bc3d 2010 - day three

the morning of day three found us lined up with the other 2,400 walkers waiting to exit camp and hit the trail.

we had to wait a long time.... can you find me waiting in line?  

(hint - i'm the one waving like a dork.)

day three was sunny.

sunny and hot.

there was not a lot of shade on day three.  just a lot of sun and a lot of soreness and a lot of putting one foot in front of the other.  over and over and over....

i didn't take a whole lot of pictures either (i was busy putting one foot in front of the other) until we reached the 5 mile mark.  then things started to look up.

"i squish your capitol!"

things seemed to become much more amusing the closer we got to the finish line...

here we are just a "mere" two miles (perhaps the *longest* two miles in the universe) from the capitol - you can see it, the tiny domed building at the far right of the photo.

we reached the under one mile point in downtown saint paul, and then the camera came out and we got a wee bit silly. 

 

one block away and we could see the capitol huge and looming right before us, like a beacon of hope... hope that one day, we could stop with the walking.

i told laura, "get in the picture and put your thumbs up!"  she told me she would put her thumb in the picture, but nothing else.... heh heh, 60 miles and 27 years, i know my limits :) so i present to you: laura's thumb is up - one block to go!

we reached the end and everyone cheered us and we were emotional and proud and then we just wanted to sit down and stop with the walking.  i'm not kidding - we were elated, but we were both in a lot of pain.

eventually we met up with our own personal cheering squad!

but honestly we were beat - we opted to skip walking in the closing ceremonies and just head for home.  the closing ceremonies are wonderful (and if you want to you can click here, here or here to see pictures from the 2008 ceremony) but the thought of doing extra walking was just too much for us to handle. 

forgive us our moment of weakness, but i feel like we earned it.

and to laura i would like to publicly say - my dear friend, thank you for making this horrific and marvelous journey with me.  thank you for helping me when i needed help, thank you for pushing me when i needed pushing.  27 years... and this may have been our hardest road yet.  i can think of no one i would rather have been with than you.  thank you laura, i love you!

and just get ready for "next time" because there will totally be a "next time."

Comments

[cmv]

you two are so completely incredible- i love the joy and sheer relief on your faces in that last picture! i hope that you are completely relishing in your fabulousness, you've earned it indeed!

[drea]

still say you should've taken a picture of your beautiful feet! they were amazing!! there are times i can't help but think of mona (yoga) when i look at my feet. she has forever changed the way i regard my feet, and after what you and laura did...how special our feet are. no love taken away from your heart and mind. those two organs probably played a pretty big role in your victory as well. congratulations!

[Lindsey]

Wow, wow, wow! You two are amazing. I am so impressed and proud.
I love you!

[josiekitten]

Well done to you and Laura! A really inspirational thing to have done.

[Rebekah]

Congratulations!

I loved this quote the best: "like a beacon of hope... hope that one day, we could stop with the walking" :)

[Rachel]

There is no weakness to forgive my friend. There is only your accomplishment to celebrate. And the fact that at the end, still in pain, you've pledged to another year. Bravo to you and to Laura and the thousands others who raised funds for much needed research.

[josiekitten]

Thank you for your postcard - it arrived today, and was a really lovely surprise! Glad to have played a tiny part in your massive achievement!