Day 3

This time, the camp was hustlin' and bustlin' by 5am - I think everyone was excited for the last day of the walk! I rebandaged my feet again, as best I could, and said a small prayer to the plantar fascia gods ("please let this pair of shoes have adequate arch support!"). After packing up all our stuff, taking down our tent, and eating breakfast...


...we were lined up to go by 6:45am...






..and officially on the route by 7:10am. Once again, every step was agony (but I tried to smile anyway).






I found some of the signage along the route amusing:




And then, by early afternoon, the end was in sight. I have never, ever, ever, been so happy to see the state capitol on the horizon:




Seeing the throngs of people waiting to cheer us across the finish line was incredible.




I truly couldn't believe I had made it.


All the emotions hit me during the closing ceremony...


...particularly when the survivors entered.




I wish I had a picture of us all kneeling and holding up a shoe in tribute to the survivors.

In the end, it was quite an experience. Profoundly powerful at the end, particularly as I realized that, for this cause, I had been able to push my body harder than I ever thought possible. And even now, three days later and still in much pain, I'm already getting my rose-colored glasses ("was it really that bad?"). Now that the searing pain has been replaced with a dull throbbing pain in my arches, it's easier to turn my attention to the myriad individuals affected by this disease. I ended up not just walking for my Aunt Joan, but for everyone whose life has been touched by breast cancer. I'll never forget the woman holding the sign that said "thanks to you, I'm a 2x survivor," or the walker wearing a shirt with a picture of her father and a reminder that 2% of those with breast cancer are men, or Jody's husband and the red couch.

I didn't sign up to walk again in 2009, and I think it might be several years before I do - but I will again some day. In the mean time, I'm seriously considering volunteering to be part of the crew next year, and if I don't do that, I definitely plan to be at the cheering stations in 2009.

Special thanks to my parents for all their letters and support (and donations!).


And thanks to Mike, for finally showing up at the end (as much as I wanted him there earlier, which he couldn't be due to his fishing schedule, I also wonder if I would have collapsed and given up if I had seen him on Day 2?)


And thanks to Salwa, for being such a great teammate. (and for sharing her photos with me!) I can't believe she was willing to continue walking with me, even as our pace slowed from our typical ~3.5mph to less than 2.5mph. It was hard to part with her after spending every waking moment together for three whole days, and I am profoundly grateful for her encouragement and support. (BTW, you can check out her blog here.)



For those who are curious, here is a rough map of the route we walked:



Finally, in closing, (and if anyone is still reading at this point, wow! you have great endurance!) a few before and after shots:

Salwa and I before:


and after:



Me before:


and after:



and my poor feet (obviously "after", as I never thought to take a "before" photo):



Thank you, thank you, thank you to you all!!! You helped me to raise $3151, well over the $2200 required, and all of us walkers raised over $7.3 million. Thank you!