Awesome weekend

I'm sorry I missed seeing most of you at closing. If you left early you missed a fabulous ceremony. They had the survivors make a very moving entrance across the stage after the rest of us were in place. I of course had used up all my film so I don't have any pictures of that but Sandy had some friends show up so we may get good pictures from them.


Here are the few pictures I took including some from the training walks.

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=marthaha2000&aid=576460762400995908&pid=&wtok=QYbAqqKj6FqLdMOJSWYNqA--&ts=1178750728&.src=ph

Is anyone else going to the Race for the Cure? We should arrange to meet somewhere.

I'm going to miss all of you but I am glad to get my weekends back.

Martha

Larry's helpful hints

A first time walker was asking me about packing and I told her I would post this. Larry actually wrote a pdf book filled with tips for everything you may encounter. I highly recommend it for new walkers.

http://www.creationsforacure.com/BCWalks/AnUndergroundGuidetotheBreastCancerWalk.pdf

Amazingly I feel absolutely ready this year so I have to say thank you to all my teammates who have kept me going with my training. See you all on Saturday!

Walking and wine!

We walked 20 miles today and mostly finished up ahead of the rain. Whew! Many of us are looking ahead to next weekend already, which will be our last full weekend of training before the walk! Woo-hoo!

I'm also writing this post to mention an upcoming fundraiser: A wine and cheese tasting/silent auction! It's being put on by two of our team members, and extra funds raised will go to people still needing $.

Here are the details:
Saturday, April 21, 7:30 p.m.
Pam's house in Springfield, VA
$10 suggested donation (but there are door prizes!)

We'll have a variety of wines and cheeses, plus a boatload of cool items available for bid at the silent auction. Some of them include:

• Washington Sports Club pass
• Nationals tickets
• Solar Planet tanning certificates
• Waterford crystal ice bucket and glasses
• homemade items (totebags, earrings, a very cute baby hat)
• a Wine Lovers Gift Pack and gift certificate from Melting Pot
• restaurant gift certificates (Zola, Tabard Inn, Flemmings wine bar, Metro 29 Diner)
• ESPN Zone game cards
• gift baskets from Yankee Candle and Bath & Body Works

If you're interested in joining us, THANK YOU! And any nice, fun people you'd like to bring are welcome, too. (Just note how many people will be coming on the e-mail invitation so we have enough food and wine on hand!)

To get the evite with the full address and other details, please e-mail us (the addresses that follow are spelled out oddly to prevent spammers from finding them!). Please contact Sara (saraclarke at hotmail dot com) or Pam (pamelajohnston at yahoo dot com) ASAP.

Thanks in advance :)

A Site For Those Facing Cancer, Themselves or With Someone They Care About

I couldn't figure out how to get this into the other breast cancer links but maybe someone else can. This is a great local program that has made a huge difference for many of the people diagnosed with all kinds of cancer.

Life With Cancer can help you meet the challenges of living with cancer by providing you and your loved ones education, information and support, free of charge, no matter where you live or receive treatment.

For More Information about the LwC program and services or to speak with a Life with Cancer staff member please call: 703-776-2841
or go to the Web Site at:
Life With Cancer Home if the link doesn't work, paste the following into your browser:
http://www.inova.com/inovapublic.srt/cancer/lifewithcancer/index.jsp

Wear your long johns

and your hat and gloves. Meet at the Arlington Cemetery Metro stop Saturday at 8 am for a 19 mile walk that will cross all 4 bridges with a side trip to the zoo.

Here is a link to the map: http://www.favoriterun.com:80/90161 and I will have copies of the map and directions.

You can RSVP to marthaha@iwon.com My cell phone is 571-527-8591.

A Burke Barnstormer's Celebrity

Well, we now have a teammate that is a celebrity, our own Virginie Lemieux! Many of you have not met Virginie (yes, that is the correct way to spell her name) since she now lives way out west and cannot join us for walks like she did last year, but she is still part of the team. Anyway, she was quoted in the Washington Post on Sunday, March 25th in the Metro section. It was an article on the petfood recall. She was at a pet expo downtown with her new puppy, Oslo, and got quoted for the paper. No pictures, but check it out on the Washington Post website at this link http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR2007032400968.html.

Sick & Guilty on Sunday

Hey everyone, sorry I missed you on the walk around Burke Lake on Sunday. Saturday I dropped out early at 11 miles, thanks for the ride Sara. I was disappointed, but glad I did. Other than nursing some achier than usual knees, it allowed me to tend to a cold that was trying to turn into the flu. By Sunday I was better but thought I would take it easy.

I'll see you next Saturday though, for the walk hosted by Susie in D.C. Thanks, Susie. I won't be doing the entire 21 miles, but I would like to complete 16 to 18. Martha mentioned dropping out about then, so I'll be there with ya, Martha.

I already started making up the missed miles today and was able to do about 6 on the treadmill at the gym. It's not 12 miles or pavement, but my legs need the conditioning. And I think I know why me knees and legs were done so early last Saturday, and it is so obvious that you'll say, "Duuhhh." I have two pair of custom inserts. Well, I split the pair and had an insert from the old pair in my left shoe and an insert from the new pair in my right (because it supported my arch a little better). Well, though they are molded from the same feet (mine of course), they are not exactly the same, one pair is a little thicker than the other. Because of that, they probably through my gait and stride off; not noticeable to me but to my knees. I noticed the difference this morning when I put the inserts from the same pair in my shoes. I am such a doofus, and I will probably be fine next weekend. Lesson learned.

Well, remember to train, stretch and rest. Good walking and good fundraising.

What will we do without Nan?

Our indispensable leader Nan will be gone next weekend but we still need to train. Anyone interested can join Susie Burke who is leading a walk on the Capital Crescent Trail:
http://www.cctrail.org/CCT_Maps.htm

The whole trail is 21-22 miles but Sandy and I are only doing 18 that day so we will turn around early.

Susie tries to provide maps for everyone so please RSVP to sqburke@hotmail.com .

Foggy Bottom Metro is on the Blue and Orange lines. People who want to drive can pay to park in the lot at the bottom of Wisconsin Ave. Sara's office is also near there so she may have better parking suggestions.

Training Walk Washington, DC 2301 I Street NW
Meet Time: Meet at 8:15 am, Walk at 8:30 am, Saturday, March 31
Terrain: Some Hills MPH: 3-4Distance (Miles): 21.4
Starting Location: 2301 I Street NW, Washington, DC 200037
Route Description: We’ll walk from DC to Maryland and then back to Foggy Bottom again! Most of this walk will be on the Capital Crescent Trail and the Rock Creek Trail.
Notes: Meet outside the Foggy Bottom Metro Entrance (look for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer shirts). Please email or call me if you plan to attend.
Leader: Susie Burke, 703-622-6109, sqburke@hotmail.com
Date: Saturday, March 31, 2007 Time: 8:15 AM

Walk to Mount Vernon

Just as George may have done we can walk from Alexandria to Mount Vernon. He probably took a horse but then he wasn't training.

This links to the trail map http://home.nps.gov/applications/parks/gwmp/ppMaps/mvtrailmap.jpg

Meet at the restrooms (the only building) in Belle Haven Park at 9 am Saturday March 24. The entrance is off the George Washington Parkway between Belle Haven Rd. and Belle View Blvd. Turn left into the parking lots for the Park instead of straight ahead for the Marina.

Tiny photos

Hey all,
So I had this itty bitty camera with me on our bridge walk, and I took a few photos with it while we were taking a short break near T.R. Island before heading over toward the Kennedy Center. Needless to say, these are not the most fantastic photos ever. But I have them, so I thought I'd post 'em, if only to give people a reason to learn how to post to the blog so they can complain about them! ;) Enjoy.

P.S. Maybe I'll bring my real camera next time!

Nice day, nice walk

Hi, all!

So we did the famous '4 Bridges' walk yesterday. Our huge group (nearly 40 walkers!) hoofed it from Arlington Cemetery to the National Mall, along the Tidal Basin, to T.R. Island and the Kennedy Center, along M Street in Georgetown and back to Arlington. It was a fantastic day out and a great change of scenery for everyone used to walking elsewhere. We all met a great bunch of walkers we hadn't met before, and made quite a few shoppers in Georgetown wonder what we were doing as we hauled it down M Street in the middle of the day. I took a few photos with a tiny digital camera, and I'll post a few here if they turn out.

Bridges

Looking forward to next weekend here is the link for Metorail service disruptions http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/alertdisplay.cfm This weekend all the stations north of National Airport were ok it was just everything south of the airport that were messed up.

Also here is the link for the route http://www.favoriterun.com/98209 if you want to preview it or print it out. The map does tend to load slowly.

Lots of walking

Well, we spent a fantastic, sunny Saturday out walking. Yesterday we walked about 11 miles around Fairfax and many of us got some color on our otherwise pale, winter faces! Today we walked a loop or two around Burke Lake. The weather was much cooler than yesterday and there was a lot of wind, but most people seemed to be feeling pretty good. Next week, we've got an ambitious walk planned on Saturday, followed by a few laps around Burke Lake on Sunday. Cross your fingers for nice weather!

Why we're here!

Welcome!

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the Burke Barnstormers' blog -- and its inaugural entry! Over the coming weeks, the team members will be sharing stories and giving you some insights into why we are participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer on May 5-6. We hope you enjoy our little slice of the Web world, and we welcome comments. Please share this blog address with friends, and take a look at our official Avon Walk team page when you get a chance.

Thanks for reading!

Burke Barnstormers