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Hello everybody! Welcome to Weigh-In Wednesday!

Please go check out my sweet co-host!

Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

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I'm doing something completely out of character today - I wrote this post on Tuesday instead of 5 minutes before anatomy lecture like most Wednesdays. That said, the code box still doesn't work so add that to my list of offenses in the blogging word.

To say my life has been a whirlwind would be an understatement - I'm floating in the middle of the ocean, trying to keep my head above water and I only took a week of swim lessons. Yeah...something like that. 

I knew med school was going to be hard. 
I knew I was going to be tired and I knew what to expect based on what other people said but knowing what to expect and actually experiencing something are two totally different things. 

I find myself cycling between intense emotions of love and hate with school - 

I hate that I don't have time to do a lot of the things I love

I hate that I can't see my family and friends

I hate that I don't feel like I can give 100% to all the areas of my life. 

But...

I love learning! 

I love being (somewhat) knowledgable about the human body. 

I love that my classmates have already become a family

I love how freaking cool medicine and science are! 

Most of all, I love that I am finally taking real steps towards being a physician.

At the end of the day, I have to remind myself that I chose this life. If I didn't want to put the time and energy in, I shouldn't have chosen this profession. 

The next month is going to be hellish - the Monday after Thanksgiving I have two exams (Anatomy and Hematology). The next Monday I have a Heme final and my final for Intro to Clinical Medicine (history and physical on a standardized patient). The last week I have an OMM written, practical, and Skeletal Muscle final. So - 7 exams in three weeks. I die. (I'll update you all on school later this week - I will blog!)

Anyway, weigh in things. I've been pretty bad at keeping track of things lately. Being swamped is no excuse but weight loss just hasn't been at the forefront of my mind. I'm hoping to get through the holiday season without gaining (maybe losing some) and then start fresh at the New Year with my mini marathon training. As of today, I'm still where I was last week. :/ 

Speaking of running...Thursday I will be running my very first 10K race in Cincinnati! At least I'm still working out a fair amount...

This past weekend I was a little concerned about being able to run 6.2 miles since I've never done it. I know you aren't supposed to do the full distance before a race (I never understood that...I can't just pull a mile out of nowhere without practicing first!) but something got ahold of me and I ended up doing 6.2 anyway! I planned to do 5 but I was in a groove so why not?

My left foot is still bothering me a little after long runs so I'm sure it will be a problem on Thursday but I'm doing it anyway. I think I just need to strengthen it since my left ankle has always been kind of lame. 

Oh, by the way,  it was FREEZING! Helpful hint - bring tissues when you run in the cold! I had to resort to using my glove as a tissue and it was nasty!

So Thanksgiving - I'm going home today, studying, running my 10K, going to Thanksgiving festivities and driving back to school Friday morning to study all weekend before my two exams. No time for wedding planning, no time for relaxation. It's going to be...thrilling. So let's do this!

To the person who asked last week, yes - I will still be updating but no, I'm not going to sacrifice study time to write. Passing classes >>> blog. Obviously I can't balance everything but I hope to catch up on EVERYTHING over Christmas Break!

Hope you all have a fantastic week and thanks for sticking with me! I'll get my stuff together here eventually!

What are you thankful for this year?

Any special Thanksgiving plans?

<center> <a <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">href</span>="www.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">prettystrongmedicine</span>.com" target="_blank"><<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">img</span> alt="Weigh In <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Wedneday</span>" <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">src</span>="http://i52.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">photobucket</span>.com/albums/g30/cheerxflip9/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">weighinbutton</span>-1.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">jpg</span>"/></a></center>

Hello everybody! Welcome to Weigh-In Wednesday!

Please go check out my sweet co-host!

Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

If you're new to the link-up, please leave a comment!

Post to come later today! 

<center> <a <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">href</span>="www.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">prettystrongmedicine</span>.com" target="_blank"><<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">img</span> alt="Weigh In <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Wedneday</span>" <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">src</span>="http://i52.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">photobucket</span>.com/albums/g30/cheerxflip9/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">weighinbutton</span>-1.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">jpg</span>"/></a></center>

Hello everybody! Welcome to Weigh-In Wednesday!

Please go check out my sweet co-host!

Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

If you're new to the link-up, please leave a comment!

Whoops...got to school today and realized I forgot to post! Sounds like a pretty regular event for me so I'm sure ya'll aren't surprised. Thank you for sticking with me over the past few months - I haven't been as interactive or up-to-date as I should be. I'm slowly getting into a good routine with school so I hope to be more active next semester! 

The weeks are flying by! First, the weigh-in. It's week three of boot camp and I've officially lost the 5 lbs I've be cycling up and down with for the past two months ..hopefully by next week I'll be at a number I haven't seen since before my 21st birthday! (which I will be sharing!) That brings the grand total to 21.4 lbs lost!

In other news, on Monday I had my first "Final Exam" for Scientific Foundations. No more basic science classes (provided I passed...)!!!  We are starting our Hematology systems course which will include EVERYTHING about the blood and associated structures - pathology, histology, physiology, etc. I AM SO EXCITED! I'm ready to put the science I've learned into a clinical context and actually know "doctor things" instead of cell signaling pathways with little to no context. I'm ready to attack this material and kill it because Foundations was a struggle. (More about med school in a future post).

Anyway, last week was pretty much spent like this:

or this.

Can you say "struggle bus?" And now I'm in recovery mode. I took Monday evening off after the exam and now I'm back to the grind! I'm really sad because I'm officially three weeks behind on American Horror Story & The Walking Dead. Also behind on Grey's Anatomy and Scandal...#smh Any idea where I can find AHS or TWD online?

Despite the shambly life I lead, I did manage to get some great workouts in last week - boot camp on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, a couple beautiful runs, and two yoga classes.

This was my long run from last week. This week I need to bust out 5 miles so I know I'll be ready for Thanksgiving! I was super slow that day but I had to do some walking. My left foot has been bothering me lately - I'm thinking extensor tendontitis - mostly my 2nd metatarsal. It usually only bothers me on longer runs - at boot camp I'm typically fine, even during sprints. I'm hoping that with ice and rest, it'll be fine for the race! 

I wish I would've taken pictures of yoga but I went to two classes last week! One of our classmates teaches yoga on Wednesday afternoons (fo free!) which is a great study break and way to relax - a few of the professors and other staff of the med school do it with us! I also tried a yoga studio in downtown Indy with a few classmates on Sunday. Unfortunately the hot yoga class was full so we just did the express un-heated class. I DEFINITELY prefer hot yoga but it was still a great experience and I'll be going back again for sure! 

Eating is probably my biggest obstacle - I try to eat as well as possible but sometimes it gets hard. I feel like when I study, I'm ALWAYS hungry. Plus, I usually look forward to meals because I don't make myself study during meal breaks so I want ALL the food. Haha - I'm in no danger of starving so I need to calm it down.

Homeade Apple Cinnamon Walnut oatmeal!

Salmon and Orzo from Trader Joe's

A treat after the exam! (I didn't eat all the PB cups in one sitting...over three days, don't worry!)

Nothing new to report for Wedding Wednesday - just continuing to work hard and hopefully be ready for dress shopping in a month or so!

Have you ever had foot issues while running?

<center> <a <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">href</span>="www.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">prettystrongmedicine</span>.com" target="_blank"><<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">img</span> alt="Weigh In <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Wedneday</span>" <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">src</span>="http://i52.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">photobucket</span>.com/albums/g30/cheerxflip9/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">weighinbutton</span>-1.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">jpg</span>"/></a></center>

Hello everybody! Welcome to Weigh-In Wednesday!

Please go check out my sweet co-host!

Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

If you're new to the link-up, please leave a comment!

Whew, these weeks are going quickly! I don't know where to begin! I'm in week 2 of bootcamp and things are going well! I've gotten used to waking up at 4:45 am three days a week. On Monday, my phone updated during the night and my alarm didn't go off. I ended up waking at 5:15 am which meant I wasn't going to make it to boot camp in time - instead of going back to bed, I marched my butt to the school gym for a 2 mile run and some weights! (and then I went to boot camp Tuesday to make up for it). I call that a personal victory!

Weigh In time: Down about 2 lbs from last week! But still stuck in the same 5 lbs that I've been losing and gaining for the last two months. Hopefully this is the start of something new...

My eating has been SOOOO much better lately - I've really been trying to reign it in this week. (but I still make room for my chocolate milk treat after boot camp!)

I forgot to mention, a couple weeks ago I ran my third 5K! My last 5k was July 4th which I ran in 35:45. This time, even in the cold & rain, I managed to reduce my time by 1:39! Slow and steady progress, right?

 

Ready to Run!

My next race is the Thanksgiving Day Race 10K! I hope I will survive it! I haven't run over 4 miles yet so I definitely need to be getting those long runs in the next three weeks! Hopefully this Boot Camp business will help me get through it! I'm really nervous.

Now it's wedding time! (I think I need to change this to Matrimony Monday or something! This is too much for one post). 

I made a quick trip back to Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon because Nick and I had plans to meet with the priest and go to mass at the church we are looking at for the wedding. We'll probably be putting a deposit down there this week! 

It's a very historic, gorgeous church at the top of a hill that overlooks the whole city! Perfect for us. I love how traditional Catholic churches are - I can't wait to start planning our Mass and doing our marriage prep! That will be the fun stuff :)

As for all other details, those will wait until Christmas Break! 

The view of Cincinnati - from Mt. Adams!