[3-DAY] PART 3 :: THIS IS WHAT I CAME HERE FOR
AY 1 = 23 MILES OF HOOPING
DAY 2 = 10 MILES OF HOOPING
DAY 3 =
So it has taken me quite long time to sit down and write about the 3rd day of the Susan Komen 3-day walk. Every time I even think about it, I get very emotional because the event was much larger than me and the 3rd day was when everything came together and my physical capabilities were severely tested.
On day three we woke up very early and had to pack up our tent. The night before they showed us a demonstration on how to get the tent packed back neatly into it's little bag. Packing the wet tent in the cold, damp air was not very fun and I am pretty sure that over half of our little tent did not make it back into the bag. But we did the best we could- exhausted and sore from the previous days- not to mention lacking the hired help that we had been promised as my husband was running about 30 minutes late. Even though I was in a lot of pain, there was excitement because we were finally going to walk DC proper. When I had signed up for the walk I had thought the whole event was going to be in DC. I was so wrong. If you are from Nashville, then it went a bit like this... day one was like walking around Antioch and then day two was Brentwood. Day three was like the Ryman and Broadway- and with the excitement of the pending election, it was also kind of like seeing Johnny Cash walking into Tootsies.
Anyway, after we loaded our gear, we took a bus to the starting location, which I believe was somewhere in Georgetown. I was exhausted and tried to nap for the ride. Since the medical line at the camp was about a mile long I had also decided to wait and ice once we arrived at the starting location. I immediately iced and wrapped once we got off the bus and then we were on our way. Yvonne decided early on that she was not going to hoop Day 3. Ironically, she was not in so much pain from hooping the previous days, but from a cough that irritated her back too much to continue hooping.
The path through Georgetown was narrow and uneven. I hooped where I could and had to walk in various areas due to the lack of space. I discovered quite quickly when I was forced to walk the narrow areas that it was more than painful to walk. In fact, I could barely walk. When I hooped it felt better. By the time we were approaching the lunch location my husband was making his opinions about his concern for my knee well known. He was so mad at me for being on it, that he phoned my best friend in hopes that he could talk me off the hoop. It didn't work because I never answered the call knowing full well what chiding would be at the other end and besides I was in a zone on my way to lunch and more importantly, ice.
Above pic taken by passerby as we crossed this gorgeous body of water. Destination: Lunch!
At lunch I rested and refueled and iced and rewrapped. Although we were sitting for maybe all of a half-hour, the rest unknowingly made things much more difficult for me. I hobbled up to the sidewalk and gave my hoop a spin but this time I could not keep it up- at all. I had been feeling so positive up to this point, after all it was DC and only 14 miles that day. My spirit sank as the pain heightened. I couldn't bend my right leg and the tears were starting to come. As emotional as the two days had been, this just heightened it and I was almost sobbing. Walkers passed us and asked if I needed help or the sweep van. And Yvonne kept asking me if she should call my husband who had ridden his bike up ahead of us. I knew if we called David or if we took the van that my hoop walk would be over for good and I just couldn't give up. All I could think about were the women I had seen on the side of the walk holding up signs thanking us for being a part of the event on behalf of their illness. All I could think about were the other walkers, especially the breast cancer survivors who were still walking - and even the one woman who was pushing her friend in a wheel chair- and then of course, Lily who had crossed the last mile with us on Day One with feet covered in blisters... she was even still walking!
This may sound silly, but the only thing I can equate to my experience that exact moment was giving birth to my first child. With Fiona I went natural (not by choice) and I just had to do it, there was no time left and there was just no choice but to do it because she was coming. Well, at that moment on the sidewalk, there was no time left and there was no choice but to do it. I was just going to make it happen. I didn't know how but I started to push through the pain. Walking was impossible, so I threw the hoop and developed a rhythm to keep it up. Thankfully as my muscles warmed up it became a bit easier. The only problem was that once I started going and had developed a pace, I was too afraid to stop or slow down. Not only did I fear my knee locking up again, but if I fell behind the sweep van would pick me up because everyone had to be at the closing point by a certain time. Ok, so the best visual I can give you for these next 12 miles through the streets of DC is that scene in Forrest Gump, where he is in braces, running and Jenny is yelling "Run, Forrest, run!". That was me, but instead of braces, I had patches all over my body and both knees wrapped and a hoop walk that looked quite a bit like Frankenstein.
Hooping through DC on a mission to the last mile.
Don't let this picture fool you- at this point my right knee was not bending at all and the left barely worked.
At a certain point, Yvonne fell further behind me because she needed to break at the Pit Stops and I simply couldn't afford to even if I wanted to. I hooped past a lot of people who were all friendly, smiling and taking pictures- the energy around me was wonderful. I hooped past cool buildings and then in front of the White House- wish I had thought to carry my camera with me. Someone took my photo for me in front of the gates, but I haven't seen it yet. When I arrived at the last Pit Stop. With only 2 more miles to go, I opted to ice my knees and wait for Yvonne and David to catch up with me. Once they did, we set off ready to hooped the final stretch. Thankfully Yvonne and I crossed the finish line together and it was so wonderful. A sea of people and walkers greeted us and we cried and hugged and cried some more. At the end of that Day 3, I had successfully hooped 45 of the 60 miles! Ok, that is like a marathon and then a half marathon AND then a 10K!
I had no time to rest even when reaching the end because earlier I had met with an event organizer who agreed to help me distribute the hoops that I had made and brought with me. My original intention was to hand them out at camp, but as exhausted as everyone was by the end of our walks, there was no real opportunity. Yes, I had actually envisioned evening hoopJams! Anyway, it turned out that there were 8 cancer survivors who were going to be a part of the closing ceremony and we had bright pink 8 hoops to give out.
We met with the survivors and I was able to tell them who I was and why I was there. I shared why Hooping for Hope was so important to me and that I felt hula hooping was such a wonderful way for survivors to reconnect with their spirit and body and to increase life span. I gave each of them a travel hoop and showed them how to hoop with them. It was a very sweet meeting as we were all crying by the end of it. I had not expected the survivors reactions and was quite honored that they felt so touched by my gift. Their sweetness towards me and my sharing made every ounce of those miles worth it.
We said good bye to the survivors and a bit later the last walker crossed. We were then directed into the closing ceremony area. All of the walkers (3,000+) went into the area together and formed a big circle. Once we were in and surrounded by all of our friends and family, the crew came into the inner circle. And then once the crew was in the survivors came into that inner circle. And then to the inner most circle on a platform, in walked in the eight survivor I had met earlier and much to my surprise, they all had their hoops around them. I am sure nobody else in the group really understood why they had hoops on them, but I did. It was such an amazing symbol of why I was there and where I want to go. It was one of those moments where I knew, 120%, that I was in the right place!
I do have a few more photos of me in action hooping the walk like the ones above, but they are not pretty and they are by no means of significance in comparison to this one:
