Karen’s Training Log

Hello this is Karen calling…..

I spent today working as a telemarketer. You know, one of those people you hang up on

I volunteered at the Avon Walk office in NY making phone calls to remind people about an Introduction Meeting being held tomorrow night. Most of the time I reached a voice message, which was great. I simply read the script and hung up. Someone should invent a technology where one can choose one’s call to go directly to voicemail. Of the Seventy-plus people I called, only 2 hung up after I said “Hello, this is Karen and I’m a volunteer with Avon Walk for Breast Cancer”. Not bad.
Now mind you, I was not infringing on the “do not call registry”. All the people on the list had requested to be contacted by the walk organization.

So next time you get a telemarketing call, it might just be me calling.

Random thoughts on human nature

Over the past four street fairs I’ve had the opportunity to watch people and how they react. It’s fascinating. On the table, I place a bowl of candy. It’s there as a “draw” to get people to look at the table. People can be broken down into two sub-groups.

Polite-but-cheap
Apparently their mothers did a good job raising this species to be polite. This group asks if they may take a piece of candy. The answer is alway “Yes, help yourself”. So far not a single one of this group has placed even a penny in the collection jar.

Grab-and-go
This is a very remarkable species. Most do not make eye contact, they simple dart their hand into the bowl, grab a few pieces of candy and make a quick retreat. On rare occasion they will look to see if you are going to reprimand them, and as soon as they see no negative action will be forthcoming, they squirrel away with their treat.

Most interesting to note, the people who made a donation have never taken a piece of candy.

Westfield Street Fair

This was our best street fair so far !  The fair was set up in the Westfield train station parking lot.  We had an end space this time. On our left was a vendor selling hand made jewelry and across from us was the pony rides.  It was a very good location. People milled around looking at the ponies and would wander over to our table.

Many people stopped by to look at our pink ribbon items.  Big hits today were the water bottles and the stress balls.

Jane’s first attempt at earrings was a huge success ! Two of the three pairs sold.  She made long earrings with pink ribbon crystal charms at the ends. She’s going to have to go into mass production mode and make a large supply for our next fundraiser.

I learned alot about setting up our table over the past 3 fairs. It’s down to a science. I have a rolling milk cart which is filled with the earrings, collection jar, and other breakables.  The pink “flair” goes into a huge ziplock bag. I have a chair that folds into a backroll that I can strap on.  And finally, the picnic table sits on top of the rolling cart.  I can set up and break down the display in under 10 minutes.  Most important are the large binder clips and clothes pins used to keep everything from blowing away.  Despite the wind today, nothing blew away.

Introduction Meeting in Whippany

Kelley, my walker buddy from Avon, sent me an e-mail today congratulating me on passing the $1,800 donation level.  I wrote back saying I would be happy to help with any future meetings…. within 5 minutes I had a response asking if I would like to attend a meeting this evening at the Morris County library.  I picked up Kelley at the train station and drove to the library where we set up information packets for the prospective walkers. Four ladies attended and all signed up to walk.

Nordic Walking

Jane and I are training twice a week, walking 10 - 15 miles. We added Nordic Walking poles to boost our workouts. Some facts about Nordic Walking:

- Energy consumption increases when using poles by an average of 20% compared with ordinary walking without poles

- Releases pain and muscle tension in the neck/shoulder region

- Reduces the load on knees and other joints

- Consumes approximately 400 calories per hour (compared with 280 calories per hour for normal walking)

Interestingly, no one even seems to notice that we are walking with poles as we walk through the park. We wonder if anyone would notice if we walked through NYC with the poles

Avon route announced for 2007 walk

Opening and Closing Ceremonies Site: 

Pier 84, Hudson River Park at West 44th Street

Just blocks from bustling Times Square, Pier 84 was opened to the public in October 2006 and is one of the west side’s largest and busiest piers.  Panoramic views from the Pier stretch up, down and across the Hudson and back to the city skyline.

Wellness Village Site:

Mackay Park, Englewood, New Jersey

For the first time, this Avon Walk crosses state lines with a quick dip into the Garden State.  Mackay Park is just steps from the George Washington Bridge in the quaint and leafy village of Englewood.

Sneak Peek at The Route:

If you’re still sleepy when you start on Saturday, you’ll wake up soon with a  high-energy stroll through Times Square and the Theatre District before turning south through the heart of Manhattan.  You’ll walk past and through many of the city’s most notable landmarks and neighborhoods before leaving the hustle and bustle for a visit to peaceful Brooklyn Heights.  Heading back to the Island, it’s water views for miles while you travel up the west side and inland, then head toward the George Washington Bridge, where on a clear day you can see almost 20 miles up the Hudson River. Sunday’s route brings you back to Manhattan for our traditional visit to the Little Red Lighthouse under the Bridge, then back down the Hudson River path to your heroes’ welcome at Pier 84.