As July rolls around here in Lakewood, my summer has kicked into full swing. I have been so busy this week that I have barely even had any time to be at my house. I picked up a 5th shift at Domino’s today, meaning that I work Thursday through Monday each week now on top of being at the PT all day on Tuesday and Wednesday. When I am not at one of those two places, the only other things that I have time to do are eat, run, and sleep! I love being busy, so on top of preparing myself for life after graduation, I am having the time of my life out here.
Tuesday and Wednesday at the clinic were both straightforward days. On Tuesday nearly all of the patients were only in for soft tissue work, either massage, scraping, or dry needling. This meant that I mostly had to just watch because I am not allowed to perform treatment. However, during lunch I had a great conversation with Kurt about the different ways to loosen a tight muscle, namely comparing the efficacy of stationary trigger point therapy versus massaging the entire muscle to relieve tension. I ended the day by getting more treatment on my ankle so that I can stay healthy through the summer build. Wednesday was much more exciting for me. Although Dathan Ritzenhein, the coach of OAC, had been out of town and Kurt could not ask him if I could come to the gym, three patients had extensive rehab routines that I supervised. This is far more engaging than just sitting and watching, and the patients are often more talkative while they are working out. Additionally, a patient during the middle of the day cancelled their appointment, so I was able to test my own form with the runeasi sensor to see the symmetry and lack thereof in my running form. Outside of one of the explosive tests due to ankle pain, I was almost perfect!
Outside of the clinic, I had a few fun group runs this week. On Monday, I ran with one of our recruits for the upcoming year. On Wednesday, I was able to pace my girlfriend on one of her first workouts of the summer! Then, on Saturday, we had a group of D3 all-Americans out in Boulder for a long run! One of my favorite parts about the running community is that you can approach anyone and very quickly become friends. Most of my best friends have been made this way. Summer running is a great time to build these relationships because nobody is stuck running with their team like during the school year. The upcoming week and the rest of the month are certainly going to be the busiest that I have ever been, but I will do my best to remember how much better this is than juggling school, work, and running once I get back on campus in the fall.