It’s breast cancer awareness month, and as you may know, Dave and I are walking in our second Race for the Cure on Saturday. I am also working on fundraising for my 2010 Breast Cancer 3-Day next November.

60 miles in three days is a long distance. Trust me, I did it last year. When I signed up the first time, I was more worried about the fundraising than I was the walking. The money actually came in pretty quickly and I got a lot of support. I was lucky to work at a company that allowed me to sell baked goods and openly ask for donations. As we began to train, I became worried about blisters and maintaining my feet.

We were told not to get pedicures because we needed to build up a callus. I get regular pedicures and scrub my own feet religiously. My feet were prime candidates for blisters, bad blisters. After one of our longest training walks, I got a major blister in between several of my toes. I was devastated. It hurt, and took quite a few weeks to heal.

I began looking for solutions. I read message board after message board, and discovered a thread about Injinji toesocks.

Sure they look kind of silly, but do they work?! You bet! I went to my local Luke’s Locker and bought several pairs, and happily wore them on several training walks which ended in blister free feet. They work, because each toe has it’s own space and does not rub against your other toes. They also are made with CoolMax material which pulls the moisture away from your feet. During the actual 3-Day event, I alternated between them and another sock made with wicking material, and even doubled up. I can’t say that I had completely blister free feet (60 miles is a long way to walk), although I didn’t have any between my toes. I had a few on the bottom on my foot, and also on the side where my foot rubbed against my shoe. Still, it could have been a lot worse, and I attribute that to my fabulous toes socks from Injinji.

I wear them anytime I know I am going to do a lot of walking, like the State Fair of Texas last week! Recently I was in touch with a rep from Injinji who provided me with several pairs of socks at cost for review. My feet felt perfect when I got home, were not sore, and I had zero blisters. Plus, I love that they come in pink (and a variety of other colors and styles). You can also choose between crew, mini crew, and micro. My favorite is the mini crew because they are not too short, and not too long. As Goldilocks would say, they are just right.

Now as I prepare for my upcoming walks, I am confident that my feet will be well taken care of. I am now more concerned about making the fundraising limit. Isn’t it strange how things shift?

Would you like to win your own pair of pink Injinji socks (like mine above) to try out? Simply answer one of these questions in the comments (required):

Visit Injinji and tell me which pair of socks on their website you would most want to try and why or Tell me about the worst blister you’ve ever had and how you dealt with it.

If you would like to earn extra entries:
1) Follow me @laurie_pooh on Twitter and send the following message:
I entered to win a pair of @Injinji toessocks from @laurie_pooh: http://tinyurl.com/WinInjinji
2) Subscribe to my blog in a reader.

U.S. and Canada only, please. The winner will be selected randomly from all valid entries on or around October 28. You must leave a comment letting me know your answer to one of the two questions above, as well as additional comments letting me know what else you have done to earn extra entries. Please also use your real first name and leave a valid way for me to contact you should you be selected as the winner. You will have 48 hours to respond to my e-mail before another winner is selected. Good Luck!

Who doesn’t love a massage? On Tuesday, September 15, participating Massage Envy locations are donating $10 from each 50 minute $35 massage to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

I am hoping to take Nikki for a special pre-wedding massage. Here are a more details:

Due to the overwhelming response we’ve received, this year Massage for the Cure will be going national with over 500 clinics participating nationwide. During our one-day event on September 15th, our goal is to raise $500,000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. This may sound like a lofty mission, but with your help we know we can make it happen.

To be a part of Massage for the Cure, simply call your local clinic starting August 15th and make an appointment for a $35, one-hour massage session on September 15th. Massage Envy works directly with local Komen affiliates, so 100% of the funds raised during our one-day event will be used for education, screening and treatment programs in your local community.

On August 1st, I officially made the decision to sign up to participate in the 2010 Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. Yes, the name has had a slight change, but it’s still the same Breast Cancer 3-Day event that Nikki and I walked in last year. I am both nervous and excited about the challenge ahead.

You might be asking, why am I talking about this so early? Well… I’ll tell you. Fundraising is hard work. Raising $2300 (it’s up $100 from 2008) by yourself is even harder. Walking 60 miles is the easy part in comparison (and trust me, it’s not easy.) I know money is tight and times are hard for everyone. I spent quite a bit of time this year being unemployed, so I know what it is like to have to cut back and not have a whole lot of disposable income. I know that I am going to need quite a bit of extra time to raise the same amount of money as I was able to last year.

There is still not a cure for breast cancer. I know someone who is going through chemo right now. Just because we are in a recession doesn’t mean breast cancer is. I wish I could say there are fewer cases, but people out there are still suffering and families are having to deal with this every day. 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer. Scary, huh?

I want to do this because right now I am healthy, and someday I (or somebody I love) might need the help that Komen provides to the breast cancer community. I want to be able to say that I did everything I could to help find a cure. Nothing I can do will bring back David’s mother for him and his family, but hopefully in a small way this honors her and will help somebody else in the process.

So now that you know why it’s important to me, I hope you will consider making a donation to support me in this 60 mile 3-Day walk. Truly no amount is too small, and I appreciate every dollar that is donated. I love to keep my supporters updated on my journey, and I will even send you little gifts of thanks.

Thank you to ConnieFoggles and Heather in BC for being the first two to make a donation. Even if you cannot make a monetary donation, comments and words of support are unbelievably important and inspire me to keep going with my training and fundraising efforts.

Nikki and I after walking nearly 20 miles on the first day.

Discovering companies that are committed to helping find a cure is always a welcome surprise. This week I learned about O’Cedear, a company that distributes products that help “make your life easier” and certainly cleaner. Check out their large assortment of brooms, mops, and other products. They are also sponsoring a Hope Helpers Award Contest You could win $1000 or possibly a limited edition O-Cedar® pink broom and mop. Check their site for more info.

David and I completed the 2009 North Texas Race for the Cure on Saturday, June 6. We had a great time walking in support and in celebration of our new friend Cathy’s first year surviving breast cancer, and in memory of David’s mother Arveta. Here is a photo of us during the walk. Cathy’s friend and our Breast Friends Forever teammate, Mandi, took this photo of us during the walk. Thank you to my friends and supporters who have donated to my breast cancer walks for the past two years.