ChristinaK
Cathlete
I'm mostly a lurker here but I posted late last year about my plan to do the Breast Cancer 3Day and some wonderful ladies shared their stories of this event and other similar ones. I also had some donations from people I didn't know that I think came from here. So I wanted to share my story of the event.
This weekend I walked the Breast Cancer 3Day in memory of my mom. It was an awesome and amazing experience and I wanted to share the story of my weekend.
Friday morning Opening Ceremonies kicked off from Texas Stadium. The traffic situation was not managed well and we got a late start. We were supposed to start at 7:30 but it was a little after 8 when we started. It was very windy on Friday and quite cold. I was planning on just wearing a sweatshirt over my tshirt but my family brought my jacket to me as we were heading out of Texas Stadium because of the wind. We went up a really big hill immediately out of the stadium. The first pit stop was at 3.3 miles. It took a really long time to get there because we were all jammed up walking in 2s and stopping for traffic lights for part of the first 3 miles. From Pit Stop 1 to Pit Stop 2 there were some people cheering. There was a group dressed in poodle skirts and saddle shoes with pink pom poms. They had a sign that said they were the Pink Ladies. At one house along the way there were pink ribbons in all the trees and a little boy in a Superman costume giving high fives. The wind was still really cold. I was feeling pretty good but noticed I was getting a couple of hot spots on the balls of my feet. Pit Stop 2 was at 6.1 miles. I put some lubricant on my feet but I had forgotten to buy any moleskin.
Around 7 or 7.5 miles I saw my family. I had the best cheering crew! My Granny, aunt and cousin came to the walk and were there all weekend cheering me on. They were parked at a CVS and I went in and bought some moleskin for my hot spots. I put the moleskin on and moved on. Pit Stop 3 was at 9.1 miles. I was still feeling pretty good then. The next stop after that was lunch at 12.4 miles. There were quite a few hills going into the lunch stop and we were walking into wind that was 30 to 40 miles per hour. This was a really challenging part of the walk and I had a hard time in to lunch. At lunch I took a stretch break and changed my socks. When I got up from lunch, I noticed that my feet were really hurting. My feet pretty much hurt the rest of the day. We had stops at 15.4 miles and 17.3 miles. There was a cheering station at 17.9 miles. I saw my family there which helped my spirits. The last mile or so into camp was on a pretty trail. By that time my feet were really hurting and my hips were bothering me. I was quite slow walking into camp. I met some nice ladies from Wichita Kansas and walked with them a little ways into camp. Camp was at 19.2 miles. I made it there at 5:30. After I finished, I checked out of camp and walked to the pick up spot for my family to get me. Since I was walking by myself and my family was there I opted to stay with them instead of staying at camp. I was really sore at the end of Day 1.
Day 2 was 19.8 miles. I knew I was going to be slower because I was sore so I lined up near the front of the line so I could start right at 7:40. I'm glad I did because it took me almost the entire time to make it in but I got passed all day long by faster walkers. I was pretty much hurting all day on Day 2. The first mile out of camp there was a really big hill that was tough. The first stop was at 1.9 miles. I was feeling ok then. There was a cheering station at 4.2 were I saw my family and the second stop was at 4.9. I was starting to hurt more by then. The next stop was at 8.1. The walk between 4.9 and 8.1 went by Six Flags and the Ballpark in Arlington and through some really pretty park areas. By this time I was hurting pretty bad though and didn't really notice the scenery. I must have been looking pretty bad too because the sweep vans would slow way down everytime they passed me and they even stopped and asked if I was all right. Lots of people passing me would ask if I was alright too. I was talking to myself a lot through this section. If there wasn't any one around to hear me I would start giving myself a pep talk. The next stop after the 3rd Pit was lunch at 10.1 miles. It was supposed to be only 2 miles but it seemed a lot longer. It took me an hour to go from Pit 3 to lunch. I must have looked really bad because the medics driving around on a gator checking on people stopped and asked if I was okay. When I said yes they asked if I was sure! I finally made it into lunch. Lunch closed at 1:45 and if you weren't on your way out by then they would sweep you to the next stop. I didn't want to be swept so I gulped down my food, changed my socks, refilled my water, stopped at the porta potties and headed out at 1:40. I felt a little better after lunch. I had taken some motrin and put Biofreeze on my legs and I perked up some. From lunch to the Cheering Station at 12.9 was pretty good. I was hurting but it was manageable. I still felt ok at the next Pit at 13.3. After that we went through a neighborhood with lots of hills and sidewalks and curbs. All the curbs we walked killed me. I did most of my traing in my neighborhood without sidewalks and curbs and the stepping up and down on the curbs all weekend killed my hips and calves. The next stop was at 15.3. I was hurting pretty bad by then. I called my family and they said that they were at a gas station near mile 16. On the way to the gas station, I saw a lady vomiting. It was quite hot Saturday afternoon so I am afraid that she was having heat problems. There was a Safety crew person at the intersection next to the gas station so he was able to call for medical attention for her right away. I talked to my family for a few minutes and they told me they had driven the route and clocked the distance to the gate into the park where camp was at 3.5 miles. From there I walked into the last pit stop at 18.6. This section was brutual. It was long and flat but there was no shade and nothing to look at. It was just sidewalk and road. At this point my entire lower body was hurting and I felt like I could feel every bone in my feet. I was pretty much miserable. People were continually passing me and asking if I was okay. The sweep vans starting circling and would really slow down when they passed me. They picked up quite a few people along this stretch. I didn't want to be swept so I just kept walking and would give them the thumbs up when they drove by. My cousin was waiting for me when I walked into the last Pit stop. She walked me in and I sat on the tailgate of the car with my family for a couple of minutes before I went on in to Pit. From the pit to camp was 1.2 miles. It was a really long 1.2 miles. When I was coming in one of the crew members greeted me and asked if she could walk me in to camp. I figured I must look pretty bad and that I appeared to need an escort. When I walked in I was group hugged by the fairies - three middle aged burly men wearing tutus or grass skirts, pink wigs, and waving wands. They were pretty funny.
Day 3 they bused us from Arlington to Fort Worth to walk. I got in line for the bus at 7:15 but it was 7:45 before I was able to get on the bus. I didn't get to start walking until 8:10. I was really worried about the time factor because it was a shorter day timewise and the cutoff times were a lot closer together. I was okay timewise for the first couple of stops. When I made the stop at 5.5 they were reminding us that we had to be at Pit Stop 3 by 12:20 to stay on schedule. Pit 3 was at 8.9 miles and I knew I was going to be close on time. We were walking through downtown Fort Worth and had to stop for lots of lights. We also walked lots of hills and across a really long bridge that we had to walk in 2s. I was really worried about the cutoff time. I saw my family at a McDonald's pretty close to pit. I told them I couldn't stop because I was close on time. My uncle and cousin walked with me for a little bit. Then my uncle dropped off and my cousin walked me into Pit. She held my fanny pack while I went to the restroom and refilled my water bottle. I made pit at 12:05 and left by 12:10. The next stop was lunch. I had to be out of the lunch stop by 1:50. It was a 12.1 miles. On the way to lunch we walked through a lovely neighborhood of period homes with sidewalks and HIGH curbs. The curbs were killer. I was really struggling through this part and was afraid I wasn't going to make the lunch cutoff. We finally left that neighborhood and the walking conditions were a little better for me. I saw my family again and said I couldn't stop because I was running behind. They told me the lunch stop was just ahead. I hit lunch at 1:30. I ate part of a sandwich and a cookie and changed my socks. When I stood up I realized that I had dropped my camera when I had taken a picture coming into lunch. I freaked out and went to a crew person to ask for lost and found. She directed me to another crew member who said another crew member had found a camera. She described him to me and I went looking for him. I got my camera back thankfully. It was almost time for lunch to close. I refilled my water bottle but had to skip the restroom because the line was long and I didn't want to miss the cutoff. After that there was only one more stop at 15.4 miles. We went up and down some more hills and then onto a 2 mile stretch of trail. I was feeling pretty good at this point. My calves and feet still hurt but I was pretty sure I was going to make it. There were a lot people walking at that point because we all left lunch at the same time. I was still worried about making the cutoff time though. When I arrived at Pit 4 they were telling everyone that the pit closed in 10 minutes so go the restroom, refill your water and get out of pit. I left about 3:10. From there we had 1.7 miles to go and we needed to be there by 4:00. I figured I would make it in at about 3:45. We walked into the Stockyards. My aunt and cousin were waiting on me with flowers and walked me in. I saw my granny and uncle and they gave me flowers too. When I walked into the last section into the stockyards and the finish line there were hundreds of people clapping and cheering and highfiving me. It was Awesome! I crossed the finish line right about 3:45. Closing ceremonies were around 4:30 and they were really cool.
I had a really wonderful time and can't wait to do it again. I meet a lot of really neat people and heard lots of wonderful stories. It was the most fun I've ever had while being absolutely miserable at the same time!
I put some of my pictures on Picture Trail and I'm going to try to link it. I added comments but I couldn't get them to work in slideshow mode. They show up under the individual pictures though.
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery...99&gid=13472504
This weekend I walked the Breast Cancer 3Day in memory of my mom. It was an awesome and amazing experience and I wanted to share the story of my weekend.
Friday morning Opening Ceremonies kicked off from Texas Stadium. The traffic situation was not managed well and we got a late start. We were supposed to start at 7:30 but it was a little after 8 when we started. It was very windy on Friday and quite cold. I was planning on just wearing a sweatshirt over my tshirt but my family brought my jacket to me as we were heading out of Texas Stadium because of the wind. We went up a really big hill immediately out of the stadium. The first pit stop was at 3.3 miles. It took a really long time to get there because we were all jammed up walking in 2s and stopping for traffic lights for part of the first 3 miles. From Pit Stop 1 to Pit Stop 2 there were some people cheering. There was a group dressed in poodle skirts and saddle shoes with pink pom poms. They had a sign that said they were the Pink Ladies. At one house along the way there were pink ribbons in all the trees and a little boy in a Superman costume giving high fives. The wind was still really cold. I was feeling pretty good but noticed I was getting a couple of hot spots on the balls of my feet. Pit Stop 2 was at 6.1 miles. I put some lubricant on my feet but I had forgotten to buy any moleskin.
Around 7 or 7.5 miles I saw my family. I had the best cheering crew! My Granny, aunt and cousin came to the walk and were there all weekend cheering me on. They were parked at a CVS and I went in and bought some moleskin for my hot spots. I put the moleskin on and moved on. Pit Stop 3 was at 9.1 miles. I was still feeling pretty good then. The next stop after that was lunch at 12.4 miles. There were quite a few hills going into the lunch stop and we were walking into wind that was 30 to 40 miles per hour. This was a really challenging part of the walk and I had a hard time in to lunch. At lunch I took a stretch break and changed my socks. When I got up from lunch, I noticed that my feet were really hurting. My feet pretty much hurt the rest of the day. We had stops at 15.4 miles and 17.3 miles. There was a cheering station at 17.9 miles. I saw my family there which helped my spirits. The last mile or so into camp was on a pretty trail. By that time my feet were really hurting and my hips were bothering me. I was quite slow walking into camp. I met some nice ladies from Wichita Kansas and walked with them a little ways into camp. Camp was at 19.2 miles. I made it there at 5:30. After I finished, I checked out of camp and walked to the pick up spot for my family to get me. Since I was walking by myself and my family was there I opted to stay with them instead of staying at camp. I was really sore at the end of Day 1.
Day 2 was 19.8 miles. I knew I was going to be slower because I was sore so I lined up near the front of the line so I could start right at 7:40. I'm glad I did because it took me almost the entire time to make it in but I got passed all day long by faster walkers. I was pretty much hurting all day on Day 2. The first mile out of camp there was a really big hill that was tough. The first stop was at 1.9 miles. I was feeling ok then. There was a cheering station at 4.2 were I saw my family and the second stop was at 4.9. I was starting to hurt more by then. The next stop was at 8.1. The walk between 4.9 and 8.1 went by Six Flags and the Ballpark in Arlington and through some really pretty park areas. By this time I was hurting pretty bad though and didn't really notice the scenery. I must have been looking pretty bad too because the sweep vans would slow way down everytime they passed me and they even stopped and asked if I was all right. Lots of people passing me would ask if I was alright too. I was talking to myself a lot through this section. If there wasn't any one around to hear me I would start giving myself a pep talk. The next stop after the 3rd Pit was lunch at 10.1 miles. It was supposed to be only 2 miles but it seemed a lot longer. It took me an hour to go from Pit 3 to lunch. I must have looked really bad because the medics driving around on a gator checking on people stopped and asked if I was okay. When I said yes they asked if I was sure! I finally made it into lunch. Lunch closed at 1:45 and if you weren't on your way out by then they would sweep you to the next stop. I didn't want to be swept so I gulped down my food, changed my socks, refilled my water, stopped at the porta potties and headed out at 1:40. I felt a little better after lunch. I had taken some motrin and put Biofreeze on my legs and I perked up some. From lunch to the Cheering Station at 12.9 was pretty good. I was hurting but it was manageable. I still felt ok at the next Pit at 13.3. After that we went through a neighborhood with lots of hills and sidewalks and curbs. All the curbs we walked killed me. I did most of my traing in my neighborhood without sidewalks and curbs and the stepping up and down on the curbs all weekend killed my hips and calves. The next stop was at 15.3. I was hurting pretty bad by then. I called my family and they said that they were at a gas station near mile 16. On the way to the gas station, I saw a lady vomiting. It was quite hot Saturday afternoon so I am afraid that she was having heat problems. There was a Safety crew person at the intersection next to the gas station so he was able to call for medical attention for her right away. I talked to my family for a few minutes and they told me they had driven the route and clocked the distance to the gate into the park where camp was at 3.5 miles. From there I walked into the last pit stop at 18.6. This section was brutual. It was long and flat but there was no shade and nothing to look at. It was just sidewalk and road. At this point my entire lower body was hurting and I felt like I could feel every bone in my feet. I was pretty much miserable. People were continually passing me and asking if I was okay. The sweep vans starting circling and would really slow down when they passed me. They picked up quite a few people along this stretch. I didn't want to be swept so I just kept walking and would give them the thumbs up when they drove by. My cousin was waiting for me when I walked into the last Pit stop. She walked me in and I sat on the tailgate of the car with my family for a couple of minutes before I went on in to Pit. From the pit to camp was 1.2 miles. It was a really long 1.2 miles. When I was coming in one of the crew members greeted me and asked if she could walk me in to camp. I figured I must look pretty bad and that I appeared to need an escort. When I walked in I was group hugged by the fairies - three middle aged burly men wearing tutus or grass skirts, pink wigs, and waving wands. They were pretty funny.
Day 3 they bused us from Arlington to Fort Worth to walk. I got in line for the bus at 7:15 but it was 7:45 before I was able to get on the bus. I didn't get to start walking until 8:10. I was really worried about the time factor because it was a shorter day timewise and the cutoff times were a lot closer together. I was okay timewise for the first couple of stops. When I made the stop at 5.5 they were reminding us that we had to be at Pit Stop 3 by 12:20 to stay on schedule. Pit 3 was at 8.9 miles and I knew I was going to be close on time. We were walking through downtown Fort Worth and had to stop for lots of lights. We also walked lots of hills and across a really long bridge that we had to walk in 2s. I was really worried about the cutoff time. I saw my family at a McDonald's pretty close to pit. I told them I couldn't stop because I was close on time. My uncle and cousin walked with me for a little bit. Then my uncle dropped off and my cousin walked me into Pit. She held my fanny pack while I went to the restroom and refilled my water bottle. I made pit at 12:05 and left by 12:10. The next stop was lunch. I had to be out of the lunch stop by 1:50. It was a 12.1 miles. On the way to lunch we walked through a lovely neighborhood of period homes with sidewalks and HIGH curbs. The curbs were killer. I was really struggling through this part and was afraid I wasn't going to make the lunch cutoff. We finally left that neighborhood and the walking conditions were a little better for me. I saw my family again and said I couldn't stop because I was running behind. They told me the lunch stop was just ahead. I hit lunch at 1:30. I ate part of a sandwich and a cookie and changed my socks. When I stood up I realized that I had dropped my camera when I had taken a picture coming into lunch. I freaked out and went to a crew person to ask for lost and found. She directed me to another crew member who said another crew member had found a camera. She described him to me and I went looking for him. I got my camera back thankfully. It was almost time for lunch to close. I refilled my water bottle but had to skip the restroom because the line was long and I didn't want to miss the cutoff. After that there was only one more stop at 15.4 miles. We went up and down some more hills and then onto a 2 mile stretch of trail. I was feeling pretty good at this point. My calves and feet still hurt but I was pretty sure I was going to make it. There were a lot people walking at that point because we all left lunch at the same time. I was still worried about making the cutoff time though. When I arrived at Pit 4 they were telling everyone that the pit closed in 10 minutes so go the restroom, refill your water and get out of pit. I left about 3:10. From there we had 1.7 miles to go and we needed to be there by 4:00. I figured I would make it in at about 3:45. We walked into the Stockyards. My aunt and cousin were waiting on me with flowers and walked me in. I saw my granny and uncle and they gave me flowers too. When I walked into the last section into the stockyards and the finish line there were hundreds of people clapping and cheering and highfiving me. It was Awesome! I crossed the finish line right about 3:45. Closing ceremonies were around 4:30 and they were really cool.
I had a really wonderful time and can't wait to do it again. I meet a lot of really neat people and heard lots of wonderful stories. It was the most fun I've ever had while being absolutely miserable at the same time!
I put some of my pictures on Picture Trail and I'm going to try to link it. I added comments but I couldn't get them to work in slideshow mode. They show up under the individual pictures though.
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery...99&gid=13472504
