Breast Cancer 3-day Walk - Day 3

DAY 3….Day 3 wasn’t bad. We were actually going to be bussed somewhere closer to the city because it would’ve been too long to go from Des Plaines to Soldier field where the closing ceremonies were, so they bussed us in yellow school busses to Lincolnwood on the north side of the city.



Our route was up through Bucktown, Wicker & Lincoln parks, then on down the lakefront via the path along the lake all the way down to Michigan Avenue through all the hustle and bustle of the big city, something I was waiting for the whole weekend. I love the city more than anything and enjoyed this day the best. Here is us at about 3 in the afternoon before arriving at Soldier field….that last mile there was long, but very satisfying. The 3 of us had stayed together the entire day (where as Fri & Sat we split up some and walked together some) and walked arm in arm in arm across the final line amidst many many other walkers, crew, staff, medical people and family screaming ‘You did it! You made it! You’re our heroes, we love you, we’re so proud of you! Thank you for walking!”. It was such an amazing feeling and we all bawled behind our sunglasses until we collapsed on a berm by the parking lot across from the festivities where we were told to hold until the ceremonies were to begin.







Pics of the ‘brooms’ that denoted the sweep vans on the routes…..




People made homemade signs and banners (like my mom and nephew did). It felt like you were the most wanted and appreciated people on the planet when you walked into that area with the stage.



My sister somehow found us in the crowd and got other walkers to get my attention by saying “are you Rachel, there’s someone that’s trying to talk to you over there.” It was great to see her and the hug was extra tight. Here’s the pic she took of us. Our white shirt denoted walker, Grey were crew, and pink were Survivors and they went in first.



Closing ceremonies were very moving. There were speeches from the nephew of Susan G. Komen (the son of the sister who made that fateful promise to her dying sister), and the director of the event, as well as other survivors. The shoe removal part of the ceremony was especially moving (and let’s admit that it felt good to take off the shoes.)





Here’s our families….






And us….



When we left the stadium, actually getting OUT of the area proved to be more of a hassle than we thought it would be. Luckily, my mom came prepared with brownies, rice krispie treats, chocolate chip cookies, drink boxes, some alcoholic beverages and soda, etc. to supply many walkers and their families as they waited in their cars in a huge line. We just sat on the curb by the car and enjoyed out new neighbor’s company, Iris and her family.





It was an amazing experience, and what was even better, is that all 3 of us girls walked every stinking last mile….all 60 of them – no sweep vans needed. We plan on doing it again next year, and plan on doubling what we raised. This year the 3 of us raised $11,174. We’re proud to say that we were able to do our part in helping rid our great world of this horrible disease. Who knows, breakthroughs in Breast Cancer, leads to breakthroughs in ALL kinds of cancer. My dad is a colon cancer survivor and I have a myspace friend who is also a survivor. And I know 3 ladies, all breast cancer survivors who all can continue to live thanks to the Susan G. Komen foundation. See you next year!!

Breast Cancer 3-day Walk - Day 2

DAY 2….Day 2 started out the same as day one, but we had a good breakfast after getting up at dawn and were on the road by 6:45 or so. It was cooler this day and looked like rain, so I made sure I had my poncho, but Tara and Deb had to get garbage bags from Walgreens. One person would buy a box and then just hand them out outside. The rain stopped within an hour and got warmer then.Here’s pit stop 2 on day 2…..and Tara in her ‘little black garbage bag dress.’



We walked a large circle around our camp that day, and my favorite part was the Mt. Prospect police department wore pink uniform shirts!



Lunch…..day 2…..



Throughout the days too there were ‘cheering sections’ – some larger than others – that really perked us up. In addition to people cheering and handing out candy, ice cubes, freeze pops, and sprays of water, they played music and cheered. Some of them had ‘red carpets’ that you cross and you had to dance across! There was also the Tata van that had a trailer in back that shot out bubbles and they had music going and the guys were dancing and cheering. That helped a lot to keep spirits and paces up during the day. We couldn’t have done it without them. Their were ‘spirit vans’ going around too with boas hanging from it and horns honking. All great and very needed. There were these two ‘angels (a husband and wife team. Later I learned the wife was a survivor)’ who rode their bikes around keeping morale up. The man angel would stop and play baseball at local games, and be a goalie during the soccer practice. There’s nothing like seeing an angel making a diving save at the soccer net.







Not only were there ‘spirit vans’ and people on corners that helped you through it, but there were ‘sweep vans’ that would basically pick you up if you couldn’t make it another step walking. They encouraged people to use them and people did. There was no shame in this. They would bring you to the next pit stop. If you were done for the day, they had busses that would bring you back to camp to rest.My and Tara’s husbands came to the cheering section in Glenview on Saturday afternoon. I went ahead after lunch while Tara waited for Deb and rested a while, and I got to rest at the cheering section while waiting for the girls…..



Here they are coming on in…..



And some of us hanging out. We are about 3 miles from the end of Day 2 back to camp.









Day 2 we all agreed was the hardest day. We knew what to expect, but our bodies were still screaming. I didn’t have many problems, although my arches hurt so taking off my shoes at every pit stop or grab N go was a must to stretch them, but no blisters so I was happy. Deb and Tara weren’t as lucky, with blisters and other problems. So we felt that the last mile on Day 2 was the worst….it was the hottest part of the whole weekend and began to get humid. This was the last half mile to camp….and it took forever.

Breast Cancer 3-day Walk - Day 1

As many of you know, August 8-10 I participated in the Chicago Breast Cancer 3-day Walk benefiting Susan G. Komen for the cure and the National Philanthropic Trust. It seems like forever ago already, but I’m finally taking time to blog about the great experience…..

Complete with pics…..

My team and I (Tara, my team captain, and Deb) have been training since we signed up in late February of this year, I more than the others because I love walking so much. I have a ‘4-mile route’ at home I walk at night to clear away the cobwebs. That sometimes works just as much as a cold beer and a good song. Not always, but most times.

If you had been reading my previous blogs, then you’d know that the most I walked at one time was 22 miles (to my mom’s and back), so I had been pretty prepared.

This first one is of us at the hotel ready to board the bus to the opening ceremonies.



We left work on Thursday night and headed to our hotel because the prospect of getting up at 3am in order to get ready and get to Northbrook Mall where our opening ceremonies were by 5 or 5:30 wasn’t too exciting. We got a good night sleep and arrived at the opening ceremonies at 5:45. What we saw when we got there was an amazing amount of people in crazy outfits, hats with nylon boobs on them, boas, pink, pink and more pink everywhere! People with bright colored socks and shirts so they were easily recognizable to family and friends were also there!

Here’s what it was like….








The weather was perfect all 3 days, with the exception of mid-Saturday morning where we got some sprinkles (thank God for garbage bags from Walgreens for Tara because she forgot her poncho). The weather was cooler and very unlike Chicago-land August weather, THANK GOD!Our first day was about 23 miles. It took a while for the crowds to thin out and get into a groove, but once we did, it was easier. The route was designed with pit stops or ‘grab N go’s’ at ever 2-3 miles, something we grew to really count on! This is our first real pit stop. Pit stops have water, Gatorade, potties & all kinds of food – my faves were string cheese, raisin boxes, banana parts, chips/pretzels, but they also had other fruit (the oranges made my hands sticky), and Smuckers Uncrustables. The Grab N Go’s had water, Gatorade and potties only. They were spaced opposite of each other.

Here is our first real pit stop and one of the tents. Lunches were decent and had different sandwiches or wraps for each day, along with some type of salad or coleslaw and fruit, as well as a dessert.








At the opening ceremonies, there were banners that signified different things (home, family, my sister, my mother, health, courage, etc.) and they were encouraged for the banner holder to keep passing the banners so that eventually most all the people could touch one and carry it throughout the first day. Here is Tara holding the Health banner…..



Our route on Friday was around Northbrook and heading to our camp, at the Oakton Community College grounds, so we headed out and made our way through the Botanic Gardens and continuing. We got to know how long it would take to reach our next stop and grew to love the site of the ‘blue porta-potties on the horizon’……but the signs telling us how long we had were nice too…..the Harley crossing guards lots of times had that info too, telling us, “Only 1.8 miles til the next pit stop, ladies! Keep going strong!”



Camp was fun. 2400 tents or so in long lines denoted by letter and number….kind of like a prison! Haha! Seriously, it wasn’t bad, and the dome tents only took about 2 minutes to put up. Here’s camp, along with the shower trucks and towel service (an extra $12 and worth every penny) and the memory tents where you could write your own story and sign the memoriam tent with your loved ones name.







Dinner was a great hot meal and even though there were activities in the huge ‘circus’ tent and a little shopping area for gear and souvenirs, we pretty much were tucked in our tents and sleeping bags (it was about 55 at night so the sleeping bag was a must) by 8:30 or 9. Hey, you try walking 22 miles and see how long you stay up at night!

More 3-day Training....Summer 2008

Another day in the city brings less tired feet and legs each time the Asics hit the pavement, ironically. As the days tick by more quickly towards the Breast Cancer 3-day event in August, I am constantly trying to make time to train according to the ‘Training Plan’. Seeing the ‘Saturday – 17 miles easy walking’ and ‘Sunday – 13 miles easy walking’ kinda freaked me out a bit, but decided to give it a shot. My goal for the weekend was to just shop less, walk more. Ironically, I was able to do both….shop and put in some serious miles.

Saturday thanks to the newly added express train from Waukegan, I was able to get an early start and arrived in Chicago at 9:45. It was nice for the first half hour or so, but then it was time for the umbrella for about the next hour. I made south trek til about 10th street, then turning around after the rain got heavier. I didn’t want to get caught in the parks if the storms got worse.

Soon, the sky closed up and the sun was glorious. I meandered my way north all the way to North Beach stopping only a couple of times to relax a bit for 10 minute breaks, then my longest stop, for a beer at Castaways. All in all, I was able to find some cute deals when I needed to slow up on my 4mph pace, and walk for 3 hours straight in the afternoon back to the train. In all, I visited North Beach, Millennium & Grant parks including the museum campus to Adler. My tally for Saturday was in the 17-19 mile range (without shopping time). Mission accomplished.

Upon walking, I always people watch as I go, noticing outfits as I pass by. I began taking special notice to ‘the old biddies’. I saw old women in beautiful Chanel suits with their Coach purses, ugly mismatched jean skirts and ruffle shirts, a cute little pair of capris with orange argyle socks and light blue Mr. Rogers shoes, a fancy ‘burberry’ Gramma complete with scarf, bag and matching shoes, Grammas with granddaughters carrying their ‘American Girl’ namesake. Pretty creamy-skinned grammas with immaculate hair in their velvet track suits, and of course the other end of the spectrum of wrinkly old crotchety smelly ladies with BO that could knock down a house even in the 2 seconds it takes to pass them on the street.

To make it fair, I began checking out the men too…you have the fantastic cologne ones that you just get a whiff of them enough to want to turn and run after them in the street tackling them to the ground (that happened several times, less the running and tackling), the ‘porn king’ Grecian God-wanna-be’s whose cologne made you gag and his gelled hair swished and greased his shoulders of his white button up and cheesy too-tight trousers and 27 gold necklaces as he sauntered. But then you have the skaters with crazy tats sans shirts cruising through the people, the college dudes with their ipods and messenger bags and Chuck Taylors stealthing through the crowds, and finally the boyfriends glued to their women as if any second, she would leave him for a passing Grecian God. I’m partial to the business men in their nice trousers, leather shoes, crisp button ups with the nice smiles that actually look you in the eye when you pass as if saying ‘welcome to my city, stay awhile?’ Well, I think I will do just that is what I’d tell them…. Anyone who smiles at you are keepers!

Sunday, the express train wasn’t an option so tied with the fact that I would be leaving early as well, my time was cut by 2 hours. I took it a little easier today and clocked about 14 miles of good steady pavement hitting. This day, though I followed the Lake Shore Drive path all the way along the marina front and down the Chicago Riverfront back to Michigan. The second I entered the darkened path headed back west, the little leaf Lindens were so fragrant, I never wanted to leave this sweet heavenly path. I actually needed the umbrella when I got to that path and the rain coming down made the smell that much sweeter. Luckily the showers didn’t last more than 10 minutes or so a few times that day. Kept it cool.

By the end of the 2 days, I had walked approximately 34 miles depending on the mph I was using. I averaged my numbers to the low end of my pace to not get my hopes up for having walked over the recommended amount.

The next weekend I’m able to go and walk won’t be for a few weeks, so I’ll be sure to make them good ones……relaxing ones!

Benches for our butts.....

This is a repost from last late spring while training for the Breast Cancer 3-day in August......

As I’ve been spending more and more time in the city lately because I’ve been training for the 3-day, my brain seems to kick into ADHD mode and as I walk, I begin to have weird thoughts race through my mind to pass the time. A great song on an ipod apparently isn’t always enough to keep me occupied.

I was on the southern end of my loop near the Field museum a few weeks ago and as I got to about the 3 mile mark, I began to notice my body’s way of telling me that I’m not 24 anymore. Knees clicking, gentle soreness in my hips, etc. I sat down on a bench to rest and gather myself again and hopped back on the path. My next leg I got to one of the many parks and began to notice how many different types of places to put my tired butt in this city. I started craning my neck as I walked to see how many I could count. It didn’t occur to me to actually take a picture of each one until I was half way done with my day, but have counted well over 20 different types of places to sit besides the ground just on my 13 mile jaunt.

Here are a few…….metal, stone, marbel, concrete, wood, wrought iron. Circular, steps, flat, angled, slabbed, curved. This city is amazing to me. I wonder if each park has its own contract for outdoor furniture. Each must have their own because each park or ‘rest area’ is different by way of seating.




I guess if you’re tired enough, you’ll sleep anywhere, even on the cold stone, or on the damp ground. I agree with the guy on the sun basking on the grass, as I have my own fave spot.






























Of course, sometimes, the ground is the best place. This is where I am partial to. My ‘spot’ is at Millennium park between the gardens in between the bean and the fountains on the ramp. The side bank is angled and is great for lying flat but gives you the ability to still see everything going on, and it’s shaded during the day if you pick the right angle.





So, there it is…..a tiny little part of trivia for the butts of the world. How many benches ARE there in the city? I guess until I count them all, I’ll just have to keep visiting!

Part 2…..the north….