Derby Training Week 14... Recovery

It's one of those moments that sticks with you...

There I was, a first year medical resident on the surgery service. Low man on the totem pole. It was Saturday morning. First day of gun season (for deer) in Michigan. My senior surgical resident called in sick. Then the junior surgical resident called in sick - or rather - his wife and kids were sick and he had to stay home to care for them. Then the first year surgical resident had a family emergency and had to go home. So that left me, who wasn't even a surgery resident, carrying the entire surgery service for the hospital. Then we got a big trauma - some guy who was unlucky enough to have got shot in the head AND chest while deer hunting... it was a sucky day.

So later, the senior surgery resident, who I got along with really well and had a hell of a lot of respect for told me this... He was responsible for everyone on the service and he felt bad calling in sick. However, he was really sick. In the medical profession you spend a whole whole lot of time being a student of sorts. You are an adult. You've graduated college. You've even graduated med school. But then you're a resident and treated like a kid again. At some point though, you will become top dog and there will be no one else to tell you what to do. You are an adult. You will have to decide what to do. You have to be responsible for yourself. You will have to decide if you are too sick to go to work or not. No one is going to send you home from work and there will be no one to ask permission to leave work. If you don't give yourself permission to be sick, no one else will.

This is so true. It's something I see regularly at work. It's adults seeking permission to be sick. It's obvious they're sick. They have a fever of 103. They're throwing up. They feel like crap. Then they say, "Do you think I should stay home?" Duh. What do you think I'm going to say? These are the normal hard-working people* who go to work everyday for a living. They don't need work notes to call in sick yet they want someone else to validate the fact that they are sick and want permission to call in sick.

So, long story short, we're all adults and you have to know when to say when.

Last Saturday after my race was when. I went to work after my race and felt fine. And then I didn't. And then I really didn't. My stomach hurt. I thought I was hungry. I tried to eat. It just made me nauseous and my stomach hurt more. Then all my insides felt like they were going to fall out. It got to the point where I couldn't concentrate on anything I was doing because I was too fixated on either getting to the bathroom or trying to calm my belly cramps. I finally threw in the towel with 3 hours left in my shift.

"Hey guys, I have to go home."

No questions asked. My co-workers booted me out the door. No one wanted to catch whatever badness I had.

I made it home and got as far as my couch. From there I just wanted to die. Sunday was just a lost day. After 24 hours of popsicles and saltines though, I felt a little better. Monday, I ventured out for a run...

So this was a recovery week. Perfect timing. I needed all kinds of recovery. My body needed recovery. My soul needed recovery from this never-ending winter. The sun finally came out. I spent the week running outside. Never mind that it was windy; I was outside in the sun!!

So here's how the week went. All my runs were relaxed and outside.

Monday - 6 miles
Tuesday - 5 miles
Wednesday - kettlebell class, 5 miles
Thursday - 6 miles
Friday - kettlebell class, 12 miles

Week 14 Total Miles: 34

Next week is my last BIG week before the taper. This is it! Time to get all my serious training done. Time to really get my head in the game.


*as oppose to some of our "regulars" who come in for a work note once a month because they've not gone to work that day for some reason or another and need a note saying they've been to the hospital; the ones that ruin it for everyone else and make some employers require work notes