Originally Posted by Allison
Well, I did it. I completed the Breast Cancer 3-Day! I wear my Walker Shirt with Pride! What an experience! I promise to be as concise as possible....
Day 0 - We arrived at Topsfield Fairgrounds to watch the orientation video and Register. The video taught us our most important lesson of the 3-Day: Our motto, our mantra, our mission, our jingle (sing it to whatever tune you choose) - NO WHINING!!
After Registering Mom, Sherrie, T.R. and I went to the Hotel to check-in, relax in the pool and then went to dinner with Beth, Jen & Nate. It was a nice night, we were off to bed early... We had a 3:30 am wake up call so that we could make the 5:00 am bus to Opening Ceremonies!
Day 1 - We hit the road early and were all geared up for the Opening Ceremonies to start. They were touching and inspiring and with lots of cheering and enthusiasm, we hit the road. Sherrie, T.R. and I walked together, meeting lots of people. After Lunch some time, we met Laurie and Bonnie, who we stuck with for the rest of the weekend, in some way or another. Along the way we and MANY other walkers discovered Cherry Hill Creamery and stopped for some ice cream. I had Lime sorbet YUM! to cool off. What an nice treat on a hot afternoon! One mile from the finish was our cheering station for the afternoon. Dad and Drew and Harry were there to cheer us (and all the other walkers) on as we made our way to Camp. It was so wonderful to see them at the end of a long, hot day. After that we marched on to our one and only Camp at Beverly High School! We visited the Mess Tent and had dinner with Mom. Yeah!
Day 2 - We got going later than we expected, which made for a tough day - and the humidity and heat didn't help any. I had a tough time with my hip - and I managed to get some nasty blisters on the base of my heels, which made walking tough. I got them covered and protected, and slathered some Biofreeze on my hip and walked as much as I could. After seeing Dad, Drew, Harry, Steven, Elaine and Otis and visiting for a bit, T.R. and I forged on. I finally decided to skip the last 6 or so miles of the day so that I'd be able to walk Sunday. It was a tough decision to make, but I knew that it was worth it to cross the finish line on Sunday.
The sign I wore on my back over the weekend.
Day 3 - We got up extra early to pack up our gear and take down our tent and get on the road early. I was still moving slowly, but T.R. and I plugged along and even found a missing kitten and returned Rocky to his owners. After the reunion, we continued on to the next pit stop. Leaving that pit, we made friends with Karyn and Kate along the way. Together we raced through lunch. We had only 15 minutes to eat, drink, change our socks, stretch and pee! And then on to the next pit stop. Because of the course for the day, everyone was bused from our final pit stop to Charlestown to complete our last 4 miles. Knowing this, and how little time we had to complete the 3 miles to the final pit and the last 4 miles of the day, Karyn, Kate and I decided to take a sweep vehicle to the buses and complete the 4 miles of our own accord.
It was so incredible to approach the finish line and find the Men with Heart cheering in each of the walkers, and to see so many other walkers lining up to cheer the last walkers in. It was a long and exhausting weekend, but getting my walker shirt and marching into closing ceremonies with the thousand other men and women who walked with me made it worth it.
Thank you to everyone for their donations and emotional support along the way. I couldn't have done this without you!! Especially Drew who trained with me for so many of the miles and my Dad who was there with Drew to cheer us on at the end of every day.
I'll add some more pictures from during the event once we get them scanned.
And now it's all about preparing for 2005!
Mom, Me and Sherrie after Sherrie & I crossed the finish line.
Sherrie, Me & T.R. walking into Closing Ceremonies
T.R. and me stretching our legs and getting the blood moving after Closing Ceremonies