I got to the hotel at 7:00 or so on Thursday. Met my teamates for the first time. We've been talking back and forth thru email, but I'd never actually had the time for a face-to-face. We then went out to grab a quick bite to eat. We finally fell asleep between 12:30 and 1:00 am.
Woke up at 4:30 am, grabbed the last shuttle bus, and got to Opening Ceremonies (held at Willow Grove mall) a little bit late. We were able to see the Survivors walking in, which to me was the most important part, so I was OK with that. Because we got there so late, we were one of the last groups to get on the road (this will be a recurring theme with us throughout the entire event!).
I can't remember all of the towns we walked through. I know that Jenkintown and Abington were in there. Also, Cheltenham. The reason I remember that town was because EVERY SINGLE police officer was absolutely GORGEOUS! There was one in particular, who was obviously the favorite of the walkers. Each time I saw him, he had acquired another pink lei or set of beads. At some point we were in a section of the city known as Chestnut Hill. I'd never been there before but it was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL place.
Every 3 or so miles we had a "pit stop", where we could top off our fluids and grab a snack, use the bathrooms, and get medical attention if necessary. Each pit stop had a different theme. The first one of the day was an Island Paradise theme. I received my Gatorade from a man wearing a grass skirt and a coconut bra. Another one of the pit stops had a Pirates of the Carribean Theme. Food included: bananas, chips, pretzels, bagels/cream cheese. On a few select pit stops were these PBJ on graham cracker sandwiches. They were a huge hit! I was especially estatic to see that some of the later pit stops offered grape gatorade instead of the lime or orange.
Along the way, we received a lot of cheers. Cars honked their horns while driving by. People came out of their home to wave and cheer us on. At one point we passed an elementary school and the kids were lined up by the fence, clapping and yelling for us. Most of the girls were dressed in pink. One little girl, with blonde curls, reminded me so much of my niece that I teared up for a minute.
I need to introduce you all to Lisa, aka Yellow Car Girl. Lisa is a woman whose partner does the walk. Lisa isn't allowed to do the walk b/c she is hearing impaired. So Lisa drives around in her little yellow car and bascially "stalks" us. When you think you can't make it another step, you will see her off in the distance waving and giving you a thumbs up. Or hear her yelling "You Ladies Look Damn Good" through her megaphone! Lisa is an absolute MUST for getting though the day!!! Not only is she full of positive energy and love, but when you see her, you know that the potties are right around the bend. She doesn't lie about that!
OK, now it's time to explain what a "3 Day Mile" is. As we walk, they have arrows marking the route. At some point, you will see an arrow that says "Pit Stop, 1 mile" (or Lunch, 1 mile....or Camp, 1 mile). I don't know one single person who actually believes that we actually only walk a mile after these signs. And the term "just around the corner" really means that you need to walk about 5 blocks (and most likely up an incline of some sort). Unless Lisa says it. If she says a pit stop is "just around the corner", you know that it will be!
Along the way, we lost our team leader Sam. She had some major tendon pain and we basically told her to TAKE A SWEEP VAN. We'd rather her keep healthy and be able to finish the event with us than end up in the hospital. Kimm and I were moving a bit slowly as well. At one point, we were told that if we did not make the next pit stop by a certain time, we would be forced to take the sweep van. I do not know HOW we did it, but we managed to go the 1.5 miles in slightly less than 30 minutes.
The final leg of our route took us through a beautiful park (part of the Fairmount Park system) and then down Main Street in Manayunk. They had set up a cheering station there, which was a real pick-me-up. This was around the 18mile mark and my feet were in so much pain. We had about 1.5 miles until a Pit Stop and then another 2.5 until camp. We walk out of Manayunk and make a left hand turn, only to see......a hill. A big hill. With a steep incline. That we had to walk up. There are sadistic people designing this route...remember that later!!!
I was convinced that I would not make it. Keep in mind that I am overweight (over 200 lbs) and even though I did train for this event, I did not get as many miles in as they recommened. And I did MINIMAL hill training!! But I was so PISSED OFF that they would but a MOUNTAIN at the end of the route...I used my anger to keep me going.
After the hill, we hit our final Pit Stop. Then we left, only to see another hill. Not as big as the last one, but still very disheartening. Once again, we dug in and kept on walking. Thankfully, that was the last one. The very last mile of Day One was along a nice road, in the shade, surrounded by gorgeous mansions. The sight of the tents at camp made out legs feel lighter and we picked up the pace a bit.
I should add that once we get back to camp, we are not done laboring. We had to get our duffel bags from the luggage truck (weight= 30-35 lbs) and carry it to the campsite. Then we have to set up our own tent! After that, we got to eat dinner (spaghetti with meat sauce and yummy eclairs for dessert) and grab a shower.
Woke up at 4:30 am, grabbed the last shuttle bus, and got to Opening Ceremonies (held at Willow Grove mall) a little bit late. We were able to see the Survivors walking in, which to me was the most important part, so I was OK with that. Because we got there so late, we were one of the last groups to get on the road (this will be a recurring theme with us throughout the entire event!).
I can't remember all of the towns we walked through. I know that Jenkintown and Abington were in there. Also, Cheltenham. The reason I remember that town was because EVERY SINGLE police officer was absolutely GORGEOUS! There was one in particular, who was obviously the favorite of the walkers. Each time I saw him, he had acquired another pink lei or set of beads. At some point we were in a section of the city known as Chestnut Hill. I'd never been there before but it was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL place.
Every 3 or so miles we had a "pit stop", where we could top off our fluids and grab a snack, use the bathrooms, and get medical attention if necessary. Each pit stop had a different theme. The first one of the day was an Island Paradise theme. I received my Gatorade from a man wearing a grass skirt and a coconut bra. Another one of the pit stops had a Pirates of the Carribean Theme. Food included: bananas, chips, pretzels, bagels/cream cheese. On a few select pit stops were these PBJ on graham cracker sandwiches. They were a huge hit! I was especially estatic to see that some of the later pit stops offered grape gatorade instead of the lime or orange.
Along the way, we received a lot of cheers. Cars honked their horns while driving by. People came out of their home to wave and cheer us on. At one point we passed an elementary school and the kids were lined up by the fence, clapping and yelling for us. Most of the girls were dressed in pink. One little girl, with blonde curls, reminded me so much of my niece that I teared up for a minute.
I need to introduce you all to Lisa, aka Yellow Car Girl. Lisa is a woman whose partner does the walk. Lisa isn't allowed to do the walk b/c she is hearing impaired. So Lisa drives around in her little yellow car and bascially "stalks" us. When you think you can't make it another step, you will see her off in the distance waving and giving you a thumbs up. Or hear her yelling "You Ladies Look Damn Good" through her megaphone! Lisa is an absolute MUST for getting though the day!!! Not only is she full of positive energy and love, but when you see her, you know that the potties are right around the bend. She doesn't lie about that!
OK, now it's time to explain what a "3 Day Mile" is. As we walk, they have arrows marking the route. At some point, you will see an arrow that says "Pit Stop, 1 mile" (or Lunch, 1 mile....or Camp, 1 mile). I don't know one single person who actually believes that we actually only walk a mile after these signs. And the term "just around the corner" really means that you need to walk about 5 blocks (and most likely up an incline of some sort). Unless Lisa says it. If she says a pit stop is "just around the corner", you know that it will be!
Along the way, we lost our team leader Sam. She had some major tendon pain and we basically told her to TAKE A SWEEP VAN. We'd rather her keep healthy and be able to finish the event with us than end up in the hospital. Kimm and I were moving a bit slowly as well. At one point, we were told that if we did not make the next pit stop by a certain time, we would be forced to take the sweep van. I do not know HOW we did it, but we managed to go the 1.5 miles in slightly less than 30 minutes.
The final leg of our route took us through a beautiful park (part of the Fairmount Park system) and then down Main Street in Manayunk. They had set up a cheering station there, which was a real pick-me-up. This was around the 18mile mark and my feet were in so much pain. We had about 1.5 miles until a Pit Stop and then another 2.5 until camp. We walk out of Manayunk and make a left hand turn, only to see......a hill. A big hill. With a steep incline. That we had to walk up. There are sadistic people designing this route...remember that later!!!
I was convinced that I would not make it. Keep in mind that I am overweight (over 200 lbs) and even though I did train for this event, I did not get as many miles in as they recommened. And I did MINIMAL hill training!! But I was so PISSED OFF that they would but a MOUNTAIN at the end of the route...I used my anger to keep me going.
After the hill, we hit our final Pit Stop. Then we left, only to see another hill. Not as big as the last one, but still very disheartening. Once again, we dug in and kept on walking. Thankfully, that was the last one. The very last mile of Day One was along a nice road, in the shade, surrounded by gorgeous mansions. The sight of the tents at camp made out legs feel lighter and we picked up the pace a bit.
I should add that once we get back to camp, we are not done laboring. We had to get our duffel bags from the luggage truck (weight= 30-35 lbs) and carry it to the campsite. Then we have to set up our own tent! After that, we got to eat dinner (spaghetti with meat sauce and yummy eclairs for dessert) and grab a shower.
We were at the tail end of the pack all day but we were NOT the last ones to camp!
Needless to say, we slept quite well that night, despite the throbbing feet.
Tune in tomorrow for DAY TWO!!!
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