Walker West

In February 2010, I joined a Susan G. Komen 3-day for the Cure team, Cuties for a Cure. My team consists of 4 girls originally from Mansfield, TX participating in the Dallas event November 5-7. Brook Griffin Watson, Melissa Englert Tetens, Robin Flores, and myself. We had 9 months to raise $9,200. $9,200. That's alot of money for 4 girls to raise.

After several fundraising events (Merchandise Sales, Garage Sales, Scentsy Party, Festival Booths, Happy Hours, Golf Outing) along with personal donations, we were able to meet our goal! A SPECIAL thanks to all of our friends and family who have supported us all year long. Especially those who share a house with us and had to participate in all of these events! (And my coworkers who supported my weekly baked good sale.)

To prepare for the event, I made a training schedule to walk 5 days a week for 16 weeks. I managed to squeeze in part of it, completing 146 miles. While this is only 35% of my goal, I later learned that had I completed all of my miles, my body still wouldn't be prepared for 60 miles in 3 days.

More important than the walking was my gear. Proper shoes & socks cannot be emphasized enough. I read this in several places, but didn't quite appreciate this advice until the event. In addition, blister care and hydration were key to making it through all three days.

The big weekend finally arrived. We met up the night before for a yummy dinner and checked into the hotel early to get a good night of rest before Day 1. No, we didn't camp in tents. And I'm so glad that we didn't have to battle the freezing weather on top of dealing with Aches & Pains.

It was unusually cold for North Texas on Nov 5. We bundled up in layers to head to Opening Ceremonies at 6 am. There were approximately 3,000 walkers at the Dallas event, 2nd only to San Diego. The SGK crew got everyone all fired up & we headed out for Day 1. We caught up with 2 new honorary members of CFAC at Opening Ceremonies, Kelly and Courtney. Both of these ladies work for SGK 3-Day, but have chosen to support the cause personally as well.

After 4 hours, we sat down for lunch. The problem with sitting down is that getting back up poses quite a challenge. I remember thinking to myself on Day 3, why do I keep getting up? It's so easy to throw in the towel & hop in the sag-wagon. There are many days we have headaches or soar throats and stay in bed all day. This was much worse, yet we all kept going. Amazing.

The next 3 days were some that I will never forget. Waking up in the 5 o'clock hour, heading to camp, rushing the medical tent for wrap, and heading out on the trail for 8+ hours. We had lots of time to get to know each other and get to know those around us. We ate, we drank, we complained, we laughed (alot), and we sang alot too. Thank God for ipod speakers. And after those 8 hours of walking, we grubbed, showered, and were in bed by 9pm. Some of the best rest I've ever had...

I feel so fortunate to have supported this cause. Even more than walking, I feel fortunate that I am healthy today. That I can walk 60 miles. That I wake up everyday and get to go to work. I'd much rather be doing all of these things than experiencing Cancer treatment. And to think, some of those participating in this event are in the midst of their Breast Cancer battle.

My team and I truly thank everyone for supporting our efforts. We are looking forward to participating again!

Finally, some pictures from our weekend!

Opening Ceremonies