You would think the finish is the best part of the race because you know you’re almost done. But I also think it’s the hardest part of the race.
You know the finish hurts. You know you should kick and finish as fast and hard as you can. It’s the time to give it your all no matter how tired you are or how bad you feel. It’s the part of the race where you really have to dig deep. That’s where I am at in this cancer battle.
I have the last final part of the race left that I know is going to hurt but I know I need to get through to finish. Instead of a finish line I have to get through a bilateral mastectomy and recovery from the surgery. I don’t want to deal with the difficulty that lies ahead but I need to. I know that part of me will feel better just having the procedure over with next week and no longer having to think about it even though I will be sore and very limited for awhile.
The finish is the part of the race where you prepare for the oh shit here we go this is going to hurt but I gotta finish hard. It’s the bell lap or two laps to go in a distance track race. It’s the final 800 meters of a cross country race which is almost always where my coach would stand and yell about turn over and focusing on the finish line ahead.
After toughing out the discomfort and pain, you are done. And it feels good once you recover. Initially you’re still pretty tired but your energy comes back even if it takes a little time. After the finish, your legs might be a little wobbly and feel like jello but they stable and feel normal again. That omg I feel like I’m going to puke feeling goes away and your stomach settles. The burning in the lungs goes away and you catch your breath. You know you’re going to be ok.
The recovery from a race is a lot quicker than a recovery from a bilateral mastectomy but I hope to recover and return to feeling good as quick as possible. The discomfort in the last lap or stretch of a race which I have run many times and gotten through can help me as I face the final stretch (I hope) of this cancer battle. I know it will hurt, I know it will suck but it’s necessary to finish. I never stopped short of the finish in a race and I won’t in this cancer battle even if I’m scared and dreading the surgery and the recovery.
#thefinishline #cancerbattle #bilateralmastectomy #surgerynerves #onetoughmother #xctrackrunner #distancerunner
