Great Strides 2009- Phoenix

7:00am: I got to sleep in a little bit this morning in preparation for the Great Strides walk in Phoenix. It's generally the biggest walk in Arizona so it always has a good buzz and is very exciting to attend. After I woke up, I immediately got on my treatments. I ended up saving my TOBI for after the walk, figuring that my lungs would be even more open to take it. I was certainly tired this morning, but the thing that was keeping me going was knowing that I was within an hour of getting some Dunkin Donuts. It's almost sad how much I look forward to consuming their products.

The walk itself was a big success. I wish I could show you with pictures, but being the moron that I am, I forgot to bring the camera. You'll just have to trust me that the turnout was great and I know for a fact that the money raised was better than expected. How do I know that? I have my sources and unfortunately can not share those with you or I would be taken out. They mean business at the CFF. But it was great to hear that this years expectations were exceeded, especially given the overall attitude about our economy. So a big THANK YOU to everyone who donated or gave their time to help out.

Mandi and I were put in charge of collecting all of the route markers on the path. We waited for everyone to take off on the walk and stayed behind a bit to give them a big head start. Unfortunately, we didn't give everyone a big enough lead and ended up having to walk VERY slow to stay behind everyone. Their was a family ahead of us that had 6 kids walking with them that needed potty, shade, and "looking at dead fish in the pond" breaks every couple of minutes it seemed. I didn't even start my watch timer to see how long it would take us cause I don't think it can count that high. It was great though to see whole families participating so I was more than happy to just take it easy and make sure to get all of the route markers. These walks are such a great way to get more exercise and meet other CF families. I really enjoy them and kind of sad that "walk season" is winding down.

Total Distance: 3.1 miles

5:00pm: Today's workout was just like any other, except Mandi and I REALLY didn't want to be there. I think all of the activity this past week plus being out in the sun today just zapped us of our energy. We knew that we were getting the day off of the gym tomorrow though so we pushed through it. As usual, it ended up being a great workout and I really blasted my arms. My left bicep and right tricep actually felt ripped during parts of the workout. For whatever reason, those two areas were really getting targeted. We sped up our workout to get our hearts beating and so we could get out of the gym faster. We still had a dog walk to get to. Current Weight: 188 lbs.

6:15pm: It was a perfect night for a walk. The sun was setting and there was a cool breeze blowing. I did have issues with my foot, but it was easy to ignore because of the weather. I was also coughing up really thick mucus during today's walk. I think the reason for that is two fold: One, I took a little cat nap this afternoon, and whenever I do that I seem to produce more mucus. Two, I had some chocolate milk followed by a protein shake. I think that can definitely have an affect on the thickness of the sputum. The whole walk I was spitting really thick chocolaty glue balls all over the sidewalk and street. I'm sure my fellow neighbors really appreciate every bit of it. I'm really glad we got in two walks today cause my lungs have felt a little tighter than normal and I need to step it up.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 39'23"

Total Distance Walked for Day: 5.2 miles

Great Strides- Glendale

7:00am: There was no dog walk this morning because of the Great Strides Walk, so J Bell was none too happy. She had been at my door whining since six, so she definitely thought she was going to get her stroll around the block. I knew that I was going to be able to sleep in a bit today, which I tried to do, but I was in and out of sleep from 6am on. My body is now fully programmed for that six o'clock wake up time. I can't say that that has ever been the case with me. It's kinda nice though cause it feels like all of my days are longer (which of course they are) and I'm able to get in so much life throughout the day. I really wish I had started this waking up early thing years ago.Jezzabel was ready for the walk. Too bad she didn't go.

Mandi and I didn't get to the walk until about 8:30am because we of course had to stop by Dunkin Donuts. I look forward to the good ol' DD every weekend morning and I know that she does too. There were quite a few people at the walk by the time we arrived and it felt like it had an overall positive energy flowing throughout. There were people of all ages there which included a lot of high schoolers which is always nice to see. It's such a good feeling when you see young people involved in their community and giving back.

Everybody warming up for the big walk ahead.

As far as the actual walk goes, it went really well. Mandi and I kept a good pace the entire time and I worked up a pretty good sweat. The only hitch was that we got off course and kind of got lost for a bit. The actual walk is 3.1 miles long and Mandi and I guess that we did 2.5 of it. We weren't the only ones to go off track, but most people were able to figure it out. It's just a good thing that people didn't follow us cause we could have had a mob situation on our hands. One thing I learned early: Don't lead people astray on charity walks. Just trust me on that one.

Team Conner was there in full force!

I was also able to meet some other CFers and some other bloggers at the walk. One in particular was Sarah and her husband Mike. You can check out their blog by clicking here. They both had such great attitudes and Sarah is quite an inspiring story. Within months of her transplant she was running half-marathons! You got to be kidding me! Talk about taking advantage of your second chance. They were both really nice and I hope that Sarah continues to flourish with her new lungs. It was great meeting you guys!!!!

Me, Mike, Sarah (OceanDesert)

Total Distance: 2.5 miles

6:00pm: We headed to the gym tonight with the mindset of just getting in and getting out because we were both exhausted from a day in the sun and shopping. Now when I say shopping, I mean going to about 15 different stores looking for a desk. None of which I liked, or if liked, I couldn't afford. There was a TON of walking today after the Great Strides so we decided that we wouldn't do a walk/run tonight and just stick with the gym. We both did chest and back and really treated it as a cardio workout as well. We took very short breaks and were both sweating pretty heavily towards the end. It gave my lungs a good work out too because I decided to go really heavy on every lift with fewer reps. My muscles were requiring a lot of oxygen tonight and the only way they were going to get it was with deep breaths. Overall, it was a very good workout, but I'm looking forward to just relaxing tonight. Current Weight: 190 lbs.

Total Distance Walked for Day: 2.5 miles

Great Strides 09- Anthem

5:15am: The alarm went off a little early this morning, and as I lay there listening to the death beep, I was really starting to regret agreeing to help with the set-up of the walk. I told them that we would be there around 7ish, so I knew I had to get my butt in gear. First thing I did when I woke up was hop on my treatments. I wasn't coughing too much this morning, which was nice, but I wasn't going to have time for a dog walk. I did my treatments, threw on some clothes, and headed out the door. Dunkin Donuts, here I come!

After scooping up my coffee and breakfast sandwich, Mandi and I made the long drive to Anthem. We of course enjoyed some car karaoke on the way which made the drive go by fast. A storm was predicted to roll through Anthem last night, but I assured the ladies at CFF that it rarely rains into the morning in Arizona and that we would be fine. Boy was I wrong! It was raining like kitties and puppies and on top of that it was about 50 degrees. We arrived to the site about the same time as other volunteers and starting unpacking in hopes that it would clear up.

It never did clear up. I thought the turn out was pretty good all things considered and it was really nice of people to show up in the drizzle. I believe about 75 people were expected, and while I was there, roughly 50 came to the site. For one of the smaller AZ walks, I would consider it a success. We'll have to see how much money came in. Keep those fingers crossed.

The best thing to come out of the walk today for me was meeting some other CF families that I had never met before. It's fun for me to talk CF and to trade secrets on how to take better care of ourselves. A met a lot of positive people this morning, which sadly, isn't a common theme among CFers and their families. It's refreshing to meet people with the same hope and love for life that I have. There's no reason to let CF take the wind out of your sails.

11:30am: Mandi and I headed to the gym to blast our arms. We got in the full arm workout in probably 75% of the normal time. We barely took any breaks in between sets and generally were switching back and forth between biceps and triceps. While she'd be doing one, I'd be dong the other. We didn't want to spend too much time at the gym cause we were going to swing by another CF event hosted by an AZ's Finest Honoree. It was a great workout and I'm glad that we were able to get everything done so we could enjoy the afternoon together. Current Weight: 192 lbs.

Side Note: We were planning on walking earlier at the Great Strides event but it got rained out. I'm going to try and squeeze in a walk tonight, but there is a lot of family time happening later. We'll have to see what happens.

Total Distance Walk/Run for Day: O miles

(I'm ashamed. I wanted to get a walk in tonight but it is still raining and I'm afraid that I will melt. Boo.)