As we exited the starting chute, passed through the blue pillars of strength - where we would start and finish each day - we walked along the mall driveway and started to realize just how cold it really was outside. It was especially cold for the girls from Florida who weren’t used to this kind of weather. These were just observations though, not complaints.
A few steps ahead our credentials were scanned and we were handed a route card for the day. 20.9 miles. At that moment I still believed in actual miles, however I’d soon find out that a 3 Day or Breast Cancer mile was much longer than a typical mile. There are many theories on whether or not the mileage is understated intentionally or not; I suppose I may never really know the truth.
At our first major intersection we encountered a gentleman cheering us on with over the top enthusiasm. We marvelled at his attire - shorts and sandals and wondered if he was cold. He wasn’t; yet Colleen was. One of the moto crew heard Colleen and offered her a Mylar blanket. The blanket wasn’t in her pocket as she had thought, so she ran back to her bike to grab it. The first of many good deeds we’d get to be a part of over the weekend. This moto crew member would be second person we’d give a nickname to; we now have Team Husband and Mylar Blanket Girl.
The first mile or so was very slow going. We did more standing than walking. I was surprised that we were walking strictly on the sidewalks and that no roads were blocked off to help expedite 3000+ people walking through the neighborhoods. We discussed stopping for coffee multiple times, but never actually did.
It was along this stretch of the route that I’d have a brief conversation with a young survivor. It was her second year walking. She walked last year with her sister and had intended to walk with her daughter this year. Her daughter was stressed by the pressure of the walk, so this survivor came to the walk on her own. Just a small glimpse of her own inner strength, I’m certain! Later that night, as fate would have it, my teammate Dana would spend hours chatting with this amazing woman. The next day it was neat discovering we had been touched by the same woman.
The morning had gotten off to such a slow start that the first pit stop was actually closing as we arrived and we had only gone 2.8 miles according to our route cards. There were thousands of walkers behind us and the crew would hold the stop open a bit longer due to the circumstances. We waited our turn for our visit to the first porta-potty of the day. We joked about there being a time limit for each person’s turn in the porta-potty. We laughed and laughed.
The rain continued to come down and the chill was still in the air, but I was hot. I peeled off a few layers of clothing and made myself comfortable. Dana had walked most of the way without her hood on and she would continue to do so; seemingly oblivious to her soaked hair and shirt. We grabbed a few snacks, filled up our water bottles, and continued on our way. Jeff had called me several times to update us on his shopping spree and we added things to his list. He was having difficulty finding all of the things we decided we needed since we had parted ways that morning. He was now in search of rain gear, gloves, dry sweatshirts, gum, and dry socks for Chris & I; not just any socks but the Thorlos we knew and trusted. Sure, I had 2 pairs of dry socks with me, but at this point I was thinking one more pair certainly wouldn’t hurt and decided that dry capris wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
Chris and I pushed ahead of the others in an effort to make sure we would finish the days route in time and not get swept that evening. The route continued through uneven sidewalks, uncleared sidewalks, and single file paths to our second stop of the Day; a Grab & Go.
At the second stop - a Grab & Go - we met up with Colleen, Cheryl and Dana again. This time, Chris and Dana pushed ahead together.
On our route to the second pit stop, we passed Saint Raymond School where elementary aged children were hanging out the window cheering for us. While I completely loved this, I couldn’t help but wonder how the distraction was viewed by their teachers.
At pit stop two we’d learn about the awesome peanut butter and jelly on graham cracker sandwiches. These treats looked just like ice cream sandwiches and we weren’t the only walkers surprised to see that it wasn’t ice cream at all. Surprised, but certainly not disappointed. They were very good. The route card indicated we’d walked 9 miles.
By then Jeff had made his way to a cheering station near the end of the day’s route and followed the route markers backwards in an effort to meet up with us and deliver the goodies he had acquired. He’d eventually find the lunch stop and would wait for us there.
Next stop lunch. As we made our way there, Colleen and I slowly pulled ahead of Cheryl. We passed through the very picturesque Chestnut Hill area. Shop makers along the main street passed out ginger cookies and bread to the walkers. I snapped pictures as I walked, but would’ve meandered and taken hundreds more had time not been an issue. Jeff was waiting for us at the gate to our lunch destination. We had caught up to Chris and Dana. The lunch stop appeared to be a large church campus; however I didn’t really pay that much attention. The buildings were old and gorgeous. They had opened one of the buildings for the walkers to get out of the rain and to get warm. Chris and Dana chose to eat outside and make the stop a short one; Jeff ran back to the van and grabbed the goodies he’d gotten for Chris so she could continue on with them. Colleen and I opted for the warm rental van and dry clothes that Jeff had brought for us. We finally spotted Cheryl who had ended up making a shopping pit stop all of her own, thus the reason she’d dropped so far behind us. We let her know where the van was parked and she’d meet us there shortly.
The sandwich provided for lunch was dry and they forgot to take the paper off of my cheese. But I ate it and enjoyed the pleasure of a warm and dry place. Before time got away from us we forced ourselves to get dressed and hit the route again. This time I was armed with a dry sweatshirt, new dry socks, new capris, and rain gear. The makeshift shoe covers Jeff made me had served me well. My right foot was nearly dry and my left foot, although mostly wet - was still warm and not completely soaked. I added some moleskin and body glide to my feet, then dry socks, and then covered them with a Walmart bag prior to putting on my shoes. After my shoes were on I covered them with Walmart bags also, in an effort to shield them from the rain that continued to fall.
Rain gear and plastic bags on my feet weren’t the end of the protection from the elements though. I also had a poncho over my rain gear allowing me to keep my raincoat unzipped and have easy access to my waist pack and camera. I was dry and warm under all that plastic.
The afternoon brought us many more gorgeous homes, amazing churches, beautiful parks, fabulous bridges, the continuing realization that 3 Day miles were longer than your average mile, and pizza from mom. Oh, the pizza from mom! Mom has a pizza place on Main Street in Manayunk that has pizza to die for. YUMMY.
The pit stops of the afternoon are a blur. We stopped at two of the three.
The rain had finally stopped and I started peeling off the layers of clothing. The biggest challenge of the day was around the corner. A hill, or shall I say yet another hill but this one even bigger than many of those we had already faced that day. I kept thinking to myself as I dug deep and found what I needed to continue to push ahead that what I was doing was nothing in comparison to what those faced with breast cancer have to endure.
As we rounded the corner of Beaumont Mansion we could finally see camp. The view of the downtown Philadelphia skyline was amazing. We made it. Chris and Dana had been at camp for a while. They confirmed the rumors we’d been hearing about camp being flooded. We learned that walkers had two choices; check out of camp for the night or be bussed to City Center High School to sleep on the floor.
Chris and Dana chose to go to the high school, while Colleen, Cheryl, and I called Jeff to take us back to the hotel. We had a king size bed and Cheryl and Colleen’s luggage was already in our room. After checking out and grabbing our mail, we located our gear from the pile of bags and headed to the walker pick-up area. What we didn’t know is that Jeff was lost. We waited for over an hour before we decided it was best to catch a cab and just meet Jeff at the hotel.
Jeff showed up shortly after we did. We had Philly steak subs for dinner, we each got a nice warm private shower, and the three walkers shared the bed while Jeff camped out on the floor.
October 16th, 2006 at 4:15 pm
Ummm, actually, I DID stop for coffee that morning!! Dana and I stopped early on, and it was amazing, the Dunkin Donuts was jammed with walkers, and this woman walks in..obviously on her way to work and must have frequented this DD…she told us how much she admired what we were doing, and then announced to the owner (very loudly) THESE ARE ALL MY FREINDS, GIVE THEM COFFEE!!!