The Home Stretch

Are any of you runners?
I used to be.
In high school, (I may have mentioned this before) I ran the 800 meter and the 1600 meter for our high school track team for one season.
I was not an especially fast runner (which is fine for both of these events) and while I am not now nor was I then "built" for running, I was in great shape and better-than-average endurance.
I actually only ran track so that conditioning for volleyball and basketball would not be so, well, hellish. But it turned out that track was fun.
I had a couple of friends who ran track and were really good, and I made more friends that season of running.
Our coach was not a lot of fun and his shorts were inappropriately short, but he was fair and a good trainer for us.
Over the course of the season, I got some help from new coaches - working on my stride and changing things I naturally did to improve my times in both events.
And so, while I hated the actual act of running, I loved being on the track team.
And I loved gaining an understanding of the language of running.

Home stretch. 

It's a phrase that is used fairly often, so it's probably one you are somewhat familiar with, even if you don't know exactly what it means. But the home stretch is this:

For example, let's pretend you are running the 1600 meters (also known as the one mile event).
On a standard running track, one mile is four laps. The finish line is usually on one of the long, straight sides rather than in the curve. So when a runner speaks of the home stretch, he or she is talking about the very end of that last lap - as you come around the last curve, you reach down deep and get that last little bit of *umf* and for those last few meters, you kick it up a notch as you stretch toward the finish line. You're in the home stretch.

So that's where I find myself today - in the home stretch.
My final semester of my under graduate career began this week.

Back in August of 1998, starting my under graduate career and expecting to finish in that four year window was something that seemed like a no-brainer. Something that I had expected to do ever since that 2nd grade field trip to Clemson University.
But life happens and things change. And while I was very, very close to completing my undergraduate degree when I left school in May of 2003, I did not.
And it took eight years for me to find a way back to school.
It was not easy.

• Back in August when I walked in to my first college class in eight years, I was (by far) one of the oldest students in my Statistics class (BTW - made a C!! Yay!). 
• Back in August when I walked in to my first college class in eight years, I had not had Algebra I & II since 10th grade. My "college math" class does not even count.
• Back in August when I walked in to my first college class in eight years, I did so knowing that when I got home my children and husband would want to hear how it was. 
• Back in August when I walked in to my first college class in eight years, I did so knowing that I have people counting on me - not to make Dean's List (which is awesome) but to finish what I started. 

And now here I am.
In the Home Stretch.
Kicking it in to high gear to finish well and strong what I started 14 years ago.
*phew*
One week down, 15 weeks to go.