To Days to Come: 3-day Cleveland--day 2

I had an interesting night. To quote Heather "I didn't feel like slept well, but I felt rested." It was a chilly morning and I was grateful I was snuggled up in my fleece blanket. Heather and I nudged each other out of bed and then Heather rolled over to hit the tent Erin was asleep in to make sure she was up. I am not sure if Erin appreciated the well intended wake up call, but hey—it was sure fun.

I was so excited for breakfast that morning as breakfast meant oatmeal. Lovely oatmeal. I know that is a strange thing to be excited over but it was a highlight for me last year in Atlanta. There is something that they put in that oatmeal which is addictive. It will keep me coming back year after year.

We started off the journey with a hug from hug lady and then a cheer and encouragement from Jerry. The morning was gorgeous. It always amazes me how quiet mornings are and how much three dayers accomplish before the sun really comes up. I have thought of that a lot this past week, how much I truly enjoy those first few moments of morning.

We moved at a bit of a slower pace that morning. The three of us all blistered and a bit sore from the day before. Though moving slower we still clipped through the morning. Bouyed by each other’s company and quoting West Wing and Clue. It will never cease to astonish me what a bunch of nerds/geeks we all are. The girls I walked with also amazed me. Erin was (and is) so kind to anyone who crossed her path. Her patience with everyone is a true example to me. Heather is so full of compassion it is incredible. She made sure that day that she took something from every child that offered it. No matter how full she was, how much water she had, or what she was already carrying.

I got the ‘My Grandma’ flag at pit one. I was so proud to carry it for my grandma who is a survivor for over 40 years. She is one of the reasons that I do this walk every year. I felt honored to carry it for the two miles I did before passing it over to Erin.

After leaving Pit two (in which I was able to answer a trivia question about Elvis because I watch Doctor Who—thank you David Tennant) we realized that we needed something else to keep us entertained so we began to go through Mia’s Disney CD. We sang Old McDonald, This Old Man, There’s A Hole in my Bucket, and a host of other songs. This got us over several crossings of I-90. We wound our way through neighborhoods where Heather realized that she had to use the restroom. We were once again about a mile in a half away from the pit and in a residential area so we had no other option. We walked by a small cheering station who asked if we needed anything and Heather yelled out, “I need to pee.” To make a long story short one of the kind men out there let Heather use his home bathroom. The kindness of strangers never ceases to amaze me. After Pit three we headed to lunch, the three miles were long and almost unbearable.

There was yet another bathroom van called for Heather and Erin and I went on alone. For some reason those two miles seemed to never end. It was hot, and I was moving faster than I probably should have. I was still amazed that I didn’t have shin splints, and despite an annoying blister on the bottom of my foot that was still giving me trouble, I was okay.

Finally, after devouring the best Otter Pop I have ever had, I made it to lunch. I was ready to collapse, but we were stopped at the crosswalk by a funeral. Those of us waiting there tried really hard not to have feelings of exasperation as we waited for a very long funeral train(?) to go by. It was quite annoying—yes, by that point I was hot, tired, hungry, and had a full bladder; I no longer felt charitable.

I finally made it to lunch and collapsed next to Erin and Heather, my feet were relieved that we got to stop for a while. We had a great lunch before we headed out again. Once again, a mile away from lunch and two away from the next pit, we had to use the bathroom. Thank heavens there was a Shell station around that the three of us were able to do.

We spent the next bit of time to vote each other off the team for various infractions. Heather seemed to be the only one safe as she was the ride to the airport and we had no way of getting home without her. The day wore on and not even Doctor Who quotes could lift our spirits. It was hot, really hot. We tried to cool off with a nice soak from a super soaker from Pit four, but it was of no use. We were on another three mile stretch that never ended. Heather and I had really seemed to slow down, while Erin was booking it closer to the grab and go. Finally, not able to go any longer Heather and I hopped a sweep van forgetting to yell up to Erin what we were doing.

The bright side to this was the sweep van was the coconut bra van—the van that Heather had waited for. We soon found out this was the best van to take a rest in. There was A/C, candy, pins, and a grab bag. Though they could not take us to the Grab and Go they did take us to Pit five to wait for Erin. They did however stop long enough to let Heather take her picture.

I knew that I needed to work on my feet and headed over to medical to take advantage of our time. I took my shoe off and noticed that I had grown another toe in form of a blister, funny as I never felt that blister. The size though was troublesome to the medical staff there and they told me I would not be walking the 2.5 miles back to camp. In fact they told me to go hop a bus, I was done for the day.

An intense feeling of failure swept through me. The one promise I had made to myself is I would not get on a SAG bus, there was no reason for it. I was determined to push through to have them pop it and send me on my way. I had time, I could wait till the popping or care was done. I knew they were right though, and I headed to the bus. I finally got a hold of Erin and explained what happened. Heather was going to wait for Erin to come, but Erin mentioned she would catch a van anyway. So Heather and I headed back on the bus, but we got a pin out of it all.

We arrived at camp and since I am such a Hermione I knew that I couldn’t go to medical until I had showered, and that I could not shower until I ate, and we wanted to wait for Erin. So after realizing that the ten was about 90 degrees we headed over to the 3-day main street.

It was here that Heather and I discovered the love of our three-day life—the i-squeeze machines at the Bank of America’s booth. Those five minutes were some of the best five minutes of my life. And when the lady tried to cheat us out of a minute Heather quickly put her in her place and told her we had more time. Not only did these miracle chairs massage our legs it also attacked our backs. We hobbled into that booth but walked out standing tall and proud. It was fantastic. Those machines work miracles and I am determined to try the one in my faculty room more often this year.

We then wandered over to Energizer and signed up for chair massages. While we waited for Erin to come for our team massage we played the Energizer game. We found we did not like the game as much but the questions were fun and Heather and I took turns asking each other questions and making new friends.

Erin got back in time for the massages—she did not hop a bus but had walked the rest! A woman named Penny gave me a wonderful shoulder and leg massage. I still had some kinks but it worked wonders. We went over to stretch the last of the kinks out and I had an enjoyable conversation with a woman from Connecticut. I know I have said it before but it bears repeating I love that there is so much more that connects us and binds us. So many women from all over truly coming together and showing that we are stronger than any of the things that divide us.

It was finally time to head to dinner but I was not feeling well. I hadn’t drunk anything since we left on the bus and I was now dehydrated. I managed to pick at dinner, but I didn’t eat much. The cake though was fantastic, I kinda wanted another piece.

We finally went to the showers and it was so nice to feel the water run over me. It also stung in a few places but the showers were fantastic. Finally I made it to medical and a very nice RN took care of my blister. We chatted and she was just fantastic. Blister popped and drained we headed to the remembrance tent to pay respect to those who have been lost to breast cancer and those who keep fighting, the real reason that we walk.

Like last year this was an overcoming experience. To be surrounded by the pictures of so many lost. It didn’t even matter that I never had met these women. There is a kinship there one that exists between any 3-day walker. Much like the bond between marathon runners or triathlon participants, you share the same hardships and the same triumphs.

We went to go get settled in for the night when, to the delight of Heather and myself, someone stopped and asked about our pink Tardis. It was made our little geeky sci-fi hearts leap in joy. It then took the three of us to get the tents ready for the rain that was going to threaten us that night and hunkered down. 43 miles down and only 17 left to go.