Lee Ann Walks for MS

We decided at the last moment to redo our very outdated kitchen. So this week that was the one and only focus around the house. We are not done but inching forward. I am happy to report we now have running water in the kitchen again (we removed all cabinets and put in new sink and counter tops). We still have the laundry area and a small portion of the kitchen to complete. What a difference it makes in our home though. I told my husband that he is making his wife very happy, his reply was I have made a very tired sore husband. I am not doing nearly as much work as he has been but I am feeling all the work in this old bod also. So I may not be logging miles this week but I have been working some muscle groups that have not seen activity in recent memory!

So then what have I done to prepare for the MS Challenge Walk? Well I have started to compile my friends/family list for when I start doing fund raising. In case I didn’t mention it in my last post I will need to raise at least $1500 to participate in the walk. To do this I am planning several things. First will be a letter campaign to family and friends asking for donations. Next will be a garage sale with all proceeds going towards the walk. I am hoping to get my kids to run a lemonade stand at it also or something along those lines to possibly help with the case. I am hoping that some of my family will go through their closets and donate anything they can to the sale. Between those two things I am hoping we can come up with a decent amount of the funds needed. From there I will start coming up with more ideas and planning things as I go. $1500 is the minimum and I would love to greatly surpass that number!

I am sure my next post will contain some actual miles being walk. Until then have a wonderful sunny weekend!

So far I have told one person of my desire to walk in the MS Challenge Walk in Door county Wisconsin this coming October. My husband looked at me with this sort of have you completely lost your mind look. Then he pointed out the obvious….”remember that 5 mile walk last July?” Yeah I remember, how could I forget lying down on the path and telling him to just leave me to die. Being the great guy he is he urged me up and onward. I jokingly told him that it is only a couple 45 miles more then that fateful walk and would be a piece of cake. Besides I said I have months to train.

So he wonders now what has me, an over weight, under exercised mom of 4 wanting to walk 50 miles in 3 days. Well that can be answering in two words…MY MOM.

My mother was diagnosed with MS in 1993 at the age of 40. She has had her ups and downs and in someway or another she is aware of her condition everyday. If nothing else the medication and weekly injection are a constant reminder. However she has never let MS stop her or keep her from living her life. She is a very strong woman and it will be in her honor and in the hopes of finding a cure that I am committing to doing the MS Challenge Walk.

So it is with great excitement that tomorrow I will begin my “pre-training”. I did mention overweight and under exercised right? They have an 18 week training program but as my husband so lovingly pointed out I might need a bit more training then that. So I have come up with a plan for the 5 weeks prior to starting the 18 week program.

My hope is for this blog to share this experience with others and encourage others to not be afraid to step out in faith and do something big to make a difference for others.

You can also find out more about Multiple Sclerosis at the National MS Society website.

Below is a video about the MS Challenge Walk held in Southern California.