Ups and Downs

Right after my last post I went out on a run. It was brutal. After all the positive talk, I had a very difficult run. I bought new headphones which dug into my ears, my socks kept slipping in my shoes, I dressed too warmly and had to stop to readjust my clothes... it was rough. Turns out that I had a decent run, but I felt like my shoes were made of concrete.
I wasn't able to get a Friday run in due to time constraints. I have an exam tomorrow and I've gotten very far behind this week. I had a friend visiting, clinic, an evening session on patient interviews, and had to pick my grandma up from the airport (which turned into a 6 hour ordeal when they lost her luggage and she insisted on taking me out to dinner).
My long weekend run was 6 miles (the longest/farthest I've ever run). It was raining pretty bad and all of my moisture wicking and warm work out gear was wet. I hit the treadmill instead. It was a rough run. I was basically wearing cotton pajama shorts that rode up my crotch like you wouldn't believe. I was exhausted from the week and from studying all that day. I also hadn't eaten a lot.
All complaining aside, I ran 6 miles in 70 minutes and 38 seconds. An hour and ten minutes was my goal time for this run, so I'm pleased. I'm nervous about upping my long run by a mile each week. I'm hoping that once I get to a certain point, say 10 miles, that each mile will matter less. But right now, 7 miles seems like such a long way and running for nearly an hour and a half seems like an eternity.

In med school world, I had a great week. I'm now managing the endocrinology specialty clinic at one of our free clinic sites. Seeing patients is always refreshing. We also do, what I can only describe as, practice patient interviews. An actor, or "standardized patient," helps us simulate an encounter and we get feedback. This weeks encounter was interviewing a patient who has experience some domestic violence. Now a patient doesn't come in and say "my husband is a real jerk and gave me this giant bruise." Oh no, its super hard to get them to tell you what is going on. Still, I had a very successful interview. This week I felt like I'd make a great doctor, but that I'm a horrible medical student. I got very little studying done and now am scrambling the day before the test.
Now I'm off to spend the day with my grandma. She is visiting and staying at my sister's house. She is currently living with my aunt, who is currently on a trip to Hawaii. Since my uncles... well... they're not winning any son of the year awards.... grandma comes and stays with my sister when my aunt is away. However, today my sister and her family are going to be gone all day, so I have to go up and spend the day there. My grandma will let me study and all, but I'll still have to look in on her, make her lunch, and drive there and back. So once again, life is taking away from my being an amazing medical student.

Que sera, sera

Do the locomotion with me

I've gained some momentum and, although I am terrified, I'm committed to this bad boy. The end of last week was rough. Although Friday was technically a rest day, I was feeling good and was going to get at least a short run in, but was also going to attempt a longer run. I had a friend coming to stay for the weekend and wanted to try to complete my long run before she came. Unfortunately I had the bright idea of eating a giant bowl of pasta and tuna before running. Despite waiting over an hour before setting out, 25 minutes in to the run I definitely thought I'd see that tuna again. So my attempted long run turned into a short, extra run.
Saturday was going to be attempt #2 at a long run. However, a very fun Friday night left me dragging on Saturday morning. No run on Saturday.
By Sunday I had my act together. Got my long run in. To prevent abandoning my guest, I ran on the treadmill in the gym while she worked out as well. So this 5 miles was maybe a little easier than the 5 miles outside my home with hills to climb, dogs to avoid, and random obstacles to jump over. Yet it was still a victory for me. I ran continuously for 56 minutes, which is a personal record for me.


School has been very hectic. The cardiovascular block we had just beat me down. I didn't like the material, the way it was presented or the organization of that part of the course. It wasn't that I couldn't learn the material, it was that I REALLY didn't want to. Then, after dealing with some personal issues over the long weekend, had only a few days to cramp for another test. Now we come to one of the hardest sections of the course. The kidney is complicated, but our professor, the "Renal Wrangler", makes it 123189732 times more complicated. He expects everyone to be logical. I can do that, but he equates logic with physics and calculus. I can't do that. Thus I embark on a 5 day study marathon. I am very far behind due to my friend visiting this past weekend.
I overslept today. I do not go to lecture, so I'm not technically missing out on anything but time. I will let me breakfast hit bottom, run, then head to the library until about 5pm. I have a practice patient interview tonight, and then home to do laundry or study or whatever the spirit moves me to do.

New Start

This past week was extremely hard for me. Not only did I have a huge exam, but I ended a very long term relationship. I laid around in self pity all weekend. Monday came, however, and I was able to pull myself out of my cave and get to it. I went to yoga and went for a 4 mile run.
Today I'm starting over. I've found a nice 10 week half-marathon training plan, and today was day 1. I feel refreshed instead of feeling behind. I was getting ahead of myself thinking that I had failed before I had begun, but my motivation is renewed. These next 2 weeks will be challenging due to my business with school, taking on new responsibilities and some planned visits with family and friends.
Here we go!

A rough one

Today was a very emotional day for me. Unfortunately, that didn't translate into an animalistic, hardcore run. Instead I felt exhausted, defeated, and on the verge of tears the entire time. About every ten minutes, I'd walk for a minute and convinced myself I was doing intervals or something. In reality, I was just tired.

I'm a little skeptical of my ability to do this. School is getting harder and busier. I've taken on more responsibilities. For once, I'm actively trying to make friends instead of waiting (alone) for people to magically like me.

Let's hope tomorrow is better.

New week

75 days remaining. This will begin my first real week of training. I had 2 good runs last week, and one half assed run while my laundry was going. Monday was my day off. Today is yoga. Studying for a big cardio exam has put a damper on things. I'm super stressed, exhausted, and consuming way too much caffeine. Hopefully getting into a serious workout routine will help all that!

The La Jolla Half

What do all medical students have in common? We're over achievers. Its a fact. I also happen to enjoy competition. I compete mostly with myself and the unattainable standards I set for myself. Just going to medical school isn't enough. I've been here for less than 6 months and have since joined a yoga studio (which I go to about 4 times a week), taken on a manager position of a speciality clinic we run for the uninsured, volunteered my time to mentoring and pre-med associations, and maintained some semblance of a social life. Oh and, of course, I study every day. But this wasn't enough (I'm not sure why). So, when challenged, I accepted.

I am going to run the La Jolla Half Marathon.

This is nuts.

Let me give you some background. Around 1st grade my mom signed me up for soccer. We lost every game and I never scored a goal. Around 5th grade my dad signed me up for Jr Golf. I can't even speak about how traumatizing it was. I never played organized sports again. I danced (jazz, tap, ballet, and Tahitian) for over 10 years, but I had no endurance or natural athletic ability. In high school, as appearance begins to matter more and more, I joined a gym and would go occasionally. I got more serious in college about working out, but would usually get really fit for several months and then bum around for a couple months before starting from scratch (not a program I'd recommend).

The most I've ever run is 5 miles. And, honestly, I probably didn't run the entire 5 miles, either. I haven't run since October 2009. But I've been active, I'm in good shape, and my first 2 runs have been enjoyable. I've had low self esteem my entire life, despite my achievements. This challenge seems insurmountable, but if I accomplish it, it will truly be something great for me.

I'd like to share my training here to maintain some accountability. I also want to show that being busy is not an excuse. I'm busy all day, but I plop down in front of the TV or in bed with a book every night. That is the time I plan to use for my training.

I have 80 days. I found a training schedule that is moderate (running 3 days/week with some cross training most other days). Today, per my schedule, I ran for 35 minutes at a moderate pace. I felt good, but the last 5 minutes were a little bit of a struggle to maintain the run.

Wish me luck!

Introduction

I don't really understand blogs - at all - but I guess I need yet another thing to do. I'm a first year medical student. I grew up in the midwest before moving to California about midway through my life. We came out here to be movie stars. That ended when my mom passed away at the beginning of my sophomore year of high school. After that, I switched gears and found a passion in medicine. I worked my way through college and somehow made it to the school of my dreams.

I've always thought the medical student was a mysterious and rare breed. You don't hear much about them; there are no reality shows or prime time dramas to give you a glimpse into the life. Now that I AM one, I can confirm that we are a mysterious and rare breed. Our numbers are few and we have unique personality traits that have allowed us to succeed and gain admission to the prestigious field of medicine.

I grew up watching shows about teen angst - Clarissa Explains It All, Pete and Pete, and, of course, Boy Meets World. So to introduce medical students to the world, this is Med Student Meets World.