Day 1 Journal

8/4/06

2:36pm

Luch stop closes soon--have to be quick. Brain's been fuzzy since I started walking. Much happened but not much registering. Feeling like walking death and tummy not happy. Gonna put shoes back on, visit a blue box and head back out. Done 13ish miles already. 'Bout 8 left till camp. Gonna try not to bus.


9:15pm

When I think of all the ways other people have engaged in shugyo--what with the fasting and branding and violence done to their bodies in the name of spiritual enlightenment--I'm pretty sure I got the best deal.

Not to say that 21 miles isn't difficult. Oh I'm in pain. My feet, my shoulders, my hips and its entirely possible I sprained my knee. I've already ODed on painkillers several times over and I have every intention of doing it again tomorrow. There were a couple times I thought about taking a sweep van but I stayed strong. I sang to myself. I repeated the mantra "shugyo" and a quote from Fall Out Boy, "I know this hurts; it was meant to," and occasionally thought of those other karatekas with the fire and the torture and I kept going. All 21 miles. I met my goal for the first day!

I also met some cool people along the way. Las Vegas gal who walked a good 3 miles with me. We bonded over the lack of customer service on the commuter rail. Defunct team lady who walked about 5 miles with me. And, of course, Lorraine and Cassie from Maine--who not only walked and sang with me (and Lorraine told jokes) but waited at a rest stop for me when I fell behind. We stopped at a Dunkies just outside camp, ate our pasta and bean together and I had just lost them on the way to the showers.

Speaking of which, I can't remember ever being so lacking in self-consciousness. I didn't so much walk around naked but I did hang out in my drawers in the shower room, poo in a blue box and walk around in short shorts ...

There's no amount of gratefullness I could express towards the people who cheer us on. From the crew and safety patrol to the local cops to the Youth Corp with their songs and cheers to the families of other walkers at the cheering stations, the sweep cans and especially the people who wave from their yards and turn on their sprinklers. More times than I can count, they're what made me keep going. Especially the man who called us heroes and my special guest, Kare Kelly, who pulled over and gave me a hug and told me she was proud of me.

I'm proud of me.

I walked 21 miles today.

And I'm gonna do it again tomorrow.