Still here - apologies in advance for stream-of-thought writing
I think the best way to capture how the last couple of months have been is “the days are long but the weeks are fast.” That’s not necessarily a good thing when long days lead to few opportunities to workout and the weeks tick down (6 left) to a race that requires significant effort (the NOLA 70.3). Then again, I have no one else to blame but myself. I am going to spend a little time later on this week searching for some old articles on “attributes of a champion” that my coaches sent out in the past and delve through my books to see what comes up. The purpose is to get my mojo flowing again. Which will probably involve picking up Once a Runner and some new tunes for my iPod. But I digress.
I’m in the final week of my internal medicine rotation, having finished up with pediatrics in November and December after my ortho/sports med stint at the end of October. Up next is OB/GYN for March and April, followed by a string of ER months interspersed with studying for Step 2 and a couple of 2 week rest periods. The rotations have been good but nothing has caught my interest other than time down in the ER. I also went to an EM conference a few weeks ago that was really awesome. I met a lot of the third year residents at two programs I’m interest in applying to, as well as the program directors. I’ve already scheduled an away rotation for one of them in August, following a month at UC Davis in July so it should be a busy summer. A good friend of mine just finished up a month at Bellevue which he really enjoyed and is checking out NYC again this weekend. We’re actually going to be working together the next few months so hopefully we’ll get some good workouts in between work/studying.
In workout news, I’ve been mostly restricted to running for 30-45′ after work with minimal stretching in between. I’m no longer teaching yoga once a week, so that should free up some time. It was just getting to be too much given my other commitments. However, I think I benefitted a lot from the experience and some of the regular students were very kind to say they hoped I would teach again soon. There’s a time and a season for everything I suppose.
Actually, the most exciting workout news is that the pool at the U is now salt water! S and my sis went to check it out a few weeks back and were surprised by the saltiness of it and lack of chlorine. I made it in last Sunday before my viral illness took me out for a few days, which was the first time since probably October. Despite being out of the water for several months, I still managed to turn in some decent splits. As the weeks leading up to the half-ironman become fewer, I definitely plan on putting in more time in the pool and increasing my runs since the bike hasn’t been the most accessible thing. However, I also returned to commuting to and from the hospital (campus layout restricted this a great deal the previous 3 months), so that’s another 9-12 miles a day 6 days a week.
A few last updates/thoughts before hitting the books about what I’ve learned the last few months.
- Third year of medical school is a lot tougher than the first two (which I’m sure is true for almost all 4-yr educational programs)
- Just like money management, you should “pay yourself first” when it comes to working out. If you wait until the end of the day to get a workout in, you will be tired and most likely dehydrated from a long day at work. It’s worth going to bed early and getting up early to ensure you are getting the most out of your limited time.
- Thank your spouse/significant other often. The patience and help that S has given these past few months have made third year a lot easier than it would be otherwise. I’m sure there are other people out there with similar stories
- Develop a system/method and stick with it. Thoroughness comes from repetition and when you are hungry and tired, having a well-worn, effective pattern makes things easy. Whether its preparing lunch for your post-call day, or setting out your workout clothes before going to sleep, the little things that get you on task pay dividends.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope to update this a little more regularly. One final request to the Sweat365 developers…can we get an iPhone workout app or make the website mobile friendly? My phone has been a huge resource whenever I get a spare chance and these little things would make a world of difference. Happy training!
Filed under: Flexibility, Grad Student, Medical School, Medical Student, Random Thoughts, Triathlon, Uncategorized, Yoga, commuting, emergency medicine, fixie
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Still Kicking it
Don’t worry, I’m still here just busier than I anticipated. I’m sure I mentioned it before but it’s worth mentioning again, commuting by car is miserable. For my family medicine rotation I’ve been assigned to a preceptor whose practice is about 45′ to an hour away which means I spend 1.5-2hrs driving every M-F. Not to mention the added gas cost to my monthly budget (goodbye $300). The hours may be a little bit better than surgery, but at least I enjoyed what I was doing and got to ride my bike to and from work.
In an effort to make my time more productive I’ve downloaded some podcasts from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), JAMA, and the New England Journal of Medicine. Plus a couple of NPR podcasts to keep things interesting. I’m also looking for some free/cheap audio files of heart murmurs so I can get proficient in recognizing abnormal sounds. The importance of this is highlighted by this article. After reading it, I do remember having a cardiac question on Step 1 and my Physical Diagnosis exams. Crazy.
I only have a couple more weeks of Family Medicine before I start my first emergency medicine rotation. I’m excited and anxious because I am leaning heavily towards EM as a specialty but I really don’t have much clinical experience yet. Plus, our university cut the EM rotation so we’ve having to double up with the other medical schools program which is already undermanned and overcrowded. I had planned on doing an “away” rotation there next July since they only accept MS4’s so I’m curious as to how this will turn out. One possibility is that I do well enough that I don’t have to come back in a year and burn up 4 weeks of elective time that I could spend looking at another program. But also I could get involved in some ongoing research projects they have. Plus, ACEP’s Scientific Assembly is at the end of October, which would be sweet to attend but again, that’s another $300 I don’t currently have.
Training is going ok, even if it’s not really structured. Apparently my PT has paid off as I’ve gotten a couple of comments from the running group and some of my classmates who’ve seen me out. I tell them I’m just trying to grow into my white coat, ;-).
However, the really exciting news is that my wife officially got hired by the university, working in their international development center. This has been about a 6 month process to secure a job as there isn’t quite the demand for public health program managers here and with two schools of public health in the city, the market is quite saturated. While the paperwork still needs to be processed through HR, she should make the transition from contractor to staff by the end of this month, if not next at the latest. Hope all is well with everyone in the Sweat365 community and elsewhere! Peace!
Filed under: Flexibility, Grad Student, Medical School, Medical Student, PT, Random Thoughts, Running, Step 1, Strength Training, Triathlon, commuting, emergency medicine, surgery
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Commuting miles (8/11-8/17): 68M (950M)
Another solid week on the pista. Maybe one day this blog will have some medical content but for the time being I’m keeping my observations to myself. Why? Because some of what I see worries me.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 08/17/2008
- Time: 22:00:00
- Total Time: 4:42:00.00
- Distance: 68 miles
- Average Speed: 14.47 mph
- Max Speed: 25 mph
Filed under: Cycle, Flexibility, General Cardio, Grad Student, Medical School, Medical Student, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized, commuting, fixie, pista, surgery
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Commuting Miles (8/4-8/10): 78M (891M yr)
Almost double the mileage of last week, I’m tempted to ride another to miles just to bring the total to 80M. I added the total number of commuting miles this year (891M) to the title as a reference. Assuming my ‘94 jeep gets 17.5mpg, with gas being ~3.65 for the year that means I’ve saved $186 in gas this year by riding my bike. And that figure doesn’t include the wife’s commuting miles or the cost of a parking pass. Not too bad. Peace!
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 08/10/2008
- Time: 22:00:00
- Total Time: 5:12:54.00
- Distance: 78 miles
- Average Speed: 14.96 mph
- Max Speed: 24.7 mph
Filed under: Cycle, Flexibility, General Cardio, Grad Student, Medical School, Medical Student, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized, commuting, fixie, pista
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Commuting Miles (7/28-8/3): 40M
Decent week. Didn’t go to the hospital on the weekend so my mileage was under 50 for the week. However, on Saturday I did get my front brake installed so I’m safer. Pics coming soon.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 08/03/2008
- Time: 22:00:00
- Total Time: 2:47:00.00
- Distance: 40 miles
- Average Speed: 14.37 mph
Filed under: Cycle, Flexibility, General Cardio, Grad Student, Medical School, Medical Student, commuting, fixie, pista, surgery
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