This past weekend I travelled to San Diego to walk in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. This was my fourth walk and my second time in San Diego. This was a very challenging walk and I think that it may have been the most challenging of the 4 because of the extreme weather.
I arrived in San Diego Thursday afternoon and travelled to my Hotel in Del Mar. As I was resting in my room before dinner I felt it shake a bit. I checked the USGS website and it confirmed that there had been a small quake in the area. That was a new experience for me.
Friday morning the team headed over to Opening Ceremonies and it was kind of a gray day. Last year it was sunny but cooler. One of the things our team had decided was that we had to get in better position to get out on the route faster this year. We were buried in the crowd last year and the first day was often a painful shuffle in crowds which resulted in us getting into camp at about 5:00 p.m. This year we got out front and it made a huge difference. We were able to walk at a good pace for the day and ended up in camp by 3:00 p.m. The hill into Torey Pines was a little easier this year as I had done some hill training but it still required me to slow down for a little bit. Most of the route was the same as last year but it was still a fun walk. It was nice to get into camp while it was still light out. There were some local Brownie and Girl Scout Troops that were working as Tent Angels that got our gear and setup our tents for us. That was much appreciated after the 20.5 miles of Day 1. We had to get everything under cover as there was a chance of rain overnight.
Saturday morning was cool but dry when we got up. That didn't last for long. The showers started as we headed out of Breakfast and got heavier all morning. As we were crossing streets it often felt like we were fording small streams. Water was everywhere. It was nearly impossible to keep dry. When we finally got to lunch, they had brought in busses for us to sit on and eat our lunches so we could dry out for a short time. It felt great. There were however lots of people that had enough of the morning and wanted to head back to camp. As we were finishing up our lunch, a bus captain got on our bus and asked how many people were going to camp versus just having lunch. Our team was the only group on that bus that was heading back out for the afternoon. The afternoon was more frustrating than the morning. As we headed out of lunch if felt like we were walking straight into the wind and driving rain. The afternoon was one of my favorites parts last year as we walked right along the Ocean but the weather made it more of a test of survival rather than an enjoyable walk. The funny part was that the rain stopped and the sun came out about half of a mile out of camp. We walked into camp and I was amazed to find that my tent was actually dry. After dinner and a hot shower I crawled into my sleeping bag to get some rest before day 3.
Sunday morning looked like it was going to be a good walking day. It was sunny and clear as we set out. This was very welcome after the overnight cold and showers. They changed the route a little this year so we got a little different view to start out. The sun went away too soon and it was raining by the time we left the first pit stop. The most challenging part of the day was walking the hill in Old Town in the rain. Water was coming down the hill like a waterfall and was cascading over the sidewalk in many places. The hill is not really long but it is steep and gives you a good workout. Once you get to the top of that stretch it's pretty much down hill for the rest of the day. They opened up part of a High School for us to be able to eat our lunch and dry out. It was a short 2.7 miles to holding after lunch. We got there nice and early and decided to grab our gear and head for the Hotel to dry out right away. A couple members of the team went back for closing but I chose to rest my sore wet feet before dinner. The weather actually cleared and it was beautiful for closing.
The weather made the weekend challenging but I still had a great time. We had 3800 walkers and raised $10.6 Million Dollars this weekend. Thank you to all that donated to help us reach this amount. I am already registered for the Twin Cities for 2011 and I can't wait. Thanks again to my team who I really enjoy walking with. See you next year.
