October 19, 2008 – Finally an actual update for the Avon Walk! I’m sorry it took so long to get this up, but I really needed some distance on it before I could fully appreciate the whole experience. My team was called Safe at Second (that’s us in the
picture) and we raised over $20,000 for breast cancer research and programs. Thank you again to everyone who supported this fantastic cause! They told us that something like 5,000 people walked this year and I believe it! We started with the opening ceremony at 6:30am at pier 84 (44th and the west side highway). We actually started walking the route around 7:00am and we were definitely in the middle of the pack, but closer to the back. By the time we reached the first rest stop, our team was 20 minutes behind where we needed to be in order to finish all 26.2 miles before they closed the course. Dallas and I really enjoyed the other women on our team, but between Maggie’s gimpy ankle (she got a stress fracture a couple of months before), Lori’s pregnancy (she had to pee every five minutes), and the other women just not having any sense of urgency, we were never going to finish. Dallas and I decided to jump ahead of the rest of our team. Our natural walking pace was faster than what they were walking anyway and on top of that, we figure we didn’t ask people to donate money because we were walking a little bit, we told them we were walking 39.3 miles! So off we went. Walking with Dallas is a little like driving with Dallas only the other “drivers” can actually hear her. It was hilarious. Along the way we got to chat with a lot of interesting people and I was surprised by how many people were walking alone and how many men were involved. On our way up a particularly steep hill in Inwood, a very kind gentleman offered to help me (I might mention at this point that I was the pack mule for both Dallas and myself – I offered to let her keep some things in my pack as long as she carried it half the time and she agreed and then couldn’t because it “hurt her back too much” – grrrr).
We powered down more Gatorade than I think was probably healthy, ate our lunch on the go and made pretty good time until we were on the Manhattan bridge coming back from Brooklyn. That bridge is unexpectedly steep and we really lost our pace. The Avon walk people – the staff, the Crew, the Kids crew and the cheerers – were stationed at exactly the right points to give you a boost, especially near the end. Our last 6 miles went the fastest for us because we just wanted to be done. I got through the last 2 miles by singing the one verse I know of “Kung Fu Fighter” over and over again, sometimes out loud, and karate chopping Dallas at the right moment. She was not amused, but it got me through. We started at about 7:00am and we finished the course at about 3:30pm. We averaged 3-4 miles an hour once we left our group. We started 20 minutes behind where needed to be and ended up more than an hour ahead of where we needed to be.
We claimed our bags and our tent and some scouts set up our tent for us and then we went to eat. There was a little bit of team drama (I think because we left them behind, but also these are not people I know very well, so I don’t know), but I’m not going to dwell on that. Dallas and I ate dinner and did some yoga. They had showers and stuff like that, but we elected not to use them. #1 The weather was gorgeous and actually required layering and sleeves most of the day – so not much sweating. #2 Wet hair and 40 degree temps do not a happy and warm Ashley make. We were trying to wear the names of the women we were walking for. I had all the names hanging from my pack, but I wrote Sarah and Helia’s names on my hands and arms so that everyone could see them at all times.
It started raining at 4:30am. For those of you who have never camped in the rain, the sound of rain on tents is deafening, especially when there are so many of them in one place. Luckily, Dallas and I had set our alarms to get up at 5:30am anyway, so it wasn’t too much before that. The downside was that we had to eat, break down our tent and walk the first 3 miles in the torrential downpour. Our team was lagging in the morning and we wanted to just get the last 13.1 miles done, so we took off as soon as the route opened at 7:30am. The first three miles were miserable and since the coffee sucked at breakfast and we hadn’t passed a Starbucks to duck into yet, my Singin’ In the Rain medley was not met with happiness from Dallas (It could give a girl a complex – really), but as soon as we got real coffee and the rain stopped things started to look up. The rain and the wet shoes and clothes made the second day much more unc
omfortable than the first, so we sped through it as fast as we could. I’m convinced that’s what gave me the shin splints. I started feeling that around mile 7 the second day. We swung through the medical tent at the lunch stop (which we hit around 10:30am on both days, so really they were more like brunch stops), and got some Tylenol and Bio-Freeze (like Bengay, but better), and then were on our way. We hit the finish line at about 11:30am. (And didn't I look pretty? The sweatshirt, the jacket tied around my waist, the shirt I had on underneath, my pants and my tennis shoes were still all wet - it was fun...and comfortable.) We stopped and had a beer (Dallas did, I had more Gatorade because I was pretty sure I’d throw up beer) before we went to grab our bags. Now the only two negative things I really have to say about this experience are that on the second day, there weren’t nearly enough cheering stations; and that after a person walks 39.3 miles, they shouldn’t have to walk another two blocks to get their bags. That’s just mean. We went and dug them out of the piles and changed our shoes to wait for the rest of our team who came through at about 1:00pm.
After sitting and waiting for them, I couldn’t hardly walk. Dallas and I took a cab home and getting up the stairs to my (3rd floor walk up) apartment would probably have made lots of people laugh. Overall, I was not as sore as I expected to be and the worst of the soreness was done by Sunday night/Monday morning. The shin splint stuck around and caused problems for a good two weeks, but seems to have subsided for the moment (knock on wood).
So things I have learned:
1. Body Glide is a lifesaver for marathon type walks – put it everywhere, all over your feet, around your waist where your pack sits, where your sports bra meets your skin and more. Reapply often.
2. Extra socks are a godsend – especially when your feet are wet, your shoes are wet and all your clothes are wet. Change them at least twice a day if not more often.
3. Nothing brings out the best in New Yorkers like 5000 people walking en masse through the city – I only mean that partially sarcastically (China town, I’m looking at you!).
4. Your experience with sort of thing depends largely on the sort of people you are participating with/talking to. I recommend chatting a little bit with a lot of people along the way and saving the “get to know you” conversation for after you reach your destination.
If you had asked me when I finished if I would ever do this again, my answer would probably have been a resounding NO. Now that I’ve had an opportunity to think about it, though, I am actually thinking about doing it again and signing up just on my own. Maybe I can get Bruce to do it with me (Dallas thinks she’ll be moving to CA or something by that point, but if she’s around I’d definitely do this with her again). I’ll decide for sure in January. If anyone is interested in doing the NY walk with me next October 11-12, 2009 – let me know!
picture) and we raised over $20,000 for breast cancer research and programs. Thank you again to everyone who supported this fantastic cause! They told us that something like 5,000 people walked this year and I believe it! We started with the opening ceremony at 6:30am at pier 84 (44th and the west side highway). We actually started walking the route around 7:00am and we were definitely in the middle of the pack, but closer to the back. By the time we reached the first rest stop, our team was 20 minutes behind where we needed to be in order to finish all 26.2 miles before they closed the course. Dallas and I really enjoyed the other women on our team, but between Maggie’s gimpy ankle (she got a stress fracture a couple of months before), Lori’s pregnancy (she had to pee every five minutes), and the other women just not having any sense of urgency, we were never going to finish. Dallas and I decided to jump ahead of the rest of our team. Our natural walking pace was faster than what they were walking anyway and on top of that, we figure we didn’t ask people to donate money because we were walking a little bit, we told them we were walking 39.3 miles! So off we went. Walking with Dallas is a little like driving with Dallas only the other “drivers” can actually hear her. It was hilarious. Along the way we got to chat with a lot of interesting people and I was surprised by how many people were walking alone and how many men were involved. On our way up a particularly steep hill in Inwood, a very kind gentleman offered to help me (I might mention at this point that I was the pack mule for both Dallas and myself – I offered to let her keep some things in my pack as long as she carried it half the time and she agreed and then couldn’t because it “hurt her back too much” – grrrr).
We powered down more Gatorade than I think was probably healthy, ate our lunch on the go and made pretty good time until we were on the Manhattan bridge coming back from Brooklyn. That bridge is unexpectedly steep and we really lost our pace. The Avon walk people – the staff, the Crew, the Kids crew and the cheerers – were stationed at exactly the right points to give you a boost, especially near the end. Our last 6 miles went the fastest for us because we just wanted to be done. I got through the last 2 miles by singing the one verse I know of “Kung Fu Fighter” over and over again, sometimes out loud, and karate chopping Dallas at the right moment. She was not amused, but it got me through. We started at about 7:00am and we finished the course at about 3:30pm. We averaged 3-4 miles an hour once we left our group. We started 20 minutes behind where needed to be and ended up more than an hour ahead of where we needed to be. We claimed our bags and our tent and some scouts set up our tent for us and then we went to eat. There was a little bit of team drama (I think because we left them behind, but also these are not people I know very well, so I don’t know), but I’m not going to dwell on that. Dallas and I ate dinner and did some yoga. They had showers and stuff like that, but we elected not to use them. #1 The weather was gorgeous and actually required layering and sleeves most of the day – so not much sweating. #2 Wet hair and 40 degree temps do not a happy and warm Ashley make. We were trying to wear the names of the women we were walking for. I had all the names hanging from my pack, but I wrote Sarah and Helia’s names on my hands and arms so that everyone could see them at all times.
It started raining at 4:30am. For those of you who have never camped in the rain, the sound of rain on tents is deafening, especially when there are so many of them in one place. Luckily, Dallas and I had set our alarms to get up at 5:30am anyway, so it wasn’t too much before that. The downside was that we had to eat, break down our tent and walk the first 3 miles in the torrential downpour. Our team was lagging in the morning and we wanted to just get the last 13.1 miles done, so we took off as soon as the route opened at 7:30am. The first three miles were miserable and since the coffee sucked at breakfast and we hadn’t passed a Starbucks to duck into yet, my Singin’ In the Rain medley was not met with happiness from Dallas (It could give a girl a complex – really), but as soon as we got real coffee and the rain stopped things started to look up. The rain and the wet shoes and clothes made the second day much more unc
omfortable than the first, so we sped through it as fast as we could. I’m convinced that’s what gave me the shin splints. I started feeling that around mile 7 the second day. We swung through the medical tent at the lunch stop (which we hit around 10:30am on both days, so really they were more like brunch stops), and got some Tylenol and Bio-Freeze (like Bengay, but better), and then were on our way. We hit the finish line at about 11:30am. (And didn't I look pretty? The sweatshirt, the jacket tied around my waist, the shirt I had on underneath, my pants and my tennis shoes were still all wet - it was fun...and comfortable.) We stopped and had a beer (Dallas did, I had more Gatorade because I was pretty sure I’d throw up beer) before we went to grab our bags. Now the only two negative things I really have to say about this experience are that on the second day, there weren’t nearly enough cheering stations; and that after a person walks 39.3 miles, they shouldn’t have to walk another two blocks to get their bags. That’s just mean. We went and dug them out of the piles and changed our shoes to wait for the rest of our team who came through at about 1:00pm.After sitting and waiting for them, I couldn’t hardly walk. Dallas and I took a cab home and getting up the stairs to my (3rd floor walk up) apartment would probably have made lots of people laugh. Overall, I was not as sore as I expected to be and the worst of the soreness was done by Sunday night/Monday morning. The shin splint stuck around and caused problems for a good two weeks, but seems to have subsided for the moment (knock on wood).
So things I have learned:
1. Body Glide is a lifesaver for marathon type walks – put it everywhere, all over your feet, around your waist where your pack sits, where your sports bra meets your skin and more. Reapply often.
2. Extra socks are a godsend – especially when your feet are wet, your shoes are wet and all your clothes are wet. Change them at least twice a day if not more often.
3. Nothing brings out the best in New Yorkers like 5000 people walking en masse through the city – I only mean that partially sarcastically (China town, I’m looking at you!).
4. Your experience with sort of thing depends largely on the sort of people you are participating with/talking to. I recommend chatting a little bit with a lot of people along the way and saving the “get to know you” conversation for after you reach your destination.
If you had asked me when I finished if I would ever do this again, my answer would probably have been a resounding NO. Now that I’ve had an opportunity to think about it, though, I am actually thinking about doing it again and signing up just on my own. Maybe I can get Bruce to do it with me (Dallas thinks she’ll be moving to CA or something by that point, but if she’s around I’d definitely do this with her again). I’ll decide for sure in January. If anyone is interested in doing the NY walk with me next October 11-12, 2009 – let me know!
