Avon 3-Day |
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© 2001 Shawn Vidmar |
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Sometime in March, I think, mom found an article about an event coming to Colorado called the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day. The participants would raise money and walk for 3 days, 20 miles per day, 60 miles total. We walk every morning with the dogs, and figured we could do it. Although our training wasn't as regimented as some of our Northern compeers. But I had faith in our training because mom had run a few marathons & I'd played competitive sports as well as participated in Ride the Rockies. But, as most good intentions go, we really didn't start training until a few months before the event. Once we hit our accelerated schedule, we kept getting up earlier and earlier, kept adding miles to our morning, kept stretching and hydrating as August loomed ahead of us. I got notice that I succeeded in raising the minimum pledge amount, so I had the green light to participate and the week before the event we did three back-to-back 10 mile walks and felt we were as prepared as we could be. We had received a good tip about bringing 3 different, but equally broken-in, shoes. And the pair you intend to wear on the last day should be a 1/2 to 1 full size bigger because after 40 miles, feet tend to swell. So our series of three days in a row of long walks also helped with figure out what order to wear our shoes. I know it sounds insignificant, but believe me it's HUGE. Along with the walking, I was still working full time and teaching Spinning 2-3 times a week. In retrospect, I was exhausted. Pete & Polly, my dogs, were in the very best shape of their lives. It was unbelievable that Polly, the 2.5 year old St. Bernard, would have any energy left after 10 miles, but she still managed to great me with great bounds of enthusiasm. Pete, the Mastiff, however was a different story. We did most of our training at Centennial track. Yup, 10 miles means 40 laps. Pete would be sick of it after 6 laps and then for the remaining 34 he'd tug the leash as we approached the exit and I'd have to practically drag him for 20 steps until he'd reluctantly decide to keep moving. It was nice in the actual event not to be dragging a 165 pound mastiff for 1/2 the distance. It was interesting to see the life of the track. Mom & I had been walking there for two years from 5:30-6:30am. We weren't used to seeing many people, and knew the few we saw regularly. But as our mileage increased, so did our time. We got to observe people as they came in with their dogs, or in pairs, or to sprint a quick mile on their jog, or to warm-up for a sport and so on. The one thing that was consistent though, was we got our miles in before 9am each morning. The day finally came when we packed up our three pairs of shoes, sunscreen, water bottles, Thorlo socks, hats & cameras, and headed up north to Ft. Collins. It was neat seeing the new CSU event center. While we were uncertainly navigating the series of lines, mom bumped into Sarah Abell, the daughter of a college (CSU) friend of hers. She looked around and there was Mary Anne, her mother. They had done the San Francisco 3-Day the previous summer. So we followed their lead through the rest of the registration. Sarah had flown in from Sweden to walk with Mary Anne, a breast cancer survivor. In an event of over 3,000 plus people, mom found the one person she knew. The ironic thing is, we didn't see them throughout the walk but did hook up at the closing ceremonies. We then drove back to Denver to pick up our support team, my sister Molly. Since she doesn't do tents, we stayed at the Denver Marriott--we hadn't planned this part early enough to get hotel rooms in each of the overnight cities. The event provides tent sleeping, portable showers, meals and massages. Personally, I don't think we would've made it without the Marriott. We could each take as long of a shower as we wanted, knowing there wasn't a line. We could spread out on a soft, supportive bed. It was quiet, cool and wonderful. Molly filled the footbath each night with cool water and we pampered our feet. We ordered room service & watched pay per view movies through droopy eyelids. It was heaven. The
event started in Ft. Collins around 8am. It was shaping up to be a clear &
hot Colorado August day. Dan Pallotta, founder of Pallotta
Team Works, welcomed us & informed us that
we’d earned 4.3 Million dollars for Breast Cancer
Research, AND that with all of the 3-Day events combined, we’d earned 60
Million Dollars!!!!! We finally got moving as the mercury began climbing. Mom & I were in the long pants we'd trained in. They didn't chafe & we didn't want to deviate from what was most comfortable. They turned out to be a saving grace because they protected our skin from sunburn & we could keep them wet by splashing water from the rest stations on them to keep our legs cool as the ambient heat off of the blacktop reached 128 degrees. Unfortunately Ft. Collins did not make it easy to get out of town. The course wound and circled the town like meandering cow trails. We dealt with city traffic, stop signs, stop lights & busy intersections. It was very hard to find a stride with all of the bottlenecks. Finally after a few hours of stopping & starting, we were on open dirt roads. By that time it was close to 11 am and hot. We hadn't prepared nor trained in the heat of the day. Neither one of us do very well in the heat, so the remaining 12 miles were a struggle, but we made it to Loveland around 3pm. Loveland to Longmont was the longest mileage day and very hot. We could get started at 6am, not necessarily what we were used to, but better than the previous day. Coincidentally the 3.5 Pueblo Country Club USTA ladies team I am on had made it to districts & needed me to play that day. Unfortunately it was evident at 11:30, and only 2/3 done with the mileage that I wasn't going to make it. As it turns out, that was the day the Stanley Cup was there too. Dang. Yet the people in Longmont more than made up for the missed opportunity. They were wonderful. It was like a parade route, but we were the parade. Many people were crying, mouthing "Thank You" or holding up signs. Some very healthy, some very sick, and a few were in turbans. After an exhausting day walking, I was crying too. Longmont to Boulder was the shortest day, but we had to travel for 9 miles on a major highway. Mentally that was very hard because there are no trees and lots of traffic. The car fumes & the jerks passing too close were hard to overcome. But, by putting one foot in front of the other, we kept moving. By now we'd discovered a few tricks to cool down. Such as, storing the ice cold water/Gatorade/vitamin water from the aid station in the back cross of the jog bra. And at each rest station (ever 2 miles or so) grabbing some ice and dropping it into the front of the jog bra. Or having baggies to fill with cold water or ice to put on your head, under the hat. And certainly, splashing water on the leggings. By the last day, the heat had taken its toll on several walkers. Many had a combination of sun burn, heat rash & heat stroke, most evident in the painful blisters around their ankles. A lot of people had switched to long pants, even pajama bottoms to help protect their legs. I honestly believe our cooling methods and the luxury of a cool room to sleep in, instead of a hot tent, prevented us from getting any nasty side affects of the heat. I've
heard it was the hottest weekend on record in Colorado, I don't know if that is
true or not, but it certainly felt like it. The evening rain showers eluded us,
and the nights didn't cool down much. Yet we did have plenty of supporters
spraying us down with hoses. We walked into the Boulder field house to a standing ovation of staff, volunteers & walkers who finished ahead of us. It was an amazing feeling. After taking off our shoes, getting a rub down & blisters drained & treated, we watched the other walkers come in. It was moving to see their faces: some danced, many cried, groups hugged, a few collapsed, I was moved to be in the presence of such raw determination & dedication. The final ceremonies were lame, and fraught with poor execution on someone's part. CU didn't air condition the field house, so it got really hot. They gave us Navy Blue Long Sleeved T-Shirts to wear to the ceremony. They got us back into the sun too early & many people started passing out. Once we got into the area, we were looking for our families & friends. So when the speaker system went out, we just found our loved ones and went home. We inquired about the safety of the route and the wisdom of repeating the August 2002 dates, however Pallotta has locked in the same weekend & route for next year. I guess they'll reevaluate for 2003. As a result Barb & I decided to participate in the Seattle 3-day walk for 2002. It is a week later, thus not a conflict with USTA districts, and Seattle's weather is so much milder in August than Colorado. Molly has already signed on as our # 1 supporter, and this time she'll have a bambino in tow, who will give me all the more reason to be a part of the cure. If you want to make things easier, save a few trees & postage. Print out my pledge form (this is in .pdf format, if you cannot download it, email me & tell me what is the best way to get this to you and I'll send you one) and send it directly to: Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day
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