Top 3-Day Training Tips…From Walkers Themselves!

Our 3-Day participants always give the best advice for first-time walkers. They have experienced every step of the journey and know all the best insider tips and tricks. This is especially true for training, because no two people train exactly the same. So, all advice is good advice! Because you might not know the tip that helps you the most until you hear it.

To get to the bottom of the truly best 3-Day training advice, we went straight to the source: our walkers! We tapped our social media community, and our coaches who have also walked, to find out just what we need to know to maximize our training as our 2018 3-Days draw closer.

They had some great ideas!

Belinda H. on Facebook

Set new weekly goals for yourself to find a new path while increasing your mileage. I’ve increased 2 miles weekly by doing this.
Create an ongoing photo journal of nature from your walks. This will help you to relax with nature instead of counting miles. My friends are always excited to see where my walk took me that day.
Use an app like Map My Walk to share your progress with pictures from your walk.

Deborah K. on Twitter

I’m signing up for as many 5K’s scheduled in this area. And I plan on doing at least one 20-mile walk near home this summer.

Allie A. on Facebook

Do long training walks multiple days in a row! It’s Days 2 and 3 on the walk that are the hardest.

Coach Liz, Programs and Local Events Coach, Seattle and Dallas/Fort Worth

You don’t have to follow the training walk schedule exactly but DEFINTELY train. Get in at least two back to back longer walks each week.

Get fitted for a good pair of shoes, and make sure they’re a full size bigger than you usually wear. Your feet WILL swell, I promise. Invest in good socks, too!

Also, train in what you plan on wearing on the 3-Day. Skort, shorts, capris, whatever it is…train in that. And, figure out ahead of time if you prefer to use a two-bottle backpack or a bag with a built-in hydration system. Once you try them on, you’ll be able to feel which is your preference.

Melissa M. on Facebook

Hill train! Add an incline on the treadmill if training indoors or during bad weather when you can’t get out for a walk. Also train in what you may want to wear on the 3-Day, including underwear. The best way to find out what is comfortable and what works is to try it out during training.

Rachel C. on Facebook

If you are prone to blisters, learn how to wrap your feet! Train in the rain; the last two years (maybe 3?) we have had some rain. Get in the habit of stretching a lot. Find some walking buddy to walk with even if they can only join you for 1/2 of your walk. And, train with all the gear you plan to use.

Coach Gayla, Programs and Local Events Coach, Seattle and Dallas/Fort Worth

Don’t train alone. That’s B-O-R-I-N-G! Join a training walk from the Training Walk Calendar (The3Day.org/TrainingWalks). Don’t see any posted in your area? Drive to another one or become a training walk leader and lead your own walks.

Invite neighbors or create a walking group in your community. The time and miles fly when you have someone to talk to.

Brooke K. on Facebook

Definitely train! Walking 60 miles is much harder than it seems. Get some bigger back-to-back walks in during training because it mimics how you might feel in the morning on Days 2 and day 3! Try out some outfits including socks and shoes to make sure they will feel good during the event. Of course, train with friends to pass the time ?

What are your best 3-Day training tips? Tell us in the comments!

PLEASE NOTE: THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND TRAINING INFORMATION PROVIDED TO YOU IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE SUSAN G. KOMEN 3-DAY^® IS NOT INTENDED TO REPLACE OR BE CONSTRUED AS MEDICAL ADVICE AND ANY SUCH INFORMATION IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR SEEKING MEDICAL ADVICE OR TREATMENT FROM YOUR MEDICAL PROVIDER. BEFORE STARTING ANY EXERCISE PROGRAM OR FOLLOWING ANY RECOMMENDATIONS, ADVICE OR OTHER INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING TRAINING FOR THE KOMEN 3-DAY OR ANY ATHLETIC EVENT, YOU SHOULD FIRST CONSULT A PHYSICIAN AND HAVE A PHYSICAL EXAMINATION.

Keeping the FUN in Fundraising

There are literally hundreds of different ways that you can raise money for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day®, but if your personality leans a little toward the zany side, your Komen 3-Day fundraising is a great place to get creative and let your wacky flag fly.

Here are just a few out-of-the-box 3-Day® fundraising ideas that have worked for other walkers:

Prom Dress Sale – The life cycle of most fancy dresses—worn by prom-goers, bridesmaids or wedding guests—is: spend a lot of money, wear it once, stuff it in a closet. We heard about an enterprising young walker who realized there was money to be made from all that neglected couture. She collected up used prom dresses from her high school acquaintances, got a local dry cleaner to clean the dresses at no cost, and then held a big sale a few weeks before prom and resold the dresses at discounted prices. She raised more than $800!

Trick or Treat for Ta-Ta’s – A few years ago on Halloween, Twin Cities 3-Day participant Jenny C. dressed up in an adorable pink ribbon costume and went trick-or-treating—not for candy, but for donations. She said, “I wasn’t sure how it would go, but there were only maybe 3 or 4 houses that refused. The houses that gave me $20s made up for them! There were a couple that took donation forms, too. And one guy dumped his giant mason jar full of change in my Boobie Bucket!” About 2 hours of door-to-door work brought in nearly $200.

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Pink Ribbon Jenny and her Boobie Bucket!

“Flock” Your Friends – I’ve personally done this one, and it’s a riot! I bought a couple dozen pink plastic lawn flamingos and then under cover of darkness, I stuck all of them in my neighbors’ yard and left a note on their doorstep. The note basically said, if you want me to take these pink squatters off your lawn, make a donation. Then, to add a wicked little twist, that family then got to pick which of our other neighbors would get “flocked” next. This is great fundraiser for 3-Dayers with kids; my daughters were my sidekicks in sneaking the flamingos from house to house, and our neighbors’ kids were absolutely beside themselves with excitement when they’d wake up to find they’d been visited by the flamingo fairies. Within 2 weeks, almost every house on our block woke up to find the flamingos in their yard and I raised over $1000.

Backward Mile Race – Blanche C., a veteran walker, crew member and team captain in Seattle, has held the “Cupcake Classic Backwards Mile” Race for the past few years. It’s just what it sounds like: friends of all ages sign up to walk or run backwards for one mile. These reverse-running renegades pay a registration fee for the race, which goes toward Blanche’s fundraising, and she also holds a massive raffle at the race itself. Oh, and of course, there are cupcakes at the finish line.

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These clever “backward milers” brought handheld rear-view mirrors

Dance for Donations – Who doesn’t love subjecting their friends to a little public humiliation? We’ve heard of a handful of 3-Day walkers doing some version of this, and the results are hilarious. Basically, you ask friends for donations of a certain amount, and in exchange, the donor gets to pick a song that you will go out in public and dance to. Naturally, you have to have someone there to video you as proof, and naturally, that video must make its way back to your donors (usually through the power of social media). I personally think that the less skilled you are as a dancer, the funnier this whole endeavor is, but if you can’t fathom busting a move in front of a bunch of strangers, you can try a toned-down version of “embarrassment fundraising,” such as standing on a busy street corner wearing a sandwich board that says “I Love Boobies,” or the like.

Which creative, fun fundraisers have you tried? Share your ideas in the comments section, and if you need some fundraising inspiration of your own, visit the fundraising library on the 3-Day website at the3Day.org/library.

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Keeping the FUN in Fundraising