Guess what finally came in the mail?
Our first informercial purchase…the Perfect Tortilla! You can turn any tortilla into a tortilla bowl by baking it in the oven. No extra oil or butter.
I’m a fan.
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Yesterday morning I had to take our annual residency in-service exam. Basically, it’s a test we take every year that gives us and our program director a sense of where we stand compared to everyone else in our class and across the country. You can’t really fail it, but it can make you feel really stupid, which is how I felt during the physics section of the exam.
So that afternoon, I decided I oughta start reviewing physics and pulled up some online modules.
Folks, don’t try to learn physics while lying on your couch listening to Ray LaMontagne on Pandora. I was wide awake when Dean left me to run downstairs and grab his laundry and was out cold when he returned 5 minutes later.
Dean loves this Imgur website, and the other day we were both laughing at the following video clip (click on the picture):
When he found me upstairs passed out on the couch with my laptop laying on top of me, he decided to try to wake me up using my favorite food: chocolate. He apparently took a handful of chocolate chips and put them right by nose. Didn’t work. Wished he had taken a picture. haha.
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Running: So, I’ve pretty much decided I’m not doing RnR New Orleans anymore….looks like it will be a DNR for me (in medicine, that stands for Do Not Resuscitate…in running that stands for Did Not Run). Between getting brought down by the flu for several weeks, my knee, work, wedding stuff, and finances (i.e. saving up for extra expenses associated with the wedding and me having to travel to DC for a month right before the wedding for work/residency), it makes no logical sense to try to pull off a marathon right now, and honestly, I probably won’t start formerly training for one until after my boards next fall.
I have been and will continue to run regularly…lately I’ve been running 5-8 miles/day to every other day, but I’ve been doing it on the treadmill at a very, very comfortable pace, the kind of pace that I feel like I could run for hours at if I had the time. For me, that pace on the TM is about 6.9-7.1 mph with a slight incline. In one sense, it’s kind of disheartening when I realize how slow I’m running compared to what I am capable of, but at the same time, part of growing up is recognizing you have a lot more responsibilities, but still only 24 hours/day, and so you can’t do EVERYTHING at a 100% all the time. I think it is so hard for me to accept that with running, because there is always an objective measure staring you in the face with every run. I compare that objective measure (my pace), to what I know or think I am capable of, and it drives me nuts when I know I can do better. The problem with this, though, is that that so called “objective” measure doesn’t take into account all the other stressors and things going on in your life that affect your energy, motivation, and time. It’s not fair to yourself to expect yourself to run at a pace you did when you had less commitments, more free time, less stressors in your life, or when you were a 100% healthy.
So anyway, I’m sure I will be itching to race soon, but for now I’m just taking it one day at at a time and using my time running as a time to relax and zone out.
Sorry about the DNR but it sounds like you have so much going on this year. I’m the same way about comparing every run to the pace that I’m capable of running but sometimes it’s nice to just step back and enjoy a casual run and remember that running doesn’t always have to be about speed.
That taco shell thing looks awesome!
I think we runners have a tendency to be driven (stubborn) people, and so learning to chill out and run easy is one of the hardest things for many of us, at least for me! Yet, it’s probably just as important as those harder runs!
I’m in the same boat-itching to sign up for a race, but trying to finish up a graduate degree this semester and look for a job. We will be moving in June-where I have no idea-and every penny must be saved. I am looking to do a 50k in August or September, but that’s riding on the fact that I land a job in my field and have no issues travelling wherever it may be. In the meantime, I am taking your approach-just keep running!
You sound like you have a ton on your plate, too! Funny how when things are less busy, running becomes a fun yet self-competitive, physically intense activity for me. When things are busy and I’m more stressed, I actually feel like I need the (less intense type of) running more to keep me mentally grounded!
Ok now I need to start stalking infomercials, haha I want one of those tortilla salad makers!
Nothing wrong with taking a little time to back off things a bit and run because you love it. I think sometimes that’s what keeps me in love with running- when you run just for the love it, with no stress or pressure of a training plan. It’s a good thing to do sometimes. And I still don’t know how you do it, with everything you juggle on your plate! You are often my inspiration when I feel overwhelmed by how busy life is- I remember that you balance life as a resident with work & studying, training for marathons, blogging, wedding planning, family, boy and everything else. You’re a rockstar!
Thanks so much, Jenn! I don’t know how YOU do it….with all that you went through with that car accident. So many people could’ve used that as a reason to never exercise again, and yet here you are achieving great things with the running! THAT’s inspirational!! : )
I had looked into RnR NO, would be an expensive weekend. I think it’s a wise move with everything going on… there are tons of marathons in your future!!!
Exactly! There will always be marathons. Have you ever looked up marathonguide.com? There’s practically a marathon (or two or three), every single weekend!
It sounds like you are making the right decision based on your situation. There are pleanty of other races that you are going to crush! Waiting for the timing to be right can be tough, but it seems like you are making a smart decision.
Nodding my head at this right now! Timing is really everything, and it takes a few hard lessons of spreading yourself too thin to learn this doesn’t it?! This seems to be how my year is going to be playing out as well, and I’m feelin pretty good about that. I’ll race if I can, train if I want, and not have any guilt about doing other things. Think times like these are nice so that our bodies can piece themselves back together a bit too.
Spreading myself too thin has certainly taught me lessons! When I was younger and training competitively as a figure skater, I could put as much effort into my training as I wanted. I wish I could still do that with the running….I think that is natural for any of us who have ever competed in sports. You learn that success comes from working hard and making sacrifices. But as we get older, other things become important or come up, and you can’t make sacrifices if it jeopardizes relationships or your job or your mental well-being as you try to balance various things. Sometimes you HAVE to step back and not be in competition mode and take it day by day, and yet, that is so unnatural for so many of us!