Taking risks

Last week was by any standard, one of the best weeks of my life. It feels like something new has began. A new chapter. New adventures. I had my first med school interview. I was on the bus on my way there, dressed in a suit, polished shoes, stomach in a knot. And yet, I felt a strange sense of exhilaration. I had no idea what to expect from this interview, and yet I felt almost for sure that it was going to be great, that something really exciting was to begin. And so it did. I had a ton of fun talking to people, learning about the school, visiting the hospitals: it seemed less as an interview and more like a fun day planned at a new place. The doctor I interviewed with was really great. She told me about her career; how she made her decisions about what kind of medicine to do. From every word she said I could feel her passion and enthusiasm for what she did. She said she realized that things weren't always perfect, that there was no pretty pink place. But she was absolutely 100% certain that this was the place where she wanted to be more than any other. When we parted, she said she had hoped our paths would cross again in the future. I really do hope so too. My other meeting with a Rheumatologist - who knew my current boss pretty well - was also very laid back and informative. My favorite part: he seemed really interested in me as a person, not just as a scientist or the "owner" of a project (which is how I think my boss feels about us: projects in the lab). He also said something I was really touched by: he said that when I walked into his office and shook hands with him, he had the sense that there was something athletic about the way I carried myself. :)

Even before I went to this interview I had made a decision: I was going to be myself and only myself. Not trying to pretend that I was someone I thought they would want to admit into their medical school. Of course, I know I have to be polite and work within their rules. But as for the interviews, if I don't click with someone, it's all right. If they don't like me, I probably shouldn't go there. Being genuine and really honest is sometimes taking a risk. The risk of exposing yourself in a way. Whether it's a professional situation or something more personal. And it can be scary. But at the end of the day, the only thing worth doing is being yourself.

Sometimes it's hard to see that people appreciate the honesty. I've always had the feeling that most people are sort of scared by it, because it necessitates them being more genuine as well. I am now cautiously hopeful that I came across someone who does appreciate it and is genuine. I took a chance and boy I am glad I didn't stop myself because of all the people in the world who had taken advantage of that before. But let's not get ahead of myself now, baby steps in the right direction, baby steps. :)

So then the week had ended and there was the weekend. Saturday morning I was standing in my corral with Rachel at the start of my first 4 mile race this year. I've been focusing on longer distances trying to improve on the half marathon hoping that it will translate into a better marathon. At the same time I have been feeling really great about my running. I know I have gotten faster since last year's marathon: this year I have set new PRs on all the distances I ran. So here was the 4 miler. It's significant because NYRR calculates each person's pace by their best 4M race. For the past 3 years or so, my pace has been 8:04 min/mile. It has been printed on every single bib I have worn to any race. And the race where I ran that pace, I remember almost puking at the finish line. A good sign that I gave it all, but also a sign that I wasn't all that in shape. Finally this weekend the weather had cooled down. Saturday was an absolute perfect running day. So Rachel had a plan for me. She would pace me for the first two miles, trying to keep me at an 8:00 min/mile pace and then let me go (she hasn't been training much lately, so she didn't plan to race this run). I am usually terrified of starting out too fast and running out of steam. Slow starts are my speciality. I usually manage to gain some speed during races, but 4 miles are not really enough to make up for lost time on the first 2 miles. So I decided to give it a shot. Start at a pace faster than I would normally and see where I am halfway. Rachel's encouraging words: "Well, even if you don't make it, you've already had a pretty good week. This race is not going to make or break that." True true! So we ran up Cathill together, and at mile 1, I was just seconds inside 8:00. Then by mile 2, I was 15 seconds inside 16:00. And I didn't hit any walls. It felt great. I had the best "rabbit" in town! I got through the tough hills of mile 3, and finished beating my old best time by more than 1 minute ! My new NYRR pace is now officially 7:49 min/mile. :) For a few seconds after crossing the finish line, I was slightly concerned that the Nutella toast from that morning might make a come-back, but all was well and I managed to keep it down. And to crown my Saturday, I did this crazy thing called "The Red Dress Run". Worth more than a thousand words are these pictures:



All in all, awesome week, hoping for many more to come.