Day One

Day One started at 4:20 am thanks to me who forgot to correct the alarm clock that was ten minutes fast. But, we were anxious to start this journey so we quickly dressed and went down to the hotel lobby to eat breakfast at 4:45. We didn't have much because who wants to eat that early? We packed up our stuff and headed for the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Walkers were told to arrive between 5:30 and 6:00 am and we were there by 5:30. The opening ceremony began at 6:30 and after that Jennifer and I had pretty much no concept of time for the next three days. Here we are just before the opening ceremony began.This photo was taken by a mother and daughter team from Minnesota and NYC, respectively. We bonded over the cold San Diego morning weather and ran into them periodically throughout the weekend. We were all so cold waiting for the ceremony to start, and it's hard to just stand there freezing for an hour. We were shivering and huddling together to keep warm. When we ran into that team at the first pit stop they said something like, You can tell you're from Arizona because you're still wearing your fleece.

After an emotional opening ceremony honoring survivors, their families, and loved ones of women and men who lost their lives to breast cancer, we were on our way. It actually hurt to start walking because our feet and legs were so cold. But after the first mile or so, we started to feel like ourselves again.

You can't believe how many people participate in the San Diego 3-Day. More than 4,000 walkers create a seemingly endless line of pink. What's even more incredible is that we raised over 9.5 million dollars for breast cancer research!We did shed our jackets right before the enormous hill at Torrey Pines State Park. In the photo below, we're approaching the first pit stop, but you can see other walkers already ascending the hill. It's an elevation gain of about 400 feet over the course of a mile.Before we took to the hill, we had our photograph taken in our team uniforms. Jennifer made us shirts that said Cooking up a Cure, and we wore aprons and carried spatulas. The spatulas came in handy because we used them to high five all the supporters along the way. Because we all know I like to be germ-free.It was a long and tough climb, especially because there weren't too many supporters along the hill. The San Jose Police bicycle fleet kept us going with their upbeat music and crazy antics. Once we got to the top of Torrey Pines State Park, we were happy again. Exhibit A: We got to see some fairways on the famous Torrey Pines Golf Course and we walked past the Torrey Pines Lodge. A few miles past Torrey Pines, we reached the second pit stop. Now someone had mentioned something about Uncrustables during the opening ceremony and Jennifer and I made a face at each other. Those things are horrid. Terrible. Disgusting. But let me tell you. When it's about 11 o'clock and you've been up since 4:30 and you've walked nearly 9 miles, you'll not only eat an Uncrustable, but you'll devour it and swear it was the best thing you've ever eaten. Sometime during my Uncrustable stupor, I thanked Jennifer for talking me into doing the 3-Day because so far it had been fun, exciting, and empowering. Jennifer, the smart one, suggested I hold onto that thought until Sunday.

Actually, I should have held my tongue or knocked on wood because about an hour later, my toes were screaming! Going up that big, long hill wasn't so bad, but walking downhill is a whole other story. Our toes were rubbing our shoes the wrong way, and I had hot spots on the front of each of my toes. I was so afraid of getting blisters, and I was trying not to panic. Luckily, I had an amazing ocean view to try to keep my mind off it and I knew lunch was at the bottom of the hill.
And then we had Elvis cheering us on. How can this man not make you smile? The photo doesn't do this scene justice at all. His music was blasting and he was dancing just like Elvis.We finally made it back to sea level and ate our lunch after walking 12 miles. Lunch wasn't very exciting. It was a bland chicken breast with fresh spinach and mushrooms, chips, an apple, and mini cookies. The Uncrustable was better.

After lunch we ventured into one of San Diego's most beautiful locations--La Jolla. The landscape in La Jolla Cove was breathtaking. I don't know how many times I said Look how pretty! but Jennifer may be able to give you an accurate count.By this time, we had already walked 16 miles and we were pretty well worn out. We knew we still had quite a bit to go, though, so all we could do was walk some more. We left the coast for a while and ventured into some quaint little neighborhoods.

We took a picture of ourselves at the day's final pit stop. I think we look pretty good here. No worse for wear.

We passed the last cheering station and learned that camp was just around this corner.

What?! Are you kidding me? It was the longest mile of our lives. We were exhausted, hungry, and cold. It was 4:30 and we had been walking for nearly nine hours! As we walked, we watched the sun set.

After we literally turned the corner, we saw camp. And what a beautiful sight it was. As we approached the day's finish line, the sidelines began to fill with spectators cheering for us. I'm not going to lie; it was an emotional finish. Tears welled in my eyes, and I did everything to keep myself from sobbing. I had just walked over 22 miles--the farthest I've ever walked--and all these people were clapping and cheering and basically telling us how great we were for doing it. It's obviously not something that happens to me every day (or ever) so I just donned my sunglasses and crossed the finish. We were done walking for the day. Or so we thought....

A camp designed for 4500 people is bound to be enormous. But until you see it for yourself, you can't imagine its size. Our tent address was M52. We finally found Row M and then we walked to space 52. It was on an end, under a tree, in a patch of dirt. Whatever. I probably could have dropped to the ground and fallen asleep in the dirt right then and there. Some very nice Girl Scouts or National Honor Society students carried our packs to us and set up our tent. And we were certainly grateful to them.

After quick calls to our families, we stretched and walked all the way to the dining tent to enjoy our spaghetti dinner. After showers in the back of a semi (seriously) we went to bed. We were freezing when we were walking around, but once we were in our sleeping bags we were comfortable. And our Eddie Bauer handwarmers gave us a little warmth. Jennifer fell right to sleep, but the lady in the next tent whose head was about a foot from mine had a bit of a snoring problem. Eventually, exhaustion set in and I was out, too.