I have been trying to train for a marathon for the past eight months. However, since studying for Step 2 CK overtook my life for the past two months, I have been really putting off running. From running four times/week, I slowed down to two times/week and finally to not running at all.
I will get up, shower, study for a little bit, go to the hospital, come back, study some more, and fall asleep. You may add in eating and watching parts of an episode of Game of Thrones in there to get a complete picture. But, as you can see, my life lacked physical activity except for walking around in the wards, walking up and down the stairs whenever I can, and walking to and from my car. Consequently, I felt really bloated, my mood lacked endorphins, and my appetite drastically decreased.
Then, two days ago, I decided to go for a run, just because Neurology was overwhelming me, and I was almost in tears because of all the stress. I walked from my apartment to Lakeshore Drive, which is ~0.2 miles away. It was sensational to take in a breath of fresh air, feel the moist breeze from Lake Michigan, see the sense of pride in other Lakeshore runners and cyclists, and most importantly, it was vitalizing to feel the concrete pass foot by foot behind me. I felt like I was literally breezing through all of that Neuro that was in my head, and leaving it all behind me just fore a few minutes so I can breath some of that fresh air.
I ran 5.8 miles, and spent 1 hour and 10 minutes from studying, but when I got back, my mind was fresh with a smile on my face. I was not tired and did not need to drink coffee to stay awake, and most of all, my studying was efficient.
I highly recommend all of you to step outside, and even just to go for a brief walk. When you get back, I am certain that you will have a little bit of improvement to your studying.
