It. Is. Done.
This past weekend was the Avon Walk in Houston, and I am happy to report, that I survived. We actually had a couple of almost perfect days. Late April in Houston can be muggy and hot, but Saturday was breezy and chilly, turning lovely later in the day, and Sunday was a bit hotter, but nice. Friday afternoon it POURED down rain, right through our check in at Event Eve and our 'carbing up' cupcake stop. But by the time we made it to P.F. Chang's for dinner, it had cooled considerably, and the rain was gone.
We stayed at my MIL's townhouse in the city so we'd be closer to the starting point, and despite being oh-so-tired, I didn't fall asleep until after midnight. Our alarms were set for 3:45 a.m. to give us time to drive to shuttle pickup, park, take the bus, and get to the Opening Ceremonies at 7:00 a.m. It. Was. Freeeezing out there! We shivered our rears off, standing in a wet field for over an hour before the ceremony started. My feet were sore before we even began.
And then we were off. And there were people all along the route out there, cheering us on, saying thank you. Local bikers had signed up to help us with traffic, and they were at every busy intersection, always with a smile. Then there were the Porta-potties. But I survived those too. The second day I tracked my progress with the number of Porta-potty stops I had left. It was thrilling when I had none left, even though I was still three miles from the finish.
A couple of my walking buddies went off the beaten trail for another cupcake run. They got me one too, and I enjoyed it thoroughly at Mile 26.2, while sitting in a massage chair, my feet propped up on a massage machine. It was actually a really lovely walk--mostly. We got to see A LOT of Houston. A whole lot.
The stairs at my MIL's were rough on the evening of the first day (I was sleeping on the third floor). But once I was warmed up, I wasn't overly sore for the second day's walk. And today I'm not too bad. Better than expected. I'm just glad it's over. New nicknames were used on that walk, and I hope they don't stick...
Houston raised $2 million for breast cancer research and care. And I was part of it.
Posted in life on 04/23/2012 04:55 pm
04/23/2012 at 5:22 pm
Way to go, Alyssa!!! I’m dying to know the nicknames. I have a feeling they will remain top secret, though. Surely none of them are as humiliating as “Dead Butt”.;)
Congratulations on a job very well done for a very worthy cause. Now, rest – rest – rest!
04/24/2012 at 9:18 pm
Thank you, Blake! And thanks so much for your support all the way through! I so appreciate it!
I will tell you that one of my nicknames was Persnickety. Totally unfounded. Another was Dorothy (There’s no place like home…) 🙂
04/23/2012 at 7:37 pm
Way to go girl! I drove in from Cypress to make it to the shuttle on Saturday morning, 3:45am and cold and windy are NOT nice at all 😉
04/24/2012 at 9:18 pm
It was rough out there, Alyssa. I wish we’d caught up to each other!
04/23/2012 at 11:10 pm
Good for you, Alyssa! And you had fun doing it. That’s the best part.
04/24/2012 at 9:21 pm
I did have fun, David! That was what got me through. 🙂
04/24/2012 at 2:41 am
Congrats and I want to know the nicknames too!
04/24/2012 at 9:23 pm
See above for mine, Sarakastic.
We also had OCC…Obsessive Compulsive Competitor (NOT ME), TD (Tone Deaf), and Curt. That’s besides our Wizard of Oz names. I didn’t come up with any of these…
04/25/2012 at 3:24 pm
Hooray for you! That’s a MAJOR accomplishment, girl.
04/27/2012 at 3:25 pm
Thanks, Green Girl! I do feel accomplished! 😉
04/27/2012 at 1:28 am
Oops! I actually thought I had posted on this already, but maybe it was just to your Facebook photos? At any rate, it is so cool that you did this walk! Such a lovely, generous thing to do. I love your photos of it, too. They really capture those two days.
04/27/2012 at 3:26 pm
Thanks, Caryn! I actually took only a quarter (maybe) of the photos my walking buddies took. They wanted to stop for a picture every other mile marker. I just wanted to press on. But I’m glad I have the pictures now! 🙂