Halfway There

Phew, I made it to winter break. Which honestly was not a given. I never had to work this hard when I got my first undergraduate degree, or my Master's!

This also marks the halfway point of my nursing program, which is both encouraging and discouraging. It is like mile 13 of a of a marathon. On the one hand, I've already covered so much ground. On the other hand, I'm tired and I still have a long way to go.

In fact, I've found a lot of similarities between nursing school and marathons.

Have faith in yourself
I always get freaked out at marathon expos. I look around and feel like everyone else looks like so much more of a "real runner." I felt the same way going into school. As someone with no science background, I felt like I was at such a disadvantage. In both cases, I have to just remind myself that I do belong and I can do it.


Run the mile (or semester) you are in
I am queen of worrying about what is to come. In a marathon I cross mile 1 and already start worrying about mile 25. In nursing school, I worry about a paper due in 2 months or how hard next semester is going to be. Not only does this cause me needless anxiety, but it takes my attention away from what I should be dedicating myself to right now. I'm really trying to check myself when I find that I am worrying about something way in the future.

Take care of yourself

You won't get through a marathon if you don't hydrate and take in energy throughout the race. At the start I school, I was trying to treat it like a sprint. I was going all out all the time, and not taking time to sleep, eat, or relax. I eventually realized that sleeping and yoga and taking time to relax with my family and friends was just as important as school.


Enjoy the little things along the way
I've run marathons on all seven continents, and yet I couldn't tell you much about the courses themselves. I was so focused on my goal of finishing the race, that I didn't pay any attention to what was happening around me. I probably missed out on a lot of amazing sights. So, in school I am trying to remind myself to slow down. I sat and just talked to my patient for more than an hour in clinical one day, instead of just completing my assessment as quickly as possible and leaving the room. As a result, I heard an amazing life story and left clinical feeling like I'd made a real difference in that patient's life.

That Time I Didn't Sign-up for a Race

My morning class was cancelled today, but I woke up early out of habit anyway. "Perfect," I thought when I saw the clock, "I can sign-up for the Mid Winter Classic."

last year we got ALL the snow and I did ALL the runs

The Mid Winter Classic is a 10 mile race in February that I've done a few times. It's really well organized and it provides good motivation to keep running through the winter. 

I went to the registration and started filling it out. I got to the bottom, but when I went to hit submit, I stopped for a minute. I realized that I really didn't want to sign-up for this race. 

After marathon training for the past 8 winters, I realized that I don't want to sign-up for a race in Maine in February. I've forced myself through so many miserable long runs and races, I just need a break this year. Not just that, but I don't really want to sign up for any race now. Not even a race in Florida. I'm just not ready to jump into a cycle of formal training. School is my priority now. Plus, I'm really enjoying running when I want and however long I feel like running that day.

Am I still a runner if I never race?

Bring Back The Cotton

As I searched through my closet last night for a shirt to sleep in, I came to a terrible realization. I am almost out of old cotton race shirts!

When I first started running pretty much every race gave out cotton shirts. They were soft and perfect for bumming around the house and sleeping. I wore them until they were so stained and holey that I had to turn them into rags.

However they weren't so great for running, so pretty much everyone started switching over to technical fabrics. Yeah they look nicer and are better for running, but they just don't have the same comfort factor. Cotton gets softer and better with age. Technical fabric just gets stinkier.

Also, the sizes are so much less forgiving. I don't mind sleeping in a shirt that is way too big, but I don't want to run in a shirt that goes to my knees.



Can we start an old school movement to go back to cotton? We don't however need to go back to short shorts and sweat bands.

Are you team cotton or team technical?

Helllloooo

Hi Friends!

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted. I am so immersed in nursing school that I kind of forget the rest of the world exists! All of my brainpower is directed at school, so I can't think of any clever ideas for a cohesive post, so here are just things happening with me lately.

I love fall! It has just been the best running weather lately and Sushi and I have been enjoying long walks on the beach on the weekends. The tourists are gone, but the sun is still warm, and the ground isn't slippery. Best time of the year.

Sushi (the dog) was sushi (the food) for Halloween

does having 2 dog pictures in a row make me a crazy dog lady?

I'm finally getting to "real" nursing stuff and it is so exciting! Over the summer, we just had labs where we practiced on dummies or each other. This fall though, I am in real hospitals and I am get getting to insert catheters, give shots, give meds, and do all kinds of other stuff on real people.


I don't have any races on my calendar, but I've been doing weekly speed work at the track anyway, and totally loving it. I mix up my workouts every week, and they fly by so much faster than regular steady state runs.

Whats new with you?

A Hoka Experiment

Hi Friends! I am still alive! It's been a rough week, so I was extra excited to find a package waiting for me when I got home after a long day. Look what was inside!

Yep, I'm jumping on the Hoka bandwagon!

Actually that's not true, I don't jump on bandwagons. I'm not trying them because they are the hot new thing. I'm trying them because I think they'll work for me. I'm a heavier runner so I could use some extra cushioning. I also am a midfoot striker with a neutral stride.

Plus they were on sale for $50. Score!

I couldn't resist taking them for a test run around the neighborhood (Sushi needed a walk anyway). First impression? LOVE them. They are light, but provide a good cushion, and make my stride feel fluid and natural.

I'll be back to let you know how I feel once I start running in them regularly.

Anyone else out there a Hoka fan?

Trails to Ale 10k

Now that I have finished my 7 continent goal, I finally am able to try out all the fun local races that I've been wanting to do for years! This Sunday, that meant the Trails to Ale 10k. The race is a benefit for Portland Trails, which builds and maintains great trails all over Portland.

I was psyched to finally get to run this race, and even more excited to run it as party of a team. I ran with a great group of people from nursing school. Since we are all going into medical professions, we made a pun with a medical term and called ourselves Tachy Cardio.

team Tachy Cardio

I had been hoping when I signed up mid summer that it would be a perfect, crisp fall day. Instead, when I woke up it was humid and raining. It started to clear as I walked to the race. By race time it was sunny, but still humid. Whomp.

My focus this fall has been school, not running, so I didn't have a major goal. I was just hoping to come in under 9 minute/miles. The race starts on top of Munjoy Hill, so the first mile and half had a lot of downhill. My legs weren't loving the combination of downhill and asphalt. Luckily just past mile 2, the course turns onto back bay trail, which is dirt. Despite the crazy head wind in places, I really enjoyed the 3 miles around back cove. 

Although we had all decided to run our own races, my friend Rose and I ended up running almost the same pace and so we stuck together for most of the race. It was really nice to have someone to chat with. It made the time go so much faster!

Just after mile five, the course crosses a bridge and then loops off on a paved extension of the trail. The combination of the concrete, an uphill, and my pace hit me. My legs felt like absolute lead. I told myself I had less than a mile to go and tried to push on to the finish. 

I finished in 53:03, an 8:36 pace. Goal met! It was awesome to come across that finish and have most of my team there to high five me!

It was also awesome to head up the hill after the finish and get Portland Pie pizza and beer! Although it felt like summer, I decided that based on the date it was time to have my first Shipyard pumpkin head of the season! It was so good, I had one more. Nothing like beer at 10 on Sunday!

We hung around for quite awhile, enjoying our ale and chatting. Making great runner friends is a nice fringe benefit of nursing school!

This was such a great race, I think it may become a yearly event. 

Nursing School: A Day in the Life

Hey, remember me? I used to blog here. Then I decided to do an accelerated nursing program and now I'm having trouble finding time to do things like shower. So posts around here may be pretty sparse for awhile. Just so you understand why, here's what my life looks like now.

A Tuesday

4:45 Alarm goes off. I grumble and haul myself out of bed.

5-6 am Run. This week my headlamp decided to die exactly half-way through my run so I was stuck 3 miles away from home in the pitch black.

6-6:40 Shower/Breakfast/Internets

6:40-7 Drive to Spring Harbor

7-3 Mental Health Clinical
This is a pretty emotionally heavy experience. We usually break for lunch around 12:30 and then debrief during the last hour.

3-3:15 Drive to Maine Med. Eat a snack in the car.

3:15-6 Prep for my med-surg clinical the next day. This involves checking my patient assignment and then researching the patient's history, the pathophysiology of his/her conditions, all about his/her medications. I have a care plan to fill out with all of this information.

6:15 Get Home. Let dogs out.

6:15-7 Shove some food in my face. I am usually starving by the time I get home, so I've given up eating anything that takes more than 15 minutes to prepare. After I eat, I pack my lunch for the next day, set the coffee maker, pack my bag, and lay out my clothes.

7-8:30 Finish my care plan and do some other homework

8:30-9 Foam roll/yoga/strength training while watching TV

9-9:30 Get ready for bed and read

9:30 Attempt to fall asleep. I am usually exhausted, but still worrying about all the things I need to do that it takes me awhile to actually fall asleep.