Learning To Walk

<p>Sheilagh admits to being a Ding-Dong-loving forty-five-year-old mom 50 pounds overweight with no significant athletic experience. But she agreed to join the Children's Tumor Foundation Marathon Team vowing to complete the Portland Marathon on October 1 2006 while raising funds to help end neurofibromatosis or NF an often devastating genetic disorder.</p><p>Like pregnancy she had nine months to prepare for the marathon. Nine months to transform from a middle-aged chubby sedentary woman to a participant in an activity usually reserved for the elite athlete. The first trimester: an unwitting conception followed by big plans but no outward signs of progress. The second trimester: significant changes crazy discoveries and the realization that she had no business doing a marathon or ever wearing a thong. The third trimester: discomfort victories and coming to terms with the inevitable. Labor: a grueling day-long push to finish the Portland Marathon.</p><p>Quirky humorous and brutally honest <I>Learning To Walk</I> takes unpredictable side trips yet at the same time stays focused on a singular experience and goal-finishing the Portland Marathon. Everything that crossed Sheilagh's path is explored and nothing is off limits.</p>