Running in the Rain
So, since this is supposed to be half about life and half about running, I will actually post some running info. Let me first back up and say that I have been running for the last almost decade of my life. Only in the past about year and a half have I run "long distance." I used to consider long distance to mean anything over an 800 at one time. Sure I did some endurance runs of 2 miles or so, but nothing above a 5 K. I hurdled in high school and college. Now, I am an aspiring marathoner and triathlete. Yes, it is a bit of a change. I had to retool my thinking about running and my cardiovascular capacity.
So, last May I ran my first half marathon. I was less than impressed with my starting corral and finish time. I got to about mile 10 and then felt like my feet were bleeding for the last three miles. No, they weren't bleeding, but they sure felt like it. Anyways, I started in corral W. Eventhough I just recently had switched to running distance, I still ran a sub 8 mile for extended mileage. So, starting in W was like putting Meb in with people who run an 8 hour marathon. Okay, yes I just compared myself to Meb. Probably shouldn't have, but... If you don't know who Meb is then check out this website. Meb
Anyways, I finished in 1:50:39. Not bad for a kid who just started running distance and had to weave through traffic for 8 miles solid. I had planned on running another half in Sept, but I sprained my ankle almost to the point of breaking it (I had almost no ligament left in my ankle). So, I had to cancel those plans.
Which brings us somewhat up to speed with today. I ran 2 miles this morning at a pace of about 7 min/mile in the rain around the neighborhood. I felt like I was running my first 2 miles again. I was going to do 5K, but I couldn't get motivated to do it. So I turned around at the mile mark and headed back in. I sped up a bit on the way back.
Since my half marathon it has seemed so hard to motivate myself. Maybe its because I don't have a set schedule anymore. I was following a Hal Higdeon schedule for last May. It worked pretty well. I fit my workouts into my study schedule for school. It was okay training by myself because of the flexibility, but I think that I need to find a training partner who will push me to train harder. Difficult with the rigors of medical school studying, but plausible.
I think that the other problem is that I don't crosstrain enough to allow my body and my mind time to recover. I just recently bought a Trek 1200, almost brand new. I had a chance to ride in Colorado and loved it. It was almost better than running. I love going fast, so the bike was a big hit. Maybe the problem is that I need to set more goals. I see people around me setting goals all the time and it seems to work for them. I tried it a bit in college with running times. It seemed to work fairly well.
Maybe the lack of motivation thing is not just limited to running. I have lost a lot of my motivation for running, but I love to lift and bike. I know that I have also lost my motivation for medical school. Sure, on the outside I seem like a driven person. I write like a person who is driven towards something, always stiving for to be the best. I love competition. I crave competition. Believe me medical school affords competition. I used to think that I would love medical school and devote it towards my dad's memory (my dad died when I was 17). Lately it seems like my interests are changing towards something else. I used to want to be a cardiologist or cardiovascular surgeon. A noble specialty, but one that requires total dedication. Dedication to patients, the hospital, and to competition. Medicine is a lot of competition (for a residency, for a fellowship, for an attending position, for patients). Now, I feel myself drawn towards sports med or ortho. I still would like to make my father proud, but it seems now like I was doing it for the wrong reasons. I know this is a bit circuitous. I'm getting to the point.
I feel that I would be letting him down if I changed my goals. I know that he would be/is proud of me, but it seems like that was the reason for me to go to medical school. To pay homage to my father's memory and to the physician that saved his life. Hell, that's what I wrote on my personal statement. This is might be from where my lack of motivation stems. Its just that I'm drawn to other aspects of medicine and have different priorities than I used to. I know that might sound unenlightened and dare I say juvenile to many people, but at this point it is a decision that I ponder most days.
So, if my goals about my career are changing, are my running goals changing? Is this lack of motivation a symptom of the realization that I have changed my running priorities? Or the fact that I don't have a set schedule to work from? Possibly that I don't yet have a date from which to set down a plan? Or that I'm simply unmotivated because I don't yet have a competition to drive me?
I apologize for the lack of continutity and randomness of the flow of thoughts. Sometimes the thoughts flow in no specific order.
So, last May I ran my first half marathon. I was less than impressed with my starting corral and finish time. I got to about mile 10 and then felt like my feet were bleeding for the last three miles. No, they weren't bleeding, but they sure felt like it. Anyways, I started in corral W. Eventhough I just recently had switched to running distance, I still ran a sub 8 mile for extended mileage. So, starting in W was like putting Meb in with people who run an 8 hour marathon. Okay, yes I just compared myself to Meb. Probably shouldn't have, but... If you don't know who Meb is then check out this website. Meb
Anyways, I finished in 1:50:39. Not bad for a kid who just started running distance and had to weave through traffic for 8 miles solid. I had planned on running another half in Sept, but I sprained my ankle almost to the point of breaking it (I had almost no ligament left in my ankle). So, I had to cancel those plans.
Which brings us somewhat up to speed with today. I ran 2 miles this morning at a pace of about 7 min/mile in the rain around the neighborhood. I felt like I was running my first 2 miles again. I was going to do 5K, but I couldn't get motivated to do it. So I turned around at the mile mark and headed back in. I sped up a bit on the way back.
Since my half marathon it has seemed so hard to motivate myself. Maybe its because I don't have a set schedule anymore. I was following a Hal Higdeon schedule for last May. It worked pretty well. I fit my workouts into my study schedule for school. It was okay training by myself because of the flexibility, but I think that I need to find a training partner who will push me to train harder. Difficult with the rigors of medical school studying, but plausible.
I think that the other problem is that I don't crosstrain enough to allow my body and my mind time to recover. I just recently bought a Trek 1200, almost brand new. I had a chance to ride in Colorado and loved it. It was almost better than running. I love going fast, so the bike was a big hit. Maybe the problem is that I need to set more goals. I see people around me setting goals all the time and it seems to work for them. I tried it a bit in college with running times. It seemed to work fairly well.
Maybe the lack of motivation thing is not just limited to running. I have lost a lot of my motivation for running, but I love to lift and bike. I know that I have also lost my motivation for medical school. Sure, on the outside I seem like a driven person. I write like a person who is driven towards something, always stiving for to be the best. I love competition. I crave competition. Believe me medical school affords competition. I used to think that I would love medical school and devote it towards my dad's memory (my dad died when I was 17). Lately it seems like my interests are changing towards something else. I used to want to be a cardiologist or cardiovascular surgeon. A noble specialty, but one that requires total dedication. Dedication to patients, the hospital, and to competition. Medicine is a lot of competition (for a residency, for a fellowship, for an attending position, for patients). Now, I feel myself drawn towards sports med or ortho. I still would like to make my father proud, but it seems now like I was doing it for the wrong reasons. I know this is a bit circuitous. I'm getting to the point.
I feel that I would be letting him down if I changed my goals. I know that he would be/is proud of me, but it seems like that was the reason for me to go to medical school. To pay homage to my father's memory and to the physician that saved his life. Hell, that's what I wrote on my personal statement. This is might be from where my lack of motivation stems. Its just that I'm drawn to other aspects of medicine and have different priorities than I used to. I know that might sound unenlightened and dare I say juvenile to many people, but at this point it is a decision that I ponder most days.
So, if my goals about my career are changing, are my running goals changing? Is this lack of motivation a symptom of the realization that I have changed my running priorities? Or the fact that I don't have a set schedule to work from? Possibly that I don't yet have a date from which to set down a plan? Or that I'm simply unmotivated because I don't yet have a competition to drive me?
I apologize for the lack of continutity and randomness of the flow of thoughts. Sometimes the thoughts flow in no specific order.
posted by runrMD08 at 11:33 PM
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