WTVT_Emily's Blog

Most people would agree that the night before a race, or in this case--a really long walk, you should probably hit the sack early and get a good night's rest. Not so in this case--- as I write this, I have yet to finish packing, and I have exactly five hours until I have to leave for the walk. A 60 MILE WALK. It's my own fault, being that I chose to 'celebrate' the start of the walk by going to see Sheryl Crow tonight (hey, she's a breast cancer survivor, so I figured it was fitting). Probably not a good plan.

So, hopefully my plan so far isn't indicative of how day one will go. My biggest concern right now (aside from sleep deprivation)? Blisters. I have trained and trained, and been lucky enough never to get one that was terribly bad. But, being around people who have done these walks before, I have heard horror stories about the blisters you can get from not wearing the right shoes, or the right socks, or not soaking your feet at the end of each day. For the 3Day, they recommend that you wear two different pairs of shoes: one on the first and third day, and one on the second day. Apparently, it's supposed to lessen your chance of being one of the lucky ones to get those blisters. Not sure I understand why, but I'll go along with it.

More than anything right now, I'm just excited to get the walk underway. I'm relatively confident I'll be running on adrenaline for day one! I'll be walking with my two of my closest friends, Jenn and Debbie. Together, we're 'Team Superfox' (each participating team names themselves). We've been busy planning, and training, and fundraising for months now, and after raising almost $7,000, our three-person team has actually been pretty successful. You might say we're small, but mighty! We've done a car wash, a garage sale, a bachelor auction, and a golf tournament-- all in the name of saving lives. Now, we're ready to get going, because we know that our efforts will mean so much to so many people who are or have been suffering from breast cancer.

So, for the next three days, I'll be walking-- and you'll get to hear all about it! Day one kicks off with opening ceremonies, starting at 7:30 a.m. at Sand Key Park. Then, from what I can tell from the list of cheering stations we've been given, it looks like we'll go back across the bridge and wind into the Seminole area. It's hard to be sure, though, becaust they don't give out the route at all. From what we hear, the idea is not to have people crowding the streets to cheer on the walkers (though there are designated cheering stations), since they don't close off the roads for this event.

Check back on my blog each day, and I'll try my best to give you a feel for what the 3Day is really like. And if you're cruising around Pinellas County this weekend, keep an eye out for us. Wish me luck!

-Emily