Now that my trip to New York City has been over for a few weeks, I wanted to share some reflections on my 1st Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk.
My first reflection is that the whole event was surreal. As I look back now, it almost feels like it didn’t even happen, but rather that I dreamed it. Of course, I can’t tell you the last time I stayed up all night (even with a sick kid), so I was already tired from that part. The walk measured in at 17.3 miles, and to me it was physically and mentally demanding. There were many times I wanted to stop and go to bed, but luckily there were lots of people around me to help keep me motivated. I also definitely had some leg and foot pain afterwards, and my feet were swollen for days. However, I am proud to say I got it done. I also want to give a special thanks to my good friend from college who walked with me the whole night.
I was also surprised at the actual route of the walk, as I assumed we would spend a lot of time walking around Central Park and away from car traffic. I was very wrong about that, as we walked around a lot of Manhattan and had to stop a lot (a lot!) at stoplights and intersections. This made the walk take a lot longer. We also were not allowed to start until about 30 minutes past the expected beginning, yet we were supposed to finish at the same pre-established time, so that was really stressful for me. But again, I got it done.
Another reflection is that with everything going on around me, I didn’t really spend a lot of time thinking about my dad, although it did come up part of the time. As I said already, it really all did feel kind of like a dream.
Now the question is: will I do it again? Maybe. I don’t think it has been long enough since this one to decide, but I will definitely consider it. And, I do encourage anyone who is interested in trying it at least once to see what the experience is like. It wasn’t perfect, however I am really proud of my accomplishment.