Thursday, December 29, 2011

The 3-Day: Day 1

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day was a titanic task that I, Barbie, Brandon and Ryan were taking on. The weeks leading up to the Walk, we had fundraisers, we asked people for money, we prayed….I think I was more nervous about raising the $2,300 that was required to actually walk. Needless to say, we were determined to make our goals and we did.

The morning of the first day started off pretty good. My good friend Maty kept Cleo for me. I took her over to his place the night before. She and Dago Bear did there thing and I felt confident that she was in great hands. Now….I was going to be walking 20 miles a day for 3 days….not going on a vacation….but my gay ass was trying to make sure my outfits were coordinated, I even packed cologne….FOR REAL? Had I already forgotten that all that did not matter? This walk was about to remind me once again, that it’s not really all that important what the shell of you looks like, it’s about what you are made of at the core of yourself.

The team had decided to meet over at the De la Rosa house at 5:00am and head down to Qwest Field together. I had stopped at Purr to pick up our buddy, Rock, who was decked out in his pink Nikes, pink knee high socks, white basketball shorts and pink tank. He was adorable! When we arrived at the house, everyone was getting the final packing done. Jason D was cooking up some breakfast for us and that house felt like a home. Will A and Rock helped us get our stuff and 7 of us packed into an SUV with all of our baggage and equipment for the weekend. I don’t think that it had registered just yet what we were about to do. I think we knew that no matter what, we had each other and we were going to make it.

The energy at Qwest Field was OFF THE HOOK!!! From the moment arrived, the love that I felt from my fellow walkers, the volunteers and the supporters was just about overwhelming. We were all pretty pumped as they corralled us into the staging area. At one of our pre-walk meetings we attended with Barbie, I and the boys spoke about how much B means to us and the SGK folks were so moved, they asked Barbie to join the Survivor’s Circle and carry the Survivor Flag in the opening and closing ceremonies. As we are waiting for the opening ceremony to begin, I start to remember. Two years ago, I stood with Julie, Katrina, Ashley and Tara to take this journey with Julie. I started to recall how moving it was to hear the stories of loss and how triumphant it felt to hear the stories of survival. And, as Barbie marched into that circle holding the Survivor flag, I could not help but think that she, along with those other women, were about to lead us into battle against cancer…….I started to cry.

As the MC wrapped up her moving and motivating speech, if there had been any doubt in my mind about this, those doubts had now vanished. The ladies in the survivor circle started leading us out……….CHARRRRRGE!!!!!! We are on our way. We are about to walk all over cancer’s ass!

Now…..truth be told…..all we did was walk…..all….day…..long! LOL

But, we had so much fun! Throughout the day, there were moments that we all laughed and joked and walked side-by-side. But, there were also those moments that required some peace of mind; some time to look inside and do a gut check and to make sure that we were listening to our bodies. There were plenty of opportunities during the walk to stop and refill water, grab snacks or just rest. Those Rest Stops became so very important to us. The volunteers were our saviors. They greeted us at each Rest Stop with smiles, encouraging words and refreshments. This walk was both mental and physical. It was up to me to take each step to accomplish this feat. However, those volunteers were just as essential to helping us mentally to continue.

At just about mile 11 on that first day we were in Bellevue having lunch at the park by Bellevue Square. Barbie had started to get this sharp pain in her heals, but we changed our socks and got and ready to go. We were having so much fun…..we were tired as hell….but we still laughed a lot and really enjoyed being together. We all helped to lift each other up when we needed it. I had suggested to Barbie that she take one of the Sweeper Vans they provide for walkers that have injuries or just need t rest from walking. The Sweeper Vans would take us back to our campsite or to the next rest area. Barbie did not want to have anything to do with getting a ride. However, after much pushing from the team, at mile 13, Barbie caught a ride on from the van. We all encouraged her that by doing this, she will be in better shape for tomorrow. Overdoing it on day one is not a good thing and Brandon went with her to show his support and love.
Watching Barbie and Brandon leave lit a fire under me and Ryan and got our walk ON!

And…..we walked…..and talked…….and walked some more.

The idea of the walk is to walk 20 miles, camp out in tents, then get up and do it again the next day. SGK had provided us with pretty pink tents and our campsite was Marymoor Park in Redmond. We had walked over the I-90 Bridge, through Bellevue and Redmond. When Ryan and I arrived at the campsite, all we wanted to do was shower, eat and rest. And that is what we all did. The energy at the camp was very high! I had become familiar with a few of the other walkers as we all would encourage each other along the way. Walking through camp felt like a family reunion of sorts. There were way more women there then men and the only time it really mattered was during shower time! There was no waiting for showers for us men and that was awesome….however, some of those ladies did not give a DAMN! They were tired and wanted to rest and they did not care who was in the shower stall next to them….and I didn’t either!

At the end of the day, the last walker arrived at camp. They announced the last walker’s arrival and just like a big family, we all went out to cheer them on and encourage them those last few steps. They raised the camp flag signaling everyone was home and we could all go to sleep. And sleep we did. Barbie and Ryan shared a tent and Brandon and I shared. It was nice to have my Dove buddy with me and although we both wanted to talk, within minutes we were asleep. After all…..we still have 40 more miles to walk, the warm-up is over.

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