2010 Christmas Can Cure 5K

Last year: 27:25
Training was mostly CrossFit and just a few "long" jogs to the Boulevard for brunch on a weekend morning.
This year: 26:00 (3rd place out of 10 in my age division) 8:22/mile pace

And I won a couple of the raffle prizes!

Every year, partnering with the Wounded Warrior Project, Christmas Can Cure provides selected veterans and their families a Christmas they won't soon forget: a Christmas vacation to either the picturesque New England town of Jackson, New Hampshire or the snow-capped peaks of Park City, Utah. Our goal is to provide the magic of Christmas for our defenders of peace and their families.

2009 Christmas Can Cure 5K

Christmas Can Cure to benefit Wounded Warriors Project (Link)

Did this with 10 folks from CFLV.
27:25
Cold weather. Slight uphill the first mile, then flat for a mile, slight downgrade the third mile except the last 400m which was a relatively steep hill up around the park. I pushed the end, just to see how hard I could go at that point. Felt good to cross the finish line.

Breakfast at Egg Works afterwards. Very filling.

[pending pictures if Zach comes through]

Run for the Rainbow for Childhood Cancer Research

The last of the 5K runs in Iraq for me. My JBB best time, 28:33 (and I didn't have to stop to walk). I was a little worried after doing two CrossFit workouts yesterday (walking lunges/pullups/situps/repeat x 30 min and Back Squats 5 sets x 5 reps - maxed out at 100#!). But I'm ready to work on a 10K when I get home. Who knows - could I do the Las Vegas Marathon this year?



Just kidding. I'm so NOT a runner.

Running in Balad

Army 234th Birthday 5K this morning. In the very dusty air. Yup, breathing that stuff. Hard to tell on the photo but I'm covered in orange dust, my hair looked 5 shades lighter. My best time here so far, 28:52.












Next race is this Friday, for Childhood Cancer. Can I get down to 28:45?

I wore the pedometer most of the day. It's about a mile from my trailer to the stadium. The race was 3 miles. Another mile back to my room, pickup my pool bag, then over to the hospital for rounds. After that, back to the stadium for the outdoor pool (only swam 10 laps, too tired and no motivation to 'workout' today). Another mile back to housing after sunning (more like baking with the heat) on the deck.

As soon as I got into the compound there was an "Alarm Red" so I got to spend 20 minutes in a bunker (instead of getting some lunch). Finally got back into the relative comfort of my room, made the bed and cooled off for an hour before yoga.

After getting dinner tonight, the total is 25.6K steps (probably 8 miles today). I'm having a cookie with dinner tonight.

It's the Season for 5K Runs

My best time so far here at Joint Base Balad. 29:20. (My first 5K was a little more than 32 min, then next was 31 something and was about 30 something after the swim for the biathlon. So every week I get a little better.

Next run is Wed, the 10th. My goal is to break 29 min.

Memorial Day Happenings in JBB

6a - 5K run (yes, it's getting pretty warm earlier in the day). Haven't broke 30 min yet, this time was 30:24, so I'm getting closer.

9a - Find out I am getting a roommate for the remainder of my deployment. No more private room (I knew it was too good to last). She's a nurse in the ICU, works days, from Colorado. Tactical vehicles are on display in front of the hospital (took some pictures, will insert here in a day or two).

10a - Finally find the coffee hutch that was put in place when the Medevac unit moved their operations next door earlier this month. Nice soy mocha (it's paid for by donations).

3p - CrossFit class. 25 pull ups, 50 pushups, 50 deadlifts (55#), 50 kettledrum one arm lifts (squat & lift 4 kg), 50 floor sweeps (it's a core exercise where you lie on the ground with a bar fully extended like a bench press, then bring straight legs up and alternate right and left side of the bar), 50 box jumps (I used the 12" box), end with 25 pull ups. Took me a little over 26 minutes, and I still need the box to help with the pull ups. But I'm a little closer to my goal of doing a real pull up on my own before I leave JBB.

6p - Commanders Call (have to go across the street, all the way through our housing block, to get to Town Hall).

8p - Take the new roommate around the common areas and to the laundry drop-off. This is when we hear the big BOOM! Then a klaxon. Whoa! A few minutes later come into the Rec Center, get the roommate online so she can Skype with her spouse. Oooh, free pizza! Slight distraction.

8:15p - People buzzing a little. Two hits in the vicinity of our housing. Call into the hospital and check in with our squadron superintendent. Great, no one else from my flight has done so. Time to go knock on doors. Found 2 of 4 airmen but where are the others? One lives in another housing area, the other is supposedly at the movies.

9:15p - Accountability is cancelled. We got 3 out of 5 in our flight to check in (including me). So I didn't have to run over to the other housing area after all (phew - I've already logged 21K steps today).

9:45p - Yawn. What time did I wake up today? Oh yeah, 4:30a (just because it is light outside isn't any reason I *have* to wake up before my 5a alarm, but someone forgot to tell that to my brain). I hope my hips don't hurt tomorrow morning the way the are aching right now.

Thursday Was Exercise Day/Tough Week at Work

5th Brigade's Organizational Day 5K Fun Run this morning. My goal was to finish in the top 1000 (so I could get a T-shirt). And I wanted to break 30 min. I accomplished the first (can't wear it around here, but it's another souvenier from my deployment) and got close to the second (30:47). Maybe next week I can do better. There's a Memorial Day 5K on Monday.

This afternoon I went to CrossFit - thinking there would be more muscle work. Nope, 400 meter run OUTSIDE in the HEAT, followed by 50 air squats (that's squatting down far enough your butt can touch a medicine ball, so it's pretty low). Oh, do that 4 times! I've got a bottle of Motrin at the bedside if I can't get up tomorrow morning.


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It's been a tough week at the hospital. We've had a rush of pediatric traumas. A few burns that look scary but they are recovering. The other week a child was run over by a truck - broke so many facial bones - good news is that he's recovering ok. But today we lost two kids. One was a burn that came in yesterday. Another was a victim of a bombing in Baghdad this morning. We have to remember that for every one of these, we are saving 97 others. And that keeps us going. There are some pretty amazing things happening in our hospital. Our surgeons and doctors and nurses and nurse techs are absolutely stellar. And all of the support folks really step up when needed.