Outside My Comfort Zone

I have friends who like to post inspirational and motivational quotes. I have one friend who believes you should strive to work outside your comfort zone. In fact, his advice is to do one thing a year that is outside your comfort zone. Well, the San Francisco Avon Walk weekend certainly was outside my comfort zone.

I could have easily told my teammates “not this year.” I was not planning to walk in San Francisco so early in our quest to walk in each city where an Avon Walk is held. I figured if we saved San Francisco for last I’d be in good enough shape to do it. But the team wanted to walk in San Francisco. We had agreed that it would be a California walk and the San Francisco dates worked best for everyone. So I trained and tried not to think about the hills or the Golden Gate Bridge.

Well, it turned out that the weekend was filled with experiences that were outside my comfort zone. Friday evening two of my teammates and I ended up at a Japanese restaurant for dinner. They both wanted sushi and the first place we tried was out of fish entrees. (How can a restaurant that is rated “high” for their fish be out of fish in San Francisco?). Anyway, we walked down the street a couple of blocks and waited for a table at a small, genuine Japanese restaurant. I’ve have had California rolls before, but not the raw fish that is sushi. Also, I am not a fan of raw (rare) tuna. But here I was with my friends, and since I’m willing to try anything once I said “teach me.”

 

I ordered a sampler meal that included three types of raw fish over rice balls, three California rolls, and some tempura shrimp with vegetables. Sarah taught me how to use chop sticks. While it was quite amusing, I managed well enough to eat my meal. Susan taught me about the dipping sauces. They both filled me in on what is appropriate for eating both sushi and tempura. They assured me that making it finger food was perfectly acceptable (which is how I ended up eating my tempura).

Saturday the three walkers in our team (one was a crew member giving massages at the Wellness Village) headed out for the first part of our San Francisco Walk. I found that I could keep a good pace and not get winded; unlike the first two Walks in Houston and D.C. The hills were the hills of San Francisco and I did ok. There was only one place where I had to stop to catch my breath before continuing on.

I walked across the Golden Gate Bridge! The lunch stop was after the Bridge at the 13.1 mile marker. The halfway point is usually where I stop, but the route layout for San Francisco day one is shorter than 26.2 miles and day two is 15.5 miles (2.4 miles longer than usual). And lunch is usually at mile 11. Since I’m used to continuing the Walk after lunch, and I knew I had 15 miles on Sunday I decided to keep walking after lunch. I made it to the next rest stop at mile 15.9. A personal best.

Sunday we got to walk back across the Golden Gate Bridge. This time I walked with my teammates and we stopped for some pictures to “prove” we were actually on the Bridge. The truth is, it wasn’t so bad as long as I stayed focused and didn’t look down. I did look across the Bay; it is a spectacular view.

This year the Avon Walk was outside my comfort zone. But there was more than just the famous hills. I ate raw tuna, used chop sticks, walked across the Golden Gate Bridge (twice) and walked 31.4 miles. My comfort zone has just expanded.

If you enjoy my blog and would like to follow me on Facebook, I can be found at The Reluctant Survivor.

Romans 8:28 Revisited

“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” ~ Albert Einstein

It was Friday, September 27, 2013 and I was up early to catch a flight to San Francisco to participate in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. As I poured my first cup of coffee my husband asked, “Did you see Leslie’s post?” I immediately logged into Facebook and went to the Rabbit Hill Inn page to read Leslie’s blog post. As I started to read tears came to my eyes. I started crying about half way through the post. I couldn’t believe what I was reading about my dear friend. And today of all days!

I like to arrive at the airport early; it cuts down on my anxiety. I’d rather wait at the gate for an hour than worry that I might miss my flight. We left earlier than we had to but my husband also needed to get to work. I figured I would get through security and go have breakfast. We pulled out of the driveway at 7:25 a.m. I was through security and at my assigned gate by 8:33 a.m. There was another San Francisco flight posted at that gate leaving at 8:55 a.m. I overheard a man asking at the counter if there were seats available; he had a later flight. The attendants said “yes” so I wandered up and mentioned that I was also on a later flight. The attendant looked me in the eyes and said, “No you’re not. You’re on this flight,” as he took my boarding pass and rebooked me for the 8:55. As he cancelled my original itinerary he mentioned that it was a good thing I was on this flight because my flight was showing a three hour delay.

I ended up with an aisle seat (which I like) and boarded the plane. I had enough time to send a quick text to my teammates and husband that I was on an earlier flight. How awesome was that?!?! The flight was uneventful and I was well attended to by one flight attendants. I arrived in San Francisco to a beautiful day of sunshine and temperatures in the 70’s. I made my way to the hotel and met up with my friend, roommate and teammate, Susan.

As the weekend unfolded I learned that the San Francisco Walk is usually held in July, but just this year, for one time only, it was rescheduled to September 28 & 29. Really? It just “happened” to be rescheduled? You know I don’t believe in coincidence. I took Leslie, and all the others I know, with me in my heart as I walked this past weekend.

And if I ever had any doubt about my purpose in walking, my flight experience certainly confirmed that I was meant to be in San Francisco this past weekend.

“We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” ~ Romans 8:28

 

If you enjoy my blog and would like to follow me on Facebook, I can be found at The Reluctant Survivor.

Avon Walk - San Francisco

Tomorrow I leave for San Francisco to participate in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. I’m both anxious and excited. I know I’ve shared my anxiety over the Golden Gate Bridge, but I did a Google search and discovered it’s really not that bad. The walkway is a wide sidewalk. In fact, reading about the bridge made it sound like a public park. I looked at pictures of walkers and bicyclists and thought “I can do that.”

I am also anxious about traveling. It’s not a post 9/11 anxiety about flying. In fact, it has nothing to do with the trip itself. It’s a “I don’t want to miss my flight” anxiety. But one of the things that I’ve learned about travel is that it’s not a big deal. I’ve missed flight connections and still got to where I was going. I’ve had flights canceled, was able to rebook my hotel room, and rescheduled my flight for the next day. Beyond that, the trip isn’t vital to anything. Except maybe seeing my friends. The truth is: I’m fine once I’m sitting at the gate waiting to board.

The other thing I’ve learned about travel is that it’s fairly easy to get around. I’ve done enough business travel that I know how to navigate to the taxi queue, grab a cab, and get to my hotel. In this electronic age I’ve already received confirmation emails, reminder phone calls, and been able to print out everything 24 hours in advance. I’m good to go. Tomorrow just has to arrive.

However, I think more than anything I’m excited. I’m excited to see my friends (teammates). I’m excited to be walking again. I’m happily (instead of anxiously) anticipating the physical challenge ahead. And I’m excited that our efforts have meaning. The money raised goes to research, education, detection, support, and treatment. As little as $150 means an uninsured woman gets a mammogram. Additionally, the money raised helps a newly diagnosed woman (or man) get the x-rays and lab work that is needed to determine treatment. An average of 80% of funds raised stay in the area where the event takes place. The remaining 20% goes to care programs in all 50 states, as well as national research programs, to help ensure adequate funding for the fight against breast cancer. Source: www.avonwalk.org. It is exciting to help fund the Avon Foundation and the fight against breast cancer.