3 Days of My Life

Day 1 2000

Woke up VERY HAPPY AND EXCITED!!! YAY!!! Got up, ate a power bar and banana and drank some water, took a shower and chatted with Dave longer than I should have. I was trying to avoid rushing around and ended up getting off to a late start, especially since I had to run back in the house and tell the cats good-bye. But! it was a beautiful, warm morning. Saw some ominous clouds but they just rolled right by. Picked up Candus, then to Elma’s, where she and her husband Steve were waiting anxiously outside. Both Candus and I made sure Elma knew it was my fault we were late. Annette and Pam were driving up separately, since we couldn’t fit all of us and all our gear in one car. Boy, I wish I’d asked Steve to stop at a gas station on the way there, but I was worried we’d be late. We made it to Anderson Park by about 6:15. What an amazing sight: all the 3-Day shirts, the crews, the trucks, the people. WOW!!!! We got in line for the port-o-potties and it took forever. The first of many acts of kindness we experienced: one of the women in the line assigned herself “line captain” and made sure everyone was getting a fair turn in line. Unfortunately, we missed the stretching part of the routine tho we did stretch in line. We also missed breakfast, which was really only a problem for Candus, who hadn’t eaten anything yet. We were afraid we’d miss the Opening Ceremonies, but luckily we didn’t. They started at 7:00 AM.

First the announcer said, “Repeat after me: $10 million dollars!!!!” We screamed! We’d raised more than any other city—more than any other 3-Day event since its beginning in 1998! The money will be split up among five medical institutions across the country. Unbelievable. Then just lots of amazing stuff about how the next three days we’d discover more about ourselves, what we were capable of, the acts of kindness we’d perform and experience. “Expect the unexpected. Expect people to offer you help. Expect people to ask how you’re doing. Expect people to support you and cheer you on in a way you’ve never before experienced. And expect to give that back.” Really, really motivating. I just wasn’t prepared for how heroic we were all made to feel, even before we’d started walking. There was a lot about the cause, of course, but there was so much made of how GREAT we were—and it was amazing and touching and inspiring. I just couldn’t believe it. I thanked Elma for being the one to involve me in this, and she thanked me.

We cried and hugged as the “Survivor Circle” (7 breast cancer survivors holding hands; the empty circle representing those who have lost the fight to breast cancer) moved down a center aisle between all the walkers, and that was just unbelievable. I know it was especially moving for Elma, who was part of the Survivor Circle in last year’s walk. And for Annette, also a breast cancer survivor. It really brought home why we were doing this. Those women who walked down the aisle looked so brave and determined. How could we not do this? Then, at about 7:30...we started walking! Oh, my gosh, this is it! There were some onlookers there already, cheering us on, including Elma’s husband Steve, who had stayed around after dropping us off. We were looking and looking for him as we made our way out of the park, and finally saw him. He and Elma hugged one last time, and off we went. Crew members along the route let a certain number of walkers pass, then held the next group off so we didn’t bunch up too much. Before we had even gotten out of the park, we met a man whose wife had planned on walking with him, but had lost her fight to breast cancer in January. Later we met a woman still fighting breast cancer who’d just had a chemo treatment that Monday.

Most of the 18 miles we would walk on Day 1 were along the Robert McClory bike path. We sang, scratched mosquito bites, and talked with fellow walkers, some of whom were walking alone. We got to the first Grab and Go, and did manage to “grab” some water, but as for the “go” part, the lines for port-o-potties were discouraginly long. Should we get in line or wait for the next stop? Even tho everyone has to stop to drink, eat, pee, rest, or stretch, we kind of hated to stop and lose our place. There were LOTS of people darting off into the bushes to pee, and I could see how that might be an option. We decided to keep going and stop at the first Pit Stop. Candus really needed to eat something. The lines were long here, too, but we decided to stick with it. Candus and Pam stood in the food line while the 3 of us stood in the port-o-potty line. We feasted on banana halves and bagels. The next Pit Stop had shorter lines and better food: brownies, granola bars, Chex mix. Yikes! I almost twisted my ankle walking in the grass.

The volunteer crew members at the Pit Stops and Grab and Go’s were incredibly helpful, hilarious, and motivational. Over and over, they plunged their hands in icy water to get a bottle of Gatorade AND insisted on screwing off the cap for each walker. Each stop had a theme: Camp Weebeehobblin, The Wizard of Oz, which had a yellow brick road to the port-o-potties, Mardi Gras, and Pinkie’s Diner (Today’s special: gatorade and water), complete with crew members in waitress outfits holding trays of water and gatorade aloft, all with appropriate music and “bad” costumes, and SUCH enthusiasm, it made us feel so GREAT! They handed out stickers for stretching, drinking, and peeing. These people put in a LOT of work. My favorite stop, tho, was the “Forrest Gump” stop, which featured Shrimp Juice (gatorade), and plain Shrimp Juice (water). Each of the 50 or so port-o-potties at that stop had a speech from Forrest Gump taped to the front. It was an inspirational speech about how he started running, and ended with, “When I got tired, I slept, when I got hungry, I ate, and when I had to go...you know...I went.” Great. I later found out that Susi’s brother, Tim was one of the crew members of this site. Good on yer, Tim!

Every now and then we passed the designated areas where tired, injured, or just fed-up walkers could wait to be “swept” by the vans that cruised the route and picked up anyone who couldn’t make it to camp...or at all. Yes, you guessed it: the sweeper vans had brooms attached to their windows so they were easy to spot. Seeing the people waiting for the sweeper van made me realize how determined I was to do this.

Zion was the first actual town we passed thru and must’ve been the first official cheering station. It was soooo cool to be cheered! People held up signs for specific walkers, but they made us all feel special. One little girl was announcing, “I give mini hugs!”

It had gotten cloudy and we got rained on as we walked thru Zion, which dampened our spirits not one bit. We put on our yellow jackets and sang some more. The rain didn’t last long. The half-hour or so before lunch was tiring. We were walking through a forest preserve, a winding path that seemed to go on forever. We could see the lo-o-o-ong line of walkers ahead and behind as we wound around the path. I felt a bit discouraged at this point. Just kind of wondering if I could really make it. We were all very happy to see the lunch stop! It was on school grounds with lots of grass and plenty of room to sit and relax. Us veggies had hummus and pita (delicious) with Caesar salad, chips, grapes, and cookies. Taking off our shoes was almost as delicious as lunch. Only 7 miles to go after lunch. Yes, I did say “only.”

The afternoon passed fairly quickly, thanks to wonderful people—walkers, crew members, and everyone who showed up to cheer us on. We got into camp around 4:15. I was exhausted. We found our luggage easily and dragged it across the street to “Tent City.” It took us a while to find our tents, and all I wanted to do at that point was SIT. Luckily, Elma knew how to set up the tent, so it went fairly quickly. Got all settled in, setting up our little travel clock, flashlight, and sleeping bags. The tents were a bit bigger than I had expected—plenty of room for us and our gear. I discovered I had a blister on my fourth toe. Not bad. Called Mom and Dave. So happy to tell them it was all going well.

We dragged ourselves across the street again to the showers, where I worried unnecessarily about showering before eating (they told us not to, because if you cool off too quickly when you’re tired and dehydrated, you can get sick), especially when a woman in line behind me announced she was lightheaded and went to the medical tent. I kept waiting for lightheadedness then to strike me. Of course I was fine. The showers were pretty nice. The stalls were on a huge truck and had plenty of hot water, soap, and shampoo. Outside the trucks were sinks with mirrors (no thanks) and paper towels. Felt good to get my sweaty head wet. My little camp towel worked fine.

I took my first look around camp. It was amazing. There was a general store, medical tents, information booths, places where you could see a massage therapist, a chiropractor, or a podiatrist. I really, REALLY wanted a massage, but there were lines, and it just seemed like too much trouble.

We got in our (short!) line for supper, and even tho I’d eaten all day, I was hungry for something substantial. We ate at picnic tables under a huge tent, and the food was good: spaghetti with mushrooms and peppers, garlic bread, green beans, and cheesecake, which I saved for later but ended up dropping in a port-o-potty on our way back to our tent. Boo! Someone at our table said, “Come for the food, stay for the walk!” The announcements after supper were hilarious. When they announced news, they played Doctor, doctor, give me the news..., when they announced tomorrow’s weather, they played Good Day Sunshine (to much cheering!), and when they announced tomorrow’s route, they played The Long and Winding Road... hilarious. We didn’t stay for the entertainment.

The 5 of us gathered in my and Elma’s tent for a little slumber party. Candus presented each of us with a gift certificate for an hour’s massage. This was her “pledge” to us; the rest of us had donated money to each other. We all agreed that at this point, we’d much rather have the massage! I felt great; just exhausted. Lights out at 9:00 pm. Everyone was supposed to be quiet, then, too, but it’s hard for 3,600 people (mostly women) to settle down and unwind. And the tents are so close together, that even whispering can be heard. Even after everyone quieted down, I didn’t sleep too well. Too tired, I think, plus Elma got up about a million times to go to the bathroom. At one point we both got up together.We sort of sleepily walked arm in arm to the port-o-potties, with my flashlight leading the way. I remember feeling lightheaded. But I guess it was a good sign I had to pee. It got really windy at some point and the top of our tent flew off. Elma got up and fixed it. Woke up feeling kind of crummy, stiff, and sore, but not too bad. It had been a beautiful evening and was a beautiful morning.

Home

Day 2 2000