I DID IT!

Well I did it - 39.3 miles (a marathon on Saturday - 26.2 and a half marathon yesterday -13.1) It was an experience that's hard to put into words. I'm in rough shape physically (lots of blisters and soreness) but it was all worth it. The way I looked at it - the people in which we were walking for are in far more pain than I was feeling. Every time I wanted to stop and wave down the chase vehicle (or as it was referred to as the "Boob-mobile") I thought about a variety of things:

* I pictured the woman standing on the side of the road Day 2 at about mile 4 or 5 who was obviously going through chemo cheering us all on as we walked with a smile on her face and tears coming down her face.

* Seeing all the T-shirts people wore with their stories written on the back. One that struck me was a young girl, probably close to my age with a shirt that said "For my Mom - I will always love you"

* The quote we kept hearing throughout the weekend - "Blisters don't need chemo"

* Listening to the Youth Group (kids ages 10-16 who were "Jr. Staff") who told their stories about why they wanted to be a part of this event.

* Seeing ladies with "Survivor" T-shirts or hats on or messages that said "I am walking for...ME" 200 of the 2,900 walkers were currently battling the disease and were not yet in remission.

The list can go on and on but it was an emotional weekend, one that I certainly will never forget.

Over 2,900 walkers participated raised a record breaking $6.9 million which will go towards finding a cure. While the walk began Saturday morning with torrential downpours, by 9am the rain stopped, we began drying out & the rest of the weekend was absolutely beautiful. We (my sister, cousin & I) completed the full 39.3 miles which took us a total of 15.25 hours over 2 days and 80,000+ steps.

Ray, Max, Mason, my Mom and Dad were at the finish line to greet us which was a nice way to end an emotional, exhausting weekend.

Lastly, A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who donated!! I couldn't have had this great experience without your support!!

Here are a few links to photos taken so you will be able to get a better idea of the weekend:
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=46191211244696351/l=367404603/g=25399525/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=268181211164598269/l=375093374/g=8062366/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=191181211152035133/l=377584191/g=28410537/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB