I hadn’t intended to run it as I had injured myself a couple of months before the race. In fact, I hadn’t run at all for 2 months. But, the course went by my house around the 3 mile marker so in spirit of supporting my friends, I laced up my running shoes to kick off the first miles with them. When we approached my house, I decided to keep on running - I could always bail later on.
By the time I reinjured myself, I was in the middle of nowhere with no way to catch public transportation back home. My friends had long since run ahead of me and I was alone. The last six miles of the race were along the Chicago lakefront. There was a bitter wind blowing off the lake and it was snowing. I cried every step of those six miles, just so thankful that volunteers were still around to cheer me on.
I finished the race in 5 hours 23 minutes. I am sure that I could have walked it faster.
What I learned that day is that we have more courage than we think we do and that if we believe we can, somehow we’ll find the willpower to push us through the finish line.
Thanks everyone for your support, encouragement, and guidance these past few months.
Refreshing post to read on a Monday morning, thanks lammy.
The rollercoaster ride of emotions this program provides is just unreal. In the span of a few hours I can go from confident and secure to doubting everything. Rinse and repeat. Trying to work towards a more constant state of confidence as the days roll on but man is it hard.
I will be confident at the end of July if I pass. Until then, Well… We shall see. Can’t quit now, Keep it going, Go harder, final stretch. Just think about geting your life back in a month’s time!! Whoot, I LOVE STUDYING!!! YEAA.
Lammy, what an inspiring post. Regardless of whether it is true or not, this is EXACTLY what most candidates need at this juncture. For me, it is indeed the final push (and similar to your analogy, I have had pretty rough breakdowns throughout this journey).
There are moments when I think to myself, “Holy shit, I’m going to have a good chance at passing” Then 15 minutes later I’ll go like 6 for 20 on the next 20 practice questions I take and I immediately think, “holy shit, I have no shot at passing this ridiculously impossible exam.”
It really is a quite magical rollercoaster ride of emotions… HAHA. But this thread atleast makes me feel like I am not the only one on the verge of a full breakdown. I can’t wait to pound beers after this exam is over, Cheers!