Complete insanity...training for an ironman during MSII

[Lucid_Dialectic]

During finals this last spring I struck up a conversation with an MSII who was studying for the USMLE and had just completed an ironman. Can you believe that...training for a full ironman...juggling a path, pharm, etc...and studying for your boards. After that I realized that just about anything is possible. I thought we could get a thread going with a ticklist of events that SNDers are training for.

I'll get things started...

Fountain Mountain Half Ironman (October)
Phoenix Marathon (January)

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[coachB]

training the first two years is easy. third year is when it gets difficult.

 

[miler]

Port Macquarie (Australia) Half Ironman 70.3 Nov. 5
Australian Ironman April 1 2007
Various other shorter events throughout the year
(Hopefully!!) Hawaii IM 2007.......

I think that if done properly, training and studying can be done very effectively together. There is actually a fourth year med student at the university of Melbourne, AUS, who is a very successful pro triathlete (Mitch Anderson.) I've e-mailed with him about his training and he tends to stack a lot of it into the weekends, such as two big rides during the weekend, with some swims and a transition run during the weekend as well, and then fit your long run in on a morning during the week. That way a lot of the week when you are busiest you can do just one or two shorter workouts per day.

A plan like this has really helped me fit it all in around my studies.

A thread about medicine and triathlon...I love it.

 

[coachB]

miler, are you in oz?

not to take anything away from mitch, because he's an outstanding athlete, medical student or not. however, my impression in talking with him and others, is that the demands of medical school in australia are pretty different compared to the american system. he seems to have much more freedom to take time off, especially during clinical training, than i ever could imagine. i think it's just a different system. in the end, aussie doctors are certainly as well trained, but the course is just a bit different.

best of luck with your racing

 

[miler]

Hi CoachB, yes, I am in Aus. (An American studying here..)
You are correct to an extent. The demands are a tad bit different here, we probably don't do quite as much busy work as US students do (which can actually be quite beneficial in the long run, so I'm not knocking it...)and we probably spend more time in teaching sessions with the doctors we are following. That said, I'm usually in the hospital for about 9 hours/day, and during my surgery months it was 12 every day. Difference is I am usually able to sneak away to the library for about 1.5-2 hours in the middle of the day to get a head start on my studying, so that I can devote an hour or two more to training at night.
So, yes, I would have to agree that the system here is a little better for fitting in the demands of training. I would agree that Mitch, because he is a scholarship athlete, has been able to mold his course to fit his lifestyle much more than I have been able to, but my situation isn't too bad. We'll see how my training goes next year when I do all of my electives in the US! I think that the philosophy of one workout per day during the week and stacking huge days on the weekend will hold up quite well... (I hope!)

I really feel that it comes down to the student's dedication to both school and their sport, because it can be done no matter which system you're in. I have friends back home who have become quite successful triathletes and elite runners while in US med schools, several of them competing in the Olympic trials while in med. Not an easy life, but possible.

Judging by your name, do you coach triathletes? And good luck in your races as well!