Stepping Up In Movement & Mindside

So the last week has been interesting in terms of training with a step up to 75KMS in running and additional daily sessions to maintain my optimal conditioning. It has been at this point in the past where the computer has said NO aka the body has thrown a tantrum and expressed displeasure in the form of pain. Prior to Gold Coast marathon I rationalised this injury with my professional brain and took the required rest to return to pain free motion. Prior to Singapore 4 months ago however I allowed it to be an excuse to stop my training completely leading to a sub-optimal performance. What was the difference between these two periods in my life (apart from a month in the USA & Mexico which involved way to much Tequila and PBR). It was a solid mindset that had the foundation of a deeply rooted goal.

Laying Groundwork

To explain my brain a little further – ever since I was a young fella I’ve always performed better with a deadline approaching. It was always easier to procrastinate and daydream rather than suck the lemon early which in hindsight would have saved a lot of early morning study sessions and sleepless nights. However when it came to the moment I would always get by because I had an end goal to work towards (passing an exam, performing well in a production or on the sporting field). Problem was that I didn’t realise that I was happy being content, playing it “safe” to survive rather than thrive. This wasn’t an issue at the time as things such as parties and progressing socially were more important to dedicate my time to.

The Beauty of Growing Up

As I have gotten older and more ambitious with my goals (I’d put olympic qualifying as pretty ambitious) the margin for error has gradually reduced which has meant focus becomes more imperative. Leading up to the Gold Coast Marathon the focus was laser pointed as it was my last chance to Qualify for Boston 2017 which I had proclaimed to everyone for two and a half years would be my 30th birthday celebration. Co-incidently I made my qualifying time of 3 hours by 37 seconds. Now I was immensely proud as only 2% of people to run a marathon will toe this line and I was now one of that select few but because it had come again without many “sacrifices” I took it for granted without knowing.

Is it Really a Sacrifice?

This takes us to Singapore when a niggley neural calf 8 weeks out ended up as an excuse to incoherently cut my training loads and increase my extra-curricular activities, mainly drinking and eating way to much. It wasn’t that I didn’t have a goal (In my head I wanted to run a 2:50 in Singapore) but there was no reason bigger than myself for having that goal. For the Boston Qualifying time the underlying drive was the thought that if I didn’t make the qualifying time that I would be letting down all those people I had proclaimed my intentions to…not just myself. Those people probably would have still loved me unconditionally if I didn’t make the time but it solidified and deepened to roots of the goal. For Singapore I didn’t have that as I had not deeper reason for running the 2:50 apart from a loose notion that it would signify progress. This allowed my conscious mind to make excuses up for not putting in the hard yards and thus my result was not ideal.

The Lightbulb Moment

Since that point in time 3 months ago a switch went off inside me again as the deadline of the marathon started beaming like a strobe light, again I’d say slightly because of the fact I’ll have a large cheer squad there and want to put on a good performance. More importantly though I really delved into my personal reasons for not just running but competing at a high level including my legacy, my hyper competitiveness and the dopamine and endorphin highs it provides. By having a greater knowledge of my motivations it allowed me to not be sidetracked by menial distractions such as injury, bad weather and tiredness that could again de-rail the Funk train. When planning your goals whether sport, health relationship, life or other take heed of this and determine the inner working behind your wants as to make them easier to attain.

I’m Not Wearing Any Underwear!

The medical & health profession is seen in most cases as being very clinical – probably due to the fact that most of our work occurs within clinics. Whilst this is the case when you are in the people business there are always funny situations you get caught in seemingly on a daily basis. The premises that made scrubs such a popular television show in the naughties was a satirisation of life within a hospital setting whilst still treating the content with serious reverence when appropriate. If you are a fan of JD and his multitude of awkward situations then you will appreciate the following story.

Fresh-Meat

My first job out of university was in a laid back seaside town on the Northern NSW coast in Australia. Yamba was supposed to only be my home for 12 months but ended up stealing my heart enough to lead me spending 2 stints and 6 years surfing, hitting up the bowlo & being funky. Now being on the coast there was a pocket of the community that was charmingly alternative which was very different to what I experienced growing up in Darwin (It’s alternative in a completely different way). So treating as a new practitioner you had to be wary of the words you used in addressing clients.

Slip of the Tongue

This was no more evident than in my first week of clinical practice. Here I was trying to save the world one back at a time so I was being very thorough with every person I met. Early one morning I had a lovely bohemian lady come and see me in a flowing sundress.

Setting the Scene

After discussing within the subjective examination what she was seeing me for I was ready to get down to discovering a diagnosis to give her some relief. I asked her that while I left the room to take off her dress however she could leave on her underwear on so that we could assess her movements. Thinking nothing more of it I stepped outside the room and prepared my thoughts “I’m thinking that she may have a facet joint impingement so lets look at her quadrant test”. She sung out – “Ready” & in I went to face the music.

Red Faces

Looking back on my words and knowing the lady well now I see where it all went wrong but at the time all I could think when walking in was “They don’t teach us about this at uni”. Here she was standing in her undergarments as I asked however I didn’t think that the only thing underneath would be a very brief pair of knickers. Being speechless and no doubt going slightly red (which is not something I was used to) she stepped in with kind words…”Don’t worry mate it’s nothing you haven’t seen before”. True I suppose but wasn’t really conducive to effective treatment at that time. I quickly told her to get a towel and over herself up and ran out of the room like a rat up a drain pipe. Looking back now it probably wasn’t the smoothest transition out of the room but as a 21 year old practitioner I had no prior experience to draw on. All wasn’t lost though as she thought it was a laugh and I’ll always be appreciative of her assistance in making a molehill of what I thought was Mount Fuji.

Life’s Too Short For Mediocre Underwear

I’d love to say that was my only Turk moment over the past 8 years in practice but that would be far from the truth. What I’ve learnt over time though is the calmer you can be when you encounter them and if you can see the lighter side it makes the outcome much less drama filled & leads to future scrub-like stories. Since that moment though I have always offered a towel or asked if the client is wearing underwear before examining – it saves having to explain to your receptionist awkward facial expressions!

Help From The Bench

Shout out today to Cloud9Jewels for the picture of the beautiful sundress in the column.Check out their shop on Etsy but remember underwear is a necessity.