26 miles completed!!!!!!!!!!! On Sunday, we completed 13 more!
This posting is written by and dedicated to Rebecca Ballinger. Here's her what she experienced in her first Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, in her words:
Many have asked me to tell about my experience so here it is....
It was AMAZING!! The people were just unbelievable. Everyone was so kind. I met a lot of really great people. The whole thing was unbelievably organized. I'm still not sure how they do it- it seemed effortless. They also seem to think of everything! They had volunteers on bikes that would go along the route to check on everyone. They had "sweeper" vans that would go by & cheer you on. If you needed/wanted to stop, they would pick you up. They had stops about every 1.5-3 miles. At all stops they had the porta potties, water, Gatorade, snacks. At every other stop they had a medical team. Each stop had a fun "theme" just for entertainment (80's, pirates, cows, tropical, etc etc) Along the route, it was amazing to see the # of people that came out to cheer us on. People decorated their homes, kids sat in driveways handing out water, juice & candy. It was so touching.
I went up on Friday night. Mom came with me. Once we checked in at the hotel, I checked in for the walk. Then she & I went to Fire & Ice to eat dinner. If you've never been, they are SO COOL. After dinner, went back to the hotel & went to bed, couldn't sleep until sometime after 11 and got up around 4:30am. (Beautiful hotel!!) Went to the lobby a little before 5am & boarded a bus which took us to UMASS where the opening ceremony was held at 6:30am. The walk began at 7am.
On Sat, we completed the 26 miles. Anne (a friend I met that morning) and I walked together. Originally there were a group of 6 of us. 2 split off early on & went ahead. Anne & I walked with Stephanie & Mel until the 10th mile & then they stayed behind. Anne & I were the last ones back in (from those who completed 26 miles)!! They kept reminding us, there is always a first & always a last- it didn't matter. It was actually pretty fun because we were "escorted" in by 2 girls on bikes, a sweeper van (ready to pick us up if we couldn't make it) and then once on campus, all the men on the Harley's revved there engines, honked & then followed us to the finish line!!! I was able to get most of it on video. By that time, I was TIRED and SORE SORE SORE!! My feet were absolutely killing me. It was about 7:10pm. We sat in the Spaaah Zone for a little while & sat on the massage chairs & foot massager. Then we went over & retrieved our stuff (which a volunteer kindly carried for me) and went to our tent (which a "tent angel" kindly set up for us). We were going to go shower. I started to not feel so great- kind of nauseous & light headed so I didn't want to risk it & went over to medical- they picked me up actually. I knew I had had enough to drink but just felt yuck. I rested there for about 30-40 mins & felt much better- and hungry. So, they gave me the OK to leave & when I headed out, Anne had come to check on me & we went over to get something to eat. By the time we finished it was about 9pm so I went & changed my clothes & we went to bed. It started to rain at night but we were already in the tent & the noise was kind of nice. It stopped quickly & was dry in the morning.
Tent sleeping was actually fine & kind of fun. You are so exhausted by that time that you don't even notice. The showers were in huge trucks & the water was nice & hot. Had sinks to use. All bathrooms were porta potties but really you kind of got used to it & they were clean. They always had antibacterial wash for your hands.
On Sunday, we took our time getting up. I showered since I didn't the night before. We had a hot breakfast & packed our stuff. We hit the road about 8am. We decided we would take it nice & easy. After a couple miles, legs felt fine but my feet were feeling it. At mile 8 I decided to have medical tape my feet up because I felt like I was going to get blisters on the bottom. That helped a lot. I had Anne go on ahead of me (it was VERY hard to stop & then start up again because your legs seized up and I had to wait for medical). At mile 11, Garrett, Brianna & my mom greeted me with signs. I cried (actually- everyone but Bri did!!) It was just very overwhelming & wonderful. I walked on- only 2.2 miles left!!! When I reached the UMass campus, the motorcycles were there cheering everyone on. There were a lot of people cheering!! Garrett brought Brianna to me so that I could carry her in- maybe about .25 miles. As I approached the finish line, Anne was sitting waiting for me- she waited to cross the line with me!! I thought that was so sweet!
After the walk was over, there was a closing ceremony. They handed out money to different organizations. This weekend, we raised 5.8 million dollars!!
By the end, I was very sore. Limping around a bit. When I sat down, I felt fine- it was getting up & getting moving again. I ended up with 3 blisters- only 1 actually hurt. By Monday, they had all reabsorbed into my skin & my feet felt fine!! I was exhausted though. Garrett said I didn't move a muscle on Sunday night. I also napped 3.5 hours with Brianna yesterday! Today, I feel great! I do still have a bit of a stuffy head (can you believe it!! Longest running illness of my life and BAD timing!).
The experience was incredible and I will definitely do it again. Hopefully next year I won't be sick for a month so I can do some longer walks beforehand to get ready! I plan to get a team together so if your interested, get your walking feet ready!!
My final note:
Thank you Rebecca! I'm not sure if the donation Web page is still open, but here it is, if you are so moved to make a donation. Please go to: www.avonwalk.org/goto/rebeccaballinger
Thank you very much for your support!
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