@TheScrubSink

Every surgery day starts with a five minute ritual of washing my hands. I share these moments with other members of the surgical team; they are the "water-cooler" conversations of the operating room. Here are a few thoughts, topics, and trends that were on my mind this week @TheScrubSink.

1. Ultramarathons. On June 15, I ran the Wy'east Wonder 50 Miler in Parkdale, OR. My first, and only other, "ultra" (which is any race longer than the typical 26.2-mile distance of the marathon), was the 2015 Silver Falls 50K, so this course was almost 20 miles longer yet. I toed the line, with nerves heightened by a sore throat that started just the day before. I fell twice within the first ten miles, twisted my ankle at mile 12, lost a toenail at about the halfway point, but my legs stayed strong and I finished 11th overall, in 8hrs, 48 minutes. The whole second half was painful, with every single step, but somehow I just settled in to my pace, took in the phenomenal sights of the Gunsight and Surveyor's Ridge trails, and--strangely--I actually enjoyed it. Realizing that I'd be running all day out there, I was forced to subdue my usual competitive nature, take in the scenery, and just run.

The following weekend I watched with amazement as the results came in from a race twice as long as mine: the Western States 100, one of the world's legendary ultras. In triple digit temps, Jim Walmsley set a new course record of 14hrs, 30minutes for the 100-mile course. Truly impressive, and almost un-imaginable, especially since he crossed the finish looking like he just walked in the door after an easy warmup jog.

2. College World Series. After coaching my 8 year old's baseball team for the past 3 years, I've learned the value and joy of watching the game with him and these young players. We've watched local high school games, the College Softball World Series (which in some ways is more similar to the youth game), MLB games--GO CARDINALS!! And last week, we watched the drama unfold in Omaha as the Oregon State Beavers came through the loser's bracket to reach the final series, and then to come from behind against Arkansas, to stay resilient when the calls weren't going their way, and to trust freshman pitcher Kevin Abel to shut down the Razorbacks through all nine innings and deliver the title in the decisive third game. This profile of 5th-year senior Kyle Nobach shows how truly masterful coach like Pat Casey approaches his craft. Reminds me a little of the thought-provoking film Whiplash, a must-see about a developing jazz drummer and the controversial methods of his mentor.

3. World Cup Soccer. According to FIFA, half of the humans alive tune into at least one match of the World Cup. Need I say more?