Day 18: Just Over The Horizon

This is Day 18 of the trip, but only the 17th day of walking. It's hard to believe that I have walked 426 miles in just 17 days. It's amazing what the body can do when the mind allows it to be free of negative thoughts.

I started the day exactly where I left off yesterday...in the charming town square of Plymouth. Of course, it was completely empty at 6 a.m., but I was ok with that. I like to have the chance for quiet reflection early in the morning. Usually, by mid-morning, my head is already full of a thousand ideas for what I want to do in the future and I barely have the opportunity to let my mind take in the beauty of the start of each day. Due to a series of miscalculations, I ran out of road to walk on today. I walked 21 miles and stopped. I wanted to be sure that I will walk exactly 26.2 miles tomorrow, so I just took the 5-mile loss for the day. My original goal was 472 miles (765 km), but the actual total by the end of tomorrow will be 452 miles (732km).

I am still having issues with my left foot as it continues to cramp along the top. The nail on the big toe of my right foot is getting worse and I really don't expect to keep it much longer. The pain is not as bad while I'm walking so that's why I don't like to stop.

17 down, 1 to go .

I can see the finish is just over the horizon...and it feels great!

Today I spent most of the day walking with Brian, a cancer survivor who contacted me on my website and covered 11 miles with me. We talked about everything from what we had been through as pediatric cancer patients to computers and politics. It was a good day.

This evening, we are at the home of my sister's friend, Cindy. She and her husband have opened their home to us and words can't describe the generousity. Tomorrow will be the last day of The Victory Walk....and it will be a long day, but I'm looking forward to stepping across the finish line at Campus Martius.