"Skater-Cloner:" Doing Two All-Consuming Things Halfway
(Continuing on, here is Part 6 of 10, of my ananlysis of how speedskaters fund their training.)
I have lost track of the number of times I've heard, "Isn't it great to be able to work in your field and train for the Olympics at the same time?" Well, here is what it was REALLY like to try to be a cancer researcher and an elite speedskater at the same time. This is the life I lived for two and a half years.
Both speedskating and cancer research are all-consuming activities which alone require tremendous personal sacrifice. It's true that biomedical researchers commonly put in 12 + hour days in pursuit of cures for society's illnesses, and though a career in a biotech company such as the one I worked for is more of a 9 to 5 job, the words "part-time" and "cancer researcher" don't usually fit together.
The elite speedskater, meanwhile, basically eats, sleeps, and trains for a sport that is both physically demanding and technically challenging.
With my job as a part-time, hourly Research Scientist at Genta Inc, I found a niche that allowed me to combine these two activities, but it was definitely a struggle. Studies have shown that having a great deal of stress outside one's sport contributes significantly to overtraining, and this is a problem that has haunted me throughout my comeback.
My schedule consisted of the unrelenting mental strain of "train-work-train." I'd arrive at the Oval at 8 AM, do my morning ice session, and run out of the Oval by 11:30 without doing any sort of warm-down. Then I'd eat lunch in the car while driving the 22 miles to Research Park. Then I'd chug 2 cups of coffee to stay awake and mentally sharp, while going over the protocol for the day's experiment. I'd try to be done by 4:30 PM, so I could drive back across the valley to the Oval for the afternoon training session before rush hour started.
The main difference between science and "any old job you could have while training" is that you can't just leave when it's time to train. Fortunately, most of the experiments I did could be done within the 4-5 hours I had between training sessions, but sometimes things got delayed so I'd have to stay. I'm proud to say that during the time I worked in science while training, I never once dumped out an experiment in order to get to a training session on time. I just stayed until I finished up and did my training later.
There was a constant pressure in my life to prove that I was dedicated enough to each activity, and to be taken seriously as both an athlete and a scientist.
My worst work-related situation happened during my first year of combining skating and science. I had gotten a tonsillectomy and decided to show up to work the very next day, because I knew the manager we had at the time disapproved of "excessive absences." Though I had to take a bunch of pain killers, I wanted to show him that I was dedicated to my job. I finished the day's work without incident, plating some bacteria on antibiotic media to select out the non-resistant strains after overnight growth.
The next day, the manager called me into his office and, shutting the door behind us, proceeded to rip me apart for plating the bacteria on the wrong antibiotic (Ampicillin instead of Kanamycin). "This cost the company a day of work. A day costs money. I ought to fire you for your incompetence since it has become obvious that you are unable to handle work in science along with your speedskating training."
In a twist of poetic justice, this manager, who was disliked by all in the company, was fired a year later for ordering an incorrect DNA sequence that cost the company 6 months of wasted work.
---
In my 2nd year of working in science and training, I had committed to the U.S. National Team, and so I had less time to work than ever. There were days when the team would literally spend 8 hours per day at the Oval. Also, we had to be up in Park City for workouts at least 3 times a week. Overall, I was no longer able to have my own project in the lab and ended up having to wait for one of the other scientists to call on me when he or she needed some help. The main problem was that often I'd be needed on a day when I had to train 8 hours, and then the next day, when I had a light day of training, nobody would need me at work.
---
At the start of this season with Boris, where I was doing most of my workouts on my own, I knew that this would be the best way for me to combine work and training. Unfortunately, just as things started to come together relatively well, the lab shut down. I was unable to find another job in science that fit my training schedule, and thus ended my life as the Skater-Cloner.
---
So, was it great to work in my field and train for the Olympics at the same time? There were some things that were great about it. I must say that this was my ultimate dream, and I was pretty proud of myself for being able to handle it for a while. However, it didn't help my skating. I've been overtrained for at least two seasons, and the worst part of it was that when I really got tired, I'd have terrible races, to the point where I'd be embarrassed to be out there skating.
I still love science as a career choice, and having been away from the lab since July, I must say that there are some things I miss about it, especially my friends in science. I'm looking forward to working in that field some day, but to combine it with my speedskating training at this time is just way too much.
(Continuing on, here is Part 6 of 10, of my ananlysis of how speedskaters fund their training.)
I have lost track of the number of times I've heard, "Isn't it great to be able to work in your field and train for the Olympics at the same time?" Well, here is what it was REALLY like to try to be a cancer researcher and an elite speedskater at the same time. This is the life I lived for two and a half years.
Both speedskating and cancer research are all-consuming activities which alone require tremendous personal sacrifice. It's true that biomedical researchers commonly put in 12 + hour days in pursuit of cures for society's illnesses, and though a career in a biotech company such as the one I worked for is more of a 9 to 5 job, the words "part-time" and "cancer researcher" don't usually fit together.
The elite speedskater, meanwhile, basically eats, sleeps, and trains for a sport that is both physically demanding and technically challenging.
With my job as a part-time, hourly Research Scientist at Genta Inc, I found a niche that allowed me to combine these two activities, but it was definitely a struggle. Studies have shown that having a great deal of stress outside one's sport contributes significantly to overtraining, and this is a problem that has haunted me throughout my comeback.
My schedule consisted of the unrelenting mental strain of "train-work-train." I'd arrive at the Oval at 8 AM, do my morning ice session, and run out of the Oval by 11:30 without doing any sort of warm-down. Then I'd eat lunch in the car while driving the 22 miles to Research Park. Then I'd chug 2 cups of coffee to stay awake and mentally sharp, while going over the protocol for the day's experiment. I'd try to be done by 4:30 PM, so I could drive back across the valley to the Oval for the afternoon training session before rush hour started.
The main difference between science and "any old job you could have while training" is that you can't just leave when it's time to train. Fortunately, most of the experiments I did could be done within the 4-5 hours I had between training sessions, but sometimes things got delayed so I'd have to stay. I'm proud to say that during the time I worked in science while training, I never once dumped out an experiment in order to get to a training session on time. I just stayed until I finished up and did my training later.
There was a constant pressure in my life to prove that I was dedicated enough to each activity, and to be taken seriously as both an athlete and a scientist.
My worst work-related situation happened during my first year of combining skating and science. I had gotten a tonsillectomy and decided to show up to work the very next day, because I knew the manager we had at the time disapproved of "excessive absences." Though I had to take a bunch of pain killers, I wanted to show him that I was dedicated to my job. I finished the day's work without incident, plating some bacteria on antibiotic media to select out the non-resistant strains after overnight growth.
The next day, the manager called me into his office and, shutting the door behind us, proceeded to rip me apart for plating the bacteria on the wrong antibiotic (Ampicillin instead of Kanamycin). "This cost the company a day of work. A day costs money. I ought to fire you for your incompetence since it has become obvious that you are unable to handle work in science along with your speedskating training."
In a twist of poetic justice, this manager, who was disliked by all in the company, was fired a year later for ordering an incorrect DNA sequence that cost the company 6 months of wasted work.
---
In my 2nd year of working in science and training, I had committed to the U.S. National Team, and so I had less time to work than ever. There were days when the team would literally spend 8 hours per day at the Oval. Also, we had to be up in Park City for workouts at least 3 times a week. Overall, I was no longer able to have my own project in the lab and ended up having to wait for one of the other scientists to call on me when he or she needed some help. The main problem was that often I'd be needed on a day when I had to train 8 hours, and then the next day, when I had a light day of training, nobody would need me at work.
---
At the start of this season with Boris, where I was doing most of my workouts on my own, I knew that this would be the best way for me to combine work and training. Unfortunately, just as things started to come together relatively well, the lab shut down. I was unable to find another job in science that fit my training schedule, and thus ended my life as the Skater-Cloner.
---
So, was it great to work in my field and train for the Olympics at the same time? There were some things that were great about it. I must say that this was my ultimate dream, and I was pretty proud of myself for being able to handle it for a while. However, it didn't help my skating. I've been overtrained for at least two seasons, and the worst part of it was that when I really got tired, I'd have terrible races, to the point where I'd be embarrassed to be out there skating.
I still love science as a career choice, and having been away from the lab since July, I must say that there are some things I miss about it, especially my friends in science. I'm looking forward to working in that field some day, but to combine it with my speedskating training at this time is just way too much.
posted by Eva at 10:00 AM
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