One key thing I learned in 2008 is if you walk with a team, don’t expect everyone to walk at the same pace. I cannot stress that enough. We had six team members our first year, and for the most part we did not train together except for Nikki and I. She and I had an established a pace and had followed the training schedule pretty closely. We had another teammate who did not train at all, and managed to walk most of the first day at a pace faster than ours. We had several others who also didn’t train as much and had a slower pace than the rest of us.

We were all first-time walkers that year (except Ana who had never been on a team before). Naively I think a lot of us had the idea that we were going to take every single step of the 60 miles together as a team. We quickly learned in the first few miles that wasn’t going to be the case. I wish that I had known that ahead of time so that we could have addressed it before the event and had a plan in place. Unfortunately the result was that some of the slower-paced walkers got their feelings hurt when some got farther ahead, and the rest of us spent most of the first day feeling guilty. Don’t let that happen to you.

My advice is to talk about this with your team (if you have one) in the weeks and months leading up to the event. Make plans to meet up at lunch or at a pit stop, and of course at camp for nightly activities. You can start out the day walking together, but then part ways and keep your own pace. On the last day, you can meet at the last pit stop and walk into holding as a team. Nikki and I saw a team who met on the side of the road and toasted with champagne before finishing. I thought it was really fun that they found a way to get together before the end to celebrate their accomplishment together.

In reality, you’re in the company of thousands of other walkers. You will find someone to walk with if you do get separated from your team, I promise. Sometimes you will walk faster, and sometimes you will walk slower. You may find someone interesting to talk to and walk at their pace for awhile. Nikki and I met a survivor who was currently going through treatment along the route on our third day. She was walking and participating alone, so we asked her to join us and we talked and walked at her pace. We then parted ways at the next pit stop. These are the parts of the journey that make it so incredible. If you aren’t a member of a team and don’t plan on joining one, you will find and meet tons of people. Don’t worry!

If you are still nervous and want to ensure that you are with someone you know the entire 60 miles, find a training buddy on your team. If you train together for the 24 or 16 weeks leading up to the 3-Day, chances are your pace is going to match since you walked together all of those miles beforehand.

Also, please train. Remember the teammate I mentioned who didn’t train but walked a faster pace on the first day? She got injured and was not able to complete the second and third days. Don’t expect that you are going to be able to wake up one day after not training all year and walk 20 miles for the 3 days of the event. Yes there are sweep vans and SAG buses along the route if you cannot continue, but if you plan to even attempt to walk more than a few miles you need to condition yourself or you may get seriously injured. There’s no shame in taking a sweep van or bus even if you do train. That is what they are there for. Do what is right for you. Nobody is going to be standing over you asking which of the 60 miles you did not complete. Besides, there are some fun vans and a few even give you little trinkets when you ride. Use them when you need to. Don’t push yourself beyond your limits and risk injury.

If you’re currently registered as an individual who hasn’t joined a team yet, why not invite your friends to join you? Now is the time, because if you use the promotional code REGISTERWITHAFRIEND by June 22 you will each receive a $35 gift card for Shop3day.com! There are some really great training items and gear on there, so how great would that be? Also? You can earn up to five gift cards, which would be $175 to use in the online store.

Happy walking whether you decide to join a team or make friends at the event. Either way, it is an experience you will never forget.

Here is a little video I put together from our Walk to Empower experience on Mother’s Day. We had such a fun time looking around downtown, live tweeting, and meeting and talking with other participants. I am looking forward to next year’s walk! Don’t forget to log all the miles you run, walk, and bike on BeeWell for Life. They will donate 15 cents for every mile to the Network of Strength! I have been logging all of my training walks for the 3-Day. All of those miles definitely add up!

At 7:00 AM we walked from our hotel downtown to Sam Houston park which was a little over a mile away. It was a really pretty overcast morning– the perfect day for a walk! We stood in the registration line to pick up our race bibs.

After that, I introduced myself to the volunteers at the Beewell for Life booth. They were passing out buttons so that participants could write the name of the person they were walking for, as well as giving people the opportunity to enter a sweepstakes for an iPod Touch among other prizes.

Dave and I asked to take some bags of buttons and sweepstakes notepads and walked around the park talking to walkers about the program. Did you know that Bumble Bee donates 15 cents to the Network of Strength for every mile you walk, run or bike? We met some really amazing people too.

These two boys were walking with their parents, and happily took the buttons to demonstrate that they were there walking for their mother who was a survivor. This little boy insisted that he write “Mommy” on his own button. It was definitely a really sweet moment.

I loved meeting and visiting with this team too. They had really cute team shirts and enjoyed filling out the buttons and telling us about Tish Lee, who they were there to honor. After visiting with more participants, we finally ran out of buttons and sweepstakes forms. After that, we met up with Rachel and enjoyed the warm up with Ronald McDonald doing Tai Chi.

After that, the opening ceremony began and a local DJ starting talking about the walk, the Network of Strength, and the sponsors. I was shocked to be called up to the stage. I had no idea that I was about to be asked to give a speech in front of the large crowd! I definitely do not consider myself a great public speaker, especially when I do not have anything prepared. I managed to say a few words about the ambassadorship, and talked about my mother-in-law, the reason I have become active in events like this one. It was all such a blur, but I have been assured that I sounded calm and composed even though I was tearing up behind my sunglasses. Quite a few people came up to be afterward congratulating me and commenting that I did a great job considering how shy I was.

After the presentation was over, I was interviewed by NBC and I talked more about the Beewell for Life program and my participation in breast cancer events. I also met the couple who won the best t-shirt contest: Team Boo Bees! Perfect for Bumble Bee, huh?! Then the walk began!

Thousands of walkers, including children and dogs, set off town the trail in Sam Houston park. It was a sea of pink which is always a beautiful thing! Before we knew it we were back at the finish line with a sense of accomplishment for a productive morning having raised money for a great charity as well as made lots of new friends who are also supporters of the cause.

I am proud to have been involved in this event and am glad that I was able to spread the word about the amazing program that Bumble Bee has to raise money for the Breast Cancer Network of Strength. This charity offers those who are going through breast cancer the opportunity to receive 24/7 support and access to information, which is no doubt invaluable during a difficult and scary time in their lives.

I would like to thank my husband for his support and for traveling with me from Dallas to Houston to participate. I would also like to thank his dad for making a donation to the Network of Strength, as well as Rachel who spent her Mother’s Day with us and did a great job fundraising for the cause.

Thanks one more time to Bumble Bee and the Breast Cancer Network of Strength for a wonderful experience and everything they do for those who are going through breast cancer.

We started off on Friday morning at Southfork Ranch in Parker, Texas. If you don’t know, that is where the television show Dallas was filmed. We began with thousands of other walkers and survivors. We made our way that morning through downtown Plano where shop owners stood outside and greeted us. We also passed an amazing Cheering Station on 15th Street near my workplace and up Alma and down Renner Road to a park in Richardson where we had lunch. We continued walking toward Carrollton where we saw David and Craig at another Cheering Station only a few miles from camp. That was all the motivation we needed to keep on going! We talked with new people along the way, and made a few stops too. We made it into camp as it was getting dark, and we pitched my very first tent.

Camping really wasn’t as bad as I thought, even though it was a chilly 40 degrees the first night. We had a late dinner, and also got foot massages and waved to David and Craig from the camp webcam before going to sleep in our cozy two person tent.

On the second day, we left camp and walked up Midway toward Plano near Prestonwood church and David’s job. We saw the guys, Brownie, and Nikki’s mom and children at another amazing cheering station. Throughout the route there is the opportunity to take vans and buses to the next pit stop or camp, but knowing that we had family and friends waiting for us kept us walking in their direction. The people there were so supportive, and constantly thanked us for walking. There was a big party at camp that night, with an American Idol style singing contest and even a dance party. I wrote post cards to donors and those who wrote me a letter that I received at camp. When we woke up the next morning, we packed our bags and took our tent down.

On the third day we walked from camp through Addison past Nikki’s workplace and toward my favorite part of town. We were really struggling to continue on, but walked side-by-side with a woman from the Austin area who is currently going through chemo. We talked to her about her life and her experience with cancer, her children, her family and her fears. It really made me realize why we were making the journey.

We continued walking at our own pace (it was a lot easier than the first few days where people seemed to race past us), though we had some pretty bad blisters and knee problems. We were determined to walk as much of it as we could. For the sake of time, we rode a few sweep vans a few miles to buy us some extra walking time before the pit stops closed. That bought us extra time to complete the majority of the route. If you don’t make it by the time they close, they bus you to lunch or to the very end. We were among the last walkers to come through the cheering station on this day, and were touched (i.e. cried) that people were still waiting to clap, cheer, and tell us thank-you. It was very emotional.

We also had to stop at the medical tent at lunch in order to get my blisters patched up and Nikki’s knee wrapped. We walked that afternoon into SMU hand and hand toward the holding area with hundreds of other walkers not long before closing ceremonies began. We felt incredibly accomplished and happy that we walked (what we estimate to be 50 of the 60 miles) together every step of the way. We cried for our loved ones lost, for others who are going through cancer now, and happy that we made it through the journey still standing.

Closing was also emotional as we remembered those who were lost, and as we celebrated those who are surviving breast cancer. We were all given white t-shirts, and thousands of us walked arm and arm into the campus. We cried, hugged and met up with our families for more hugs and tears.

We look forward to participating in the event in coming years, and thank everyone who supported us with their kind words and donations. It has been an amazing experience.