Things I've Learned On The 3-Day, Part 2

I've been doing this 3-Day thing for a while, but there are some lessons that need to be relearned each spring, after the snow and ice has melted and the leisurely strolls through my neighborhood turn into serious training sessions of five, ten, and fifteen miles. And they primarily have to do with feet.

I learned a lot about feet that first summer (and subsequent summers, for that matter). Not just my feet, but other people’s feet as well, sometimes more than I cared to know. I learned that wearing standard cotton socks was a mortal sin. Cotton retains moisture, moisture causes friction, and friction causes blisters. (So that's where they come from.) Blisters are the devil incarnate to a 3-Day walker. Walkers wear special socks that wick away perspiration and keep your feet dry. I went shopping again.

I also encountered a miracle product called Body Glide. No, it’s not a spray-on silicone suit used by body surfers or Olympic lugers. It’s an anti-chafing stick that you apply to the bottom of your feet. It minimizes friction (and blisters) by allowing the skin to slide against your socks instead of rubbing against itself. Now that’s life-saving stuff.

I discovered that there are almost as many methods for preventing blisters as there are 3-Day walkers. People used Vaseline, moleskin, band-aids, and wraps – often in imaginative combinations. They wore walking shoes, running shoes, or something called walking sandals. Some walkers, including several of my teammates, developed big nasty blisters (and I do mean big and nasty) no matter what they did. I was fortunate to remain almost blister-free. And I learned to keep my mouth shut about it – most of the time.

Okay, enough of that. Allow me to address a more pertinent topic. Breasts. Or boobs (as I've often said, this isn't about me - it's all about the boobs). Or tits or ta-tas or melons or mammaries or "girls" or dozens of other euphemisms. Because of the 3-Day, I found out that women, especially breast cancer survivors, have a disturbingly sick sense of humor about their breasts. They often refer to them with a combination of appreciation and disdain that is most confusing to a male human being. Although I actually enjoy perusing the list of team names found on the 3-Day web site - Babes For Boobs, Cleavage Clan, Hakuna Ma Ta-Tas, and Save Second Base are just a sample of this year's teams. (A small measure of decorum prevents me from mentioning more of the...uh, creative names.)

During the summer leading up to the 2006 Twin Cities 3-Day, I met one woman who had had a single mastectomy. She described her breasts by pointing to the unaffected one and saying “This is live,” then pointing to the surgically-reconstructed one and saying, “And this is Memorex.” Enough said.


Next time - Pit stops, camping, and the most important lessons.


Scott's Official 3-Day Countdown: 92 days until Day 1