Look Out!! Nick is Behind You!!--Day Three

So in writing about day three of the 3-Day walk, it should be noted that distance-wise, it is the shortest day.  It also should be noted that most of the pictures in this post are not mine, I have borrowed quite a few of them but I believe that they capture the essence of what day three is all about, primarily, sightseeing in Philly.  Taking photos.  Acting like tourists.  Even though I lived in Philly for 4 years (college) there's a lot of stuff that you just don't take a lot of notice when you are in college. 

Some of you may be curious about the title of my post.  Who is this Nick?  Why must we "look out" for him?  People who have walked the 3-Day at least in recent years know who he is.  He's a guy on the bike who rides at the tail end of the line of walkers.  That's right.  He's the caboose.  When you run into Nick on the first day, with his grey bicycle helmet and pink flag sticking out of the back of his bicycle, you think, isn't this cool?  We're last!  Well at least we got lots of good pictures.  We can go a little faster--or not.  No big deal.  We were the caboose on the first day.  Didn't matter.

On the last day you're on a bit of a tighter schedule.  Everyone has to be at the Navy Yard before 4:30.  So, you feel a little more of a time crunch.  But we managed to fit it all in.  Here's how we did it!

This photo was taken at the convention center shortly before we started the route at 7:30 am.  Rachael's awesome cousin, Karen, who you will see in upcoming photos, was not an official Ta-Ta sister but she lay on the floor and pointed the camera up.  Thank you Karen!  We love you!

 

We began the walk in great spirits, but still sore.  How could we not be, we had just walked over 45 miles over two days?  But I have to say that the route was much more scenic and interesting starting out on this day.  Below is the group walking down Elfreths Alley, the oldest street in the US that is continually inhabited.  By people LOL!

 

 

It started to rain so we covered our shoes with shower caps, duck tape and wrapped it with rubber bands.  I needed photographic evidence of this because it's pretty unbelieveable what people were doing to protect their shoes.





Above is Becki, Christine and me at the Love sculpture.  That was just before we caught sight of Nick (the caboose).  I wanted to get to that first pit stop but had to go to the bathroom (that's a big surprise!)  Once I saw him, he told me I had to stay on the route and wait until the next pit stop.  No big deal--it's only about half a mile away--or IS IT???  So Becki and Christine got on the sweep van (go Honkers!) ironically it was the same van that my lovely tentmate, Cherrill, had given the middle finger to the day before.  So of course, me being as stubborn as I am and NOT wanting to get on that sweep van, I chose to power walk the rest of the way to the pit stop, only pausing to look behind me about every 30 seconds to see if Nick was in sight.  He wasn't by the way.  But I made it to the first pit stop without peeing in my pants.  Thank goodness because all my extra clothes were packed, loaded up on a truck, probably already at the Navy Yard!  Below are some pictures of the beginning of the day.  The first amendment statue was at one of the pit stops (that's me, Tricia, Becki and Christine)

 

To the right over here is Karen, Rachael, Christine, Becki and me visiting the University of Penn Women's Health floor (where Rachael works).  We made people smile when we came in the front door.  I'm not sure if they were laughing with us or at us, but one thing's for sure, we were unforgettable!

 

 On left is me, Becki and Christine eating lunch at Pat's.  Pat's is my favorite cheesesteak place in the city.  My roommates used to wake me up at 2 am to go to Pat's when I was in college.  And I would go in my pajamas.  Shut up, Dominick! (my brother, who prefers Genos!)  We got a picture in front of the skyline too, and next to that is the rest of the team, at Philly High School for lunch.  This was the last stop on the route before the navy yard.

 

I have to say that the second time I was going to get on that sweep van (on the way to Philly High School) was a very difficult time for me.  But in the end I talked myself into it wasn't that much further, and I wouldn't forgive myself for not walking the whole thing, at least this time.  So what did I do?  I sprinted down the sidewalk, caught up with some tipsy 3-Dayers who were singing and having a great old time, and fell in step with them.  At that point I had no choice but to keep going!

 

Another obstacle on the route--this house that had a huge sign in front of it: "Bathrooms and Beer for the Walkers!" The bathrooms sounded okay, but I avoided it for fear of not making it to closing ceremony (beer after walking 57 miles?  don't think so!).  Once we got to Philly High School, with only a couple of miles to go to get to the Navy Yard, it was really down to the wire.  By this time, my feet had been worn down to "bloody stumps"--to quote Becki, I don't think I have ever laughed so hard as I did on day three--second only to Cherrill giving the sweep van the finger on day two! 

 

I walked side by side with Mandy and Tricia to the Navy Yard.  When I saw the sign for it I started to get a little nervous.  I had visions of keeling over just a few feet before reaching the finish line.  But when we got there--the promise land!  

Here are some pictures of the team at the navy yard!  The kids in the picture are Lisa's and Christine's.  Maddie and Josh are the two little blond ones and Marissa is the girl in green who is now taller than the rest of the team :)  What amazing kids out there supporting us!  My kids were up further and did not get a pic with them, unfortunately :( The picture below is us in front of the Navy Yard, before we got to the finish line.

 It was really fitting that the first person I saw after crossing the finish line was my dad, because I walked not only for my team but in memory of his mom.  She passed away a long time ago, but that loss never goes away.  It just gets less over time.  If anyone asks me why I did the 3-Day, I have only one word for them: HOPE.  It's easy to believe that there isn't any hope, with women and men who pass away every day from breast cancer.  But raising money and doing the walk, I feel like I am doing something.  That maybe a cure isn't too far into the future.  It's easy to get disgusted by all the pink ribbon stuff and think--it's all just fluff.  You wear pink and it doesn't mean anything.  But at the same time, to me doing nothing only makes it worse.  Negativity perpetuates negativity. 

This is a sign I saw on the first day.  Some people might think this sign is telling us we are focusing too much on one type of cancer.  That breast cancer is not the be all and end all.  However, Susan G. Komen started as a very small organization and has taken over 20 years to grow.  It was started by one person--her sister.  Organizations like this can be started--all it takes is one person.  Why not an organization like this for ovarian or colon cancer?  There are organizations for all of them, they are not as big as Komen but they can be!  It just takes time for them to grow.

I think that by Komen raising awareness about breast cancer, it tends to have a domino affect, raising awareness about other types of cancer as well.  And that's what I would say to anyone who complains that breast cancer gets too much press.  It gets a lot of press because it's so common--everyone knows someone who has a friend or relative affected by it.  Maybe even you have a friend or relative affected by it.  Maybe you've had a family member pass away from it.  Without organizations like Komen, new cases could not be diagnosed early and treated.  Many women cannot afford the screenings and treatments that they might need. 

I raised over $2400 for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day over this past year.  I am proud of the fact that I not only accomplished this and walked the whole walk, but also, as corny as it sounds, I have helped at least a few people with my contribution.  It is a drop in the bucket considering how much medical costs have skyrocketed over the past few years, but, I did something!  And so did the rest of my team, collectively raising well over $10,000.  I am proud of that as well.

Overall, I had a great experience.  And yes, I would do it again, maybe not next year but I would do it again.  And Nick really isn't a bad guy, once you get to know him.

Faith, Hope and Love,


Angela