**2012 Susan G. Komen Chicago 3-Day**
2012 was filled with more than just fun trips to see basketball games or baseball games or go to concerts or have girl's weekends. I had my share of hard work, as well. One of the most difficult things that I did in 2012 was to participate in the Susan G. Komen Chicago 3-Day.
I was incredibly happy to have the support of the Remember Betty organization as some national raffles were held that benefited Team Betty's across the globe. Danny Wood himself even advertised one of our fundraisers...
By the middle of March, I had reached my $2,300 fundraising minimum! I had only been fundraising for two months! The support I had received from family, friends, and even complete strangers amazed me. It made me realize that there were, in fact, still good people on this planet. Just because I had reached my minimum did not mean I was going to stop. My teammate still had to reach her minimum and I tried my hardest to get her those donations through the team's Twitter and Facebook pages. In the end, she was unable to reach her minimum and I was going to have to walk alone. I wasn't worried about doing it alone. After all, how many things had I done solo in 2012? Quite a few. Everyone there would be there for one common reason, to fight breast cancer. I knew that I would meet some new people and hoped I could find someone right away to walk with.
In March and April I began to work sixty hour weeks, split between four different positions within the same school system. As if the sixty hour weeks weren't enough to keep me from my training, the fact that for the most part I did not enjoy my job sure did. I would come home physically and emotionally drained. The stress from working so many hours gave me a constant pain in my shoulders and upper back. Headaches would plague me daily and a depression set in very quickly. Luckily, I only had to endure two months of this agony. However, even after those two months were up, I was still incredibly drained and had no motivation to do anything. School let out and I was going to have a new position during our program's summer camp, a leadership role. I would continue working a full 40 hours but my new position was not any better than my position during the school year. I would come home tired and with little motivation to do my training. In other words, while my training started out great in January and February, it was almost nonexistent from March through August. I knew that I didn't have to walk the entire 60 miles and that Sweep vans would come to my aid if I needed to take a break from walking so I was just going to try my best at completing the 60 miles in 3 days.
Friday, August 10, 2012 - Check in started very early on Friday morning, about 6am. I still had to make the 1.5 hour drive from home so I had to get up VERY early. Like I usually do before a big event, I got only about two hours of sleep. It was going to be a LONG day since I still had over 20 miles to walk that day. Since I did not know where I was going, I left extra early and got there right when everything opened. I was majorly disappointed when it started raining as I drove to the opening ceremony. That would add an interesting component to the day. I was relieved that by the time I parked, it had stopped. I dropped off my bag to the truck that would deliver it to the camp site, got my lanyard to put my credentials in, and then registered an app for Facebook to show my friends my progress throughout the weekend. When I was done, I still had about an hour and a half to kill before the opening ceremony started. I had meant to eat breakfast on the way, but had decided to wait until I got closer to my destination to ensure I would be on time. Once I got closer, there seemed to be no where to eat! Luckily, the mall that we were starting at had a few places that opened early specifically for all the walkers and I grabbed a quick breakfast. I had asked some specific people on Twitter to keep me in their thoughts and prayers throughout the weekend but had not heard back from any of them. However, I was surprised with a Tweet from one of them as I was eating my breakfast. One of my favorite Bat Cats that had been drafted sent me some words of inspiration and it put a huge smile on my face. I was ready to go!
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| Ready for a life changing journey |
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| Rain, rain go away... |
As I left the mall, I noticed that the number of people checking in and getting their stuff taken care of had multiplied. It was getting crowded and we were all excited to get the show on the road. I went over to the stage to wait for opening ceremonies and stretch. The sky looked dark and I hoped that it would blow over so that there would be no more rain. The sky opened up and the rain began to fall. There was a scramble as everyone got out their rain gear to wear. Several people were taking their shoes and socks off to put on flip flops. I later learned why this may have been a good idea.
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| The reason I walk... |
The opening ceremony was amazing and it was time to start the walk. I still hadn't found anyone that looked like they needed a walking partner. As I moved closer to actually moving to start the walk, I was afraid that I was going to be walking alone for some time at first. Then, I was approached by someone asking if I went the University of Kentucky (I was wearing my UK hat). I explained that I was just a huge fan and found out that she had actually been on the dance team there (and Kentucky has an awesome dance team)! She was also walking by herself...I had found my walking partner! Another person overheard us talking about how we were both there as singles and asked if she could join us because she was also a single. I now had two walking partners!
As the race started it stopped raining. However, just as we all decided it was safe enough to take off our rain gear, the rain came down once again. The first pit stop was muddy as we had to avoid large puddles of standing water to get to the porta-pots for a restroom break. I just want to take this time to discuss how incredibly clean all of these were throughout the entire three days, including the one's back at camp. It was so impressive! We got our delicious snacks and continued on the journey. It did eventually stop raining which was good but not before our feet got soaked from walking in the rain.
By lunch time the sun had come out. The first thing I did after getting my lunch was get my wet shoes and socks off my feet. It felt good to let my little toes breathe! The Youth Corps were buzzing around, refilling water bottles and making sure the walkers didn't need anything. One young gentleman was even offering foot massages! I didn't take him up on his offer but I thought it was way cool that a teenage boy was offering to massage the tired, probably stinky, feet of people he didn't even know. The Youth Corps was amazing throughout the entire weekend, lifting up the spirits of a lot of tired walkers. Once again my UK hat served its purpose and another Wildcat fan approached me at lunch. We chatted a bit and then I changed into some dry socks, hoping my still damp shoes weren't going to cause problems.
Some of the neighborhoods we walked through were absolutely amazing! The houses were gorgeous and BIG! The other girls and I chatted away and my obsession with the Backstreet Boys came up. They found it to be way cool that I've had all of the adventures that I have had because of those Boys. Sometimes you never know if people are going to think you are absolutely crazy or if they are going to think it's fun. In most of my experiences, people love to hear about the adventures I've had.
As the day went on, I started walking slower and some problems started developing. I could feel some hot spots forming on my foot, which means that blisters were going to start forming soon. I did my best to prevent this from happening by bandaging them. My right foot started to hurt along the side. I knew right away what was happening. Several years ago, I had had the same problem in my other foot after walking in a half marathon that I had not trained for...AT ALL. The pain this time very much resembled that pain and it was in the exact same spot, just on the other foot. The diagnosis the last time this had happened was tendinitis and it had put me on crutches for a month. The pain started off small and got worse as the day went on, but I just wanted to finish the first day. The other girls were pulling out ahead of me and I couldn't quite keep up with them but I didn't want to hold them back, either. Occasionally, other walkers would join me, cheering me on and motivating me to keep going. They could tell that I was in pain. At one point the girls stopped to wait for me as we made a bathroom break and stretch. The stretching felt amazing...until I went to stretch my calves. As I went into my stretch, my calves began to burn and felt like they were on fire. You know how it feels when you pull a muscle? Yeah, it was like that only it was in both calves and made it even more difficult to walk. I hoped that returning to the walking would help loosen up the muscles so that the pain would go away. I decided that the next time I saw a sweep van I was going to have to take it because I was in bad shape. I only had three more miles to go and it saddened me to know that I wasn't going to complete all twenty one of the Day 1 miles. I began walking slowly. One mile went by and then two before I saw a sweep van approaching. I only had one more mile to complete in order to finish and made the decision to bypass the sweep van and complete those miles! It took me awhile and it was painful but I was so happy as I crossed that finish line for the day and made my way into camp! The first thing I did was make my way to the mats to stretch. It was so difficult to even get down on the ground to even begin stretching. Trying to get back up was even worse. Muscles in my body hurt that I didn't even know existed. The only things that were going through my mind were "I have two more days of this...I can do this...why didn't I train more like I was supposed to?"
The evening was not over yet, as I still had to set up my tent in camp and grab my bag from the trucks that had transported them there. I could barely walk, how was I going to carry a heavy bag and set up a tent? Thankfully, the 3-Day had Tent Angels to assist us. A young guy happily grabbed my bag and a tent and made his way to my camp site where he set up the tent in no time. I'm no stranger to putting up tents but I felt like in my condition it would have taken me at least two hours to put it up. I was moving at the pace of a snail. Originally, I should have been sharing the tent with my teammate but since she hadn't raised enough money and wasn't able to walk, I was going to get the tent to myself. I decided to get dinner next, which was good. The food all weekend was good (including all of the yummy snacks along the route at the pit stops) and there was plenty of it. The 3-Day Crew was ready and willing to refill your water bottle, take your plates, and help you in any way that you needed. I cannot compliment all of the Crew enough for their amazing help all weekend. They definitely made the weekend even that much more special.
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| Similar to our 3-Day Showers |
A nice hot shower was next on my list of things to do. I hoped it would ease the pain that I was feeling. Questions about showers were usually the first I got after my 3-Day weekend. Camp was set up at a local school in a field (either soccer or football, I can't remember now). Rows and rows of pink tents filled the field. Off to the side were four large eighteen wheelers...with showers in them! It was definitely something different and a new experience for me. The showers inside reminded me off my days back at the college dorm. You stepped into the small, curtained changing area and then into the curtained shower area. It was totally sufficient and clean for our needs for the weekend. Again, another impressive accomplishment by the 3-Day.
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| Medic Rob and me - Day 3 |
My final stop was the medical tent to see if I could get any help with some of the pain I was feeling. By then, the hot spots that I had during the walk had turned into blisters. My first stop was to take care of those...all 11 of them that I had (6 on one foot and 5 on the other). Luckily, only one of them had come open during the day. The medic that took care of me, Rob, was extremely nice as he took particular care of each and every single one of those blisters. He told me it had been the most he had seen that day. I knew that it had been bound to happen between my lack of training and the rain that had soaked my feet at the beginning of the walk (all those people that had put on their flip flops when it had started to rain had been geniuses). When Rob was done lancing the bad blisters and using a variety of bandages to cover the others, we both admired the masterpiece that was his first aid job. Little did I know that it was going to be the start of a friendship developed over the weekend. My next stop was to get my foot checked out. I informed them of the problem I had a few years back but they checked it for fractures just in case. I was clear there! There was nothing they could really do for the tendon except some ice and ibuprofen. I then went to the third part of the medical tent to see about getting some relief for the fire that was still radiating throughout my calves. It was determined that I had overstretched them at my last stretching stop. They were rubbed down with Bio Freeze (greatest stuff ever!) and I was sent on my way.
I joined back up with the girls I had been walking with and we made plans to meet the next morning. I hoped that a good night of rest would ease all of the pain that I was feeling and that I would be able to walk the next day, even if it was only for a little bit. I thought I would have no problems falling asleep on that first night because of the lack of sleep I had had the night before and how exhausted I was from the walk that day. We had been lucky that the day had not been hot, even though it was the middle of August. That also meant that the temperature dropped drastically that night and the cold was just one of the things that kept me lying awake that night. The fact that my body hurt all over was another big reason for my insomnia. I had not brought an air mattress (partly because I had no portable pump to blow it up and partly because there had been no room in my bag) so lying on the somewhat hard ground was not helping the pain and soreness I was feeling.
Saturday, August 11, 2012 - After another night of very little sleep, I woke up to a chilly morning. I was sore but I didn't know how bad my foot was until I stepped outside of the tent. I could barely walk. As much as I wanted to walk that day, I knew that doing so would just make the pain worse and could cause more damage. Besides, if there was one thing I wanted to do, it was cross that finish line on the third day. I thought that maybe if I rested my foot the entire day, it would okay enough for me to walk at least part of the third day. I made the decision to catch the SAG bus right from camp, which would take me straight to the lunch stop. Only one other person was on the bus with me but she had been red carded by medical because they had determined that she had a stress fracture in her foot. My medic friend Rob had seen me that morning and had threatened to red card me himself after seeing the pain I was in. I told him that I was red carding myself and not to worry because I had no plans of walking that day. I took the bus to the lunch site and hoped I would see the girls as they came into lunch. I talked with some other walkers who were also having issues and spent some time icing my foot, after finding another blister that Rob and I had missed the night before (that made a total of 12 blisters). The girls eventually came into the lunch site and they updated me on everything that they had seen so far that day.
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| An example of some cool things along the route - Day 1 |
What had impressed me so much on the first day was the support the walkers seemed to get from others in the community on our journey. Cheering stations had been set up along the route as people cheered you on and passed out goodies. Cars honked as they passed you going down the street. It made me feel good that people were supporting the cause even if they weren't walking themselves. It gave hope to the walkers as they chugged along. From what the girls were telling me, I had missed some good times along the route that day. I felt bad that I had missed it. They seemed to still be going strong as they continued on their journey.
I joined the SAG bus to take us back to camp and it was much more full this time. Since we rode the bus back, we got into camp before everyone else. It meant I didn't have to wait in line for the shower, which was nice. However, I was tired. My lack of sleep from the night before and the fact I had pretty much just sat all day had drained me of any energy. I decided to lay in my tent for awhile and take a nap, since we had some time before most of the walkers would make it back into camp. Even though it wasn't especially hot out, anyone who has been camping knows how warm it can be inside a tent that has been sitting in the sun all day. I layed down but the oven-like conditions were not conducive to getting any shut eye. I eventually made my way to the dining tent to grab dinner and was joined by the girls once they returned and had completed their showers. We all decided to partake in the festivities that evening since we had been too tired to stay up the night before. They had a performer singing and playing his guitar, presentations, and special recognitions. The part that everyone looks the most forward to at the end of Day 2 is the Dance Party. It's exactly how it sounds...they play music and everyone dances. It looked like fun but we were in no shape to join in those particular festivities as we decided to call it a night.
Sunday, August 12, 2012 - I slept a bit better on the second night but it still wasn't a great sleep. I made sure to layer more and that helped a bit but it was still very cold. Unfortunately, I woke up the next morning to my foot not feeling much better at all. I was mad that I was going to have to miss another day of walking. After slowly and painfully packing my bag and taking my tent down, I made my way to breakfast. I hopped on the SAG bus, which had WAY more people than the first SAG bus of the previous day. At least I was not alone. We headed to the lunch site, where I had a nice visit with my medic friend and helped where I could in restocking the blister materials as I sat at the table and iced my foot. I was able to see the girls, who had diligently walked every mile of that walk, before I got on one of the sweep vans to head to the finish at Soldier Field (mind you, that will be the ONLY time I am ever caught in that building - Go Pack Go). Unfortunately, we entered the stadium in a spot that we did not cross the finish line. I wasn't about to end this journey without crossing that line! I limped over to the finish line and crossed it - and the crew of the 3-Day cheered for me even though I hadn't come across it like everyone else would that day. I knew I had some time before the first walkers would finish for the day but I stayed by that line and cheered on everyone who came across that line. I was so angry at myself for not being able to walk that entire walk but I was so happy to be a part of the experience, even if I had not gotten to experience to the fullest extent. I eventually saw the girls coming across the finish line and gave them each a huge hug for their accomplishment!
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| The girls and me waiting for closing ceremonies to begin |
It was then a waiting game, as the closing ceremonies would not begin until all walkers had crossed that finish line. We sat and I had them tell me about everything I had missed that day. It sounds like the walk through the city and along the lake front was a great one! When it was finally time to line up for the closing ceremonies we happened to be standing right where the line was to begin to march into the closing....so we were the first to be greeted by all of the family and friends that had come to cheer on their walker. Sadly, I had no one there for me since my husband refuses to come to Chicago. It was great walking through the crowd as they cheered us on, although I had problems keeping up with those that were the first in line because of my foot. We were in the front row in front of the stage to experience the closing ceremonies, which were very emotional, to say the least. I know I had some tears running down my face. In 3-Day tradition, we all removed one of our shoes and raised it into the air as the survivors entered the closing ceremonies to signify that it was not only them that we were walking for, but all survivors of breast cancer and those who will be affected by it in the future. It was announced that the Chicago 3-Day had raised $3.5 million as of the closing ceremonies! And I was just a small part of that...
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| Cats Fans! |
As the closing ceremonies ended, I headed to pick up my gear and head to the shuttle that would take me back to my car where the opening ceremonies had been held. All around me, walkers were in great spirits as they recalled their favorite memories of the weekend. I ran into the Kentucky fans I had met earlier that weekend in the parking lot and got my photo with them. Later, I had posted this photo on Twitter and had tagged the University of Kentucky to let them know that the Big Blue Nation is truly everywhere (this is important for something that happened later)!
I drove home, stopping by Taco Bell to grab some dinner. There I had a discussion about the 3-Day with someone who had seen my limp. They congratulated me on my accomplishments for the weekend and it made me feel good. People outside of the 3-Day community were recognizing the effort I had dedicated to the cause.
Post 3-Day: The love and congratulations that I received from everyone after the 3-Day was amazing. The biggest surprise was the following tweet....
The fact that Danny took the time to tweet me and thank me for my efforts was beyond anything I could ever imagine. What really got to me was the fact that he (or someone) had taken the time to get the photo that I had tweeted to the University of Kentucky and crop it to only show me. It truly made me feel so incredibly good about what I had accomplished, even though I had been upset I hadn't gotten to walk the entire event.
Even before this had happened, I had made the decision to participate in the 2013 Chicago 3-Day once again. I think I had actually decided this at the closing ceremonies of the 2012 3-Day. So, you may be asking...."It kind of sounded like you had a miserable time with your injuries. Why do it again?" Well, that is a very good question. Let me answer that for you.
1. By the end of the week my blisters and tendinitis were practically healed. It just took one short week of rest to heal. My ailments did not need chemotherapy. I didn't need to have a full mastectomy or hysterectomy to keep this pain from returning. These injuries were not life-threatening. I was going to be able to go about my life normally after one week of healing, while those with breast cancer would have to suffer for months or even years. If it takes feeling that pain for one week in order to fight breast cancer, I will be more than happy to suffer for that one week.
2. The support I received before, during, and after the event were amazing and made me feel like I was doing something important and making a difference in the world. Who doesn't enjoy that feeling? I cannot thank my family, friends, and even complete strangers enough for what they helped me to accomplish.
3. The people I met during the event were inspirational. There were survivors who were walking to make a statement. They had beaten breast cancer and they weren't about to let it defeat them. There were family members who had lost loved ones to cancer. The memory of the loved one was being honored. There were men dressed in bras and tutus, walking for a cause that affects so few of them. Those who don't want to or can't make the walking and fundraising commitment are still there to support the walkers on their journey. For one weekend, so many people came together, forgetting about their problems, to fight for one common cause. We were all a family that weekend...we all belonged.
4. I know too many people that have been affected by breast cancer. My grandmother is a 17-year survivor. I have at least two sorority sisters that are survivors (and more that I'm sure I don't even know about). A fellow member of my Moose Lodge is a survivor. Luckily, everyone I know has been able to fight and defeat the disease. It's because of research and funding by organizations like Susan G. Komen that aids in this fight. Unfortunately, I also know many people who have had loved ones not be able to defeat those cancerous cells. That is why we need to keep fighting and not stop until that survival rate is at 100%.
5. I want the FULL 3-Day experience. I want to be able to walk EVERY one of those 60 miles. I want to experience EVERY one of those cheering stations.
Those are just five reasons why I am going to experience all of this all over again! I would love for more people to join me, as I am the only member of Team Betty for the Chicago 3-Day right now. You can visit the
Team Betty Participant Page for more information.
I started my training about 4 weeks early and am in Week 5. To date I have logged 62 miles of training. It has been going great! And now that I have a new job that I enjoy, I believe that training will be so much easier for me than it was last year. I also know that I need to make so much more of an effort so that I don't have the same problems that I did last year. I would love everyone's encouragement and support so that I keep up with it though! You can do this in a number of ways:
"Like" us on Facebook -
Team Betty - Susan G. Komen Chicago 3-Day
Follow us on Twitter - @TeamBetty_Chi
E-mail us -
teambettychicago3day@gmail.com
My fundraising has also been going well. I have decided to make my goal $3,500 this year, which is slightly higher than the amount I was able to raise last year. I am just about to break the $1,000 mark. I have several fundraisers going on right now including Training Sponsorships, White Sox v. Cubs ticket raffle, and "Cancer Sucks" t-shirts for sale. You can get all the information for these fundraisers or donate on my
Walker Participant Page.
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| Team Betty - 2012 Top 5 Teams |
I discovered recently that our team last year was actually in the Top 5 for fundraising Team Betty's across the world. That was with two of us fundraising. I would love to get on this list again this year, especially if I am the only member of the team!
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this and I hope that I can count on you for your support!
**Title Credit - "The Answer To Our Life" -
Black and Blue - Backstreet Boys
I need everyone's help! I have been nominated by a friend for the Major League Baseball Honorary Bat Girl Contest for the Chicago White Sox for "going to bat against cancer." Winners for each major league baseball team are chosen from a panel of judges made up of team members, as well as votes from the public. I need your votes!
