WOO HOO!!!! 60 miles

I walked all 60 miles!!!!! It was by far the hardest thing I have ever done! Wow - words just can't describe this event. It was truly an amazing, life-changing event - one which I will never forget.

Day 1:
I walked 10 miles with my mom. She worked very hard to achieve this. I was so proud of her! The last 10 miles I walked on my own. Yes - the first day was hard, but by far the easiest day: Piece of cake compared to what lay ahead.

Day 2:
My mom was just about at mile 10 when she fell and hurt her arm. She was very, very lucky she didn't break it. Needless to say, she was done walking for the weekend. She was one of many who were injured and could not finish. She stayed and cheered me on every step of the way. I continued walking on this "hottest" day of the event (91 degrees); by mile 17 I was feeling nauseous. I wasn't too concerned as I was "doing what I was supposed too". I was stopping at every pit stop, refilling my bottles with water & Gatorade, and grabbing the necessary snacks. At the last pit stop (only 1 mile away), I sat down and was quite concerned that I pushed myself to the limit. I forced myself to finish this last mile. It was the longest mile I ever walked. I did it, and my mom was there at the end with my flip flops :). Once I was back at the 3 Day camp, I sat down. I felt cold and was shivering. My mom called the medical team over. I was told to rest, drink tons of fluids, and eat something, although I wasn't hungry. After an hour-and-a-half in that chair, I felt better. I was one step away from an IV as I was dehydrated. I didn't understand as I "did all the right things". I learned 200 people were dehydrated the day before and many had IV's. Wow - I was scared. Not only that, my blisters were the worst ever. There was no way I could finish the walk tomorrow - I had already pushed myself to the limit.

Day 3:
I planned on "not walking" this day, as I was concerned that I had worn myself down the day prior, and my feet really hurt. At the last minute I decided to bandage my feet up and see how they felt after I put my shoes on. I had to finish this! I put my other shoes on and I couldn't believe how good they felt (well not good, but good for the third day of this event). I decided to walk to the first pit stop -3 miles. I would take it step by step. Along the route I met two incredible people (Lauren & Jen), who without them I would have NEVER finished. We all needed each other to finish. We had one goal and we were going to make it. The last 6 miles were terrible, and each mile was harder and harder. The only thing that kept us going was knowing how far we made it already, and how close we were to the finish. Jen and I finished together, while Lauren had to stop a few miles before the end - she was dehydrated nearly passed out.

The end: This was an experience of a life time! My mom was the first one to greet me in the holding area. Then as I walked inside the building I was greeted by all those walkers waiting for the final walkers to finish. We had to be at the end by 3:30 . . . it was 3:30 at that moment! As I walked down the aisle formed by walkers on both sides they each held their hands up as I walked by to slap each of their hands as I passed. Everyone was cheering. I could not believe I had finished! I had tears in my eyes. How did I do it? I have no clue . . . seriously . . . you just keep pushing yourself as you are in the moment.

Closing Ceremonies:
Words can't describe this. All the walkers, crew, and survivors walked out for our friends and family to greet us. The amount of people cheering us on was amazing. This is when you realize the magnitude the event and your achievement. Afterwards, Bryan greeted my mom and me with a bouquet of flowers. And, to my surprise our friends Brian and Jody were with him. Jody is currently fighting breast cancer and is a survivor. More tears ran down my face . . .

Thanks:
I have to thank Bryan for all his support for my 3 Day adventure! I could have NEVER done this with out his support and encouragement. Also, I have to thank all my donors. I was truly amazed by all the generosity. Without the donations - this would have not happened.

2009?
Sure, the Breast Cancer 3-Day event will take place next year, but will there be another 3-Day event in the books for me next year? Hmmmm . . . this is a pickle. The 3 day is a love/hate thing, as my walker-friend Jen said. While you are walking your toughest miles you are asking yourself, "Why are you doing this? Why am I putting my body through this? Why did I sacrifice so much time to train (which obviously wasn't enough), sacrifice time to fund-raise, and take 2 days off work?" But . . . the sense of community, the people cheering you on at the cheering stations, the people along the route who hand out water and leave their hoses on so you can cool off, the little kids along the route passing out ice or candy, the crew members who continuously give you encouragement that you can do it, the achievement, the whole experience, and all the money raised for breast cancer research . . . makes it all worth it in the end.

Yes, I would love to do this again - but the fundraising part is difficult. I am struggling with having to ask people for money. If I do this again, I am hoping I can come up with creative alternative fundraisers so I don't have to ask much from friends and family. I'm going to sit on it for a while and not make any hasty decisions . . .

The photos for the event will be uploaded soon . . .check future entries