Our kick off started on Thursday afternoon where the team and our families met at Cornerstones restaurant in Leominster. They had special drinks, dinner specials, etc., and all of our families were able to come to our send off. A bus and a driver were donated to drive us into the host hotel in Natick. Zee and I shared a room with Beth (who is also known as "Mother Vegas") and Linda - who were also our teammates. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Natick for the night before our "true journey" were to begin.
4:20a.m. - the alarm goes off and we know it's time for the 4 of us to get up, get ready and head to the bus so we can go to the Opening ceremony. We look outside and it is POURING - so we repacked all of our stuff inside plastic bags within our duffel bags. Thank goodness for Mother Vegas because she came prepared with everything - including thin produce bags. We put those on our feet inside our sneakers so our feet would stay dry! We made it on the 5:15 bus and took the journey to the ceremony. We got checked in and got our lanyards to put our credentials in. We had to wear these every day - and they scanned us in and out of camp every day - so they would know who was still on the course and who was back. They also did something new this year with Bank of America Connections. They also gave us a lanyard to wear if we signed up for the connections and on different points of the course, it automatically would update Facebook or Twitter accounts so your friends and family could track your progress. Once we were all checked in, we huddled in a corner of the tent for a while so we wouldn't get soaked.
All walkers then got called to go into the rain for the Opening Ceremonies. They brought up a few people to welcome us - but the most fun was when they brought up a Zumba Instructor from Boston to get us all warmed up and pumped up for the day!
Near the closing of the ceremony, they had flag bearers - 2 of our teammates were carrying flags - Kathy carried "My Husband" - because she has devoted so much time and energy into this cause of the last few years, and Martin carried "My Wife" - Maryann is a stage 4 cancer survivor who underwent a double mastectomy, hysterectomy, lumpectomy, Chemo and a few other terrible things when she was diagnosed 20 months ago. Happy to say Maryann is a survivor and walked with our team this weekend too!
And we're off...We walked through Framingham, Natick, Wellseley and Waltham! Throughout the route there were cheering stations and we would see some of the same people every few miles - it was GREAT! They also had "grab and go" stations where they would have porto potty's, snacks and drinks - but then they also had "Pit Stops" where they would have all of the above, but also have the Medical Tent. At the Med tent, they had doctors and nurses who were able to help people with serious issues, but then they also had a self help table with band aids, Moleskin, blister treatment, etc! We tried to make the best of our morning - most of it was in the rain, but we still had some fun. We hit lunch at mile 13 and they fed us Panera Bread sandwiches...YUM. We were almost done with our first day...YIPPEE!
We met people from all over the country! Some it was their first time to Boston - and others have done this walk 17 times! There were some great teams too! The Pink Angles had cheering stations all over the route with people giving out water, freezepops, frozen grapes on a stick, candy, ice...well you name it! The other great team was "Men with Heart" - they sang everywhere they went! They were also the last people to come into camp every day, as they waited on the side walk to sing "Pretty Woman" to everyone as they walked into the gates.
Around 4pm on the first day - Zee and I made it to camp! We were a little sore, but not too bad. Camp was stationed at Gann Academy in Waltham. Here, we would camp out for 2 nights on their synthetic turf field, which if you have never been on one of these fields...well it stinks! There are little black "tire like" things that are small and made to look like dirt. Well it sticks all over EVERYTHING - including our legs when we try to kneel down - OUCH! We finally got our pink tent and started to set everything up - we could feel the rain starting to come again, so we had to hurry! We then went to grab dinner in the big dinner tent - and for the first night it was Pasta, veggies and dessert. At dinner, there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky too. We didn't stay too long at the dinner and entertainment, as we wanted to shower and freshen up.
Let's talk about the showers...They bring in these big mack trucks that are called "Porta Kleen". It has a shower and a tiny changing stall, and then outside it has a spot for a sink for you to brush your teeth. Luckily they offered a towel service, so that was one less thing we had to think about packing!
After the shower, we went to bed, as we knew (and heard) the next day was a KILLER! So...off to dreamland we went...ok so not really! Everyone around us snored, and our ear plugs were in our gear tent next to us and we didn't want to get back out of the tent...so we tossed and turned all night on the hard ground - and then at 4am someone walked by with flip flops and made SO MUCH noise that we were up! So...we got up, got dressed and headed over to breakfast so we could get on the course as early as it opened (which was 7am). Weather wise was supposed to be HOT and sunny - so we lathered up with our sun screen and headed out on our way for a LONG 22 mile journey.
On day 2, we hit the towns of Waltham, Arlington, Belmont, Lexington and Winchester. Today...was the day of HILLS. We hit hill upon hill upon hill! There were a few times I wanted to call it quits, but I just needed a minute or two to stretch my legs, change my socks and add on some moleskin and band aids. I started to get a few hot spots on my feet. Around 3:45 we hit camp...which tells you we went a lot faster on day 2 then day 1! We did 2 more miles and came in around the same time. The crowds were great - they had sprinklers set up in yards for us to walk through, they had ice, candy, etc. I have never drank so much water and Gatorade in my life! We made it back to camp, showered and headed over towards the dinner tent. Zee and I decided to check out the massage chairs - and boy am I glad we did! Tonight at dinner, we received a special dessert because we were the #1 fundraising team...so the cup crusaders got cupcakes!
After dinner, we stayed for the evening entertainment. Tonight was emotional to say the least! First up, our teammate Martin was selected to speak about what it was like to have his wife Maryann be diagnosed with Cancer. Maryann had NO idea he was selected to do this, so needless she burst into tears when she found out. Listening to what they had to go through as a couple was heartbreaking, but he was there for her every step of the way.
After Martin, the SGK Youth Corps came to the stage. They are a group of young kids who help with the walk. They are assisting at all of the pit-stops, grab and go stations, help at camp etc. They came to the stage and each one of them told us why they help out with Komen and what it means to them. Well I can tell you...there was not a DRY eye in the tent! Their ages ranged from 9-16, and a few of them lost their mom when they were only 4 years old! Out of all of the kids on the stage, 1/2 of them lost their mom to Breast Cancer.
Zee and I then went to check out the Remembrance tent. They hang pictures in there of all of the people they have lost this past year to Breast Cancer. Needless to say it was heartbreaking!
After this, we headed off to bed. I had MASSIVE cramps due to my unwanted "friend" - and these cramps were as bad, if not worse than right after my C-section with the kids. My body was screaming at me. After taking some Advil, we went to sleep! It was at about 10:30 that I woke up suddenly with the feeling I was going to throw up. I sat up and the cramps in my stomach were getting worse and worse, the tears just started streaming down my face. I was also wicked hot - so I needed to shed off my long sleeved shirt. Once I did this - I went to the bathroom and then I felt I needed to walk around to get some fresh air. The medical tent had just closed for the night, however, there was a sign to wake up the nurse if needed. I didn't think I needed to wake the nurse...I just needed a trash can so I could throw up! One of the crew members walked by and asked if I was ok - so I told him my situation. He got my a trash bag and I sat in a chair. The ambulance was parked right behind me and I felt weird with them watching me throw up! The driver got out and asked if I was ok and if I needed anything. I just needed to be left alone at that point! I started to throw up and one of the people sleeping in the med tent heard me and she woke up the night nurse. She then got up the doctor. They checked my vitals and my pulse was at 100 (it was supposed to be 78). They gave me some Zophran for the nausea and said that if it doesn't kick in that I'd have to be transported to the hospital due to dehydration. I waited a few more minutes and I started to feel a little better so I told her I was going to try to go back to the tent. Off I went and tried to go back to sleep. Obviously I couldn't...I just laid there! It started to rain, so then I really couldn't sleep! Around 4am I got up to go to the bathroom again and then tried to sleep for another hour...finally...success! 6am came around and we got up. I filled Zee in on what happened last night and she felt horrible that she slept through it all.
We got up, packed up all of our stuff and then packed up the tent. We headed over to breakfast and I really couldn't eat - so I took a few bites of egg and ate 1/2 a banana, then drank some OJ. The course opened at 7:30 so we got our gear on the trucks for closing ceremony and then we headed out onto the route. We hit the first pit stop 2 miles in, and I knew that if I didn't stop here, I would regret it later. I took the sweep van for 4 miles to the next pit stop and just sat by a tree, tried to take a nap and waited for Zee to meet up with me. After doing that - I was GREAT for the rest of the day! We walked through Waltham, Cambridge, Boston, South Boston. We walked through the Public Gardens, through the city (and by Deuxave) and the seaport district. The day started off rainy and muggy, but turned out to be beautiful and sunny! Our lunch was right near castle island and we walked all along the beach to get to our ending point, which was BC High School in Dorchester. We did get a photo-op with these adorable guys! They were with us the entire journey! They travel to the different cities from California, and cheer on the walkers throughout their journey!
Our team had a meeting spot outside the "finish line" so we all got to that point and waited. Some of us waited for 2 hours...but we had a banner and we walked in as a team through the finish line! Everyone forms a tunnel and just cheers for you! I could see the family waiting in the distance and I just started to cry! We did it! We finished!
After we got through the finish line, we had to wait until all of the walkers arrived. They asked friends and family to head to the closing ceremony location so we could all line up for the victory march. We lined up with our team and marched in to the victory circle. The crew, safety, med staff all marched in after us, and then ... we all lifted our sneaker and all of the survivors marched in. It was so beautiful and emotional! They had survivors on the stage as well!
After the ceremony was finished, we got to take a few photos with the fam!
Needless to say - the past 3 days have been AMAZING! It has given me a new outlook on life, to never give up and fight for everything. I thank you all for sharing in this amazing journey with us - and to Zee...she is my "Sole Sister" - together we have conquered the world! Thank you all for reading - and thank you for supporting us!
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