Sorry for the delay... I was learning to readjust to Eastern Standard Time! ;)
Ok....Day 3! Well, Sunday was a bit chillier than the previous days and everyone was moving a LOT slower....a LOT! I arrived at camp at 5:45 to find not many tents down....interesting. Maybe everyone thought that Saturday was a bad dream and they could do it for real! No luck! A beautiful sunrise started the day... I must admit, San Diego does know how to start the day right...even the portapotties had a great view! :)
Well, Liz and I started off the morning in the front 1/3 of the pack...yes, Amy up front! Something must be wrong. :) No, everyone is still in their sleeping bags.
We made our way through a few cute little neighborhoods with cute little yards...very little yards...two passes on a lawn mower would be all it took to mow it. Then back along Mission Bay to a great cheering station with lots of early morning support. Along the water we continued to met up with this cute guy cheering near the Hilton! Yes, that is Jeff! :)
Yes, still along the water and more water and more water and over some bridges and under some freeways and finally into Old Town San Diego. Sounds pretty beign...yeah right! That's when we saw THE hill! I turned to Liz and asked if they were joking! Nope, they weren't! So the gradual slope turned into a steeper peak but about 40 people with pink pompoms and signs were enough to make you at least want to try the hill....and try we did. Ok...I stopped twice just to stretch those poor little calf muscles...they were screaming! So we conquered that hill...yes! Down, yes, down hill now through some great neighborhoods. Lunch was in a quaint park. I was amazed to see so many people in line for the medical tent. Lots of strained muscles and blisters. See, training does help! :)
So we were back on the route by noon and only 4 miles to go until Petco Park...only 4 miles...damn at that rate we could have stopped at every bar along the way and still made it! :) At least this part was ALL downhill. We snaked through sections of Mission Hills and down near Balboa Park and near the Zoo. The support along this section was INCREDIBLE. They must of known just how tired we all were by then! One final pitstop...the chair massage was tempting but I was more afraid of not being able to get back up afterward. So down, down, down the hill we continued...over the freeway and working our way through downtown. The support was still there every step. Finally, we arrived... PETCO Park! Thousands of family and friends waited outside of the stadium. That feeling of crossing the finish line and entering the tot lot section of the stadium was intense. Only walkers and crew allowed in....5,000+ people was plenty...adding family and friends would have been overload! As we entered the tot lot a line of walkers greeted us offering Hi-5s and cheers! That's the way to finish! Hugs and tears everywhere! We did it!
Closing ceremonies began with the long walk. Arm in arm 12 people wide we walked into the stadium's parking lot. Each of us knowing we had accomplished something extraordinary, something special, something that would make other people question our sanity! For 3 Days we walked together as one...for the same cause and same purpose. Intense, yes. Insane....a bit.
This event has made me realize that to do this walk again, you would have to follow the training schedule to the T! 4 days a week of walking plus crosstraining for 24 weeks. Be warned... this area is not for the faint of heart of casual trainer. This walk even made people from the San Diego area weak in the knees and even put them in the medical tent.
All things considered, it was a great experience and something that I can cross of my list plus I got to hang out with the San Jose Bike Cops. Gotta love those boys in Pink! :)
HUGS!
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