Frisco Training Kickoff
Nikki and I attended our second Training Kickoff in my hometown on May 22. I was really excited about seeing what this route was like because as a Training Walk Leader I will be organizing a lot of walks in this area over the months leading up to the event in November.
We met up at our local outfitter, New Balance, at 7:30 AM. Like the week before in Dallas, it was overcast and seemed like a really good day for an early morning walk. The turnout was a little bit better than last week as we geared up to walk down Parkwood, around the Dr. Pepper stadium, through Central Park, and back around to Preston.
We asked some nearby women to take our picture in front of the sign (these are my shoes!), and later we discovered that one of them was a survivor. That is one of the most emotional parts of these events. They always ask how many first-time-walkers there are verses veterans, and there are always a pretty large number of each. They ask how many people are on teams or are looking for a team. Finally they ask how many women participating are survivors and how many years it has been since they were diagnosed. This is the point that I am thankful to be wearing sunglasses, because I always tear up. These women are one of the main reasons that we walk. We do not want another woman to have to raise her hand and say she has had to go through this.
This was an easy 3 miles. I think I always do better when I know the area and the route we are taking and can visualize in my head when we will make it full circle back to the beginning. Frisco has lots of beautiful pink and white flowers planted everywhere, and there are tons of things to look at. I loved that they also set up a mini cheering station in the park where the kids sat in cars and honked the horns and the adults gave high-fives and passed out candy.
When we were finished, we waited at the store and watched for the final walkers to come in. Those that were still there took a group picture afterward. They also do some pretty amazing drawings for gift cards to local restaurants and the New Balance store. Nikki was actually the big winner of one of the $50 gift cards! She shared with me and we bought some t-shirts and socks for training.
I walked away from the last 24 week kickoff looking forward to training season. I’ve been struggling a little bit with fundraising this year. In 2008 when we first participated I was well beyond the minimum at this point in the year, so I know this year is going to be a challenge. It definitely helps to get out and meet new people spend time making plans for future events. I know it is going to be a fantastic year and we are looking forward to November and sharing our journey up until that point with you.
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