Little victories!

I did it! I ran my first 5K yesterday in 40 mins and 9 sec, which is pretty slow, but, holy moses, I did it! I have to say it was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had. Thousands of people turned out for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and it was moving to see how many men, women and children were there to celebrate breast cancer survivors and remember those they have lost to the fight. I knew that adrenaline would be pumping through me, but I had no idea how exhilarating it would be to run in a sea of pink. There were so many people dressed in tutus and capes and costumes, keeping it light and joyous. I ran the race next to a U.S. Army soldier who wore full combat fatigues, with a pink helmet and a fake pink uzi (his loaded backpack slowed him down to my snail's pace). Just watching him fight through it motivated me to keep moving.
There were so many moments while running that I desperately wanted to stop but I couldn't stop thinking about how I would feel if my mom, sister, or friends had breast cancer. I thought about the people I know, and friends of friends, battling this disease, and everywhere I looked around me, people had the names of their loved ones pinned to their backs, and I just kept going. It was emotional and moving and so enjoyable to be out there on a beautiful day, running with strangers, all of us fighting for the same thing.
Around 1.5 miles my IC symptoms really kicked in, but I just kept telling myself that there were women with actual cancer running, and if they can do it, my bitchy bladder can do it too!
I am so grateful and pretty proud of how I lived my life this week. I didn't let the mountain of schoolwork I had to do send me into a panic spiral and I tried to put my huge exam into perspective. Trying to actively control my stress really helped keep my IC symptoms under control and I like to think that I achieved my goal of not lashing out against those I love when things get tough.
Managing my schedule day by day and attempting not to think more than a week or two ahead is helping to keep me in the present. We have to find ways to make our lives manageable because there will always be a million things we need to do and personally, I don't want to wake up in 50 years and realize I merely "made it through" my life. By living day to day, handling things one by one and trying not to let everything snowball, is really giving me the ability to enjoy life more than I previously had. I hope I can keep it up!