Spring into Action: Gearing Up for Race Season with Dr. Ben Bring
March 5, 2024 | Episode 12
Producer’s Note: The following is an AI-generated transcript of The Wellness Conversation, an OhioHealth Podcast
SPEAKERS: Ben Bring, MD, Missy Gleason, Marcus Thorpe
Marcus Thorpe 00:14
Hello and welcome to another episode of the wellness conversation brought to you by OhioHealth. I'm one of your hosts Marcus Thorpe,
Missy Gleason 00:20
and I'm your other host Missy Gleason. Today we're tackling a topic that's sure to get your heart racing preparing for spring running season.
Marcus Thorpe 00:28
Now whether you're a seasoned marathoner, or maybe just starting out, we have got some invaluable advice. coming your way. Today, we are joined by Dr. Ben Bring who's a sports medicine expert, and the Medical Director of the Cap City half marathon. Dr. Bring, it's good to see you. Thanks for joining.
Dr. Ben Bring 00:41
Hey, good morning. Thanks for having me.
Missy Gleason 00:43
Absolutely. So before we start, remember to follow us on your favorite podcast platform and to stay updated with the latest in health and wellness right here in Ohio. Now, let's get to today's conversation.
Marcus Thorpe 00:54
All right Dr. Bring, let's learn a little bit more about you your journey to becoming a physician maybe what led you to becoming the Medical Director of the Cap City half.
Missy Gleason 01:02
He is great. So for a lot of our listeners, spring right now starts the return to outdoor running. What are your key tips first starting training safely and effectively and making that transition from maybe indoor on a treadmill to outside?
Dr. Ben Bring 01:02
Yeah, so I was a 400 800 runner in high school at Columbus Academy never got really gotten into distance running until I got a little bit older, and really couldn't sprint anymore. And you know, growing up, I always lived in the athletic training room. I played soccer and basketball played football at Denison University. So I was always working on injuries. I was always kind of around sports medicine. And I've had great mentors over the years too. People, not only athletic trainers, but also physicians that have kind of helped guide me into this field. One of my favorite mentors is Dr. Darren Bright, just spending time with him as an intern. Learning about race medicine, we wrote a couple of articles together. And I joke this job kind of came up because I kept kind of hanging around. I kept you know, volunteering, kept being on Dr. Brights team. And I joked I used to have a slide for our race medicine stuff that everything you ever need to know you learned in kindergarten. I joked, that everything I learned about race medicine I learned from Dr. Bright, who was one of the leaders in this field. Yeah, so running on a treadmill versus on pavement is very different, you're using a lot of different muscles. And so the very first thing I tried to tell people to do is get fitted for a really good pair of shoes. You know, our partners at Fleet feet, they have this 3D fit technology, it's really cool, you can go and get your foot maps, you know, a lot of people have different size feet than they think I was actually running in the wrong type of shoes until I first went to fleet feet about five or six years ago, and got fitted for the appropriate pair of shoes, I used to get blisters on the arch of my foot. And so that's really the biggest mistake that I see as people will buy a cheap pair of shoes online. But really, I think the best thing to do is go and get fitted first for that. And the second thing I would also recommend is if you do have the time, and the ability to go check out our runners clinic with Amy Harrison, especially for new runners, she can identify areas of weakness, especially in your glutes. condition, I like to call it dead, butt syndrome, which I also suffer from, where you're able to look at some areas of weakness prior to getting into actual training. So those would probably be two really good preventative things to do. My track coach Bob Kirk used to say get a great pair of fast shoes. So that's usually the fast shoes usually come out this time of year right when Cap City starts happening.
Marcus Thorpe 03:27
It's curious where they are on the shelf, because I always go look at him and mine are always the slow version, I guess. Yeah, I should ask that question a little bit more,
Dr. Ben Bring 03:33
You know, everyone's got their different version of fast, Marcus. And as I've gotten older, so I'm proud to say I'm still the fastest in the family. Although my 10 year old, it's not law, it's not going to be long. So I'm still claiming that title the fastest and the bring family.
Marcus Thorpe 03:47
Well they're catching up on you.
Dr. Ben Bring 03:48
They are, yeah.
Marcus Thorpe 03:49
Let's talk about injuries. I have a couple of questions on injuries. But I guess the first one is, how do you set yourself up? Because everybody you know, when you get in your mind, hey, I'm going to be a runner, I want to go and start running or I want to do this. I think the urge is to go out there and just push yourself beyond what you're probably ready for. I mean, I think to myself, if I went and tried to run right now, holy cow, I might push it too far, because I haven't been doing those kinds of things. How often do you see people get hurt right off the bat when they start a running program? Because they haven't set the guidelines for themselves to not get hurt.
Dr. Ben Bring 04:15
Right. And this is we see this a lot lower extremity injuries, especially this time of year, people doing too much too fast. And so our rule kind of is, you know, I would rather you run very short distances slowly but do them well with good mechanics, as opposed to jumping in and saying, you know, hey, I'm going to train for this half marathon in April with the Cap City, but then you know, you ramp up your mileage too quickly. So that's usually what we see. And honestly too everybody's weak, I mean, look at what we're doing. We sit all day and we were just talking about that before the podcast started. I spend probably seven, eight hours a day sitting and so my core stabilizers, my back muscles, your hip stabilizers. They're all weak. And so this is where I'm a big proponent of strength training. And strength training often gets overlooked, unfortunately, with new runners, because I think there's just this focus of, I need to just get out there and start running. But if you're weak and you're deconditioned, before you start running, that can create a lot of problems as well.
Marcus Thorpe 05:19
And then how about those runners who maybe have hit their stride a little bit. And during their training, maybe for Cap City, maybe for another race, they start to develop things like Shin splints or another injury, how do you scale yourself back to take care of your body and not maybe pushing through that which leads to a longer term injury, which means then you're sidelined for even longer for a runner, it's hard to sit out when you want to get to your ultimate goal.
Dr. Ben Bring 05:44
Well runners as a fellow runners were the worst patients and you know, figuring out the difference between pain and soreness is very challenging thing to do. And a lot of times I know runners will often use running, you know, as a form of mental health and stress relief. And so when you have to tell a runner, hey, you need to cut back or you need to take a couple of days of rest. That can be a really challenging thing. So you know, if you are worried some things to really work, look at, you know, if you're having like nighttime pain, you know, pain with just walking going up and down stairs, and again, I'm sticking mostly to these lower extremity injuries, those are really things you should you should really start to go talk to your doctor about. stress injuries, unfortunately are, you know, on the rise in new runners as well. Shin splints can turn into stress fractures very quickly. And same with the bones in your feet, unfortunately, just with lack of repetitive movement, and then going out and doing a whole bunch of ones can put you at risk for some of those stress injuries. For
Missy Gleason 06:40
For somebody who is running and starting out running, or even just somebody who is getting ready for a race, how important is stretching before and after you're running?
Dr. Ben Bring 06:49
Yeah, so stretching and mobility are kind of the two things. So I think we often growing up, I know, in our generation, we were always taught the static stretching, one thing I encourage runners to do is mobility, especially lower extremity mobility is so important. One thing that really gets overlooked is big toe extension. And so a lot of times what I'll do, and that's really where everything starts in the gate is through, and I do this for you don't really want a heel strike. But if you're mid foot striking, you really want that mobility in that big toe as much as you can. So you can use like a golf ball, a tennis ball. And ankle mobility is also really important. And then hip mobility too our hip, you know, where we're sitting, sitting right now, it's kind of stuck in this one position all day, we want to work on internal external rotation, flexion extension, you want to try to hit all those planes of hip mobility. And so before I go run now, when I was 15, I could roll out of bed and go run five miles, and not think anything of it. As I approach 40, I generally spend about 20 minutes of warm up prior to getting out and running. So maybe not so much of the stretching, but the mobility, and activating the gluteal muscles is really important.
Missy Gleason 08:00
My 15 year old is a runner, and I can't tell you how many times I have to ask him, have you stretched? Or have you cooled down? Right, does he I mean, I know that's the nature of teenagers, they don't like the part where they have to do the work, they want to just get out and run fast. But as I've gotten older, I'm like, I really enjoy stretching, I really wish you would enjoy it.
Dr. Ben Bring 08:20
Stretching is a great part of you know, the post training, recovery too stretching is is very important. It also helps build, excuse me healthy muscle fibers as well. You know, our track coach, you know, for the 15 year olds that are listening out there. I don't know how many there will be. We used to warm up to miles before we would start any workouts to so you know, we're making sure you do a really good warm up before you get in. You know, I know we're gonna approach spring track season as well. That warm up is really important.
Marcus Thorpe 08:47
Turns out we have 10's of 1000s of 15 year olds
Dr. Ben Bring 08:52
Untouched demographic.
Marcus Thorpe 08:53
We want to talk about, you know, kind of making this a family affair too, right? I mean, if the parents are running in those kinds of things, and you incorporate some of the kids into running too I think that's a good way to go about it. But let's talk about are there limits for kids? I mean, you work a lot in high schools I know in sports medicine, but how do you limit how much a 10 year old runs versus how much a 15 year old runs? Do you have to set some healthy limits for people?
Dr. Ben Bring 09:18
Absolutely. And I think for young kids especially don't focus so much on distance. I know there's there's all these like competitions out there. Now everyone's got Strava or everyone's got some sort of metric measuring of I ran 60 or 70 miles this week, especially if you have a new high school runner. Make it fun. Because at the end of the day, most of us almost all of us are not going to run professionally. So running needs to be fun. And I think kids that overdo it at a young age can get burned out easily. And also kids have growth plates, which we don't have. And growth plate injuries, unfortunately are very, very common. kids that play soccer or baseball year round. We see a lot of these growth plate injuries. So If you say to limit it to a certain number of miles, I think, you know, definitely for under 10 and under probably shouldn't exceed 10 miles a week. Honestly, I think that's, that's probably an even for high school kids. I went to the fleet feet cross country camp to talk to some of their runners this year, you know, there were guys run in 60 70 miles a week over the summer, my counter to them was, Do 40 to 50 miles, do those really well and add in some strength training, and you'll be surprised, you know, how much better your 3.1 mile race will go?
Missy Gleason 10:31
Let's shift gears to nutrition and hydration. So we know it nutrition is crucial. You've got to fuel your body, what dietary practices would you recommend for somebody in training right now?
Dr. Ben Bring 10:42
Yeah, so I know carbohydrates. There's a lot of bad press on carbohydrates in the media. But we really need to focus on what are good sources of carbohydrates, because that's our source of glycogen. So glycogen is an energy storage in our muscles. So when we train, we have to have energy to be able to run and train. And so that's really where so first thing in the morning, I tell people start off with as much protein as you can, the protein is going to help with, you know, muscle synthesis, it's also going to give you a great energy source, it's not going to weigh you down as much. And then simple starches. So you know, to keep it basically simple. Don't eat any fast foods, junk foods, anything that's alter process. Those are the bad carbohydrates. If we're eating good carbohydrates, things like you know, starches like potatoes, cauliflower, bananas, those types of things can be really good for you. Another big mistake that I see, especially with marathon training, is lack of calorie intake. And I'll see a lot of people develop these stress injuries or bone injuries because they're not getting enough calories. There was a condition, we used to call it, you know, the female athlete triad, but we started to see it in men, it's now called relative energy deficiency in sport, or reds. And this is where kids will develop all kinds of health problems because they're not getting enough calories. And especially in adults to definitely make sure you talk to your physician and make sure for the miles you're putting in you want to make sure you're fueling your body appropriately. And you know, we're not all built like Ferraris, like Marcus's but you know, you would never put you know, bad fuel in a Ferrari like like Marcus right? So you always want to make sure you're eating appropriately.
Marcus Thorpe 12:18
I'm really good at the carbo load stuff I need to sprinkle in some of the running along. Missy mentioned hydration. Can you talk about the importance of that? Obviously, we know and it's, it's been talked about from every direction of how much water you need. But these runners that are out there pushing themselves sweating for hours at a time. Replacing that as got to be critical to success.
Dr. Ben Bring 12:43
Yeah it's hard. So I'll share a personal story. So this past August, a couple of friends and I we climbed up Mount Whitney, which is the highest in the lower 48. And I over hydrated for this. So because they said at the, you know, when you go to elevation, you want to be really well hydrated, you know, it's a 23 mile round trip with almost 7000 feet of gain. And what I found was I started getting symptoms of what's called hyponatremia. And so basically where my sodium levels dropped, and so I started getting like my hand started swelling. And so luckily, we brought electrolyte replacement tabs, it was a pretty easy fix. But a lot of times what we'll see in distance runners is, it's a fine balance of under hydration versus over hydration. We've actually seen a couple cases of hyponatremia at some of the marathons, Boston did a study where I think they said almost 13% of their runners at one point had some level of hyponatremia or low sodium. So I always caution new runners too don't overdo it. So a good way to figure out and we're all built a little bit different. A good way to figure out how much water should I drink should be based on so I would say weigh yourself before you run, then if you go do a long run, figure out how many pounds you've lost since then. And then they usually say about six ounces of water per pound loss. But also making sure you're getting good electrolyte replacement in there too. Because we'll see that on these longer runs where people all they're doing is drinking water. There's no salt in there and some people are bigger salt losers and others and you know if you ever see the guys that you know at the gym when they sweat and they've got like the, you know, like the salt stains all over their shirts and necks that those are the ones you got to say like hey, you should probably think about adding some salt in.
Missy Gleason 14:23
So electrolytes or salt?
Dr. Ben Bring 14:27
Yes.
Missy Gleason 14:28
And when you're running would you suggest that somebody if they need it? Or are they drinking it during their run? Is it something for after to replenish?
Dr. Ben Bring 14:36
A little bit of both. Yeah, so even ahead of time you want to make sure you haven't like overdone it, but you also want to make sure you're well hydrated. The old adage of urine color can also be beneficial for this too. I know there's a couple good charts online where you can kind of look to see what that what that might look like. But everybody's built a little bit differently. And so this is where, you know, as you're training and as you're increasing your mileage, you know if you're doing three miles five miles That's probably not an issue, when you start to go out to like the 18 to 20 mile races, or even training runs, those are the ones where you can get into a little bit of trouble. And that's really where you know, work with your physician or work with. I know, there's a lot of great running coaches here in the area that can kind of help you figure out what your fluid replacement should look like. At the Cap City, I know we always have some sort of electrolyte replacement out on the course, some of the sports drinks I am a fan of, except they contain a lot of sugar. So you have to be very careful with that. So usually, I encourage people to dilute it down and add a little bit of salt in there. And that can be a little bit better.
Marcus Thorpe 15:35
You're listening to the wellness conversation brought to you by OhioHealth by Marcus Thorpe with my co host, Missy Gleason. And our guest today is Dr. Ben Bring, sports medicine expert and the Medical Director of the OhioHealth Cap City half marathon. Dr. Bring. Let's also talk a little bit about the mental aspects of race preparation and kind of getting yourself there. What strategies do you suggest for staying motivated, mentally prepared for a race book? Because we know running can be just as much mental as it is physical in some cases?
Dr. Ben Bring 16:06
Yeah. So I think this, you know, we're in the era of new year's resolutions right now. And I know we always joke the road to Cap City starts today. And so one of the first things I tell patients to do is visualize what you think the race is going to look like, whether it's the 5k, the quarter or the half, sit and just take, even if you take a couple minutes a day and visualize kind of like what it would look like for you to finish the race, who's going to be there. Visualization is a really good thing to think about, especially when you're looking at short and long term goals. And then the other thing I like to talk about is positive thinking, we work on this with our residents. I know positive thinking is super hard this day and age. You know, one of my, in the diversity Scholars Program document now Dr. Mugisha told me this, it was a really good thing. So he and I were mentor mentees, and he said, you know, Comparison is the thief of joy. We live in this age of social media and everyone's looking online to see, well, you know, so and so's training for this or they're ahead of me, and they they're running a seven minute mile pace, and I'm only running a 10 minute mile pace. You know, don't worry about what everyone else is doing. My favorite thing is like, look at what's in front of you look at your personal goals, you know, and celebrate those goals too. I think a lot of times we don't celebrate the positive things that we're doing, as individuals, you know, I used to be able to run a sub five minute mile in high school. I'm nowhere near that anymore. So my title is still fastest in the family. That's where I'm grasping on to. But going back to the positive thinking, you know, I think that there's it's a it's a lost art in today's day and age, we're so focused on these compressed schedules. And we've kind of lost the ability to, to look at ourselves in the mirror and say, hey, you know what, this training is doing great. And, you know, I work with patients on this in the office, too, if they come in and they say, you know, oh, well, you know, my diet hasn't been as great or I've stopped exercising, it's like, it's okay, you know, the best thing is that you've got today and you've got tomorrow, don't worry about the past. But that positive thinking can be very, very powerful. I know there's a lot of great people online that can help with that. A couple good apps that can help with that too, for mindfulness as well. But, you know, when you set goals, create, you know, something that's specific and measurable, and then stay positive, there's gonna be days you miss. I mean, there's days that I miss, like, coaching my kids basketball practice, or, you know, it's okay, that's the best thing is you still have tomorrow to get it back.
Marcus Thorpe 18:34
Setbacks are always gonna be there
Dr. Ben Bring 18:36
Always.
Missy Gleason 18:37
And running your own race.
Dr. Ben Bring 18:39
Right
Missy Gleason 18:39
As a parent to a runner to two runners, I've always emphasized run your race. And always look at what you did last time and try and be a little bit better this time. And my oldest was very negative, and he would start a race every time and he goes, this is gonna be awful. This is gonna be the worst race ever. And then he'd get a PR because he somehow found the energy out there. But I just I always you tarred with younger kids. I know we have so many 15 year old listeners, but it's hard with younger kids to just have them think about themselves and not about the guy running next to them.
Dr. Ben Bring 19:12
For Sure. One thing I love the running community, especially here in Columbus, it is one of the best groups of people you will ever meet. So Ryan Weibel. And I we actually got to go work with Boston Marathon, their medical team this past year, we were on an airplane with all these runners from Columbus. And it was like just such a positive vibe and positive energy. And so that for new runners, especially I would say, get connected with a group of runners. There's nothing that's going to be better for your mental health, your well being and that you know that group mentality and group thinking of shared goals. You know, even if you're if you're starting off and you're like at a 20 minute mile pace, no one in these groups will ever judge you and they're always there to support you and back you up. I know the marathoners and training is a great group here in Columbus especially And it holds you accountable too because then you got people texting you. Hey, are you going to the workout today? Hey, how are you feeling with this? So, right to your point there's the group mentality is is very powerful.
Missy Gleason 20:11
I have to say, as a parent, the cross country and community like the teams, it is one of the most uplifting sports to ever watch. When you see even the last person coming in crossing line, everybody's still at the finish line screaming and yelling for them. It's just such a wonderful atmosphere.
Dr. Ben Bring 20:28
I love it. Yeah. And even at the marathon to you know, the last couple of people that finish they're standing ovations, and nobody does that better than David Babner. He knows, like, who knows who his runners are. And, you know, the Cap City and yeah, so it's all it is very inspirational watch.
Missy Gleason 20:42
That's great. So we were talking about a little bit about gear and technology. I know you're talking about apps to help you in your running. Are there any favorites that you have recommendations for our listeners, this could be apps, this could be wearables.
Dr. Ben Bring 20:57
Yeah there's a lot of stuff out there now. So going back to the shoes, probably the most important thing is, you know, going back to the shoes, now I was reading last night, there are these new shoes that will monitor your gait and you know, your, your cadence and all these things, which I think is great. But especially if you're a new runner, you know, just go buy a great pair of fitted shoes. Don't worry about all that other stuff yet. If you have the funds, try to get a smartwatch it for a couple of reasons. So the smartwatches can give you some metrics that can help with your training. One of the best ones is the heart rate, especially as we get new runners, we want to look at what's called their maximum heart rate. So it's 220 minus your age times about 80% is kind of like where we say your, your target heart rate should be. So when I'm running, I always like to have that up on my watch. So I can kind of figure out, am I going too fast? Too slow? Or where am I at? I went to a conference in Colorado Springs, I forgot it was like at elevation. And first thing I do when I get off the plane is try to go run. My heart rate was in like the 130's after like, like a quarter mile. And I was like, Oh yeah, I'm at elevation probably shouldn't be doing that. So the so anyway, so the the watches can also measure cadence. And new runners especially I'm always a fan of increased cadence. Don't lengthen your stride to start, that's going to lead to heel striking, it's going to lead to all these other injuries. So try to take smaller steps when you can, that's when we when we talk about increased cadence, we want to do smaller steps and go low and slow. And that's where the smartwatches can kind of help with that. And beyond that, I think just for new runners, those are probably the best things I think you can start with.
Marcus Thorpe 22:38
Finally, we've really appreciated your time. This is great information. You're also the Medical Director of the OhioHealth Cap City half marathon. So you've been involved with this for an awful lot. You've been there at the start the finish the in between what are some tips you could give listeners about that event? Why does it work out? So well? Why is it such a special event?
Dr. Ben Bring 22:56
So yeah, what I love about Cap City is it's more than just a race. It really is a community event. And you know, David Babner always talks about, it's the world's largest pizza party. And I know, you know, when everyone comes down there and is able to celebrate with their friends and family. It really highlights you know, health and wellness of the central Ohio community and especially the running community as well. And one thing that I love that M3S sports has done over the years, you know, they've truly made it an event. So you don't, it's not you just show up, you run you go home, you know, you're really celebrating health and wellness. And David always says the healthy and active lifestyle. And that's really what Cap City is all about. And, you know, this past year, we were able to have, you know, world champion Abby Steiner, come and join us. You know, as a hometown track hero, world champion, she was our honoree race director. So when you see local celebrities that come by Leo always sings the national anthem from the blue jackets and everyone says Leo, you know, in there's really not much better than race morning on Cap City. When we get there early, four in the morning, and shout out to Jessica Hennessy. I always joke she was the one that got me this job. And, you know, when we're up on the bridge at four in the morning and looking around, and when the when the start goes off, there's really not much of a better thing that you could ever ask for. You know, for a Columbus sporting event, it is a pretty cool thing to see, you know, 12 to 14,000 people lined up on High Street. Awesome.
Marcus Thorpe 24:21
It's quite a view. It's, you're right, it is one of the biggest events this city does each and every year and it's been one of the most successful long lasting ones too, for a reason. That's it.
Missy Gleason 24:34
And just if you're listening and you're not too sure who David Babner is, he is the founder of M3S sports. So M3S sports is the organization that puts on multiple races in the Central Ohio area. They do a great job. We work with them every year and they're just wonderful people too.
Marcus Thorpe 24:50
All right, let's wrap up with what we really love to end our show with which is the personal touch getting to know Dr. Bring a little bit. You're ready for some rapid fire.
Dr. Ben Bring 24:59
We'll do it, yeah.
Marcus Thorpe 25:00
Your favorite place to run either here in Ohio or maybe anywhere in the world sounds like you have seen quite a lot of spaces when it comes to running.
Dr. Ben Bring 25:07
Yeah so if you said, I love going out west like we we've taken our family out west, there was a hike called Angels Landing out in Zion not as much elevation but I had my trail runners and actually ran up to there's this park called Walter's wiggles in my trail runners, and that was probably my favorite run I've ever done. Yeah. In Zion National Park.
Missy Gleason 25:30
Do you have any pictures from it?
Dr. Ben Bring 25:31
I do. Yeah, absolutely. I'll share those.
Missy Gleason 25:35
Is there anything that is like your favorite food or something to have post run?
Dr. Ben Bring 25:40
Oh pizza. I mean, as the son or the grandson of Italian immigrants, anything Italian food pizza pasta. All the above? Those are those are by far yeah, we so we have a running tradition in the brewing household where we try to find our favorite pizza places in Columbus and hit those up. So that's that's my guilty pleasure there.
Marcus Thorpe 26:04
Yeah, Missy wants to see pictures of that.
Dr. Ben Bring 26:06
You want to see pizza?
Marcus Thorpe 26:09
Running. Do you like music? Do you like nature? What do you like to listen to?
Dr. Ben Bring 26:12
I always have a good playlist Marcus and as an aspiring amateur DJ. My DJ name is DJ ham slam that's for another day. But I always have a great playlist. So if you said if I could only pick a couple of artists. Oh my gosh, that would that would be tough. Recently, it's been more of like classic rock ACDC Van Halen, like to throw some of that stuff on there. But in the summertime, you go for some longer runs, maybe something a little bit slower.
Marcus Thorpe 26:39
Taylor Swift? Big swifty?
Dr. Ben Bring 26:41
Of course, big Swifty,
Missy Gleason 26:43
I was gonna say OhioHealth does have their own Spotify channels.
Marcus Thorpe 26:46
Right also, if you'd like to listen to the wellness conversation while you're running, it is available on all major platforms. You could listen to that too Ben.
Dr. Ben Bring 26:53
Oh, yeah.
Missy Gleason 26:56
So are you an early bird with your morning run? Or do you prefer an evening jog?
Dr. Ben Bring 27:01
I almost always evening jogs. So and I joke this goes back to even when I was in undergrad like my best study time was 10pm to 2am. When so like, I've always kind of been a night owl. And so yeah, evening runs always.
Marcus Thorpe 27:17
I think finally, how about one piece of advice you would give your younger self about running maybe life in general? You're still a young man.
Dr. Ben Bring 27:25
I'm getting close to that over the hill mark here. You know, I think you know, I was joking about this the other day. Don't lose like I think in life like yes be, you know, the positive thinking is probably the first thing that came to mind. But unfortunately, as we get older, we get so linear with everything. So like, when I was in my 20s. And, you know, when I was at Denison University, I missed the time for creative thinking and doing things outside the box. So I would say that would probably be my best thing to tell people is find ways to get yourself out of your routines as much as you can. You know, I joke with my wife about this, we always try to find intentional disruption, something that's going to like, you know, completely throw you off. So I'll share a story if we have time this this last year, I did a wilderness medicine conference in Northern California, right on the Klamath River. So you basically go, Howard Donner was our instructor. He's one of the leaders in wilderness medicine, it was nine days, you know, you're sleeping on the ground. Again, there's no internet service. Like you're literally just disconnected for nine days right on the Klamath River. And there was a guy that lived there, and he took care of the property he passed away a couple years ago. But he always said he enjoyed like the morning and the evening show of like the sunrise and the sunset. But I think when you go and do stuff like that, it kind of helps you just kind of hit the pause button in your life of like, you know, I think we're so compressed nowadays. Like and it's okay, sometimes to take a step back, take a couple days to reset, be creative, get off your devices. And you know, go go whitewater rafting. And that was part of the trip to like, Yeah, we did some CME in the mornings and evenings. And we flipped our raft and one of the days because the water levels dropped, but you know, there's this thing called Dragon's tooth and we hit you know, basically just ran right into the boat, the whole boat flipped. And I'm getting a little tangential here in my millennial mind. But you know, the song, the Edmund Fitzgerald, when they say the waves turn the minutes towers, when you're fighting, you're fighting these class three rapids in the in the waves, that's kind of like what you're feeling like, but, you know, it's those experiences that when you've had a long day on the computer, you can think back to like, oh, yeah, that was you know, that was a really magical time to you know, just be outside basically all day every day. But take time to find intentional disruption. I guess that's my long winded way of finding that.
Missy Gleason 29:52
I love that.
Dr. Ben Bring 29:53
Yeah.
Marcus Thorpe 29:53
Me too. It's good. And we thank you so much, Dr. Bring.
Dr. Ben Bring 29:57
Thanks so much for having me.
Marcus Thorpe 29:58
It was great having you
Dr. Ben Bring 29:59
Yeah.
Marcus Thorpe 29:59
Great insights with us and the wellness conversation is definitely a better space because of you. So thank you so much.
Missy Gleason 30:05
Absolutely, and thank you to our listeners for tuning in. We hope you found this episode both informative and enjoyable. Remember, wellness is a journey and we're here to help guide the way.
Marcus Thorpe 30:15
So thank you for joining us for this episode of the wellness conversation and OhioHealth podcast. Before we wrap up, we invite you to follow us on all the major social channels. You can stay up to date on any new episodes as well as other health and wellness topics. And if you're looking for more information on OhioHealth services as well as locations, be sure to visit ohiohealth.com
Missy Gleason 30:34
The information in this specific episode will also be available in written form on the OhioHealth wellness blog you can find that@blog.ohiohealth.com Thanks for joining us and be sure to subscribe as we continue our exploration of important health and wellness topics with OhioHealth experts