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Thoughts from the Med Tent...
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So, yesterday I spent the better part of my afternoon working in the medical tent at the Chicago Marathon. I'm a clinical massage therapy student and my class was lucky enough to be providing post-race massage. I was in the main tent working for a little while, until it was my turn to report to the med tent- there were only 4 of us chosen to be there, so I felt pretty good about qualifications. I knew ahead of time that it would be kinda crazy- it was unseasonably warm yesterday- I think we were in the mid 80's by 11am. My instructor warned all of us... "you're going to see people at their worst and when they have to have their temperature taken, it has to be taken anally"; "But we are there for one reason, and one reason only: cramp relief."

As soon as I walked in the tent I was working, and it was non-stop until well over 4 hours into the race.
I did everything I was supposed to do: compression, stretching, PNF if I could... kinda hard to do on a cot that's only about 1 foot off the ground.
What was so interesting to me is that I was providing as much "mental" therapy as I was "massage" therapy. Some of these athletes were so distraught- grown men in tears, shaking their heads. 'They trained for this day, they can't believe they ended up in the med tent, they've run ultras and never cramped like this, the next thing they knew they were seeing spots, they had to stop at every mile to puke, they passed out' ...

I couldn't believe my ears most of the time. What the heck is wrong with these people?? They are sitting here with an IV in their arm, they just had a thermometer shoved up their bum, they're shivering wrapped in blankets, they're yacking into a plastic bag... and they're worried that they didn't get a PR?

Wait. I AM one of these people. But, I've never ended up in the medical tent. In fact, it's the one place I swear up and down I do NOT want to be in. I WILL NOT end up there. Nope, not me. Shit, here I am... now, I don't know exactly what crazy psychology was creeping up on me, but I left the race yesterday feeling really weird. I should have been proud of myself- for doing the one thing I was there to do: provide cramp relief. I did, and I did it well. I was able to take care of most of the people I laid my hands on. But instead, I was feeling... self doubt?

Maybe it was being exposed to the "other side" of an endurance event, or the fact that I actually related to what all of these poor souls were saying? Always thinking we could have done better, should have done better. I don't know, but there has to be some sort of lesson here...?
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Re: Thoughts from the Med Tent... [dupeetriclub] [ In reply to ]
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I know what you mean... sometimes when you stop being a competitor and take on another roll, our sports don't make as much sense.

I've had the same experiences being a volunteer in triathlon and cycling. In tri, I did registration and was the weigh-in girl for an Ironman. Seeing all the people (men, mostly) act like weenies about getting on the scale was sort of a turn-off to the sport. I had a similar experience working in T2 at Ironman Wisconsin the year it was so cold... the women had completely overridden their natural instincts for self-preservation and survival and dragged themselves out onto the course despite many of them being close to hypothermic.

I think when you're concerned about the well-being of the an athlete and you see them focusing on something as 'trivial' as a PR, it's kind of a jarring experience. It makes you question the sanity of what we do...
Last edited by: austin79: Oct 13, 08 19:56
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Re: Thoughts from the Med Tent... [dupeetriclub] [ In reply to ]
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perspective is always an interesting thing.

Thanks for sharing...

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: Thoughts from the Med Tent... [austin79] [ In reply to ]
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Lauren, I had the same experience volunteering at the registration weigh-in at IM CDA one year. One female pro absolutely refused to be weighed to the point that they told her she could not race if she didn't weigh herself. One woman told me as she stood on the scale, "That is not my weight! I am a doctor and that is not my weight!" She was seriously hysertical about it.

I've seen one person go from the ER for a serious health condition to the start line of the IM within 24 hours because there was no way that person would not race. I think the nature of Ironman racing brings out some strange stuff in people and it is important to take a step back from it all and ask of yourself not just what kind of time goal do you want to achieve but what type of competitor do you want to be?
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Re: Thoughts from the Med Tent... [dupeetriclub] [ In reply to ]
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I have volunteered at medical tent for IMLP and a few sprints; and have landed in the medical tent at Eagleman 07 and 08. It's incredible how we as triathletes can be so single-mindedly focused during a race (and training) to the point to disconnecting with what our bodies are telling us (which is basically "Please stop, it really hurts!"). For those who cross the finish line, win, get a PR...it's called "overcoming your limits" or "seeing what you're made of". For those who fall short and wind up in medical, it's absolutely crushing, especially at an Ironman because so much time and preparation went into that one day.
I never thought I would EVER find myself in the medical tent as an athlete. I figured I'm a physician. I know the signs and symptoms of hyponatremia, dehydration, blahblahblah. But this year I came off the bike at Eagleman and didn't know my name. The thought of heat exhaustion/heat stroke definitely came up during the ride, but I talked myself out of it as that race was my A race, I was gonna PR, qualify for Nationals, couldn't possibly be having a heat stroke cuz I'm listing all the signs and symptoms of it, yaddayaddayadda. Even when I needed to be escorted to the medical tent, I asked if I could do the run after cooling down. Crazy, I know.
I guess my point is that we all do triathlons for different reasons and commit quite a bit of time, energy (mental, emotional, and physical) to it. When race day arrives, our goals can supersede obvious signs of physiologic breakdown. Afterall, how many of us look up to Julie Moss crawling across the finish line at Kona?
Those athletes who wind up in medical not only need our medical care, but our compassion as well. You should be very proud of all those people that you helped that day. It's good karma that can only help us when it's our turn to visit medical or keep us out of it altogether.
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Re: Thoughts from the Med Tent... [trailbait] [ In reply to ]
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There's a reason why I probably won't do another IM for awhile and the single mindedness of this is part of it.

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