>The Avon Walk

>The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, San Francisco was this past weekend.

It was amazing. On Saturday, we walked from Fort Mason to Sausalito, then back across the Golden Gate bridge and to Daly City. I injured my hip at mile marker 16, and had to take a shuttle to the wellness village in Daly City.

Sunday, we walked from Daly City, into San Francisco, through San Francisco to Fort Mason for closing ceremonies. It was beautiful.

and I have pictures to prove it:

Opening ceremonies. 5:30am. Fort Mason.

Pillars with the cities the walk is hosted in. 

We got to sign them. I walked for Joy.

Our sweatshirts with the people we’re walking for listed on the back

This lady was awesome. I love her knockers.

Ready to walk!

Walking toward the Golden Gate Bridge

(from my phone) Mile 2: it was so foggy!

(also from my phone) The sign as we entered the bridge

On the bridge walking toward Marin County

(another from my phone) the top of the hill while walking toward Sausalito.

Our cheerleaders really kept us going. Thank you ladies!

Just before going up the hill to cross the bridge again

From Marin county

Day Two:

(from my phone) Leaving the wellness village. Uphill.

The Painted Ladies. You may know them better as the Full House houses

See the pink ribbons around their necks? Every 3 minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer. These were handed out to someone at random every three minutes to represent one of these women.

We finished!

Sea of Pink at closing ceremonies

This past weekend was the most physically and emotionally taxing weekend of my life. And I would do it again. Just not with Avon (more in the next paragraph). The medical staff on hand was fabulous (there to fix our swollen, bloody, blistered, oozing feet), there were also chiropractors on hand at the end of day one – a lifesaver for me – they adjusted my back and I could walk again. There was a group of San Jose Bike Cops who volunteered their days off to bike with us. They wore pink SJPD shirts, had pink handcuffs, one wore a pink tutu, one had a “freshen up” basket on the back of his bike (filled with sunscreen, tampons, lotion, and a mirror), and another had a boom box on the back of his bike (blaring songs like “Party in the USA” – I don’t think I have ever heard so much Miley in my entire life). I really wish I had pictures of these guys – they were rockstars. 

(now for the ugly) – this was also the most disorganized big event I have ever attended. My lunch was lost the first day (no vegan options provided, I had to bring a cooler), nobody knew about my dinner the first night, nobody knew about my lunch the second day. At the end of the first day, after walking all day, we had to set up our tents. Perhaps not truly that big of a deal for those who were uninjured and/or under 40.  We also had to take them down. After a night of sleeping on the ground, my hip was killing me again, and I couldn’t even bend over. I managed to get the poles out of my tent, and I grabbed a group of volunteers (who appeared to be just chit-chatting) to finish packing it up for me (they even ran my bags back to the trucks where they needed to be — THANK YOU!).

If I ever do another weekend long walk for breast cancer, it will definitely be with Susan G Koman. Thank you, Avon, for the experience. All-in-all, it was lovely. I met some wonderful people, I cried (most of the time I was there), I laughed, and I shared a fantastic weekend with fantastic people. The organization of the event really brought it down, though.

I’m glad to be home and resting my aching feet and back. Hot tub time.