Walk 'til you drop!

I can't wait to share all of the details of our 3-Day journey with you all! It was amazing, emotional, exhausting, inspiring, sometimes painful, but totally worth every.single step.

The Dallas 3-Day raised over 7.5 MILLION dollars for breast cancer research and had approximately 3,000 walkers. I laughed...a lot, I cried when I saw the son walking with the flag for his mother and crying tears as he started his journey in her honor, I "Whooped" when I passed a cheering station and saw 3 girls wearing Aggie Pi Phi shirts, and they flipped out when I told them I was also an Aggie Pi Phi class of '03! I cried when I went to bed Saturday night saying a prayer of utter thanksgiving for my sweet friend Liz who gave of her time, energy and resources to be by my side and show me how much she cares about me. She really won't even know what it felt like to cross the finish line with her by my side. For my other friends who sent me cards and e-mails to tell me how much it meant to them that I was walking. For my friends who came to celebrate "40 down 20 to go" on Saturday night. I can't say I was the life of the party but I can say I was ALIVE! Ha! Thank you. It will NEVER be enough, but thank you.

And Dave...it was so nice for him to support me and tell me how proud he was of me for commiting to the journey, training, and finishing. It was so nice to share the joy at the end of the journey with him. And with all of our friends and family that were there.

I promise to outline the 3-Days in more detail, but for now, I wanted to share my heart. And it's full of gratitude. Click here to see all the pictures I took (the others will come later). And a warning that you will probably see some of them again! :)

The whole crew at opening ceremonies! Coleen, Kristen, mom and me

Kristen getting some love from some of the kids at one of the elementary schools we passed. They were so precious! Signs, noise makers, the whole bit.

Our cheering crew at the last cheer station on Day 1! Don't think for one second the Loj wasn't there! She was just taking this picture....She got her own photo below!

Friends and family at dinner after Day 2

Kristen, dad and mom...Dad cheering us on with only about 5 miles to go on DAY 3!!

WE DID IT!!! Just passed the finish line! (You'll see we wasted NO time getting into the flip flops)

My amazing family...Dave, me, Taylor, dad, mom and Kristen

Love and thanks!

Tiffany

All my bags are packed I'm ready to go...

This time tomorrow we will (hopefully) be about 6-7 miles into Day 1 of our walk!! I am so excited. I can't even imagine I will sleep well tonight knowing that the alarm will sound at 4:00am and I will wake up, lather up with Vaseline and blister pads and hit the pavement. I live a life of glamour.

Last night as I was packing I was praying for my teammates and thanking God for all of you who have continually supported us. We are now at $11,200 (collectively) raised for breast cancer research!! That is truly amazing and we can't thank you enough. I was also laughing as I made my packing list and realized I am traveling with items that I have never before needed to travel with. Items such as Blister pads, Vaseline, bunion pads (I don't even have bunions!! They just help with certain pressure points) a zillion pair of socks, 2 pair of tennis shoes....the list goes on.

The more I packed the more excited I got. This is it. The time has come. Someone else realized the time has come....I had a little helper who got rather pouty as he realized my intent was to leave town....but notice he is lending his support! :) (Hint: His collar...)

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ~ Galations 5:25

Tales from the road...

Last weekend I had the pleasure of walking White Rock Lake with Tiffany and Coleen in what was our longest training session to date. Popping up with the sun on Saturday morning, we started our walk dressed in our warmest gear (everyone except for me...oops!) for the chilly 50-degree weather that had moved in town to greet us. We started the trail at 7:15 and noted that the "bridge" was our landmark. We were able to know how far from the finish we were with respect to our proximity to the bridge. In usual fashion, what started out as a loving landmark quickly turned into the the dreaded reality in the eyes of three very hungry/tired women, "Ok y'all, WHERE is the bridge?!"

We powered through a Walk & Wag marathon, the eventual temperature change and several new blisters to complete our walk with a restored calm that we can, in fact, do this. We now have a 9 day countdown until we start our race and we couldn't be more excited. Thank you again for all of your prayers and support - we couldn't do it without you!

Sunrise...sunset (FYI - these were taken from the bridge)

We've Got Spirit Yes We Do! We've Got Spirit How 'Bout YOU!

Training is coming to an end and the walk is near!! In T-12 days we will be on our 3-Day journey surrounded by many with a common mission We are SO excited and we are so thankful for your prayers and support! We would ask that you continue to pray for us over the coming days as we prepare mentally and physically for what awaits us!

Next Friday (November 6th) we will begin at 5:30am with check in and opening ceremonies and we will begin walking around 7am. We will walk 20.2 miles on day one and then we'll do it all over again on days 2 and 3. This weekend I was in Dallas and had the privilege of walking with Coleen and Kristen for our 18 mile training walk. It was so great and Kristen got some great photos! Hopefully she'll share that with y'all! Mom had to walk alone, but she had a great walk Saturday too. I was home on Sunday and mom and I were able to walk that one together. We were SO lucky to have 2 gorgeous days this weekend. We are PRAYING each day for the same fortune next weekend! I would honestly ask you to pray for that as well.

Again, THANK YOU for your constant support of us! We wouldn't be able to do this without you! I am going to post some information I found on the 3-Day website below. It lists the cheering stations, so if any of you are in the area and would like to stop by we would be so glad to see you! You can also click here to follow us on Twitter!

XOXO,
Tiffany

Before the Event

Getting ready for the Breast Cancer 3-Day is a big job. Here are some ways to support your participant before the big day arrives.

• Write a letter expressing your love and support to your walker. Send it to our P.O. Box, and we'll collect the letters and deliver to them on the event at the Breast Cancer 3-Day camp. Send letters to:

Breast Cancer 3-Day Post Office
ATTN: INSERT NAME OF PARTICIPANT
P.O. Box 126496
Benbrook, TX 76126

Envelopes only, please. No boxes or large packages. Mail must be postmarked no later than October 27th in order to ensure delivery. Any mail that is not retrieved by the participant by November 20th will be destroyed.

• Organize a group to host your very own private cheering station. (Contact scarrillo@event360.com for more information.)
• Help raise money.
• Go on a training walk.

Cheering Stations

Public cheering stations are a great way to show your support along the route to encourage walkers and let them know that you are with them every step of the way. Seeing familiar faces cheering them on can provide that extra burst of energy that gets them to take that next step or go the next mile. Create banners, hold up signs, bring some music and make some noise - anything to make them smile, get energized and keep walking.

• Friday, November 6:
  8:00 am - 9:30 am
  Haggard Park
  901 E 15th St.
  Plano, TX 75074
  
• 12:30 pm - 4:30 pm
  Manhatten/ Office in the Park
  14831 Midway & 14677 Midway
  Addison, TX 75001
  Please do not park in front of Ferrari's restaurant or Mattress Giant Corp HQ building.
  
• Saturday, November 7:
  7:45 am - 9:00 am
  Unity Church of Dallas
  6525 Forest Ln.
  Dallas, TX 75230
  
• 10:45 am - 2:15 pm
  Prestonwood Village
  5505 Arapaho
  Dallas, TX 75248
  
• Sunday, November 8:
  8:45 am - 11:00 am
  Bank of America - Park Cities
  5500 Preston
  Dallas, TX 75205
  
• 11:15 am - 2:00 pm
  Historic West End
  N. Market St., from Munger to Elm
  Dallas, TX 75202

Closing Ceremony

After three days and 60 miles, participants will take a final and incredibly emotional victory walk into the Closing Ceremony. Friends, family and supporters should arrive at the Closing Ceremony site at least one hour early to get the best view of the program. Please allow extra travel time due to expected traffic congestion at the site.

• Sunday, November 8th
  4:30 pm
  Fair Park
  1300 Robert B Cullum Blvd.
  Dallas, TX 75210
  Enter Gate 10, by concert venue

Cupcakes for a cause!

There is nothing more that I love than a good cupcake!

Sprinkles happens to be a Dallas favorite and just recently I came across their Komen-themed strawberry cupcakes...too cute! Sprinkles baked their Pink Ribbon cupcakes during the week of Oct. 1-7 and donated all of their proceeds to the Women's Cancer Research Fund.

Just think, you can cure your craving all the while helping the cure! Here is a picture of the festive little post-race treats :)

Guitar Hero...

I was in Nashville this past weekend and was excited to see the Hard Rock Cafe "Rockin' out" for a cure! This guitar is HUGE and was spinning around for the city to see. It's exciting to see so many people and companies involved in raising awareness about the fight against breast cancer. I think one of these days we're gonna win!!

Retail Therapy...

I hope you like pink, because you'll be seeing a lot of it for the next 31 days! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it's time to spread the word and fight the fight! We're walking, and walking, and walking and praying and hoping for a cure, and we hope you are shopping for a cure! We'll be sure to do our part to help out on that front as well! ;)

Retail therapy is just what the doctor ordered to find a cure. This month you'll see pink everywhere you look and retailers everywhere will offer special products and purchases that benefit breast cancer research foundations. Buy, buy, buy!!

Please support the stores and vendors that give proceeds to breast cancer research. Take a moment to tell managers "thank you" for their support. Spend money! :) Go hit the stores and remember to THINK PINK!!

Here are a few of my favorite pink products I have seen so far this year....

I'm loving this necklace!

Yes, that's a pink Snuggie!

GUESS is donating 10% of the sale from each watch sold!! I think this will look great on you!!

When everyone is looking at your watch you'll want your nails painted in this fabulous OPI color! And don't forget your lips!

Tell everyone at the country club to think pink....

Be sure to invite me over to share whatever you whip up with your new KitchenAid products! KitchenAid has fabulous pink products which are part of their Cook for a Cure product line.

Click here to see some of the products I featured last year for breast cancer awareness. Some of the same vendors will have a 2009 line! And click here for a fantastic (and comprehensive) list of products offered by retailers everywhere! Happy shopping!