EXAM- long time coming....

A  few weekends ago, I flew to Toronto, to the old stomping grounds of CMCC (the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College) to write the exams that are the final phase of my sports residency. I have been in this program for a looong time, ( 10 years!!!) and been striving to fulfill the specific requirements of the residency program necessary finally sit the exam. I never would have predicted this route to the end.  There have been lots of twists and turns along the way.. this in no way has been a linear learning process, but the way I see it, I have learned waaaaay more than the program intended, have gained much experience in the realms of sports business, NSOs, running a clinic, treating elite athletes, IST's and interdisciplinary communication.

Exams have never been my strong point, and with a 2 year old and a 7 month old, studying has been challenging. I went in knowing that I had not prepared to my best ability, but I had no choice but to attempt the exam and give it a shot. There were 3 daunting components: a multiple choice, a radiology and a practical component.  Not to mention my regular life of running 2 clinics, practicing and throw some travel with the national BMX team in there! Ha, I was completely overwhelmed and felt under-prepared.

As it turns out, it was the best thing I could have done. It would have been easy to just forget it, to not put myself through that. I have a great career, and great clinics, I work with great people and have amazing patients. I am fortunate enough to work with a national sporting organization, and have had tons and tons of cool opportunities. I didn't feel I would gain anything from taking the exam, and besides, I would look like a fool, I had been in the program so long, most of the admin of the RCCSSC didn't think I should even be allowed to write after being in the program so long.  But had I not done it- I would not have challenged myself, I would not have put myself out there, I would not have taken that risk- and that feeling itself was exhilarating,

I learned so much! Completely exhausted physically and emotionally my learning consisted of physical learning things that I didn't know that I didn't know. Studying, as random as it was, gave me a chance to read research papers and new theories and positions. Much of my studying was directly applicable to my daily practice! 

It also prompted me to recognize that I should be more diligent on reading some of this research, which I had let fall by the wayside. I learned of many resources that will be super helpful in my practice and for on the road with athletes! 

I also learned a lot about myself and was happy to know I was still "my old self"; competitive, passionate, still had a strong desire to be my best. I was still passionate about learning, and wanted to be involved more in the organization! This was a huuuge bonus for me to learn this. Having 2 babies in less than 2 years equals a huge twist to your life and person. Even though I have still maintained many factors of my pre-baby life, I still felt a little lost and unmotivated.  It was nice to see some of those pre-baby qualities and have some of those feelings back again! 

So even though I may not pass these exams, as parts were very challenging (as they should be), I am not going to be afraid of the learning process for next time, and will embrace it! This process has made me a better person and a better Chiropractor. I wonder what my next venture will be in this amazing career I have.......

BALANCE

BALANCE:

Something that we all strive to achieve! And why not- it's a very important aspect in life and with today's society, we are pressured to take on more and more, life can sometimes be downright overwhelming! This is something that I have been struggling with BIGTIME over the past 11 months.

I won't lie, this exact blog has been in progress for a little while now. I have aspired to write amazing blogs about motherhood, and my journeys as "Jenn Turner- MOM, Athlete, and Chiro to the Athletes",  because I have been doing cool things as a mom, really cool things with baby Tanner in tow: 

-travelled to Netherlands with the national BMX team for World Championships (husband and baby came to make it a family ordeal) and we got to watch one of my own athletes win a silver medal!

-competed in the BMO half marathon, the Iron Knee 10k, the Coho run- all while training with my new running partner snuggled up in the chariot! 

-travelled to the BMX world cup finals in Chula Vista, California with a NANNY in tow for my little man!

-opened a BIGGER BETTER Moveo, my clinic in North Vancouver with my business partner Sarah. This process has taken OVER a year and it is a dream clinic come true. 

But, I digress... 

Balance means different things for different folks, it's a totally individual thing, and only you yourself, know and feel that you have attained balance, it's extremely difficult to hold that position, much like the physical realm of balance truly is. A great blog of an pro athlete/lawyer that caught my eye, talks frankly about balance being un-achievable, and prefers to call it "integration", a concept that I can wrap my head around.  Although many ideas in the blog were applicable, this line really spoke to me. " More importantly, what this integration style approach does is that it gives me permission to more mindfully engage in the task I’m doing because there is no guilt about it. I know why I’m doing certain tasks" Instead of rushing through (certain) tasks, and not necessarily paying the attention to things I am doing, as I am sometimes just doing things to "get it done" or to "balance" out my day.
I can drop the guilt of thinking that I should be spending my time doing the other of what I am NOT doing at the time- which happens to me all the time and does that really ever make me feel satisfaction??? 
I can fully ENJOY the things I am doing, as I know the other stuff will get done! 
I can give everything the attention that they need, as I know that I have scheduled time to indeed get it done/spend time with/focus on etc, etc, etc.  
THIS IS HUGE FOR ME!! Definitely an area I struggle with and something I hope to improve- both for organization sake, and so I don't drive myself crazy! 

Here's that blog I was talking about:
(http://cdamaampbell.blogspot.ca/2014/03/feat-talk-work-life-integration.html?m=1)


Let me tell ya, having a kid, is like one of those obtacles in "wipeout"- where the ground is soft and slippery and someone is wailing at you with one of those mallet-thingies: BALANCE//INTEGRATION , hits a whole new level!! These are some of the ways that I am "integrating" now that I have a baby: 

-doing a 2-3 hour hike with baby strapped to me- gets my baby fresh air, appreciation for nature and taking care of himself, but also gets me a darn good workout (especially if ya throw some north shore mountains in there!)

-bringing my baby to work to play with the physio equipment while I squeeze in a few treatments of athletes whom I cannot neglect- gets my baby socialized, comfortable in different environments, increases his development, but I feel "normal" like I am doing what I was meant to be doing, all the while, my athletes get better!

-learning daily about the neurological changes and motor developments of my kid- applying it to my work looking at the human body and how it functions

-talking and connecting more with my family, as they want to keep tabs on the baby and see him and watch him grow since we live so far away! 

-learning to have FUN and relieve stress, think about the simple joys of life (like playing in a puddle, or  watching the construction cranes, or looking at christmas lights) as this integration technique truly lets you be in that moment of pure baby bliss. 

I feel that this is important for all parties involved in my life, so I can give to each one of them, but also keep myself healthy and happy (so I can continue giving and making other people happy!!) It's also great to practice, as true "balance" would have it, things constantly change and re-arrange, so the template of life so to speak will always have to be changing as well now, this little guy amazes me at the new things he can do every. single. day. and how his needs change so much on a weekly basis.. To do what I do, one must be adaptable. flexible and not easily frustrated by a quick change of plans, as that is a daily occurrence! 

Biggest Challenge Yet!

As most people who know me, know that I'm always up for a challenge, whether it be research/education/school, opening a clinic, a difficult patient case, a race of various adventure types and distances; sign me up, I LOVE it.

The "not-so-impressed" look

I have embarked on yet a new challenge for 2014: motherhood. My beautiful Baby Boy was born on December 11, 2013.  Weighing in at 8 lbs, 8 oz he won my heart instantly! A real cutie he is but of course I am totally and completely biased! 

Now I know a million other women have done this, and I am not alone in this journey. People said it wouldn't be easy and cripes, it's most certainly not. It may, in fact, be the hardest challenge that I have ever embarked on. 

A colleague of mine just posted a blog containing characteristics of what he believes to be hard work, here is his list: http://www.jeffcubos.com/2014/01/02/get-dirty/

• Sweat
• Sacrifice
• Fatigue
• Pain
• Resilience
• Patience
• Perseverance
• Persistence
• Tears
• Frustration

And his personal favourite: Get Dirty

Each and every one of these  of these certainly apply to my current situation. More than I ever would have imagined! 

There's no "taking a walk break" or resting or tapering. You are full on all the time! You have to be available 24/7. There's no set schedule, no solid routine (at least in the first few weeks), no real "right" answers.  No advice could have prepared me for what lie ahead!  

The learning curve is one of the steepest I have ever incurred, I have never relied on the help of my friends, family and other resources the way I am right now.

Sleeping Beauty

That being said, the biggest challenges also have the biggest rewards, and that also is certainly true in this case! To see this perfect little human being grow and be nurtured from me is really an amazing feeling. To feel that needed and loved is also quite rewarding and makes all the characteristics above seem so much less significant.
"Getting Dirty"- also leads to the most fun adventures and provides us with the ability to laugh, at ourselves primarily, my husband and I have found out! 

Two quotes that reflect my experience thus far: 
Life is change, Growth is optional. Choose wisely. - unknown

If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you. -unknown. 

OLYMPICS

Part of my problem with Blogging is that I feel I have to have EVERY detail perfect. I read so many amazing blogs (when I can) that I want mine to be comparable, and I feel that I need to work on my articulation to be half as good as some of the people's that I read... so here FINALLY is my post on the Olympics that I started and then added to (and then added to again!!!!)

Dr. Jenn DC, and Dr. Bruce MD, hanging out in the clinic

 And I will get back on that "promise" of trying to stay on top of this, here it is:

I haven't been home a week yet, and I have had no crash, no jetlag and am still high on adrenaline! WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!! I really wish that I could have posted daily during the Olympics, but I cannot believe how fast time flies once the racing starts! It's absolutely nuts! I have had the experience of a lifetime and it was even more than I could have imagined!

HIGHLIGHTS:

Working in the COC (Canadian Olympic Committee) Polyclinic- for sure one of the unexpected highlights of the trip. I was invited along with the other therapists of other sports to treat my athletes in the COC Health & Sciences Centre. It was great to have this facility right there in the village below where the Canadian athletes were living. They had all the equipment a sports therapist could dream of and of course treating right there with the best of the best was pretty cool. (soo cool in fact that I could sing..in front of the b-ball coaches..unknowingly..  right Tanya ?).  Connecting with the nations top sport med docs and surgeons was also pivotal for my career, for them to see what I do and chat about techniques and injuries, I was in chiro-heaven!!




The Canadian Clothing/Swag- I was very surprised to be included in "Team Canada" so much that I too received a "swag bag".  Full of t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, jackets (including the famous jean jackets), flip flops and other goodies, I was pretty darn happy to be a recipient of one of these!!



-The Entire Village Experience- From the gi-normous dining hall where you could get any type of food your heart desired (including McFlurries from the McDonalds!) to the gym where they had the best of the best of any exercise equipment you could ever dream up, to all the different country houses decorated up in their countries pride and colours it was the experience of a lifetime to get to spend time there. I also got to check out the whole Polyclinic on a tour with Dr. McCormack which was super cool. Security was pretty strict, nobody without accreditation was allowed in. Day passes could be obtained, but these had to be requested in advance and each country had a limited amount. You betcha our stuff was scanned via airport x-ray machines on our way in the village.  Walking around and seeing Athletic superstars everywhere was pretty amazing as well! There was also a running "loop" that apparently I did miss out on, but stuck to running my own "village loop" with CCA prez Jacques Landry a few days.

Our room in the village. 

The outside of the Velodrome

-The atmosphere of the track- I love being at the track on a normal day, the camaraderie is usually pretty awesome among staff and riders from all different countries and this was the same but different. There were MORE volunteers, MORE fans, MORE excitement, MORE seriousness, MORE rules, MORE secrecy, MORE tension, MORE TV cameras, MORE excitement!  Our jobs were the same, but the stakes were higher. 

-The BRONZE MEDAL won by the Women's Team Pursuit-of COURSE this was a highlight! These girls impressed the HECK outta me during this tenure. With the format of the racing being changed from regular world cups, the girls had a bit more stress physically and mentally than usual. I was lucky enough to be right trackside when the girls beat Australia by mere tenths of a second, and got myself on the TSN highlight reel by being one of the people that the coaches grabbed to hug when we experienced that moment of pure happiness and excitement! The excitement of this experience carries on as the girls lives have been changed dramatically from this experience.. and I LOVE that I get to watch this happen for them, many doors are opening! 

Pretty much my favourite Olympic Photo

-The EMOTIONS- the highs AND the lows, the tears of heartbreak, and the tears of joy! I was pretty much on a high the ENTIRE time in London. I was trying so hard to soak up every single experience and encounter that I came upon in the village. I tried hard to keep a journal to record all these experiences so I could compare them with Olympics to come. It was though, for sure an emotional rollercoaster when it came to the racing of my athletes. I spend SO MUCH TIME with these guys that I really am vested and connected hugely to their performances. The Women's Team Pursuit was an obvious high, but there were tears when friend and patient Zach Bell, didn't do what he was capable of, and what was necessary for him to walk away from there with a medal. There were also tears with Tara Whitten's fourth place finish in the women's omnium after making an error in the elimination race. Experiencing that elation and heartbreak in the span of a few days was pretty crazy, but such is life, and these experiences and emotions will play an important part in shaping who I am. 

In front of Wembley Stadium, where the women's gold
medal soccer game was to be played.

-Being a Spectator at Events: I was really lucky that I got to see: women's marathon swim, the women's gold medal soccer game, Men's mountain bike, men's marathon,  race walk and all the track cycling! I am not sure that I would have been so adventurous to catch all these events if Kev hadn't shown up in London, so I am thankful that worked out. What better way to see an Olympic city, than in all it's Olympic Glory. We also hit up some of the "Live Sites" and enjoyed all the things that the Brits had set up. (like the nighttime ferriswheel ride, big screen events, free food and drinks!)

You never know who you might run into in the village!

CANADA HOUSE- Again, luckily, being an accredited staff member, I could go there whenever I wanted to. Obviously we were too busy to go there until AFTER the girls were done racing.. but I was hooked!! Olympians galore, free food, free products, free drinks, big screens with CANADIAN coverage of the Olympics. After discovering this cool place, We hit it up multiple times after that. It was located in BEAUTIFUL Trafalgar Square, smack dab in the middle of downtown London! When a Canadian Athlete would win a medal, there would be a celebration of that medal, with some of the dignitaries speaking, a video shown, the athlete's coach and the athlete of course would speak. We tried to see a few of these, as they captured what the Olympics were all about!

Kev and I using some tricky self photography to
include Big Ben in the photo

-Kev showing up and allowing me to experience the excitement of the OLYMPICS - It was never planned that Kev would come to London, there were too many unknowns, how much time I would have, how busy it would be etc. But when his lacrosse team, the New Westminster Salmonbellies, failed to make the playoffs for the first time in Kev's career, he decided to take a gamble and make the trip. Well it turned out perfect, with the exception of the first day and a half, I got to hang out with him a fair bit. It was great that he got to finally meet the people that I spend a quarter of my life with, and also that he got to travel and be at the OLYMPICS!! Not that I was taking it for granted for a minute, but he was more caught up in the Olympic Spirit than I anticipated. (He's usually a pretty steady-as-it-goes kinda guy).

If you really want to see more Olympic pics, here's a link to my facebook album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152072160960344.907075.577860343&type=1&l=388b5b933c

SPIN Summit 2012

Dr. Cresswell from St. Pauls using a self made shoulder model
to demo musculoskeletal ultrasound- brilliant!

as we are always excited to learn more and see different points of view to make our own practices and skills even better!

I just got the chance through my involvement with Cycling Canada, to participate in the Sport Innovation conference or SPIN conference, put on by Own the Podium, an organization that provides national sport organizations with funding for high level athletes participating at the Olympic Games.

This conference was so uniquely beneficial to me in so many ways!

1. First off it made me aware of the mandates of own the podium and also some of the "inner structure" of the organization of sport. I have taken for granted the processes that I have gone about working with my athletes, not really thinking too much about funding that pays the athletes, that gets everyone to events and pays my stipends etc. It was super cool to see things from a different perspective and understand a little bit more about sport in Canada!

2. The networking experience- attending the conference were many people that I had met from the Olympics a month and a half ago. Perfect timing to follow up and re-connect! I am so lucky to have had the experiences that I did at the Olympics this summer!

3. The different types of presentations, workshops and learning experiences than some of the typical conferences that I attend. Taking into consideration the wide variety of knowledge and skills of the 100 participants (coaches, physiologists, sport med docs, strength and conditioning coaches, physiotherapists *the brilliant Jeff Cubos and I were the only chiros present!) the topics encompassed a wider range of IST topics than usual.

4. To close the conference, Olympic Champion Beckie Scott talked about her personal athletic journey which was a huge bonus. I am a sucker for this type of thing and love hearing people's stories, and what types of things helped make them successful and Beckie's story was really unique! From her battles in her individual rising in the sport to the success of the national organization, Beckie had a really amazing story!

Case study of Mark DeJonge, Olympic Bronze Medallist
in London discussing all the technologies that
helped him in his quest to 2012!

Beckie Scott, and her amazing journey. 

An AMAZING colleague of mine, Dr. Jeff Cubos, has written an awesome blog on this conference that he also took part in. It was great to speak with Jeff as he's totally an inspiration and source of learning for me as he's pretty much a master at "continuing education" we'll call it. Read about his experiences here.   

Pre- Olympic Training in Apeldoorn Holland

For the past week and a bit I have  been in Apeldoorn, Holland with the Olympic Track Cycling team who are putting the last minute touches on their training in preparation for the Olympics! Basically the week has gone like this:

6-8am-Staff workout time: I have been doing these amazing runs, sometimes with other staff members, sometimes alone. This is hands down one of the best places I have run while travelling. I have run 8 days and never taken the same route twice! There are bike paths galore and dirt trails through forests, fields, along canals! Truly amazing running!



















9-2 or 3- Track Training- my role with the team includes being an extra set of hands at the track, making sure the riders are taken care of, carrying equipment, counting laps (my fav job!), and holding bikes, and providing any treatment or taping as the need comes up! I am sure it is this part of the job that is allowing me to be here at the Olympics and accredited to be in the village! All the athletes are looking super fast in their "retro" blue skinsuits and I am excited to see what successes we have when we start racing in London!

3-9- Treatments- I have a sweet little treatment room set up in one of the houses where the athletes come for their scheduled sessions. Some people get treatments daily while others space it out. At first we were working on a lot of tight spots from travel and training, but its awesome to see how everyone responds well to the ART, Graston, K-taping and adjusting and at this point things are just minor and maintenance. I do what I can to help with recovery after tough training sessions, and to prepare their bodies for the race of their lifetimes!


















9- dinner- We are super lucky to have a nutritionist travelling with us who is an amazing cook! She's taking care of us big-time with super nutritious healthy tasty food!

9-10- staff meeting- to plan logistics for the next day, so we all know what is expected of us and how we can make things run as smoothly as possible for the athletes so they can focus on training and not worry about the little stuff!

10-Midnight- since I still have 2 clinics to run back home, I need to be sure that I stay on top of things! My teams back home do a fantastic job, but I usually try to take advantage of the perceived extra "computer time" that I may get to tackle marketing projects, articles and the like. Then I am good and tired and ready for sleep by then!

OFF TO THE OLYMPICS!!!!

Day 1
Off to the airport in LA to help pick up luggage and equipment that is necessary for us to take to the Olympics. After a long layover in LA, (not all bad as I got to hang out by the pool for a bit! Steve-o the video/camera guy and I met up with the girls and we were off on an overnight flight to London!  A bit of pre-flight taping in the lounge and some fun and anticipation lay ahead.

When we arrived in London, (me with a migraine booo) we were greeted and helped by a bunch of volunteers. It was pretty much the first day on the job and people were pumped. There was an accreditation centre set up in the airport and athletes were looked after, we loaded all luggage and bikes in a van to go straight to Amsterdam as the girls and I loaded a bus to the athlete's village for the clothing fitting.

One of the major hiccups for this first day was this process of getting to the village by bus, our bus had a malfunction at first, which had us circling the airport for awhile. Then mid- trip the driver pulled over as we had missed a turn or something, so the 1- hour trip turned into 3. An American sprinter tweeted about his lengthy bus ride (4 hours!)

We arrived at the village and my head was pounding. The girls went into accreditation, but I apparently needed a day pass as my accred wouldn't be activated until later on. From there Jacques, the High Performance Director for Cycling Canada took me on a tour of the Canada house, including the COC medical area (was soooo impressed) and the accomodations in the village! So cool, I am pretty excited to be in the village, and incredibly lucky!

We heading to the "tube" (London subway system)  to go to where we would be doing our uniform fitting. There we were sat down and the process we were about to undergo was described. Outfits for opening ceremonies, closing, podium, casual wear, and rules for this were explained. We went into these changerooms and were meant to try everything on to ensure they fit: t-shirts, shorts, hats, hoodies, sweatshirts, shoes, flipflops, pants, the outfits above, backpack, suitcase, toiletries and sponsor gifts!! I am sooooo incredibly lucky to get all this stuff! I was overwhelmed at it all! The girls were pretty pumped too! Fashion Show Galore!




After the fitting, we had to go back to the village to trade in our day passes for passports. Another bit of debokle in terms of shuttle buses, and at one point Steve-o and I were on the back on a golf cart as well! Half hour late and almost not receiving our passports, we took the tube to the performance centre, which is a student residence building that is housing most of the COC. Not a bad little place, I will be there after the cycling as well until closing ceremonies!


Head pounding but starving, I went with steve to grab some dinner- Iandian food. Was soooo good- then to bed for the first time in 2 days!  So excited to see what lay ahead in the next few weeks!