Return from Vegas... back to work.

It's been long between posts and my life has been insanely busy the last few weeks. While I haven't managed to blog recently, I have managed to create dedicated time each week for walking. Life should start settling down now, which I'm extremely grateful for. Weekly mileage starts ramping up now and I'll need to be more careful about not over-scheduling myself so I can keep up with the goals.

I took a brief hiatus from training walks during a short trip to Vegas. While in town, I didn't worry about whether or not I was walking the prescribed number of miles per day because, really, there wasn't any worry that I wouldn't be getting enough miles in. We walked and walked and walked some more, up and down Las Vegas Blvd.

I learned some important lessons during these miles: my lower back quickly started hurting, which is more than a little worrisome. I was wearing cute shoes - cute but useless in terms of support - and we walked on concrete. That combination made me miserable in short order. My lower back hurt so bad that even coughing required me to brace my back. I need to work hard in the coming weeks to strengthen my ab muscles to help offset the lower back issues. I also need to chose my footwear wisely so I don't aggravate my back.

I finally managed to get my fund-raising letters into the mail and I've made good progress in that department. I'm almost a 1/4 of the way to my goal! Thank you to all the people who have generously supported this effort so far. Today and tomorrow I'm beginning the process of going through my entire house, ruthlessly de-cluttering and organizing items for our 3-day garage sale in June. But first, I'm going for a walk!