I made the club....

Hello everyone. I just want to say that I am now a member of the '25-miler club'. No, it is not as glamourous as the 'mile high club'; but; it is a club. Yes, officially, as of Thursday morning at 0745; I joined the few, the proud, the 25 miler club. Now, this is an elite club for those that are crazy and have no social life... ;) Let me tell you about this adventure:
First, let me begin by saying that after my last march of 18 miles, my feet taught me a lot of lessons. I did not know that you could get a blister that big in such a small place. I had blisters on places of my feet that I did not even know about. Sooooo, I got smart and said this time would be different. Off to Walmart I go...... I bought everything under the sun. If it said it could help heal or prevent blisters I bought it. Let me just say, I now own stock in Walmart.
The march was planned for Wednesday night with formation at 2100, the march to start at 2200. We were to march into the night till Thursday morning. Well, I was prepared, or atleast I thought I was. I had blister pads and moleskin all the way to my knee cap, figuratively speaking. I also decided that I would upgrade to gel inserts to. Boy was I excited.... Anyone out there remember in the old days when Tim Conway would dress up for a sporting event and would have so much stuff on that he could hardly move. That is what made them funny. Well, that is how I felt.
Anyway, we took off at 2200 on the dot. Paired off in two's and in formation. I felt like singing, 'High Ho, High Ho, it's off to march I go', but didn't feel it was an appropriate time. My partner was the commander. She actually picked me as her buddy. I wasn't sure if this was a compliment or the beginning of a long torturous march. (My commander is very hooah!) Well, off we went. In the beginning, everyone was talking and laughing, keeping spirits high. By the time we got to the tenth mile, talking and laughing was at a minimum. It took to much energy I guess. Me, I just listen while I walked (this is my special forces pre-training...hehe). I learned about two soldiers childhood, I learned about a camping trip and I learned a lot about gaming on the playstation and xbox. Hey, it may not be intel, but it kept the walk interesting for a few miles.
During the march we had rest points for water, snacks and to check your equipment and feet. They were only ten minute breaks but they were nice in the beginning. By about the 16th mile, the breaks hurt me more than they helped. Getting started hurt worse than just continuing. My whole theory on blister treatment did not work. My feet were hurting me by mile six. I knew then I was in trouble.
We kept a pace of 3 miles per hour, with breaks every three miles. We ended the march Thursday morning at 0745. Let me say that seeing the company in site was the most beautiful thing I could have seen right then. Cheesecake would not have made me happier than the company parking lot. We had hamburgers and hot dogs to celebrate the march. We also had flip flops waiting for us when we got there. Man, did they help. Picture this: BDU's, soft cap and flip flops (mine were yellow with the sun on it with sun glasses....pretty huh?)
Needless to say, we were all glad it was over, but for me I was so happy to have completed it. I now know that having the commander with me as my buddy was the best ting I could have done. She kept me motivated. For me, I have to much self pride to have fallen out on her, so that kept me motivated also.
I must say, I am very sore and hurting, but proud of what I did. All in all, Thursday was a great day to be in the Army.