Here we go again!!!

I can't wait to do this next year!!!

People have been asking me how the weekend was and it’s kind of hard to put it into words…but I’ll try to do my best. From the start, I knew I was in for a challenge: can I really walk 60 miles and can I really take a shower in a semi truck?! The answer to both questions I learned was yes!

From the moment I arrived at opening ceremonies, I was surrounded by the most uplifting, energetic, and happy group of people I have ever met…even at 5:30 in the morning. The 3-Day staff and the volunteer crew are an amazing group of people. They deserve a huge round of applause for all the hard work they put in this past weekend! From directing traffic while wearing a pirate costume, to assembling hundreds of tents, to clapping for hours on end as we arrived back at camp to bandaging up thousands of blisters - they were spectacular.

Another truly amazing group of people were all the supporters who came out to the cheer stations. Every time I passed through one, I was crying. It’s hard to explain, but it was touching to see the outpouring of support. We’d have people come up and give us hugs, kids who passed out lemonade and candy, and everyone else was in the mood for a high five and many houses even had the sprinklers going for us to cool off in as we walked past. At one point we walked past a young women surrounded by her kids. You could tell she was going through chemo due to the scarf she had wrapped around her head. She looked at as and thanked us for walking for her. I get choked up just thinking about it again.

There were another group of special supporters that followed us around all weekend: a man named Jerry and the “Woo Hoo” guy. They were there all 3 days at multiple points along the route. They never stopped cheering. Every time we would see Jerry in the distance cheering, we’d get so excited! Who knew that smiling face would come to mean so much to all us walkers? The “Woo Hoo” guy also became a favorite very quickly. You could hear him from ½ a mile away yelling “wooooo hoooooo!!!” as each group of walkers passed by him. By the end of day 3, he’d lost his voice. It’s people like these two guys that kept us going all 6o miles.

Camp life was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Those showers in a semi truck I mentioned earlier? Really not that bad after all! Even the 45-minute wait for the showers wasn’t so bad; because it gave you time to meet all the people sitting around you. The food was pretty good too, except I had a problem trying to eat a breakfast of bacon, eggs and hash browns at 5:30 in the morning. Sleeping in the little pink tent was also not as bad as I thought it was going to be. People told me that it wouldn’t really matter if the ground was hard, we’d be so tired we’d sleep regardless – and they were right. The worst part was the foul-mouthed guy in the tent behind us who liked to snore. One of the best parts of camp was the Energizer tent, which offered free massages and internet access! Too bad there was a time limit on those!

The walk itself was an adventure and something I can’t wait to do again. Walkers come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and athletic abilities. Whenever I would start to think, “my legs hurt” I’d see someone who was twice my age with her knees wrapped I’d think, “never mind…if they can do this, then so can I”. At one point, we were passed by a person pushing a wheelchair and by a 70 year old lady! There were even pregnant women out there! So, for all those that think you can’t do this…you can!!! The 3-day walkers are a determined group of individuals. By day 3, people were walking in flip-flops, socks and even slippers. They were walking on feet so bandaged you couldn’t even see their skin. Adrenaline carried many people through those last few miles. It was all worth it though to finally see mile 60 come to an end and to walk into Closing Ceremonies arm in arm with our team through the tunnel of screaming supporters. Once again, I was crying.

I could really write so much more, but I’m sure some of you are bored and gave up halfway through this so I’ll finish with my final thoughts. I strongly encourage everyone to try this challenge at least once. I won’t lie, the fundraising is difficult in this tough economy and training is very time consuming, but the reward you’ll get out of helping someone else is so worth it. The 3-Day is a life-changing event. You laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll cry some more. You’ll meet some wonderful people and learn how strong of a person you really are. We all probably know someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer and sadly, some of them are no longer with us. I walk in memory of those we have lost, in honor of those who struggle with this on a daily basis, and in the hope that one day, they will find a cure. Because everyone deserves a lifetime.

T-Minus 1 day!!!

I can't believe 5 months have come and gone so quickly. After 3 fundraisers and lots of begging for money from friends and family, I am proud to say our team has raised almost $10,400 for Komen Foundation. I am so proud of every member of my team for all the hard work they have put in to this - it has been a challenge to say the least. Thanks again to all of you who have donated - your donation means so much not only to our team, but to all those who have been diagnosed with this disease.

Well, I have packed (and unpacked) and packed again...and unpacked again (I have to admit I am a little OCD). I hope that I have everything I am supposed to bring! If not, I'm sure Jen, the other OCD team member, will have remembered it. Luckily we have Valerie and Leigh to keep the 2 of us calm. We will be leaving for Cleveland at 4:30 am on Friday morning (ugh!) in order to make to opening ceremonies on time. I still can't believe I was asked to participate by carrying one of the banners - I'm so honored, but I'm sure I'll be a nervous wreck come Friday!

If any of you will be on the west side of Cleveland this weekend and want to come cheer us on, you can visit the following link for information on where the official cheering stations are.
http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServer?pagename=CL_Spectator
And for any of you that are the praying type, please pray that we stay safe this weekend and make it through these 60 miles without any major disasters! And for the rest of you....just wish us GOOD LUCK!!!

As of last night I reached my new goal of $3,000! I am sure all my friends and family are tired of hearing me ask for donations, but I am an overachiever and couldn't stop at $2,300! Then, today our team met our team goal of $10,000! I am grateful to everyone who has donated to Team Second Base - we truly appreciate each and every penny!!!

So Excited!!!

So I got home last night and had a message from someone with the Cleveland 3-Day. When I called back I was informed that I had been chosen to be one of the flag carriers for Opening Ceremonies! I'll be carrying the lifetime flag that reads "JOY"...I feel so honored to have been chosen!!!

I'm also proud to say that each member of our team has met their $2300 goal and we are within $100 of meeting our team goal of $10,000! With one month to go, I have high hopes that we will not only reach that goal, but surpass it! Thanks to everyone who has donated!!!

Just want to thank everyone who showed up for our 3rd fundraiser at the Blind Pig on Friday night. Leigh, Valerie, Jen and I had a blast! Hopefully everyone who came out had as good of time as we did. Between our 50/50 raffle, the tips we made bartending (and a few we made afterwards), we raised $700!!!

We are still shy of our team goal of $10,000. I know we have asked so much of our friends and family so far (and you guys have really been generous)but we only need about $360 more to hit our mark - won't you please help us get there?

To donate please follow this link:

http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/ClevelandEvent?px=3030294&pg=personal&fr_id=1294

It’s been a while since I updated this…guess that shows how busy I’ve been. I wished I could say it was because I am walking 10 miles a day and never get on the computer (that would be a straight up lie though). Actually, I have been trying to walk when I can, but I have learned that Jacob doesn’t do well past mile marker 3 if we are on a bike path. That means when he comes with me, we are stuck walking in Chardon (because he loves to watch all the traffic). Good to get the heart beating, but the scenery isn’t as nice as the bike path!

We also have new team member, Leigh Hornyak (shown in the picture with me). We are so excited she is a part of our team!

As many of you know, we just had fundraiser #2 last weekend. We joined forces with Erin Pianko’s team for the weekend and set up a fundraising table in front of the fire station at the Maple Festival. I am thrilled to announce our team raised just under $1,000! Thanks to all of you that stopped out and supported us! It was a fun weekend, but I think I may have gotten a few gray hairs in the days leading up to the event!

Our next fundraiser will take place at The Blind Pig in downtown Cleveland on June 19th. Team Second Base will be bartending from 6:00-8:30 and all the tips we make will go directly to the 3-Day Walk. Come down and watch us make fools of ourselves (since none of us know how to bartend!) and help out a great cause! Mark it on your calendar and bring a friend (or two or three or four...)!!!