My good friend Rudy loves to tell the story of how we first met. I was looking at the results of a sprint triathlon that we had just finished and I introduced myself as the guy who beat him! This was vintage Mike Wasserman. I was quite excited about my efforts that day and enthusiastically wanted to share my excitement. The results were actually secondary. A few years later, I was just as excited when Rudy passed me during the run of another sprint triathlon. What has always mattered to me when I race triathlons is giving it my best effort. Of this I am quite passionate.
There are many people in the field of geriatrics who have known me for many years. I have worn my passion on my sleeve in a similar fashion. Having been blessed to have had success in a number of endeavors in my chosen profession, I am often excited to share my knowledge with others. I recognize that at times this can turn people off as my passion can be overwhelming and come across as if I have too big of an ego. This is actually something that I am working on. It can be difficult, however, when my gut tells me that I have some answers as to the best way to care for frail older adults. In both clinical situations and in business, I have always trusted my gut, and it has often served me well. Figuring out how to effectively channel those instincts has become my holy grail.
Today was week 13 in my mission to complete a 20 mile run every week for 20 weeks. It was easily my most difficult run and it was truly humbling. The fact that I essentially completed 85% of an ironman over a weekend just two weeks ago, and did a solid 20 mile run in Central Park last weekend, culminating with a 10K, put me in a position today where my legs were tired and were pretty sore just 10 miles into my run. However, there was no way I wasn’t completing my run today. In my usual enthusiastic and optimistic approach, I actually went out a little faster than usual today for the first eight miles, which in retrospect may have been a bit ambitious. Again, that’s me, and as I started slowing down, I had to remodulate my plans and adjust my effort. I made one last attempt to pick up my effort with four miles to go, but my right calf started to spasm, and I realized that today was just about completing the twenty miles. Still, running 20 miles at nearly 57 years of age under such circumstances at about a 9 minute per mile pace is something I am quite proud of.
I always say that Ironman often imitates life and today was no exception. There have been many times in my career that my enthusiasm to share my thoughts and ideas about the most effective way to deliver care to older adults is too strong. In these circumstances, as of late, I have been learning to slow down, just as I did today when I got ahead of myself during my 20 mile run. There is a definite balance between allowing ones passion to show through and maintaining a level of humbleness that assures that we can get to the finish line. The challenge, on the other hand, if figuring out when it’s time to push forward and when it’s time to back off. While I am proud of the fact that I am nearly 2/3 of the way to my goal, I was quite humbled by my experience today.
This week was the Annual Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society. As is my annual experience, each day lasted about 15 hours. I saw many old friends, heard lots of great talks and learned a lot about the state of geriatrics in today’s world. There was a lot of angst over the upcoming new government rules for physicians. My experience from the business side of healthcare over the last three decades is setting off lots of bells and whistles in my head and heart. I kept my thoughts and opinions mostly to myself this past week, a departure from my usual passionate desire to tell everyone what I think. Over the coming weeks, I think that I’ll formulate my thoughts in a constructive fashion so that anyone who is interested might have the opportunity to consider my suggestions.
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