seattle

Challenges

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I just recently learned something new about myself and challenges. I just returned home from a 60 mile breast cancer walk. We walked basically 20 miles a day for 3 days. Although this was physically difficult, quite painful at times and it was extremely wearing, tiring and trying on an emotional level, this is not the challenge that was hardest for me. Where I struggled was choosing between where my heart wanted to go and where my group wanted to go.

Every person has their own reason for getting involved in an event like this. Each individual has their own goals, expectations and hopes for accomplishment. I arrived hoping I would make it to the end. I left realizing that just making it to the end wasn’t the full goal. I really was wanting to learn more about what inspired people to get involved to begin with. I really wanted to hear the stories of those touched by breast cancer. Those walking for a loved one. Those hoping to make a difference. I wanted to hear their stories and I wanted to stand beside them. I wanted to get a glimpse of what it was that was driving their own path.

seattle space needle and the breast cancer 3 day walk dreams banner

This doesn’t sound that difficult. Just walking, I would be near hundreds of others with their own stories… all I needed to do was talk to them. However, what I discovered is that the more places I didn’t go, the less opportunity I had to cross paths with these stories. So instead of following my group in all the directions they went, I stood by my gut instinct to find the direction that was right for me. This was hard for me. I’m all about the group. I want to be apart of the group and support the group. What I learned from this was, we can be a part of group with a group goal, but still have our own path within that group. Thats what makes a group so fantastic. I struggled with the idea of diverting, but in the end, I felt better about me for standing up for what I knew I needed to do. I felt glad I didn’t ignore my own path.

Moral of the thought… believe in yourself and your goals. Listen to your heart and don’t put yourself last. Follow your dreams.

Breast cancer walk day 2

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Today was another fabulous day! The first half just flew by. We got started earlier, had fewer stops for traffic and started at a better pace, so we made it to the lunch stop before we even knew it. It was great!

I was blown away by the cheering stations today. There were so many people, entire families, grandparents, toddlers… everyone standing and cheering and smiling and handing out candy. What brought a big tear to my eye every time was the thank yous. These complete strangers stood out there for hours, cheering and encouraging.. and then thanking me, someone they didn’t know, for walking. They sincerely are grateful I was there… and that makes me cry, even thinking about it now. It’s inspiring and truly breathtaking to merely grasp.

me and my breast caner walking toes

The second half of the day was a little tougher. There were a ton of hills, both up and down. It as hotter.. and stopping for lunch just gave my body time to coordinate with my blisters and my muscles so they all knew it was time to harass me. So the second have of the day I stopped longer at the rest stops to tape my toes or let my feet rest. But it was good!

One more day… it should be fantastic!

End of day one at the Seattle 3 day

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So today was fantastic. It started off around 4 am, bus came to get us around 5 – hit the Bellview campus for the opening ceremonies where we encountered a plethora of joy and happiness… gratitude and complete and utter love for our being there. It was an amazing way to start the day!

There were pit stops/break sites about every 2-3 miles. We’d stop, grab a snack or a drink or tape our toes and then press onward. I think today we walked about 23 miles… there abouts.

My toes have a few blisters, but the rest of me feels pretty darn fantastic!

I’m looking forward to another day… just hoping my feet ease up on the painful reminders now and again.
😉

Penguin and I are in Seattle

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I have no idea where the time went, my 3 day breast cancer walk is tomorrow! With your help I’ve managed to raise $3135.00 – Besides requesting direction donations, I’ve sold mini buttons at a local shop, my little stuff pink ribbon penguin through etsy.com, pink ribbon themed gear through my website and helped sell buttons at a conference last month. As a team we’ve raised (as of today) $47,528.00.

That is incredibly amazing to me – thank you so much!

I left Denver this morning and arrive in Seattle just after lunch. The walk begins at o’dark thirty (check in starts at 5:30am) on Friday – please laugh quietly to yourself, I’m positive I’m going to be walking via out of body experience until lunch each day. If you’d like information about the walk area and route, updates on the event (there’s a live web cam, I hear), etc.

I do indeed have penguin here with me :D. That is, penguin AND my new pink ribbon penguin pal as well.

I will hopefully be able to blog a bit and keep everyone up-to-date on my own experiences with the event while I am there. I plan on trying to take as many photos as I can… So I can share the view with you when I return home on Monday.

I’m really looking forward to this experience. I thank you for your so very much for all of your support, encouragement and involvement!

Happy Monday!

Jen