30 Miles for Pledge the Pink

Thanks to my wonderful yoga leader I do NOT have a sore back or legs after walking 30 miles over three days on three different islands.  I am thrilled.  She gave me the simplest stretch you could imagine and after each day’s walk of 10 miles, I spent about a half hour on the floor with a pillow and towel under my head and upper torso and my legs at right angles on a chair.  I would read or do a Sudoku or play a silly game and just stretch.  It worked like a charm.  No soreness for the first time in over a year.  I am so very grateful to Carol.

Here’s a summary of the three days.

Day 1 – We were on Fripp Island.  We were missing my daughter Katie who was unable to join us due to family reasons but we wanted her to know she was with us in spirit.  The day started at a very reasonable hour – 9AM.  I was able to be at home Thursday night and drive out to Fripp which is a 30 minute drive from my home on Dataw.  We met at Merilyn’s house and went to the start in Sandy’s golf cart.  Music and greetings were everywhere as were wonderful delicacies to keep us going.  We were eager to get started.  Our fearless leader had us do a number of warm up moves to Pink’s “Raise Your Glass” and we were ready.  This year instead of the usual 60-80 survivors we had over 200 participating.  They led us out onto the Ocean Golf Course.  It was very moving.  We walked on soft ground and past the sea wall where we were sprayed by a very angry ocean.  Big waves.  We walked on the boardwalk through the marsh and we finished at the beach club.  I ran into my Facebook friend, Dawn, who I had never met in person but who had been inspiring me to walk for over a year.  Many years my junior but she is an inspiration raising five girls and caring for four little boys on a daily basis and she still gets out and walk/runs over five miles most days.  It’s her sanity she says.

At the end of the day we ate and laughed and packed up our bags and headed out to Hilton Head.

Thanks to Merilyn, we ended up with a wonderful condo at Shelter Harbor overlooking the water.  Lots of room for all of us including two jacuzzi tubs (oh, yes they were very welcome).  We were now positioned for an earlier start on Day 2.

Day 2 – We were in Bluffton.  An easy drive from our residence on Hilton Head and the start was at 8AM.  Early but not unreasonable.  We once again gathered for some warm up stretches and were led off by our survivors again.  This was our Flockstar day and there were over 5000 – yes 5000 pink plastic flamingos that were purchased with all the donations that we received.  Each one represents a free mammogram for someone who cannot afford it.  Thank you all for your gifts to this cause.  So many cannot afford screening of any kind.  We walked the streets of Bluffton and were shepherded across streets by some wonderful police officers who were keeping an eye on us.  The food line at the end was too long and it had become quite chilly so we said goodbye to the crowd and found a fabulous soup and sandwich shop where we fed our tired bodies with good food.  Then back to the condo and the wonderful stretch and watching some exceptional football.

Day 3 – Too darn early!  It was pitch black when we left the condo.  The start was at 7AM and because we are so far west the sun isn’t up at that time.  It was dark, so dark that we actually didn’t remember where we had parked the car.  We walked the beach for at least six miles.  Oh how wonderful that was.  We watched the sun come up and the shrimp boats float by and a tanker way off in the distance.  No dolphins, I was disappointed.  The air was brisk.  I wore warm clothes, fleece pants and a long sleeved shirt and another fleece on top.  Not cold by Canadian standards but by South Carolina standards it was.  We went off the beach for mile 7 and 8 and then back on the beach for 9 and 10.  By then the sun was well up and we were warm.   My feet were sore.  I made a tactical error and changed shoes that were great on the beach and lousy on the road.  The shoes came off for the last mile and I walked in the ocean.  Heaven!!!

We found food and friendship at the end and yes, we eventually found the car but it wasn’t easy.  Honestly, places look different in the dark and then in the light.  What a weekend and what a feeling of accomplishment to have set the goal to walk 30 miles and to achieve it and still feel really good.  So grateful for all the training walks with my brother who didn’t know they were training walks and for the support of family and friends.  Signed up for next year.  Yup!!!  Join me, I’d love to have you along for the journey.

I am tired and am not going to write any more for this week but I hope you enjoy the pictures and the recap of an amazing weekend which was the culmination of all my training this summer.  Next stop – The Bridge Run/Walk in December.  Never earned a medal for anything growing up and now I am obsessed.