Triathlon Premeds?

biobossx99 said:

Is it even possible to do an endurance sport while being premed?
I did crew for my first two years, but I had to quit cause class and research got wayyyy too intense.

I want to start up again with tri, anyone out there a triathlete and also premed? Tips?

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I do triathlons, play a club sport, am considering a marathon, volunteer, work as an EMT and do research and still go out once-twice a week. Basically, its all about time management. I study a ton better and have a lot less stress after I work out, which makes it a neccesity. On really stressful exam weeks, I try to run or swim more intensely and only train for 1 hour a day. Also, I take a rest day, and can adjust my training schedule if I need to. My grades have gone up since I started training. Hope this helps

biobossx99 said:

Is it even possible to do an endurance sport while being premed?
I did crew for my first two years, but I had to quit cause class and research got wayyyy too intense.

I want to start up again with tri, anyone out there a triathlete and also premed? Tips?

Click to expand...

I feel like half the pre-meds I met at my interview (myself included) were marathon runners. I think it goes with the perfectionistic/masochistic personality type.

i run and work out more in med school than i did in college. in college there's lots of time to do whatever you feel like doing. if you find you don't have time to work out, it's time to change something.

I've been trying to be able to do a triathlon, I was considering running the chicago one at the end of this summer, but I am thinking I will be taking the MCAT then so we'll see...

I am confident I can do the swimming (I swim 4000 yards a day 4X/week), as well as the biking (That's how I get to work in the summer).

Not to hijack the thread or anything, but are there any running tips out there for people training for trialthons (running is my least favorite of the 3)?

TP

biobossx99 said:

Is it even possible to do an endurance sport while being premed?
I did crew for my first two years, but I had to quit cause class and research got wayyyy too intense.

I want to start up again with tri, anyone out there a triathlete and also premed? Tips?

Click to expand...

I am hoping to continue with the tris once med school starts. I have a great triathlon training program software that is HR based called PC Coach. Like each new semester, I will give myself a few weeks of not training to see when there is available free time. Then you can plug in how many hours a week you can dedicate to training and it creates the workouts for you. Pretty sweet.

Good luck.

My freshman and sophomore year, I was on my school's gymnastics team and spent several hours a day practicing, but still had plenty of time to do well acedemically.. but I have to admit I didn't have a lot of time for other extracurriculars. I'd say it depends on how much time you want to spend training, or in other words the length of the triathlon you're going to be doing. I'd say it's definitely a reasonable goal, and hey, if it really starts to interfere, you can always put it on hold for later in life. And hey.. I've found studying while on the stationary bike or elliptical and listening to exam krackers while running to be great time savers

I worked out all through undergrad and during my postbac program, and plan to continue doing so in med school. I will always sacrifice an hour or two of studying any day to work out because it really helps to clear my head and it's relaxing.

I always tell myself that if I have time to watch t.v., I have time to work out.

unicorn06 said:

I feel like half the pre-meds I met at my interview (myself included) were marathon runners. I think it goes with the perfectionistic/masochistic personality type.

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I'll second that. Me and a bunch of my classmates are marathon runners. We've got an ex-pro-bicyclist too.

biobossx99 said:

Is it even possible to do an endurance sport while being premed?
I did crew for my first two years, but I had to quit cause class and research got wayyyy too intense.

I want to start up again with tri, anyone out there a triathlete and also premed? Tips?

Click to expand...

heh...you can't use being a premed as an excuse to not do cool things.

I think it goes with the perfectionistic/masochistic personality type.

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Distance runners arent masochistic...we're just a little bit different than most people. I ran alot during undergrad and did a little sprint triathalon. Never quite made it up to a marathon, but I did fairly well in the half that I ran. I was a chemistry major/biochem minor, so I had something like 8-12 hours of lab a week for most of college on top of 4 classes+taing+ec's. I'd always weigh the benefits of running for an hour versus cramming in another hour of study versus going to bed early. For me, running almost always won. It's all about fitting QUALITY, race specific workouts in the time you have. ie, if you're racing a sprint tri, no need to train for anything longer than a 5k run, a 20k bike and a 1k swim.

SirTony, check out these three sites or feel free to pm me with questions:
coolrunning.com- has a 'couch to 5k' program that's a pretty good starting point for running averse people (my favorite site)
runnersworld.com- has a bunch of different programs for starting up running
nikerunning.com- has all kinds of resources as well as a pretty cool online training log

DetectiveChubby said:

heh...you can't use being a premed as an excuse to not do cool things.

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You can if it's crew.

I'm glad someone started this topic cuz I'm a marathon junkie- did the Lakeshore and Chicago Marathon during my glide year and want to do a triathlon. Anyone here done the the olympic triathlon yet? There's one offered during July at Lake Placid.

I sometimes check out this site:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/default.asp

It's got great tips on how to train or start out if anyone's interested in doing an Ironman. I once met a nurse who completed one while working full time. Worked during the day and then biked/ran during the night. Crazy cool.

Wow. My friend's brother competed in the New York triathlon will in his third year of med school at NYU. How that was possible I do not know.

I just did an Ironman in between weeks of medical school interviews. 'nuff said. You can do lots of stuff while a premed. seriously.

biobossx99 said:

whoa, is it freeware?

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Doubt it since I got it as a gift for Christmas.

ironman05 said:

I just did an Ironman in between weeks of medical school interviews. 'nuff said. You can do lots of stuff while a premed. seriously.

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You suck. Great, not only am I going to be the dumbest person in my class, but I'm also going to be the fattest and the ugliest. You guys all run marathons? That's what I should be doing instead of sitting on my fat asian ass eating twinkies and thinking about how I should be studying for my exams. I hate all of you already.

I played at a top D1 baseball program, (rated number 4 preseason this year ) last year and the time committment was ridiculous. I stopped playing this year. If I would have continued to play I would have had to be in college at least 5 years while now I will be out in 2 years(4 total). I think I could have handled it and gotten a decent gpa but I would not have had a life outside of studying and baseball to do that. I also wanted to get all of the other experiences of preparing for medical school(shadowing, research, volunteer, working, etc). I now play intramurals which is fun, but not very competative. I would say if you want to do a club sport go ahead with it as long as it does not interfere with labs and other classes that are necessary.

It is most definitely possible. I have a few friends that have completed the Ironman during the first 2 years of med school.

Walter F. DeNino
www.nyctriconsult.com

biobossx99 said:

Is it even possible to do an endurance sport while being premed?
I did crew for my first two years, but I had to quit cause class and research got wayyyy too intense.

I want to start up again with tri, anyone out there a triathlete and also premed? Tips?

Click to expand...

I also plan on doing a triathlon when I am in med school or at least a marathon. A few years ago I did a mini-triathlon in Carlsbad (California). I think those who can manage their time well and are willing to put in numerous training hours will be able to participate in a triathlon or marathon. Good luck to all.

Anyone can always do a triathlon, the difference at what competitive level. And there are many distance for a tri race. Ironman distance training is brutal, so unless you have a serious base to work with, I would avoid that distance. Of course, it is possible but life would be eat, train, eat, study, eat, sleep, oh and train some more. Stay with the sprint distance, keep your girlfriend, and avoid the Sunday six hour training sessions.

I can't believe it. I have (had) a Polar S710i HRM with bike cadence kit. I had to change the battery for the first time a few days ago and I guess I didn't get the back on tight enough. Went swimming today and my watch immediately shorted out. I'm a boob.

To make this related to medicine: can I charge a new Polar S720i (the 710 is discontinued) to my Iowa med school account? j/k

biobossx99 said:

Is it even possible to do an endurance sport while being premed?
I did crew for my first two years, but I had to quit cause class and research got wayyyy too intense.

I want to start up again with tri, anyone out there a triathlete and also premed? Tips?

Click to expand...

I ran four marathons in '05 and I'm going to Boston next spring. Granted, marathon does not equal triathalon. I do have a good friend who did Ironman Spokane and Hawaii while maintaining a 4.0 but he is special. I certainly couldn't have done it.

It all comes down to priorities.

There is a pretty good book called "Triathlon Training in Four Hours a Week" if you are just looking to do a sprint distance tri. (I want to do my first tri this spring and this book seems pretty good.) Like everyone else has been saying, it is just a matter of time management....in this last year I have worked full time, run 6 marathons (little bit of a masochistic streak), taken a class blah blah blah. The grad students I work with put me to shame- one of the MD/PhD students has done a few tris and half marathons this year. So yeah, it's all about what you want to do with your time.

Just bought my new Polar S720i. I broke my other one yesterday. No movies and beer for me this month.

Anyway, once you do a tri, you will be addicted and will find the time to train. Digitally record lectures, put them on your MP3 and listen to them on your runs. I had my Audio Osmosis for the MCAT on my MP3 and listened to it for each run and while I was on my bike trainer.

Another good book for newbies is "Triathlon 101." I think it really gives you a good idea about what race day is going to look like. I was so intimidated by something I had not yet experienced (the swim start and swim course), but the book is so ture: you will se a HUGE range of abilities and STROKES. People who backstroke the whole thing, breaststroke, you name it. It is a great feeling to see so many different types of people who can call themselves triathletes.