Day 3 November 7,2010

We started another cold morning with a bus ride to Ursuline Academy in North Dallas. We made our way through Highland Park and Park Cities on a beautiful Sunday morning. There was a huge cheering station at Lovers Lane. A crowd turned out to cheer us on with stickers, candy, drinks, and donuts.



Lunch was at Reverchon Park in the Turtle Creek area. It was beautiful! Bree and I took full advantage to eat, stretch, relax, and take some pictures before finishing the last stretch of our 3 day walk. There was a pink firetruck at the park for us to sign and take pictures with. The Dalmatian inside was a sweetie; although a little camera shy.

After lunch we left the park and began

walking on the Katy Trail into downtown Dallas. We had some great views of the Dallas skyline as well as the American Airlines Center. When we reached the West End, Katie and Chris were there to cheer us on. It was so great to see her and have her support.

Our final miles had us walking by the JFK Memorial, Dealy Plaza, Pioneer Plaza, Dallas City Hall, and historic Deep Ellum. For the walkers not from the area, it was a great site seeing walk. Our journey ended at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park. It was very overwhelming to walk in and see all the people cheering us at the gates.


In the holding area, we received our official 3 Day shirts and a pink rose. The survivors led us into the Cotton Bowl Plaza where family and friends were waiting to congratulate us on our journey. Dallas walkers raised over $7 million ! It was very inspiring to think that one group of people raised that much money in the fight against breast cancer. We were so tired by the end but it was so worth the aches and pains. We are excited about walking again in 2012. For 2011, we are working crew. Such a great cause, such a great experience. Thank you Susan G. Komen 3 Day!

Day 2 November 6,2010

So after hearing veteran walkers talk yesterday about how rough day two is, we were a little leery of how the day would go. We were up early and it was cold. Once again we made our way to the dining tent for breakfast and parked ourselves in front of a heater. It was a great way to warm up our muscles. Today we were better prepared for the cold and had on thermals under our pants. We also wore two shirts and warm hats. We were walking by 6:30 A.M.

We left Brookhaven and made our way through many residential areas in north Dallas. The neighborhoods that day were so amazing. Many had decorated trees or windows with huge pink ribbons. They also were our cheering and offering drinks, candy, candy, and more candy. The support was awesome! During the day we passed 21 private cheering stations; meaning they weren't set up by Komen. Our legs and feet were definitely feeling day 1 , but we were still doing really well. Day 2 brought many supporters and some silly characters. We had Harley bikers, a pink gorilla, and a group of guys in pink tutus.

Lunch on Saturday was at Hockaday in North Dallas. We ate, stretched, refilled water, and Bree taught me a new trick. I learned how to take a pair of pants off without getting completely undressed. It's similar to how women take off a bra through one shirt sleeve, but with pants. It's a great trick when you're dressed in layers. I refused to have my clothes touch the bottom of a Porto Potty as they came off. After lunch, we made our way toward Valley View Mall for our last public cheering station. Wow! The line of people cheering all of us on probably went a mile down Matlock Rd. It was so encouraging and touching to see all of these people out on a Saturday afternoon. Bree's husband, Keith, came out with Grayson and Sophia so they could cheer on their mom.

Next we headed into Addison for our last pit stop of the day and the home stretch. By this time we were tired and ready to be done! Every day around 5:00 we'd have a fit of giggles hit us. It was either that or cry. We cruised into camp that night around 5:30 just in time to hear Candy Coburn sing "Pink Warrior".

One of the funniest parts of the 3 Day was the dance on night two. This seemed like the strangest thing to expect people to want to dance after walking 20 miles all day. The funny thing was that it felt really good. We were able to move our feet and hips in a different way than we had been all day. It was hilarious to see all of the tired people in their PJs dancing. They made a point to have all of the male walkers come up to the stage and dance. There was also a conga line thrown into the mix. It was a great way to end an exhausting day.

Day1 November 5, 2010

We began our 3 Day journey with an emotional opening ceremony at Collin Creek Mall here in Plano. It was very cold, about 37 degrees, and our muscles were getting tight. We probably stood in the cold about an hour before we actually started walking. Bree and I were right by survivors' circle during the ceremony and it was very moving.

Since this was our first year doing the walk, we had many unexpected treats along the way. The first surprise was all of the sweep vans. Each one had a theme and played loud music to keep the walkers motivated. One of our favorites was the Scooby Boobie Van. Each day they dressed as different characters from the show. They drove the route all day ready to pick up walkers who might need a ride to a pit stop or to camp. They were awesome! It was so great to see how many people gave up their whole weekend just to follow us around and cheer us on.

All along the way we were met by people cheering at designated cheer stations. Most of these were at schools and churches in the Richardson area. Sandy came to cheer us on at one of the first stops. She had waited cheering other walkers on for 2 hours before Bree and I walked by. It was very sweet of her to come out in the cold and support us. We had lunch at Valley View Park in Richardson. It was nice to sit, stretch, eat, and relax a bit. The mantra of the weekend was drink, drink, pee, pee, and avoid the IV. It was pretty funny to see those signs along the route. After lunch, we left the park and started walking on the White Rock Creek Trail. It was very pretty and took us through some nice parts of Dallas.

We stopped and stretched at every pit stop, refilled water bottles, and usually got a snack. They were about every 3 to 4 miles along the route, sometimes less than that. This made walking 20 miles a day very manageable. Every pit stop also had a full medic tent for the walkers. After the last pit stop on day 1, I started to hit a wall. I was getting tired and just wanted to be done. We learned quickly that a Komen mile is not the same as a real mile. We kept hearing camp is just around the corner, only 1 mile to go. We were starting to lag a little in our pace. We were walking through a neighborhood with about .7 miles left to walk. These two ladies were standing outside their home, both wearing pink, and cheering us on. They were a mother and daughter and were thanking us for saving them. They'd both had bouts with cancer and were calling us heroes for walking. Well, that just about did us in emotionally. We kicked it into gear and finished the day no problem. As we walked across the finish line at Brookhaven College, Bree was leaping in the air with joy.

Camping out in the cold was not really what I had in mind. We had nice, comfy, warm sleeping bags, but when it's in the 30s and you're sleeping outside it doesn't really matter. WE WERE COLD! Not really what your leg muscles want after walking 20 miles. We were fortunate that a nice man put our tent up for us. We quickly got situated and headed for the showers. Now, the showers are in an 18 wheeler truck. You have to wait outside in a line for a shower to open up. It was interesting to say the least. The hot water felt great and putting on comfortable PJs felt even better. Next, it was off to dinner. Dinner the first night consisted of grilled chicken, steamed veggies, brown rice, green salad, and brownies for dessert. Yes, we had the brownie and Bree had a REAL Coke. We certainly burned off enough calories to warrant the extra sugar. We were in bed and passed out by 8:30.

Packing

It's finally time...the 3 Day is upon us this weekend. Bree and I decided to pack together yesterday afternoon after work. We did this for several reasons....
1. We are a little OCD!
2. Two sets of eyes are better than one at spotting a missed item.
3. We're sharing some tent items.
4. We thought it'd be fun.

It only took us about 15 minutes tops. It seemed a little too easy. I've double checked the recommended packing list and I think we have it all. After seeing the weather forecast, I'm adding a few extra cold weather items for bedtime.

Check out our duffels ....EVERYTHING has to fit in the bag. Notice how much room the sleeping bag takes up!

The Countdown is On....

Sunday we walked 13 miles and my ankle seems fine. I think laying off of walking for a solid week helped. We are about a week away from the 3-Day Walk, so I don't want to tempt fate. This walk had sightings of two interesting creatures; no icky bugs this time. We saw an armadillo walking toward the creek. Sadly, most of my armadillo sightings have been road kill situations. Toward the end of our walk we saw a coyote. It was just sitting quietly in the middle of one of the soccer fields. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was a skinny stray dog.

I'm hoping, and I know Bree is too, that the temperatures drop a little more before the fifth. The daytime highs are still in the mid to upper 80s; which is above normal for late October. Keeping my fingers crossed for 70s and no rain!

First Set Back

Well, today Bree and I walked 11 miles. By the time I woke up this morning, my knee and hip soreness had gone away. My ankle was still a little stiff. By the time we reached mile 11, I decided to call it quits. My ankle was in pretty severe pain and I needed to stop. I came home iced it, elevated it, stayed off it for several hours, and applied heat. It felt so much better. I decided to take Coda for a small walk this evening. We did a mile and it was hurting the whole time. I'm not sure what I've done, but this is a bad time to have an injury. Bree is going to tape it up for me tomorrow and I'll see if that helps.

Ready for the 3 Day!

I'm so ready for our walk. We've been preparing for and talking about it for so long. I'm ready! Today I walked 18 miles!!!! This is a big weekend of back to back training walks. Tomorrow we're aiming for 15 miles. The word on the street with the veteran walkers is that if you can survive this weekend, the 3 day is easy. I've got to remember to stretch a lot tomorrow. Luckily, Bree will be with me and the time with fly by. :)