A Wish for Ashley

Last week I received my Official Team Captain Jimmy Fund Walk Event Handbook.  Upon seeing it in my mail pile I thought:

1)    Wow, I’ve never been a Team Captain of anything before! There’s a reason for that.
2)    Umm, you expect me to read a handbook? On principle I ignore handbooks. I was raised to ‘break the system.’
3)    WTF did I get myself into?!  I’m not going to survive.  

However, I decided that if I’m going to be an effective Team Captain, I should probably educate myself.  That reasoning prompted me to sacrifice my integrity and actually open the handbook.  How hard can this walk actually be?  I talked myself down off the ledge and began to read.  The 'Who We Are' description was sweet.  The 'Why We Walk' feature was tear jerking, really.  The 'fundraising information' section?  Piece of cake.  I am, after all, a professional.  The 'Walking as a team' tutorial?  Well I started one, joined one and am working to expand one.  The author of the handbook would be proud.  Then I got to the page entitled “Training Tips: Tips to Walk Like a Winner.”  Written by Jack Fultz, who apparently won the 1976 Boston Marathon, walkers should:

Buy a good pair of properly fitted shoes and avoid cotton socks that absorb moisture and cause blisters.  

My best pair of properly fitted shoes are four inch platform Mary Jane pumps.  That I wear with shiny tights.  Will those work?

Set weekly goals or follow a training program to correspond to your Walk day distance.

Ummm… does walking to and from my car into Dunkin Donuts to buy an XL coffee count as a training program? I swear, I’ll park more than six spaces from the door.

Start slowly and take short walks very regularly.

Slow walkers are wimps.  I will never, EVER, be mistaken for doing the ‘southern mosey.’  I will sooner crawl.

Share your goals with others and find a training partner.  This will help you maintain a high level of motivation and enhance your “fun factor.”  

Hmmm… I need me one of those.

So of course I thought of Sister #2, my go-to partner-in-crime.  She had signed onto our Will McFarland/A Wish for Ashley team and was the obvious choice to be my training partner (with the help of technology to cover the states we live away from each other).  We shared our goals… and sketched out a plan to ensure we stay highly motivated… by heckling each other.  We leave each other voicemails, text messages, and emails taunting the other and suggesting she hit up her “friendly neighborhood gym.”  People pay thousands of dollars to trainers to stay motivated (hey, I don’t knock it- you do great work, mom!) but let me tell you, nothing is more motivating than your phone beeping with cryptic messages like ‘It’s 6pm. Do you know where your gym shoes are?’  

I’m 7 days into 7 consecutive visits to the gym in a row (a lifetime record).  I’m beginning to think that I just might barely survive the walk.  And if I don’t, I can add ‘Team Captain,’ ‘Read a Handbook,’ and ‘Walked Long Distance in High Heels and Shiny Tights’ to my bucket list.  However, really what I’m looking to add to that list right now is ‘Found my Long Lost Cousin and Fulfilled my Uncle’s Last Wish.’ So stay tuned for information on how this walk will help us do just that…

With love (and a resolve to get up now and go to the gym to make for Day 8),

Audra