Marathon & Orientation Day!!

Sunday was a big day for everybody. J and his family were attending the orientation at the academy while my family would be waiting for me at the finish line of my marathon. Our day started around 3:45am! J & I got up, got ready, and he drove me to the busses that would take me to the starting line. Once we got there, he gave me a kiss, told me I was going to crush it, then headed over to his parents hotel room to run and get ready for his day. We all stood in line, freezing our butts off until the busses arrived right around 5am. Luckily for us, the busses were nice and toasty and available for us to stay on so we could stay warm. As race time started to approach, I took off my warm clothes, checked them in, then took my spot on the starting line. The gun went off at 7am sharp and the race started! From miles 1-20 I felt great! I actually ended up going ahead of our pacing group for a couple of miles. I kept telling myself that I'm strong and I can do this. Once we hit mile 22.5 I started to feel like I just ran 22.5 miles. My legs started to feel heavy and my feet were aching. I just kept telling myself that I could do this and even looked down at my bib & ring a few times to draw inspiration. I made that last turn and started towards the Capitol. Even before I crossed the finish line, I started to tear up. I had done it. I ran a new personal best (3:13:23) AND got my Boston Marathon Qualifying Time! I celebrated with my family, bought my Boston qualified shirt, took some pictures, then headed out to grab some food! About halfway through our lunch, J called me, congratulated me and told me they were heading out to lunch as well. We were both having lunch at the shopping center right near the academy, so we walked (well I hobbled 😆) over to meet them. J gave me a congratulatory hug & kiss and we started to exchange our mornings stories. He told me that the orientation was very informative. Some of it was information that our division had already given us, but it was good to hear again nonetheless. He said there was a part of the orientation where the cadets had to break away and go to the cafeteria where they were greeted by the senior class. They instructed them to lift the chairs, not drag them, sit up tall, rest your hands on your knees, etc. J told me a couple cadets got yelled at for showing up late and then smiling while the officers were talking. The one cadet who was smiling was also wearing a bright orange tie so unfortunately he drew a lot of attention to himself. One thing we remember from our division's orientation was to stick with dark neutral colors- avoid standing out! The rest of the day was spent by just hanging out at his parents hotel room, going over the health insurance paperwork he received and making sure J had everything he needed. Once we said our byes and got into J's truck, I started to tear up. I had a mix of emotions going through me. I was excited that J's report date was finally here, sad that I couldn't just pick up the phone or drive down the road to see and talk to the man that I love, and nervous for this new chapter of our lives. But I know that my job during these next 28 weeks is to be strong and support J in whatever he may need. I mean lets be honest, 28 weeks can fly by....right? 😉

💚 AJ