First off, sorry for such a delay in posting… things have been crazy! Here’s what’s been going on (long post alert!)…
On March 5th, I began the initial part of my training for my new job; this portion of training was called “home study.” The Company sent me a BOX of text books that I would be tested on over the course of two weeks. It took very little sleep, about a dozen highlighters, and the aid of drinking copious amounts of coffee… but I did it, I passed all 14 tests! Home study finished March 16. My marathon was Sunday, March 18. The evening of Friday March 16, I packed up my bags – one for the marathon, and one for the 3 weeks of training for The Company I’d be doing immediately after in Long Island, NY.
I went down to Virginia Beach (2 hour ride or so) with Emily C, and her parents (thanks for the ride Mr. and Mrs. C!) on Saturday morning. Once we got to VAB, we went to this huge building to sign in, pick up our bibs, and loot! Shamrock hooked us up with a really nice long sleeved athletic shirt, and a black hoodie! I also ended up buying a black teeshirt, too.
Emily’s parents dropped us off at the hotel, and we just sort of relaxed until The Inspiration Dinner. The Inspiration Dinner is the meal that TNT provides to everyone on the team the night before the race. The food was awesome, the speakers were incredible, and everyone left feeling more empowered, motivated, and so grateful to be a part of it.
The night before the race Emily and I chatted… the following are a few snips from our conversation… “OMG ARE WE REALLY RUNNING A MARATHON TOMORROW?!” and “DANA, WHAT DID YOU GET ME INTO?!” and “I HOPE I’M READY!” We also laid our clothes out, and pinned our bibs to our shirts and decorated them. Here’s what the back of mine looked like:
Although, we were a bit antsy, we were also both so proud of how far the two of us had come. We chatted, and laughed a bit until eventually, we fell asleep.
The morning of the race… VAB radiated with anxious energy. Emily was kind enough to help me with writing names of people I was running in honor/memory of on my arms and legs… I can’t even begin to describe the thoughts that were crossing my mind as each and every angel was marked on my body.
We met up with the team in the lobby, and we were all pretty pumped up! Then we lined up with our coral outside, and shortly after that, we were RUNNING!!!! What was really cool, was that my little brother, Moose, found me, and ran with me for a few miles (he trained and was running separately). The next chunk of miles I ran with the team… it was a lot of fun, but there was a lot of stopping and going due to bathroom breaks and such. Originally, the game plan was for everyone to run as a team, but around mile 6 or so, I knew I was going to have to break away as I was having a hard time getting into a rhythm with so many people, and my knees were getting strangely aggravated with the start/stopping. I decided I would run however I needed to, to get through the race in the least amount of discomfort (novel idea, eh?). That eventually led to me slowly splitting away from the majority of the team. I ended up running the rest of the race with Coach Wayne and Brittany by my side… thank GOD.
Miles 7-13 or so, I felt like I was kicking ass. I was pushing myself, there were tons of people cheering us on, and music blaring everywhere! It was very exciting! I loved getting to run on the boardwalk with the view of the ocean. Then around miles 15-22… there were no crowds, and no music, just a road that never seemed to end. It was so quiet.This was probably the worst part of the race. I was fighting boredom. At mile 21 or so, I was fighting fatigue on top of boredom. There were moments where I was only putting one foot in front of the other because I’d look down at the names written arms and legs and a sense of obligation fueled me to continue on. The last mile was such a tease… so close, but so far away. Finally, I had .3 miles to go… I looked down and saw Levi’s name on my arm, and gave myself one last push, and hauled it. I crossed the finish line at 5 hrs and 12 minutes. Not quiet under 5 hours like I had hoped, but I’m pretty ok with it.
The sense of accomplishment was unreal. Months of training. Months of fundraising. Months of dedication to something I had never done before. The first person I saw after the race was Moose. And then the rest of the team wasn’t too far behind me. It was so great to congratulate them. I was proud of everyone that crossed that line.
I found my parents eventually, who hugged and congratulated Moose and I. Shortly after that, my dad drove my mom and I back to Richmond (thanks for coming, and for helping me out Mom and Dad!)… I had just enough time to take a 10 minute shower, and then get to the airport to catch a flight to Long Island, NY for training. I made it to the hotel in NY around 10:30pm Sunday night. Yes, I was sore. Yes, the plane ride was rough. Yes, it was absolutely worth it.
Monday, March 19th was my 12 year mark of being cancer free… so my roommate at training (her name is Heather, I met her before we came to NY because she lives in Richmond and will have that territory… we’ve become buddies over the course of training) had a quiet celebratory glass of wine at the hotel bar. It was nice.
Tomorrow (Monday, April 2) I start the third and final week of training. Training has been very rigorous, but I appreciate the fact that The Company takes pride in training their employees to the level in which they do. It speaks a lot to their standards, and expectations, which are all very high (and a good thing!). On the weekends I’ve trekked with some friends I’m training with into the city, which has been really fun! Yesterday I saw Mamma Mia on Broadway, it was fantastic. It’s definitely a show to see with your girlfriends. I also for the first time in my life really splurged on shoes (I normally won’t spend more than $80 on shoes, unless they are fitness related, so this was a huge deal for me!)… but I intend on wearing them a LOT, and will be able to wear them with a LOT. We’ll see if they can hold up in a Dana-lifestyle! 😉
While things have been nonstop since March 5th, I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Training will be over this Friday. My first day on the field will be April 9th, and I can’t wait… I’m ready to put what I’ve been learning to use, and ultimately making as much money as I can! The last three weeks of April might be a little nutty… as I’ll be relocating to Charlottesville (an hour west of Richmond) towards the end of the month… I have lots of things to buy… a TV, TV stand, living room furniture, a few more kitchen things, a headboard for my bed, and new bedding. If anybody has ideas of where I can score some deals on quality stuff, I’m all ears!
Subtlety Lacking 