Susan G. Komen 3 day walk (sept 14-16)

at the end of Day 3 - 60 miles. DONE!

First, a great big THANK YOU to all of my supporters - the emotional encouragement was appreciated so much. For those of you who donated financially to the cause, I thank you for helping me to reach my personal goal as well as for the Susan G. Komen foundation. The Seattle walk raised 3.4 MILLION dollars! The requirement for walking in the event is $2300 and I'm proud to have reached that with your help. Our team name was "Every Boob Counts" and is the team Eric started 4 years ago. I'm sharing details of the walk, as I know I won't get a chance to tell everyone, and I also want to document it for myself...

 DAY 1- 
The opening ceremony reminded me why we walk - for all of those women (and men) who can't be here, and for all of those currently fighting, and for those with a hope of not ever needing to fight. "Everyone deserves a lifetime" is the theme....With some tears flowing and emotions running high (along with sleep deprivation from waking up at 3:30am to arrive downtown in time), we stretched, and funneled out onto the streets of Seattle.

The "lil' smokie guys"

The people cheering was a great energy boost, and we saw the same people over and over again - "walker stalkers" they are called. Some are on motorcycles, decorated with bras and to the hilt with pink. Some are in cars and convertibles, with music blasting. Some are 3-day crew in "sweep vans" patrolling the route making sure everyone is ok and nobody needs a ride to the next stop or the finish if they just can't continue. Some "stalkers" set up shop along the route, waving signs, giving high 5's, passing out candy, bead necklaces, stickers, fruit, gum, etc. The favorites were the "lil smokie guys" handing out BBQ little smokies, and the jello shots (which you had to be lucky to time finding them!).

With our fav SPD guys

The thing that hit me the most was the number of people who said "Thank you for walking!" We'd see the same people multiple times throughout the day, as they'd move along the route to get ahead of us. The Seattle Police Department had bicycle cops along side us - with their bikes completely decked out, pink handcuffs, costumes, and great attitudes. We found out they volunteer for this job, and we were glad they were there. Family and friends would meet along the way, and even though the stops were short (we had to keep going!), they were appreciated!
 

Walking along I-90

We walked along I-90, getting honked at and waving back. Kind of celebrity status being part of such a big group of pink! Some people asked what we were walking for, and though I was surprised, I was reminded that that's why we walk - to raise awareness. Then into Redmond and Marymoor park. We had stops every 3-4 miles (bathroom breaks, re-hydrate and food, as well as medical attention if needed), and stopped for an hour or so for lunch. We finished around 4pm. The first day was do-able, I felt good. Legs and feet tired, but not too bad. Of course I went right to bed once I got home! We opted not to camp in the tents - for comfort reasons mostly. We were focused on walking.

Day 2- 

One of the crossing guard's bikes (and me, it's day 3, don't judge)

We got up early (but not as early as day 1), and met back up with all of the walkers at Marymoor Park and headed out. We walked ALL around Kirkland, down through Juanita beach and lots of side streets. There wasn't as much to look at compared to Seattle, but the weather was beautiful. The walker stalkers were out in full force, and we kept going. The crossing guards were familiar and cheered us on and reminded us to stretch. Our favorite cheer "No cars, no scooters, we're walking for our hooters!" Day 2 was a hard day physically and emotionally. We were tired, and knew we still had a whole day to go. But we KEPT GOING and finished strong.

Day 3 -
We were dropped off at Husky Stadium, walked through UW campus, across Ballard locks, and up through Magnolia, finishing up on the Seattle waterfront and back to the Seattle Center. Seattle is one HILLY city!!! Our legs were tired (Terra and I tried out compression sleeves for our calves, and I was glad I did...helped out those sore muscles and kept them moving). Our feet were tired, and blisters were starting to get uncomfortable, but we pushed through it. We were happy to see "pit stop ahead" signs. But it was the last day!!! We arrived at the finish, and were greeted by hundreds of cheering spectators. Everyone giving high fives and saying thank you. We saw many of the crew, "stalkers", and police officers that we had seen every day all weekend. It was a wonderful conclusion.

We had a couple of hours to wait (this was a "short" day of only 16 miles, and we finished around 2pm), so we relaxed with our families on the grass in the sun, and listened to music. Then we grouped together and walked into Memorial Stadium for the closing ceremonies. The survivors had on pink shirts and they came in after all of the walkers (white shirts) were there. As the speaker talked about what a great achievement we had made and had the energy pumped, she reminded us why we were walking and to focus on the survivors who walked with us. One by one all of us took off one shoe and held it up in a salute to the survivors as they walked in. It was a silent homage, but very very moving and powerful. And then....we CELEBRATED!

One shoe salute

Will I do it again next year? Maybe....it's not a no! There's a certain pride that people have in being repeat walkers (and you get a button to add to your "bling") The walking was hard. It was super rewarding. It is a great accomplishment, I feel like I can do anything. It was wonderful to be able to share in the journey with my mom, who is a survivor. We met lots of people who were repeat walkers, people who walk in different cities, and people who were first timers like us. The camaraderie in a common goal was a wonderful feeling. The recovery time hasn't been as bad as I imagined...I was more exhausted than sore - but won't lie and say I never took anything for the pain!

Here's a better look at the route (click to enlarge):