(Half)-Marathoning Medicine
Written by Mimi Lyang
So, do you want to pick up a hobby and remain balanced during medical school? You sound like me in 2020. Before the pandemic, I had always wanted to start running but lacked experience and didn’t know how to start. Additionally, whether it was that I didn’t have enough time in the day or I was secretly too embarrassed to be seen huffing and puffing on a run, I always found an excuse. Then, the pandemic hit. Classes went online and I was able to move home for a bit. This was the serendipitous catalyst for my running journey. On March 11, 2020, I ran my first mile in a long time - it was rough. Now, exactly two years later, I’m set to run a half marathon! As medical students, we’re busy and it’s hard to find the desire and time to run. Keep reading for some tips on how to start your running or exercise journey.
1) Find others to run with
Running with someone else is more fun than running alone and can make dreadful runs go by faster. However, what I think is more important is having people who are also on a similar journey as you are. For example, when I started running, I had friends who also had just started around the same time. It was so exciting to inspire and challenge each other as we slowly increased our mileage week by week. We all made Strava accounts (an app where you can log your own runs/workouts and see your friends’ runs too), and if I said I didn’t occasionally see the friendly competition as motivation, I’d be lying.
2) Be patient
You know how people say medical school is a marathon, not a sprint? Well, there’s a reason we use that analogy. Running is a very long, tedious, but rewarding journey. You have to put in the work and trust the process. As you start building your strength and endurance, you’ll notice your body adjusting. The first few runs will be a struggle, but you’ll slowly start to notice your heart, lungs, legs, and mind grow stronger. After all, I believe that running can be more of a mental challenge than a physical one.
As the intensity of your running increases, nagging injuries may present as obstacles. Within my first few months of running, I had experienced pain/stiffness in each of my bilateral hips, knees, and ankles - all at different times. So just like you have to be patient in waiting to see cardiovascular improvement, you also have to be patient with how hard you push yourself. Whenever I got injured, I was so eager to get back to running because I wanted to see more improvement. This was just prolonging my injuries and sidelining me even longer. Make sure to prioritize strength and balance exercises to stabilize your joints and ligaments. And stretch before and after runs!
3) [Try to] have fun
A lot of the time we may default to focusing on our pace/how fast we are running, rather than the slow and steady growth as I mentioned above. In the end, the only person you are competing against is yourself. The most important part is that you’re making improvements and enjoying yourself along the way. Although running is both mentally and physically challenging, it should be somewhat enjoyable. :)
Finding and establishing hobbies during medical school will only help us in residency and beyond. Hopefully, you’ll find these tips helpful!
Got questions for Mimi? Find her on Twitter at @mimilyang.
