Life has been non-stop since the Seattle 3 day. I think Tath's idea of heading to Hawaii for 2 weeks was the best one. Me? Well, I guess I prefer working non-stop, listing my Mom's condo and deciding to move her the very next weekend after the walk. What was I thinking? This is when my motto "I can sleep when I am dead" comes in. The good news is that Mom is in her new condo, everything is out of the old one and all of her boxes are unpacked and removed. We have a little tweaking to do here and there but her place already looks like home with pictures hung!
Enough about that! The 3 day was on eof the most incredible experiences I have ever had. It encompassed physical exhaustion, emotional joy and sorrow, witnessing the strength and perserverance of many and the outright love and generosity of complete strangers. It was a WOW all the way around the block.
The Thursday before the walk, the entire team was staying in Bellevue at the Hilton for ease of transport to the opening ceremonies Friday morning. After hearing horror stories of walkers getting stuck in our infamous traffic and missing opening ceremonies, we hastily agreed to the hotel option that included a shuttle to opening. Tath had secured the party room at Azteca for our family/team dinner and our family joined us for a fun send off. Although I was very excited to start the walk, I found that I had calmed down once my bags were packed. I slept like a baby until our 3 a.m. wake up call and excitedly boarded the bus at 4:30 in the morning. Little did I know that I still had a 23 mile walk ahead of me!
The line of traffic and headlights heading into the Redmond Park was amazing to see so early in the morning. Reports were that there were 2400 Seattle walkers. That equates to a lot of cars pulling into the opening ceremony park. We took our group photo in the dark.
And then Terry and I took our first official 3 day pic!
There was a lot of excitement in the air. Tath was going to be a part of opening ceremonies, carrying a flag as a survivor. The rest of the team gathered at the front of the walker's pen and I shed tears during the emotional start of what we had been training and planning for since March. The flag is raised with the names of those that were lost, bringing the meaning of this journey full circle.
A few minutes later, we headed to the other end of the park, collected our route card and started the first steps of 60 miles.
Now, while the route card says 22.5 miles, the actual amount we walked on day 1 was more like 25 when you consider the opening ceremonies, and camp site walking. I love when I tell people we walked from Redmond to Everett. The look on their face is priceless! I really did great, my legs were fine until we hit about mile 18 or 19. My knee was awesome! I iced it during lunch as a just-in-case measure, but it didn't bother me at all. Along the walk, we encountered some supporters, lots of volunteers in pink and were elated to see our daughter Andrea and her partner Jackie at the cheering station. It was a Friday and most people were working, so the turnout was light.
My feet were burning by this point. I had taped my feet in the morning with moleskin and duct tape, also in prevention. There was no way I was stopping to look with a mere 5 miles left to walk, so onward I trudged. The last two miles were pure torture. When we rounded a corner that had a sign that said "1 mile to camp" I thought I would break down into a 2 year old temper tantrum right there. Rather than being elated, I thought I could not step one more step with the foot pain I was experiencing. My husband, God love him, held my hand the last 2 miles, encouraging me every step of the way. When we finally climbed the hill into camp, the vast camp site, larger than a football field was also daunting. Pick up your bags to the right, find your tent site, put up your tent, inflate your air mattress, etc. During all of this time, I did nothing. My amazing husband did it all. When the air mattress was inflated, I crawled inside, laid down and closed my eyes. Breathe, breathe, breathe. I can honestly say that I have never been that exhausted in all of my life. A few minutes later, I scrambled in my suitcase for my flip flops and slowly (and painfully) removed my shoes. Aha, that is why I was in so much pain. Crap!
On my right foot, larger than a quarter, was a blood blister. On my left foot, I had a regular blister, 4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Great. I hobbled to the medical tent (another football field away). They took one look at the blood blister, said they should lance it but if they did I would be red-carded. Awesome! Work your behind off for months, train every weekend and this happens. I exit stage left, no one is going to red card me and send me home! Not going to happen! I hobble over tot he self-help area and gather some alcohol wipes and begin cleaning it off. Later, after a shower, I clean both feet again and decide not to bandage them for the evening. Open air is likely the best healer of all.
Still exhausted but feeling slightly better after my shower in the shower trailer, Terry and I head to dinner. Why is everything so dang far away??? Sheesh!
By 8:00 that night, I was done. Done with a capital D. Up since 3 a.m. walked about 25 miles and major foot pain going on. That little tent and that air mattress were looking pretty good to me at this point.
A good night's sleep was in order in our home away from home. Day 2 tomorrow!
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