Sat AM- 26.4 miles- 3:39:17- includes 10:30 of pit stops
Well after taking Thursday off Friday's run felt like crap. Sometimes the time off makes everything feel worse. Then today I got up at 6:45, ate a bar, drank some coke and slowly got around. By 7:30 I was placing my grocery bag aid station (water, Gatorade, 5 gels, and body glide) down behind the outdoor stage/stadium thingy in the shade. I began churning out 17:00-17:45 minute 2.2mile loops feeling sore in my calves and generally tired. Things got better after 30 minutes but by the 7th lap I seriously debated about aborting the long run effort. But, since I only go down to the south base every two weeks and enjoy its scenery, hills and softer surface so much I told myself to just do another lap and by then I was over the bad patch and continued to grind away. I stopped for 1:30-2:30 every 2nd lap (5 times total) to hit a gel and drink.
Considering last March I ran the Bataan Death March marathon in 3:47 and in April ran 3:34 at the Charlottesville marathon, and 3:28 at the Frederick marathon. Today's solo run up and down the 36 hills in the Sinai desert was a pretty good one.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Friday, March 9, 2007
Whats Your Best Workout Ever?
Thursday- off- travel to south base, slept in
Friday- 7 miles- 55:40
I was doing some work on the running log today and came across a great 15 day stretch in Aug-Sept 1991 where I set PR's in the 3200-10:05, 3 mile-15:53, and 10K-34:51, as well as, did a workout that is honestly one of my lifetime bests. I was about to go into my junior year of high school and had done a good bit of speed work over the summer to prep for, and then compete in, the 800 meters at the Empire State Games. So I had 2:04 speed and had just began doing longer repeat workouts to prep for the XC season.
The workout is a standard one: 3xmile with one lap recovery jog. I manged to run:
5:08, 5:03, 5:04
While I did get faster than this later on I am not sure I ever ran a 3xmile faster. While a senior in March of 1997 at Ithaca College I raced my teammates (I was a practice champ a lot and in races my teammates beat me....I was so stupid!) anyway we did a 5x1200m workout on 3 min recoveries averaging 3:41. In terms of pure performance that maybe my best workout ever. What is yours?
Probably the workout that was toughest...or that the fewest number of folks can say they have done, was completed in Aug of 1998 when I ran 50x400m on a 2 min cycle at 5K race pace. At the time this was 83 sec so I had 37 sec rest. That one killed. I was inspired by a book I read on Emil Zatopek.
Tomorrow I'll be running long again around the south base's 2.2mile sandy crushed coral perimeter road....but I'll be dreaming about great speed workouts to come in the future.
Friday- 7 miles- 55:40
I was doing some work on the running log today and came across a great 15 day stretch in Aug-Sept 1991 where I set PR's in the 3200-10:05, 3 mile-15:53, and 10K-34:51, as well as, did a workout that is honestly one of my lifetime bests. I was about to go into my junior year of high school and had done a good bit of speed work over the summer to prep for, and then compete in, the 800 meters at the Empire State Games. So I had 2:04 speed and had just began doing longer repeat workouts to prep for the XC season.
The workout is a standard one: 3xmile with one lap recovery jog. I manged to run:
5:08, 5:03, 5:04
While I did get faster than this later on I am not sure I ever ran a 3xmile faster. While a senior in March of 1997 at Ithaca College I raced my teammates (I was a practice champ a lot and in races my teammates beat me....I was so stupid!) anyway we did a 5x1200m workout on 3 min recoveries averaging 3:41. In terms of pure performance that maybe my best workout ever. What is yours?
Probably the workout that was toughest...or that the fewest number of folks can say they have done, was completed in Aug of 1998 when I ran 50x400m on a 2 min cycle at 5K race pace. At the time this was 83 sec so I had 37 sec rest. That one killed. I was inspired by a book I read on Emil Zatopek.
Tomorrow I'll be running long again around the south base's 2.2mile sandy crushed coral perimeter road....but I'll be dreaming about great speed workouts to come in the future.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Working on The Speed
AM- 5 miles walk
PM- 7 miles- 3 warm up, 3x 1520m-(ave 5:32), 1 cool down
Well it had been nine days since my last speed workout and thus time to abuse myself in the quest to get some fleetness of the foot back. I want to keep the total miles of fast repeats to just 3 for a couple more weeks so I originally planned to do a 3200, 1600 workout, but when the time came I pretty much wussed out of the 2 mile. It'd hurt.... So I just decided to repeat last weeks workout but cut the 3 minute recovery down to 2 minutes as they seemed a bit overkill last week. I felt pretty good on the warm up only slightly achy and stiff from yesterdays strong 12 miler. This shows that the last 2 months of training are starting to pay off as the same paced 12 miler last November necessitated 2 days off from running.
I am still a bit awkward and uncoordinated running with a quick turnover as it has been a long time, but this weeks repeat miles felt smoother than last week. Neurological gains in muscle coordinated recruitment can explain the gains I showed when comparing rep times to last weeks (ave 5:46). I managed to run 5:40, 5:29, and then 5:26 for the 1520m "mile" rectangle loop I run with my heart rate dropping to 100bpm 80 sec post repeat and to 85bpm 2 minutes post the 3rd repeat. Cardiovascularly I am in pretty good shape, and with 3-5 more weeks of repeats I will start to see real speed improvements as the enzymatic efficiency within the muscles will improve. Intervals suck...but they work!
I am using this blog as a way to hold myself accountable. It is as if I have 50 training partners who will be asking about my workout and who I will be letting down if I chose to skip it or cut it short. So thanks a lot for reading and expressing your interest in what I have to say!
Just to show you the power of the Internets reach...after yesterdays post I received within a 3 hour period emails from people in all facets of my life from the last 15 years:
my best friend from high school 1990-93
Friends and academic adviser at Ithaca College 95-97
Soldiers I worked with in Massachusetts 98-2000
UVA ROTC mates 2000-2002
PT's I worked with in Texas 2003-04
Co-workers 2004-06
And folks I ran races with in 2001,
Grand slammed with in 2002,
and ran in the VHTRC and on the Montrail team with 2001-2007.
Pretty amazing and much appreciated! Thanks and stay in touch
PM- 7 miles- 3 warm up, 3x 1520m-(ave 5:32), 1 cool down
Well it had been nine days since my last speed workout and thus time to abuse myself in the quest to get some fleetness of the foot back. I want to keep the total miles of fast repeats to just 3 for a couple more weeks so I originally planned to do a 3200, 1600 workout, but when the time came I pretty much wussed out of the 2 mile. It'd hurt.... So I just decided to repeat last weeks workout but cut the 3 minute recovery down to 2 minutes as they seemed a bit overkill last week. I felt pretty good on the warm up only slightly achy and stiff from yesterdays strong 12 miler. This shows that the last 2 months of training are starting to pay off as the same paced 12 miler last November necessitated 2 days off from running.
I am still a bit awkward and uncoordinated running with a quick turnover as it has been a long time, but this weeks repeat miles felt smoother than last week. Neurological gains in muscle coordinated recruitment can explain the gains I showed when comparing rep times to last weeks (ave 5:46). I managed to run 5:40, 5:29, and then 5:26 for the 1520m "mile" rectangle loop I run with my heart rate dropping to 100bpm 80 sec post repeat and to 85bpm 2 minutes post the 3rd repeat. Cardiovascularly I am in pretty good shape, and with 3-5 more weeks of repeats I will start to see real speed improvements as the enzymatic efficiency within the muscles will improve. Intervals suck...but they work!
I am using this blog as a way to hold myself accountable. It is as if I have 50 training partners who will be asking about my workout and who I will be letting down if I chose to skip it or cut it short. So thanks a lot for reading and expressing your interest in what I have to say!
Just to show you the power of the Internets reach...after yesterdays post I received within a 3 hour period emails from people in all facets of my life from the last 15 years:
my best friend from high school 1990-93
Friends and academic adviser at Ithaca College 95-97
Soldiers I worked with in Massachusetts 98-2000
UVA ROTC mates 2000-2002
PT's I worked with in Texas 2003-04
Co-workers 2004-06
And folks I ran races with in 2001,
Grand slammed with in 2002,
and ran in the VHTRC and on the Montrail team with 2001-2007.
Pretty amazing and much appreciated! Thanks and stay in touch
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Perspective
Monday- 5 miles- easy jog (stiff)
Tuesday- 12 miles- 1:32 w/ 6x 100m striders in the last mile
I suppose I am as moody as the next guy, but some days I can just get in a funk. The little things tend to tick me off, and I am eager to bite someones head off. Of course I am pretty non confrontation so usually don't do so, but think about it just the same. Usually a good run will take it all out of me, but last night I was still off the "peace and love happy train" even after what was a fine run. I am still bothered by the fact that I am not very fit or fast currently. Why do I have to press pretty good to merely maintain 7:45 pace? Part of the reason is that I simply have been out of touch with my true running pace for a good number of years. I have been (prior to coming to Egypt) running almost exclusively trails which are by nature slower, and not measured. And if a trail is supposedly measured or marked, 9 times out of 10 it is inaccurate anyway. So now that I am running a set measured course the reality of my lack of speed is even more alarming.
I think too, that the reality of the huge life changes about to take place for me is starting to settle in. In July I will be returning back to the USA, leaving the Army, moving with my wife from Arlington, VA to Richmond, buying a new car, finding a new job, starting a new job (both my wife and I), adding a dog to our household/life's. That is a decent amount of change I suppose. And I am, like most people who are runners and very schedule/ritual driven. I (gasp) fear change!
Maybe I am just really getting tired of being away from home....
Studies have shown that the maximal time for a soldier to be deployed and remain optimally mentally alert and on task is 7 months. (Thus the US Marines do 7 month deployments- smart ones them, The Army is more about budget...and 12 month deployments means less money spent on mobilization) although I did take a month of leave back in the states...It has now been 9 months since I left last June.
Blah, that is about all I have to say....except, then I remember perspective:
This is Misha a soldier from the Republic of Georgia (one of the few "Coalition Force" Nations) and a former USSR territory that is now an independent country that has troops in Iraq. Misha's vehicle was hit with an IED killing the other 4 soldiers (Americans) in it. He survived with injuries that included the loss of one eye, one arm, a destroyed knee, fractured femur, fractured tibia, nerve damaged ankle, and an incredibly destroyed right hand/arm that was miraculously rebuilt using a nerve from his left leg, bone from his left hip, muscle from the right side of his stomachs "six pack", and skin from his left thigh. Luckily Misha was allowed to come to Walter Reed for 8 months of surgeries, recuperation and physical rehabilitation. (Say what you want about Walter Reed's administration...but the medical care is as good if not better than any place in the world.)
He did not know any English at all and the first word the poor guy learned was PAIN! All he could do was sit in his bed and cry. I still can't imagine what those first few weeks on the wards of Walter Reed must have been like not being able to communicate and going in for repeated bouts of surgery (he had 24-28 total, I lost count) and feeling loopy from pain meds. Misha's wife was 7 months pregnant when he was injured and thus could not be flown in to see him. Sadly she lost the baby in a late miscarriage. Eventually she came to stay with Misha and together they learned enough English to get by. For the first 2 months I treated him I would call the Georgian Embassy in DC and ask a man named Gocha to translate for me..... "tell Misha I want him to try to sit up today, wait a few seconds and then let me help him try to stand up...it is important" Then I would hold the phone to Misha's ear (as he had no usable hands to do so himself) When it looked like he was no longer listening I would take the phone back and ask..... "does he understand?" It was a long slow process, but look at him now! He emailed me recently and sent these pictures. Looks like he's having fun on some natural water slide.
The human body (and spirit) have amazing recuperative powers. I helped Misha on a daily basis for months, but I think I got more out of it than he did.
Tuesday- 12 miles- 1:32 w/ 6x 100m striders in the last mile
I suppose I am as moody as the next guy, but some days I can just get in a funk. The little things tend to tick me off, and I am eager to bite someones head off. Of course I am pretty non confrontation so usually don't do so, but think about it just the same. Usually a good run will take it all out of me, but last night I was still off the "peace and love happy train" even after what was a fine run. I am still bothered by the fact that I am not very fit or fast currently. Why do I have to press pretty good to merely maintain 7:45 pace? Part of the reason is that I simply have been out of touch with my true running pace for a good number of years. I have been (prior to coming to Egypt) running almost exclusively trails which are by nature slower, and not measured. And if a trail is supposedly measured or marked, 9 times out of 10 it is inaccurate anyway. So now that I am running a set measured course the reality of my lack of speed is even more alarming.
I think too, that the reality of the huge life changes about to take place for me is starting to settle in. In July I will be returning back to the USA, leaving the Army, moving with my wife from Arlington, VA to Richmond, buying a new car, finding a new job, starting a new job (both my wife and I), adding a dog to our household/life's. That is a decent amount of change I suppose. And I am, like most people who are runners and very schedule/ritual driven. I (gasp) fear change!
Maybe I am just really getting tired of being away from home....
Studies have shown that the maximal time for a soldier to be deployed and remain optimally mentally alert and on task is 7 months. (Thus the US Marines do 7 month deployments- smart ones them, The Army is more about budget...and 12 month deployments means less money spent on mobilization) although I did take a month of leave back in the states...It has now been 9 months since I left last June.
Blah, that is about all I have to say....except, then I remember perspective:
This is Misha a soldier from the Republic of Georgia (one of the few "Coalition Force" Nations) and a former USSR territory that is now an independent country that has troops in Iraq. Misha's vehicle was hit with an IED killing the other 4 soldiers (Americans) in it. He survived with injuries that included the loss of one eye, one arm, a destroyed knee, fractured femur, fractured tibia, nerve damaged ankle, and an incredibly destroyed right hand/arm that was miraculously rebuilt using a nerve from his left leg, bone from his left hip, muscle from the right side of his stomachs "six pack", and skin from his left thigh. Luckily Misha was allowed to come to Walter Reed for 8 months of surgeries, recuperation and physical rehabilitation. (Say what you want about Walter Reed's administration...but the medical care is as good if not better than any place in the world.)
He did not know any English at all and the first word the poor guy learned was PAIN! All he could do was sit in his bed and cry. I still can't imagine what those first few weeks on the wards of Walter Reed must have been like not being able to communicate and going in for repeated bouts of surgery (he had 24-28 total, I lost count) and feeling loopy from pain meds. Misha's wife was 7 months pregnant when he was injured and thus could not be flown in to see him. Sadly she lost the baby in a late miscarriage. Eventually she came to stay with Misha and together they learned enough English to get by. For the first 2 months I treated him I would call the Georgian Embassy in DC and ask a man named Gocha to translate for me..... "tell Misha I want him to try to sit up today, wait a few seconds and then let me help him try to stand up...it is important" Then I would hold the phone to Misha's ear (as he had no usable hands to do so himself) When it looked like he was no longer listening I would take the phone back and ask..... "does he understand?" It was a long slow process, but look at him now! He emailed me recently and sent these pictures. Looks like he's having fun on some natural water slide.
The human body (and spirit) have amazing recuperative powers. I helped Misha on a daily basis for months, but I think I got more out of it than he did.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Tough Dudes
I wanted to write and give congrats to some tough dudes on their runs this weekend.
First great job to Greg Crowther on his 50K National title and taking the $500 bucks for winning and the course record bonus.
Great job to Dick Beardsley who after 12 (or so) serious spinal surgeries, knee surgeries, car accidents, and farm machinery mishaps ran a solid 2:45 at the napa valley marathon at the age of 50.
Good work to Patrick Russell on this weekends 37 miler at 6:26 pace. Man, April's 100K National Championships is going to be a super heavyweight fight with Greg, Patrick, and Scott Jurek all set to battle.
First great job to Greg Crowther on his 50K National title and taking the $500 bucks for winning and the course record bonus.
Great job to Dick Beardsley who after 12 (or so) serious spinal surgeries, knee surgeries, car accidents, and farm machinery mishaps ran a solid 2:45 at the napa valley marathon at the age of 50.
Good work to Patrick Russell on this weekends 37 miler at 6:26 pace. Man, April's 100K National Championships is going to be a super heavyweight fight with Greg, Patrick, and Scott Jurek all set to battle.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
My Feet ARE Freaking Peddles Man!
AM- 3 miles jog
PM- 17 miles- 2:11:48 (last 2 in 12:30)
This evenings run was one of those incredible ones where when you first start out everything aches and you don't feel like running. You pound a way for a while and start feeling better, and be the time you are finishing up you're flying and feeling absolutely superb. I started out a hair after 5PM with the bright orange sun lowering in the big clear sky. The afternoon's heat was fading with the suns rays and the normal late afternoon breeze was blowing south off the Mediterranean sea 30 miles to my north. I had put in 92 miles in the last 8 days and was feeling it in my plantar fascia, tibia's, calves and hips. I have been trying to build the miles up and am feeling that feeling where you are walking the razor thin line. One has to stress the body for it to improve via adaptation, yet if you don't rest enough for adequate repair you tear yourself down. Training is an art. And ultrarunning training is even more so.
Around my base (a rectangle 1200m x 2000m) I can run a route where I use all the perimeter roads as well as the interior roads much in the way one mows their lawn....sweeping back and forth. I can do this to make a 5.5 miler or a 6 miler. So I decided to run two 5.5 milers with the plan to run quicker in the last few miles. The first loop was kinda ugly, but by the end of it (44 minutes) I felt good and the sun was beautifully setting the sky a blaze of reds and oranges. In the second loop I began to float along and decided that I should put in a 3rd go round and do a 6 mile version to make it an even 17. (Wiser..just for you!) I thought about ultra stud Greg Crowther going after the 50K USATF championships, and Montrail teammate Patrick Russell hopping to get in a LONG run in the snowy midwest, and about my ICXC teammate Andy doing a 17 miler on a treadmill in cold Ithaca, NY.
After 1:28 I began the third go round and was dazzled by the BIG full moon rising. Great skies here in the desert if nothing else! The temps were dropping but my steady run kept me comfortable in shorts and T-shirt once I tucked the shirt in. Midway through the run I began to think about my goal of running the Vermont 100 well and really fired it up. With two miles to go my feet became the peddles on a Lance Armstrong powered bike in the TDF time trial. They were absolutely spinning. It was as if I was not even moving them and I shredded the pavement down the main strip of base, running past the dining hall, gym, and battalion headquarters. Having pushed on through the 2 hour mark without a single pause to stop/walk/stretch/eat anything/or even drink a sip of water my body was just a roaring using accessory muscles to propel me on. Training the fat mobilization system in runs of this length is very beneficial for ultradistance running and I remembered cranking out a number of these type runs when I lived in Charlottesville, VA and attended UVA. Man I have not felt like this in a run in years. A glimpse of the old me for sure. All I could think was....
100 sub 9:00 miles on July 21st
PM- 17 miles- 2:11:48 (last 2 in 12:30)
This evenings run was one of those incredible ones where when you first start out everything aches and you don't feel like running. You pound a way for a while and start feeling better, and be the time you are finishing up you're flying and feeling absolutely superb. I started out a hair after 5PM with the bright orange sun lowering in the big clear sky. The afternoon's heat was fading with the suns rays and the normal late afternoon breeze was blowing south off the Mediterranean sea 30 miles to my north. I had put in 92 miles in the last 8 days and was feeling it in my plantar fascia, tibia's, calves and hips. I have been trying to build the miles up and am feeling that feeling where you are walking the razor thin line. One has to stress the body for it to improve via adaptation, yet if you don't rest enough for adequate repair you tear yourself down. Training is an art. And ultrarunning training is even more so.
Around my base (a rectangle 1200m x 2000m) I can run a route where I use all the perimeter roads as well as the interior roads much in the way one mows their lawn....sweeping back and forth. I can do this to make a 5.5 miler or a 6 miler. So I decided to run two 5.5 milers with the plan to run quicker in the last few miles. The first loop was kinda ugly, but by the end of it (44 minutes) I felt good and the sun was beautifully setting the sky a blaze of reds and oranges. In the second loop I began to float along and decided that I should put in a 3rd go round and do a 6 mile version to make it an even 17. (Wiser..just for you!) I thought about ultra stud Greg Crowther going after the 50K USATF championships, and Montrail teammate Patrick Russell hopping to get in a LONG run in the snowy midwest, and about my ICXC teammate Andy doing a 17 miler on a treadmill in cold Ithaca, NY.
After 1:28 I began the third go round and was dazzled by the BIG full moon rising. Great skies here in the desert if nothing else! The temps were dropping but my steady run kept me comfortable in shorts and T-shirt once I tucked the shirt in. Midway through the run I began to think about my goal of running the Vermont 100 well and really fired it up. With two miles to go my feet became the peddles on a Lance Armstrong powered bike in the TDF time trial. They were absolutely spinning. It was as if I was not even moving them and I shredded the pavement down the main strip of base, running past the dining hall, gym, and battalion headquarters. Having pushed on through the 2 hour mark without a single pause to stop/walk/stretch/eat anything/or even drink a sip of water my body was just a roaring using accessory muscles to propel me on. Training the fat mobilization system in runs of this length is very beneficial for ultradistance running and I remembered cranking out a number of these type runs when I lived in Charlottesville, VA and attended UVA. Man I have not felt like this in a run in years. A glimpse of the old me for sure. All I could think was....
100 sub 9:00 miles on July 21st
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Feb 25-March 3rd Week Summary
Sun AM- 3miles-walk, PM- 7 miles-58min
Mon AM-4.5- easy, PM 7- w/ 3xmile -5:46ave
Tue - PM- 10miles- 1:22
Wed- 5.5miles walk (tired so listened)
Thur- AM 3mile-jog, PM-8- 1:06
Fri- PM- 10miles- 1:15 (first run with IPOD)
Sat- AM- 8miles 1:01, PM-4 miles walk
Total- 70 miles, one speed session, no long runs
Had planned for a 12-14miler with the last 5 miles at lactate threshold pace, but the body was not liking that so I'll get it in tomorrow.
Stress and adapt....and if you don't allow time for adaptation no improvement can occur.
Mon AM-4.5- easy, PM 7- w/ 3xmile -5:46ave
Tue - PM- 10miles- 1:22
Wed- 5.5miles walk (tired so listened)
Thur- AM 3mile-jog, PM-8- 1:06
Fri- PM- 10miles- 1:15 (first run with IPOD)
Sat- AM- 8miles 1:01, PM-4 miles walk
Total- 70 miles, one speed session, no long runs
Had planned for a 12-14miler with the last 5 miles at lactate threshold pace, but the body was not liking that so I'll get it in tomorrow.
Stress and adapt....and if you don't allow time for adaptation no improvement can occur.
Adding Music To My Run
Okay, I admit it. I am a complete hypocrite and sell out. After years of taunting people who ran with headphones and Walkmans/disc mans/IP3players, I have now finally joined their ranks. I used to discriminate immediately upon seeing someone running with cords coming from their ears. Obviously they were not a REAL runner. The were not serious...they had to be running just to lose weight. I even talked my wife into leaving the music behind...slowing the pace and enjoying the surroundings more. This fortunately lead to running becoming something she really enjoys and not something done as a chore to stay fit. When running in the states I do 90% of my running in the woods on trails and never wanted to listen to music as music simply was all around me in the wild. I did not understand when someone had headphones on while out in nature. Why tune that out? I'm not sure I understand that still, but due to my current life situation I find my running very boring. I either run on a treadmill to avoid the desert sun and heat, or I run multiple boring loops around my small base staring off for miles in every direction with nothing but sand to be seen.
So I caved in and bought an IPOD Shuffle.....which is amazingly small and cool. I have 15 hours of music on it that will not repeat or run out of battery charge. Best of all, the whole thing weighs about the same as a piece of paper. I conveniently clipped it to my Montrail hat and coiled the headphone wire up and twist tied it to the tightening strap on the hat. I then ran the cords directly to my ears. NO JIGGLING CORDS! A beautiful thing for sure.
You know what? Music is pretty nice on the run. I think I am a bit faster while listening to my favorite upbeat tunes, and maybe a little less in tune to my surroundings, but living here I am not missing out on anything. The loop seemed to flow a bit quicker and the boredom was definitely reduced. Will I use the IPOD back in the states on trail? I doubt it, but at least now I have a new appreciation for those who do.
So I caved in and bought an IPOD Shuffle.....which is amazingly small and cool. I have 15 hours of music on it that will not repeat or run out of battery charge. Best of all, the whole thing weighs about the same as a piece of paper. I conveniently clipped it to my Montrail hat and coiled the headphone wire up and twist tied it to the tightening strap on the hat. I then ran the cords directly to my ears. NO JIGGLING CORDS! A beautiful thing for sure.
You know what? Music is pretty nice on the run. I think I am a bit faster while listening to my favorite upbeat tunes, and maybe a little less in tune to my surroundings, but living here I am not missing out on anything. The loop seemed to flow a bit quicker and the boredom was definitely reduced. Will I use the IPOD back in the states on trail? I doubt it, but at least now I have a new appreciation for those who do.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Flags of Our Fathers
I just watched the movie Flags of our Fathers and Wow is all I have got to say. Maybe I am just a softy or maybe war movies affect me more because I have worn a uniform, I don't know. But, if you want to let a few tears role out take in this film. It is brilliantly graphic like Saving Private Ryan and touching like We were soldiers once and young, and tells it the way that I view it. Soldiers don't fight to spread freedom, they fight for each other. I have had the honor of working with my own generations war wounded and even been a long on VIP tours of the capital and the Pentagon. On both occasions I went to help those with amputations get on/off buses and negotiate curbs, stairs, ect. Nothing made me feel so uncomfortable as having huge crowds of people break into applause when we entered rooms on each tour. I am nothing special for sure and was along only to assist so I naturally felt odd, yet the guys I was assisting were just as uncomfortable with all the well wishing and HERO touting. Many many of the men and women I helped with rehab told me they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
My generation's war is not fought like previous ones. I treated soldiers who were blown up in their vehicles when driving in a long convoy. Their jobs were often as simple and as far away from a war fighter as you'd think one could get; like supply clerk, and truck gasoline refueler. These days we in the US Army never fight anyone straight up. We are simply too good, we have too much money, too fantastic of equipment, ect, ect. What gets us these days is unmanned, often unsophisticated improvised explosive devices (IED's) cowardly hidden where our troops travel. It is certainly not any less tragic. Perhaps even more so.
Watching a movie about previous wars has always made me think that my generation has got it good. And when you look at the staggering death toll numbers, you certainly can make the case that we do. Yet today, our battle practices and protective equipment is so much better, and our medical care and injured evacuation so many light years ahead of what it used to be, that the numbers killed has remained low. However, in Iraq for every one killed there are 9 severely injured. That means 28,000 and counting. And that is a big ugly number.
While I worked at Walter Reed I always felt a little bit guilty. Here I was working everyday with those that had been injured in "theater" (Iraq / Afghanistan) when I had never been. I even resisted getting and wearing the new army ACU uniform as it was mainly used by those who had been in the war. Initially it was like a badge of honor, and I did not want to wear it if I had not earned it. But, understand that the Army is a huge corporation one million strong with soldiers currently in over 120 different nations. We go where we are told. Currently I am in the Sinai, Egypt on a peace keeping mission. I am in the middle east. I am in an area where in the last 3 years 130 people have died at the had of Terrorists IED's and suicide bombs, but I am NOT in IRAQ. I feel pretty damn fortunate, but, I still have a little bit of guilt. Believe it or not, we have about 30 physical therapist serving in theater currently.
In a related topic, it has been interesting to read about all the hoopla with Walter Reed lately. And I am impressed with the big responses including the presidents today. I hope the problem gets fixed, but I can tell you the problem was not created by the latest General who got fired. He had been there only 6 months. The problem has existed for 4 years. To fix it you need to hire more people to process the paperwork and insure things are getting done (and not getting lost) , not fire people.
ahhh anyway, wasn't it Rodney King who said: "Can't we all just get along?" I like to hope so, but honestly, I don't think we can.
My generation's war is not fought like previous ones. I treated soldiers who were blown up in their vehicles when driving in a long convoy. Their jobs were often as simple and as far away from a war fighter as you'd think one could get; like supply clerk, and truck gasoline refueler. These days we in the US Army never fight anyone straight up. We are simply too good, we have too much money, too fantastic of equipment, ect, ect. What gets us these days is unmanned, often unsophisticated improvised explosive devices (IED's) cowardly hidden where our troops travel. It is certainly not any less tragic. Perhaps even more so.
Watching a movie about previous wars has always made me think that my generation has got it good. And when you look at the staggering death toll numbers, you certainly can make the case that we do. Yet today, our battle practices and protective equipment is so much better, and our medical care and injured evacuation so many light years ahead of what it used to be, that the numbers killed has remained low. However, in Iraq for every one killed there are 9 severely injured. That means 28,000 and counting. And that is a big ugly number.
While I worked at Walter Reed I always felt a little bit guilty. Here I was working everyday with those that had been injured in "theater" (Iraq / Afghanistan) when I had never been. I even resisted getting and wearing the new army ACU uniform as it was mainly used by those who had been in the war. Initially it was like a badge of honor, and I did not want to wear it if I had not earned it. But, understand that the Army is a huge corporation one million strong with soldiers currently in over 120 different nations. We go where we are told. Currently I am in the Sinai, Egypt on a peace keeping mission. I am in the middle east. I am in an area where in the last 3 years 130 people have died at the had of Terrorists IED's and suicide bombs, but I am NOT in IRAQ. I feel pretty damn fortunate, but, I still have a little bit of guilt. Believe it or not, we have about 30 physical therapist serving in theater currently.
In a related topic, it has been interesting to read about all the hoopla with Walter Reed lately. And I am impressed with the big responses including the presidents today. I hope the problem gets fixed, but I can tell you the problem was not created by the latest General who got fired. He had been there only 6 months. The problem has existed for 4 years. To fix it you need to hire more people to process the paperwork and insure things are getting done (and not getting lost) , not fire people.
ahhh anyway, wasn't it Rodney King who said: "Can't we all just get along?" I like to hope so, but honestly, I don't think we can.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Drug News
Interesting reads lately about some Loomis's getting in trouble for their involvement in athletic performance enhancing drugs sales. These were not any close relatives, but I wish they would have shared a little of the 35 million profit they made last year! Wow, craziness. I wonder how long drug cheating actually goes back? Were people doping it up in the 1950"s, 60'S? And will the cheaters and their scientists always be one step ahead of the testers? Would it be better to allow everyone to in a sense to "Build a better body through drugs" and just not bother with testing at all? Certainly would lead to a lot more premature deaths in sport...although they still certainly happen. The suspicion bothers me. Is there a single Women's track record that is not suspected of being enhanced by drugs other than perhaps the marathon? I don't think so. No drugs for me...I'll just have to deal with being tired, stiff, achy and not recovered. I accept that and did the smart thing after 4 strong days of 22, 10, 12, 10, and just put in a 5 mile walk yesterday after a great 9 hours of sleep. I feel better today and did a morning 3 miler.
Two months are now gone in 2007 already and I have a modest 427 miles in the bank. Februaries 221 was not bad being that it is a short month, but I aim to do better in March.
Two months are now gone in 2007 already and I have a modest 427 miles in the bank. Februaries 221 was not bad being that it is a short month, but I aim to do better in March.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
