Amazing Adamo Adventures: The 3-Day 2012: We Did It!

Why do I continue to strive for Superwoman status?! I guess the “do-it-all” syndrome comes from my mother, and its just plain genetic. Committing to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day once again is another example of my inability to say NO, but I’m thankful for the opportunity to support this amazing cause. The event is truly life changing. And I’m most thankful for all of my amazing supporters!!!

(the shirt I wore on the final day of the walk – all the names of those who donated to my cause [save the last minutes, I had to have a week to order the shirt!])

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Though walking 60 miles in a 3 day period is no small feat, I can not tell you how much more difficult it was to actually raise the required funds this time! Is it a reflection of today’s economy? Perhaps, but guys I did this 2 years ago when the economy was WORSE and raised the money way faster/easier. Could it be Komen backlash from the Planned Parenthood fiasco earlier this year? I think that’s likely. Regardless, so many beloved family and friends (and even strangers!) extended their generosity to both me and the entire Komen organization (some of whom donated multiple times!) all the way up to the final moment of the 3-Day. Wow. My heart is so full of love for each and every person who showed their support. Many of those donated their money to the cause, others offered so many words of encouragement, some came to cheer stations (Lydia drove 45 minutes each way and only go to see me for about 5 minutes!) to show their support in person, and many did all of the above. Regardless of the form of support, I’m thankful for each and every one of them. So much love right now!

Need I get into the special friendship Adrianne and I have shared over the last 22 years? We met upon her arrival at Johnson Elementary when we were in second grade and have had an unbroken bond ever since. I like to think of us as TWINS (Arnold and Danny DeVito? Right?!), and she’s one of the few people in the world I can put up with for 3 days straight without wanting to kick in the face. We all know what that’s like, eh? Love this girl!

Let’s get to the pics and the event! Starting with Day 1:

Not as cold as last time. That’s a good start!

The survivor flags are flown at dawn as we all get ready to head out on the route:

Impossible not to be affected by the emotions of it all!

The first of many crazily-dressed cheerers that we’d see over the weekend:

I even found The Stig! Anyone watch Top Gear on BBC America?!?! Jonathan and I are huge fans, so I had to send this pic on to the hubs. The Stig’s breast cancer awareness supporting cousin!!!

Savoring our first bite of Grahamwich. Only a 3-Day walker can truly appreciate this delicacy:

No sausage fingers yet! And notice my sparkly Komen nails?!?!

This time we walked right under the High 5. Not bad!

One of the cutest supporters of all! Sweet pooch was there all 3 days, sporting pink all the way:

Crazy is setting in as we reach our 15th or so mile here:

But Adrianne and I were proud to say we made it to camp earlier and healthier than we did in 2010! Go us!

Strapping young lads from the Brookhaven Baseball team are there to set up our tents for us. Don’t mind if I do!

We both enjoyed a special sneak visit from J and B before throwing in the towel on Day 1:

We each had ONE solid blister at the end of Day 1, which is a little scary to see. However, we popped them like good nature girls (though crazies tell you not to! its insane!), let them dry out, and were asleep before 8:30 in order to get ready for Day 2. Praise the Lord that the weather was favorable, as opposed to the 34 degrees we suffered through in 2010. I shudder.

DAY 2:

The 3-Day is all about INSPIRATION. How wonderful for me to see this quote moment before I took my first step onto Day 2’s route…notice the name underneath Smile :

Here we go!

More supportive pooches! Love them:

Owning our flair:

Up and over 635! Love, love, love hearing all those car horn honks of support!

Though having personal support on the 3-Day is glorious, its terribly burdensome when I have no clue where I’m going and only know addresses for the cheer stations. Once those are missed, its thank goodness for the iPhone map! Finally, Jonathan and Bridget were able to find us at a pit stop. Love my loves!

Yes. A group of country boys were on the route giving out ~~cans~~ tiny shots of beer! Best idea? Probably not, especially under the record high heat of November 3rd (86 degrees? Really?!), but let me tell you how DELICIOUS it tasted!!! And I swear it helped the blister. Zero negative side effects!

Poor Adri Sad smile . Her feet were starting to give up, but this tiny person packs some serious GRIT. She managed to hobble through ALL 60 MILES and by the end we counted at least 12 blisters. One was larger than a silver dollar. She blames not using the same shoes from 2 years ago. Well, I wore the same ones because I’m cheap! Score!

Cheer station love!!! Oh, how precious these souls are to me. I’m a lucky girl:

How we felt after leaving our Mommies (and the wine they brought) with another NINE miles to go. Optimism was no where near us:

My mild attempts at cheering Adrianne up. Not bad:

Though we were in serious pain and definitely pooped, this little dude and his adorable shirt managed to cheer us up:

No more pics of Day 2 after this. Too. Much. Pain. All I can say is BAZINGA!!!

DAY 3:

Long story about these 3 pics, but here’s the idea. Gatorade good. Nuun bad. It was total bull that Komen accepted this crap drink as a sponsor. Ya’ll. It was so disgusting. Bless Julie for bringing jugs of Gatorade to us on Day 2 so we could ingest something other than water. What was Komen thinking?!?! It was an ongoing joke among all the walkers this year:

Back on track – being bussed to Urseline Academy for the final 20 miles!

That’s right. That sign says “we’re honeymooning on the 3-Day”. Talk about commitment!

Always leave it to Charlie and Emily to hook us up with a toddy. This time, it was mimosas!!

Adrianne’s close friend (and a fellow former Emerald Belle!), Heather, found us in Uptown for some quick hugs of support:

And these lovelies waited 45 minutes to surprise me at Reverchon Park. Joy!!!

Two pics by future photographer, Bridget:

Love this:

It was dueling walkers by the AAC! 3-Day walkers on the Katy Trail, and Down Syndrome Awareness Buddy Walk participants down below. Lots of mutual respect flowing out there: