Day 1:
We walked 19.7 miles. We started at Southdale Mall in Edina, went up to the 50th & France area, up along the the east side of the chain of lakes (Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun, and Lake of the Isles), through the Walker Sculpture Garden, had lunch in Loring Park, went through downtown Minneapolis, walked along the Mississippi River, crossed over at Lake Street, down Summit Avenue to Macalester College, from there we were bused to camp at Harvest Park. Walking into camp was surreal, pink everywhere.
The walking was good on Day 1. They had sweeper vans that would pick you up if you couldn't make it to the next pit stop. Towards the end of the day I thought about taking one, but I did not see one before the last pit stop and then it was only 2 miles to the end. The quote of the day came during this lag of the trip. "It was kind of nice being upside down." This came from a fellow walker who, in response to a little girl doing a cartwheel for us, walked on her hands. Yes, after walking 19 miles the woman decided to walk on her hands. It was awesome and inspired me to keep going.
Walking in to camp was another emotional awe-inspiring experience. I had to get my bag and find my tent. My tentmate did not seem too excited to have a tentmate. She was kind of grumpy. Why would you be grumpy on this event? Oh well, I wasn't around her except to sleep. Though I was in bed by 8:30 on the first night, I was exhausted.
This is me after 15 miles.
I was pretty tired, but getting to carry the Mother flag gave me the boost I needed to continue on.
Day 2
The calm of the Pink Village before Day 2 began.
Heading out of camp to start Day 2.
Towards the end of the walk my feet hurt and I was tired. Luckily that was when I ran into Abby. This was Abby's 4th walk. It would have been her 6th if she would have been allowed to walk before age 16. She was a spunky little girl who obviously could walk much faster than me, but she slowed down to encourage me. It was very sweet of her. Below is a picture of us on Jody's couch.
Jody lost her battle with breast cancer. This was her couch. One of her relatives was taking it to school. The day they were moving was the day the 3-Day was coming passed their house. They decided to sit on the couch and cheer on the walkers. This became a tradition. We saw Jody's couch several times throughout the weekend.
I made it through all the struggles of walking 22.3 miles. This backdrop is slightly off. This was after 42.3 miles.
There were a couple of other things that kept me going on day 2. First there were the cheer stations. Throughout the route, there were people set up cheering us one. But the organized cheer stations were special. They were huge and well placed. I think the organizers are very purposeful in the placement of them. For example the first one was at Lake Harriet Bandshell. I trained doing the chain of lakes. I absolutely hated the hill going from Harriet to Calhoun. But with people cheering me on the entire way offering food, drinks, Mr Freezees, wet paper towels, candy, sprays of water, and encouragement, it was a breeze. At the begining of Day 2 I was dragging. I knew I liked my caffeine, but I didn't realize how bad the addiction was until I hugged a stranger that gave me a Diet Coke. I may have also proclaimed my love for her. That Diet Coke was the best Diet Coke I had ever had.
The other thing that kept me going was the crew. This is why I am pretty sure that I am going to do crew next year. From the people that kept camp going to the people at the pit stops to the medical crew to the safety crew and everyone in between, they were all there for the walkers to encourage us and make our journey safe, memorable, and comfortable. Here are a few of the notable ones.
Oh Mullet Pig! So entertaining! So encouraging!
Mmmm Cap'n Jack! Isn't he pretty? I love him. Again very encouraging and Arrrrr-inspiring.
But of course my favorite crew member was Dr. Fiona! Not only is Fi a great friend, she is also a phenomenal chiropractor. She was able to make a couple of adjustments to my back that made walking Day 3 possible. I love this woman.
After walking 42.3 miles, of course the thing that everyone wants to do is dance. That makes sense, right? When I heard about the dance party, I thought they were crazy. But this was again well planned brilliance! Dancing actually loosened up my sore tired muscles.
Capt'n Jack dancing!
Pink-man dancing with the Youth Corps. I found out that Pink-Man is actually Mullet Pig.
Day 3
Heading out for the 3rd day.
Day 3 was by far the hardest day for me. I am not sure how many blisters were on my feet. Because my feet hurt, I was walking slower. This was bad for a couple of reasons. I was not able to pace with anyone which made the first part of the walk pretty lonely. Also I was not walking normally, this caused cramping in my calves. I wasn't able to properly stretch them out because that involved pressing my blistered toes up against a curb or tree. Tears ran down my cheeks as I raised my arms to flag down the sweeper van and admitted defeat. But again, the women in the can were so encouraging. They assured me that I didn't fail and I would be able to go to the next pit stop, stretch out, stop by medical and finish out the walk. Luckily at this stop I met Michelle. We walked most of the rest of day together. She pushed me and made the last 5 miles fly by.
There is the finish-line....so far away. I was so annoyed when the spectators said "Look there is the capital. You are almost there." Um if you call 3 miles away "Almost there" then ok. My feet were pretty sure we were not almost there.
Of course the closing ceremony made it all worth it.
This is Michelle and I with the capital (aka the finishline) in the background.
Of course the closing ceremony made it all worth it.
All of the people in the pink shirts are survivors. They were so inspiring. But it was so scary to see how young some of them were. Breast cancer knows no age.
Doing the victory walk in to the capital.
As the survivors walked in all the other walkers took a knee and held up a shoe.
I'm not going to lie, it was painful. But these women went through so much more pain as they conquered this disease.
The flag said "A world without breast cancer" That is why we do it.
After the closing ceremony, I went to Dr Fiona's for an amazing dinner with some great friends. I was also lucky to have PA Smith there to remove my bandages.
She appears to be enjoying this a bit too much.
I do have to admit that I am hooked. I doubt that a year will go by that I am not a part of this event in some way - weather it be walking, being on the crew, or just being a walker stalker.
