2008 3-Day Walk!

Another Incredible 3 Days!!!!!!

Ready to hear all about my 60 mile, 3 Day journey? Sit back, relax, and enjoy feeling like you were walking right next to me the entire way! Or if you're attention span is short, click here to see the photo's of the walk!



This year my walk prep actually started on Thursday as I had practice for Opening Ceremonies. It was exciting and weird to see the stage all set-up, but instead of 2000+ people milling around there were only about 25 of us there. I was chosen to carry the Honor Flag which read "My Grandmother." Needless to say the practice session was just as emotional as the actual ceremony. Afterwards I headed back to a local hotel to grab some sleep before heading out at 5:15 am Friday morning.

Remember how I was chaperoning Emily, a 16 year old from NH who was participating in her first 3Day Walk? Emily and I were up early Friday and on the bus to Gillette Stadium while it was still dark out. Once we dropped off our gear bags we went to find some of my friends so I could leave Emily in good hands while I was in the Opening Ceremony. We ran into Cecelia, my buddy from last years walk, and Eileen and her sister Debbie. Eileen was a regular on my Training Walks and we had heard all about Debbie who was flying in from Michigan for her 3rd 3Day event. I knew Emily would have a great time at Opening with this crew, so off I went behind the stage. After a group stretch (amazing to see 2000 walkers all try to stretch while packed tight together in front of the stage, and still half asleep at 6:30 am), the Ceremony officially began. The Opening Ceremony is definitely emotional and there were a lot of tears in the crowd. I was ready this year with my tissues in hand!

Once the Ceremony ended I met up again with Emily and Cecelia and we headed onto the route! Emily admitted she thought I was a little silly to be bringing tissues to Opening because there was no way she would be crying.....but she did! Jenne, the National Spokesperson, does an incredible job with the Opening and Closing ceremonies!

The weather was not promising even this early in the walk. The skies were dark and imposing, and there was rain and thunder storms in the forecast. Of course, this had to be the 1 time the weather people actually got it right! After walking about 30 minutes, the rain started pouring. We whipped out our rain ponchos which did a good job of keeping our heads, bodies and fanny packs dry, but our feet were soaked and squishing with every step. Oh well, what can you do?! The spirits of the walk were still high and about an hour later the rain stopped and the sun eventually came out.

I had my first electronic problem of the weekend though. I had put my cell phone in the front pouch of my poncho so I could access it quickly. But I wasn't smart enough to zip the pouch, I just closed it via the velcro patch. When the rain stopped and I went to remove my phone I noticed it was swimming in a few inches of rain. I couldn't have chosen a worse place to put my phone. Needless-to-say it was soaking wet and broken. Everyone kept asking me if there was a "red dot" on the phone. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I guess the rest of the world knows that if your phone gets wet a red dot appears near the battery and alerts the cell phone company it's your fault and you have to pay to replace the phone. Not a great way to start the 3 Day. But, what can you do? Take off your poncho, be grateful the rain stopped, and keep walking. I mean, I'm only 3 miles into a 60 mile walk.....I've got bigger things to worry about! :-)

Off we go with our squishing socks and shoes, walking from Foxboro, through Sharon, Canton, and eventually ending in Stoughton. The first Cheering Station was only about 7 miles into the walk and we saw Emily's mom Stacy and friend Peg who had come to cheer Emily all 3 days. Stacy let me borrow her phone for the day so we wouldn't be out of touch. Thanks to the rain I could feel a "hot spot" on my foot (a potential blister-to-be), so I decided to duck into the Dunkin Donuts and change into dry socks. Prevention is the key to blisters. The longer you wait to address a problem, the bigger the problem becomes. After a little moleskin (protection to pad the hot spot) and some dry socks I felt more confident in my feet. Not to mention seeing all the folks cheering us on helps to keep my going!

The route this year was amazing! We walked through beautiful towns, avoided the dreaded Blue Hills from last year, and there were minimal hills. I know a lot of work goes into coming up with a good route, and they truly did an incredible job this year!

After the Cheering Station it was less than 4 miles to the Lunch Pit Stop. We never know the exact route, but we do get a Route Card each morning telling us how many miles until each Pit Stop, Cheering Station, or Lunch. This is our bible and it's the only way to get your body to walk 60 miles. You don't actually think of it as walking 60 miles, you just say, only 3 miles to a Cheering Station. As you walk away from the Cheering Station you look at the card, which is conveniently hanging around your neck in your credential, and do the math to see you only have 2.6 miles til the next Pit Stop. It's a great way to trick the brain into walking all 60 miles!

On Day 1 at Lunch we met up with the rest of our group. Eileen, Debbie, Mandy and Danielle were already there, so Cecelia, Emily and I joined them. Caroline and Melissa met up with us at the end of lunch. The group I had been training with for months was all together and we spent a lot of the next 3 days together! More sock changing for me at Lunch. My hot spot was doing well, but my sneakers were still soaking wet from the rain so they made my socks wet as well.

The afternoon was sunny and a great walk. At the 2nd Cheering Station I saw my Mom and Dad who had everything a walker would want.....spray bottles with water to cool us down, tootsie rolls, and freeze pops! I also saw Missy and her 2 boys who were out cheering on Missy's parents Donna & Jeff who were also walking. But I never saw Donna and Jeff as they were way ahead of me all weekend! Dropped off my broken phone with Mom and asked them to get a new one and charge it overnight so I could get back to the civilized world with a cell phone. I felt naked without it!

The rest of the day was uneventful until the last hour or so when the rain started again. Actually, it was torrential downpours with thunder and lightening. The strength of this storm made the morning rain seem like a drizzle. The rain was coming down so fast it couldn't drain quick enough and we ended up walking in ankle-deep water. The sweep vans driving all along the route were telling walkers to find shelter, and many of the local businesses opened their doors for us. But our group (Cecelia, Emily, Mandy, Danielle) were die-hards and we just wanted to keep going. Heck, if you can't beat em, join em. I suggested we jump into the puddles and embrace it, so on the count of 3 we all jumped off the sidewalk into the puddles on the street. There was SO much water, it splashed inside our ponchos as high as our butts!

At one point while we were walking uphill and the water was rushing down at us ferociously I mentioned I should write a letter to the town of Stoughton about their obvious drainage problem. :-) But then we turned the corner and saw our camp site so we knew we had made it! The camp was located at the Stoughton public school grounds (Elementary, Middle and High School were all there). Due to the weather camp had been evacuated and everyone was in the Elementary school. It was so crowded in the school we actually had to wait outside in the pouring rain for a few minutes before we could get in...but who cared at that point - we were already soaking wet!

As we came in, we got scanned in on our credentials, were given a towel to dry off, and then got the coveted Relocation Legacy Pin. Legacy Pins are given out for a variety of reasons and they are always cherished. Even if you're getting it for thunder, lightening, and downpours!

The school was mobbed with people lining the halls. Everyone had enough room to sit down, but not much more space. It was also really hot inside, but we managed to find a spot by a door so we actually had the opposite feeling of being a little chilly. Thanks to a dry towel wrapped around my shoulders I felt fine. The spirits in the school were pretty good, with at least 90% of the people being really understanding. And the staff, crew and youth corps did an amazing job keeping us happy, dry, and fed with snacks they kept passing out.

After about 1 1/2 hours we were allowed to leave the school to Eat, Set up our Tents, and Shower. We went straight to dinner (spaghetti & meatballs) just in case it had to close early because of more storms. Then a little shopping at the 3Day store where I picked up a cute pale pink hoody with a small 3Day logo on the sleeve, and a hot pink 3Day tank top. So unlike me to buy any kind of logo clothing, but I really like both of these items so I'm glad I got them! Then it was off to get our gear bags from under huge rolls of plastic......our stuff had been outside during the rain but it was remarkably dry. Just in case, I always pack my stuff in plastic bags so I knew I was protected no matter what. The tent went up with no problem and then we immediately put our tarps over it in case it started to rain again. The skies definitely didn't look promising.

Just as Emily and I finished setting up our air mattresses and sleeping bags and were headed to the shower we we told that camp was being evacuated again. Ugh. Pretty much had to do everything in reverse: roll up the sleeping bag, deflate the air mattress, pack up the air mattress and bring everything into the school. Knowing how crowded the school was earlier Emily and I moved very quickly to get in there and grab some floor space to sleep. We planned to meet Mandy and Danielle in there so we saved space for them to sleep.

Then we went back to the tent to grab our shower stuff and finally wash off the 20 miles of grime on our bodies. The weather had different plans. Thanks to more lightening they had to shut down the showers. I was not thrilled about the prospect of no shower, so I pretty much showered in the elementary school bathroom. Including washing my hair in the sink. I thought my back was going to break from having to bend over so low to wash my hair (elementary school kids are short, so the sinks are LOW), but when I was done I was SOOOOO happy to be going to bed relatively clean! We even found spots near a door and had set up our air mattresses so it was uber-comfy!

Not everyone was so lucky....
Danielle and Mandy ended up being sent to a different school building on the property, sleeping in a classroom with the lights on all night. And they didn't have air mattresses. Or the sleeping mask I pack just in case something like that happens. Cecelia would have been worse off as the schools were full and they were sending her to sleep inside a Budget truck in the parking lot! Luckily for her we still had those spots reserved that Mandy and Danielle never claimed so she was saved from being sent outside to the truck!

I slept beautifully from 10pm - 5am, and then was up and ready to go! Normally the morning of Day 2 is easy because you just wake up, get dressed, eat and start walking. Due to the relocation, I had to pack up all of my stuff again and bring it back to my tent first. But the sun was starting to shine, and the day was going to be good!!!

Emily and I started walking, and were keeping up a really nice pace. We walked by Houghtons Pond, and through the woods, and then into Randolph. Boylston Street in Randolph was so generous to the 3Day as many neighbors set up things for the walkers. An Indian family with beautiful children had a table with water and candy. Another man was holding a yard sale, but also brought out water for the walkers. When one walker asked if she could use his bathroom he said sure! We saw a house with pink and white balloons and a sign in a different language. We all thought it was so cute.....until we found out later it was for a wedding or something and had nothing to do with the 3Day! One last family on this amazing street had a table set up and their daughter was sitting with all of her pink stuffed animals to cheer us on! Thanks Boylston Street!

After this it was on to the Cheering Station in Randolph where my parents were all stocked up with the goodies for walkers, and my friend Gloria had come down to cheer my on and had made an amazing sign! I'm SO fortunate to have such wonderful supporters!!! While Emily and I were hanging out there, Danielle's mom recognized me from the day before and mentioned Mandy and Danielle were on their way. I also got my new phone from my mom and had a text from Caroline saying she was walking alone but on her way. Emily and I decided to just hang out there until the group was pretty much back together again!

Once we got to lunch the 9 of us were all together and had a great lunch, lots of fun, and a very interesting group stretching session. We were so loud and boisterous, 2 other girls sitting nearby asked if they could walk with us because they needed our high energy to keep them moving! Little did they know we were also big fans of cheering while we walked! There an old sorority rush cheer I adapted last year for the 3Day and used again this year. People walking around us never knew what hit them when we started with our "Are you Motivate?!" cheering.....but they all appreciated it! We added a "2, 4, 6, 8 Who do we appreciate? Crew! Crew! yay Crew" to our repetoire on Saturday and Sunday. Seriously, without the all-volunteer crew our job walking wouldn't be so easy. They do absolutely everything for us from taking our gear bags, serving us meals and drinks, pop blisters in the medical tent, clean up trash, and all the while cheer us on and thanking us for walking. The least we can do is cheer on our amazing Crew!

At the next Cheering Station in addition to my parents, my sister, brother-in-law, and 2 nieces were there. PLUS, my Dad's 2 cousins Donna and Georgia were there cheering me on with another great sign! They had been there for 4 hours just waiting for me to show up. Gotta love that dedication and support!!! Thanks everyone!

More sun for the rest of the day and when we got back to camp the skies were clear and I finally got a real shower! After eating dinner, watching the 3Day Dance party in the Dining Tent (yes, some walkers still have energy to dance after walking 2 straight days) I finally got a chance to get my mail from the 3Day Post Office. It was shut down during the evacuation Friday when I planned to go there. In bed that night I had a great time reading all the amazing cards my wonderful supporters had sent. You have no idea how much I treasure each and every one of these letters!!!

Seemed like I had just finished reading my letters when my alarm was going off telling me it was time to wake up again. Packed all my stuff, Emily and I took down the tent, and dropped our stuff off back at the gear trucks. After a quick breakfast we were off for Day 3!!!

We took buses to the bottom of Blue Hills Reservation where Day 3 officially started. By this point in the walk my right knee was hurting a little, but thankfully I had no blisters. Last year when we walked in the Blue Hills it was a lot of hills and really did a number on my knees. So, with a little pain that morning I was feeling nervous about what the day had in store for me. Luckily we avoided the treacherous terrain of last year, and any hills were definitely do-able!

The weather was bright and sunny and I actually didn't carry my rain poncho because we finally had a day without rain as part of the forecast! After walking near Blue Hills, we walked through Milton, saw their amazing public pool, and had a delicious homemade Chocolate Chip cookie made by the amazing Youth Corps!

Sidebar - Youth Corps is a very special part of the Boston 3Day! Youth Corps is made up of 20 amazing kids 10-15 yrs old who apply to be members of the Youth Corps. They fill out an application and write an essay about why they want to be part of the 3Day, and are interviewed before the final 20 members are chosen. These kids not only volunteer tirelessly during the 3Day handing out stickers, cheering on walkers, manning Pit Stops, they also each raise at least $400 each for the 3-Day. They are truly the heart and sole of the Boston 3Day!!!

My Sunday walk actually went really well as I was still feeling relatively good physically and really good mentally. Some of my friends weren't as lucky as their feet had betrayed them and blisters kept popping up. But their spirits were strong and everyone toughed it out and continued walking! We kept up our 2 cheers as well and that really seemed to help motivate who ever happened to be walking near us when we started cheering!

Although at one point I did add an impromptu new cheer.....
When everyone around you is quiet you know the mileage is starting to hurt. About mile 10 (50 miles in total) I just sang "If your feet hurt and you know it clap your hands" Wouldn't you know everyone around me started clapping! After finishing the rest of the verse, Danielle picked up and added a verse of her own, then Mandy added one. The walkers near us loved it! Plus they thought it was something we planned or had practiced, but nope, all the verses just came naturally based on what we were feeling!

Day 3 Cheering Station had my whole family, and my Little Sister Keysha. Last chance for me to get a popsicle that day! While I was talking to my family, a fellow walker stopped to have her picture taken with the sign Gloria made. Turns out she spells her name just like me, so it was like the sign was cheering her on personally!

Towards the end of the day I had a little mishap. I was talking to my friends behind me and not paying attention when I walked into a metal cable. It was a little scary, but once I checked my eyes were still in place and no major damage was done I kept walking. The next day I noticed a couple bruises thanks to my clumsiness!

Then it was on to Closing Ceremonies! We walked along the water into UMASS Boston with supporters cheering us on the whole way! Finally got a chance to meet Eileen's husband, and she even shared some of the roses he gave her with the rest of us. Isn't that sweet?!

Turns out we walked in at the exact right time because there was a group right behind us and when one of them started a cheer that began "I don't know but I've been told" my group immediately started cheering with them. We all lucked out that us loud-mouth cheerers were together at the end and didn't even know it! The other group had written an entire cheer about the 3Day experience and we all repeated as the leader called out the lines. The spirit grew and pretty soon it was more than just our 2 groups cheering.....it was everyone near us! I loved cheering so much I'm still trying to get my voice back!!!

None of this could be possible without all of you....my wonderful, amazing, supportive, generous friends and family who make it possible for me to participate in this event. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!!!

The 3Day is truly an incredible experience! If you have even the tiniest bit of interest, shoot me an email, write me a letter or give me a call.....I'd love to have you join me next year on the most incredible 3 days you'll ever experience!


ps. 6 days, 2 years, still 0 blisters! I love THORLOS socks and vaseline!

ps. Don't forget to check out my pictures!

ps. Unlike last year, I'm not planning on letting this blog go dark. I'll continue to update as I train throughout the year, and I have a few fundraising activities I'm thinking of starting soon, so if you've liked reading along, you still can! :-)