningful. I knew it would be fulfilling. But I had no idea it would be this HILARIOUS, or so much FUN! Just the thought of running (okay, walking) into people like these is enough to make me get up tomorrow and Keep Going for Day 3!



Check out my Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure Flickr Photo Set for more photos of Day 1 and 2! You can keep track of my progress tomorrow via Twitter and Facebook, and I'll be posting my Day 3 thoughts at the end of the day. Wish me a good night's rest, pain-free knees and a great Day 3, and I'll see you at the Finish Line!



Energizer is sponsoring my participation fee and fundraising requirement for this event, but I would love to be able to raise more for breast cancer. Please help me reach my goal of $1000! Any amount helps and is greatly appreciated. You can click on the widget below to donate to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

The Breast Day Ever -- Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, Day 1

Day 1 of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure in San Francisco is over, and I'm feeling tired, achy, and more than a little proud of myself. I actually walked 20 miles today! I don't know if it was my training, or the adrenaline, or the music blaring from the boomboxes strapped on the bikes of the policemen who were patrolling the route, or the wonderful volunteers and crew members and families who were cheering us on, or the stories of the walkers I talked to, or the beautiful San Francisco scenery, but somehow I found the energy to keep going. Maybe it was a little of everything.

Physically, I'm still amazed I didn't have to flag a sweep van and ask them to drive me to camp. I certainly felt like doing it at one point, but fortunately I got my second (or was it third? or fourth?) wind when I saw the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. I was actually pleasantly surprised that I had no problem whatsoever on San Francisco's notorious hills; whereas others were huffing and puffing, I tackled those babies easily. It's a good thing the town where Alfie's parents live in (and where we stayed for 4 weeks in the summer) is so hilly!


Mentally, I felt even stronger. Since I'm not walking with a group, I thought I would be spending the whole day wrapped in my own thoughts, but there's something about this event that turns perfect strangers into best -- I mean breast -- friends. I'm not the most social person in the world, but I had no trouble at all approaching my fellow walkers and saying hello. I met and spoke with so many great people along the way, each with his or her own story. Here are some of them:

* A team walking in honor of a husband and wife who both lost a battle with breast cancer;
* A crew member who is helping out at 4 of the 15 Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure events in 2010 (he's on his 22nd over a period of 10 years);
* A man who is walking each and every one of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure events in 2010;
* Two two-time breast cancer survivors;
* A woman who dyed her hair pink when she raised all her money;
* A man who lost his wife to breast cancer last November;

I even met several people who do not personally know anyone who is fighting or has fought breast cancer, and are walking simply because they are passionate about the cause! The Keep Going Spirit was strong throughout the walk; you could see it in the bunny ears the people were wearing, the boomboxes that people hung on their necks to give everyone some music, the fun outfits and accessories that people were wearing, the hilarious themed sweep vans that patrolled the walk, even the cars we passed that honked and tooted in support.



Now that I've done Day 1, I feel a lot better about myself -- although I have no idea how I'll feel when I wake up tomorrow and do my second 20-mile leg. Let's hope I've soaked in enough of that Keep Going spirit to keep going!


Check out my Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure Flickr Photo Set for more photos of Day 1! You can keep track of my progress tomorrow via Twitter and Facebook, and I'll be posting my Day 2 thoughts at the end of the day. Wish me a good night's rest, pain-free knees and a great Day 2, and I'll see you at the Finish Line!



Energizer is sponsoring my participation fee and fundraising requirement for this event, but I would love to be able to raise more for breast cancer. Please help me reach my goal of $1000! Any amount helps and is greatly appreciated. You can click on the widget below to donate to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Weekend Mornings

Right now I'm camping out somewhere in San Francisco with the other participants of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. It started this morning, and we've already walked 20 miles. Which sounds like a huge accomplishment, and it is, but we still have 40 miles to go, spread out over 2 days. My body is bone tired and I'm really looking forward to going to bed! I'm hoping we get a good breakfast tomorrow morning so I can find the energy to keep walking. I'm dreaming of yummy breakfast food....

.... sliced fresh strawberries swirled into vanilla yogurt, sprinkled with cinnamon and granola.....




..... banana oatmeal bread, smeared with butter and jam.......


Yum!


Click here to see what else we like to eat on weekend mornings -- and enter to win a $100 Visa gift card!

Here We Go....

And so it has come down to this. Soon I'll be getting out of bed and going from 0 to 60 miles in 3 days. I've had fifteen weeks of training and countless miles (okay, I could probably count, or at least estimate them, but I'm afraid to do so because it will just make me think I haven't trained enough) walking around 8 cities in 4 countries. I've had blisters and sunburn and headache and heel pain and swollen knees and drawers dropped on my foot and just plain Boy Am I Tired. I feel like I've already been on a journey, but as Karen Carpenter sang, We've only just begun!

If' you're doing the event this weekend as well, stop by the Energizer tent -- they'll be providing charging stations and sponsoring massage stations along with the American Massage Therapy Association, so you'll get to recharge your cellphones, your aching muscles and your spirits. And as San Francisco's Keep Going® Blogger, I'll also be there with my plush Energizer Bunny, busy blogging and tweeting about everything that's going on. I'd love it if you drop by and say hi! We can compare stories and blisters, share hugs and band-aids.

If you're not walking but happen to be in the area, check out the San Francisco event page for a list of cheering stations along our route. For everyone else, keep reading my blog throughout the weekend for photos, videos and updates on my Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure adventure! As always, any words of support you leave are welcome and cherished. Finally, I wanted to give a huge, loving, pink THANK YOU to everyone who donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation (wow, this is sounding more and more like an Oscar acceptance speech).

I'll see you at the finish line....


Energizer is sponsoring my participation fee and fundraising requirement for this event, but I would love to be able to raise more for breast cancer. Please help me reach my goal of $1000! Any amount helps and is greatly appreciated. You can click on the widget below to donate to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Packing for the Cure, Part 2

Last week I mocked myself for packing so early for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, which starts tomorrow. Now I'm actually glad I started preparing so early, because there are so many little details which I completely forgot about, and with everything else going on -- relatives visiting, getting our car fixed, dentist visits and our regular, hectic life -- I needed a whole week to get everything together. I've been doing laundry every single day (which is like a world record for me) and consulting my checklist time and time again, because I'm terrified of forgetting something that will make the difference between a good experience and a painful/wet/sunburned/altogether wretched 3 days. But now I think I'm done, down to the pink Energizer Bunny cutouts that I plan to decorate my pink tent with.



Check out my waistpack, which I'll have with me on every step of those 60 miles. I've been walking with it almost fully-loaded for the past couple of weeks to make sure that I'd be comfortable. Here's what's in it (clockwise, from bottom center):

* Medication (ibuprofen, antacids, antihistamines) and band-aids.
* Hat -- check out the shiny princess crown on the front! I'm also taking pink fluffy bunny ears; hey, what else would the Energizer Keep Going blogger wear?
* Energizing jelly beans, to make sure my energy stays high all day. They've also got elecrolytes so I don't sweat all the salt in my body away.
* Sunscreen stick, blister stick, lip gloss stick.
* Extra pair of socks (with pink designs, naturally)
* Water bottle (again, pink).
* Wallet -- Mine is too thick and heavy so I borrowed Jammy's Spiderman wallet. I would have borrowed The Pea's pink Hello Kitty one, but it doesn't have a zippered coin section.
* Pink rubber bracelet -- because every gal needs to accessorize, even on a grueling 60-mile walk.

Have I forgotten anything??


Energizer is sponsoring my participation fee and fundraising requirement for this event, but I would love to be able to raise more for breast cancer. Please help me reach my goal of $1000! Any amount helps and is greatly appreciated. You can click on the widget below to donate to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Recreating the White Peach & Berkeley Burrata from Marlowe SF

Two weeks ago I attended a party hosted by Sony Dash, featuring an amazing lunch by chef Jennifer Puccio, executive chef of Marlowe restaurant in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood. Everything was delicious, but the standout in my mind was her White Peach & Berkeley Burrata, a simple delicate dish featuring ingredients I know and love, as well as some exciting new finds. It was so easy to make, I knew I had to try it out. All I had to do was gather the ingredients!

Packing for the Cure

I can hardly believe that this time next week, I'll have begun the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure in San Francisco. After all these weeks of walking and waiting, I'm going on a 60-mile walk! Don't mistake that exclamation point for pure excitement, though; I'm pretty nervous about the whole thing. In fact, I'm beginning to feel the stirrings of panic.

To quell my impending Freak Out, I've decided to focus on the relatively mundane aspects of the event like printing out my event credentials, writing out contact information for Alfie and starting to pack. Yes, it's a week away and I'm almost fully packed. I make fun of my dad for packing his suitcase a week before he travels, and here I am, doing the same thing.

But truth be told, I'm actually glad I've started so early. I usually pack for a trip one or two nights before. This trip, however, requires a little more forethought because participants are limited to a single bag that weighs 35 pounds (because event crew members and volunteers will be hauling our bags to and from campsites and we don't want anyone wrenching out their backs). Thirty-five pounds doesn't sound like much until you consider what we need to take with us:

Sleeping bag
Air mattress or pad
Pillow
Plastic sheets or tarp (to keep tent and gear dry in case of rain)
Clothespins (to secure the plastic)
Flashlight and batteries
Towel and washcloth (although you can purchase towel service so you don't have to deal with damp, stinky towels)
Two pairs of shoes
Two pairs of socks per day (that's a total of 6)
Sweat pants / long pants
Warm fleece or sweater
Sleepwear
Hat / visor
Shower shoes / flip-flops
Waterproof jacket
Underwear and sports bras, one pair per day
T-shirts and shorts for walking, one outfit per day
Something to change into after we're done with the day's walk
Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, sunscreen, moisturizer, soap, shampoo, etc..)


Are you kidding me? I consider myself a light packer, but this is going to be a challenge. BigFoot that I am, my 2 pairs of walking shoes will probably take up half of that 35-pound weight limit. And I definitely need space for the giant jar of painkillers I'm going to be taking at the end of each day.

And how am I going cram in that giant plush Energizer bunny?

I guess I'll probably leave those National Enquirer magazines behind. I'll probably fall asleep as soon as my head hits my pillow (or maybe I'll leave the pillow behind too -- I'll just prop my head on a plastic bag filled with my dirty clothes). And I'm going to have to ditch the after-dinner outfit and the two separate coats I was hoping to take. My color scheme for the weekend will be pink and black, and I might just sleep in grey sweatpants instead of my pink-and-white hot-lips pajama outfit, so I can change into my sleep clothes for dinner.

(See, I've successfully distracted myself from how woefully unprepared and inadequate I feel about walking the 60 miles! Nothing like a little outfit planning to cheer oneself up).

Check back soon to see which items made it into my 35-lb. bag!



Energizer is sponsoring my participation fee and fundraising requirement for this event, but I would love to be able to raise more for breast cancer. Please help me reach my goal of $1000! Any amount helps and is greatly appreciated. You can click on the widget below to donate to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Audrey's Giveaways

My review blog, Bonggamom Finds, is today's Featured Blog on Audrey's Giveaways, a popular review and giveaway blog. Audrey was kind enough to include my blog button and links to a couple of my ongoing giveaways. Thanks, Audrey, for the linky love! I hope you get lots of good karma for doing this!

Back to the Couch

With all the traveling we did, this summer was relatively tv-free . But the fall tv season is upon us, so I'm setting my timers and dusting off my spot on the couch. There are a ton of new shows -- NBC's Paul Reiser Show, CBS's Hawaii Five-0 remake, ABC's No Ordinary Family (and speaking of which, check out my BlogHer Superhero post!) -- and I might watch an episode or two to see if they're any good, but these 5 are on my Must See TV List:

1) Alfie might disown me for admitting this, but I'm a certified Gleek, and I can't wait for the new season to start tonight! I've always been a fan of Broadway musicals, and I love the way Glee has brought this genre back to mainstream culture (although I'm glad the choir aspect gives characters the excuse to sing, so they don't just break out into song the way they did in Oklahoma or My Fair Lady). Glee is witty and campy and fun. Sue Sylvester, you can paint a big fat L on my forehead anytime!

2) I've always had a soft spot for House, because Hugh Laurie, as you know, is actually Alfie in disguise (yes, he does show tapings on those evenings when he gets home late). After all the romantic tension between House and Cuddy last season, I'm hoping things don't get all lovey-dovey boring now that they're together -- or worse, turn into a romantic soap opera.

3) Okay, I'll admit, I watch Grey's Anatomy for outrageous plot twists. And the eye candy (McSteamy, not McDreamy. Every time I see Patrick Dempsey on screen I think of him in Can't Buy Me Love, so he's more of a McDorky than a McDreamy to me). At least this candy is sugar-free and fat-free.

4) I love watching Real Time with Bill Maher, really I do, but for some reason I always fall asleep about 30 minutes of the way through. It's not that I'm bored; on the contrary, I think it's one of the most interesting programs out there. I love his humor, his cut-to-the-chase honesty, his willingness to criticize both Republicans and Democrats, his appeals to intellect and reason, not rabid emotion (yes, Glenn and Rush, I'm looking at you!), his insightful guests. But I always end up snoozing. Maybe my brain is overtaxed (notice my other preferred tv shows aren't exactly hard on the intellect), but I'm going to try extra-hard to stay awake for the full hour of Real Time this season!

5) Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 8 doesn't come out till 2011, so technically it's not part of the Fall Season, but I have to reserve a spot for it on my Must See TV list because this show is so f-----g brilliant. No other show makes me laugh, gasp and cringe so much as Curb Your Enthusiasm, and it's truly one of the the best shows on TV. Larry and the gang are heading to New York in Season 8, so it's going to be fresh and new and fun, and I can't wait!

Getting Back on Track

You know what they say: The higher you fly, the farther you fall. And boy, did we fly high this summer. We spread our wings and soared to far-off places like Chicago, New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Dover, Birmingham and more. After five weeks of driving on the "wrong" side of the road, living out of a suitcase, doting in-laws who did all the laundry in between trips, going to bed late because the sun was shining until nine-thirty in the evening, and trying a new English chocolate bar every day, it's not surprising that coming back home felt like more of a crash-landing than usual (Literally -- the day before we left the UK, Jammy did a spectacular face-plant into the sidewalk after skateboarding without a helmet, which was only further evidence of how far removed we had become from our normal rules and habits).


Going home meant going from walking in places like this:



To this:


Getting back to our schooltime routine this year involves quite a bit more than getting used to waking up early -- Click here to find out what we're doing to get back to our regularly scheduled program (and enter to win a $150 Visa gift card!)