My 3-Day Adventure -- San Diego, CA -- Nov. 19-21, 2010
The day before...
Thursday morning was crazy busy! I had lots of last minute things to pick up, and still had ALL of my packing to get done. With Michael's help, everything was stuffed into my duffel bag and I was heading off to the train station. Just after 1:00 I met my teammate, Becky, at the train station and we said our goodbye's to our husbands. You know, the guys who were going to be completely in charge of the kids for the next 3 days : ) As the train approached and we started wheeling our bags along the platform, the conductor came up to us and asked "Going to Solana Beach?" and he brought us to the front car which was filled with other 3-Day walkers and crew members. Guess we had that look about us (and we weren't even decked out in pink yet!).
It was a short walk from the train station to our hotel, and we took note of restaurants along the way. Once in our hotel room, we both decided some re-packing was in order. After finishing up a few projects we decided it was time for dinner. There was a gourmet cupcake shop a few doors down, so we stopped there as well. Why not? We were going to be burning quite a few calories in the next few days! Our night ended pretty early as the next day was scheduled to start well before "dark-thirty".
It was a short walk from the train station to our hotel, and we took note of restaurants along the way. Once in our hotel room, we both decided some re-packing was in order. After finishing up a few projects we decided it was time for dinner. There was a gourmet cupcake shop a few doors down, so we stopped there as well. Why not? We were going to be burning quite a few calories in the next few days! Our night ended pretty early as the next day was scheduled to start well before "dark-thirty".
Friday - Day 1
4:00am! That's when the alarm went off. Yikes! There were plenty of cabs waiting to bring the 3-Day participants to the Del Mar Fairgrounds where the Opening Ceremony was to be held at 5:30am.
It was dark. Super dark.
Becky and I before Opening Ceremony
Everyone packed in front of the stage for the Opening Ceremony. There were so many people, and so much pink! Energizer was one of the sponsors of the event, so there were plenty of bunny ears to be found.
Next it was time to hit the road! There were about 4000 walkers at the San Diego event, and it was a bit crowded getting out of there.
It started thinning out a bit once we were scanned out and started the walk (each walker had a lanyard which held our credentials- these were scanned each morning upon entering the route, and again when returning to camp).
As part of the safety aspect of the 3-Day for the Cure, there are multiple sweep vans that ride up and down the route each day. If you are hurt, or just too tired to continue walking, you can flag down a van and they will drive you to the nearest pit stop, lunch or camp. Each van had a theme and very enthusiastic drivers. Some of the themes were 80's, Dollywood, M*A*S*H, tropical paradise and a group of fun lovin' hippies.
It started thinning out a bit once we were scanned out and started the walk (each walker had a lanyard which held our credentials- these were scanned each morning upon entering the route, and again when returning to camp).
As part of the safety aspect of the 3-Day for the Cure, there are multiple sweep vans that ride up and down the route each day. If you are hurt, or just too tired to continue walking, you can flag down a van and they will drive you to the nearest pit stop, lunch or camp. Each van had a theme and very enthusiastic drivers. Some of the themes were 80's, Dollywood, M*A*S*H, tropical paradise and a group of fun lovin' hippies.
Once we were past the sweep vans, we headed towards the beach. Much of the route went along the beach for those 3 days. There were so many people, it was amazing! Some people walked in big teams, all in team shirts, and some walked alone. We made our way to Torrey Pines where we encountered our first big hill. At the base of the hill there was a pit stop. The pit stops had many porta-potties, water, gatoraide, and lots of snacks to help keep up your energy. I had heard about the amazing peanut butter and jelly graham cracker sandwiches, but didn't believe it. Wow! Sooooo good! I got one at just about every stop that had them. In fact, on the first day I snacked quite a bit =)
Beverage station at the pit stop
Potty, anyone??
The climb through Torrey Pines was tough. Thank goodness for the walker stalkers who made the hike just to cheer us along.
Oh, what's a walker stalker? Scattered along the route each day were official cheering stations. That's where family and friends could gather to cheer us on. A walker stalker doesn't stick to the cheering stations. They just pop up anywhere along the route, multiple times, too. Besides the walker stalkers, and beautiful scenery, it was also interesting to check out what other walkers were wearing!
Oh, what's a walker stalker? Scattered along the route each day were official cheering stations. That's where family and friends could gather to cheer us on. A walker stalker doesn't stick to the cheering stations. They just pop up anywhere along the route, multiple times, too. Besides the walker stalkers, and beautiful scenery, it was also interesting to check out what other walkers were wearing!
People who kept our spirits high!
Ignore the pink papers with letters being held by some of my new friends... it's part of a failed creative attempt by your's truly. Booo :(
Other walkers
Safety is, of course, a big concern with an event like this. In addition to the sweep vans, there were paramedics driving the route each day, and medical tents at the pit stops. The safety crew had people stationed at busy intersections, and there were the bicycle cops. Oh yeah, SDPD and San Jose PD, dressed all crazy, being all goofy, armed and on patrol! I can not even begin to express to you just how amazing these people were. The men of the SJPD, especially, were so fantastic. Not only did they work to keep us safe, but they were incredibly encouraging and downright hilarious! You could hear them coming, radio playing, singing, having a good ol' time. At one of the pit stops, a SJPD officer was roaming around in the front of the (LONG) porta-potty lines. He had his boom-box on his shoulder (are they still called that??) and he was dancing, and singing, and getting the hundreds of people to sing and dance... not easy to do when your audience consists of hundreds of bladders that are about to explode =) Every once in a while he would bang on one of the potty doors and yell "HEY open up! It's the police!" or "You have ONE more minute before I come in there and get you out!" Such a fun distraction from the discomfort and frustration. At the end of the event the SDPD and SJPD got the loudest applause of all.
The days were long. I don't walk quickly. Days 1 & 2 took me about 10-11 hours each. There were stops scheduled approximately every 3 miles, including a lunch stop. There were signs posted along the route to let the walkers know how far it was to the next stop. General consensus is that the signs were false - that they were a sick joke - and that there is a HUGE difference between a "mile" and a "3Day mile"! Finally I was nearing camp, and the end of walking for the first day. Camp was in Mission Bay. It was a loooong walk around the bay.
Crowds gathered along the boardwalk yelling out things that they thought were encouraging "You're almost there!" or "It's just around the corner!" Neither one was true, although in their defense they never said exactly which corner. When camp finally came into my view I was so relieved. Some liquidy stuff may have welled up in my eyes. Not sure what that was about!
Crowds gathered along the boardwalk yelling out things that they thought were encouraging "You're almost there!" or "It's just around the corner!" Neither one was true, although in their defense they never said exactly which corner. When camp finally came into my view I was so relieved. Some liquidy stuff may have welled up in my eyes. Not sure what that was about!
All of those lovely little pink tents were provided by the Susan G Komen 3-Day for the Cure. When Becky and I arrived at camp we headed over to the baggage truck to pick up our bags. There were lots of volunteers available to help with luggage gathering and tent assembly. I believe our two "tent angels" were from a local Boy Scout troop. After getting settled into our tent, we headed to the dinning area to get some dinner. We had been told that even though the first thing you want to do is shower, it's more important to eat first... you know, so you don't pass out while showering, which would NOT be good since then you would have to be dragged out, naked and wet... on video!
After dinner (sooooo much food!) I headed over to the showering area. There were about 8 trailers containing about 7 showers each.The water was nice and hot =) Next I headed over to the Main Street area in camp. There I dropped off my cell phone at the Energizer booth to get recharged. I passed on the loooong line waiting for a foot massage, and opted instead to go to the AT&T tent to use one of the laptops they had set up. I was anxious to contact family and friends (and facebook) to update everyone on my day. Next I headed over to the camp post office, to see if I had any mail. I sure did!! Thanks so much to everyone who wrote to me. It was incredibly uplifting to receive such encouraging words! Bed time once again came early. Thankfully I only woke up once during the night to use the potty!
Saturday - Day 2
Our alarm went off at 4am! and 4:05 and 4:10 and 4:15... then we finally got up. I had been so nice and toasty warm in my sleeping bag that it was tough getting out of it =) I had expected to be really sore, but my muscles felt great.Breakfast was another huge meal, but I was super hungry! We left the dining tent, and there it was... THE RAIN! Nooooooooooooooooooooo! I knew rain had been in the forecast for the weekend, so I had brought a few ponchos. There was nothing in the weather report to indicate I would need anything more than that. We hit the route wearing our ponchos. Everyone had ponchos. The crew was even handing out ponchos. Ponchos for everyone!
Me, early in day 2. How do I know? See that smile? It didn't last. The day started off with some rain. As we headed over towards Sea World, the wind started kicking up and the rain fell harder. For a while I was walking with an upbeat guy in his early 20's. His positive outlook kept me in good spirits. We reached a pit stop and parted ways. I headed over to stand in that potty line in the picture above. What's worse than standing in a long line to use a porta-potty? Doing it in the pouring rain! As the morning went on, the rain and wind got worse. The rain was coming at me sideways, flying through the HUGE arm holes in my poncho. I was trying to hold them closed against the wind and rain so I wouldn't get drenched. Meanwhile I'm still walking.... hood on, hat on... and this big plastic bag I'm wearing is making me warm, really warm. It was like wearing a sauna suit or something. I was walking alone at this point and feeling very frustrated with the unrelenting wind and rain. People kept passing me by, and on I trudged, feeling as if there was no end to this misery. Eventually I started to cry. At one point my shoe came untied, and I bent down in the rain to tie it. The wind was whipping my poncho into my face and I couldn't see. I ended up pulling the wrong lace and pulled it into a tight, wet double knot. After letting out a few choice words I trudged on, kicking my right foot ahead of me as to not trip on the long soggy laces. Just ahead I saw two ladies on the side of the path. They were cheering on the walkers. They had chairs and umbrellas. I walked up to them and said "Could I please <sniff sob sniff> use one of your chairs <sob sniff sob> to sit down and <sob> tie my shoe?" They jumped up and let me sit, covering me with their blanket. One lady tied my shoe for me and said I could sit for as long as I wanted. I thanked them and said I had to keep going.On I walked. I cried the last 3 miles before the lunch stop. I wasn't sure how much more I could take. At lunch they actually brought in buses so we could get out of the rain for a bit. After eating lunch (although I was not hungry) and getting encouragment from Michael and a few walkers, I headed out again. This time I was double-bagged (adding a second poncho) and I had changed into dry socks.
After lunch the rain let up just a bit. This double rainbow brought me hope!
As I headed out after lunch, the clouds broke a bit and the sun started peeking through. To me, it felt like a small miracle. I felt it was my prize for not giving up at the lunch stop, which I had been SO close to doing. With renewed spirit I kept walking. Now that people weren't bracing themselves against the wind and rain, we were chatting again. I spoke with a very nice lady who grew up in the same city as I had. People were out on the patios of the beachfront rental homes we were passing. Many of them were cheering and offering up drinks. Although the rain did continue on and off, it was much more manageable!
The beach reflected in the mirrored walls of a beachfront house. It's hard to tell in the first picture, so I took the second with a reflection of myself in it =)
Along the way I stopped at the medical tent to get some moleskin put onto a sensitive part of my heel. Hi,good-looking medical tent volunteer guy. Meet my wrinkly, used up foot! Poor guy, but I'm guessing (hoping!) he had seen worse.
When I finally made it into camp, my instinct was to head to my tent and get out of the wet clothes. I was afraid, though, that I would get dry and warm, then fall asleep without eating dinner. That would have been BAD, so I went to get a charger for my phone and headed to the dining tent. Dinner was delicious! I had steak (thick and juicy!), string beans, rice pilaf, a roll, salad and apple pie! I decided to send Becky a text to let her know where I was (she walks faster than I do, and had gotten to camp before me). She wrote back telling me that our area of the camp had experienced some flooding and our tent was all wet! A lot of people had left camp that afternoon, not wanting to deal with the rain. I'm guessing they lived locally, or knew people who did. Becky and I each got a new, dry tent for the night. The crew was super nice - setting up my tent and finding a great big tarp for me to put over it! The hot shower felt great, and since my clothes had all been packed in ziplock bags, everything was dry. My cell phone wasn't holding a charge, and I was too worn out to even think about waiting for a computer, so off to bed I went. It continued raining during the night, but the wind had died down - whew!
When I finally made it into camp, my instinct was to head to my tent and get out of the wet clothes. I was afraid, though, that I would get dry and warm, then fall asleep without eating dinner. That would have been BAD, so I went to get a charger for my phone and headed to the dining tent. Dinner was delicious! I had steak (thick and juicy!), string beans, rice pilaf, a roll, salad and apple pie! I decided to send Becky a text to let her know where I was (she walks faster than I do, and had gotten to camp before me). She wrote back telling me that our area of the camp had experienced some flooding and our tent was all wet! A lot of people had left camp that afternoon, not wanting to deal with the rain. I'm guessing they lived locally, or knew people who did. Becky and I each got a new, dry tent for the night. The crew was super nice - setting up my tent and finding a great big tarp for me to put over it! The hot shower felt great, and since my clothes had all been packed in ziplock bags, everything was dry. My cell phone wasn't holding a charge, and I was too worn out to even think about waiting for a computer, so off to bed I went. It continued raining during the night, but the wind had died down - whew!
Sunday - Day 3
The last day was here! My plan had been to get up around 6am, but the first alarm near me went off at 4:15! I tried going back to sleep, but I just couldn't.... especially after braving the chill to use the potty. Since we would not be returning to camp again, I needed to pack up everything and tear down/re-pack the tent. It was wet and covered with grass, such fun! It was a misty morning, but not yet raining. I had a nice big breakfast and hit the route. Early on I met up with a few very nice ladies. I guess I looked as if I needed some company as I limped along. Why the limp? I had suddenly developed a pain in my right groin muscle - OUCH! For the most part it was a dull, but annoying, pain. Every once in a while, however, I would get a sharp stabbing pain that would cause me to double over in pain. The ladies were concerned about me... "Don't push yourself, now." to which I replied "But isn't that what this is all about?" They called me stuborn =) We walked together for the first 8 miles or so. They had done this walk before, and they were warning me about "The Hill" - a series of 3 very steep hills right before the lunch stop. They were warning me that I would never be able to make it through with my groin pain. I assured them that the pain was getting less and less as we walked on, but they were not convinced.
At the stop before "The Hill" my new walkmates invited me to have lunch with them at the Mexican restaurant across the street, their treat! Their plan was to eat, then take a sweep van PAST the hill. I politely declined, although I was awfully tempted! A nice hot lunch instead of the bagged lunch waiting for me further on? A warm dry restaurant with cushy seats? At that point I noticed Becky was at the same pit stop, and I told her about the offer. "If you don't at least try the hill, you will always wonder if you could have made it." she said. Of course she was right! I assured my new buddies that if the pain got too bad, I would step off the route and flag down a van. Up The Hill I trudged. It was slow going, but I didn't stop. People were passing me, but I just kept going. When I made it to the top I turned to the girl next to me a said "I'm so glad I didn't listen to those ladies who told me I couldn't make it!". "Right on! Me too!" she replied and gave me a high five =)
At the stop before "The Hill" my new walkmates invited me to have lunch with them at the Mexican restaurant across the street, their treat! Their plan was to eat, then take a sweep van PAST the hill. I politely declined, although I was awfully tempted! A nice hot lunch instead of the bagged lunch waiting for me further on? A warm dry restaurant with cushy seats? At that point I noticed Becky was at the same pit stop, and I told her about the offer. "If you don't at least try the hill, you will always wonder if you could have made it." she said. Of course she was right! I assured my new buddies that if the pain got too bad, I would step off the route and flag down a van. Up The Hill I trudged. It was slow going, but I didn't stop. People were passing me, but I just kept going. When I made it to the top I turned to the girl next to me a said "I'm so glad I didn't listen to those ladies who told me I couldn't make it!". "Right on! Me too!" she replied and gave me a high five =)
I caught up with Becky again while leaving lunch. We didn't have too far to go until we reached the end of our journey, so we made a point of sticking together to the end. As we neared Petco Park, I got more and more excited. Not only was my amazing journey coming to an end, but my husband and kids were going to be there waiting for me! As we entered the holding area (to wait for the last walkers before beginning the Closing Ceremony) we were greeted by hundreds and hundreds of cheering people. We walked through the largest hand-slap hallway I've ever seen! It was so incredible. This time the tears were tears of joy. It was all so overwhelming! So many high-fives, and choruses of "Great job", "You did it", "You are amazing!" and "Thank you"! It touches me even now. As we went along we were each given a pink rose, and our 3-Day for the Cure shirt for the Closing Ceremony. We had about 20-30 minutes to rest before the last walker arrived and we walked over to where the ceremony would be held.
We made it!!
The walk to the Closing Ceremony felt like it took forever. I kept looking for the orange Home Depot water jugs, behind which my family told me they were waiting. I didn't want to miss seeing them! As we entered the circle I saw them. Huge smiles spread across their faces as they saw me, and I know I was grinning too. My daughter told me she was proud of me, and they gave me flowers. The Closing Ceremony was so touching. We stood in a circle and the walkers who were breast cancer survivors came in wearing their pink event shirts. A cheer went up from walkers, crew and all of the spectators. The walkers each removed a shoe and held them up as a symbol of what we had done to raise money and awareness for the cause. The San Diego event raised over $10.6 million!
Random stuff I want to share
- Despite the toll on my muscles and feet each day, I was not sore or stiff in the mornings. What a relief =)
- The whole atmosphere of the 3-Day was just amazing. The crew were so supportive, and the other walkers so encouraging!
- I had an incredible time, despite the rain. Just about 1/2 of my walking was done in the rain.
- What kind of person participates in a 3-Day event? EVERY type! Young and old, male and female, fit and unfit.
- The Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure has the cleanest porta-potties ever!
- Sunday night my family and I stayed in San Diego. I got up SIX times during the night to use the restroom What a luxury!
- The whole atmosphere of the 3-Day was just amazing. The crew were so supportive, and the other walkers so encouraging!
- I had an incredible time, despite the rain. Just about 1/2 of my walking was done in the rain.
- What kind of person participates in a 3-Day event? EVERY type! Young and old, male and female, fit and unfit.
- The Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure has the cleanest porta-potties ever!
- Sunday night my family and I stayed in San Diego. I got up SIX times during the night to use the restroom What a luxury!
My lone blister. It was less than 1/4 inch and was in a place where I didn't even feel it. I got it on the second day, the rainy day.
- The morning after the walk ended, I noticed some swelling just above my right ankle bone, on the outside of my leg. It was a bit sore. This lasted about a week and a half, then it was gone. Thank you 800mg of ibuprofen!
Lunch stop
Me with Rhea, the Energizer Keep it Going blogger for the San Diego 3-Day for the Cure. WTG Rhea!
Paragraph.
Those potatoes were soooo yummy! I could have also had yogurt and a danish. No shortage of food around there!
The reason...
THANK YOU to everyone who donated to the Susan G Komen 3-Day for the Cure. Let's put an end to this horrible disease!
THANK YOU to everyone who supported me with donations, encouraging words, walking with me or lending me their stuff!
THANK YOU to Becky, for agreeing to take on this crazy journey with me! You are amazing!
The biggest THANK YOU of all goes to my family - my husband and kids. They were so understanding when I was gone almost all day on the weekends to get in my training, or when I missed events to do my fundraising.Robyn even helped me out at some of my fundraisers, and donated some of her own money! Michael was by far my biggest supporter in all of this. He went out of his way to tell everyone he met about what I was doing. He proudly put one of my fundraising magnets on his truck. He even solicited donations for my fundraising raffle. Thank you again, love, I could not have done it without you :)
THANK YOU to everyone who supported me with donations, encouraging words, walking with me or lending me their stuff!
THANK YOU to Becky, for agreeing to take on this crazy journey with me! You are amazing!
The biggest THANK YOU of all goes to my family - my husband and kids. They were so understanding when I was gone almost all day on the weekends to get in my training, or when I missed events to do my fundraising.Robyn even helped me out at some of my fundraisers, and donated some of her own money! Michael was by far my biggest supporter in all of this. He went out of his way to tell everyone he met about what I was doing. He proudly put one of my fundraising magnets on his truck. He even solicited donations for my fundraising raffle. Thank you again, love, I could not have done it without you :)
