Day Three

Again, we were up before the dawn. Dr. George had instructed Mad to ice her leg last night and make sure to come to the Medical Tent first thing this morning. We were at the camp at 6:30 and in the tent at 7!







Here's Mad, waiting for Dr. George.

And here is Mad WITH Dr. George (who, by the way, I am in love with - his wife and kids notwithstanding. . . ) . Dr. George carefully examined Mad's calf and made the decision that she could walk (thank goodness - I was terrified he would send her home!) on the condition that she 1. get taped; and 2. LISTEN to her body. We were told we needed to walk AND use the sweep vans, so that she could give her leg some rest.

So we walked and swept - walking more than sweeping, all morning.

At the 2nd pit stop, I again confirmed my feet were not visually on fire, but on the off chance they were invisibly on fire, I rested them on a bag of ice for a while. It was sheer heaven, let me tell you.

We were thrilled to see Mad's Aunt Cooky at the first cheer station! We weren't expecting her, which made it extra cool to see her there, just waiting for a quick hello. It was so kind of her to take the time to stand and wait and watch for us. We really appreciated it!!

Check out this guy - he is walking ALL of the 3 days! Seriously. All 15 3 day events. I believe he is currently driving to Denver. If you are of a mind, he needs some fundraising help - go to 3day.me for more on his story.

Lunch's sandwich was soggy (mass produced food ain't easy). As such, I had Cheez Its and hummus. It was fabulous!

Here's what lunch time looked like. Because we utilized the sweep van, we had time to go to Medical, me for my calf, and Mad for her back. Mad got her first chiropractic adjustment, which she thought was weird - but effective. I was seen for this shooting pain in my calf. I was shocked, truly SHOCKED!! to discover that my muscle was hurting because of OVERUSE!! WHAT? REALLY?? 45 miles in, and my calf muscle was objecting to over use? Well, now. . .

We iced at the next pit stop as well. This pit stop was really important because our plan was not to use any more sweep vans. The next 7 miles were all for walking, if things went the way we planned.

Here we are walking in Mounds Park. We had just been replenished by Starbucks, courtesy of Mad's Dad, who was kind enough to take our orders, get the coffee, then stand on the route and fend off multitudes of walkers who also wanted our coffee while waiting for us to arrive. It was delicious. Fortified, we started the final 2 miles.

Only a mile to go when we came across this sign. I love it. I am so proud of Mad for all her hard work. She was such a trooper. She totally could have skipped this last day, with the perfect justification, but she plowed on, determined to finish what we started.

This guy was a source of inspiration throughout the walk. He was so cheerful and encouraging. His wife walked. Their kids showed up yesterday in the cheering section. Thank you Mullet Pig Guy!! You made it easier. Really.

Mad, happy to be done.

We hung out at the capitol for about an hour, waiting for final ceremonies.

Dina and Jim, and Tom were there, cheering us on.

We look forward to walking next year. Thank you for your support!

Day Two

We left the house at 7 and managed to hit EVERY red light between here and Maplewood. Then we couldn't find the camp. Mapquest: more helpful than hurtful? Or more hurtful than helpful? Discuss. . . Happily, we saw tons of walkers and Mr. J, in his sherpa role, located the camp.

Tons of pink tents greeted us. We hurried by, as it was ten to 8, and all walkers had to be on the trail by 8.

This Ramsey County Sheriff wore a fluffy pink boa while directing traffic. We were fortunate to have law enforcement in good spirits today. We also had a number of fire departments on our route who were also quite fabulous in their vocal support. . .

This sign says, in part, 'No Fishing.' If you look to the left of the car, you might be able to see someone fishing, which Mad and I thought was hilarious (thus, the pic!). I used to represent these people when the DNR would go on a tear and issue a bunch of tickets. . . Ah, the good old days. . .

At lunch, I was surprised to discover that my foot WASN'T actually on fire inside my shoe and sock. . . But look! Not on fire.

Mad jammed her toe this morning, so she took the lunch break as an opportunity to wrap a couple of toes together. Then we got walking again.

This is Jody's couch. More on Jody's story here: http://www.rowekamp.com/whyiwalk.htm. The walk is an odd mix of emotions. One minute I'm wondering if I should be amused or annoyed by the fact that Mad isn't speaking to me - AGAIN, and the next I am confronted with a couch belonging to a woman who died while her children were young, like Jody. Or a laminated picture on a guy's backpack with a sign that says, "I miss my sister." Or two women my age, walking and chatting, with a post on their back pack that says, "We walk in memory of our friend Barb, 7-24-09."

Sadly, at mile 19, we had to admit Mad's leg pain might need to be looked at. It was designated a 'sports medicine issue' and we were referred to the doctor. He thinks Mad may have torn her calf muscle. He strongly encouraged us to ice and take the bus, in the hopes that she can walk some tomorrow. He is working on a 'boot' for her for tomorrow to stabilize things.

We are hoping and icing. . .

Day One

Yesterday we went to Target and stocked up on medical supplies, water bottles, and a new back pack to carry it all in. We are now officially set on gauze, tape, band aids, sunscreen, and advil, should you find yourself in need.

Last night, we carefully packed the backpack. (Mad's need for back pack order was satisfied by the multiple compartments in the back pack.) We planned our outfits and accessories (okay, Mad planned accessories, I just found my shoes!) and went to bed early.

We were up before the dawn, puttering around the house getting ready. We were on the road before 6 a.m. Mr. J played sherpa for us. For those of you who weren't up, it was raining. . .







Here's Mad at opening ceremonies. Note the rain coats all around. Mad was far too cool for that. I, on the other hand, proudly wore my $1.00 Raincoat on a Stick I got from Northern Tool last year at the fair. It's a great big yellow billowy thing that could cover an oldsmobile! I am sure Mad was mortified. Maybe THAT'S why she refused to speak with me for most of the walk. . .

Yesterday I called the 3 day people because I couldn't find something I needed on the web. While on the phone chatting about the rain, Nanette told me about this foot covering - take a gallon zip lock, cut a SMALL hole in the bottom, put your foot through the hole, then put your shoe on. It worked GREAT at keeping my shoes dry. (You can also see the aforementioned yellow raincoat on a stick here.) Mad was positively MORTIFIED. She kept insisting I take them off. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!???!! Walking 20 miles in wet shoes sounds horrid - and foolish. But then, Mad is 15, and I am more than twice that (okay, okay, almost 3 times that - leave me alone!) so my good sense took over and I left them on for the first 3 miles, until I was sure the rain had well and truly stopped. Mad was so annoyed she took to calling me 'mother.' When she spoke to me at all. . .

It took an hour to walk the first mile. This was due to a series of traffic lights and lots and lots of people.

Here is Mad at the Sculpture garden! This was just before lunch. We walked over the freeway and had lunch in Loring Park.

Here's Mad after lunch at the dandelion fountain. We also got a button that said, "Lick Cancer" on it from another mother daughter duo at this fountain.

Here we are at the 3rd pit stop. This is actually out of order as it was taken at Lake of the Isle, but I am too tired to move it.

Here's my Garmin, with 20.92 miles on it. What a day.

Ice cream to celebrate our finish. We finished at the head of the pack, as Mad has my 'lead dog' instinct (which I, by the way, was MORE than willing to ignore today!!) and insisted on 'catching' whomever was in front of us. Since we were in the middle of the pack at the start, there was ALWAYS someone in front of us.

Thank you for your kind words and support over the past months.

A sad morning

Yesterday, I learned a friend of mine is one of the 1 in 8 women who get breast cancer. Which, of course, is 'not fair.' What makes it more 'not fair' is that she was one of the 1 in 8 ten years ago - with a different form of breast cancer. Which, of course, is REALLY 'not fair.'

This morning, as I lay in my bed, Mr. Bailiff curled up at my feet, Diego and Bubba also on the bed, I thought about how life can throw curve balls to just about anyone. Thought about all those years I smoked. Thought about how helpless I felt to help my friend. Wondered if Macaroni and cheese with bacon freezes well. Wondered if hers was the kind of cancer that fed on starches, thus, should I leave potatoes out of the soup?

I'm not particularly fond of feeling helpless.

This morning at six, I got up and went for a training walk. It's all I can do. Oh, and I'm going to schedule that mamogram today. (Am I the only one who is SURE that just as my breast is as flat as it can possibly be, as I'm nestled up next to that big machine with that hospital gown half off, that the fire alarm is going to go off, or the power is going to go out, and I'll be locked in that damn thing for hours!! Surely I'm not the only one. . . )

getting close!

For reasons I cannot recall at this moment, my camera is at the office. I have been using this fact as a reason not to blog my walks. I'm done with that. Thus, a pictureless entry.

I discovered a fabulous recipe for a cold leek soup - with no potatoes! Thursday, after my morning walk, I slammed a cup of it. So fabulous. This morning, BEFORE my walk, I slammed TWO cups of it. It's really, really good. As such, I made sure to include the farmer's market in my walk as I am now out of leek soup and want some more.

As I was walking down Robert Street towards the bridge, the clouds over downtown looked ominous, but I ignored them. By the time I got to the bridge, it was raining in ernest.

I was all the way to Galtier Plaza at the cash machine before it occurred to me that I could have walked through the skyway and stayed dry. Duh. I did take the skyway a building or two before heading out and over to the farmer's market.

I am pleased to announce "The brussel sprouts are here! The brussel sprouts are here!" Whoooo hooooooo!!! I did a quick tour of the market, assessing what was available. I then availed myself to the best cheddar brat on the planet - Thank you Todd Romocky!! Then I went back and bought brussel sprouts, beans (finally priced at $2.00 a box - although peas remain at $3.00 a box. . . ), tomatoes by the pound, bacon (for the brussel sprouts, of course), and eggs (thank you Bob, of Otis farm!!)

I'd also like to give a shout out to AAFS, and whomever was in charge of the bags in 2007, because I think my American Academy of Forensic Sciences backpack totally rocks!!

After my market experience, I walked back, via the Irish Festival taking place on Harriet Island. Is there anything better than bagpipes? I think not!

Tomorrow, I plan to walk to the cheese shoppe. A friend of mine is in San Fransisco right now, and actually went to the Cowgirl Creamery, where she picked up a WHOLE ROUND of Redhawk for a mere $18.00!! I'll be paying double that here in Saint Paul, and quite frankly, I! DON'T! CARE!!!

Mad and I have reached our fundraising goal of $4600(!!!). Whew! (the Tupperware profits have not yet been entered, so it may not APPEAR that the goal has been met. When Jackie gets back from vacation, that will be taken care of, I assure you!)

My friend Karen, who is a survivor, is still looking for donations.

You can donate here: http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/TwinCitiesEvent2009?px=1957503&pg=personal&fr_id=1302 for Karen.

Best,

Christine