7 Things

October 07, 2019 by Stacy McAllister

This last week was crazy busy and stressful, so here’s a quick recap of the past few days!

I cannot stop buying pumpkins. I love Fall so much.

I got my flu shot yesterday at Walgreens and it took a total of 10 minutes! Super easy and now I don’t have to worry about getting sick while on my clinicals (or wearing a mask!)

We saw the cutest pigs at the fair last week. I really wanted to take them all home.

We’re all decorated with Halloween things here!

Stella and I threw around the frisbee on Saturday afternoon.

Saw this Earthroamer at work and now I really want one!

Ran through the beautiful fall foliage we’ve been having here. The best time of year!

-How’s the foliage where you are?!

-anyone else obsessed with baby pigs?

My First Clinical Thoughts

October 03, 2019 by Stacy McAllister in Nursing School

I’ve been in my first clinical rotation at the hospital for the past month and thought it would be fun to share some things I’ve learned thus far. I had NO idea what to expect going into my first rotation (mine is medical-surgical) and honestly I’m really happy I didn’t have any expectations. It’s been nice to just go into things ‘blindly’ and just take a leap of faith each week (albeit, also kinda-really-terrifying). We had two simulation labs this summer that focused on both clinical procedures and patient assessments and now, we’re utilizing everything we learned on the hospital floor (supervised and guided).

Some of the things that I’ve loved thus far: how so-much-less-scary it was than I imagined - I was terrified the first 3 weeks of my clinical and finally, I realized that I’m actually really prepared for this next step! I was also really surprised at how much I really love it- it’s been so nice to finally feel like I’m ‘in my element’ and found something that I can be truly excited, challenged, and passionate about. I’m also really surprised at how much more I know than I thought I did! Those two labs this past summer taught me so much. They were really challenging, but I’m really thankful for them. I’m also surprised at how much I already know about reading patients charts, vitals, how to do the ‘little things that kinda seem scary’ like moving a patients bed/turning off their alarm/ assisting the patient with mobility etc.

Some things that I’ve been intimidated by: Going into the patient room by myself seemed real scary at first, but I’ve gotten ‘used’ to it. I’m still a bit scared, but I’m sure that will come with time! It’s also been intimidating being in the room with the team of doctors, however they are all so wonderful and supportive and value the nurses feedback - so nothing to be intimidated about there either! Just wandering around the hospital still seems a bit overwhelming (it’s HUGE!), but it’s already starting to feel more familiar which is nice.

I’m already surprised by: how much I’ve grown over the past month as both a person and a student nurse. I also cannot believe at how my patients and instructors have already changed how I ‘view’ the world- so much more empathetically and positively. I’m trying to spread those things like wildfire : )

Needless to say- I’m really excited to see where I’m at in the next month/ at the end of this clinical/ at the end of the program in August 2020!

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Any other student nurses (or used-to-be- student nurses) out there? I’d love to hear your experiences of your first clinical!

Loco Marathon Training RUNdown Week 9: 9/23-9/29

October 02, 2019 by Stacy McAllister in marathon training, Training Rundown

I had a GREAT week of training last week. I felt really strong, got in an pretty solid 20 miler, and even felt like I could keep running by the end of the week (although my legs were definitely sore for a few days post long run!). I’ve got a cut-back week now and then peak week and then it’s the taper!?!? It’s crazy how fast this 26.2 came and I’m real excited to get another one under my belt.

Monday, 9/23: 10 miles with 8 x 800. Split half on the road and half on the track (before school started). splits were: 7:27, 7:25, 7:16, 7:14, 7:14, 7:24, 7:20, 7:03. It felt real good to have my last split be the fastest!

Tuesday, 9/24: 5 easy miles at 9:56 pace on a new-to-me trail!

Wednesday, 9/25: 6.01 easy miles at 9:50 pace

Thursday, 9/26: 20.01 miles at 9:33 pace. Nothing overly crazy with my pace (I just wanted it to feel easy) and had my fastest miles in the last bit!

Friday, 9/27: 6.20 easy miles at 10:07 pace. Legs felt dead. This was challenging

Saturday, 9/28: 5.02 easy miles at 9:58 pace

Sunday, 9/29: rest day

Total mileage: 52.2 miles

Total Elevation: 1, 594’ up

Training Tuesday: ALL THINGS FUEL!

September 30, 2019 by Stacy McAllister in Training Tuesday

Trying to compose this post about race fueling strategy and I keep getting distracted by this photo 🤣 I’m already looking forward to ice cream next summer

ANYWAYS! Let’s dive into some things that I’ve learned about fueling before/ during/ after the race. I just want to preface this post by saying that what works for some runners may NOT work for you! For example- some runners love peanut butter before a race and I’ve found it doesn’t work for me.

I’ve also found that meat & potatoes the night before a race work really well for me. Pasta- does NOT. Also a race that ends with a thanksgiving dinner is the BEST 🙌🏻

I’ve really been loving making my own homemade gel and separating it into personal serving ziploc bags. I found the recipe in the cookbook, Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow

Post long run I love to get in fuel right away and avocado toast with a smoothie is perfect 👌🏻

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do you have a favorite fueling strategy?

7 Things

September 29, 2019 by Stacy McAllister in Weekend Things

Happy Monday! I’ve got a busy week ahead and am already looking forward to Friday when my 3 exams are over with! It’s also the Fryeburg Fair week, so we’ve begun our Fair food extravaganza with some fries with extra vinegar and salt.