Saturday, April 25, 2009

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