The Life and Times of the Watters Family

Jingle Bell Walk/Run for Arthritis

This holiday season, our family is taking on a challenge to make a difference in the lives of people with arthritis. We are participating in the Arthritis Foundation’s annual Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis where thousands of participants nationwide will run or walk while raising funds on behalf of the 66 million Americans affected by arthritis or chronic joint symptoms. Please take a step by helping us reach our fund-raising goal!

Check out our fundraising website.

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Resuming Exercise After The Race

Since finishing the marathon, I’ve realized that I need to keep exercising. Often. I think for now, I’ll definitely continue running, but I’ll focus on maintaining a manageable number of miles per week, probably in the neighborhood of 20-30 miles per week. At least until I have to start training for next year’s Portland Marathon, which will probably begin around the end of May.

I’ve also been looking into cycling. It’s a little less hard on the joints, which is probably a good thing considering I’m a pretty big guy at 6′ 2″, 250 lbs. The Cascade Bicycle Club has an annual ride from Seattle to Portland that looks interesting. Recently, one of my coworkers, a cycling enthusiast, showed me around the cycling equipment world at a nearby local bike shop for which he used to work.

All told, a basic setup is probably going to cost between $1750 - $2000 for a decent bike, pedals, shoes, bike rack, a new helmet and other assorted equipment and apparel.

I think I may even be able to find a few people around town to train and ride with.

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