Have you ever worked for 25.75 hours straight, only to get home, sleep for 3-4 hours, & then start job #2…. Being a mother? Or worse, go home & resume mothering straightaway! If you know what this is like, hats off to you! I commend you & function in that exact same manner. And I wouldn’t change a thing {most days!!}.
As I sit here & type, eating my “potpourri-post-call-lunch” of a Mexican quiche, 2 whole grain Blueberry waffles, & an orange, I can’t help but think that although my longest run to date was 18 miles, I can say with great certainty that I am mentally ready to tackle the marathon.
There have been many times at 2 a.m. when a 600 gram baby is being uncooperative & I just think “6 a.m. is only 4 hours away”. “My relief will start showing up & then I can go home.” In those same 4 hours, I hope to run the distance of the Richmond Marathon. If I can keep a smile on my face, politeness in my voice, & promptness in the firing of my synapses at 5 a.m. {when I’ve been awake for 24 hours working}; then I can certainly trudge through 26.2 miles. The miles & pavement absolutely don’t care if I curse them angrily or have a frown upon my face!
Being a nurse will always be my first love. There is no greater sense of accomplishment, from a professional standpoint, than putting a 2 lb. neonate into their mother’s arms for the first time. Or telling the parents of a baby, who has spent the first 5 months of their life in the NICU that hey, “It’s time to go home!” It is rather fitting that this post comes smack dab in the middle of National Nurses Week (May 6-12, 2014). Nurses in general, but specifically the NICU nurses I work with, are amazing, compassionate, motivated, caring, & passionate about what we do. A blog post I read this morning pretty much sums this up (http://thoughtcatalog.com/alexandra-scheinfeld/2014/05/5-things-nurses-want-you-to-know-but-cant-ever-tell-you/).
I know the marathon itself & the training prior to will not come without pain & sacrifice, but I am ready. Being a nurse & mother has made me a better runner. Being a mother & runner has made me a better nurse. Being a runner & nurse has made me a better mother. These major aspects of my life work best when in sync. Simply put, I am a mother of twin boys & a Nurse Practitioner in the NICU. The 26.2 doesn’t scare me; I welcome it. Is it November yet?!
Happy Running & Happy Nurses Week!!
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