Seasons

Now that it's November, the weather in Basra, Iraq has turned. The air has cooled and the dust storms of the summer are a thing of the past.

Blackhawk rides have become bearable, not leaving you sapped of energy and sweating through all the layers of your clothing and body armor by the time you land.

Waking up at 0330 to go running this morning was actually a bit chilly with the temperature around 60 degrees. The entire 23 mile run while watching the glorious Arabian sunrise coming over the sands and oil-field fires stayed comfortable, with the muscles getting tired before heat injuries occurred. That would have been a rarity during the summer months when it felt as though you could reach out and touch the scorching sun. Now sweat stays on clothes and your shoes stay wet for hours instead of seconds.

The skies have cleared up as the dust seems to have cleared out. Orion and Gemini are among my companions on the walk home from work many evenings. The cool breeze contrasts the former hot winds and sometimes I just stop and pause to stare out amongst the stars as I dream of home.

One season closer to getting back.

My First Marathon

Saturday 12Sep09. A relatively easy day with 2.5 hours in a helicopter, two hours of weightlifting at the gym, and 8 hours in the office. The plan after work was to run 16 miles at a sub nine-minute pace due to the relative coolness of 93 degrees. Previous farthest run was 15 miles.

At 2116 (9:16pm) we began our run, and found exceptionally ideal conditions. We ran a 5-mile loop, a 7-mile loop, and another 5-mile loop. Finishing these at a 8:57 pace, my friend and I were quite happy. Displaying a slightly confused perspective of distance, I said, "Let's just keep running, we're almost at a marathon." My friend disagreed and went back to his CHU to sleep, but I decided it would be worth it to keep going.

I ran another 3.5-mile loop, which covered 1/3 of the remaining distance, and realized just how far there was yet to run. However, since I had told my friend that I was going to run a marathon, I knew I had to finish it.

Becoming more mentally impaired and hitting a wall at around 21 miles, I slowed down considerably and began taking breaks every mile or so for a minute or two. My stomach was churning in pain after I would run for about a mile and forced me to stop for a bit for it to recover. I was now only running a half-mile loop around our living area over and over to make sure that if I did trip or pass out, I wouldn't be too far from home or from people. Without anyone else around, I resorted to praying and talking to myself to pass the time.

Finishing at 0219 (now 91 degrees out), with 4:32 of run-time and 31 minutes of total stop-time, I cheered for myself and then walked over to a colleague's CHU to drop off my Garmin for him to use the next morning. Feeling pretty fine, I went home, told my roommate who was still up watching movies, and then walked to the shower trailer and got ready for bed (noticing in the shower I was still talking to myself, I think that I need to eat more during the next time I run something like that).

Asleep by 0300, I slept in until 1300 for the first time on the deployment. On waking up, I felt fine and went into work. That evening Tom and I ran a 5k in 26:15 (8:13 pace) and are now training to run a marathon in the future a little faster. I figure if I am lucky enough to be in the shape I am without injuries right now, I have to take advantage of it and try as hard as I can to capitalize on the opportunity.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." -Colossians 3:23