Runners High
A couple of years ago I trained for a marathon. It was grueling, it was hard, it was a challenge. There were Saturday morning runs that started at 4 am. And plenty of mornings when I was falling behind the group, that I asked myself–“What the hell are you doing?”
Then there were the mornings where I pushed through the pain, and experienced the runners high.
This elusive thing that happens when your body stops resisting the constant pounding on the pavement, and actually starts to flow. It starts to feel good to run. It makes you want to run faster. And the best part is…once you have experienced it…you know it exists. So when you feel the pain the next time you run, you just wait, cause you know that high is coming.
It is addictive.
I feel like that has happened to me again, this time with programming. For months I have suffered through the frustrating moments, and the nights dreaming of code. I have tried to keep pushing myself when there isn’t much left in me, just to get one more line of code on the page. I pushed myself to finish a project–any project–to ensure that I had something for demo day (through my near death sickness). And now I feel—Invincible!
I feel like I can do anything. Try anything. Succeed in anything that I choose.
Oh you need to me to write the backend in…node? Have I done that before?– no. Can I figure it out? of course! I am a coding superwoman. I feel that nothing can stop me. I hacked together a final project on heavy medication. I can do anything. I love this feeling.
Who knew that this would be the byproduct of finishing a coding bootcamp? Maybe the week since I finished has given my brain the opportunity to catch up to what has happened to me. I got made. I became someone else. I got broken apart and put back together differently. I am so much better for it.
Yes I still have things to do. I am still working on my portfolio, and finishing up projects to be placed in the portfolio. But I feel no fear about being able to get it done. I can do anything now.
My next project will be building JavaScript enabled robots! I can’t wait.
