Less Than One Week to Go!

I never thought I would see the day come, where I could say, "it's just 5 days until the 3 Day Walk!"  I have been fundraising and training for nearly a year now.  It hasn't always been easy along the way, but finding this picture in an old photo album:

has made it a little easier to say: yes I can do this.  Nonna didn't live to see any of her grandchildren get married.  But doing the walk, maybe more grandmas can live long enough to see their grandchildren get married, maybe even see great grandchildren.  And maybe more mothers will live long enough to see their own children get married (it is scary to even think of this possiblity, but diagnoses happen younger and younger).  My tentmate, Cherrill I am proud to say is a four-time cancer survivor.  She has four awesome grandkids!  And is one of the most inspirational people I have ever known!  She has told me many times, "I want to live to see my grandkids get married."  And being able to raise this money and do the walk, has brought us closer to the possibilities all of us have in life. 

I had a mammogram this week, it was at a great place and more of them are popping up all over, "Breast Health Centers" that are affiliated with local hospitals.  As I was getting dressed to go pick up my younger daughter, I saw this quote on the mirror:

I really think this is true.  Laughter and a positive attitude is key in getting through tough, stressful experiences.  This past week a longtime family friend passed away from multiple cancers, and schlerederma that she suffered with for years.  This woman was probably the most upbeat person I ever met in my life.  She was active and loved by many.  It hurts to have to put her name on my shirt as someone who is not here anymore.  In addition to the many other people that are too numerous to list here, I walk for her. 

OK I am sitting here crying my eyes out.  So I will close out this blog post with a fun picture from our team dinner last night.

Top row, from left, me, Lisa, Cherrill.  Bottom row, from left, Mandy, Christine and Tricia.

We went to a Benihana.  And sat with two of the most fun people we could have asked for.  We had a lot of laughs, took pictures and just had the best time ever!  I am looking forward to spending next weekend with these wonderful ladies, as well as meeting great new folks!

I will try to get in one more post before the 3-Day, but my phone doesn't do a great job of blogging so I most likely will wait until after next weekend to post more.  Of course there will be lots of photos of the event--I am told that it's quite a feast for the eyes! 

Faith, Hope and Love,

Angela

Our 18 Mile LBI Training Walk

Two weeks ago today, I along with 3 of my team members embarked on an 18 mile training walk across Long Beach Island, in southern NJ.  Another team member, Tricia, who is happily expecting a baby boy in December, was our sweep van person and mile marker.  She was amazing and we could have NEVER done it without her.  She met us every 3-4 miles with plenty of water and Gatorade, snacks, and was the best cheerleader we could have asked for. 

I have lots of photos and some great videos that I took towards the end of the walk.  Truly we became almost delirious towards the end.  Not sure how I'm gonna do that 3 days in a row, but we'll see what happens.

From left, Lisa, me, Cherrill, Christine and Tricia on the end.  This is by the Barnegat Lighthouse, right before we started the walk.  It is 9:30 in the morning and the air is filled with excitement and anticipation. 

These two pics are from mile 3, all our shoes on the left, and Tricia waiting for us across the street with the van.  At this point, we're all feeling great and the walk seems to be going quickly!  As we walked further down the island, through Loveladies, Harvey Cedars, North Beach, Surf City, our pace started slowing down a little bit.  We needed food, and we needed it quickly!

 

At around mile 8 and a quarter, we stopped at a great family restaurant called Scojo's.  Here we could use the bathroom, get some sandwiches, water, and Cherrill could soak her hand in ice so that her rings would come off.  (I don't recommend wearing rings if you're going to walk all day).

 

 

And then our waitress told us something.  I will never forget her as long as I walk this earth.  She was going in for a mastectomy on Monday.  She thanked us for doing the walk.  She started to cry.  Cherrill, a 4-time cancer survivor, hugged her.  The reality of what I am doing hit me like a ton of bricks.  Holy shit.  Until I started on this journey I never realized how many women and men are affected by breast cancer every day.  I will carry this woman's story with me in my heart every day.  How could I possibly not?  It was fate that our paths all crossed on that day.  I hope that she realizes that no matter what, she is not alone.

 

 

These pictures are almost 3/4 of the way through the walk.  At one point Lisa, (above, on the right) was actually heard to say, "You know, this concrete is pretty comfortable," as she lay down on her back on the sidewalk.  At that point, we are starting to run out of steam.  Christine is here on the left, wearing a flower on her hat, in honor of her friend Kathi who passed away from breast cancer a few months ago.  We will all be wearing her picture on a pin during the walk. 

 The picture here on the right doesn't need much of a caption.  Lisa is lying on the sidewalk, I am sitting with my head down and cap pulled over my face.  And Cherrill and Christine are stretched out like they might be trying to sunbathe but probably are passed out from exhaustion.  Imagine if it had been mid summer.  Boy would we have been screwed :)

The picture here at the bottom is us near the end of the walk.  I'd say about mile 16.  We are almost at the end of Beach Haven here.
Below right is us stopping at Fantasy Island to use the restroom, and ended up being high fived by several employees, and given free pink glitter ribbon tattoos (I still have mine!)  What fantastic ladies that we met there.



The video here above is titled "Are we there yet?"  This features Christine and me babbling about the weather, how long this walk has taken us, and not believing we are not done yet and it's already almost 7 at night!  Yes believe this, we didn't finish the walk until 7:45 at night!

 

To the right is the sign for Holgate, the last town of the island.  By the time the walk ended it had started to rain and was pretty much pitch black.  One last video image I will leave you with depicts our last quarter mile.  It is something to see!

I know this is an extra long post.  I'm hoping you read/watched until the end.  It was a great experience for our team and I'm so excited to be walking with these wonderful ladies two weeks from now!  Even though I know it's going to be an emotional weekend, I couldn't have asked for a better team to share it with!  Along with 3,000 other great people, many of whom I have yet to meet.  But I can't wait!

Faith, Hope and Love,

Angela

 



My Training Walks

It's only about a month until the 3-Day and I have done a few long training walks.  This Saturday I plan on doing an 18-mile walk on Long Beach Island.  Along with 4 of my team members we will be walking from Barnegat Lighthouse to Beach Haven. 

One of the things over the last month that has really done me in is the heat.  It hasn't been so bad in the past few weeks, but end of July was probably the worst.  Below is a video I recorded in the middle of one of my long training walks.  It was about 95 degrees outside with high humidity.

The good news is I discovered The Walking Company.  Got my foot analyzed by their computer and special insoles, as well as a great pair of shoes.

Also, discovered Wacoal for a great sports bra.  They are expensive but you can't beat them for support!

I have come to the conclusion that if you are cup size C and above, regular sports bras will not do it!  You need underwire.  I love this one!  I wear it for walks and for going to the gym.

I will be back in a few days to talk about other stuff I did this past weekend, but needed to catch up on my posting.  Below are some pictures of things that got me through the heat!

 

 The ice cream truck, where I purchased Pina Colada water ice (no alcohol of course) and beautiful shady areas.  Nothing beats that walking path especially on a hot day!















The blue drink is something I had on vacation a few weeks ago.  That and a pool helped so much!


Today is Labor Day!  In two more days my oldest will be starting school.  Next week my youngest will start her school year.  I can't believe the whole summer has passed and still have done just 10 miles at one time.  Have been going to the gym faithfully 4 times a week.  One month and 2 days until the 3-Day!

Faith, Hope and Love,


Angela