Training Walk #1--completed!

Saturday morning was my very first training walk of the season, and the weather could not have been more beautiful! I was excited to have 5 walkers with me (three registered, two not) as we walked around beautiful Horseshoe Lake in Roxbury, NJ. Upon arriving at Horseshoe Lake, I immediately noticed that the parking lot was much more crowded than usual on an early Saturday morning. Much to my surprise, there was a HUGE lacrosse tournament going on at the fields that day . . . whoops! In addition to a car show (which I had known about in advance), there were now about a million pre-teens running around in full lacrosse gear, with their doting parents trailing behind them lugging days' worth of food, drink, and even shelter! It was certainly an unintended wrinkle, but then again, everything has a silver lining: the lacrosse tournament brought with it countless vendors of food, beverages, and even Hawaiian shaved ice--the PERFECT treat on an unseasonably warm May Saturday!

The walk itself was (happily) uneventful: we completed our 5 miles in just over an hour and a half, which was a great pace on a hot day. It was lovely to meet some fellow walkers and just have some time to chat about what inspires us individually to do the walk. There were a few first-timers, and those are always my favorites to talk to! I remember so well how they feel leading up to their first walk: will I be able to raise enough money? If I can raise the money, will I be able to walk 60 miles, really?? What happens if I realize I just can't do it? And on and on.

But what I will say is this: IT IS POSSIBLE! I truly believe that, if you are truly dedicated to it, then you absolutely CAN raise the money. The trick? Ask EVERYONE! Sure, I've had people turn me down, but for each one of those people, I've probably had three give me a donation! Perfect strangers, people I may never see again . . . what do I care if they think I'm presumptuous for asking? And, chances are, they don't--and they will support me, whether because they have been personally affected by breast cancer, or they just think walking 60-miles is insanity! I once sold a fax machine on Craigslist, and when I met up with the lady who was buying it, she handed me the payment for the fax machine and then another $10 because she had seen the widget in my e-mail signature. All in the name of a good cause!

And once you raise all that money, all that remains is to WALK! And that, to me, is the icing on the cake! Very rarely have I spoken with a walker who is "one and done". Nope, oh no, once you do it, it quickly becomes an addiction, a way of life, a NECESSITY! There is something very empowering about being a hero, even just for a short while. And, make no mistake, for three days while you are walking, walking, walking, that is exactly what you are. You feel it from the moment you walk into Opening Ceremonies and long after you've peeled every last sweaty layer of clothing off of yourself after we close. You see it in the crowds gathered to cheer for those of us doing something extraordinary that they are not. In the small tokens of gratitude received along the way: the stickers, the signs, the cards, the LOTS and LOTS of food--and believe me, there is PLENTY!--the smiles and tears of the onlookers and walkers alike. Oh yes, for three days, you are undoubtedly a HERO. And boy does it feel good!

So I challenge you to BELIEVE in yourself--you CAN do it, all of it! And you will see that once you do it ONCE, you have a need to do it again, and again, and again! I look so very much forward to hearing the stories of future 3-peaters!