Jan's Go-Go Gals

Training Walks

6-mile training walk
Saturday, May 26, 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Long Lake Lutheran Church
3921 277th Avenue N.W.
Isanti, MN 55040

Your Training Schedule for This Week

Training Tip of the Week: Foot Care – Blister Prevention and Care
The direct result of a friction rub, blisters can be caused by pressure in the shoe or moisture from perspiration. Staying well hydrated throughout the 3-Day^® is important for all aspects of an injury-free walk, and this includes blister prevention. Dehydration allows the skin to fold on itself and create a friction rub. Proper shoe and sock selection also is key to preventing blisters.

Hot spots are places on your feet where you feel tenderness, pressure, heat or pain. If you feel a hot spot during a training walk, stop and change your socks. Increase protection over that area by applying moleskin, second skin or a bandage. Moleskin should not be removed until the end of the walk to prevent peeling off of the skin. Be sure there are no creases in the bandage, which could cause friction.

If you develop a blister, try not to pop it. Blisters are nature’s way of creating a protective cushion and protect the skin from infection. Small blisters should be covered with a square of second skin, a bandage or corn pad. Do not leave second skin on overnight as it will dry out and can irritate the skin.

For large, painful blisters, clean the blister with an alcohol pad and have a medical professional drain it with a sterile needle. Be sure to keep the open blister covered with antibiotic ointment to prevent infection. Benzoin liquid, New Skin^® or Tuf-Skin^® spray are sometimes used to “toughen” the skin at problem areas. Try this out before the 3-Day. Do not get a pedicure or try to remove calluses before the event or long training walks. Do not wear toe rings on your long walks. The heat may swell your toes and feet, decreasing their blood circulation.

New Balance Training Corner New Balance is here to weigh in on blister prevention. Blisters can be caused by pressure in the shoe or moisture from perspiration. Keeping your feet dry, along with proper shoe and sock selections are key to preventing blisters.

Breast Health Fact: One woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every two minutes in the U.S.

Your 16-Week Training Schedule for This Week

Your 16-Week Training Schedule for This Week

Training Tip of the Week: Your Training Program
Training for an endurance event like the 3-Day^®involves three things:

• Developing muscular strength and endurance
• Building cardiovascular fitness
• Experimenting with exercise gear, diet and fluids

Muscular strength and endurance is exercise specific. Walking is not the same as running; your feet hit the ground further back on your heel with your toe higher in the air and then you roll farther off the toes with each stride. Runners may never develop the arch support or mid foot strength needed by a walker. Your brain needs to learn which muscles to use and your body needs to develop the strength to walk. Not just for one mile but for 20 miles. Nothing trains you better functionally for walking than walking itself.

Cardiovascular activity can be developed with any aerobic activity. Cross-training has been included to decrease injury while building muscular strength and cardiovascular fitness. This can include cycling, swimming, rollerblading, Pilates or any whole body physical activity.

Experimenting with walking shoes vs. running shoes, socks, waistpacks, backpacks, shorts vs. tights, etc. is an essential part of training to prevent blisters, chafing and injury. Walking while drinking sports drink, practicing pre-event, on-event and post-event routines for diet and especially fluid management is very individual and may require trial and error.

Your suggested training program allows for all three components of training. Cross-training to build your fitness, many long walks to experiment with equipment and diet, and, most importantly, a graduated increase in walking mileage. Note the moderate intensity training days where you can add periods of increased speed or hills to increase your endurance.

As you train, it is important to listen to your body. Often injuries, strains or areas of inflammation may not show up for 1-2 days after a training session. This program is only a guide, try to do as much as you can, but please do so safely.

Breast Health Fact: Globally, 1 out of every 18 women is at risk of developing breast cancer during her lifetime.

Isanti 3-Day Team marks over 300 miles

By: Elizabeth Sias

Fifteen days, 300 miles, $57,500.

To date, that’s the number of days spent walking, miles walked, and amount of money raised by the Isanti 3-Day Team in their fight to end breast cancer.

In honor of breast cancer patient Jan Leppla, the name of the Isanti 3-Day team this year is Jan’s Go-Go Gals. The team is celebrating its sixth anniversary walking, which marks over 300 miles walked for many of the team members. Pictured, front row, from left, are Jan Leppla, Beaner Bell, Donna Larsen, Sherri McKenna, and Bell’s daughter Aubrey Bell. Back row, Loretta Fornberg, Nikki Mellum, Mo Spike, Ronda Fenlon and Diane Wicht. Not pictured: Amie Johnson and Jeni Kafer. Photos by Elizabeth Sias

This year marks the team’s sixth anniversary walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, a 60-mile walk over the course of three days.

“It’s hard, but it’s worth it,” said Beaner Bell, who’s walking for her fifth year. “Their biggest slogan is ‘Everyone deserves a lifetime,’ and I think that’s what it all comes down to.”

This year, in honor of breast cancer patient and fellow member of Long Lake Lutheran Church Jan Leppla, the name of the Isanti 3-Day team is Jan’s Go-Go Gals.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Leppla, who was diagnosed in December and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. “When (team member) Ronda told me, I just couldn’t believe it. It’s huge. It’s an honor; I can’t believe they’d do it in the first place, and that they’re doing it for me is a wonderful honor.”

With eight walkers during the event August 24-26, the team will raise an additional $18,400 at $2,300 each. Net proceeds from the 3-Day are invested in breast cancer research and community programs.

Left: Beaner Bell signs a piggy bank the team gave to this year’s honoree Jan Leppla, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in December.

Each year the team walks for a member of the community who has been a victim of breast cancer, and they have been supported by several community organizations, including the Isanti Lions Club, Cambridge Legion Auxiliary, Isanti County Sportsmans Club, local churches and many individuals, team captain Donna Larsen said.

Larsen walked for the first time in 2005 with her daughter Kara, who learned about the 3-Day in a women’s studies class in high school and asked her mom to join her. Just two years later, Larsen assembled as many people as she could to form the Isanti 3-Day Team in 2007, and the group has been walking ever since, with new and old members alike.

“I walk so my daughter won’t have to,” Mo Spike said. This will be her fourth year walking.

Each member walks for their own reasons, but all share the goal of raising money to search for a cure to end breast cancer.

“We’ve never had anyone in our family have breast cancer, which makes us a huge minority,” Larsen said. “There are more families that have had a family member affected by it than not. To realize it’s so huge was eye-opening.”

Nikki Mellum and the rest of the 3-Day team spent Monday evening assembling cookbooks to sell as a fundraiser. The cookbooks, going for $10 each, include recipes from breast cancer survivors, past and current walkers, team supporters, as well as this year’s honoree Jan Leppla.

She hopes that a cure for one type of cancer will open the door to curing other types. Every breakthrough in treatment makes a difference, and every dollar raised helps.

“Jan had a mammogram and within just a couple weeks, she was in treatment and getting a plan,” Larsen said. “It was very fast, whereas 10 or 20 years ago, it would have gone undiagnosed for a very, very long time until it got to the point where the treatment paths were a lot more radical and a lot less successful.”

One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime, team member and 3-Day ambassador Ronda Fenlon said.

“It’s very humbling. It changes you,” she said. “And it’s not only a woman’s disease, it’s also a man’s disease.”

Breast cancer survivor Jeni Kafer, who the team honored in the past, is walking in the 3-Day for the first time this year, but she has participated in the Mother’s Day Walk at the Mall of America.

Ronda Fenlon, left, and Diane Wicht assemble cookbooks along with the rest of the members of the Isanti 3-Day team, Jan’s Go-Go Gals.

“I was so overwhelmed by the encouragement and support of strangers,” she said.

It will also be Nikki Mellum’s first year.

“It’s going to be hard, but people with breast cancer go through radiation and chemo,” Mellum said. “If they can do that, we can walk 60 miles.”

The team trains by walking four miles around Long Lake Lutheran Church every Wednesday, as well as 10 or more miles once a month.

The Go-Go Gals agreed: the most challenging part of the 3-Day is not walking 60 miles, but fundraising.

The $2,300 each may seem high, Larsen said, but some of it goes toward the event itself. For instance, the 3-Day provides three meals a day for all walkers and two-person tents at overnight camps. There are also volunteer medical staff, crew members and more to ensure the safety of walkers.

The team has monthly fundraising events to help reach their goal, Fenlon said. In April, they’ll hold a community breakfast at the Isanti Lions Club; a Pink Boutique and Zumba class will take place May 12; a beer bust called “Beer for Boobs” is being held in June at WinterGreens; and they’ll hold their third annual Pink Barbecue in July. Each event also features a silent auction or raffle.

The team during the 2009 Breast Cancer 3-Day. From left, Cole Priem, Sherri McKenna, Ronda Fenlon, Mo Spike, Tyler Priem, DeeDee Kahring and Kara Hepp. Photo provided

This year, Fenlon reached out to breast cancer survivors, current and past walkers and team supporters for recipes to put together a cookbook, which the team will sell for $10 each.

On Monday, Jan’s Go-Go Gals got together to assemble the cookbooks, which also feature inspirational quotes and words of wisdom from survivors and this year’s honoree Jan Leppla.

Leppla wrote: “Throughout this journey, I think the most important thing I learned is to open your heart to love; the love of God, your family and friends that can fill your life with so much joy and happiness that all else fades. My Gram taught me many years ago to think positive and that bit of wisdom has brought me a long way in facing life’s challenges and how to get through everyday life. I say thanks every day, many times a day, for my many blessings, for it is through those thanks that God gives us all his many miracles and the beauties he has to offer. There is nothing better than to start the day watching him create, second by second, a gorgeous sunrise right out our window. How glorious. I have many passions, which have been so much a part of my healing, too, as they keep me focused on things I love to do. So I say thanks to God and to all my family and friends for donating and for walking in my honor on this wonderful day! And always remember; never go out of the house without wearing your smile and wearing your blush!”

For more information on Jan’s Go-Go Gals, visit www.isanti3dayteam.com.

To make a donation to the team online, visit www.the3day.org and search for team name “Jan’s Go-Go Gals.” Checks made out to “The 3-Day” can also be sent to Ronda Fenlon at 28025 Bayshore Drive NW, Isanti, MN 55040.

TAKE ACTION

1. Know your risk – learn your family history, talk to your health care provider

2. What screening tests are right for you? – Ask your DR, have a mammogram every year starting at 40. Have a clinical breast exam at least every 3 years starting at 20 and yearly starting at 40.

3. Know your breasts – how they look and feel. Report any changes to your DR.

4. Healthy lifestyle choices – maintain a healthy weight, excercise, limit alcohol, limit postmenopausal hormone use, breast feed if you can.

Did you know that virtually every major advance in the fight against breast cancer in the last 29 years has been impacted by a Susan G. Komen™ grant? That we’ve helped train more than 400 breast cancer researchers and funded more than 1,800 research projects over the past 29 years? That we’ve provided more money for breast cancer research and community health programs than any entity besides theU.S.government? Komen’s goal is to “energize science to find the cures.” We are proud of our contribution to some real victories:

• More early detection – nearly 75 percent of women over 40 years old now receive regular mammograms, the single most effective tool for detecting breast cancer early (in 1982, less than 30 percent received a clinical exam).
• More hope - the five-year survival rate for breast cancer, when caught early before it spreads beyond the breast, is now 98 percent (compared to 74 percent in 1982).
• More research - the federal government now devotes more than $900 million each year to breast cancer research, treatment and prevention (compared to $30 million in 1982).
• More survivors -America’s 2.5 million breast cancers survivors, the largest group of cancer survivors in theU.S., are a living testament to the power of society and science to save lives.