Cool-Down Lap

Back in the days of my athletic prowess as a star player bench-warmer on my high school lacrosse team, we used to have timed 2-mile runs before lots of practices.  After you finished that 8th lap on the track, you had to walk one more lap to cool down, because stopping suddenly could probably kill you... or something like that.  This 10-day glorious vacation feels a little like that cool-down lap.  We've been going-going-going, and really pushed it out for our last exam on the 23rd which was on dermatology and cardiology (two subjects that naturally fit well together), and then suddenly it was over and we have over a week off from school.



But if they gave us NOTHING to do over break, then it would be like coming to a complete stop after running two miles, and we might get muscle cramps.  So thankfully they scheduled a test for us on January 4 to make sure we maintained a slight jog throughout break.  Don't get me wrong, up through Christmas we (I'm assuming all of us) were in the stage of hands on your knees, slightly doubled-over, huffing and puffing, can't move even another step.  But now I'm back up to a slow jog.



This test is for our Physician's Core class, Advanced Physical Diagnosis.  It's pass-fail, so no one seems to take it that seriously, but we've been warned that it's quite possible to fail, and we've seen the proof in the unhappy-looking third-years that show up to our lectures each week.  Not wanting to be THAT third-year, I am doing what I call relaxed-studying over break.  While my family watches TV, I sit with them ...but with my Physical Exam text book open.  When my family needs help cleaning up the kitchen, I can claim I'm too busy studying (shh, don't tell them).  And for a couple hours every couple days, I am actually legitimately studying.


The problem with this cool-down lap though, is that it's not really a cool-down lap at all because at the end of it it's not like we get to hit the showers, drink gatorade, and talk sh*t about our coach (what? we never did that in high school...).

intervals, nooo

So it's really more like my most dreaded runs in high school - intervals - where you sprint the long side of the field, then jog the short end, then sprint the long end, etc. etc. for like, a million hours 20 minutes.  Right now we're jogging along the short edge of the field, but that long edge is coming up again soon.  In high school, I would get so behind during the sprinting portion that during the jogging portion I would try to make up for it and catch up to everyone, of course making me that much more tired when the sprinting section came back and pulling me further behind.  Luckily I'm a much better studier than I am a runner, and I'm saving up most of my studying energy for our 5-month sprint when we return.  Now, if only you burned the same amount of calories from studying as you do from running...

My middle school lacrosse team. I'm goofy-looking #16

[I very recently discovered this ability to cross words out.  Expect to see more of it in the future right now.]