Getting Started

Welcome to the Nocturnal RunNurse! I'm no expert blogger and am quite technology illiterate to say the least (it is true, I still have a dumb phone) so my goal is to use this site as a creative outlet for myself and a place for nurses and non-nurses alike to share their ideas about the medical world, fitness, nutrition, and overall well being.

I have always been an active girl, I started playing soccer at the ripe old age of 5. At that age, the only way to truly play the game is to run around in droves and kick the ball off of your teammates' and opponents' shins until it escapes the pack and someone can teeter down the field to clumsily tap it past a never-prepared goalie. By the time I was in high school, my teammates and I had figured out the art of passing and defending. Although we didn't rack up a lot of wins, we still had a great time playing the game!

I tried my hand at multiple other sports growing up (softball, basketball, field hockey) and ended up running track in high school. I had never ran without chasing a ball down before, but found myself loving that feeling you get after finishing a long run. I continued running in college and even ran for my school's division III track team. Once again, we were no track powerhouse, but still had a blast at practices and at meets. Some of my best friends in college were my teammates.

On top of running track in college, I quickly got involved in our school's intramural program. By senior year our Co-Ed soccer team (Go Blue Barracudas!) was a force to be reckonned with. Not only were intramural sports and track a great way for me to stay fit those four years in college when ice cream and late night snacking is an almost daily occurence, I ended up meeting my husband through both our soccer and track team. Nothing like a little sweat to attract a guy, ladies! 

Of course, college wasn't all about sports and having fun. I squeezed in a good deal of study time while working towards my bachelor's degree in Nursing. Let's just say I spent a LOT of time in the library with my nose in an Anatomy and Physiology book. (I could dedicate a whole post later to "You know you're a nursing student when...") Juggling nursing school with a social life was quite a feat, but I managed to experience a little of both. (It was more of an 80% school, 20% social life sort of deal, but hey, you can't have it all.)

One of my proudest accomplishments would have to be training for and completing a marathon with my friend Brittany during our last semester senior year. I don't know how this girl talked me into running 26.2 miles but I'm sure glad she did! We trained from November to March and finished in 3 hours and 56 minutes. Not bad for squeezing in 20 mile runs between studying for exams and snow squalls.

I have since then graduated from college, passed the dreaded NClex, and managed to land a job in a Medical Intensive Care Unit. Within the same year I moved, completed a graduate nurse residency program, and got married to my college sweetheart on October 1st of 2011. It's hard to believe we have been married for almost a year now and I'm proud to report we are still a happy and in love couple. :)

Tomorrow will mark one year from the day I started my nursing job and I'm happy to say I still love it! Of course, there are days when I feel a little in over my head but I hear that happens to everyone. Luckily, the nurses on my unit are amazing and are somehow standing at your door offering to help the second you find yourself wound up like a spool in IV and ventilator tubing, thinking a third hand should certainly be the next medical breakthrough in body enhancements. I have learned so much this past year and can't wait to see what the next year holds.

Working as a night shift nurse has alerted me to some problems I never would have encountered during the day. (Like sleeping through an 8 hour mowing session right below my bedroom window.)  I plan to dedicate some posts to these issues and others (like healthy recipes and fitness ideas) that anyone can use. Check back for some more focused posts about a delicious homemade granola recipe I'm slightly obsessed with and a potential 30 day ab challenge I stumbled upon a few days ago! Thanks for checking out the Nocturnal RunNurse!