Avon Walk 2008

This past weekend was the much emailed about and fund raised for - Avon Foundation Walk for Breast Cancer.

I had initially joined Leigh Robinson's walking team in October, with the intention of using the walk as motivation to get in shape and lose my baby weight from my pregnancy with Peter. Two months into training, Brett and I learned we were pregnant again and the training schedule was put on hold while I suffered through morning sickness and exhaustion.

Once the sickness wore off however, walking became much harder and training walks were shorter and slower. But, I was still determined to walk in the event. My doctor, however, want me to have nothing to do with it when I asked him for a medical release note. After I battled with him and Brett for about 10 minutes, I was finally given an approval note with the exception that I would stop as soon as I was tired, hot, or in pain; and that I would not sleep in the tent village as I had planned.

Saturday morning the event started bright and early with the opening ceremonies; including stretching and stories of 4 heroic women's battles with Breast Cancer. Then around 7:30am, the 3,500 men and women participating in the event were off and walking, filling the streets of DC with Pink pride!

By the first rest stop along the way, I was pretty much at the back of the group. Our team had split into two groups, one with the faster walkers, and the other was Team Slow Mama: Meghan, Heather, and myself (many thanks to both of them for walking with me even at my slow pace).

Right around mile 7 I really started hurting and almost called it quits - if not for a phone call from mom telling me that she was at mile 9 waiting to cheer me on. I had to keep going! So I trudged on, telling Meghan to go on ahead so she would have enough time to finish the 26 miles that were scheduled for that day.

When I reached the cheer station at mile 9 I was surprised to find, Brett, Peter, my mom, and our best friend's Troy and Alex all cheering (Peter cheered the loudest). Heather and I stopped for a minute, then headed off to the lunch stop at mile marker 9.4.

After lunch we got back on the road, but we were hardly moving. Besides normal walking pains (a couple blisters, sun burn, and dehydration), I had started to feel shooting pains down each leg with every step I took. Additionally, I was getting a pain on the right side of my belly, and the weight of the baby was beginning to really wear on my hips and pelvis. However, I was so close to the half marathon (13 miles) that I kept going.

I think that I walked about a 30-45 minute mile those last 3 or 4 miles, but somehow I made it! At the half marathon mark a team of volunteers cheered Heather and I on as we crossed the line, and then I headed to a bus to take me back to the Wellness Village (while Heather met her husband to take her home).

Once at the Wellness Village I got to enjoy their massage chairs, vendor tents (including the Reebok tent where you could get a photo taken), and got "my" tent set up for Meghan to sleep in that night (I was assigned to "room" with her, but was not allowed by my doctor). Then I headed back down to the finish line to wait for the rest of my team and cheer on all the walkers as they came up the hill to mile 26.

I was soon joined by Brett, Peter, and friend's Nick, Ant, and Heather; who showed up just in time for the rest of the MammoGLAM Mamas to come walking (limping maybe) to the end of their first day.

After cheering on the team, Brett insisted that I go to the medical tent to make sure the pains in my stomach were nothing to worry about (they think it was a combination of the dehydration and weight of the baby - but nothing too bad). Then we headed home with our friends for dinner and an early night.

The next morning I had intended to get up and head back down town to cheer on the rest of my team, however I was still not doing great and Brett told me to stay in bed. I kept in touch via phone calls and text messages, and learned that my entire team had finished the walk by the afternoon (adding another 14 miles to the 26 they walked on day 1).