Marathon during intern year of Gen Surg?

[LaurieB]

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Would I be delusional to try to run the Chicago Marathon during my Gen surg intern year? The marathon is in October.

 

[PediBoneDoc]

it depends on your goal. it is doable. unless you have done them before, you should just plan to finish. i would give yourself 4 months to train (most do a 3 month schedule). it is likely that you will miss many training days during the week. the only day that is a must do is your long run. i would skip speed work and hill work. try to get your miles to 30+ per week. unless you are a running stud, that is going to take you about 5-6hours of running time.

chicago a flat marathon. it is usually cool (except for last year) and has a lot of support.

good luck

 

[njbmd]

Would I be delusional to try to run the Chicago Marathon during my Gen surg intern year? The marathon is in October.

A bunch of us from my former residency program(including my program director) ran the Marine Corps Marathon in DC in October during my PGY-1 year. His time was 3:10; mine was 4:40. A few hardy souls run that marathon every year but the loss of a toenail, made me give up my "budding" marathon career. It's definitely doable but as you can see, I didn't have a great time but I finished and the training was excellent for stress relief.

 

[Castro Viejo]

Would I be delusional to try to run the Chicago Marathon during my Gen surg intern year? The marathon is in October.

Well if it's anything like last year's marathon, you'll either drop dead or they'll call it early. 🙂

 

[Blade28]

Depends on a few factors:

*How long have you been running?
*Any previous marathon experience?
*How many miles per week are you currently logging?

 

[jubb]

I trained for and ran one when I was in undergrad. It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort. It's really easy to just not run on days when you are tired or worn out already, so a partner who can accommodate your schedule would be very very helpful.

Are you likely to match at a community program?
Do you have a significant other?
Would you struggle if you all you did was Run and go to work?
Do you have a running partner who will accommodate your schedule?

If you are at a community program with a little more time on your hands, and you don't have a significant other or other social responsibilities, I would think you could do it. It's really easy to just not run on days when you are tired or worn out already, so a partner who can accommodate your schedule would be very very helpful.

It's been about 6 years since I ran mine, and I'm starting to think it's a little over rated and am wondering why I put my joints thru that torture.

 

[Castro Viejo]

If you are at a community program with a little more time on your hands . . .

Ahem. Quite a common misconception is that a community program affords you more free time during the day, when in fact, we operate quite a bit more than some of our academic colleagues. And, if the program is anything like my medical school's "academic" program, the residents are sitting on their asses most of the time or transporting patients all day.

 

[LaurieB]

Thanks for all the candid advice. I am an on and off runner - currently not running much at all. Ran the Chicago half marathon last year and trained up to 16 miles for the heck of it. I ran a marathon several years ago.

I would like to join a running group, but I know that my schedule will make it tough to run with other people. I don't have a significant other to jump into running clothes at my beck and call.

I would really love to run Chicago since it is such a fun and great marathon.

Thanks again for the advice!
Laurie

 

[Blade28]

It's going to be tough, but doable, especially if you have a solid foundation of running (and it sounds like you do).

Figure that you'll likely be averaging around 20-40 miles a week leading up to the marathon, which is around 4-8 hours a week of running. That's certainly doable, especially if you're breaking that up into 3-4 runs a week (perhaps 1-2 short runs, a long easy one on the weekend, and alternating a tempo/speedwork one every week). But you gotta see how residency goes first - the initial months are always brutal.

 

[jubb]

Ahem. Quite a common misconception is that a community program affords you more free time during the day, when in fact, we operate quite a bit more than some of our academic colleagues. And, if the program is anything like my medical school's "academic" program, the residents are sitting on their asses most of the time or transporting patients all day.

I wasn't trying to knock community programs. What i was meaning though, is that you usually don't get stuck at the hospital waiting to round or doing crap work until late in the evening or get behind cuz of inefficient departments or nurses and stuff. Usually when the operating is done you go home, even if that means 4 o'clock some days.

I don't think you'll make it to the running club often enough. But it's better than nothing.

 

[SLUser11]

Usually when the operating is done you go home, even if that means 4 o'clock some days.

We do? Oh, I didn't know that.....thanks for telling me what my program is like so I can better understand.






Just kidding, I'm not really pissed.....just want to participate in one of these threads, and don't want to argue about football.

That being said, the comment that if you're at a community program, you'll have more time on your hands is ironic, based on my experience at several university programs.....

 

[Winged Scapula]

Not trying to be argumentative either jubb, but where did you get the idea that community hospitals are more efficient or that you go home at the end of the day when the operations are over?

It was true that when I rotated at our VA, it basically shut down at 3:30, so we left, but we still had work to do after the OR...rounding on inpatients, putting in orders, checking the ED for patients piling up that they hadn't called yet about (we took home call) and then going back to the mothership for conference, etc. Of course, there is studying for boards once your cases are done as well (something commonly forgotten by outsiders..."80 hours" doesn't mean you don't do any more work - either in house or at home - after 80 hours).

 

[jubb]

fine fine fine. I have very limited experience. I've only been at one academic center and have compared it to the community programs I've seen, or the residents I've talked with at community programs, or the hospitals I've rotated at. I'll retract my generalization.
[/generalizations]

[Apology = "sincere"]
All programs are good and should not be generalized.
[/apoology]

 

[Winged Scapula]

fine fine fine. I have very limited experience. I've only been at one academic center and have compared it to the community programs I've seen, or the residents I've talked with at community programs, or the hospitals I've rotated at. I'll retract my generalization.
[/generalizations]

[Apology = "sincere"]
All programs are good and should not be generalized.
[/apoology]

You are welcome to generalize...just label it as so. 😉

Seriously, just wondering what experiences you had...that's all.

 

[Kubed]

Oh... everyone is talking about running. When I read "marathon" I thought about something else... something much, much more nerdy:

 

[Blade28]

OK I have no idea what that logo is. 😕

 

[Kubed]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_(computer_game))

Marathon was a video game from the mid 90's that was made by the same guys that make Halo. It was one of the first big first-person shooters to have a multiplayer mode.

 

[Blade28]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_(computer_game))

Marathon was a video game from the mid 90's that was made by the same guys that make Halo. It was one of the first big first-person shooters to have a multiplayer mode.

Really? 😕

Goldeneye?
Perfect Dark?
Duke Nukem?
Doom 3D?

Etc.

 

[Kubed]

Really? 😕

Goldeneye?
Perfect Dark?
Duke Nukem?
Doom 3D?

Etc.

Goldeneye-1997
Perfect Dark- 2000
Duke Nukem- 1996
Doom 3D- 1993... up to 4 players directly linked
Marathon- 1994 ... up to 8 players directly linked or remotely linked (although the online server didn't come online for a while)

Admittedly Doom is a better known game and more people have multiplayer experience with it. Marathon gets remembered because it was the foundation that halo was built upon.


... now Quake in 1996, that was life changing! ... at least for us nerds 😀

 

[pseudoknot]

Longtime Mac users remember Marathon as one of our only good Mac-only games in that era...

 

[Blade28]

Doom 3D- 1993... up to 4 players directly linked
Marathon- 1994 ... up to 8 players directly linked or remotely linked (although the online server didn't come online for a while)

Admittedly Doom is a better known game and more people have multiplayer experience with it. Marathon gets remembered because it was the foundation that halo was built upon.

Ah, gotcha! 👍

I have fond memories of playing Doom 3D back in 8th grade and 9th grade. Good times!