What a weekend! What a ride of emotions! What an amazing experience! I am still bubbling with excitement two weeks later, and have so much to say! For those of you who are anxious for details, here's how it went... On Saturday, I arrived in Grant Park around 4:30 am. As I walker, I technically didn't have to be there for another hour or so, but I hitched a ride with my friend Lee, who was cheerfully volunteering at the opening ceremonies. There wasn't much for me to do other than grab breakfast and throw my luggage on the "gear truck." There were two women working outside of the truck, and I thought I'd battle my nervousness by making small talk, asking why they were volunteering. The older of the two women smiled and said "because I am a survivor," and the younger said "I'm her daughter," then a man stuck his head out of the truck and said "and I'm her husband!" That's all it took for me to get choked up I knew I would meet people and hear stories like that, but I hadn't counted on it at 4:45 am! The opening ceremony started at 6:30 with a yoga instructor leading us through a bunch of stretches. You haven't experienced yoga until you've heard a 2,000-person "Ohmmmmmm." Then came some remarks from the president of the Avon Foundation & a safety video... obvious things like no talking on cell phones while walking, look out for one another, keep your eyes out for potholes, etc. (Perhaps I should have watched that part of the video more closely...) We all joined hands, said yippee, and started walking. I met some awesome people on my journey. I was fortunate enough to join a group of about 20 walkers for dinner the Thursday before the event. They call themselves the Oak Park Streetwalkers and were a fun, feisty group of ladies (plus one supportive husband) from all age groups & walks of life. Having some familiar faces to find in the crowd made a big difference. Deb brought her "antique" kazoo from her college days. We'd look out for people taking off layers of clothes, & she'd burst into a sultry rendition of "The Stripper Song." Of course, this would send me into fits of hysterics. Judy was a die-hard Cubs fan who kept sticking her head into bars to check out the score. Susi wore ladybug wings and gave us presents -- mine was a plastic toilet key chain filled with grape lip gloss. Some were survivors. One woman, weak from chemo, was pushed the entire way in a wheelchair by a team of people. On Sunday when she stood up to walk across the finish line, I don't think there was a dry eye in the park. People from the community cheered us on. Some came out of their houses as "the parade" passed by, some honked in their cars, and some were more active. A family dressed in pink brought a bubble machine along & cheered every few miles. I don't know what their story was, but I imagine that they had been affected by breast cancer in some way. One walker's husband dressed like an angel and rode his bike along the route, encouraging us and looking out for us. I was told that the Avon Walk would be a 40-mile buffet, and I was not disappointed. Everywhere, crew members and other walkers were encouraging us to eat and drink; no calorie counting or dieting allowed! The general rule was if you're hungry or thirsty, you're too late. Our mantra was "Drink, Pee, No IV." The crew made our rest stops fun by dressing up, cheering and generally trying to make us laugh. Other crew members included the Motorcycle Safety Crew -- bikers who would stop traffic as groups of walkers crossed. There's something surreal about having a biker tell you you're looking great & asking you if you've peed lately... Another crew position was the Sweep Team. The sweepers' job was to drive the route, looking for walkers in need of assistance. Whether you were injured or simply exhausted, the sweepers would cheerfully pick you up (sometimes literally) and take you to wherever you needed to go. Unfortunately, I needed to take advantage of the sweepers. Around the eighth mile, I tripped over a small pothole in the street. I could have continued with the scraped knee and palms, but the obviously sprained ankle was my downfall. Talk about disappointment! I sat in the street and cried, surrounded by the sweet optimistic walkers I had been chatting with as well as a dozen or so walkers who witnessed my tumble from behind. I could not believe that I had worked so hard to raise money & walked so many miles in training, only to get knocked out of the game less than 1/4 of the way through! Marcia and Joe were the sweepers who scooped me up. I could not have asked for nicer people. It didn't take long for Marcia to calm me down; she had walked before and had been "swept" many times, and she told me that I shouldn't be upset because I had done what I needed to do -- I raised nearly $2,000 for breast cancer! They drove me to the lunch stop where a doctor took a look at me and told me I was done walking for the day. I got onto the shuttle bus & went to the Wellness Village, which was to be my home for the night. The Wellness Village must have taken an amazing amount of work to plan and set-up. There was a huge medical tent with doctors, physical therapists (PTs), massage therapists, chiropractors, and even people to pop blisters! I was certainly fortunate not to have blisters -- I didn't get to walk far enough! -- but many were not so lucky. Blisters were their "war wounds," and were freely compared and even bragged about! My medical tent experience was limited to the PTs who iced and wrapped and taped me up a couple times. There were also showers, with plenty of hot water. It felt fantastic! There was a huge dining tent that hosted entertainment at night, and about 1200 little blue tents. On Sunday morning a storm blew in while we were all asleep. I think it woke every one of us up... the wind and rain was almost deafening in our tents! Of course, after drinking all day Saturday I woke up with the terrible realization that I desperately needed a trip to the port-a-potty, but fell back asleep while pondering the logistics of how to get out of the tent without drenching myself and my poor tent-mate, Cheri. After breakfast on Sunday morning, a PT taped the heck out of my ankle & I took the shuttle bus to the lunch stop, which was about 4 miles from the closing ceremony. I started slowly hobbling toward Grant Park. Walkers encouraged me as they passed, sweep vans slowed down to check that I was alright, the motorcycle crew held traffic a bit longer than usual... and two and a half hours later, I was at the finish line. It started raining about half an hour before I got there, but it did not deter the crowd of people -- walkers, crew members, and their families -- who cheered as Walkers finished. I had just enough time to get my ankle iced and change into my pink t-shirt before the closing ceremony. Although many Walkers had skipped the closing due to the rain, well over 1000 of us gathered in front of the stage, so proud of ourselves. They presented a check for $1.3 million dollars ($1,300,000.00!!!) -- only a portion of what we had raised -- to a local hospital for breast cancer, and we were introduced to a woman who was alive thanks to treatments paid for by the Avon Foundation. About halfway through the ceremony, the sun came out. It was such an amazing ending to an amazing weekend. Thank you for supporting me in this incredible event! I'll be sure to keep you "abreast" of my plans for next year! At this time, I certainly intend to be involved in a breast cancer walk in some way, shape or form whether it is the Avon 2-Day or the Komen 3-Day (or both)! As long as one in eight women are afflicted with this horrendous disease, I feel obligated, compelled and honored to do something about it. |
Me & Lee, happy as can be -- at 4:30 am! |
Reaching for the stars... |
Debby-Doo and her old kazoo! |
She smiled the whole 39.3 miles |
The Pinkys! (Coming this fall to the WB?) |
My guardian angel wears a pink tutu... How 'bout yours? |
Me, Marcia & Joe... Only Mom & Dad could have done better! |
Sunset over Tent City |
Ouch! And they had another 13 miles to look forward to... |
Partying in the rain at the Closing Ceremony |
Susi & Me Looking forward to 2004! |
