Day 3 ~

On day 3, I was up at 4:30 so that I could shower, get packed up, eat breadfast and start walking. I had been awake since about 3:00am, because I really had to go pee. But I made myself wait until shower time. It was just way to cold to go sit on the porty potty twice in one morning. I slept pretty good other than having to go potty at 3am. Lynne said she froze all night. She forgot that I had brought along some self heating pads for us. You know, the kind that activate when you open them. They are used for sore muscles. Yup! What a great idea, huh! They last up to 8 hours, so there was no reason for either of us to get cold at night.



The energy was a lot different on day 3. Everyone was still sore, but ready to get started. We had all grown so much and changed a lot. We were ready to see our families and go home. I couldn't wait to get home to a shower, my own bed and a flushing toilet!!! The things that bring us happiness. :)

We got started just after 7:00 and the route took us through Tempe, ASU, Mill Ave, Papago Park, Botanical Gardens, Scottsdale, and Old Town Scottsdale. When we got to the first intersection, one of my favorite guys was there with his music getting everyone pumped. While we were waiting for the light to turn green, he started us doing some exercises, clapping and dancing. We ran into some friends that I met at our first 10 mile training walk and BC Expo. Lynne didn't make it all the way, so I walked the last 3 miles with them. Kathy and Josie. They were really nice. It was great to come across them at the 3Day.



The first cheering station was on Mill Ave. None of us would have made it without people cheering us on. We walked across Mill Ave bridge and towards papago park. It was a little bit cooler and the wind had picked up.

The theme for this pitstop was Hawaiian. How fun was this!Once we left the pit stop at Papago Park we started walking in the botanical gardens. Oh my goodness, we thought that stretch was never going to end. There were a lot of hills and no shade. It was actually easier to go uphill than go downhill. Going down hill you could feel every sore muscle when your feet would hit the ground.





After lunch we were back on the road. We were on the downhill slide now and we were trying to pick up the pace just a little bit.

Finally, we made it to Old Town Scottsdale. We were really tired by then and our feet were hurting bad. When we made it around the corner into the holding area for closing ceremonies it was such a relief! We made it!!! All the people that made it before us were there to clap and cheer for us. What an amazing feeling!! We got our victory shirts and took a couple of pictures. The walker shirts were white and the survivor shirts were pink.



Right before we made our final walk they got us pumped up by first thanking our crew. Wow! Our crew was soooo amazing!! Then we started dancing and cheering and having a good time. We got our instructions and then we started walking. All the family gathered to see what we had done and knowing what we had accomplished. They say it's not about the walk. What I think this whole thing is about is raising awareness. It is kind of hard to ignore over 2000 people walking down the road in pink, dancing in the crosswalks, cheering and clapping everywhere we go. It is also hard to ignore all the boobie references, signs and shirts. It is also about raising money to help those that have the disease and to fund research to find a cure for it. Arizona alone raised $5.2 million!!!! Wow! That is fantastic! Add that up with all the other cities and there was a lot of money raised this year. After we walked into the stadium, we walked towards the stage. They kept the survivors seperate so they could walk in together last. What a sight to behold!! We all went to the front by the stage. We thanked the crew again, learned how much money we raised and learned what they are doing with the money. Then we honored the survivors. We honored them by taking off a shoe and holding it in the air to tell them we walked 60 miles for them and for those who are still fighting and for those who lost the battle and we will continue to fight. It was a very emotional and moving experience that I can't even describe well enough.I am really glad I did this and I am so full of gratitude.

Thanks you again, to all who supported and donated.
Please don't forget to stop by and check out all the pictures that I took. I also added some pictures from other walkers.

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhotos&albumID=2079191&MyToken=0e11798f-0570-4e90-8d98-37982fc4bd61

Day 2 ~

Day 2 started out really early. We were up by 5:00am. I slept pretty good. Lynne said I snored all night. She had a hard night. She's not much for camping, so this was taking a lot out of her. We washed up, got our gear and left to go eat breakfast. I thought it was pretty good. After all, we aren't on vacation. They had a few choices, like hot or cold cereal, or you could have a full blown out breastfast with eggs, bacon, potatos and bisquits. Yumm!



We got started a little after 7:00 am on Saturday. The route took us through Guadalupe, South Mountain Foothills, Ahwatukee, Phoenix and back into Tempe. Day 2 was more difficult for several reasons. It was longer, it was hotter, less shade, the pitstops were further away from each other and were in parking lots instead of parks so the only place to sit was on concrete and there were a lot of hills.

Day 2 started out pretty good for me. Lynne made it to lunch and then decided to go back to camp. She wanted to be rested and feeling better, so that she could make all of Day 3. I headed out from lunch and I was doing great. I was still amazed at the community support. So many people came out to cheer us on and give us encouragement. People would put out ice chests with ice water for dunking our handkerchiefs in, the passed out otter pops, gatorade, water and candy. There were also people with spray bottles spraying the walkers and there was a guy in a pickup with a mister trailer that would drive by us so we could cool off. And of course, the amazing crew! The safety people were the ones that would stand in the crosswalk while we crossed the street. They would give us all high fives and clap and yell and scream for us all the while trying to protect us from traffic. They were on motorcycles and as soon as the last walker would pass them, they would drive by, honk at us and go to another spot further down the route.




One thing the crew really stressed on, was if you can't make it, be sure to catch a ride with a sweep van or catch the bus at the stops. Don't push yourself too hard and get injured or sick. It isn't about the walk, it is about raising awareness and money for the cause. They said, if you do get swept, be sure to do it on day 2 and save yourself for day 3. Well, Lynne was right. I finished the rest of Day 2 by myself. It was okay. I had been looking out for a few people that I knew, but up until the second day, I hadn't any luck. Getting close to camp on Day 2, I finally ran into Estrella. She is from Grant County also and was doing the walk for her Mom. Her Mom is my brother inlaws sister. It was really funny the way I ran into her. I had some buttons to give away. I had some that said, "I always knew my Mom was 1 in a million, then I found out she was 1 in 8, find the cure now." Her and her friend were walking along side of me and I noticed that her t-shirt said, "I'm walking for my Mom." So I stopped her and gave her a button.



I headed back to camp by myself. There was lots of crew people waiting for us. Cheering us on as we got to the gate. I went to check on Lynne first thing and she was doing fine. She had already taken a shower and was resting. I decided to wait until the morning, to take my shower. Our neighbors had told us that there was hardly any people there in the AM. That sounded much better to me.



We ate dinner (chicken picata). Once again, we were off to bed early. What a bunch of party poopers, huh! I do regret not at least attending the Rockstar Contest on Saturday night.

Day 1 ~

Wow, I am not even sure where to begin. First let me introduce my walking partner, Lynne. She is awesome! We have been motivating each other from the very beginning. And yes, those are fanny packs. They were a very important part of our training and now our walk. We always had to have Gatorade and water with us, and we also needed to be carrying other necessities for our feet, first aid, poncho, socks, etc. You'd be surprised how much you can fit in there. I also had a pouch for my phone and my debit card, chapstick, drivers license. Doesn't do much for our figure, but oh well!



Our morning started very early. We had to be at opening ceremonies between 5:30 and 6:30 am. Javier and I met Lynne and her mom at a half way mark and then Javier drove us to opening ceremonies. Saying goodbye to Javier wasn't easy, but at the same time I was very excited to be doing this. Opening ceremonies were at Freestone Park which was great, since it is in Gilbert and not far from where we both live! We wandered around the place and took pictures. There was a board called the goal board. They had music playing and people were dancing and having a great time. It was really cold though! When it came time for opening ceremonies we all gathered next to the stage. Opening ceremonies was really amazing and very inspiring. I posted some videos on my MYSPACE page. Be sure to stop by and watch them!

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=155462876&albumId=2079191



After the very moving ceremony, we all started walking. What an amazing sight! There were over 2,100 people walking. We walked through neighborhoods in Gilbert first. Along the way we passed a lot of people from the neighborhood that would come out just to support the walkers. That was one thing that amazed me throughout the whole walk. All the support from people coming out of their homes and sitting in their driveways for hours just so they could greet every single walker. They were just as cheerful and happy with the last walker as they were with the first one. People would drive down the road and honk and wave at all the walkers and yell thank you out the window. There were cheering stations everyday set up so that family can come and cheer their walkers on.
The crew members were amazing! They dressed up in funny outfits and cheered us all on! It was great motivation and it really helped us to keep going. The first day the stops were about 2 miles apart. They was always a line for the potty! The mantra they were alway yelling at every stop was "eat, drink, stretch and pee!."




We were pretty happy to get to lunch so we could eat, take our shoes off and change our socks. Lunchtime is when we are suppose to check on our feet and see how they were doing. I was doing fine, but Lynne was already getting blisters.


Soon we hit the road again. The first day we walked through Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa and Tempe. Camp was at Guadalupe and I think the cross street was Kyrene. It was a school I think and we were in the football and baseball fields. What a relief it was to make it to camp! We saw all those pink tents and it was so amazing to be cheered and high fived again for making it to camp.

We were really luck, because one of the crew had a tent set up already and gave it to us. We were all prepared to set it up. Who know how much trouble we would have had. Then we went to eat. We were told to eat first and then shower cuz they didn't want us to pass out in the shower. Speaking of eating, they fed us really well along the whole walk. We had food at every stop to keep up our energy. They also had water and gatorade at every stop. I ate a lot of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches along the way!!! After we ate, we headed to the showers. The showers were in semi truck trailers. They were just shower stalls with curtains and a open dressing area. They were very clean and compact. But absolutely no privacy. That's all I will say about that! The medical tents were very busy. Some walkers had pretty bad blisters on Their toes and feet. They had try out kareoke Friday night, for the Rockstar contest on Saturday night. Lynne and I didn't make it to either. We just wanted to rest and sleep. If we could have gotten away without eating dinner, we probably would have.
It was lights out at 9:00. End of the first day was pretty amazing. I was sore and tired, but I was doing ok.


I'm not sure if the photos will come out in the email, so if they don't please click on the link to take you to my page.