The Walk...

The day before the walk, I made my way downtown to the Event Eve Hotel. On the way there, I noticed a couple of women looking a little lost, and heard them mention the AWBC. I offered to show them the way, since I was going there as well. They took me up on my offer, but when I tried to be friendly and talk to them about the Walk they would either turn away, or start talking to each other. Quite rude for people who needed help, if you ask me.

Anyway, I got signed in, and settled in to my hotel room for the night. Let me tell you, the Revive Bedding Collection at Marriott hotels are AMAZING! One day I will be rich and have a bed like that.

The morning of the first day started super early. I was at the Kennedy Center (Opening Ceremony site) by 5:00 am. It was still dark out, and you could see some of the monuments and memorials on the National Mall. They were all light up, and were actually quite breath-taking. As I walked around the site, I tried to get to know people, so that I would have someone to walk with. Well, once again, the rudeness astounded me. And unfortunately, I found that to be the case all along the trail. People who were walking as pairs, or groups of 4 or more weren’t really willing to talk to anyone else. Luckily, I found some loners, like myself, and a couple of groups of 3 that were friendly.

We started the morning shortly before 7:00 am with some stretches and some inspirational words. And then we were off. The gates opened and a sea of pink flowed out into the streets of DC. The first 3 or 4 miles, I walked with a lady from Germantown (Pat). But eventually, she got too fast for me, and I lost her. Soon after, I met up with a gal from Ocean City, MD (Meredith), and we walked together for the rest of the day.

The stops along the route were pretty frequent. They had snacks, Gatorade and water, and medical tents. Each pit stop had a different theme – I wish I could remember all of them, I should have written them down. Also along the route were tons of supporters. Several groups would move along the route all day to cheer us on. And people in cars decorated with lots of pink would drive by and wave. That was one of my favorite parts.

I made it 17 miles the first day before the medical team strongly suggested I quit for the day because of the condition of my blisters. Stupid feet – I wish I had Mrs. Potato Head feet and could just switch them out when I need new ones. But I am glad they made me stop, because if I had pushed on any further, I may not have been able to walk at all the second day.

When I arrived at the Wellness Village, I found my tent already set up, and my tent-mate (Ann) inside. She was from Hawaii, and flew to DC to do the Walk with her friends from Arlington. After I showered, I hit the medical tent to be rebandaged and then I had visitors. A couple of coworkers had come out to show their support. That was nice. Good to see a familiar face after an exhausting day.

There was some entertainment that night, but I chose to sleep instead. Unfortunately, nature was not agreeing with my plan, and made it super cold. I think I only got about 3 hours sleep total that night. It was rough – but at least everyone else had the same problem, so we were all understanding when everyone was grumpy the next morning.

Day 2 didn’t start as early as the previous day. I got up, ate breakfast, broke down the tent, and was on the trail around 8:00am. My walking buddy from the day before got an earlier start, so I had a chance to meet more people along the route.

I talked to a couple of people, but my feet were so sore, I was too slow for most. By the 5th mile I was ready to give up. But I rebandaged again, and Vaselined my feet like crazy and trudged on. It took me over an hour to make it to the 7th mile, so I decided I needed a lift to the next pit stop. At that stop, I met up with Meredith and her tent-mate Barbara, and we pushed out the final 3.5 miles in about an hour. Knowing that the finish line was “just around the corner” made us really move.

We arrived at the finish line 1.5 hours before the closing ceremony was to begin. There was no place to sit out of the sun, and we were so very tired. I decided it was best for me just to head home. I do hate that I missed the closing ceremony, but after walking 28 miles, my body just wanted my bed.

The Walk was a great experience, but it will be years before I do it again. The time it took just preparing (fundraising and training) was tremendous. And it certainly is nice to have my weekends back.