Monday, October 19, 2009

My 3 Day Journey

EVERYONE DESERVES A LIFETIME was the motto for our Susan G. Komen walk.

It was such an amazing experience. I haven't processed it all, but I do know I'll walk every year for as long as my body will let me. I had the privilege of walking with an amazing group of women. Our team, Big Buoys, raised $30,000!

Many things inspired me on my journey: the sons' walking for their mothers, the sisters' walking for each other, and the people walking because they must - because if they didn't, who would?


The photo above was part of the opening ceremony at National's stadium. As the sun was rising, survivors formed a circle and held these inspirational banners to remind us why we were walking. Yes, those are bunny ears - Energizer was a sponsor for the walk.


Our Team

Laura, Wendy, Jennie (our captain & 2nd year walker), Christy (Jennie's mom, 2nd year walker & SURVIVOR), Me, Sarah (SURVIVOR), Heather O. (our captain & 2nd year walker) and Heather M. (my roommate and mommy to be).


Here we are at one of the pit stops. This event was so well organized - no detail was missed. The route was incredible. We walked all around Washington, DC, which brought back some incredible memories for me!


These were two of my favorite volunteers! They were full of life and always motivated us to keep walking. There were hundreds of energetic and caring volunteers cheering us along the entire route.

The closing ceremony was incredibly moving. The same survivors from the opening ceremony formed a circle, but his time a family member joined them and held up the flag in the center which read, "To A World Without Breast Cancer".


Here we are at the finish. On a very small scale, this walk was a lot like pregnancy. You start off all excited and giddy - can't wait to pick out cute maternity clothes and eat Big Macs!

You start feeling a little uncomfortable and have to pee all the time. Then you go into excruciating back labor and swear you'll never get pregnant again.

They place that baby in your arms and the pain subsides - joy and pride feel your heart and you can't wait to do it again!


Thank you all so much for your support. I'd also like to thank Bob and Mary Ann, my mother in law. Honey, you did an awesome job with the kids! Thanks for already putting it on your calendar for next year!

7 comments:

Allie said...

Wow! Good for you! That's such a wonderful thing to do.

Lisa said...

Thanks for doing this! My best friend's mom died last year after a long battle with breast cancer (multiple times).

Hillary @ The Other Mama said...

What an awesome accomplishment and I am so proud of you and all the walkers!!

Laurel @ Ducks in a Row said...

That is awesome - you'll remember that forever and so will so many others!

GreenStyleMom said...

Alana, I've only gotten capris from Lucy. I did get a pair of winter running pants from Athleta. They have wind block built into the thighs. Way more pricey than I normally spend, but worth every penny on windy, cold Colorado days!

Roni said...

That's AWESOME!

Thanks for stopping by Roni's Weigh... I think you're site looks awesome! :)

Deborah Schneider said...

Wow, you guys are awesome. Keep up the amazing work!