10.07.2008

Training Update

When it comes to training for the 3-Day, there is one thing that every one dreads: the 18/15.

The biggest weekend of training on the recommended training schedule involves walking 18 miles on Saturday and 15 miles on Sunday. If you can do that, then you can do the 3-Day without a problem. For Kelly and I, the 18/15 happened this weekend, post 3-Day party. On Saturday, we headed up to the Silver Comet Trail to bang out our 18-miler, which we completed in a speedy 5 and 1/2 hours, including lunch. On Sunday, we dragged our sore feet out of bed , stuffed them back into our sneakers and walked our 15 miles around the Decatur/Emory area of Atlanta. Kelly had never really been up through the Emory Campus, so I got to take her on a mini-tour, which was fun. In the end, we survived the whole weekend in relatively good shape, although we were definitely moving slower on Monday morning. Still - success!

As an added twist to our 18/15 challenge, Kelly and I were also presented with our chance to finally return the favor of a good samaritan from a few months ago. For those who've been following along, I posted back in July about a kind stranger that helped us out with water and ice on a hot day on the Silver Comet, and ever since then, Kelly and I have been looking for a way to return her nice gesture. Well, when we walking near the Emory campus on Sunday, we suddenly found ourselves following a trail of $20 bills. At first, it seemed like a great find - we were going to donate the money to Kelly's fundraising efforts. But then we started seeing credit cards and receipts and various scraps of paper, and eventually, we found a whole wallet spread all over the sidewalk and street. We used the cards to track down the owner of the wallet and Kelly returned it to her that night, with all the cash inside. Apparently, the woman had stopped at the bank and then drove off with her wallet on top of her car, which is how it ended up all over the road. She was so relieved to have her wallet back that she even donated to Kelly's efforts. Paying it forward really does have it's rewards!

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