Where to start... I ran/walked for 20 minutes yesterday so I guess you can say I’m making it big time! Oh also, I have a new last name. And I just submitted what is arguably the most important application of my life. So nothing really!

Okay, let me explain.

I fit 3 apples, 2 peaches, 4 avocados, a loaf of bread, and a pastry in my pack. And ran home holding a cucumber.

In June I was super stoked on life and running and flying out to California (aka home) for a month, having recovered from a stress fracture in my shin a few months before. I got to run up mountains, along the beach, to the farmers market, and to the hospital and back! But it wasn’t all fun and games--I was learning how to be a medical student again. I was at a family medicine program that teaches full spectrum surgery and obstetrics, which was an amazing and exhausting opportunity. And my shins hurt, but only sometimes.

Fast forward to my first weekend back in North Carolina, a long humid run with my teammates on the Tobacco Trail, and my shin starts zinging pain again during the last mile. Super lame! But I’m starting another rotation, this time at UNC and I’m determined to fit my miles in and get ready for the Chicago Marathon while acting as an intern in a new (huge) hospital and plan a wedding... so no time for wimping out! Except two days later when I can’t finish a run in Umstead on my way home, on day 2 of 14 with an emotionally exhausting family medicine inpatient service, because my shins hurt too much. So I email SWAP because I’m desperate and they have helped athletes through tons of bone injuries. And instead of saying “yes go get an MRI and do this and this” he said CHILL OUT and take 2 weeks off (and then get the MRI which we knew would show some more stress reactions). Wow, never thought of that before! Literally since I started running, I don’t think I had taken 2 full weeks off without cross training. But it was good timing because I’ve never worked harder in my life. I loved every second at UNC, even my week of nights and the time I left the hospital 45 minutes before my flight was leaving the airport.

I started crosstraining at the end of July and have made it my part time job since my med school schedule slowed down a little...but that’s about all that has! In August I flew to Big Birdcamp with Oiselle and then to California to get married. And I’m glad that worked out because my new biker quads almost didn’t fit into my wedding dress! Connor and I adventured through our old college town and favorite getaway spot, hiked a bunch, went paddleboarding, and watched a lot of sunsets before flying back home where we hiked some more and ate some more. I totally recommend that if you ever get injured, you should try to line it up with your wedding and honeymoon to keep your mind off of it (jk, jk).

On a more serious note, I do think I have learned a lot from being an injured athlete. This spring I was super grumpy and awful to be around, and I’d like to think I’ve been better this summer. I’m focusing on staying healthy this fall and chasing everything (not an exaggeration) in 2020.

I just applied to family medicine residency programs, and I’ll be interviewing across the country this fall. I want to be a doctor who loves every specialty, every age, and every type of person--and takes good care of them all. This makes perfect sense when you look at how I am as a runner. I’ve been mostly a marathoner, but my heart is out on a mountain trail somewhere, and I haven’t stopped talking about becoming a steeplechaser for at least the last year. I don’t care which goals I chase, I’m just excited to be chasing something I love, and really lucky I have fun with it all.

Even biking :)

Hey Erin, what's new?