Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Everyone Deserves a Lifetime
I'm not sure where to begin in writing about the Twin Cities Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. I can't believe it's already over! It really flew by (though Past-Walk-in-Progress-Salwa disagrees vehemently), and kind of already seems like a somewhat-distant memory.
The walking was a lot harder than I expected. My longest set of training walks were 18 miles on Sat/15 miles on Sun, and although I knew rationally that 20+ miles, followed by 20+ miles, followed by the remainder would be more challenging, I thought maybe the regular pit stops would mitigate the added mileage. And on the first and third days, I think they did. Day 2, however, was another story.
I was pretty sore and utterly exhausted at the end of the 22 miles on Day 1 (we're talking an 8:15PM bed-time, literally), but I slept like a baby on a cloud and awoke the next day feeling fairly refreshed, all things considered. So the first 5 or so miles of Day 2 felt fine. Then my foot muscles seemed to recall that they didn't actually want to continue being utilized in this manner, and began to throb in protest. Things went slowly downhill as the pain accumulated like little hot zones in my feet. My knees, quads, ankles, and arches joined in the chorus of complaints, sometimes harmonizing, sometimes howling in discord, each vying for my attention.
By mile 14 (of 23), each step was more miserable than the last, until it was all I could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I'm pretty sure the last 3 miles were modeled after one of those nightmarish, ever-receding hallways whose end the protagonist can never reach. Except the protagonist was also walking on small daggers, business-side up. But reach it we (finally, finally) did, and it was with utter gratitude that I hobbled into camp, into our tent, and collapsed onto my sleeping bag. I stayed there for about an hour, feet tingling as they slowly made their way back to their new baseline, before heading over to the food tent, where I wolfed down about twice as much food as I normally eat.
Day 3 was much easier for me. I'm sure part of it had to do with the fact that we only had 17 miles to walk (pause. do the math. resume.), the fact that it was the last day of walking, and the fact that it was cooler outside. Other than that I don't know why it was physically easier. Don't get me wrong - I was still tired, still sore, and my feet still barked, but it was nowhere nearly as bad as the previous day. Maybe my foot muscles became conditioned? Regardless of the reason, I was grateful.
Steph was a great walking partner. Despite having trained at least as much as I did, she developed blisters on both feet by the end of the first day, and had some arch problems as well. Did she want to quit? Hell yes. Did she? No way. Instead, she walked on blistered feet for another two days. I know how much pain I was in, so I can't even imagine adding blister and severe arch pain to that. She was definitely a trooper, and I admire her perseverance! Stay tuned to her blog for her post-walk update...
Although the physical pain of the walk is still fresh in mind, what I will really remember down the road is the people who cheered us on. The amount of support we were shown was simply overwhelming, and made all the difference in the world. The crew members were fantastic - they encouraged us, entertained us, high-fived us, directed traffic for us, fed us, helped us put up and take down our tents, hauled our gear, answered questions, and always had a smile on their faces.
The cheering stations were utterly incredible; our path was lined with people who clapped for us, cheered for us, blew horns and kazoos and shook cowbells, dressed up in booby-themed costumes, held up signs, misted us with cool water, handed out treats and cold beverages, took our garbage, and high-fived us as we passed. I've never been high-fived so often in my life. People whose houses were on our route came out and cheered for us as well, often armed with treats or signs too. Countless cars, trucks, bikes, and semis passing us on the road honked their support, often accompanied by a waving arm outside the window.
We had a contingency of miscellaneous, memorable people who followed our route and showed up at different spots to help keep us going: a woman in a pinkly-decorated red Bug, a man in a truck with a sign that read "firefighters love cancer fighters," a man with a pink cowboy hat and pink lawn chair who played much-welcomed music on his boombox for us, a gang of manly motorcycle riders decked out in black & white & pink camouflaged shirts, a woman who would shout humorous encouragement into the narrow end of an orange cone, two women who dressed up in pink furry hats and danced as we passed them.
And then there was Jody's Couch. When I first saw this plush, red, little slice of heaven on the corner of Summit and Something, its owner standing near it and urging walkers to take a load off, I thought, "What a GREAT idea! That is so sweet of that man to haul his couch all the way out to the corner for us to rest on!" I passed him smiling, commented to Steph, walked on, and thought of other things. Imagine my surprise when I saw the couch again, miles down the route! He had actually transported this heavy-looking beast to another location, to give walkers yet another chance at resting our weary feet. (This time I did not decline). It didn't end there. I saw him and the couch at several locations on each of the 3 days. I learned later that his wife, Jody, had lost her battle with breast cancer a few years earlier. Although he had originally planned on getting rid of the couch - a favorite of hers - he instead decided to dedicate it to his late wife, and support the walkers in her name.
As I have mentioned before, I am fortunate enough not to personally know anyone who has been touched by this disease. So as much time, effort, and brain-power as I have spent on fund-raising and training for the 3-Day, I was still a little distanced from the cause itself.
That changed with the 3-Day walk. It changed when I passed through the first cheering station, and I first heard the words, "thank you so much for walking." The speaker's eyes gazed straight into mine, and I was struck by the sincerity of his gratitude. That's when it really dawned on me, that I didn't raise money for a faceless cause. I didn't walk hundreds of miles over several months to participate in an interesting lark of a challenge.
I did this for that man who first thanked me, and for the many others who followed. I did this for the woman who held up a sign reading, "thanks to your efforts, I'm a 2x survivor." I did this for the child who drew a picture of her grandmother in chalk on the sidewalk, with a caption reading, "my grandmother is still alive because of you." I did this for the men, often overlooked, who make up 2% of breast cancer cases. I did this for your family, for my family, and for the children I will one day have. I did this for those who could not walk, and so that some day, we might not have to.
So here I sit, the evening after. I'm utterly exhausted. I could have gone to bed 2 hours ago, but I had to get this down first.
The walk is over, but I won't forget the difference we made. The Twin Cities Breast Cancer Walk boasts 3,200 walkers and $7.3 million raised. I am so proud to have been a part of that.
A huge thanks to everyone who donated - it was you who made my participation possible, and helped me raise $2970 (!!); to my parents, who drove straight from a camping trip to a cheering station to lend their support; to Jake, who showed up on not one but all three days, and has been incredibly supportive from the day I registered; and last, but very much not least, to Steph, for undertaking this whole journey with me, and for making sure we crossed that finish line together!
The walking was a lot harder than I expected. My longest set of training walks were 18 miles on Sat/15 miles on Sun, and although I knew rationally that 20+ miles, followed by 20+ miles, followed by the remainder would be more challenging, I thought maybe the regular pit stops would mitigate the added mileage. And on the first and third days, I think they did. Day 2, however, was another story.
I was pretty sore and utterly exhausted at the end of the 22 miles on Day 1 (we're talking an 8:15PM bed-time, literally), but I slept like a baby on a cloud and awoke the next day feeling fairly refreshed, all things considered. So the first 5 or so miles of Day 2 felt fine. Then my foot muscles seemed to recall that they didn't actually want to continue being utilized in this manner, and began to throb in protest. Things went slowly downhill as the pain accumulated like little hot zones in my feet. My knees, quads, ankles, and arches joined in the chorus of complaints, sometimes harmonizing, sometimes howling in discord, each vying for my attention.
By mile 14 (of 23), each step was more miserable than the last, until it was all I could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I'm pretty sure the last 3 miles were modeled after one of those nightmarish, ever-receding hallways whose end the protagonist can never reach. Except the protagonist was also walking on small daggers, business-side up. But reach it we (finally, finally) did, and it was with utter gratitude that I hobbled into camp, into our tent, and collapsed onto my sleeping bag. I stayed there for about an hour, feet tingling as they slowly made their way back to their new baseline, before heading over to the food tent, where I wolfed down about twice as much food as I normally eat.
Day 3 was much easier for me. I'm sure part of it had to do with the fact that we only had 17 miles to walk (pause. do the math. resume.), the fact that it was the last day of walking, and the fact that it was cooler outside. Other than that I don't know why it was physically easier. Don't get me wrong - I was still tired, still sore, and my feet still barked, but it was nowhere nearly as bad as the previous day. Maybe my foot muscles became conditioned? Regardless of the reason, I was grateful.
Steph was a great walking partner. Despite having trained at least as much as I did, she developed blisters on both feet by the end of the first day, and had some arch problems as well. Did she want to quit? Hell yes. Did she? No way. Instead, she walked on blistered feet for another two days. I know how much pain I was in, so I can't even imagine adding blister and severe arch pain to that. She was definitely a trooper, and I admire her perseverance! Stay tuned to her blog for her post-walk update...
Although the physical pain of the walk is still fresh in mind, what I will really remember down the road is the people who cheered us on. The amount of support we were shown was simply overwhelming, and made all the difference in the world. The crew members were fantastic - they encouraged us, entertained us, high-fived us, directed traffic for us, fed us, helped us put up and take down our tents, hauled our gear, answered questions, and always had a smile on their faces.
The cheering stations were utterly incredible; our path was lined with people who clapped for us, cheered for us, blew horns and kazoos and shook cowbells, dressed up in booby-themed costumes, held up signs, misted us with cool water, handed out treats and cold beverages, took our garbage, and high-fived us as we passed. I've never been high-fived so often in my life. People whose houses were on our route came out and cheered for us as well, often armed with treats or signs too. Countless cars, trucks, bikes, and semis passing us on the road honked their support, often accompanied by a waving arm outside the window.
We had a contingency of miscellaneous, memorable people who followed our route and showed up at different spots to help keep us going: a woman in a pinkly-decorated red Bug, a man in a truck with a sign that read "firefighters love cancer fighters," a man with a pink cowboy hat and pink lawn chair who played much-welcomed music on his boombox for us, a gang of manly motorcycle riders decked out in black & white & pink camouflaged shirts, a woman who would shout humorous encouragement into the narrow end of an orange cone, two women who dressed up in pink furry hats and danced as we passed them.
And then there was Jody's Couch. When I first saw this plush, red, little slice of heaven on the corner of Summit and Something, its owner standing near it and urging walkers to take a load off, I thought, "What a GREAT idea! That is so sweet of that man to haul his couch all the way out to the corner for us to rest on!" I passed him smiling, commented to Steph, walked on, and thought of other things. Imagine my surprise when I saw the couch again, miles down the route! He had actually transported this heavy-looking beast to another location, to give walkers yet another chance at resting our weary feet. (This time I did not decline). It didn't end there. I saw him and the couch at several locations on each of the 3 days. I learned later that his wife, Jody, had lost her battle with breast cancer a few years earlier. Although he had originally planned on getting rid of the couch - a favorite of hers - he instead decided to dedicate it to his late wife, and support the walkers in her name.
As I have mentioned before, I am fortunate enough not to personally know anyone who has been touched by this disease. So as much time, effort, and brain-power as I have spent on fund-raising and training for the 3-Day, I was still a little distanced from the cause itself.
That changed with the 3-Day walk. It changed when I passed through the first cheering station, and I first heard the words, "thank you so much for walking." The speaker's eyes gazed straight into mine, and I was struck by the sincerity of his gratitude. That's when it really dawned on me, that I didn't raise money for a faceless cause. I didn't walk hundreds of miles over several months to participate in an interesting lark of a challenge.
I did this for that man who first thanked me, and for the many others who followed. I did this for the woman who held up a sign reading, "thanks to your efforts, I'm a 2x survivor." I did this for the child who drew a picture of her grandmother in chalk on the sidewalk, with a caption reading, "my grandmother is still alive because of you." I did this for the men, often overlooked, who make up 2% of breast cancer cases. I did this for your family, for my family, and for the children I will one day have. I did this for those who could not walk, and so that some day, we might not have to.
So here I sit, the evening after. I'm utterly exhausted. I could have gone to bed 2 hours ago, but I had to get this down first.
The walk is over, but I won't forget the difference we made. The Twin Cities Breast Cancer Walk boasts 3,200 walkers and $7.3 million raised. I am so proud to have been a part of that.
A huge thanks to everyone who donated - it was you who made my participation possible, and helped me raise $2970 (!!); to my parents, who drove straight from a camping trip to a cheering station to lend their support; to Jake, who showed up on not one but all three days, and has been incredibly supportive from the day I registered; and last, but very much not least, to Steph, for undertaking this whole journey with me, and for making sure we crossed that finish line together!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Too Late to Shoot for $3000?
Last night I reached $2900 in fund-raising!! The big event starts tomorrow (tomorrow!!!!!)...I wonder if it's too late to reach $3000?
It's only $100 away. That's a drop in the bucket, right?
Actually, come to think of it, it's only $80 away. Cyndy, my future ma-in-law (YAY!) was nice enough to bring some rubber duckies to the hospital where she works to sell them, and has sold another round of them.
So there's only $80 left to reach $3000.
Hm...
It's only $100 away. That's a drop in the bucket, right?
Actually, come to think of it, it's only $80 away. Cyndy, my future ma-in-law (YAY!) was nice enough to bring some rubber duckies to the hospital where she works to sell them, and has sold another round of them.
So there's only $80 left to reach $3000.
Hm...
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Shorts yesterday...
...mock turtleneck today! Packing for the 3-Day will be interesting :P
There was a race of some sort going on at the lakes this morning. Some random musings/tidbits from today's walk:
Tidbit: Saw a man wearing a shirt with the tags still attached. There's no possible way he couldn't have known they were there, because they were attached near his arm-pit and brushed his arm with every step he took.
Tidbit: It smelled like french fries for a good chunk of the way around Lake Harriet. Don't quite know why.
Musing: A woman walking in the opposite direction of the race-runners cheered them on. By waving two cowbells at them. If I had been running the race, I might have punched her.
Tidusing: I cheated.
As I alluded to in my first sentence, it was cold this morning, so I dressed for it. What I did not dress for was the rain. When it started, I peeked through the trees to see how far away I was from the Lake Harriet Bandshell, and saw the turrets almost directly across from where I was.
Great. It wasn't pouring, but this was no sprinkle, so I was going to get soaked at this pace.
So I started running.
Whoops.
I hadn't run since I tore my meniscus earlier this year, and had actually pretty much decided to get my cardio exercise elsewhere. It's just really hard on my body, and I'm not sure it's worth it.
But man, did it feel good to run. And it got me home faster! Not exactly part of the WALK training regimen, but whatcha gonna do. It rained off and on for awhile, and I did run-walk intervals, until I realized that my knee was bothering me quite a bit. (Again/already? Really? Sigh.)
Can't wait to start hitting Crossfit (and/or kickboxing!!) again!
Till then, it's back to walking for me :)
There was a race of some sort going on at the lakes this morning. Some random musings/tidbits from today's walk:
Tidbit: Saw a man wearing a shirt with the tags still attached. There's no possible way he couldn't have known they were there, because they were attached near his arm-pit and brushed his arm with every step he took.
Tidbit: It smelled like french fries for a good chunk of the way around Lake Harriet. Don't quite know why.
Musing: A woman walking in the opposite direction of the race-runners cheered them on. By waving two cowbells at them. If I had been running the race, I might have punched her.
Tidusing: I cheated.
As I alluded to in my first sentence, it was cold this morning, so I dressed for it. What I did not dress for was the rain. When it started, I peeked through the trees to see how far away I was from the Lake Harriet Bandshell, and saw the turrets almost directly across from where I was.
Great. It wasn't pouring, but this was no sprinkle, so I was going to get soaked at this pace.
So I started running.
Whoops.
I hadn't run since I tore my meniscus earlier this year, and had actually pretty much decided to get my cardio exercise elsewhere. It's just really hard on my body, and I'm not sure it's worth it.
But man, did it feel good to run. And it got me home faster! Not exactly part of the WALK training regimen, but whatcha gonna do. It rained off and on for awhile, and I did run-walk intervals, until I realized that my knee was bothering me quite a bit. (Again/already? Really? Sigh.)
Can't wait to start hitting Crossfit (and/or kickboxing!!) again!
Till then, it's back to walking for me :)
Friday, September 5, 2008
Counting Down...
Two weeks from today, the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk will begin! Actually, exactly 2 weeks from right now I'll probably be in the middle of a 20-24 mile walk - I've heard the 60 miles isn't split quite evenly over the 3 days. I can't believe how fast this summer has flown by! While I would never say that the fundraising was easy, I am still a little surprised - and gratified - that I was able to raise that much money in a couple of months! Tomorrow I'll be walking 18 miles for the second time during training - just a small taste of what the 3-day will be like...let the count-down begin...
Sunday, August 24, 2008
18 miles...
Yesterday I walked 18 miles - my longest training walk to date (and the longest scheduled! Wohooo)! I planned my route so that I could stop at home for a lunch break, which I think helped. Jake was so sweet and went out and got me food for lunch so that I wouldn't have to refuel on a frozen meal, or cereal, or condiments :)
Today I walked 14-15 miles and I'm not gonna lie - that last 5 miles was not easy, and I'm really damn tired now. I'm so glad I'm putting the time into training though, because I'm confident that it'll make the 3-day easier. I'm rooting for no blisters! Here are before and after pictures from Saturday...
Before...
After...
PS - Notice anything different about me? ;)
Today I walked 14-15 miles and I'm not gonna lie - that last 5 miles was not easy, and I'm really damn tired now. I'm so glad I'm putting the time into training though, because I'm confident that it'll make the 3-day easier. I'm rooting for no blisters! Here are before and after pictures from Saturday...
Before...
After...
PS - Notice anything different about me? ;)
Monday, August 11, 2008
Ha!
I followed up Saturday's 17-mile walk (I think I was taking shorter, more fatigued strides than I had when I set up my pedometer, so ignore what I said about it actually being 18 miles, and I take back my character-filled comment about google maps) with a nice 13-mile stroll on Sunday.
While I wouldn't say it was easy-breezy, it wasn't horrible. I was definitely sore, definitely tired, but it was definitely doable. (Side note: it was extra nice to have Jake as company yesterday - he rollerbladed alongside me the whole way!)
What's more is that I think if I had to, I could've walked another long distance today. Which is pretty key, since the 3-Day is aptly named for the number of days we'll be spending walking :). So that's really nice to know!
While I wouldn't say it was easy-breezy, it wasn't horrible. I was definitely sore, definitely tired, but it was definitely doable. (Side note: it was extra nice to have Jake as company yesterday - he rollerbladed alongside me the whole way!)
What's more is that I think if I had to, I could've walked another long distance today. Which is pretty key, since the 3-Day is aptly named for the number of days we'll be spending walking :). So that's really nice to know!
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