PART 1 OF THE 3 DAY...

it was about this time last week that my 3-day journey was just beginning. i'll be reliving it day by day this weekend. except that i'm wearing pajamas instead of tennis shoes. and i'm sitting in my comfy bed instead of a tent. so i guess i'll just be reliving it mentally not physcially!


THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6
3:30 PM
adelaide and i fly from houston to dallas. i decided i would be way too sore to drive myself home sunday after the 3-day so this way at the end of the weekend we will only have one car in the area and can ride home with evan.
5:30 PM
mom picks us up from the airport and we go enjoy a pasta dinner together.
8:30 PM
double check the packing list once more, put adelaide to bed, shower, then try to go to bed myself.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7
4:30 AM
wake up, eat cereal, leave for southfork ranch.
5:45 AM
all my things for the weekend are in the black and gray duffel bag. the things I packed for daytime use are: waist pack, t-shirts, walking shorts, walking pants, lots of good socks, 2 pair of walking shoes (to alternate between the days so the other pair can air out), undergarmets, a thin long-sleeve shirt (to wear in the mornings then shove in my waist pack the rest of the day).





6:00 AM
each person is assigned a tent letter and number. i was in tent J30 so when we arrived at opening ceremonies i took my bag to the J trailer and friendly crew members loaded it for me. everything is marked so clearly.






6:30AM
my mom is parking the car and my teammates are on their way so i have a little time to wander. i walk around the opening ceremony site in the dark. it is already evident how well run this whole event is. there are encouraging signs everywhere. this one says "stay positive, and no whining because whining causes blisters!" haha.




7:00 AM
the 4 members of our team, "marlene's girls," are all present and accounted for at the opening ceremonies. we had matching shirts made for our team to wear each day. we will certainly make a lot of "rookie mistakes" but this was not one of them. someone had told us in advance that matching shirts are a must. on the front of ours is a picture of our team namesake- marlene, the wonderful mom of sunni and tiffani. sarah beth and i are also honored to be a part of this team.


my friend- abbe was very nice to let us leave adelaide still sleeping at her house. my mom, sunni's husband- xavier, and daughter- ava, are here to send us off on our journey. they are troopers to be there with us because it is way too early and way too cold! that doesn't stop their enthusiasm for us though. plus we all get to watch the sunrise together.





the opening ceremonies are an emotionally moving time as the speaker shares some stories of why people are participating in the walk. after the introduction the girl power music starts which means our dancing begins. our team immediately confesses we don't really know proper stretching techniques. at least we are moving by be-bopping around. our stretching motto is to watch other people who appear athletic and just copy their moves.



7:30 AM
we hit the trail walking! our journey starts at the southfork ranch in parker, tx where the tv show dallas was filmed. we can hear the theme song from dallas playing as we exit the ranch. we are each handed a small card with today's route printed on it. it fits perfectly in our "credential" pouch we wear around our necks on a lanyard. we have to wear these the whole weekend for check-in, and identification purposes.




3.2 MILES
just past 3 miles into our route and we are already approaching our first pit stop. all of the "pit stops" are equipped with jugs of sports drink and water to refill your bottles, pretzels, chips, carrots, fruit, pbj, port-a-potties, and medic stations. when i look at the route for the day i am amazed how often along the way there are these break spots. it is nice for all of us to have frequent bathroom opportunities, but especially for sunni who is 30 weeks pregnant!




6.4 MILES
we reach the next break area, which is our first "grab and go." both the pit stops and the grab and gos have drink refills and port-a-potties, but the snacks and medic tents are only at the pit stops. we love approaching these break spots especially to see how they will be decorated. this one is "bra heaven" and is complete with bra decorations hanging on the outside of the doors and proper bra fit facts on the inside.




7.0 MILES
as we are walking someone hands off a flag to our team. at opening ceremonies there were many flags carried in. there are two different categories of these flags. there are flags that describe the things that have helped people dealing with breast cancer (faith, love, patience, encouragement, etc.) and then there are flags that describe different reasons to walk in the 3-day. all of these flags will be carried throughout the entire 60 mile journey. we thought it was appropriate that this was the flag we were handed to carry. it says "i'm walking for my children." we are definitely walking in hopes that someday ava and adelaide don't have to worry about breast cancer.




8.1 MILES
we arrive at pit stop 2 and check our feet. sarah already has so much moleskin on her feet that it looks like she is wearing brown socks. we are looking for "hot spots" which tells us where blisters are beginning to form. as soon as we feel these areas we are supposed to cover them with moleskin, the thick material which should help us prevent dreaded blisters.






9.0 MILES
we walk into plano and for several blocks the sides of our path is filled with people cheering us on. we have arrived at our first cheering station! it is even more encouraging than i thought it could be. seeing all the signs and smiles remind us why we are doing this. there are survivors there thanking us for walking. there are also cheerleaders chanting "2, 4, 6, 8, don't forget to hydrate."




11.5 MILES
now we are to the lunch spot. first stop the port-a-potty, then we wait in line for our lunch. we are given a plastic bag, plastic wear, a chicken sandwich, apple, potato salad, and a cookie. the crew members are asking us to carry our lunch with us to the next pit stop instead of sitting down here and eating. because of daylight savings time they are encouraging a faster pace for today's walk. they reassure us rushing people along is not the norm for the
3-day but because they are worried about getting everyone back to camp before dark this is a must.

there are "sweep vans" to help move people along as needed. they are also available to drop you off farther along on the route if you are unable to walk it for any reason. you just stop walking and put your thumb down and they will pick you up. these vans are especially nice for pregnant sunni and tiffani (who has a broken foot but still wants to walk as much as she can). they both promised their doctors they wouldn't walk too many miles each day. we are amazed how many miles they still cover.





13.1 MILES
sarah and i come into the next pit stop ready for a quick break. we have eaten most of our lunch while we walked but now need to throw away our trash and refill our drink bottles. before this weekend i was dreading wearing this pack but now i am so glad i have it. my waist pack holds 2 water bottles (1 for sports drink and 1 for water), hand sanitizer, moleskin for blister prevention, band-aids, ibuprofen, sunglasses, sunscreen, camera, a few photos, encouraging notes, and a poncho.





15.5 MILES
we have arrived at pit stop 4. it's hard to believe it was ever cold this morning. now we are hot, tired, and starting to get delirious. this pit stop is next to a beautiful pond and decorated in a western theme.








when i said we are getting delirious that means we are getting goofy. things like pretending to get poked by a paper cactus are suddenly downright hilarious.








the port-a-potties are marked as "outhouses," and there are all different western theme cutouts surrounding the area. this is our favorite stopping spot for sure. partially because we are truly in need of a break by this point in the day, but mostly just because it is well-decorated. i have definitely found my kind of exercise setting. i love that on the 3-day running is not allowed (walking only) and people are more than glad to stop and take pictures along the way!







18.0 MILES
we have been walking since the sun came up and are seriously hoping we are close to being done for the day. our muscles are starting to hurt and the arches of our feet feel bruised. we refill our drink bottles for the last time before camp and continue.







20.0 MILES
we can see a cheering station up ahead. we are now in dallas and a grocery store parking lot is overflowing with people encouraging us to keep going. their encouragement works, and we carry on. all day we have seen signs reminding us to stretch 5 minutes every 1 hour. we now realize that might actually be a good idea. what better place to stretch than here?










there is a sign telling us we just have 1 more mile to go. this is yet another photo opp!






21.2 MILES
today's route took us through parker, plano, richardson, dallas and murphy. we finish today's miles by walking through a decorated suburban neighborhood. on the other side of the neighborhood is our home away from home! we see a sea of pink tents up ahead in the distance. as soon as we get there we are greeted by a victory line of other walkers that have arrived before us. then we are handed a fresh bottle of water and told to keep hydrated.



sarah and i see a line of trailers. they are the same trailers we put our luggage in this morning. we find our bags and drag them through the field until we find the row marked with a J. tiffani and sunni are in tent J29 and we are in J30. they returned to camp earlier in the day and have already set up their tent and ours, which is a fabulous surprise. we try to get settled in before the sun goes down.





we all wash up in portable showers in a trailer. you have to wait awhile for your turn but there are rows of chairs to sit in while you wait. it feels so good to sit down! it feels even better to get clean and feel hot water. now that we are clean and comfy we walk around the campgrounds and drink hot cocoa until dinnertime.





dinner is served in the main tent. there is plenty of spaghetti and salad for everyone. all the food actually tastes very good. while we eat we are entertained with camp announcements and rockstar karaoke auditions. i can't stop thinking, "this is so summer camp for adults!" i love this experience.





after dinner we leave the main tent and wander through the other areas. once we arrive back in our tent i open my bag and get out what i need for the rest of the night. for the evenings i packed: comfy pants, a fleece jacket, gloves, a warm headband, shower shoes, toiletries, icy hot, medicine, crocs, pajamas, sleeping bag, battery operated twin air mattress, and tent decorations. next time i would also bring a lantern and those packages of hand warmers you shake up then they stay hot for hours. i would love some of those to put in my sleeping bag with me tonight. we crawl into our bags and say good night. i fall asleep thinking about a conversation from earlier in the day. we had asked an experienced 3-day walker how hard it would be to get up and do this again tomorrow. she told us it is amazing how refreshed you feel after a good night's rest. i'm hoping that is true in the morning! day 1 of 3 has come to an end.