That’s right; I was finally able to get a Long, Slow, Distance (LSD) run in this morning; the first time since arriving in Afghanistan. I woke up at 5 am, even though Friday is my so-called day off and hit the road at 5:45. I ran in a counter clockwise direction around the airfield and made it about ¾ of the way around when I hit the one hour mark, then turned around and returned to my little compound. In all, I covered about 11.3 miles in exactly 2 hours so ended up running about a 10:30/mile pace. The air was a cool 65 degrees and relatively free of dust. Earlier in the week, on Tuesday morning, I ran all the way around the airfield. This was the first time I had tried this. I was a little uncertain of the route because there are quite a few twists and turns. The total distance around the airstrip is 7.8 miles which took me about an hour and 15 minutes. So given everything I had going on this week, I have to say, it was a pretty good week of running. Let’s hope I can build on this and get ready for Honolulu in December.
In other news, Ol’ Dusty is no longer my primary vehicle. For certain operational reasons, I have switched to a Toyota Land Cruiser. I guess I’ll call this vehicle, New Dusty. New Dusty and I spend quite a bit of time together and I have the radio tuned to 97.5 which is the Armed Forces Network’s Country and Western music radio station.
On Wednesday, I made my first trip “outside the wire” and travelled by helicopter to one of our bases where we have a Provincial Reconstruction Team. It was a pretty warm day, and I had to travel in my full set of protective gear. I went out to see how our folks were doing with regards to their quality of life and to see what I could do, if anything to support them. I learned a lot on the trip, met some great folks, and have an improved plan to help them out in the future. I hope to get out to all of the sites we support here in the southern part of the country as I get the opportunity.
The final piece of good news is that I was able to receive some new fitness equipment for our folks here. We received two treadmills, two elliptical machines and two stationary bikes. This afternoon I have to assemble all of these machines so, picture in your mind a tired father of about 40 kids assembling toys on Christmas Eve and you’ll have an idea of my life later today!
This last section is where I am going place my count-down clock. 59 days till my first R&R and only 326 days remaining in country!
Great to receive your posts Rich! Glad to hear you are able to get your runs in. Brigid training for Baltimore 1/2. Wanted to break 2.0 hrs, but currently she is running a 2.10 pace. She is feeling frustrated and a bit older! A marathoner at her work has recommended sprints around a track.
ReplyDeleteTess doing well. A bit over committed with piano, field hockey and drama lessons on top of 1 1/2 hrs of homework. She is handling it all well.
My business slowed way down. I was considering going out and getting a desk job, but things have turned around and I am busy once again!
Sending Lots of love from Baltimore!