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<\/p>\nThis morning I left the hospital for the first time in 49 hours 30 minutes and 27 seconds, not that I\u2019m counting. Sleeping in the call room between busy Emergency Department shifts, attending lectures\u2014even having an interview\u2014I hadn\u2019t seen the light of day except through windows in patient rooms for two sunrises and two sunsets.<\/p>\n
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I walked out to my car through the bright summer sun, rummaged through energy bar wrappers to find my keys and drove to the nearest body of water, topped o\ufb00 my SUP, switched out my clogs for flip-flops and hopped on the water. Sigh\u2026 An hour of paddling and real sunshine and finally I felt at least a bit saner again. Hospitals can be intense and sad places.\u00a0Sickness and death fill my work shifts all too often. It\u2019s easy to get swept up in the drama and stress of this setting. Getting outside helps keep me grounded and reminds me of why I want to be a doctor, to help people heal so that they too can go find their joy in life like I find mine on the water.<\/p>\n
Prior to moving to Boston to hop on the no-sleep-stress-train of medical school, I spent summers guiding in Idaho, living in Stanley and working\/playing on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. The seasonal cycle of river flows, camping under the stars and waking every morning next to flowing water defined my life. When the season closed, I would head south to Crested Butte, Colorado and play in the snow waiting for spring runoff. My favorite trips involved being in a boat all day, watching the sun rise and set while floating on the water.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nMoving to the concrete forest of a New England city, first felt as if the cam strap of connection to rivers and mountains had been cut. SUPing has helped me remember my connection to water during medical school, clinical rotations, all day exams and sad situations with patients. Now, this connection to water is even more important to me than when I lived on the river every day. Water helps me wash off the stress of adulting; it gives me a fresh start to jump into daily challenges and it brings me joy that no other \u2018self-care\u2019 activity can. I\u2019ve learned there\u2019s always time and there\u2019s pretty much always water, if you get creative, and don\u2019t mind showing up to work un-showered.<\/p>\n
This is true for most busy lifestyles. Whether you\u2019re working the grind in Manhattan or Atlanta, Seattle or Chicago, if you take the time to plan for the days you can\u2019t plan, then you\u2019ll always be ready to ditch the office and hit the water. And believe me, it\u2019s worth it. Here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned to help increase the probability that I get a paddling session in after (or before) a long slog at work.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nLet go of expectations: <\/strong>The first time I took my board out after a long shift it took me 15 minutes to pump it up and I maybe paddled for 15 more. As I strapped the board to the top of my car I couldn\u2019t help but ask myself if it was worth it. Coming from a background of long days spent on the water, I had to give my expectations a reality check. Sure, some days you go on 20-hour missions, with miles of whitewater, aching muscles and you push past limits. And, some days life has already pushed your limits and you just need 20 minutes of paddling to ease your aching brain. Go for it. Just because it\u2019s not epic does not lower the value. Anytime you get on the water for any amount of time it makes a di\ufb00erence. And as we all know, stress sucks. So shut stress down, go stand on a SUP.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t clean up: <\/strong>Picture this\u2014you\u2019re halfway through your shift and you get a second wind. You think to yourself, I\u2019m going to the gym after work. Or, I\u2019m taking the dog on a long run. Or [insert ambitious post-work activity here]. And then, you get in your car, navigate your way home to grab your gym bag, or the dog, and the moment you step through your front door, you\u2019re done. Instead of gym clothes, you grab an oversized sweatshirt and before you know it, it\u2019s time for bed. You go to sleep with the stress still clinging to you and you wake up the next day and do it again. Leave your gear in your car! <\/strong>SUP, pump, paddle, PFD. Really, if you always have them then the excuses of having to go get gear disappears. I\u2019ve had rotations all over New England this year. The only constants in packing have been a toothbrush, gear and food. And if you leave them in your car as opposed to pulling it all out to unroll and dry then the dread of \u201cclean-up\u201d won\u2019t affect your decision to paddle or not. Embrace your inner teenager and don\u2019t clean up and put your gear away.<\/p>\n Snacks for Survival<\/strong>: There are two types of survival to mention. There\u2019s the pre-paddle survival, where you really want to jump-start your workday with a paddle but you overslept and have to weigh the importance of paddling versus eating breakfast. And then there\u2019s post-work survival when you\u2019re running on cafeteria fumes, you\u2019re pretty sure your stomach is devouring itself from the inside out but you still really want to paddle. I always have at least two snacks tucked into my PFD pocket. The key is to remember to restock. There\u2019s also the case that you woke up with plenty of time but you end up enjoying your paddle and staying out for that extra 10 minutes cutting into your \u2018go grab breakfast time.\u2019 The bottom line: carry your calories with you, always. I\u2019ve taken to leaving a jar of PB in my car just in case. Hanger is no fun for anyone.<\/p>\n Set your alarm: <\/strong>So you\u2019re exhausted, you\u2019re going to bed, the weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow but you\u2019re already thinking about that extra half hour of sleep in the morning. Suck it up and set your alarm early. You can always press snooze but give your morning self the option to go outside and get on the water. You will never regret getting to see the sunrise. Sometimes the hardest mornings to get up and go end up being the most rewarding, maybe you see some seals in the harbor or maybe you just feel the breeze on your face. Either way, you take that inspiration you feel on the board to your work, giving yourself a better day and becoming your better self.<\/p>\n Throw out the dress code<\/strong>: Tight transition, no problem. Over the past winter, I realized that I could just layer in preparation for the paddle-to-work transition. Sometimes five minutes makes the di\ufb00erence in getting to work on time or getting time to eat and sleep. Scrubs work great under dry suits. Really the perfect layer for spring and fall! DO practice the rear entry zipper if going solo. It\u2019s no problem to zip and unzip alone but it gets easier with practice. <\/em>For summer, I\u2019ve been wearing a sports bra or swimsuit under my scrubs to maximize the ease of using the parking-lot-dressing-room to paddle after work. The easier it is, the more likely I am to get out and take advantage of beautiful days. I realize that I work in a pretty ideal situation with scrubs and all. If you work in an office setting, wearing a bikini under your pants suit might not be ideal. The key is a quick transition, however you want to interpret that.<\/p>\n GPS<\/strong>: Yes, there are so many downsides to always being attached to our phones. But let’s face it, we pretty much always have them around and most of the time they\u2019re charged enough to use the maps. If you live in an urban area, especially, the findings might surprise you. I’ve found few places around New England that yielded zero search results for \u201cboat launch.\u201d 99% of the time, I find some place to put in. Whether it\u2019s a pond, lake, river or ocean, there\u2019s always something close enough to make it happen. Had I just relied on my faint knowledge of a town, I may have assumed there wasn\u2019t any water. You may assume that about your town too. That\u2019s why I embrace the GPS. It may be an industrial park on a river or a swimming pool sized pond, but it will be water and it will be worth it.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/31173815\/SUP-for-Stress-7-100x100.jpg\")
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