Day 3--Finally!

I know everyone has probably been on pins and needles waiting to hear the synopsis of the last day of my 3-Day adventure. :) I honestly haven't been very motivated lately, but tonight I'm finally going to try to finish my exciting story. Maybe the problem was that it really wasn't very exciting.

Day 3
Sunday began in the warehouse where we had slept, when someone's alarm went off at 4:00 a.m., even though there was no place to shower, dress, etc., and buses weren't supposed to come get us until 5:00. I'm not sure what people are thinking sometimes. After struggling to sleep for another hour, we packed up our sleeping bags and went to sit in line for almost 90 minutes. Ugh. They couldn't take us back to camp because there was still so much lightning in the area. We finally got back on the bus for the ride back to camp, but when we arrived, there was all this crazy traffic and a couple of vehicles stuck in the mud. Our bus couldn't get through the traffic, nor would the driver let us off the bus because the door was on the wrong side of the road. After sitting in the same spot for over 30 minutes, the driver was finally able to turn around, but then the "organizers" wouldn't let her drive us up to camp. We exited the bus and walked the almost half mile up a hill to our tents, which were filled with about an inch of water. At that point, I was actually very thankful for the concrete floor of the warehouse!

Thankfully, I had followed the packing instructions provided and had placed all of my clothing in plastic bags, and also packed a tarp to cover my suitcase. Although it still got a little damp, everything inside was dry, thankfully! Unfortunately, unless we wanted to stand in water, we had to go get dressed in port-a-potties. Ugh again. As soon as I was dressed, we heard the announcement--the route would be CLOSING in 45 minutes. This meant that we had to pack our stuff, take down our tents, eat our breakfast, and get on the road before it closed, or else we would be bused to lunch and not allowed to walk at all (they want to make sure everyone is finished in plenty of time for closing ceremonies). I kicked it into high gear and made it on the course with about 15 minutes to spare, although I left Cindy and Carla at camp in order to do so. They ended up starting their walk just minutes before the route closed at 8:45!

I think the obstacles of the morning only increased my determination to walk that day. I took off at a quick pace, caught up with a woman who walking at a good clip, and we began talking, walking, and passing people left and right! It was the first day that the route was really crowded, but also the first day that the weather was actually cool. The temperature had dropped at least 20 degrees overnight and the cloud cover made it almost chilly. We got sprinkled on from time to time, but thankfully there were no significant showers.

Just before we got to the lunch stop, I lost my walking partner Stacy, who didn't want to continue as such a fast pace. A 57-year-old woman named Regina took her place, and she was all about getting finished ASAP, which was right up my alley! Regina had also left her team behind the day before, citing slow walking and general crankiness. We were on a mission to the finish line, so after a quick lunch, we took off again and powered through the pit stops and remaining cheering stations. By the time we arrived on the grounds of the Liberty Memorial it was right around 2:00, but since there were only 70+ people who had finished ahead of us, it was honestly rather anticlimactic. There were a few crew members to cheer us across the finish line, but there were very few spectators. I had invited Mom and Chad to be there at 5:00 for opening ceremonies, since I had no idea that spectators were even allowed before then. While I felt great physically, it was a little lonely emotinally! The nice thing was that I was able to relax and cheer on the hundreds of other walkers as they came across the finish line, which was an emotional experience for many. It was great to be there for Carla and Cindy, who walked the entire day without getting "swept", despite Carla's blisters and sore hip.

The closing ceremonies were definitely emotional, as we were able to see how many of the women we had been walking with for the last 3 days were actually breast cancer survivors (donning the pink shirts). The youngest survivor who walked was 29. The oldest was 65. It just reinforced the fact that this horrible disease affects women of all ages, from all walks of life. While I wouldn't say that the 3-day was the most emotional or physically challenging thing I've done in my life, I still definitely think it is a worthwhile and important event. You can't argue with $2.8 million raised--by the K.C. walkers alone. When next year rolls around, if I'm still physically able, I'll probably do it all over again. It's a great way to honor my mom and the 200,000 other women who will be diagnosed this year, and it definitely makes me feel like I'm doing my part to help eradicate this deadly disease.

For more pictures of the event, view my pictures on Picasa!

Day 2 in Review

Day Two
Day two began at around 5:15 as I heard Cindy and Carla stirring the tent next to me. After a wash of the face and a hearty breakfast, we put on our walking gear, repacked our things and started off on a new day. I think we left camp somewhere around 7:15 or 7:30. Carla's hip was really hurting after sleeping on the ground, so we started off at a pretty slow pace that just got slower. The morning was nice and cool, and we continued to walk through the scenic, wooded areas of the hike/bike trails, enjoying lots of shade, but also lots of hills. I started to feel a hot spot (future blister) on my pinky toe, so I stopped at the next pit stop (pit stops contained snacks, a "hydration station" and potties) and pulled out my Body Glide (an anti-friction agent that looks like deoderant), and applied it liberally between my toes. My toe didn't bother me the rest of the weekend--yea Body Glide!! We were back on the road soon after, but the slow pace was killing my back, not to mention that my competitive nature was very frustrated by the fact that we were being passed by elderly women and very unathletic people. I was also anxious to get to the first cheering station, where I knew Chad would be waiting for me. At the 7 mile pit stop, I started walking without my team, and it felt so good to finally start walking fast! For several miles, I walked with a 25-year-old college student who had forked over $1500 of her own to reach the $2200 minimum so that she could participate. She knew no one with breast cancer, but had been in a near fatal accident a year and a half before, and she just felt like she needed to give back, since so many people had given so much to her when she was relearning how to walk and talk during her recovery. It was amazing to me that 12 months ago she couldn't walk at all, and here she was paying money to walk 60 miles!

Anyway, soon after meeting up with my new walking buddy, I made it to the first cheering station, where Chad was waiting with our nephews Miles and Quinton and his mom Joan. The cheering stations along the route were absolutely wonderful, where sometimes hundreds of people would be standing around clapping and thanking the walkers as we went by. They handed out popscicles and kids gave us candy, and it was really quite touching. Often there were people just sitting along the route cheering us on even where there wasn't an official cheering station. One mom sat in her yard with her kids and gave them squirt bottles to spray all the walkers, which was great since it got into the 90s on Saturday!

The rest of the day was a bit grueling, as the temperature rose and we walked on city streets with no shade. After a few more pit stops and another cheering station, we finally saw the sign telling us there was just one more mile to camp. As it turns out, there was just under a mile to the Shawnee Mission Park entrance, but then at least a half mile walk around the park to get our camp entrance! I'm not sure who was measuring this course, but they certainly didn't make it very accurate! I lost my walking partner in the last half mile of hills, but I felt great as I walked into camp about 3:15. I soaked my feet in the ice tub and used the electric foot massagers before enjoying a nice dinner and a long hot shower in the mobile shower units. When Cindy arrived at camp, her GPS again read over 24 miles!

That night, a severe thunderstorm was supposed to hit KC, so we all put on our PJs and grabbed just our sleeping gear for a bus ride to a nearby warehouse. Thank goodness for our camping pads, since we were sleeping on concrete. Again, we were asleep way before 10 p.m., but since buses were supposed to send us back to camp at 5 a.m., this was none too early!

Tune in tomorrow for the final installment of my 3-Day adventure!

Walking, Walking and More Walking

My big adventure has come and gone. For those of you who've been following this journey, I wanted to give you a synopsis of the last 3 days.

Day One
We left the house at 4:45 (hence the very tired look in the picture from Friday) and picked up my teammate Cindy before meeting Cindy's sister Carla at the Kansas Speedway around 5:30. After standing around for over an hour, the (slightly cheesy) opening ceremony started, while we stood around for another 30 minutes. My back was killing me after standing around for almost 2 hours, but around 7:15 we finally started walking in the chilly morning air. We walked around the Speedway to the car entrance and then made a lap around the track, which was pretty neat. After leaving the Speedway, we moved on to some pretty rough terrain, where we expended some extra energy for several miles trying not to twist ankles on the uneven ground. We walked through a park and through a scenic rural area before moving on to K-7, where a lane was actually blocked off for us to walk in. Between the truck exhaust and the 30 mph wind, this wasn't exactly a pleasant walk, to say the least. The winds apparently stirred up all the allergens in KS, so I was pretty miserable because I just couldn't stop sneezing! We finally got off of K-7 and had a good lunch, then headed out and walked the rest of the day on the very scenic (but no less allergic) hike/bike trails in Johnson County. There were lots of hills, so by the time we arrived at Shawnee Mission Park just before 3 p.m., we were pretty much exhausted. We were supposed to have traveled about 21.6 miles, but according to the GPS devices many walkers were carrying, the mileage was actually between 23 and 24 miles. To top it off, our tents were more than a quarter mile from the dining tent and showers, so we walked another mile or so in the evening just getting around camp! Needless to say, I was asleep in my tent as soon as my head hit the pillow at 9:00, and thanks to Tylenol PM, even though I woke to gusting winds all night long, I was able to fall right back asleep.

Tune in tomorrow for the details of day 2!

I'm Off!!

The 3-Day is here! We are loading up the car and picking up Cindy in a few minutes. Dad and Mim are on their way to see the opening ceremonies. I'm hoping for good weather and happy feet! :)

I'm So Excited...

...and I just can't hide it! Sorry for the cheesy 80s music reference, but I've just been so unfocused and unmotivated at work today because I'm so excited about this weekend! If you're just tuning in, I'm participating in my first Breast Cancer 3-Day, a 60 mile walk over the course of 3 days that raises an amazing amount of money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. I am walking in honor of my mom Sherry (sporting her 3-Day survivor hat in the picture with my bro) and my friend JoAnna, who were both diagnosed with breast cancer last December, as well as for my Aunt Merry, who was diagnosed late last summer. In the last 6 months I've walked approximately 580 miles, diligently following the suggested training schedule, preparing for the 3 days that will finally arrive in 2 days! Yesterday morning I did my last training walk (just 5 miles) and yesterday evening I started packing. I've raised $4,750 as of today, thanks to the generosity of over 100 wonderful friends and family members. My dad and his wife are coming to visit tonight, and they'll be there along with Chad at the opening ceremonies on Friday morning. People who've participated in the past say it's the experience of a lifetime. I can't wait to share more after the event next week!

If you want more information about why I decided to embark on this journey, checkout my personal 3-Day website, where you can also find links to my newsletters and my personal fund raising page.

The 3-Day Times, September 2006

Just days before the 3-Day began, I sent out the third edition of my newsletter, The 3-Day Times. Enjoy!

Smells Like Wet Dog

So this morning I am supposed to do a 10 mile training walk, this being the last weekend before my very long walk for the Breast Cancer 3-Day. When I awoke at 7:00, it was wet and rainy, so I got together my rainy day gear and checked the radar on weather.com. It looked like I might have a small window of opportunity to get in a few miles before the next burst of heavy rain came along, so I leash up the dogs and we set out through the sprinkles. Four miles later we are home, and I just finished the arduous task of cleaning off 12 wet feet and legs and 3 wet bellies. They are now pooped puppies, and they'll snooze the rest of the morning away while I head out for my remaining 6 miles. I think the rain is pushing to the north, but I'm bringing my rain jacket just in case!

The 3-Day Times, July/August 2006

The second edition of my newsletter was distributed to my supporters. Click here to check it out!

The 3-Day Times, June 2006

Check out the first edition of my newsletter, The 3-Day Times! I composed this newsletter throughout the 3-Day "season" as a way to regularly communicate with my supporters. It features news about my fundraising, training and other 3-Day related activities.