It was my intent to drive to the service station, hand them my keys and walk home. But then I got a better offer. Lunch with a friend and her daughter, followed by free coffee and some strolling in the (partially) new shopping center, an air-conditioned ride home and good conversation all the way through. It was a better offer.

I did walk on Tuesday (7 miles (AND a stop at Starbucks in under just under 2 hours!), plus another mile) and on Wednesday (2.5 miles walking Maggie to school, followed by 4.2 miles with a friend, and then another mile with the dog later…7.7 total?). Not too terribly shabby.

I’m taking today off because I’ve hurt my foot somehow, and a day’s rest seems like a good idea. But these longer walks feel great. And I am sleeping better, which is to say, at all. I am a big fan of sleep.

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Yes, it is mid August. Yes, it is 124 degrees and 97% humidity outside. But come Monday morning, I will be sending my kids on the bus at 7:27 in the morning and walking. As far as I want. Without having to figure out how far I can go before I need to head home so Stagg can go to work. Oh man, I am looking forward to it!

The good news is that I have been walking. On vacation at my parents, I walked with my mom a few times, I walked with my dad a couple times, and I walked by myself. (I even jogged a few miles by myself, but that’s another story.) And now that I’m home, I’m walking with my family and the dogs after dinner every night. And occasionally, I’m walking with a friend for a longer walk.

The consistency is there, and that feels a lot like winning the battle these days. In CT, I was there during the heat wave. And back in GA, they have officially cancelled all outdoor school activities because of the heat… and because 2 high school students died during football practice yesterday because of the heat.

So even these short walks feel long. And feel like work. I keep telling myself that walking in October is so much more comfortable than walking in August.

Beating the heat really has to do with moderation. When I am able (read: not too lazy), I get up early and do a few miles before it gets too hot outside. And then I have a mile at the end of the day with the dogs and the family.

Water is key, more so now than at other times. It is both really uncomfortable and potentially dangerous to go on a walk without some water in 95+ weather.

At the same time, it is just as important to keep drinking while I am at home in my nice cool house. I don’t feel nearly as thirsty and hot as I do when I am outside, but making sure I stay hydrated while I’m not walking makes the walks so much safer.

Good hydration doesn’t come from a few sips of water while exerting myself in the heat. It comes from planned drinking around the clock that offers my body the chance to replenish as needed and prepare for what is coming next.

And now, I need to get myself some water.

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The 3 Day is 17 weeks away and my training of late has been almost nonexistent. I have tons of excuses, and for now, I’m going to list them.

• Its hot. The average high for the next 5 days is 94 degrees. For me that is really stinking hot. While I don’t mind a good sweat earned through a good workout, I do take issue with the instantaneous wet that results from simply walking outside during this heat. And the 94 isn’t even taking into account the “feels like” humidity temperature. Because the humidity is about 700% until, of course…
• Thunderstorms. They aren’t quite happening on a nightly basis, but they do come often enough that we plan for them. About 2 hours of thunder and lightening come in the evening. Sometimes, there is rain that comes along with them, but more often than not, it seems that all we get is the thunder & lightening. And when there is rain? There is also often hail. The good news is that the storms clear away the humidity for a little while. But I am not a fan of walking around in the lightening. It seems like asking for trouble.
• Knee issue. I’m having a little trouble with my right knee. I don’t know what it is, but sometimes it hurts a whole lot. Of course, walking on it more doesn’t make it hurt any more, and resting it doesn’t make it hurt any less, so this is a lousy excuse. But it is one of the ones I hear in my head when thinking about walking, so on the list it goes.
• Tingly arm. This is another weird issue. I think I pinched a nerve in my neck, and my left arm intermittently tingles like it has been asleep– not quite that much of an in your face sensation, but a strange feeling. The last time I walked, it spread to my left leg, which was very odd. This is one of those things that I actually believe a little more walking will help knock things back where they are supposed to be and fix the problem, but logic is no match for excuses.
• Child Care. It is summer, and I have 2 kids small enough that I can’t leave them at home alone. I also have a cadre of friends who would be willing to host them for play dates, as well as a few babysitters who wouldn’t mind picking up a couple hours of work so I could walk. But that is a lot of good will or money I’d be shucking out, and frankly, a walk doesn’t seem worth it because of the biggest issue I’ve got going on…
• Lazy. I am lazy. I could get up early and walk while it is still cool out. While my husband and kids are still in bed and I wouldn’t have to worry about who is going to watch them. I could start my day with a walk and know for the rest of the day that I have done at least one right thing. But I don’t. Why? Because that extra hour in bed feelIs sooooo good. And this is the crux of the problem. This is why I’m not training the way I should (according to my Virtual Trainer, I should be logging 15 miles this week plus cross training). This is the one item on the list that I have complete control over, and the one I have to manage so that I can do what I need to do.

My excuses are lousy. And they aren’t going to help me get through the 60 miles I have coming up. I just hav to get over this hump. I will do it, it is just a question of when. The problem is, my answer is always… “maybe tomorrow.”

I’m hoping that listing these out will help me get over the laziness hump and get me out of bed and out the door in the morning. Perhaps I won’t make it out every day, but I think I can manage at least 3 or 4 mornings (or whenever) is reasonable. And now that I’ll have to find something to post next Wednesday about the 3 Day and getting ready for it, hopefully I’ve managed to hit my motivation nerve.

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I can do that.

But, YIKES! This means the 3 Day is 24 weeks away! It sounds like such a long time, but I know it is coming up sooner than I think!

Mom going into surgery

I walk because of my dad, who was absolutely incredible in my mom’s year with breast cancer. He was a cheerleader, a chef, a nurse, a chauffer, a housecleaner, a secretary, and so much more. He worried constantly, and held it all together to make everything easier for my mom, and for us kids. And he doesn’t get nearly enough credit for all that.

I walk because of Traci, my cousin’s best friend who lost her battle with breast cancer in 2006, leaving behind her husband and three young boys forever. My cousin has a wonderful charity, Traci’s Hope that raises money and awareness in upstate New York.

I walk because of Kirsten’s mom, who lost her battle with breast cancer. I walk because of my friend Jen’s aunt and friend who lost her battle with breast cancer. I walk because of Janet, who fought breast cancer and won. I walk for Maureen’s sister in law who walked into a hospital with stomach pains and never had the chance to walk back out. I walk because of all the people who’s names are mentioned to me when I tell people that I am a 3 Day for the Cure Walker. I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t know someone whose life has been changed by breast cancer.

I walk because of these people. They are the reasons who help me decide that yes, I can walk another 60 miles in 3 days. Yes, I will commit to raising $2,300 to help fund breast cancer research, treatment and prevention. Yes, I will train and train and train. Yes I can, and yes I will. They push me from behind and give me the motivation to do this.

But these are not the people I walk for. During all that training and fundraising, and during the event, I am not just motivated to recognize and honor the past. I walk toward something. I walk (and fundraise) toward a cure. I walk toward a world without breast cancer. With every step, with every dollar, I know we are getting closer. I have no idea how far off the ultimate goal is, but I put my 60 miles with thousands of others walking and we get closer.

I walk for myself, because I never want to have to feel the fear and helplessness of breast cancer. I never want to tell my family that I have breast cancer, and the road ahead is long, hard and uncertain. I know that walking is not a talisman that will protect me from breast cancer, but it is something I can do to help raise money and awareness for treatment, prevention, early (earlier) detection and a cure.

My girls

I walk for my family and friends, so that as we grow older, there will be no more worry that they will be the 1 in 8 of the women in their lives who gets breast cancer. I walk for them because the biggest risk factors for getting breast cancer are being a woman and getting older, and we’re all doing that.

I walk for you. I walk with hope and determination that you will never have to make the phone call to tell someone you love that you have breast cancer. I walk with hope that you will never receive that phone call, or receive that phone call again. I walk because I want you to live in a world without breast cancer. WIth that hope, with that goal, walking 60 miles in 3 days feels like a very reasonable thing to do.

So for me, training starts with upsetting my natural inclinations and moving. I know myself well enough to know that once the walk becomes a habit, it starts sounding better than the book. Or at least, the effects of walking sound better than the book. When I walk regularly, I feel better, sleep better, my stress level lowers a little, I even think better. And it doesn’t take much to start reaping the rewards.

I’m lucky that I have some very useful tools that make it easier for me to make this leap. My dog is one. She likes to be walked, and really doesn’t care about the weather, the hills, my mood or even how long a walk we’re going for. She has no schedule to keep beyond eating and sleeping, and she’s ready a moment’s notice. All it takes is for me to put on my running shoes and grab the leash and she’s ready to go.

I also have some great friends who like to walk (and are walking the 3 day with me). While walking with them does require a little more planning, as humans’ schedules tend to be a little more involved than the canine variety, walking with my friends comes with the added bonus of speech. And there is nothing like a 4 mile conversation to put me in a good mood.

For right now, I’m not worrying too much about getting in long walks and racking up the miles. Which is a good thing, since I haven’t even walked 60 miles this year, let alone this month or week. But for right now, that’s ok. I still have 7 months of training ahead of me.

What is really important now is making walking a habit so that my body has the chance to train my mind. Making walking a habit also means that making time for the walk becomes a habit. Sometimes it means saying no to some other things I could do. More often, it means not getting onto the couch when I have to head up to school for something so that I have time to walk instead of drive the route.

And I’m working on it. I’ve walked every day (except Sundays) for the last couple weeks, and it feels good. Some of the walks have been far shorter than I would have liked, and I consider that to be the beginning of success. If I am starting to want longer walks, something is working right.

Of course, the email accepting me into the program went to my spam box. I found out that my friend had been named an ambassador, and assumed I hadn’t. While I was, and am, really happy for her, I completely sucked the joy out of the conversation didn’t show it well because I was feeling very sorry for myself and pouting a little dejected that the 3 Day had apparently decided I wasn’t worthy. …and I wonder where my girls get their drama queeniness from. yeek. This was not a proud moment for me.

But, it turns out I was on the list, and I’m an Ambassador. So, yay, me! Expect more posts about the 3 Day. Maybe you’ll even consider joining my team ($25 discount until 3/31!) and walking with us. The 2009 3 Day was an incredible experience, and look forward to the 2011 3 Day, which starts 7 months and 3 days from today.

I promise to try very, very hard to keep my temper tantrums to a minimum.

If you don’t want to walk, and now feel guilty because you don’t want to, please feel free to make yourself feel better by making a donation. It will help. I promise. Even if you don’t feel guilty, it will still make you feel better.

She ran to me and buried her head in my side and hugged me tight. She cried and shook her head and asked me not to do it. “I missed you too much last time, Mommy. 3 days is too long.” She asked me to stay home and not walk.

I didn’t press it then; I scooped her up and told her not to worry about it. Over the next couple weeks, Katie came back to me a few times and reminded me that she really wanted me to stay home and now walk. She wasn’t getting overly upset, and I wouldn’t tell her I wasn’t going to do it.

The other night, something came up at the dinner table about cancer and the people she knew who had it. Mumsie’s name came up, as it always doe during these conversations, and I took the opportunity to talk to her about the 3 Day again. She was not happy at first, but then we talked about the money that everyone raise to help find a cure so that no one else would ever get breast cancer. And we talked about how all those people walking so far helps remind other people think about how terrible breast cancer is and makes some of them help find a cure, or do something to help someone who has breast cancer now.

She had questions, I did my best with answers. She finally got to the bottom line: “If you walk the 3 Day, does it mean that you won’t get breast cancer, mommy?” Wouldn’t that be nice? Wouldn’t it be easy if there were a quid pro quo for walking and staying healthy? I told her that even though there is no way to prevent breast cancer, the 3 Day helps find a cure, and that maybe, because of all the walkers, someday no one would have to worry about getting breast cancer. She thought about it for a few more minutes, gave me another hug, sighed and ran off. She seemed resigned, but there were no more tears.

On Monday evening, I officially signed up for my second 3 Day.

Tuesday afternoon, as we were leaving school, I reminded Katie about a school assignment she had coming up, and suggested she start thinking about who she was going to write about. “I already know, mom. I’m writing about you,” she told me. “You’re my hero because you cook me dinner and love me so much. And because you are walking the 3 Day.”

The last week before the 3Day, I was largely insane. First, the weather completely changed– we had been having days in the mid 70s, mornings in the mid 60s and all was well. I could wear my shorts and tank tops, and I was comfortable. But then, the temperatures dipped and we had mornings in the mid 30s to mid 40s and the highs were hitting 60, and sometimes a little more, but sometimes not. Then, there was my good friend Lisa’s issue with her foot/ankle, and it really looked for a couple days like she wasn’t going to be able to walk at all. Lisa has been my training buddy since we signed up in January, and we’d been walking together for at least a year before that. The idea that she might not make it was almost as devastating to me as it was to her.

So I bought a bunch of new clothes (which we’d been lectured extensively about NOT doing) and hoped for the best. The weather forecast looked bleak, with mostly rain and some pretty frosty temps. Really? Walk 60 miles in the rain and cold? Without my walking buddy? WTF?!

But things started looking up on Wednesday. Lisa’s foot wasn’t broken. It was actually starting to feel better. My ankle, which had really, really hurt the week before felt pretty healed. And then we got the email that said camp had been moved indoors for both nights, which was a relief. I packed like a madwoman and got ready.

Thursday night, Lisa, Jana and I went up to the hotel at Lake Lanier and settled in. We had wine and snacks, and watched Grey’s. Then Sondra came in and talked a mile a minute. We met the members of our team for the first time and talked to them for a little while. Went saw that the forecast had changed again to some brief showers in the morning and some rain later in the night. The weather would be cool, but not cold. Things were looking good. I didn’t sleep much, but that is nothing new.

Friday morning, we got up, showered quickly, got dressed and headed out to the shuttle. It had been explained to us that we could put our bag in the shuttle, then we’d take it somewhere else and it would be taken to camp. But we had a nice surprise that there was no luggage wrangling at Opening Ceremonies. Score!

There was a little rain at Opening Ceremonies, but they were handing out emergency rain ponchos, so we were set. Opening Ceremonies was a big party. Lots of excited people, stickers and Energizer bunny ears being handed out, music, lots of people really itching to get going. It felt good. And then we stretched together. Then there were speeches and the flags were brought in by the participants, and 8 survivors stood in the center and we remembered why we’re doing this crazy thing. They walked us out through the crowd, to cheers, high fives and a general sense that a great day was in front of us.

Sadly, I brought Maggie’s camera with me because it was small and cheap. That means that my pictures aren’t great.

 

Leaving Opening Ceremonies, this line of people stretched on for a really long way. It was incredible to look forward and back and see walkers for as far as you could see.

 

Jana, me, Lisa and Sondra (and Tritt, Katie’s class pet who came with me)

Every 3 miles or so, we’d hit a pit stop, and these were great. First, there were super excited crew members to greet you as you came in and cheer that you were doing a great job. They handed out stickers, and you were encouraged/reminded to eat, drink, check your feet, stretch and rest. We spent about 15 minutes at the first one, had a bite to eat and refilled our water bottles. It was no longer raining. Just before the pit stop, someone handed out pink mardi gras bead necklaces, so we had those, too. As an added bonus, we saw Susan at the pit stop, which was great.

People came out for this walk. Every mile or so, there would be a small group of people who had come out specifically to cheer. And not just to stand there and cheer– these people had props, costumes, snacks and music. It was awesome. And then there was the crew who directed traffic. At one point, we walked by an elementary school, and all the kids were outside, cheering for us. They had tambourines, home made shakers, candy, signs– some with pictures of people they knew with breast cancer. They kids were so cute, and so excited, and it is hard to think about it without getting choked up a little.

The road crew, who were fun and wonderful, and never let us cross a street without dancing and singing.

 

The Treasured Chests, who stood in one place to cheer, then drove up the road and cheered again. For all 3 Days.

 

Sweet Hill Elementary, now some of my favorite kids in the world.

Lunch was “BoobStock” where the crew was dressed up in 60s gear, the music was 60s, and they fed us well.

 
When Lisa & I arrived, it just started to rain, and someone mentioned that there was a place inside where we could sit down. I was expecting a room where we could park it on the floor, but we walked into a place with tables and chairs — even flowers and fake candles on the tables! We enjoyed a leisurely lunch and headed back out. The rests in the walk really made us less tired. I had been nervous, really nervous, because Lisa and I never walked more than 11 miles at a time. And even that wasn’t too often. I think we were both freaked out that it was going to kill us during the walk because we’d be so tired. But the rests made it seem more like a series of 3 mile walks instead of one big walk.

It rained off and on during the afternoon, and eventually we found a Starbucks and got something to drink. Oh, that was nice. So nice that we even blew off the last pit stop and just hoofed it to the bus back to camp.

Walking into camp after the first day’s walk.

 
At camp, we found our stuff — actually, Jana and Sondra who got there before we did found it for us. We set up our tents, got situated and headed off to the showers. They were hot and decent showers– much more than I would have expected from a tractor trailer. Dinner was decent (we were served by pirates!) and there was some entertainment after dinner, including an American Idol-style contest where people sang. Lights out was at 9, and then, OMG. It was hell. 3,000 people indoors, in close quarters does not make for good sleep. Especially when you are sleeping on concrete floors with a really thin camp mat. I woke up feeling like I’d been kicked. A Lot.

Pink tents as far as the eye can see!

Day 2

The breakfast at camp was really good. Basically, anything you wanted, they probably had it there. And it was served with a smile. It was chilly and when we were off, but the forecast said we could go without jackets, so we did. Actually, we kept looking at the forecast and thinking it didn’t make any sense, since the high for the day was supposed to be 59 and it was currently 60. So, we were off on the bus to Pit 1.

They held us at the start for about 20 minutes. It was cold, and boring and we were itching to go. The safety crew entertained us with much dancing though, which was fun.

Overall, the 2nd day was much like the first. But the cheering stations were so much bigger and better. And there were more Starbucks. I was grumpy, but not through and through grumpy, so we were laughing about it. We passed by a man with a big wooden walking stick, and Lisa asked if she could borrow it to beat me with. The man’s face was pretty priceless. Also, Lisa kept trying to push me into the street (Which she claims was an accident, but I’m not sure)

During the walk on Day2, Lisa mentioned several times that she didn’t see why people always seem to say that the 3 Day is life changing. I agreed. It was great, it was fun, there were some very cool people and wonderful things going on, but really… my life wasn’t changed.

At lunch, Lisa did the electric slide with the National Spokesperson for the 3Day. They got me to do it, despite my objections that I have never been able to do the electric slide. I can do one, maybe two rounds of it, but then I get ALL messed up and dizzy and it just doesn’t work. People laugh, and I deserve it.

Jenne, the spokesperson is hysterical. She thinks great on her feet and is very, very funny. When Lisa sent me the link to her blog, I liked her even more. Her Cancer FAQ was a surprise.

When we finished eating it cooled off enough– ALL OF A SUDDEN– that they handed out mylar blankets, which came in so very handy. It was cold, and those things are awesome! We walked with them for miles, and the Starbucks started to get really crowded when we hit them while we were walking. By this time, too, the joy that is a flush toilet also became so apparent to everyone.

Three things happened that afternoon that were really amazing. The first was that for about 45 seconds, Lisa and I were walking and couldn’t see anyone else from the walk. It was the first time that had happened, and we thought that we might have gone the wrong way. :

The second was another time we were walking when there weren’t many people around us. People honk all the time at the long lines of people and yell “thank you” out the window, or just cheer or say something encouraging. It is really wonderful. One woman, though, leaned out her window and yelled thank you and told us that she really appreciated our walking. We said something like no problem, or happy to do it or something and she practically stopped in the road and said “NO. I’m a survivor. Thank you. I really appreciate this.” It took a little while to talk after that.

The third thing starts with a flag. They have these little flags with things on them. Like this one:

The flags aren’t heavy, but when you’re carrying them for a while, they can feel it. We passed a woman who was carrying the “Generations” flag and I asked her if she wanted me to take it. At first she said no because we only had 2 miles to go, but then she decided to give it to me because it was getting heavy. I had wanted to carry a sign during the walk, and while it wasn’t my first choice, I was happy to carry one. When we were approaching the last cheering station of the day, Stagg texted me to tell me there was a surprise for me there, so I figured that he and the girls were there. We walked along, getting cheered at and all of a sudden, Katie pops out. NEXT. TO. MY. MOM. My parents flew down so they could see me and cheer me on. (choked up again) I stopped to talk to my mom & dad and June & Stagg and the girls for a few minutes and begged Stagg to get an air mattress so we could be a little comfortable while we slept. So he, June & Maggie went to find one (it was freezing. Maggie was too cold to stay outside). My dad walked with Lisa, and I got to walk the last .7 miles of the day with Katie and my mom and the Generations flag. It was the best flag to have after all.

There was much scurrying at the last pit stop, and finally, we decided that we’d sleep at home and meet up with everyone at the starting point for the next day. Oh, what a good decision!

 

Day 3

Day 3 started beautifully. My parents had taken the girls to their hotel for the night, so I got to sleep in my own bed after a nice hot shower and dinner with my family.

We woke up by 6 and had nice, leisurely coffee and breakfast. I took a quick shower and headed to Lisa’s where we met Sondra and Jana and Janet drove us over to the Chamblee High School where we started Day3. Janet had flown in from Wisconsin to surprise Lisa, but when it looked like Lisa might not walk, Janet told her about the surprise in an effort to cheer her up. Of course, the surprise was on Janet when Lisa showed up at the airport herself on Saturday night to meet her.

Sunday morning started with even more of a party atmosphere than the other 2 days, which, considering the other 2 days, is saying quite a bit. We walked past plenty of places we knew, and when we walked into Buckhead (the old bar district), there was a couple with a card table handing out Bloody Marys. I didn’t partake, but there were plenty of people who did.

We wove around and made it downtown. Lunch was at GA Tech, where I got my grad degree, so it was nice to see the old campus. We missed walking by the house where Stagg and I met by about .5 miles, which was a little disappointing, but not much. The walking on ay 3 was the hardest. I got my first blisters, and Lisa’s ankle was hurting her to the point where she was willing to mention it. But, we were so close to finishing the whole walk that it wasn’t worth considering stopping. Leaving lunch was tough. We were all stiff and sore after sitting down (we’d decided to take it easy and have a longer lunch so that we wouldn’t be in the holding area at the finish for hours and hours). But right after we got back to walking, there was a sign that said “Every 2 1/2 minutes, a new reason to walk” Motivation? You betcha.

Walking in downtown was great because there was so much to look at. But it was also really hard because you could get stuck in a group going really, really slowly and not be able to get out of it. That happened to us for a little while. But we got over it.

The end was so very, very cool. We walked to Turner Field, where the Braves play and met family and friends outside. Lisa’s family wasn’t there yet because Morgan and Amanda had a meeting a church, but my girls and Stagg and my dad were there. My mom got the chills at church and ended up having to go to bed because she had the flu. I am really bummed that she couldn’t make it.

When you walk into the holding area, all the crew and all the walkers who have gathered are standing in a receiving line of sorts. You walk down the middle to music (Prince’s 1999 was playing for Lisa & I) and everyone goes absolutely nuts cheering for you for finishing.

It was quite a rush. Then you get your victory T-shirt, refuel and join the party to cheer on the others. I honestly can’t say which end of that deal was better. After everone arrived, we got to cheer for the Crew, who had been amazing. And then it was off to Closing ceremonies, where we honored the survivors (281 survivors walked, 44 crewed) with a one shoe salute, and learned that the Atlanta weekend had raised 5.6 Million Dollars for Breast Cancer research. How cool is that?

 
In conclusion….

 
One thing I wanted to mention is that on the first day, Lisa and I passed a woman who was hobbling. Everything about this woman screamed that she was in pain and couldn’t go any further. We offered to flag down a sweep van for her, and told her that she needed to save something for the other days so she could keep walking. She was in bad shape. We walked off the path with her and got her to rest for a minute and she said she’d call a sweep van, so we went on. As we left, Lisa called back that she already was a hero with all that she’d done. She raised the money, she done the trainig and she was on the walk. There was no shame in taking help when it was needed. She said ok, and we parted ways.

We saw her again on the 3rd day. Lisa recognized her and asked her how it was going. She had walked every step. She didn’t give in to whatever pain she’d been having and kept going. She told us that she’d lost a toenail and had to have blood drained from underneath other toes, but she was there to walk, and walk she did. Man, that is dedication. She got big hugs from us, and we parted ways again. I don’t think I would have kept going. But she was determined. Pain is temporary, a cure is forever. Dude, there are some hard core women out there.

Also, the walker who raised the most money got a special tent that was twice the size, had a sweet bed setup and a few other little perks. The woman who got the tent raised over $20,000. She was tall, and thin and obviously going through chemo. But the kicker was that she was NOT going through chemo for breast cancer. She had some completely other type of cancer of some gland or another but believed strongly enough in what the 3 Day stood for that she raised almost 10 times the required amount. How cool is that? She took, as she put it, her bald head, and put it to good use for a good cause.

The walk wasn’t life changing in the way I thought it would be when I started. My life is the same. My house was a mess when I came home, and my kids still think I’m ridiculous for thinking that they need to eat a good dinner, do their homework and go to bed. So far, I haven’t found any superpowers that make my day more interesting or easier. But I know that I’ve done something significant, and that does make a difference.

I’ve leaned that raising $2,300 and walking 60 miles is not impossible. Not only that, but I raised $4,500 and the walking was fun. The reminder that something hard does not have to be a drudgery or boring or impossible will serve me well, and I know it.

I get to live my life from this point forward knowing that when they find a cure for breast cancer (or, hopefully ALL cancer) that I have played a part in it. I have helped raise awareness, raise money and raise spirits as far as this disease is concerned. Take that, Cancer.

I’ve learned that I still love stickers. My credential badge is covered in stickers and they each make me happy. I can’t necessarily tell you which one came from which place, but I know that I did something to earn that sticker, and it feels good to see them there with my route cards.

I’ve learned that the word “boobie” makes me giggle. Even if I’m able to keep it together on the outside, the 12 year old girl on the inside is still giggling about the word. And that is a good thing.

I’ve learned that a cheer will make me smile, and a heart felt thank you will bring me close to tears. And that having a stranger tell me they’re proud of me will make the tears fall.

I’ve also leaned that only 5-10% of breast cancer cases are hereditary. That pisses me off, and now I know what I can do about it. It might not be the most direct route, but it is the one I have, and I am willing to walk it. I have more than 8 women in my life who I am fond of, and I’m not willing to hand another one over to breast cancer and let it have its way with her (or him).

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