Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Big Event

This morning I was thankful for some very random things: my bed, multi-ply toilet paper, flushable toilets, ibuprofen, coffee, a soft place to sit. These are all things that i have taken for granted, but missed during the 3 Day - well except for the ibuprofen. Opening Ceremony It was amazing, very emotional.   Jen did an amazing job describing it (she is a much better blogger than I am). So here is how the rest of the weekend went.

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.


I wish I could tell you the route for Day 2. I know we were in Maplewood, Roseville, Arden Hills, Shoreview, and Vadinais Heights. I do know that we went down Tiller Lane. This was the highlight of the day. My friend, Adam, lives on the route. My friends, Kristen and Rachel, were at his house to greet me. As I turned on to Tiller my pace picked up, even more so when I saw them. It was the greatest feeling ever! I wasn't sure exactly where on the route Adam's house was, but it was in the perfect spot - almost the exact halfway point of the entire walk. I got to hang out with them for a bit before I was off again. We stopped for lunch shortly after Adam's. Here is a picture of me getting some Rachel lovin'.


 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.



This is Michelle and I with the capital (aka the finishline) in the background.

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.


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. 




Friday, August 19, 2011

She's OFF!

Obviously, Miss Molly is a bit busy today. However, I am Molly's roommate, Jen, and I have the honor and privilege of posting on her behalf today, as she is walking the first 20, of 60, miles in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure breast cancer walk, in honor of her mom. 
I dropped Molly off this morning, and got to take some pictures as she began the journey... here is a peek into her morning...
 She dropped off her luggage - which was quite meticulously packed in gallon-sized zip-lock bags in case of rain. Doesn't she look like a Breast-cancer Beatin' Stud!?!
 It was an absolutely beautiful morning, and as someone who does NOT love pink, even I was in awe of the see of pink that glossed over the entire parking lot at the mall where the walk began.
 We stood in line to get Molly's picture with the backdrop... isn't she cute?!
 And then, Molly signed the Honor Banner that will fly for the entire weekend.
 Molly - I KNOW that any mother would be SO proud of her daughter for undertaking a task like this, and I can only image, not having met your mom, that she is looking down on you proud as can be this weekend!
 She headed into the "Walkers Only" zone, and I said a quick prayer that she might be not only surrounded with all of the love that is walking our streets, but that she would quickly be be-friended so as to not be going it alone in these first, and many, miles.
 Then, I lost her.... she's somewhere in there, though!
 During the opening ceremony, they raised the banner in honor of women that have faced breast cancer. It was BEAUTIFUL the way the sun was hitting it, the way the sea of pink reflected off of it... no words, nor pictures can do it justice.

 I waited at the starting gate for Molly in hopes that I would see her. My advice, for anyone that is walking and WANTS to be noticed by family and friends??? Wear black... or Red.... :) If you notice the girl in front of Molly, they are wearing the same thing.... so was about 80% of the crowd, and the rest were wearing similar. But, hey! At least I found her briefly!
Because then I lost her again... but... she's somewhere on the road.

Molly - I am so proud to call you friend! I can't wait to hear the stories of the next three days. I hope it is everything you dreamed and hoped it would be, and I will be praying for you as you walk each mile for your mom. 

As a side - Molly has made it beyond lunch at Loring Park, according to her latest Facebook update. At least we know she still has enough energy to multi-task! 

:) jen

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Pink

I am painting my nails pink. Not just pink but hot pink. I am pretty sure I am far too old to wear hot pink nail polish. Though when I was young enough to wear it, I wouldn't have. When I was a teenager I hated pink. Not just disliked - HATED! I am not sure where this hatred stemmed from. It might have been that being the only girl, my mom dressed me in pink a lot. When I got my own room, mom painted it pink. It was not baby pink or soft pink. It was more cotton candy pink. When I was 13, my parents let me repaint it. I am not sure if letting 3 teenage girls paint a room how ever they want qualifies them as the coolest parents ever or just crazy. It happens to me quite often that the beauty that is in my head never quite turns out that way. Purple and teal were quite popular in the early 90s. So that is what I decided. We would paint the walls teal and then sponge paint purple over them. It wasn't pretty. Once I moved out, my mom repainted.....pink. Oh sorry, it is "rose"! I am not sure when or how I started to appreciate pink again. But as I look at the clothes I have picked out for this weekend, I am glad I have overcome my hatred of pink. I am sure there will be tons of pink this weekend and at this time tomorrow I will be tucked into my pink tent in the pink village.

I just hope I don't relapse into a pink hater! :)

Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Training Is Almost Over

It took everything I had to convince myself to go on today's training walk. Who wants to walk 10 miles on their birthday? But with the event only 5 days away, I decided I should and I am glad I did. Today's walk was very encouraging.

Encouragement #1: At one of the 3-Day meetings I went to, they told us to make sure to carry some cash on you in case you want to stop for a treat like at a Caribou (a huge supporter of Susan G Komen by the way). I have not drank anything on my training walks except water and sports drinks, even though, almost all of the routes I take pass at least one Caribou. But today is my birthday and you get a free drink on your birthday (or if you are determined several). I thought that I might as well indulge a little. I am happy to report, that I was able to drink my iced white chocolate mocha with no problems. So yay, I can stop and have a pick-me-up during the walk without having to worry about getting sick!

Encouragement #2: This was my fastest 10 miles. This may have to do with the extra burst of caffeine or the fact that I left early and it was quite cool out. I averaged 3.33 mph. I am usually closer to 3.

Encouragement #3: If it hadn't been for my busy birthday schedule I probably would have done a couple of extra miles. I got home and felt great - like I could do another 10 miles. Which is a good thing since next weekend I will be doing just that.

Encouragement #4: NO BLISTERS!! I think the blister within a blister within a blister (kind of sounds like Inception) from last week finally turned to a callous. At least that is what I am hoping. I only get blisters on my "ring toe". Not sure why and nothing I have tried has helped. Maybe my body finally came up with it's own solution.

I really wish I would have kept track of my mileage. I am not sure how many miles I have put on my feet during the training process, but I know it has been a lot. Just a 8 miler tomorrow and a 4 miler on Tuesday left before 60 miles in 72 hours.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Bra Burning For a Cause

I have been so bad at keeping up with this blog. The training and fundraising is going pretty well. I can't believe the walk is only 2 weeks away. I did have one amazing fundraising event. My friend Fiona comes up with some of the craziest ideas. But this one turned out super awesome.
Yes we burned bras for the cause

The creatively decorated donation jar

Fun cakes....I especially like the mastectomy cake

Bras waiting to be burned

Showing the bra I burned and the reason I am burning it...my mom!

The event was amazing. I raised almost $300. And realized how many amazing friends I have that are supporting me in this process. 

Here are some more pictures of the event.