Kim's Top 10

I am a bit late on posting this and my teammates have done a wonderful job recapping our AMAZING 3 Day adventure. Here is my list of the Top Ten 3 Day 2009 things for which I was thankful.

1. My Teammates, Jennifer Dooley, Jennifer Latino, Meredith Perlman, Michelle Wu, & Lisette Buechner: I cannot tell you how special these 5 ladies are to me. Whether I had known them for years or met them the night before opening ceremonies, we accomplished this feat together. When the stepping got tough (and let me tell you 60 miles isn’t a cake walk), we were there for each other. I am very lucky to have these wonderful, amazing, courageous women in my world! I would be remiss to not include my undying gratitude to my Wonderful Training Partner, number 1 cheerleader, honorary team member and husband, Adam. I am certain I would have never have even made it through the preparation let alone the full 60 miles and my family would never have made it around Atlanta (more on that later) without him and his unconditional support. On Day 3 he had gotten word that my feet were struggling (again more on that later) so he arrived at the cheering station that day in his walking shoes ready to walk by my side the remaining 7 miles if necessary to help me to the finish line. He did not need to jump into action but nonetheless he was ready. I am so lucky, clearly an understatement.
   

Thankful

It is hard to describe the 3 days that Team New Kids experienced. You can describe the weather, sometimes the sore muscles, the unending trips to find a bathroom, the snacks, the cheers, and all the pink that surrounded us, but it is hard to sum up the experience as a whole. Each day of the Atlanta 3-day was special.

It started on Day 1 with a heartfelt opening ceremony that got us pumped up to walk out of Lake Lanier. We were encouraged along the way at the cheering stations by family members and on-lookers alike. We got high fives from little kids at an elementary school! We were so excited to sit down and eat lunch and then it started pouring down rain. We got soaked and a little disheartened but ended up laughing hysterically. We were thrilled when we realized we only had 4 more miles to walk that day. We were even more excited to see friends and family come out (in the rain) to cheer us on that last mile to the buses back to camp. And boy were we excited to see chair massages by Energizer at camp. That first night I was amazed to be surrounded by so many pink tents inside the Georgia Trade Center. It was a true sea of pink. We got to enjoy some good food and entertainment to boost our spirits. And I was really excited for that hot shower and no one passing out!

Cheers and Cookies!

I feel a lot of pressure to make this the best blog posting yet!  The past 21 weeks have been leading up to this-the final blog!  It should be a doozie of a blog.  On top of some pretty spectacular stories to tell (you KNOW there was spectacle-at it’s finest), I had 72 hours to think about how I would share this journey with my faithful readers. 

There is so much to share; I am not sure where to begin.  I could tell you about the 4am start to Day 1, leading up to a moving Opening Ceremony and tearful start to Mile #1.  I could begin with the downpour during Day 1 lunch that sent Team New Kids from quite discouraged to hysterical laughter as every layer (and I do mean EVERY layer) of our clothing was saturated with cold rain.  There are stories of pitching tents (which, thanks to the aforementioned rain were pitched INSIDE), chair massages, 700 port-a-potties of which I used 675, Kim’s Energizer award, the nightly Freedom Hour, regular proclamations that Meredith needed to “Be a more tidy tent mate” and “We are NOT at the Sheraton,” and the elation that a perfectly placed CVS had both indoor plumbing and central heating.  But, those are all “you had to be there” kinds of moments.

The Beginning...and The End

We did it! Team New Kids on the Walk completed the Atlanta 3-Day Event! 60 miles....CHECK!! Every member of our 6 member team completed every mile and it was a wonderful journey. The Atlanta event raised over $5.6 Million dollars and it was an honor to be part of this effort.


I will post a more detailed record of our journey over the weekend after enjoying a week of vacation. In the meantime, please enjoy these photos of our team at the opening ceremony and just moments after completing the Victory Walk.

Thanks for reading and for supporting Team New Kids!

Jenn L.

It's The Final Countdown!

This is it!  We have made it to walk week!  Kim sent out an email this morning that read:  “Happy Walk Week, Ladies!  Can you believe it is finally here?” and I wasn’t sure whether to cheer or puke!  We did it.  We completed 21 weeks of training, made it through 2 seasons, logged in excess of 400 miles each, and raised over $17,000 and a ton of awareness for Breast Cancer!  All that is left to do is take the bold steps to start the 60-mile journey.  My spirits are high and I am anxious to get to Atlanta so I can join the other New Kids and get this adventure underway. 

This week I received more support from two coworkers, Jennie Duval and Jenn Powell.  Both Jennie and Jenn (there have been as many as 5 versions of the name Jennifer in our office at one time-yes, it is terribly confusing) have been amazing cheerleaders for me.  I am honored to add them to the list of folks who have joined me in the fight to find a cure for Breast Cancer.

I will be recognizing all of you and honoring your loved ones during the walk in a very special way. Julianne Dunn and my mom have put their crafty skills to great use and created a pink ribbon bearing the name of every person who made a donation to the Komen Foundation and one for every person that you have honored with your donation and I have chosen to honor with my walk.  There are an impressive 85 ribbons on my Mickey Mouse hook and I will wear it proudly on my backpack throughout the walk.  I can’t wait for my fellow walkers to ask me about my ribbons.  I have 85 unique stories to share-and you KNOW I have the gift for gab and will tell them ALL ABOUT YOU!

It's Almost Here!

Oh my the 3-Day is fast approaching. A week from today we will be mostly through Day 1. I just received our training email for this week and it says:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 6 Miles
Wed: 30 minutes cross training
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 19.4 miles
Saturday: 18.9 Miles
Sunday: 15.8 Miles

Wow! You know it is close when they send you the daily mileage! As a friend pointed out it doesn't quite equal 60 miles. They count you walking around in camp because it is so large. I am starting to get a little worried about the weather. Right now the forecast is for highs in the mid-60s and raining all weekend. With all the rain that Atlanta has had, we are pretty saturated and I hope camp doesn't flood like it did last year.

Suppressing My Inner Diva

10 days!  Just 10 days until we take the first steps on the 3-Day Breast Cancer journey!  10 days to get our heads and our feet in the game of 60 miles.  One more weekend of training, 8.5 days of work, 9 sleeps.  It’s not far off!

These days nearly everyone is asking me, “Are you ready?”  How the heck should I know?  I think I’m ready.  I’ve followed the formula for “readiness.”

•  Raise $2300.  CHECK
  
• Follow the provided training schedule.  CHECK 
  
• Study the 50+ page, highly informative handbook.  CHECK
  
•  Read the message boards to learn from experienced walkers.  CHECK
  
• Read every Facebook posting from walkers who have participated in 2009 Boston, San Francisco, and Denver walks.  CHECK
  
•  Medical check, online check-in, fulfill significant packing supply list, tent mate selection…all CHECK