Susan G. Koman Walk - 13 years ago this weekend

13 years ago this weekend, my good friend and I took on the challenge of the Susan G. Koman 3 - day walk. 60 miles in 3 days plus all the months leading up to it for fundraising and training for the walk.

This was such an accomplishment for us and me specifically. I have never taken on a race or walk or anything involving physical exercise and especially one that needed fundraising in order to walk. The fundraising was the hardest part for me. Asking for money for a walk I wanted to do was hard enough. My friend dedicated her walk to her mother who passed away from breast cancer recently. I dedicated my walk to help her plus Chris has an aunt that passed away from breast cancer and one a survivor.

We both registered for the walk in March. We are committed! EEK. I was terrified. My friend and I (but mostly my friend) came up with a plan on a walking schedule and ways on how to raise the funds we both needed.

Over the next 6 months, we worked so hard. I walked morning and evening with our dog Zoe (note 1). Zoe was the best training anyone could ask for. She never missed a beat. She would not let me go with doing at least our 1 mile walk in the morning. Zoe knew what time it was and that it was time to go take the girls to the bus stop and then she would sit at the bus stop ready to go when the bus left. She knew the evening schedule as well, once the walking shoes came out it was time to go again. A few nights during the week, my friend would text “meet you at the 4-way in 30 minutes”. Those nights we would do much longer walks around the neighborhood. She had a black lab who was Zoe’s litter brother. They loved each other and would play like brother and sister. I swear Zoe knew when we were going up to meet them at the four way. She helped pull me up the steep hill and would just pull until she saw them. We would each let the dogs off their leases for a few minutes while they greeted each other with a tackle. We would call them back and we were on our merry way. It all became such routine for us. The walks on the weekend were our longest walks and we increased miles each weekend. Dog would start with us, because they knew what was going on so they had to start with us, but as the miles got longer, you could tell they couldn’t make it. We would circle around to each others house dropping off dogs so they could pass out and we kept going.

One of our last “long” walk was on a weekend right before the walk event weekend. We drove down to downtown Bothell to get onto the Burke-Gilman trail (Note 2) to walk south. Zoe was not impressed she was left behind that day, but that poor dog needed a day off. We walked a good portion of that day to Redmond and back to Bothell. It was our day to try out new gear and break in shoes for the next weekend. It was so hard thinking that day, that we actually what we were about to do the next weekend. We had many people ask us “what do you guys do while walking that long together?” It was such an awesome friend between us, we talked about everything and anything and sometime we just didn’t talk and that was ok too. We made it fun for both of us and we had a great time. She had two children as well who were the same age as our two girls. They were friends. I would babysit and she would babysit. I had the kids if she needed help with daycare and we had so much fun together. We did a lot together, it was a pretty awesome friendship and I cherish it and the memories to this day. That is what made doing this 3-Day walk with her so much fun and special for both of us.

Morning comes to drive downtown Seattle and park and walk into the big stadium area for the first day of the walk. So many nerves going through us but excitement and so many messages from friends and family with supportive words and encouragement. What a crazy morning getting in there and seeing so many people here for the same reasons. They did their morning announcements and welcomes and words of encouragement and then the gates opened for us to walk. The crowd of PINK was breathtaking. It was everywhere and it was a sea of pink for miles. I remember walking over the I90 floating bridge and getting to about halfway and looking forward and then backwards, it was just a site to see and never ending sea of pink. The first day was the craziest because it was pretty much a mass sea of people in pink walking all together through neighborhoods and then ending in Redmond at Maymoor Park where camp was set up and home base for the next two nights.

All of our meals were part of the package. They even had bathroom trailers and shower trailers, which were so nice after the long days and always had hot water which was a bonus. Meals were always good and it was served certain hours so we knew how to plan our day. The first night we check in, picked up our tent and our bags and went to make camp in our numbered slot. This was going to be home for the next two nights. We slept so hard that first night but had planned the next day on when we wanted to get up, eat breakfast and head out for the next days walk. The foundation did such an awesome job coordinating everything but yet we could plan our own schedule on when to get up and get moving (they did have a deadline that we needed to be out by at the latest to keep everyone on track.). Second day was a pretty fun day of just walking with my good friend talking and doing what we do best! The day went by pretty uneventful. Lunch in a park someplace (unfortunately I don’t remember exactly where we were or what park) but I remember it being a nice day not to hot not to cold. We made it back to home base and day two was done. It was crazy how fast the weekend went just walking with my friend and enjoying ourselves and learning and listening to others stories and why they were walking. Everyone made it a party walking with so many fun outfits and entertainment.

The early morning of day three, we woke up to people screaming. Come to find out, the park had forgotten to turn off their automatic sprinkler system and a lot of the tents were on the sprinklers. That morning was an early morning for everyone. We all got started at an early hour but needed to wait for the buses to take us to our drop off point for the start of the morning. The third day was the hardest because of the early wake up call but we also woke up to misty rain. Drop off was at UW were we walked through campus. As the day went on, the rain stopped and the day became so much better. The end was near but yet so far away. Lunch was again at a great park overlooking the water, it was gorgeous. The views and the the routes they chose were so great. I saw so much of the Seattle area (even though I couldn’t tell you exactly where we were half of the time) and we couldn’t have asked for better weather for the weekend. We even walked through Gas Works Park, which I had never been to before or after. The views throughout the weekend were pretty amazing.

Coming into Seattle for the final stretch was a pretty thrilling moment. So many people gathered to see everyone finishing up the walk. Chris’s Aunt and Uncle came to cheer me on and my friend had her family there too. It was so fun to see faces we hadn’t seen for a few days. Then, just like that, we crossed the finish line. It was done. What an accomplishment. We filtered into the stadium as others were finishing, the stadium filled with people, walkers were on the grounds and family and friend in the stands. It was truly the most amazing thing I have ever experienced.

My friend headed home with her family. I went and gathered my baggage and bused it back to my car and headed home. It was a welcome to be home to the girls and Chris and of coarse Zoe. Although, Zoe was ready to go for a walk. UGH…. Labs and their routine. What a crazy thing we did, but I am so glad we did it and I am so glad I did it with my friend. She kept us on track through the whole thing. I would have given up if it wasn’t for her. It will be an experience I will always remember this time of year - BUT let’s be honest, Facebook won’t let me forget either! :). It was so worth the hard work training and fundraising. I would do it again for sure but who you do it with matters so much. Love you and miss you so much my friend (you know who you are!).

Note 1: Zoe. She was our chocolate lab that was so full of life and energy. She kept me going and was seriously the best trainer ever. We walked twice a day rain, shine, snow, who cares, she wanted to walk always. She defiantly kept me on track and walking. She was the best dog ever. I will do a post at some point about her.

Note 2: The Burke–Gilman Trail is a rail trail in King County, Washington. The 20-mile multi-use recreational trail is part of the King County Regional Trail System and occupies an abandoned Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway corridor. A portion of the Burke–Gilman trail is managed by the City of Seattle.