Am I the only one?

Am I the only one:
~That is STILL creeped out by the Old Navy commercials? Those mannequins just give me the heebie jeebies!
~That thinks it feels wonderful to take a long hot shower and crawling into a perfect, fresh made bed?
~That is a little sad to see summer go?

Oh! I forgot the pictures!

Here are some more that I had planned on adding to the day two blog!

Day two....

Day two, Kendra and I were determined to get up and on the route as soon as we were able so we would be lagging behind. When we got up, the only thing I wanted to do was shower and brush my teeth. I felt SO gross.. haha! They had very large shower trucks with very large tanks of water.. and that felt almost as good as home at that point. After we got dressed, we went over to the dining tent and got some food and walked back to grab out things and get on with our 21.6 miles. And.... we walked. And we walked. We passed one lady's home that had a little table set up in front of her house. She had a basket full of plums off of her tree. She said she had so many and she was so glad to give them because she wasn't sure what to do with them. They were increadible! We started up one small hill and I just wasn't quite into it. I stepped to the side so people could pass by. I was out of breath. Everyone smiled, kept walking. I was just fine with that. Then a girl says "wow! You must be tired! How far along are you?" And thus started my day two.

There were many more people cheering for us. A sweet lady who had dyed her hair pink playing a drum for us. Many drivers and passerbys honking, giving us thumbs up. Houses decorated with signs and small stations with signs that say "Thank you walkers, help yourself" to water, treats, lemonade, etc.

We continue to walk and get to the next pit stop. We stop and use the restroom and tried to find some sunscreen. I ran out! Kendra and I had been sharing a spray bottle and actually ran out! I called my dear sweet boyfriend and her husband and made a request list for things they should bring to the cheering station. A bandana to dip in cold water and tie around my head, more spray sunscreen, claritin. Kendra decided she would also find some moleskin because one of her toes was bothering her. I started chatting with two ladies who were sitting down in the pavillion while I waited. And the dreaded words came out of her mouth "I don't know HOW you do it. I can barely do it now, I can't imagine how it would have been if I were pregnant." I just tried to hold it together and gracefully exit the area. Luckily Kendra was ready to go. So.. off we went.

More cheering people, more smiles, more signs, more beautiful scenary. Then we came to the first cheering station. They had a freakin' AMAZING cookie buffet. They had large pieces of foam board in which we could write names of people we would like to have prayers said for. It was so touching! At this point we had been walking so much that I couldn't figure out if I liked uphill or down hill better. When walking up hill, it burned and it was tough. I would get winded easier. But downhill seemed to be overall more painful. At some point we saw a lady walking down a hill backwards. That was a whole new feeling. I loved it, with the exception of the fear of walking into something or stepping on my own feet.

Somewhere along the line, Kendra had to use the restroom. After walking through a residential neighborhood, we finally came to an area with some businesses. So we popped our heads into a gas station and a Subway and they refused to let us use the bathroom!! I was dumbfounded. Anytime we have had to stop in a business to use their restroom, most of the walkers made it a point to buy something. So.. I could understand if there were thousands of women wanting to use the bathroom and leave but.... WOW! Luckily, right after we turned the corner, there was a bar that volunteered there bathroom (just as shocked as we were that someone wouldn't let us use the bathroom) though... we didn't buy anything in the bar. Heh. Bar and Beer cooler in two days! :) We were just waiting to see "Caboose" when we stepped out of the bar. Hehe. I have to say that even though there were some businesses that weren't all that gung ho about particpating in the fun and the spirit of the event, there were SO many others that went above and beyond, that their very presence and outpouring of support could be overwhelming at moments. That is what helped me get through 60 miles. This event did much for helping to restore my faith in mankind.

After the next pitstop, I realized I had left my camera on the table by the portapotties. GRR. Luckily we saw a sweep van shortly thereafter and they said they would go grab it, if we stayed put. They made a comment as they drove away about me being pregnant.. and here came the tears. I just couldn't stop em. I didn't have the heart to correct them. The ladies in this particular van had come to be a familar face and I just didn't want make them feel bad. I felt bad enough. I kind of a came to a point that day that I just didn't much want to finish the event because the preganancy comments were just too much for me. But I kept going anyway. Poor Kendra. Not that I didn't know it already, but I am convinced that she is a saint. For real. She just loved me anyway, even though my crying and forgetting my camera slowed us down she just loved me anyway. Next stop was lunch. As we walked towards it.. we got a great view of the water. It was.. amazing! The homes in this area are what most people just day dream about. What a treat!

Just before lunch, we came across many decorations reading "Mama Fox's Block" We were trying to get to lunch and not get swept so I don't know the whole story, but if i remember right, a family member that lived on that block had passed away from breast cancer. You can tell she was very loved. There were pictures, streamers, refreshments, and a balloon arch, and many many people cheering.
Not two far down the road, Kendra decided to be swept to lunch. I really wanted to finish so I kept going. Teri, the Caboose, caught up to me. But luckily she didn't have me swept, she just walked into lunch with me. It was kind of nice because I got to chat with her and it was nice to know about her and why she was here. What a neat lady! She told me about her small baby at home and how she would get to see her that night. I think we were all looking forward to seeing familiar faces, crew and walkers alike. Day two, I was the last person to lunch. At this point, Kendra and I both were looking forward to the afternoon cheering station as our family would be there to cheer us on. We were both dying to see them. So we just kept trucking on. When we went through the intersection and at first sight of my boyfriend I just wanted to bawl. Kendra did. That is the longest time she has ever gone without seeing her baby. She had on a little pink cape that kendra made to mimic ours and she insisted Kendra walk up and down the sidewalk with her. I think she enjoyed the attention. She was pretty adorable. We did stay a little too long and ended up getting swept to the next pit stop. That shorted us about 3 miles. I was a bit sad about that. Though, it was worth it to get to see everyone for a few extra minutes. I have to say I was very sad that we didn't get swept by our "surfer girls." Everything after that was a blur until close to the end. My calves were killing me as were my feet so I did alot of stretching that afternoon. Our path lead us behind camp into a wooded area. I think it may have been some sort of dog park. That was a nice, brief, change of scenery. We came to the end of many lined up at the fence cheering as we walked through.
Even though I was tired, I had much more energy that night. We went to dinner, checked out some of the sponser's tents, the remeberance tents, and watched a Pirate Wedding! I love you dear friends and family that have been married in my presence BUT.. This was the COOLEST wedding I have EVER been to. The vows were very customized, it was full of humor and smiles and.. .LOVE. So much love in so many ways. Love for each other, love for mankind, love for the cause. Love. We also got to meet "Caboose's" beautiful daughter and husband AND saw our "Peeps" for a few mintues. They had been marking day three and said we would love it.

Kendra and my game plan was to shower at night so we could get right up and pack everything up on day 3. So we didn't stay up too late. 4:30 came a bit early.

Monday.. aaak!

Day 2 and 3 are coming.. Trying to catch up at work. I was SUPER productive today! Got to love it! How was your day?

Day One!!

You all have heard me ramble and ramble about the Breast Cancer 3 Day... As I had never done it before I was mostly excited for the experience, doing something new, paying it forward and doing the most athletic thing I have done in over 10 years.



Seattle was beautiful! If my company was in that area and offered me a position, I would have moved yesterday. That is how much I fell in love with Seattle and surrounding area. Thursday night, we had the guys drop us off at a hotel in Shoreline and they went back up to the timeshare that was a bit of a drive. Kendra and I got everything ready, called and booked a cab and got about 5 hours of sleep. The next morning we were racing around to get ready, climbed in the cab and...



*Welcome to the 3 Day!*

As we pulled into the college there were people dressed very outrageously directing traffic, smiling, cheerful... once we were out of the cab with our bags we headed toward the gear truck. We were greeted with "Sh-na-na.... Shoe-Bling, Shoe-bling" as a very friendly an spirited lady tied a small pink pipecleaner to one of our shoelaces in the shape of a pink ribbon. Then we got sticker.. By the time the weekend was over.. I was a total sticker WHORE! Haha!! We got those every time we got to pit stops, and lunch, and camp... you name it! LOVED the stickers.



We walked down to where opening ceremonies were being held as everyone greeted us, waived, smiled, and donned pink Energizer bunny ears. Opening ceremonies had a very energetic quality... flag holders walked in with various flags in pink. "Mother, Wife, Daughter, Grandmother, Husband, Father, Friend, Sister, Hope, Strength, Optimism, etc"



By the time the flag holders led us to the walking trail, everyone was stoked to start. The energy was very electric in the air and off we went... We walked, and walked, and walked... seeing everyone's different get-ups and decorations, team names was quite entertaining. Everyday I was seeing more and more creative names and ideas. Men and women from all walks of life, all with their own stories. We walked passing signs and "Thank You", people honked and waved. Lawns and businesses were decorated. Just amazing!



The thing I found so odd is that all day I barely had to pee. At first I didn't think about it. I was drinking TONS of water and Gatorade. But then after a couple of pit stops I told Kendra that I was going to stop at the medical tent if I didn't have to pee by the next pit stop. The thing was.. I honestly felt fine. On our second to last pit stop, we met what Kendra and I referred to as our "Peeps" These ladies walked last year and were on the route marking crew this year. They were so sweet!! We talked to them for a little bit so I totally forgot about my promise to stop by the medical tent. We continued to walk. As we walk, the numbers behind us dwindle. I am not sure if this is because many people decided to be swept to the next pit stop or because we were just slow. We stopped in an Albertson's to use the restroom.



Now is a good time to explain that if you get too far behind on the route or you don't make it to a pit stop by the time it closes, the "Caboose" catches up with you and you usually get "swept" to the next stop so that you don't get too behind.



So we get into Albertson's to use the restroom. The high that day was in the 80-90 range (I heard varying reports) and we were miserably hot. And the first Albertson's employee we saw shouted "stop in the beer cooler!! It's nice and cool" After we use the restroom (Yay I FINALLY had to pee!) we, indeed, stopped in the beer cooler. HEAVEN! We come hauling out of the beer cooler only to run into the "Caboose" hehehe... No.. no empty bottles in there! When we came out of the store there was a sweep van. This is when we met our "surfer girls" they tried to get us to sweep and told us we had 10 minutes until the next pit closed... we refused to sweep, swearing we could make it. So, to that, the Caboose followed us into the pit. All the while Kendra was joking that I was in trouble now that I "broke the seal" I would be in big trouble. We had only a couple short miles until we got to camp. I was doing VERY good for about 10 minutes and then.. I had to PEE!! With NO businesses in site that would be open at this hour. We walked and walked.. and I was probably turning yellow at this point. I was to the point of looking for a sweep van. I told Kendra if one drove by I had to take it, because I was literally going to pee my pants.



We are an 1/8 a mile away from walking into camp. We can hear the music... we are SO excited and I am WADDLING, walking at snails pace trying to keep from peeing my pants and... our peeps drive up! They had to get special permission from the sweep crew to take me back and Gayle got out and walked back to camp with Kendra. I just wanted to cry. 1. I had to pee so badly. 2. That I couldn't walk into camp and 3. Gayle walked with Kendra. Mixed emotion moment! I got to camp, used the bathroom, and waited for Kendra to come back and cheered her on as she walked in! Very cool!



We were both SO exhausted at that point!! We got our bags and walked to where our tent should be... and... NO TENT! *sigh* we both left our luggage there and walked to the dinner tent, resolved that we would deal with it after we ate. Kendra's ankle was hurting her pretty badly so I offered to get her food if she wanted to sit down. As I got to the awesome crew that was serving our food and asked for a 2nd plate, the lady serving grabbed someone else to take her place, grabbed a tray and carried it with both Kendra and my food when she learned we had just got to camp, and proceeded to carry it to the table for us! After eating, we found a crew member to see who we should chat with about our tent. The got on the radio and from the time we walked from the dinner tent back to where our things were... someone had set our tent up for us!!! Both of us were so exhausted that we threw our bed rolls and sleeping bags in and passed out in a heap of sweat and exhaustion at about 8:30pm!



The girls in the tent next to us chuckled at us the next morning. At one point, while we were trying to unpack things, I could tell they were trying to go to sleep. I said "I'm so sorry, I promise we won't be loud for much longer!" The first thing they said when they saw us the next morning is "Once you said that, we didn't hear another word!" Yup.. Out COLD! Stayed tuned for DAY TWO!!

I'm still standing!

I made it back from the Seattle Breast Cancer 3 Day!!! I have so much to say but am still exausted since coming home and playing catch up at work. I have people to tell you about, how strong my teammate was, things I learned... I can't wait! Stay tuned!