Weekly Workouts and My First “Walk”

Okay, okay, so I am WAY late on my weekly workout post — not that I’m especially consistent with posting them, anyway. But I’m really trying to get back into the swing of things as far as developing a more consistent running/martial arts/cycling routine (now that I’m not training for a marathon, that is), so I figure better late than never, right?

Mon., April 21: 2.5-mile run, 2.5-mile bike ride (I had to leave my bike at my parents’ house over the weekend, so I figured I’d run back to get it and call it a workout).

Tue., April 22: Taekwondo class

Wed., April 23: 4-mile run

Thur., April 24: Rest

Fri., April 25: 10-mile bike ride…and then I finally got to see Aladdin on Broadway! Todd bought me tickets for Christmas, and Friday was the big day. It was a great show — quite a bit different from the movie, but still a lot of fun! The genie pretty much stole the show. :)

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Sat., April 26: Thai kickboxing class and strength training

Sun., April 27: 3-mile walk, Walk for MS

This past weekend, I participated in my first “walk,” along with Todd and my sister. I’ve done tons of local 5Ks and 10Ks that benefited causes ranging from cancer to arthritis, but this weekend’s Walk for MS was my first experience at a charity walk.

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It’s an especially important cause to me because my cousin’s husband was recently diagnosed with the disease, so I was happy to do anything I could to show my support for him and what they’ve been going through.

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Our team, “Team Giggity” (he’s kind of a Family Guy fanatic, haha), was one of the top 5 fundraisers for the event, so we got to have a table set up as a meeting place to eat breakfast and hang out before the walk.

The walk began at 10am, and basically led us through a 3-mile loop around the park — I thought it was kind of strange how long 3 miles feels when I’m not running them! The walking portion wasn’t quite as exciting as a race, of course, but I was still really glad to be participating. It was a great feeling to be walking with hundreds of other people who were out there to help raise funds and support friends and family members who have been touched by MS.

Volunteers from the organization were handing out small medals afterwards, which I found probably a little too exciting…
DSCF9553It was a fun morning and you know I loved prancing around in my orange sparkly skirt and silly headband (my cousin’s doing, not mine, believe it or not!), but at the same time, it’s a horrible disease…and now that it has touched my family, it’s even more terrifying. It wasn’t the most physically challenging event I’ve ever participated in, but I will say that it was one of the most meaningful.

Have you ever participated in a charity walk?

Comments

  1. Awesome job on your workouts this week!! I think that is wonderful that you all participated in a charity walk for such a great cause. I am truly sorry this disease has touched your family though. *hugs* I love y’alls team name – I am a pretty big Family Guy fan myself!

    • Jennifer says:

      Thanks, Lauren! Yeah, it’s been really scary…especially with something like MS, since we just don’t know exactly when/how it’s going to affect him. It was definitely nice to be able to participate in a walk to show my support!

  2. Looks like you got some solid workouts in! So sorry that ms has effected your cousin’s husband. It’s great to know there are charities out there like this one that offers support. You look so cute in your sparkle skirt!

    • Jennifer says:

      Thanks, Meranda! It was definitely nice to be able to fundraise as a group and participate in an event like this.

  3. Aren’t walks awesome after doing so many races??? And congrats on raising so much money for a good cause! Why didn’t todd wear a headband? I’m a little disappointed. Ha!

    • Jennifer says:

      YES! It was almost a little TOO “relaxing” though!

      Hahaha, my cousin handed out headbands for the women and orange sunglasses for the men…but he says he totally would have worn a headband. (Sadly enough, I believe him…) ;)

  4. I haven’t done a charity walk before but I want to do one. Good job fundraising :)

    • Jennifer says:

      Thanks, Lesley! It’s definitely a great way to get involved with a cause you care about, even if it was a little strange to walk the three miles instead of run them, haha.

  5. I had done an MS Walk (my sister-in-law unfortunately has it) while I was training for a race, it was so difficult to “just” walk the whole thing! lol Great job on your workouts!

    And how showstopping is Aladdin?!?! No Abu takes a little getting used to, but it’s a pretty good show :) The guy playing Jafar in the play is actually the same guy who voiced him in the movie, which is pretty cool :)

    • Jennifer says:

      Sorry to hear about your sister-in-law — it’s a really scary disease. But I totally found it strange to walk the 3 miles, not gonna lie!

      Aladdin was AMAZING! Haha, I was disappointed by lack of Abu, too! I had noticed that about Jafar when I read his bio in the Playbill — how crazy is that?!

  6. Way to go! Running or walking for a cause is always such a meaningful experience. I walked a 5k for St. Jude back in November, and it meant a lot since one of my good friends from high school passed away after her battle with cancer just months after we graduated.

    • Jennifer says:

      It absolutely is! It helps to know that there’s something you can do to help support the cause in some small way.

  7. I’ve done a few walks before I started running – I think I did American Cancer Society, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and I used to organized a team for the March of Dimes Walk every year when I worked up in Hartford. I really like being involved with charitable organizations and I feel like I haven’t really done anything like that since I moved from CT to NY.

    Have you seen the Aladdin show at California Adventure?? I know the Broadway one is obviously longer, but I’m curious as to how it compared to that…

    • Jennifer says:

      That’s awesome! It’s definitely a great way to get involved!

      Yes, I have…and let me tell you, I was worried it was going to be too much like the California Adventure show (I didn’t really care for it). It’s a LOT different. The storyline was changed quite a bit, and the Genie’s jokes aren’t quite as…inappropriate, haha. It was really well done. Would definitely recommend! :)

  8. I love your outfit for the walk! So cute! It’s funny that you’re posting about this, because there is a walk similar to this coming to my area that I heard on the radio the other day. And I was thinking in my head that I should do one because they are usually for really good causes and it would be nice to just take a leisurely stroll instead of being exhausted after a race! lol

    • Jennifer says:

      Thanks, Lauren! They are definitely leisurely and can be a nice break from running — it was totally strange not to feel completely exhausted afterwards, haha.

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