Regan's top 10 songs to walk to

OK, so after a month of banging out the miles, I've developed this list of fine, fine walking songs. 

In reverse order, my top 10 all time walking songs are: 

10) Weezer: Surf Wax America. A loud song with huge, fast-paced drums banging. Besides, it's about surfing instead of driving, which is very inspiring when you're paying $3.37 a gallon. 

9) Cold War Kids: Hang Me Up to Dry. So it was last summer's song, I'm still loving it. Say what you want about the meaning of the lyrics, I still insist that it's a cool song about laundry by a band named for the geopolitical event that shaped my early life. 

8) They Might be Giants: Istanbul. No reason other than that it's my blog, a weird song from my high school days and it makes me laugh. 

7)  Apocalyptica, featuring Corey Taylor: I'm Not Jesus. This song kicks it on many, many levels. I love that this Scandinavian orchestral band plays a mix of metal, punk and classic music - ON CELLOS! Also, it's good to see Corey Taylor slip the mask of SlipKnot. 

6) Lustra: Scotty Doesn't Know. "Euro Trip" fans, this is, in fact, the song that was written about Fiona. Then it was released on I-Tunes, where I bought it for 99-cents. Money very well spent as the song is upbeat, has a driving bass line and is laugh-out-loud funny!

5) A Perfect Circle: Magdalena. This is one of those bands that has no faults, as far as I'm concerned. Maynard Keenan is an unbelievable and multi-talented artist, and this song is amazing. I love that this song includes a tribute to the "lovely goddess." Doesn't matter that he's probably talking about an exotic dancer: When I'm not feeling lovely, but sweaty, it's nice to have someone lyrically remind me why I'm doing this. 

4) Against Me! Thrash Unreal. One of my absolute favorite new bands, Against Me! can do nothing wrong in my mind. I love this song, although I tend to jump around a lot to it - and it works one of my favorite vocab words (thrash) into the title.

3) Serj Tankian: Empty Walls. Such a great song! It jumps from smooth ballad-style to super-fast paced. I don't know when the man takes a breath, but it's fun to try to keep up with him when you're logging 4 miles on the treadmill. 

2) My Chemical Romance: I'm Not OK. So succinctly sums up how I'm feeling about 3 1/2 miles into said 4-mile walk. 

1) The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Universally Speaking. This rather benignly titled song has probably the best walking rhythm of all time. This can always pick me up to get me back on track with my walk - usually just when I'm really starting to fade. 

What are your favorites to exercise to?

I didn't know you could hurt there

In the last week I've discovered that it's possible to hurt places that I didn't know there were muscle groups. My shins, for example. 

In the past month, I've logged 50 miles - mostly uphill because I like to walk on the "random" setting - and burned a few thousand calories. I feel as though I've pushed my body to the limit, wrung it out and done it all over again. 

Any time I've felt as though the aches, pains, sweat and strain is too great to continue, it's easy to find the inspiration: This ain't nothin' compared to radiation therapy. 

I've found that some light stretching, yoga, and a diet rich in bananas and vitamins has helped with the stiff muscles. What do you more fitness-minded folk suggest for battling the bruising? 

Here's wishing you good health and lots of love,

Regan

You know you're in better shape when ...

After 70 minutes, four miles, 465 calories and lots of random hills, you're still "head dancing" to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

A gigantic THANK YOU

Fund raising is never something at which I have particularly excelled. Girl Scout cookies never touched the pantry on my behalf. Cheap wrapping paper and fatty food stuffs to fund choir trips never made its way through the doors. And let's just say I owe my record of selling the most imiginary grid squares to people to bet a horse would crap on to one horse show dad from Des Moines and his amazing arm-bending ability. 

So I am overwhelmed by the amount of support my friends and family have shown me as I prepare to undertake this walk. In a very public forum, I want to say "Thank you" to my phenomenal sponsors, in the order in which they arrived. 

1) Earl and Carol Foster, Huntington, WV: my wonderful uncle and aunt and great supporters (not to mention advisors on all things bone and joint related).

2) Jen Bruns, Waterloo, Iowa: My lifelong horse-crazy (be them steel or flesh-and-blood) friend and "little sis."

3) Kate and Jeremy Bartelt, Minneapolis, Minn: My "BFFs," personal environmental advisors and favorite people with whom to drink raspberry tea at 3 a.m.

4) Lisa and Greg Oelke, Dalhart, Texas:  My fantastic cousins and first people to ever take me mountain climbing.

5) Damon Coughlin, Collinsville, IL: My best friend from college, former housemate and über-talented cardiac nurse.

5) Doug and Jo Young, Iowa City, Iowa: My father's fraternity brother and his wife, who have long been something of a joyous, tailgating aunt and uncle to me.

6) Larry and Sheryl Foster, Sioux City, Iowa: My parents, my greatest supporters throughout my life, my friends and the pair who taught my brothers and me the importance of philanthropy.

7) Paul and Mary Jo Peterson, Mt. Prospect, Il.: My warm, loving and supportive in-laws. How lucky am I to have this family on my side?

8) Allison Smith, Palatine, Il.: A wonderful person whom I am overwhelmingly lucky to call "friend" and a source that I officially can never quote. Some sacrifices are more than worthy of being made. 

I would be remiss not to thank one person whose contributions transcend the monetary, standing, walking and sweating alongside me throughout this entire experience to date. And I don't doubt that he will continue to do so: 

Andrew Joseph Peterson, Palatine, Il. My amazing husband who has already logged hours in the tennis shoes with me to get ready for August; who has endured hours of mindless babble about the walk; who has carefully planned meals so my diet stays healthy; who puts up with his wife's crazy work schedule and ethic; and who is giving up his wife for three days so she can sleep in a tent, walk under the blazing hot sun and most likely come home smelling a bit like cheese. I love you, babe. 

Thanks to all of you who are reading this blog, supporting me along my way and sending thoughts and encouragement. 

With best wishes for good health and love,

Regan

These things I believe

A few weeks ago, we had "spring cleaning day" at work. As I was picking through the remnants of my desk the other day, I came across a nifty little pendant and chain that my dear friend and talented colleague Jillian Duchnowski gave me last year after she completed the 3 Day. It's a small silver ring on a narrow chain that asks on one side "What kind of world do you want?" Flip it over and it gives the answer: "A WORLD WITHOUT BREAST CANCER." I plucked it off the spot on the wall where it was hanging - next to a bunch of thank you notes and over a parody photo of the old staff at what was then Lakeland Media - and brought it home. 

As I'm banging out 15-plus miles a week in the early stages of training, this message I am taking with me and will hold close to my heart. Because these things I believe: 

•  I believe we can live in a world without breast cancer. Not just with medical responses, but with the ability to eradicate the disease all together. 

•  I believe that every small step makes a difference in fighting this poison. I personally vow to use my platform - as it were, to advocate for women's health and preventative medicine. 

• I believe that this walk is more than just a physical journey, but a spiritual one. 

• I believe that by sacrificing an hour or two of every night to train, to physically better myself and to fund-raise I am participating in something that is greater than any one person.

•  And I believe that if, God forbid, any of the remarkable women that I call my friends and family members should be diagnosed with this horrific disease, with support, love and the inevitable blisters, we can get through it. 

What do you believe? 

With best wishes of love and good health for each of you, 

Regan

Mother Nature throws a softball

Mother Nature called a cease fire on her wintery wrath today. 

It was one of those glorious March days when she decided to release her icy grip and give us all a teaser of the spring to come. As though she were rewarding us for so bravely surviving the 52.1 inches of snow that fell in Chicago from Dec. 1 to Feb. 29 (thank you, National Weather Service!) Temps hit the mid to upper 50s, the sun sparkled overhead, and many of the three foot drifts of dirty, murky snow melted into dirty, murky streams and ponds on the sidewalk. Being outside was as glorious as watching the sunset over the mountains, dancing in the rain or marveling at the Nothern Lights on a crisp, clear Anchorage night - something that was almost better experienced in soft focus. 

Needless to say, with a four-mile training trek at that highly quantifiable pace of "moderate" before me, I had a choice: Walk inside on the treadmill or brave the ponds and occasional shaded black ice to get in the miles. When I saw the anxious doggy grin and happy tail on Jack, I couldn't leave him behind. 

So I cheated, in a way. 

Here's the deal: A mile is a mile no matter how fast you walk it. But when you're attached via five feet of nylon to 75 pounds of compressed muscle and urine, walking at any speed other than "amble" is wishful thinking. Our rhythm turned into this - go 15 to 50 feet at a good 3 mph clip, stop, sniff around for at least 15 seconds, lift leg, repeat. And repeat. And repeat. For two miles straight. 

So I split the difference - taking the breast cancer dog for half the walk, then banging out 2.5 miles (I felt bad) at a more intense pace and incline on the treadmill before dinner. Maybe not the most efficient way of doing things, but given how happy, and tired, this pooch is tonight, it was definitely worth the effort. 

Here's wishing you happiness, love and good health, 

Regan

Experiencing technical difficulties

Hi, everyone. 

Under the category of learning as we go, it's come to my attention that the comments section was set up to keep anyone who wasn't a Google account holder from being able to comment. 

Whoops!

Should have that taken care of. Please post away. (If it DOESN'T work, please somebody, drop me an e-mail.) 

Thanks for your patience and best wishes of love and good health to each of you.

Things you learn while staring at your feet

For the obvious reasons, I've never watched myself walk. I have enough trouble not crashing into things when I'm paying attention to where I'm going, much less when watching my own toes. 

That said, for the past three days and 10 miles I've been hitting the treadmill in the apartment weight center. In typical form, the center has one wall that is solid mirrors. I assume this is so people can "watch their form," which I take as a colloquial way of saying they can watch their own muscles ripple while working out. Incidentally, it's also a great means of covert people watching, but I digress. 

For the past three days and 10 miles, I've been staring at my feet. Remarkably, I've learned that while my left foot points straight ahead, in perfect line with my knee, my right foot is slightly pigeon-toed. Huh. I have a range of theories as to why this may be, but my favorite is based on the fact that a horse used it as a landing pad about 11 years ago while at Youth Nationals, crushing the top of the foot down into the bottom and turning the whole thing into a black-and-blue flag of courage. Whatever the reason, it doesn't hurt - just makes for some interesting tracks in the snow that's been everywhere. 

Anyone with actual medical training out there have any ideas? Suggestions on how to handle 60 miles with this nonsense (besides by making a very large, very gradual right turn)?

Sending you love and wishing everyone good health, 

Regan

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

So it's been one of the snowiest winters in recent memory here. We've received something like 60 inches of snow in the suburbs, and even more farther out in the collar counties. 

Needless to say, training walks look more like luge lessons than training walks in this stuff. Or, if you add Jack to the mix, an Iditarod training course. 

You would never guess it from this photo, but when Andy, Jack and I hit the trails at the Cook County Forest Preserve park near our home last week, it was about 50 degrees. Most of that snow melted (largely into our shoes and pant cuffs) then refroze into a lake of ice. 

Think spring, everyone!  With wishes for good health and much love.

Questing for the Cure

Hi, everyone!

Thanks for checking out my new blog. As you all know, I'm participating in the Breast Cancer 3 Day this summer. It's a long haul - 60 miles in three days - but definitely worth it. I have to raise a minimum of $2,200 by the Aug. 8 start date, and thanks to you all, am well on my way. Of that money, 85 percent will go to the Susan G. Koman Foundation while 15 percent goes to the Breast Cancer Philanthropic Trust. 

It's a long, intense haul in the hottest part of the sweltering Midwestern summer; and already I'm questioning if maybe I'm not more than a little crazy. But given that one in seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her life, it's worth it. It's just 22 weeks, a few million steps and a focused goal from here to the event: Let's Do this Thing!

I'll be walking with four wonderful friends, my talented colleague Danielle Guerra, her firefighting beau Ryan, the lovely Diane Robertson who lives just down the road, and my dear friend/Guitar Hero Max Koziol. Please check out my personal page at www.the3day.org, as well as each of theirs. You may make a donation, learn more about the walk and just get more facts and data about the 

I've set up this site for friends and supporters who want to offer advice and insights as I get this show going. Please check back often for updates and please, feel free to respond with your advice and insights. 

Wishing you much love and good health, 

Regan