This is my 100th blog post since I started trying to deal with cancer in June 2019. Wowza. Here we go!
Now, eight of us were to continue the next day, but Meagan's daughter decided to keep on keeping on. She had spent her 13th birthday with us all day on Saturday. I loved talking to her ‑‑ she's a bright young person ‑‑ and the fact she wanted to spend another day with us old people? Sweet! Maybe we are cool? I don't know.
Anyway, call was 5:30 a.m. again. Foot care was first. My right foot just had a weird ouch, and other people were in worse shape than I. The van then took us back to where we had landed the night before and all rolled out for breakfast. Did I mention lots of food? I was told not to diet while training. No problem! And then they provided all these snacks? No problem! Carb and protein up and head out for the day!
Want to follow along? Garmin Connect
The hardest part of day two was getting started. But we did it! We got rolling a little after 6 a.m., and I, of course, forgot to start my Garmin so my husband was texting me... all okay? Oh! I started it and that sent the tracking so he could post it and now we're going for realz. We saw lots of stuff on day two including the Cardiff Kook. It’s a statue in Cardiff, California, meant to represent a beginner surfer - a kook - and people decorate it all the time. It was decorated for a birthday on this particular day. Happy birthday, Rhett!
Now, let's talk about trains. There were some train tracks, and maybe we were walking a little close to them, and... the train conductor was laying on his horn and it was all very exciting. I guess that is dependent on who you ask. I found it exciting, if a little close to some cliffs. No problem!
And then there were sand dunes where maybe we were a little close to the edge, and maybe we had to slide down some parts, but who’s counting? Anyway, the next time we saw a train which was at a controlled crossing, half of us balked at going across, so I have a picture of a train.
And the last hotel? There were train tracks next to it to ensure that we all would never forget the excitement of trains in our trek.
There was another dog beach on day two - the Del Mar Dog Beach. I still wonder how we all finished with all the doggos around us and oh my they were cute! We eventually had to stop stopping to pet every single one, but some were so excited you couldn’t help it. You just had to pet them.
Back on track! Yes, I’m a comedian, I just don’t do shows.
Since we all survived the trains, we were obviously all going to finish. Our feet maybe didn’t agree, but luckily for us, our irrational brains were in charge. I had a pinky toe blister that finally gave out between lunch and our final stop. Got it looked at, added some extra lubrication to keep it from rubbing more, and kept going. I ended up with quite a few blisters, and others had even more. I wonder if Lex’s foot is still oozing?
But we had a crew of firefighters and paramedics looking after that. I totally forgot to mention that for anyone who was worried about our health. Almost everyone on the crew is or has been a firefighter or paramedic at some point as well as being endurance athletes or participating in previous adventures. We were well cared for.
Lucy and I had been bringing up the rear most of the walk, which is fine with me! But at the end, we sent Lucy out in front and OMG she took off! She grabbed my hand, and away we flew! We were doing sub‑20 minute miles for the last mile and my short little legs ‑‑ yes, I have short legs ‑‑ were like... ahhhhh!!
But I'm so glad she was in front and pulled us across the finish line. 26 miles for day two, finishing at the Oceanside Fishing Pier? What? We just did that? What... and then we realized there was another finish line up top, so we all ran up to the top of the Pier. And by ran, I mean walked slightly faster than would have been possible 3 miles ago, and then we had our final finish line.
The first day we got medals for finishing. 25 miles is a lot. The second day we got wreaths. We were goddesses now for real. Athenas. We had done it.
I started this journey by myself, hoping to walk for my survival, the survival of those I know who have fought and won, who are still fighting, and for the memory of those who have lost their battles. I did not expect to come out of it with a gang of crazy awesome friends who are going to keep pushing each others’ limits.
The last hotel was very nice and near the water and I wish I would have been more awake. It was right next to our final dinner spot where I ate tacos. If I'm ever visiting and you are not sure what to feed me, tacos ‑‑ or nachos ‑‑ are a good place to start! Always. I only managed half of my dessert brownie, and my feet hurt like nobody's business, but whatever.
Cancer took a lot from us, but no way are we letting it take our joy and our strength. But yes, I would like to put my feet up.