In a previous entry I talked about doing an overnight walk for suicide prevention. This walk, also called the Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk, is held by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). As I write this, we are within weeks of the event, so I wanted to take some time to discuss the training and fundraising I have done as a part of this journey.
First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone who donated money towards my fundraising efforts. There is a 1000 dollar minimum in order to even participate, and I was able to meet and even exceed that minimum. In addition, I want to thank everyone who has supported me in ways that were not financial. I appreciate everyone who has supported the cause of suicide prevention.
In terms of the training, I am not even sure when I began, but I believe it was towards the last half of March or early April. I have done some 10Ks recently, so I knew I could do 6 miles pretty easily, but I didn’t want to assume I could just do it all. While the exact mileage can vary, The Overnight will be at least 16 miles long. I started at 9 miles, then did 10 miles the week after that, and 11 miles the week after that. After those 3 initial weeks I started doing every 2 weeks, and I have done 12 miles, 14 miles, and just finished doing 16 miles. This experience has included a lot of lessons in foot care and what shoes and socks are going to work. I have went through a lot of band-aids, tender tape, and Aleve, but I can say at this point I am prepared and feel confident about getting it done. The walks themselves could also at times be mentally challenging, whether it was thinking about my dad, boredom, or just wanting to quit. Luckily, though, I know the actual event will give me enough support to finish.
I have to say it is a nice feeling to know that I have “done the work” and now it is almost time to go do what I have worked so hard for. I can’t wait to attend this event, and I look forward to sharing my experiences with you afterwards.