We did it!

The weather was beautiful. The company was awesome. The cheering was plentiful. The cause was great.

This year's 3-Day for the Cure was perfect.

Going in to this year's event, I wondered if it would feel like a let down after last year. I had a great first year experience, and wasn't sure if my expectations would be too high to be realistic.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

This year's walk experience was so different than last year. If I had to give it a one-word description, I think I'd pick FUN.

Our walking company this year was just amazing. We started out with the four of us (Stef, Kraig, Greg, me) and after lunch, ran into Sandra and Kathryn, friends of ours from training walks with the BC Babes. We then found Cheryl (a solo walker who we trained with a few times). And throughout the weekend, we ran into Missy and Pam (walkers from another team).  (You can see photos of the event on Facebook, in my public photo album.)

Top row (left to right) - Greg, Sandra, Stef, Kraig, Pam
Bottom row (left to right) - Missy, Kathryn, Cheryl, Me

 That's probably a boring way of saying: We walked with some amazing people! We laughed a lot. We sang. We danced. We teased. Walking with this group of people at various points throughout the three days made the miles go by so much more easily. And when we were hurting, there was someone right next to you to push you through.

Walking 60 miles is really hard. (I started to write my litany of aches, pains and complaints, but erased it -- that's just not how the 3-Day should be remembered or thought of. Or as Sandra would say, "That's not how we roll.") But when you've got great company, great weather, great cheerleaders and a great cause, the "fun factor" trumps the challenges.

So thank you to each of you for making this experience so amazing... from my walking pals to our home-base cheerleaders (mom, you were amazing!), to our family (thanks Keith for handling all the home/kid duty) and those who sent camp mail or encouraging words on Facebook/Twitter posts. Thank you.

And now, let's resume regular programming. For a little while at least. We've already registered for 2013 (we'll be walking with the BC Babes, our training pals) and we're plotting out our strategy for fun. Are you ready?