Keep Moving When You’re Not Officially Training

January. A time for new beginnings and new opportunities. But for those of you whose 2015 plans include participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day®, January may not seem like an ideal time to be thinking about training just yet. Hopefully, you’re using the early part of the year to focus on getting registered, starting your fundraising and recruiting teammates to walk with you (and for many of you, you’re also just trying to keep from freezing). But that doesn’t mean that your physical activity has to be neglected, even if you’re not “officially” training for the Komen 3-Day yet. Here are a few ways that you can keep active before you dive into your 3-Day® training in the next few months.

Get Online – So you’re stuck at home, not able to get out and walk. Cross-training (adding a variety of physical activities, besides walking, to your training plan), while enjoyable in the great outdoors, can just as easily be accomplished inside a home, gym or even your office, especially with the help of the internet. There is no shortage of fitness websites and YouTube videos that will guide you through a heart-pumping work-out, no matter how much or how little time you have to do it. Not interested in the constraints of a structured work-out? Just fire up you favorite music and treat yourself to a 10-minute dance party. Goodness knows there’s lots of dancing on the 3-Day, so it really is a form of training that will benefit you directly when your event rolls around.

Snow Fun – Much of the country has been hit with some pretty intense snowfall this month, so if you’re stuck in one of these winter wonderlands, the snow can be a great source of physical activity options. Nordic sports like cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are outstanding cross-training possibilities, or even snow-play like sledding or building a snowman will get the heartrate up. And though no one likes the chores associated with the snowy months, think about how many muscles you use shoveling the walk!

Walk! – Okay, so even if you’re not following the 3-Day training schedule yet, walking is still an outstanding way to keep yourself moving any day of the year.

How do you like to work in some physical activity when you’re not officially training for the 3-Day?

Philly Fashionistas: Fun 3-Day Costumes and Fashion

One of the joys of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day is admiring the scenery – the peaks of mountains rising around you, a beautifully wooded trail, the reflection of a serene lake in the early morning. You’ll also admire the fashion choices of your fellow participants; from the lunch Crew decked out in 50’s diner garb, to the walkers in front of you with blinking foam tubes on their heads. Everywhere you go on the 3-Day, there’s something to see. We caught up with a few fashionistas in Philadelphia this year and asked them to tell us about their stylish 3-Day attire. In the spirit of Halloween and dressing up, we hope their creativity and flair for costumes and fashion is as fun for you as it is for us.

Alaine, of the Philly Camp Services Crew, caught our attention with her sparkly wings, pink camo pants, star glasses, and multi layered tutu. Alaine said she found most of the pieces of her costume at Party City, and her inspiration started thanks to a Camp Services theme. “Except for the t-shirt (which I had), our theme for Camp Services was Fairy Tale Princesses, so I picked Tinkerbell. Tinkerbell wears green – so I chose to be Pinkerbell, but Pinkerbell is a tomboy, so that explains my pink cargo camo shorts.” We think Pinkerbell is a great look for you, Alaine! Alaine says she will be at the 3-Day every year until we find a cure.

Alaine, or Pinkerbell

If you’ve been at the 3-Day this year, you’ll probably recognize William from Seattle. William wears a walking kilt and long, knee high boots. William’s boots, from the Westco Shoe company, are known as a Highliner boot. “The key on wearing these for such a long walk is the socks, which make a big difference.” The kilt is Seattle–made and called a utilikilt. “On the 3-Day walk I wear three different styles of kilts, because it’s incredibly comfortable for walking in. I couldn’t see wearing sneakers with the kilt so I got the boots to go with the kilt.” While William is German, he graduated from a Scottish school. Other than looking awesome, William credits his walking style as being a great fundraising tool when he trains in his outfit. “This outfit actually raises a lot more awareness. People come up to me and start chatting with me about what I’m wearing, and I have a card that I hand out to people. On one side it has the reason why I’m walking, and the other side has links to my fundraising pages.”

William rocks the Utilikilt and Highlander Boots

Some people find inspiration for their outfits from their kids. The Washington D.C.-based Lady Jugs found their fashion inspiration through their children’s swim team, the Lady Bugs. “We had to be red and black,” they laughed. The Lady Jugs bought their tutus, made their own shirts and hats, and purchased black stickers to add spots to all of their ensembles. The stickers were originally felt dots, but were re-evaluated after “one got eaten by my dog,” notes a member of the team. The Lady Jugs wear different outfits every day, and even decorate their tents with lady bug dots. What’s one advantage of wearing red and black in a sea of pink? “We can find each other! We stand out and people remember us.”

Lookin’ great, Lady Jugs!

We have to say hats off to the team Power of Pink from Havertown, whose feathery contraptions lit up the balmy gray skies in Philly. It initially took 45 minutes to craft the first iteration, and then once they had a prototype, they said creating the feathered hats was fast. “We made a little template, glued feathers to it, and then started sticking feathers through the hats. We wanted to go big this year! This is our take on the fascinators from England. Duchess Kate was our inspiration,” a team member said. Do they have any advice for those DIYing their own fashion for the 3-Day? “Make sure it’s comfortable! You can’t have anything poking you or else it will be a long 60 miles.” Like the Lady Jugs, the Power of Pink team also loves that a unique look sets you apart from the crowd. “We had no problem finding anybody anywhere. We can see the hat, even if there are hundreds of people at the pit stop!”

The power of pink!

Another team that caught our eye were the Jersey Shoe Breast Friends. While their shell bras were purchased, they hand-crafted their tee-shirts, clipping off little sections and adding beads for a delightful fringe. They also glued starfish and shells to their pink caps, and like the Lady Jugs, they also had a different outfit for each day.

Breast Friends

No matter your fashion choice for the 3-Day, we always recommend that you spend some time training and moving in your outfit. While a frilly, feathered frock may look amazing, you’ll want to make sure you’ll feel amazing, too, as you boldly take on an incredible 60-mile journey. We love seeing the fun looks of our 3-Day family, but we know that no matter what, they’ll always look great to us; because courage, kindness, and hope are always in style.

Meet Gwen, a Survivor

Seven years ago, Gwen W., from Kirkland, Washington, had a feeling something was wrong. “It wasn’t a lump, but I had some discharge from my nipple,” Gwen said. She went to the doctor, and even though a mammogram and ultrasound didn’t show anything, she was sent to a surgeon. The surgeon did several tests and Gwen was diagnosed with Stage 0 breast cancer. “I’m a seven year cancer survivor, and I’m so fortunate to even be able to say that.”

This is Gwen’s first time joining the Susan G. Komen 3-Day®, and she walks for everyone cancer has taken away. “My sister had a really hard struggle with stage four breast cancer. And last year, she lost that battle. My brother died of prostate cancer four years ago, and in my 20s, my mom got cancer and she died. Cancer is such a horrible disease and has taken a lot from our family, and I wanted to give back.”

During Gwen’s treatment, she was a single mom with three kids. “I didn’t have to have chemo, but I did have to have radiation. I worked every day and my kids took care of me, and we made it a fun thing,” said Gwen. Gwen explains, “A mom is worried about how her children are going to be affected by this. When I got home after the surgery, I looked at my breasts. (After my surgery) I had a round circle, and a line, and we ended up calling them ‘Wink’. Even now, we laugh about Wink.”

Gwen went through 31 weeks of treatment, and at the end of treatment, she found herself struggling with depression. The counselor suggested Gwen take some time off. Gwen initially struggled with the idea of taking time off. “I’m just really a ‘do this, do that’ type of person, don’t worry about yourself – but I took some time off, and it was the best thing I could do. It isn’t weakness to take time off. It’s taking care of your body and doing what you need to do to heal. And that’s what I needed to do to heal.”

Gwen, with the help of her children and coworkers, crafted this skirt listing all the names of those she walks in honor and memory of.

A large part of Gwen’s healing came from the support all around her, and Gwen’s eyes light up as she tells me about her children. Gwen has three children, her oldest, Emily, is 24 years old and volunteering at the Seattle 3-Day, her son, Michael is 21 years old and watching the family dog this weekend, and her daughter, Beth, is 18 and also helped Gwen with her ribbon skirt. As a new member to the 3-Day family, Gwen describes the incredible role that her children had not only in helping her through her diagnosis and treatment, but also in preparing for the 3-Day. As Gwen recalls her 31 weeks of treatment, she says, “It was a very difficult time, but my kids kept me going. With all of my heart. They are so amazing. They’re just amazing kids, and I want them to have a life they love. And I don’t want it to be stopped by cancer. They needed a mom. I needed to survive. I needed to win and get through it.”

Gwen’s positivity is obvious in all of the ways she discusses the challenges her diagnosis presented, and even as she discusses her first 3-Day experience, positivity radiates from her friendly smile. Beyond the very personal connection to breast cancer, Gwen said, “I like what the 3-Day stands for. The challenge of raising $2,300 was honestly part of the adventure and growth for me.”

Gwen mostly used social media for her fundraising, and said that she really loved engaging her community and inviting them to be a part of her journey by supporting her through her fundraising efforts. While Gwen says she had a late start with training, she found a lot of support from her workplace, which organized weekly walks, and at one point, she was walking in her neighborhood so much that “even the police officer recognized me in Kirkland!” Gwen also posted her training miles on Facebook for accountability and to let people know, “Hey, I’m in the game!”

As Gwen heads out of the lunch stop, she flashes a friendly, megawatt smile, ready to take on the remaining 12 miles of the day. Please join us in welcoming Gwen and all of our new 3-Day walkers and crew. We are so happy to welcome you to the 3-Day, and we’ll forever be grateful for your dedication to fighting breast cancer, because everyone deserves a lifetime.

The 3-Day Blog

Tag Archives: training

Keep Moving When You’re Not Officially Training

Philly Fashionistas: Fun 3-Day Costumes and Fashion

Meet Gwen, a Survivor