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October 9-11...with a laptop on my back
Event weekend. We left P'burg about noon, by the we gassed up, banked, and picked up everyone. We hit Brooklyn at about 2. Surprising, but traffic was heavy. The event eve party had already started.
We got settled in our room and went in search of lunch, and found Trader Joe's, came back and went to event eve. It was sort-of like Expo at the 3-Day but tons more fun. There were people begging for money so that they could walk. Some were as little as $100 short, others much farther. One lady was $1100. I wouldn't have went. We have till about Dec. 1 to get all the $ in but I guess they weren't willing to give over their credit card number to assure the donations. For $100 I would have. For $1100, no way.
We met Beth and Pat's walker buddy Tara several times thru the weekend bu the first was at Event Eve.
At event eve we collected lots of stuff. Pedometer, water bottles, blister block, hand sanitizer, lip balm (of course they were Avon), pink ribbon pins, etc.
In the hall people were hawking their wares to make their money. I bought a big button that says "blisters don't need chemo." Also bought one that says "walking chick" and one for both Beth and I that said "I'm a street walker".
I took my laptop to do my online classes. The hotel internet was $14.95. I took my lap top to all the usual wi-fi places and nobody was free. (Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, McDs, Dunkin Donuts....) I guess they don't want people hanging out all day using the Wi-Fi. When I came back to the hotel, angry, I was riding up the escalator when the light bulb went on. I'm an idiot. (but then you knew that.) Avon is in there checking people in, and registering people for next year. They had to either bring an internet connection or are using the hotels. So I sat outside the ballroom and turned on the laptop. Opened "airport" and there it was on the list. AVON1, AVON2. Now I pray they didn't ask me for a password. The 1st one did. The second one didn't. I shoot, I score, I get into class. However my cell phone died the minute I reached Brooklyn.
We went to a pub for dinner and hit the hay early. We needed to be up at 3:30 am to make the 5 am shuttle. With three people in the room it would be a challenge. It went well and we got downstairs by 4:45.
The shuttle took us to Pier 84 where bagels and orange juice awaited us. The opening ceremonies started at 6:15 and we hit the streets by 6:45. I had my laptop in my backpack. No way I was letting the gear guys have it.
This is the route for Saturday. We started at Pier 84 (about 42 street) and walked up the riverfront to about 149th street. Then we walked all the way back down to city hall, across the Brooklyn Bridge, back the Manhattan Bridge and back uptown to about 110th and then over to Randall's Island near the Tri-Boro bridge for the night.
We met up with both Pat and Diane that had done training walks with us. We walk part of Saturday with Pat.
Along the route was also the Youth Crew. Girls from 10-14 who sang familiar songs with much different words and cheered and were very perky. They had yellow shirts like ours with Youth Crew on. At camp a few had t-s on that said the "Itty Bitty Titty Committee" I didn't get a pix.
We stopped in Brooklyn, about 18 miles, and bussed it to Randall's Island. The route closed at 6:15 and we heard Diane was still out there. She refused to come in. Sounds like me if I was alone. (Although I think if they said get in the van I would have. At Koman you get disqualified for not following the rules.) They had a van follower her and eventually a police escort. She did all 26 miles and finished at 7:30. Last I heard she had feet full of blisters and started walking on again Sunday. She was finishing come hell or high water. Fool.
I loved camp! podiatrist, PT, chiropractors, yoga, massages and 5 SHOWER TRAILERS (filled with Avon products. The pink shower gel was nice. I wonder if the boys got pink too?). No lines!. So I showered, and had my first chiropractors visit (fun!), a massage (1st time, fun!), and then I did the machine-foot massage in their tent (2nd time-fun!). A couple of Boy Scout offered to set up my tent. I resisted the urge to say scram, and said sure. Why not. Took three tents before we got one that wasn't wet and had poles. Didn't get to take a yoga class.
FYI Avon's blister block is great. Might have to order some. So is their vanilla hand sanitizer available at every rest stop 2.5 miles apart. Food was so-so.
Sunday we got up about 5:30 showered again, took down the tent and found what looked like litter. It wasn't. It was a ribbon to wear, that pixies delivered to certian tents during the night. It represented that every 3 minutes someone is diagnoised. We decided to share wearing the ribbon, but I wore it the whole time. Apparently they were also given out on the room. By closing there was lots of them.
We ate breakfast and hit the streets. We left the island and were going around Central park. All of it. We had to deal with lots more traffic and a lot more stop start. At one point a woman (not a walker) fell down the steps of a store and was in the middle of the sidewalk, face down. Our little medical car radioed for help (good thing he was there...karma, it's a good thing) and stayed with her until the ambulance came. The walkers had already covered her with mylar blankets. Someone said she looked like she was having a seizure coming out of the store.
We stopped walking at lunch time. Beth's feet really hurt, so when the bus drove us to the finish line we cross the line, took our victory pix, and she headed for the medical tent.
So for me it was a good training walk. For Beth it was a personal best.
Koman, here I come.
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