Running the Flatiron Marathon

I finished my last Flatiron project the weekend of the NYC Marathon, which I ran in 2004, and it made me think of how similar the two events have been for me.

I had entered the marathon lottery with a handful of colleagues, however I was the only one who won a place. I had already decided that if I got it, I would do it, no backing down. So there I was, training on my own, instead of with half a dozen girls. I was terrified of not finishing and I had no idea what to expect from myself so I put in the work: a strict training regime, a ridiculously strict diet and a very strict social calendar. Nothing was going to keep me from earning that medal.

Flash forward to the finish line, and it was hands down one of the best days of my life (even to this day - after having married the man of my dreams and having had two children - it still easily remains in the top five).

To have accomplished something I had originally thought was impossible for me, felt extraordinary to say the least. It was an experience that opened my eyes about myself. I really could do ANYTHING I set my mind to and I had just proven it to myself.

Starting Flatiron was a big thing for me and my family. I had spent years, on and off, trying a self-study route that left me really frustrated. I knew attending Flatiron was the right fit for me, but it was challenging to convince my husband that I needed to enroll. That is, until I linked the feeling I had about coding to finishing a marathon. I needed to do this for myself. He had completed a few marathons, so that analogy seemed to work. I was in!

On March 3, 2020, the same rigorous "marathon training regime" came back with a vengeance. I woke at 5:00 AM every day to get in some coding before the house woke up; I was on track to finish in 11 months. Two weeks later, the world shut down and the pandemic changed my learning time and place, but it did not change my determination to finish and get the medal, or in this case, the sweatshirt! (OMG...I hope they still reward you with a Flatiron sweatshirt! I may be seriously crushed if they don't!).

With the pandemic came homeschooling (giving up my computer and workspace during school hours), so much housework (and why is everyone expecting to eat three meals a day!??) and so much stress about the state of the world. I definitely didn't finish in 11 months but I did finish and I'm so proud of having stuck with it

For my final project in React and Redux, I decided to re-make my Sinatra project. This idea was very near and dear to me, as it solved a problem I had. These types of projects keep me interested and motivated. (I would highly recommend to anyone just starting out at Flatiron - or any bootcamp - to focus on finding a problem to solve that you are very familiar with.)

Because of my time constraints and needing to finish before my program ended, I really pared down the project to the minimal requirements. There are several features I plan to work on after I graduate (including authentication and hosting) which will keep me learning and developing long into my job search. (Which hopefully won't be TOO long!)

React is a fantastic framework. Once I grasped the initial concepts, like learning anything new, it was just a matter of time before I enjoyed an initial level of fluency, and that rush that comes with seeing the basic framework of your idea coming to life.

The next milestone, naturally, is to put these newly minted coding skills to work. I've got a lot of work experience, but also a lot of imposter syndrome when it comes to finding a software engineering role. The only way I know how to approach a successful outcome is to break it down, be resilient, show up every day and give myself the time I need.

After that, maybe I need to train for another marathon...NYC 2024?