Our training continues with amazing dedication by many of our team walkers. Without fail each Saturday and Sunday we meet before dawn to cover the distance recommended by the virtual training schedule.

Last week was the first of our “killer” back-to-back walks. On Saturday we met at Border’s books at 6 AM. By 6:15 there were almost twenty of us headed for Siesta Key. Darlene had organized several stops, some of them “Grab and Gos” where there was water and sports drinks and “Pit Stops” complete with snacks and beverages.

Our first “Grab and Go” was at the entry to Siesta Village (Mile 3 I think). Our next “Pit Stop” was at Crescent Beach near the tennis courts. Nancy and her children greeted us with smiles and ice cold drinks. A clean bathroom nearby made it the perfect stop at Mile 5.

Janice and Mike manned the next “Grab and Go” at Mile 6. We were then suppose to walk 1.5 miles south and turn at Mile 7.5. There was some confusion about the turn-around spot and the lead group of walkers (Carol, Jennifer, Janet and I) couldn’t find “Oyster Bay” – when we passed Oyster Cove we had a brief discussion about turning but continued on for more than a mile before we decided we’d missed the turn. But a clean construction porta-potty was a welcome spot to stop, attend to stretching and other needs and turn around.

Of course on our way back we didn’t find any of the walkers behind us and realized that we had messed up. Luckily, Janice and Mike were still at the “Grab and Go” (Mile 9 or 10.5 for some of us) waiting for us to catch up! It was a good spot for a change of socks. And we refilled our water bottles and struck out again.

By then we had caught up with some of the walkers and headed for our second “Pit Stop” (Mile 10 or 11.5) which was at Crescent Beach. Everyone was really hungry now and the snacks were very tasty. The peanut butter Ritz are my favorite! We remembered to stretch and then headed out for the final “Grab and Go”

Our final stop at Mile 12 (or 13.5, yes, I keep adding that 1.5 miles for those of us who walked TOO far) was at Jennifer’s mother’s home on Siesta Key. Betty is a recent survivor of Breast Cancer and when we arrived at the gates of her driveway we were greeted with pink balloons and streamers and a sign welcoming the Hot Heels team members and other 3 Day Walkers.

There was a wonderful shady area right there with coolers filled with water and sports drink and bowls of candy to give us a little sugar lift just when we needed it. Several walkers were really beginning to feel the 90 plus degrees and two elected to take a ride with Kim (Jennifer’s sister) back to the Border’s parking lot.

It was so nice to meet Jennifer’s family and after chatting and resting for a while we started out again to finish the final 3 miles. I must admit we were really dragging by now. Most of us just put our heads down and trudged along thinking about finishing. It was a great test for all of us. We have come to realize, this week 15 miles seemed so long, but when we do longer walks the short ones seem so much easier, so we’re looking forward to the day when we remember 15 Miles (or 16.5) as a “piece of cake”!