The Jimmy Fund Walk

Well I did it! I finished the Jimmy Fund Boston Marathon walk! What a great experience it was, really and truly. I figured I would give a run down here as I really want to tell people about it and how truly rewarding it was.  This may be long, but I’ll go through it as a timeline of my day. The miles might not be completely accurate in terms of location as at some point I started getting a bit delirious.

Wake up at 4:30: I woke up feeling really excited for the race, I didn’t feel tired just anxious to get going, I wanted to arrive for a 5:30 start but in reality I didn’t get out the door until a little after 5.

5:30: Arrive in  Hopkinton, I parked in one of the middle school lots and got on the bus to go to the starting line, there were already a ton of people there. It was so cool to see all the t-shirts and everyone was just so pumped to get going. I wasn’t sure what to expect once we go to the starting line but when we got there they dropped us off and I headed into the gym to pick up my t-shirt and hat. They had music playing and people were cheering for you when you walked in. It was pretty cool! So I got some breakfast (I had a banana and a bagel and grabbed some snacks for the road) and a small cup of coffee. I didn’t want to walk with my coffee so I drank it really quickly and then got going. I munched on my bagel as I walked and people were still cheering! It was really encouraging and helpful.

Mile 1: At the first mile marker there was a picture of a teenage boy and it gave his hopes and aspirations for the future. It made me a little teary eyed and so proud to be walking for him! I had a good pace going and I figured if I could keep this up, this won’t be that bad!

Mile 3: I stopped at the first station and got my sticker (you got a sticker on your bib for every station you hit) went to the bathroom and got some more food and walked on.  The scenery in Hopkinton and Ashland was beautiful, lots of farm land. I also got to see “Jesse and Joel” an older man and his Golden retriever. The older guy would stand outside of his van and clap for everyone while playing motivating music, it was really neat!

Mile 6: I stopped at  dunkin donuts to use the restroom as I had already had enough of porta pottys even though I was far from being done. Yuck.  There was a girl in line waiting to use the restroom and her and I got to chatting, she told me that the hardest part is A.)Heartbreak Hill and B.) the last mile. She also said you learn a lot about yourself during the walk, I thought that was interesting.  I learned a lot from listening to the other walkers, their stories and why they did it really were so inspiring.

Mile 10: I had been waiting for mile 10 for a while, the miles were getting longer and my feet were really starting to get sore, I had a lot of hot spots and I thought about stopping at the service station medical tent to get them looked at but figured I should just keep going. Everything else felt fine, just my feet were on fire. I thought if I could get to the halfway point I would feel much better about it and would probably stop then.  The mile markers were incredible, they were such an inspiration to keep going. I looked forward to seeing the faces of those I was walking for.

Mile 13: Just about halfway! I updated facebook and texted my husband to let him know. I was making really good time and was feeling good about that. My hips were really starting to get sore and my feet were just aching. .I decided to keep going though, I wanted to try to get to mile 16 before I stopped to have my feet looked at. I wasn’t feeling hungry or anything but I grabbed snacks and water/Gatorade along the way anyways. I was beet red from sweating even though it really wasn’t that hot out. Only when the sun came out was it really warm.  

Mile 16: as I came up on the service station they said there was lunch “Up the hill” I thought to myself “How cruel to put lunch up the hill after people have just walked 16 miles” but I made my way up there anyways. At this point I had to stop and get my feet looked at, I was convinced that there was a hole in my foot and my shoe was filled with blood. I took my sneakers off and no such thing, my feet were just sore. They put moleskin and wrapped my feet so that my blisters wouldn’t be too bad. I decided to have a sandwich but nothing really looked appealing, I decided on chicken salad which was a BIG mistake. I took 2 bites and had to throw it away, I don’t know what it was but the taste just made me sick. I drank a Gatorade and had some pretzels and continued on.

Mile 17-20: Here is where it really started to get hard for me, my feet were still aching but my mind was really working against me. I kept saying to myself “I need to stop, I can’t do this” but I just kept telling myself, you need to keep going. You have to get to at least mile 20, from there it’s only 6 miles left. Heartbreak Hill wasn’t that bad though to be honest. I am sure running up it is awful but walking wasn’t too bad.  I stopped at a service station and one of the women there had me sit down and drink 3 bottles of water because she said I looked so red. I must have been really dehydrated at the point because once I drank the water I felt much better and was able to keep going. I finally saw mile 20 and the city was in the distance.

Mile 20-25: Honestly this was pretty tough, there were so many people walking around the city and on the sidewalk. You were slowed down a lot by all the pedestrians and crossing the streets. I saw quite a few people stopped along the side of the road with their hands on their hands, medical teams around them or just sobbing.  The walk is really taxing on the mind and body, at one point you really lose sense of anything else and you just have to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.  There was a group of teenagers who were cheering at the .5 mile point to let us know we only had half a mile left. That was probably the LONGEST half mile of the entire walk. I seriously felt like it took forever. My feet hurt, my hips were numb and my back was really aching at this point. My hands looked like sausages and were so tight and swollen that it was painful. I couldn’t stand to have anything near my neck or touching my face. I was irritable and emotional.  Then I saw it. The Finish line.

Mile 26.2: I pretty much walked by myself through the finish line as everyone behind me or in front of me was with a group. Everyone was cheering, giving me high fives and saying how awesome I was. I felt so proud and I started to cry, everything just hit me all at once. I got my medal and sat down on a bench after slowly slowing down  little by little. I updated my friends and family that I finished and took a picture with my very first medal. I looked around and there were so many activities and I’m sure lunch was there but I wasn’t hungry at all and just wanted to get back to Hopkinton and get home.

After the walk: I hobbled over to the bus and got on, the bus ride home was excruciating because you are so cramped and sitting for that long after walking for so long is just not easy. I walked to my car and barely made it in. I had to take a few minutes to compose myself because I was dizzy and nauseous. I wasn’t sure if I was going to throw up or pass out, thankfully I did neither. I finally got home and had to have my husband help me out of my car and into the house; I was in so much pain. I could barely hold my son and at one point just broke down in tears because everything hurt.  I went upstairs took a shower, soaked my feet, put the baby to bed , had dinner and went to bed myself. The next day was even worse, I have massive blisters and I’m still really stiff. I took the day off and could barely move the entire day.

I am so proud of myself that I did this and I’m really impressed at the amount of determination I had to finish. I know that next year I will do a lot more training etc for it but I will definitely do it again. I’m so happy I was able to walk for those who can’t.

Anyway, that’s my story of walking 26.2 miles! Sorry it is so long but I wanted to get it all out there!