Day 2

Although the route wouldn't open until 7am, the camp was up and bustling by 5:30am. Salwa and I dragged ourselves out of bed, which was no small task! I was particularly thankful that I had remembered to take some ibuprofen the night before, as I think that helped (somewhat) decrease my morning muscle aches.

Day 2 was a lot more of the same: lots of walkers (3200 of us!), frequent pit stops (thank heavens!), and a lovely scenic route (with the exception of the 1/4 mile or so that we walked on the shoulder of Hwy 61 in White Bear!). The only difference was my pain - unfortunately my blisters from Day 1 continued to grow, I developed new blisters, and I developed a searing pain in my arches with every step I took. My focus shifted from " 'only' 23 miles today, I can do that" to "just get to the next pit stop. just go one more mile." Over and over, I kept my focus on just making it to the next stop along the way. If it weren't for Salwa cheering me on, and for my sense of responsibility to all those who had financially and emotionally supported my walk, I would have given up within the first few miles of Day 2 - it was that hard.

But I didn't give up. Slowly, the miles passed:


My spirits were buoyed by the antics of the crew members who helped us safely cross the intersections...


...by the woman in the red bug who kept circling the route, honking and cheering for all the walkers...


...by the hundreds of people who lined the route at the cheering stations, giving such heartfelt thanks to those of us who were able to walk for this cause...


...and by Jody's couch. Do you see it there in the middle? And see the man in blue on the right?


His wife (Jody) was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago, and she planned to walk the 3-Day in the Twin Cities back in 2004. Due to the expense of her treatment, their family had a huge garage sale to help earn money to pay for her medical bills - everything sold except for the red couch. Sadly, Jody passed away from breast cancer before she could walk in the 3-Day. So, in her honor, her husband now brings the couch to multiple locations along the 3-Day route each year - an opportunity for walkers to rest...


...and to remind them of the personal connections so many people have to this illness. We saw him (and Jody's couch) at least twice each day of the event, which was pretty incredible.

At the end of the day, I showered and visited the medical tent again. Unfortunately, I arrived too late for them to lance my blisters again (there were already probably 50 people in line ahead of me, and the medical tent would close in less than an hour). However, I was able to see sports medicine about the pain and bruising in my arches. The very nice chiropractor I saw gave me a brief foot and leg massage, and then "adjusted" my feet. Apparently the stress of all the walking I had done was starting to loosen my plantar fascia, the ligaments which support my arches, and the ligament was at risk of separating from my heel. As a result, my arches were starting to fall, which caused them to rub oddly against my shoes, resulting in bruising. Yikes. But....she didn't "red card" me (meaning I was still medically OK to walk, if I wanted), only told me that I need to wear shoes with more arch support, so I went to bed determined to finish the event the next day.