You can still hear the noises after you’ve commuted home: incessant patient call bells, IV pumps and ventilator and monitor alarms. As a nurse, sometimes the sounds of the hospital still ring in your ears long after your shift has ended.
On any given day, nursing can be as stressful as it is gratifying. You might experience multiple critically ill patient admissions in one moment. And in the next, you may witness the joy of an ICU patient reuniting with his children or beloved dog for the first time in weeks. You never know what the day may bring.
The sounds of rhythmic breathing and footsteps hitting the pavement help muffle the racing thoughts and beeping noises lingering in our minds. Running also offers time and space to feel gratitude for the awe-inspiring moments we all encounter in our work.
I started my job as a cardiovascular ICU nurse at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo shortly after graduating from UB School of Nursing’s Accelerated Baccalaureate of Science (ABS) in Nursing Program in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic began a few months later and opened a whole new can of worms — to say the least. As a new nurse during that time, I experienced challenges I could never have anticipated.
Managing stress and anxiety has been essential over the past few years. For me, running first started as a hobby and ultimately evolved into a lifelong passion. The pandemic and associated restrictions gave me more time to explore and expand my running efforts with new goals. Because I couldn’t travel or gather with my loved ones, I focused my free time on getting outdoors and exploring New York State on foot. I ran the trails at Niagara Gorge, Letchworth, Ellicottville and the Adirondacks. With each run, I felt lighter and more at ease.
I regularly carved out the time to run before and after work and on my days off. I had already run a few marathons before COVID, but my newfound focus allowed me to run more miles than ever before. I knew it was the right time to challenge myself to run a distance beyond the marathon benchmark.
After assisting my friend run a 100-kilometer ultra-trail race last summer, I felt inspired and hooked. (For anyone keeping score at home: an ultra-race is any distance longer than a marathon—26.2 miles.)
And I was glad I did: I placed second in the 100K Trail Run 12 months later. I was thrilled with the outcome and that my efforts paid off.
But, more than anything else, I was grateful for the positive outlet and mental health boost the training provided. As a nurse, it was what I needed to maintain my work-life balance throughout the pandemic.
No matter your ability or experience level, going outside for a run, walk, or hike — or whatever makes you feel good — can help you work through and let go of daily stressors, recharging you for your next shift.
Published September 20, 2022