Day 2: Pain…and a surprise visit from home
While Day 1 was flat, long and hot, Day 2 was supposed to be shorter (just 16.5 miles), but hilly, hilly, and hilly. Nothing prepared me for Day 2 given the pain in my knee. It hurt almost immediately that morning. I can honestly say it was pretty much painful – to varying degrees – the rest of the walk. The hills were the real killer…not the uphill, but the downhill…very painful on the knee.
There was definitely a change in mood the second day. Less chatting, less high-fiving. People seemed a bit tired and many (most?) were already suffering from some kind of injury or blisters. I had started the morning walking with my tent-mate, Eileen…who was suffering from some leg pain of her own, but once we got split up I ended up walking among several “teams” along the way. These were groups of walkers walking together, most were wearing some kind of matching attire (e.g., propeller-heads, matching t-shirts, etc). I talked a bit, eavesdropped on the teams’ conversations (and home-grown songs), and tried to focus on the beauty of the neighborhoods we were in. Taking a lot of Tylenol and using pain patches on my knee helped, but I was already wondering if I was going to make it to the end of the walk…or, at times, I was seriously wondering if I’d make it to the end of the 2nd day!
At lunchtime, John (my hubby) and Christopher (my 9 year-old son) surprised me with a visit! Amazingly, they had somehow found me among the thousands of walkers. After a nice visit (consisting of some much-needed pumping up from my family), and re-popping what were now about 6 blisters, I headed off to finish the remaining 4 ½ miles for the day, to a hilly stretch lovingly referred to as “Hope Hill” (last year known affectionately by walkers as “Hell Hill”). It was very hot and sunny, so people were dreading this leg of the walk.
Luckily for me I had done a ton of steep hill training out where I live in South San Jose. The hill was easy. It was incredibly easy, actually. I was quite surprised. I had been so afraid of this hill based on the folklore I had heard. I easily finished it. It gave me a morale boost in several ways…one that I had made it so easily (many weren’t doing so well), and secondly, the support along the hill route was awesome. Spectators and hill residents were out handing out Popsicles, sprinkling people with hoses and water guns. Some kids had set up a free lemonade stand. Signs were posted everywhere, thanking walkers. Cars and sweep vehicles (trucks that made regular passes of the route that could pick up any walker who needed help to the next stop) honked and looked for “thumbs up” signs from struggling walkers. I was literally feeling “at the top of the world” when I reached the top and looked back to see a long stream of walkers (many who I had passed). |
