Not that you need it with all the training you've done. I'm very proud of you. It takes an enormous amount of heart to commit to something like this walk. They say, "It's the thought that counts," but not when it comes to something like this.

I'm proud to be a part of that list of names that scrolls by on your donation page. It over whelms me to see the number of board contributors past and present also. It's the greatest thing I've seen come from this board.

http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR/Walk2009/LosAngeles?px=4667049&pg=personal&fr_id=1830

But, without your hard work, dedication, and kickass spirit, the money would have never been raised.

I hope you walk with your head held very high this weekend, Ginny. You inspire

ETA: "You're an inspiration" had me humming Chicago.

Aw Caps. Thanks for that.

I am really blown away at the amount of money I raised from this board. I'm pretty sure this was my biggest source of donations, so I'd like to say thanks to everyone who donated and everyone who said "I can't right now" but gave me an encouraging word. That means a lot, too.

I'm super excited for this weekend!! Can't wait! But, I think I am going to miss the training in a weird way. I kind of got to like getting up at 4 to go walk 20+ miles.

Emokid is throwing slomo dove at my face, I guess that means he flipped me the bird

Wow! You are SOOO close to your goal, and I too am blown away by how many OT people contributed to you and your cause. Kudos to you, and best of luck this weekend!

Actually, the minimum amount I needed to raise is 1,800. So I'm there! Plus I have some cash donations that I will take with me when I go to check in on Friday. The goal showing on the page is just what I set it at, it's arbitrary. I only set it at that to make sure I got the minimum.

Emokid is throwing slomo dove at my face, I guess that means he flipped me the bird

PS: PRAY FOR COOL WEATHER!!

Good luck! Here is to no blisters, cool weather, plenty of water, cool tunes on your ipod and no annoying walkers next to you. I can't even imagine walking 50 miles, it makes the 3 miles I just jogged look like a roll over in bed =\

Wow! I can't believe the day is already here.

Best of luck Ginny. You are such an inspiration with everything you've done so far. I know you'll make it just fine.

Cool weather vibes being sent your way for sure ~ ~ ~ ~ !

"Today is full of underwear WIN!!!!!!" Kohs

Yeah, you've done an awesome job with the fundraising Ginny. Great job.
Best wishes for the big walk this weekend, and I hope you get good weather.

Ok, and now for this, cause I'm just wondering... what would you prefer for a walk as long as the one you're doing... cool and rainy, or hot and sunny? (assuming cool and sunny isn't an option)

I'd rather walk in the rain than the heat. Although I haven't really walked in the rain yet so I might change my answer.

And Sunflower, they don't let you listen to ipods because it's dangerous. (To walk on city streets and not be able to hear). So no ipods just good company.

Emokid is throwing slomo dove at my face, I guess that means he flipped me the bird

I just added it up, and nearly half the donations I received came from this board. The grand total of OT donations was 965 bucks! So thanks guys, I really couldn't have done it without you.

Emokid is throwing slomo dove at my face, I guess that means he flipped me the bird

Totally good luck to ya this weekend, biznitch!
You've done a kickass job.

Good luck and don't be a dumbass with the giant light bulb in the sky. It eats white people for breakfast.

Response went to wrong thread.
How does that happen? I'm not even that drunk.

Good luck! Did you beat your fundraising goal? Did I miss that?

DUH! I just checked the link Caps provided and yes you did! YAY!

I'm so glad I popped (not pooped) in! I've been thinking of you, Ginny, and I hope the walk goes smoothly and comfortably for you.

And Caps - nice to see you! I've been wondering where you've been.

Yay Ginny on meeting your fund raising goal! Good luck with your walk, don't forget the sunscreen and a hat, It is a pretty amazing thing that you are doing

You are awesome! Enjoy your victory lap! I'd rather stick bamboo skewers under my finger nails than hit up people for donations, so it seems especially impressive that you hit the fund raising goal.

Good luck, Ginny. You're doing a kick ass thing. Thank you.

.

But to see a firefly means it reminds me something I lost in the past time or imagine some hope in the future,so shimmery bug light is adequate for me.
--- Makoto

Go Ginny Go!

ipods are only dangerous to stupid people so i'm not opposed to them using them, I can barely walk a block without mine.

All the very best to you. You're gonna absolutely rock it I have no doubt about it.

Meh, I didn't want to get reliant on it so I never walked with one while I was training. I was forced to have conversations instead. Luckily there are a few girls I really like that I walk with. Although walking by yourself without music more than 6 miles or so is really difficult.

Oh yeah, I wasn't saying you should. It's totally different if you have company, I just rarely do.
Sorry, I didn't mean to get preachy or anything.

Good luck and good vibes to ya Ginny!

I also want to wish you good walking vibes Ginny.

wow, this date came up so fast!

Best of luck Ginny!

May your ass-crack need no lube and your blisters be few.
Not quite sure what happens to boobs but hope they're happy too.




Unbelievably inspirational.

Late to it, but have a great walk this weekend!

Happy walking! May it go quickly with zero chaffing.

No worries, Deej. Body Glide is a miracle worker!

Your hard work is an inspriation, good luck Ginny!

I just got back from checking in. Only cried twice! There was a girl standing at the back of the line with a sign that said "need donations!" and the man standing next to me handed her a check for $1,500!

... that's amazing.

Good luck, Ginny!!! My thoughts are with you for cool weather!!!

You are a rock star. Best of luck to you!

This came up way sooner than I realized it would! I think mine will be the latest donation and I wanted it to be bigger, but life and all that...

Good Luck! I'm beyond proud of you! I'll hope for cool weather for you! And lunch/dinner is on me next time we go out!



It's like he channels dead crazy people.

Thanks!

If anyone else wants to donate, please save it for the next crazy idea I get. I'm thinking about doing a triathlon or a running half marathon for the Leukemia Society.

I'm back!

I'm tired, and have a lot of blisters. Will post more when I'm more coherent.

SQUUUUEEEELLLL!!!!!

YOu made it1!!!

Me up there!

Congrats Ginnn-ay. Soak your feets!!!!

Yay Ginny!
Nice job!

Congrats Ginny!!

Wooooohooooo you made it!!! Congratulations!


Unbelieveable about the guy handing over the check. That's awesome.

Here's a couple pics

Opening ceremony



My friend Patty. We were just starting and still smiling. Haha.



Crowd starting out







Long way to go, still!



Lots of cool dogs.







These biker Harley dudes were doing security, and they were awesome.



One of the bikers was a chick. This is her bike. We called her Barbi Biker.



Me and Patty - First Rest Stop. At this point they were already yelling at us we were 5 minutes behind to finish the marathon. Because we couldn't get past that crowd at the start!



The cheering people were awesome too.



This is around mile 13



Notice the crowd has thinned a lot? Most people quit at the half marathon point.



I took this pic around mile 24, waiting for Patty to get out of the rest room.



Lots of nice blisters. This one between mt toes is killing me









Yay, finish line!



Day 2 half marathon finish line. My friend Amore was there cheering us on.

That brought tears. Thank you so much for sharing this experience with us.

You look absolutely amazing! I need to start walking

What a crowd. Wow! It's so awesome to see all those people together for such a great cause.

Congrats on doing something just wonderful for yourself and others. I hope you have tomorrow off work to rest up.




PS
Your feet made my feet cry. OUCH!

Holy moly lady, those are some serious blisters. I teared up at the "Blisters don't need chemo" sign tho. Man, I can't imagine walking 50 miles with blisters. How long did it take you? From the pics, it looks like it was broke up into 2 days, 25 miles a day? Or did you walk the whole 50 miles in one day?

Way to go Ginny, what an amazing accomplishment! Congratulations!

It was 40 miles (well, 39.3 miles. If you add in the walk from the parking lot, more than 40). So it was a marathon - 26.2 on Saturday, and a half marathon - 13.1 on Sunday. I didn't really see any blisters on Saturday afterwards, so I guess I got them today. My whole body was like "WTF, WOMAN! ARE YOU INSANE?"

LOL @ "If you add in the walk from the parking lot"

Oh, I would for sure

Yeah those are serious blisters. ouch. Do you have hair on the bottom of your toes or is that sock fuzz that has fused to your feet?

Towel fuzz or cat fur. I just got out of the shower. And the mold between my toes is from the brown flip flops to walk outside and take the pic.

Also in the last pic, the big Titanic looking boat is the Queen Mary.

Oh yeah forgot about this dude... we were walking through a neighborhood, and this guy was standing in his driveway playing air guitar dressed like... this. This was right about mile 20 of the marathon and I said to Patty "Look! a green man!" and she thought I had lost it and I was having a hallucination.

Nice job!

I realize this is probably one of your toes, but it looks like a fucked up knee. Please identify this body part:



Also, nice phallic symbol at the start of the walk

LOL! It's her heel! LOL!

...


right?

Of a human?

LOL. It is my heel. Shot from the back. It hardly looks human, I admit.

The green man is just baffling. How funny. Glad he showed up on your camera because I wouldve thought the same thing you friend did. You were hallucinating. Did anyone actually sit in that chair?

I have no idea. We were busting our ass to finish. It's not a race, but they don't let you take as long as you want, by any stretch of the imagination. They have these pink decorated vans called swoop mobiles



which will pick you up if you lag too far behind. I started getting paranoid about getting swooped because FOR FUCKS SAKE I CAME HERE TO WALK A MARATHON!! So I started referring to them as the pink gestapo.

Great job, Ginny. I don't know how you did it. And thank you for putting me off the ice cream in my freezer with those blister shots. At least for a little while...

And the Green Man is a character from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Kickass!

Okay, I got a bit weepy. To be honest, I stopped doing Race for the Cure years ago because it was so crowded and many of the participants don't understand the etiquette of lining up in order of speed. Any time you're having impure thoughts of elbowing an elderly lady in her pink cancer survivor baseball cap, it's time to find another way to contribute. It was an honor to pitch in some change for your amazing, inspiring self. Since there's going to be a next time (right? right!) did you put anti-perspirant on your feet the night before, and lubricant on the day of? That, and double-layer Wright socks are key to the whole operation.

PG, I got so lucky on Saturday I think I got a little cocky on Sunday. I did lube up but I didn't use anti-perspirant (Actually Saturday I used Lush T for toes powder and that worked great).

And yes there will be a next time. I'm debating if I want to do this event again, but mostly because they are moving it from Long Beach to Santa Barbara next year. And that's a lot farther, and a lot more expensive. So I am debating.

You are completely motivational. And despite the huge blisters, I want to follow in your footsteps (literally)!

Aurora, it really was an amazing journey. You meet so many great people, and their families, during training. Then at the event, there they all are, smiling and cheering you on and walking with you and feeling the same things you are. Really, really amazing. I started this totally alone, and by the end I had a whole support group walking with me, cheering me on and taking pics and there for me. My friend Patty is in most of the pics, because we have a very similar pace and had kind of agreed to stick together, but there were a lot of people I walked with, and their parents came and cheered, and their husbands and boyfriends and dogs. Not to mention all the great staff and volunteers, the big burly biker guys crying huge tears at pictures of bald moms with their kids on their shirts, the houses and churches who opened their doors to strangers so we could use a bathroom other than a porta potty and gave us candy and asked if they could pray for our feet. Really, a great experience.

Great job Ginny!

Nice blisters too. ewwww

Pft. Jiggy, you are just jealous YOUR blister pics don't turn out as impressive.

Eye of the tiger!

Ok, one more story and pic. I had a minor crash out at about mile 17 and thought I wasn't going to make it. I just want to get to the next rest stop so I could chill for 5 minutes and power some gatorade and water. After I did that I was good again but I was seriously dragging ass into that rest stop. We had these signs on our back that said who we were walking for, and mine said "My Mom". I don't have a pic of my sign but they looked like this



Anyway as I was limping and really struggling to get to this rest stop, a woman came up behind me and said "I know you're hurting, I can tell by the way you're walking. But you're doing great and you mom is so proud of you." GAH! REAL TEARS!

Oh, that guy in the pink hard hat was leading military marching ... um, songs? I don't know what you call them. It was funny.

Cadence. That's what you sing while marching.

And, yes, your blisters are far superior to mine.
Curious though, what caused one between your toes? Were you walking in flip flops?

Great Job

Congratulations! Way to perservere - it's very inspirational.

Congratulations! And thank you for all the pics and stories, what an emotional experience!

Congratulations Ginny. What an awesome event.

Those blisters, holy crap, I would not have made it through that. That was a very amazing thing you did, you should be pretty damn proud of yourself ;-0

That is so wonderful, Ginny. I got all goosebumpy and emotional catching up on this thread w/ the pictures & descriptions.
Congrat's again, my friend.

And good healing vibes are being sent to your feet! ((GINNY)))

I'm crying like a baby over here.

Great job, Ginny. I know your mom is SO proud of you. GAH.

It is inspirational...to get off ones ass and DO something. - note to self -

.

But to see a firefly means it reminds me something I lost in the past time or imagine some hope in the future,so shimmery bug light is adequate for me.
--- Makoto

Kohs - they had a pace walker, who is a person who walks a certain pace that you should follow if you want to make sure you make the marathon pace. This woman was BOOKING it. And she was totally bad from chemo! I didn't take her picture because it seemed kind of disrespectful, but she was really cool.

congrats Ginny but omgosh OWIE!!! healing vibes to you ~~~~~

I teared up a lot reading your posts Very touching.

Sorry, I found a few more pics I liked



If I ever get a dog, I really would like a standard poodle now. These dogs were so cool

?t=1252988395

Emokid is throwing slomo dove at my face, I guess that means he flipped me the bird

-sniff-

Holy Polysporin girl! Yikers on the feets.

I looked forever at that one pic like Mevin did. Thought WTF is that exactly.

Phenomenal Ginny. Thought about you all weekend.

Congrats Ginny. Tough looking blisters.

Congratulations! We have one coming up here. You're inspiring! (the inspiration? )