Not MIA....

Long story short:
1. Did the Crossfit Open, got 219th place in the world for Women age 45-49.
2. Hip pain started off & on back in January after the Operational Readiness Exercise (ORE). Something about sitting in a chair all night (12+ hours) in chem gear & IBA. Turned into piriformis syndrome (my glute muscle smashed into my sciatic). Eventually got some sarapin shots in my butt that reduced the inflammation (and another shot in my right bursa at the top of the right thigh I-band). Helped but not cured. Worked out for one week but the recurrent numbness/pins & needled, along with upper sartorious pain led me back to the doctor & eventually an evaluation by a Sports Medicine doctor. Now waiting on CT results (L4-L5 evaluation for a defect that could be a fracture, could be a disk malalignment, who knows).
3. Bottom line, physical training limited. Losing strength, endurance, stamina, etc. Sucks!!
4. Good news/bad news from the Operational Readiness Inspection (March 2012). First the good. Our unit (301 MDS) got an "OUTSTANDING" for their incredible work at the DMF (Deployed Medical Facility). Smooth operation, great teamwork, and killer security. I was working in the Command Post (on the night shift with the Deputy Wing Commander) as the CAT (Crisis Action Team) Director and we also did a great job. The big boss recognized me as a Superior Performer. Now the bad news. Some folks have to do this again in the fall in order for our Wing to pass. So we have ORE in Oct & Nov, ORI in Nov. Hopefully I won't have to be in MOPP4 (that's full on gas mask, etc).
5. We have season tickets to The Smith Center for their 2012-2013 Broadway season.
6. Working on my poker skills. Need to do more tournaments and less 2-4 Limit (but it's fun trying to get high hands/bonus jackpots).

Goals for 2011

1. Drink more water & less diet soda (I know goals should be quantified but I haven't figured this one out yet).




2. Continue my adventure in fitness; increase my jogging (includes mapping out a 5 mile, 6 mile and up to a 10 mile course to our favorite sports bar).
3. Do a marathon.




4. No fried potatoes (just not enough nutrition to be worth the calories).





5. Finish ACSC (military professional education), RSVP (readiness skills), and get our nutritional medicine flight all caught up on their training.





6. Fix up the backyard (fake turf, lights, fire pit, BBQ, new hot tub).










7. New washer/dryer & refrigerator (they are 10-15 years old!).








8. Clean out & organize the "office"; get plaques and pictures hung up on the walls.

9. CrossFit goals for 2011:
Sub 8 min "Fran"
"Cindy" Rx 15+
"Murph" Rx in under 45 min
a real Muscle-up

Meritorious Service Medal

3 Dec 2006 - 7 Feb 2010
This includes the deployment to Joint Base Balad, Iraq (Operation IRAQI FREEDOM), my contribution to my flight at Nellis (at the 99th MDG) being named the 2009 Air Combat Command Nutritonal Medicine Team of the Year, the manning assist to the 779th MSS (Andrews AFB), and being recognized as the 2009 AF Medical Service Biomedical Sciences Corps Mobilization Augmetee Officer of the Year
(more on that after the AMSUS meeting next month).

USAF Fit Test Results

As I posted last year, the AF Fitness Standards were updated. The new AFI started this July. Harder to get 100 points, more weight given to the run (cardiovascular fitness), but a little more room to wiggle in the waist measurement. And a hell of a lot more push-ups (I have no idea why that standard went up so much).

This morning's results:
1.5 mile run - 11:40 (I think my fastest time ever). Scored 59.9 (needed 11:22 for full 60 points).
26.5" waist (could be up to 31" for full points). 20
36 push-ups (so close, so close to full points). 9.5
43 sit-ups (only needed 41 for full points). 10
--------------------------------------------------
Total score: 99.4

Feels good to be setting a proper example as a health care provider who is part of our fitness & health AFI. And even though the score went down, my overall results were markedly improved.

Welcome to the 301st Fighter Wing and Medical Squadron

Introduced to the mission of the unit. Then to my squadron. The largest medical reserve unit in the USAF - providing support to the entire base and maintaining readiness to deploy anywhere in the world.

Many folks from here were in Balad with me last year! So great to see so many familiar faces. Some of them are going back this fall.

Here is my team:


We're building the Nutritional Medicine Element almost from scratch, I'm the first dietitian they've had in the unit. I volunteered to be alternate unit fitness monitor as well (there were a few folks impressed with my push-ups). Next time I'll talk with the squadron vice commander about additional duties in the administrative side (next time I deploy I want to be in the command hallway, not the kitchen - and transfering to a unit is how I can get the experience to do this).

First UTA Weekend at the 301st

Flew into Dallas-Ft Worth tonight.
Billeting put me up at the Sheraton downtown Ft Worth.
Tomorrow morning I figure out how to get to the base and find the newcomer's briefing. And learn all about Unit Reserve life.

US Air Force Awards

Air Combat Command (ACC) Nutritional Medicine Flight of the Year -
our unit here at the 99th MDG, Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, NV!



Air Force Medical Service Biomedical Science Corp Mobilization Augmentee of the Year.

ME!!

Countdown?

3 days left and still so much to do.

All the data collection questionnaires are updated and electronic (the only set I didn't do was Pediatric, isn't that ironic).

Tomorrow we present our two new outpatient education programs to the department: Winning at Losing (weight management) and Healthy Heart Needs TLC (cholesterol).

The updated diabetes education sessions have been a big success with the Population Health team that is revamping their program. They are still looking for a CDE. Maj Chen approached me but I had to explain their protocol called for an RN-CDE, and I am looking forward to going back to my husband in Las Vegas.

The Diet Tech training module for Diabetes has been sent forward to the Working Group. The Hyperlipidemia training module is in progress (still working on the study guide). I still haven't looked at the Strategic Plan that I helped create last month.

More outpatients on Wednesday. On Thursday (after squadron PT in the morning) I am going on a tour with Public Health at the Pentagon! On Friday the returning dietitian gets to see all the upgrades and I get to show her the new documentation templates.

Don't tell the airmen who have been working with me in the clinic, but on Friday I'm going to present the two of them with AF Dietetics coins. Shhhhhhh.

Then 1 day to get rejuvenated before I get my hubby!!! He's flying out this weekend so we can be tourist for a couple of days before going back home.

New USAF Fitness - Mock Test Results

The 779th MDG/MDSS is running mock Fit Test this month - allowing us to compare our current fitness levels to the new criteria (which goes into effect the first of the year).

Here are my results from this morning. Looks like my sporatic CrossFit workouts are still paying dividends. It will be interesting to see how others do with these new standards. The bar got pushed pretty high for pushups. In the past people could still pass by doing well enough in other areas to make up for poor performance in just one (like women who cannot do many pushups). But now there is a set minimum and I fear many women will fail the pushups (and a lot of heavier men may have a hard time with the abdominal circumfrance and/or the run).



Here's an article from Air Force Times about the new fit test, and the whys behind it (hint: It's NOT testing our potential ability in combat, it's all about health risks).

PT designer explains Air Force’s new test

By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 28, 2009 14:16:18 EDT

Teed off about the PT test? Scratching your head over why there’s still a waist measurement? Or how come your run time counts six times more than your pushup score?

You’re not alone.

Complaints and questions are still pouring into the Air Force, even though the service unveiled the new standards five months ago.

The man with the answers is Neal Baumgartner, a retired Air Force major and exercise physiologist now working as a civilian with the 342nd Training Squadron at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

Baumgartner helped design the Air Force’s “Fit to Fight” fitness program in 2003 and he’s the one who two top leaders —Maj. Gen. Darrell Jones, director of force management policy, and former Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Rodney McKinley — turned to when they wanted to revamp the service’s PT test.

Scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, the test is what service leaders tout as the only one in the military based on scientific research — done by Baumgartner. The Army, Navy and Marine Corps based their tests on normative standards, or the averages from past results.

Baumgartner answered some of the questions airmen still have for Air Force Times, but first he wanted to clear up the misconception that the service’s PT test measures an airman’s ability to perform his job. It doesn’t.

“[The Air Force’s fitness test] measures your health,” he said. “We are providing a standard that will test the forces fitness and health levels that should reduce health care costs and increase duty time.”

The new PT test even correlates an airmen’s run time and body composition with a low, moderate or high health risk.

Waist not
Questions always come up about the waist measurement. Airmen want to know why it doesn’t factor in height or age. Or why it’s even part of the test when the other services leave it out.

Baumgartner’s response: It’s the second best test to gauge an airmen’s health.

Other than the run, Baumgartner said, research shows an airman’s waist size predicts his overall health better than the PT test’s two other events — the pushups and sit-ups.

The larger the waist, the more intra-abdominal fat — what Baumgartner calls “dangerous fat” — a person has. It’s dangerous because it sits next to your organs. A recent study in the Netherlands found that waist size helps predict susceptibility to cancer.

Leaders chose not to scale a waist size against an airman’s height or age, Baumgartner said, because research didn’t show either factor should affect waist size.

“Your stature has no influence on the health outcome variable,” he said. “A person’s height doesn’t alter their abdominal circumference.”

And to the older officers and senior non-commissioned officers who think they should get a break on their waist, forget it, Baumgartner said. If anything, he said, the waist measurement should be smaller for older airmen.

Baumgartner explained the older you are, the less muscle and more intra-abdominal fat you have. Air Force leaders didn’t want to give airmen the impression they can get fatter as they got older — although the other PT test events are scaled for age.

The service did relax the waist measurements needed to score the maximum number of points, from 32.5 to 35 inches for men and 29 to 31.5 inches for women.

Research shows that larger waist sizes pose significant health risks, Baumgartner said. The service also didn’t want airmen pushing too hard to cut weight to reach those waist sizes, he said.

As with keeping the waist measurement, the Air Force wasn’t out to impose cruel and unusual punishment by changing the age ranges for PT scores from five to 10 years. The science just didn’t back up having 5-year groupings, Baumgartner said. After all, scientists never want to get ahead of their data and “our data separated airmen in 10-year groups,” he said.

Run with it
Plenty of conspiracy theorists wonder if the Air Force wants to train marathoners, not good airmen, with a PT test that gives 60 possible points on a 100-point test to the 1.5-mile run.

Baumgartner’s other job as a high school cross country coach certainly won’t help quell those theories, but he said the run is still the best test to judge an airmen’s health.

It best measures how a person’s body transports and uses oxygen while exercising. The better your body can do that, the more fit you are, Baumgartner said.

This is why the Air Force bumped up run scores from 50 possible points to 60.

It’s also the event where airmen need to focus hardest if they want to pass the new test. However, the run is also the most difficult event to improve on quickly.

Baumgartner recommended airmen start slow and not expect to drastically change their score in one week. It takes a disciplined approach to improve your 1.5-mile run time.

Depending on age, gender and skill level, airmen will have to devise their own running programs, but Baumgartner advised working with the fitness experts at base health and wellness centers.

Baumgartner also said PT leaders must design fitness sessions that keep airmen’s attention while providing a complete body workout. He recommended circuit training that focuses on multiple muscle groups instead of just repeating pushups, sit-ups and a short run.

“You can’t use the Johnny-off-the-shelf fix,” Baumgartner said. “It has to be part of your lifestyle.”

Here are some answers/comments/info about the USAF Fit Test, from the AFPC Fitness Program website. (My own comments are included).

Why did the Air Force revise the Air Force Fitness Program?

In the summer of 2008, then Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Rodney McKinley requested an Air Force audit, and it clearly revealed the fitness program needed significant improvement.

The audit revealed that unit programs did not create a "culture of fitness" needed in the Air Force. In addition, it identified inconsistencies in action taken on members who did not meet fitness standards and implementation of proper fitness testing.

Air Force Reserve Airmen (that's me) will fitness test 12 months after their last calendar year 2009 test date, then again 6 months later to progress to a biannual cycle. (My last test was in Sep 2009, so my first official test under the new system will be Sep 2010 and then Mar 2011 - both nice times of the year for Las Vegas weather).

Will there be any incentives for members who clearly demonstrate fitness excellence?

Yes. Patches are being designed for wear on the PT uniform. Patches will recognize both one-time and sustained (four consecutive tests over 2 years) performance in the Excellent category (composite score of > 90), and for scoring a perfect 100. (That perfect 100 will go to young men who are natural runners, I'm close, but that run time is not designed for a Clydesdale like me. My first 100 points this year will just have to be my only one, I'll still have the satisfaction that I earned it).

How were the minimum requirements for each component determined?

The minimum requirement for the aerobic and body composition (abdominal circumference) components was established at the cut line between moderate and high health risk associated with that component. Air Force officials want Airmen to avoid the high health risk region in order to pass the test. For pushups and sit-ups, the minimum requirements were established at the 50th and 60th percentiles, respectively, for performance among the entire U.S. population based on widely accepted fitness data. (I find that hard to believe regarding the pushups and women - my max score went from 18 to 38!)

Why did the service make the run scores harder to max out for certain age groups?

Air Force officials chose to use proven databases used by the Cooper Institute and recognized by the American College of Sports Medicine. New 1.5-mile run times that assess the most important physical fitness component, cardiorespiratory endurance or aerobic fitness, are based on the most current scientific data for age and gender. (For a max score on the run, I have to train to run a 1:53 quarter mile/7:32 mile - and maintain that speed the second 1/2 mile - I'm not saying it's impossible, but I've never enjoyed sprinting even when swimming, and at the peak of my running experience circa early 1990s I was usually in the 8 min range).

And now it's time to hit the gym.

Retiree Appreciation Day - Nutrition Table

Joint Base Andrews honors local military retirees today. This morning the 779th Med Group provided health screens and information. Nutritional Medicine Flight was well represented. During the two hours our team spoke with many folks and answered lots of nutrition questions. People really like the food models and visual cues for fat & sugar in foods, and how triglycerides thicken the blood.


Thank you team for helping out on your day off. Don't they all look sharp in their service dress? Yes they do. Go USAF Blue!



{yes, I know I'm short}

Working Space

We'll start at the back dock, entry into the basement of the hospital where the Nutritional Medicine Flight is located.




Walk down the hallway and around the corner to elevators (who takes elevators for just one flight) and go up the stairs near the main hospital entrance.

Then follow one of the many "bowling alley" hallways inside Malcolm Grow Medical Center. It's about 150 steps to the other side where the outpatient Nutrition Clinic can be found.

And we're here! This is my primary working location for the next two months.

404 - Room Not Found

So if you know anything about me, you know that I'm sort of a computer literate geek. And all my Alternate Reality friends will get a kick out of my assigned hotel room.


Full fridge, flat screen TV with most of the decent channels (no Bravo or Food Network, though), free wifi (slow) and ethernet (worth the $12 for the cable in order to get streaming video), clean towels twice a week and full cleaning on Fridays. Downstairs is a small free breakfast bar, Monday Night Football pizza & wings (not until 7:30p here on the East coast), indoor pool & hot tub (haven't tried it yet but I'm thinking about it tonight since it's been so damn cold this week), laundry room (that's my plan for Sunday morning), and free delivery Chinese food (dinner tonight).



Only good things about traveling by yourself: You control the remote and you control the temperature in the room. Otherwise it is just a damn big bed for only one person (extra pillows included).

Getting Oriented & Getting Fit

First day in a new place. Where do I go? Where should I not go? Where is the bathroom? All important pieces of knowledge. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming. I'll be using an office on the first floor, the Nutrition duty section is downstairs in the basement where the dining room is located (breakfast & lunch only for staff) and food production. You might recall reading about the CASF at Balad, packaging up wounded warriors for flights to Germany. ASF represents the next leg of the trip, from Germany to the states. Aeromedical Staging Facility has three flights a week and when they arrive there is a wonderful & fancy hot meal waiting for them in a special dining room. I'll try to get some pictures soon. It's great to see the continuation of something I saw in Iraq.

I think I managed to get my 10,000 steps in today with all the walking around the hospital, across the street to the training building, and then we had Squadron PT (Physical Training) this afternoon. This is mandatory once time a week with the group, the rest of the workout schedule is up to the individual. Today's workout featured interval running, pushups & situps - getting us ready for the practice Fit Test next month that will help us compare our current fitness level to the new standards that go into effect Jan 2010.

I'm going to get a little off track (pun intended) from talking about my first day at work (since I didn't do so much work as just inprocessing) to talk about the new fitness standards as they will relate to me (afterall, this is *my* blog).

When I moved into the 45-49 year age group, the standards were a little easier than the previous 5 years. I went from an 85.29 score to 91 (improving from "Good" to "Excellent") with a combination of better fitness and slightly easier scoring in some areas. For 2009 my goal was to earn maximum points in all areas (1.5 mile run, pushups, situps and waist circumfrence). This would require me to run faster than 12:30, do a minimum 18 pushups & 30 situps (under 1 min each) and have a waist 29" or smaller. I was pretty darn proud of myself when I did 12:08, 25 (could have done more) pushups and 40 situps with a 28.5" waist. Woot! 100 points, the best you I can be for my age group.

However, next year the standards across the USAF have changed, I'm grouped into the 40-49 year old women, and I have to be a much faster runner. Active Duty members must test twice a year (which I think is a good thing) while Reservists still only have to do it once a year.

Let's see how I would compare my numbers this year to next year's standards:
12:08 run = 59.8 out of 60 points (I'd have to speed up to <11:22 to get 60/60) - by the way, this represents a 1:29 improvement from last year!
25 pushups = 8.6/10 (my all time personal record is 40, I'll have to do 38+ to get 10/10)
38 situps = 9.5/10 (I'll need 41+ to get 10/10)
28.5" waist = 20/20 (the standard got a little easier here, <31.5" = max points)
My 100 is now 97.9. Still "Excellent" category, but no longer that perfect 100; it looks like I've gotten worse instead of improving my personal fitness.

I don't know if I'll ever run that pace (that's 7:57/mile) but at least the deductions are very minor the first 2 minutes off that speed. I will probably be able to get to that full pushup level (if I keep up with my CrossFit training and my elbow tendonitis gets better). But I foresee a lot of women not doing so well in the pushups (good thing the minimum standard for passing is only 11). I can't imagine not being able to make the minimum 18:14 for the 1.5 mile run, 11 for the pushups, 24 situps and have a waist <36 (although I saw some waists in Iraq that would not meet this criteria). From now on airmen must meet minimums in all four criteria, they cannot make up the point difference other areas.

This week in the AirForce Times is an article with the headline "New PT Test: 4 in 10 FAIL". I'll link to it when it's available online.

Malcom Grow Medical Center, Andrews AFB

This is where I'll be in a week from tomorrow.

Maj Brewer Goes to Washington

I'm getting ready to perform another manning assist. This time I'll be at Andrews AFB in Washington DC.

As before, lots of pictures and impressions to follow.

Nutrition Tool Box for the Deployed Dietitian

This past week I was at Fort Sam Houston (San Antonio, TX) attending a postgraduate course given by the Army for deploying dietitians. Over the three days we talked about sports nutrition, burns, trauma, critical care, humanitarian aide, and detainee nutrition care. For me it was a mix of validation of information I had figured out on my own (or with a few emails back and forth with one of the Army dietitians in Iraq), and some new information that I wish I had known before my deployment.



I hope I have the opportunity to share the knowledge from this program with other dietitians before they deploy. And with civilian dietitians working in trauma and burn units. The sports nutrition (we consider military folks to be athletes) will also come in handy in civilian private practice.

One of the other great things about this past week was meeting up with the Air Force dietitians in attendence - and that I actually knew them (since I haven't been around conferences or USAF dietitian symposiums I can't put faces to names when I look at the roster, because I just haven't had the opportunity to meet many folks in our career field). But I knew everyone else there. Some from working at Nellis AFB and some from Travis AFB.

Arrived in US Soil

Sitting in the airport at BWI (Baltimore) right now!

US Airways ticket home doesn't leave until 2p with a plane change in Philly. The person at the ticket counter said there was nothing earlier except standby - and I didn't want to get stuck sitting around another airport waiting for another flight since there is NOTHING that is non-stop from here on their planes.

I really try to be polite and smile when at the ticket counter, but this gal must have been having a bad morning. She had nothing to offer me, said if I wanted an upgrade to First Class I would have to use the Gov't charge card (same used to purchase the ticket) and then said there was only FC available on the 40 min hop to Philly (not the 5 hr flight from Philly to Las Vegas). It's all just a moot point since it is illegal to use the Gov't charge card for such a purchase (and I don't understand this policy since military folks have always been able to upgrade using their personal cards, or cash). Maybe she won't be at the counter when I check in for my flight and I can try again. Or at the gate in Philly.

The USO here in BWI just started their renovation last night. They moved it upstairs into a conference center. No free wifi available in that area. I'm sitting out on the concourse in a hallway so I can charge my laptop, I don't mind paying the daily Boingo fee but I wish the connection was a little stronger than 2-3 bars and would stop dropping me.

The 4-Point Sheraton offered us free showers. After getting all sweaty yesterday loading bags (in exchange for first dibs on seats allowing me to have three together on the window and actually lay down for a nap during the 14 hr flight) I feel tons better. Thank you Sheraton!

Getting ready to wake up family on the West coast. At least my cell phone is fully charged. It was so great talking to my hubby. Going to wake mom & dad then head to the ticket counter and spend the rest of the waiting time at the gate.

Pictures from Al Udeid and reports of my Deidcation will be placed in here later today (in between watching Dexter Season 1 and playing Hoyle's Poker Tournament) once the laptop is fully charged and I can maintain my connection. Just finished watching Lost on the flight home (thank you Celina for the last 8 episodes). What a great season! Amazing cliffhanger. Can't wait to hear the producer podcasts.

Wow, lots of military walking around these hallways. In blues! Not used to seeing the USAF blue uniform - I think it was only recently the commands re-instated travel wearing blues.

Speaking of blues, check out this snappy guy:


Senior NCO Induction Ceremony after the 3-day leadership seminar. I'm so proud of my husband!

Edit: Here are some Al Udeid Pictures (as promised).

The infamous coffee shop - wifi and power in the mornings - just watch out for the sunrise glare through the windows. The barristas are very friendly.



The Mall, the DFAC

and the "Bra"

Air Command and Staff College - Round 1

Course: The Challenges of Leadership And Command (5.1) - PASSED.

YAY!

On to Round 2 - National Security.

Our Leisure Suits

When we're not in our ABU (airmen battle uniform), we have to wear our PT gear.

I don't know who designed these things, but some of us don't look that good in them. When I'm wearing the shorts they are too short for me (the next size bigger is too big). And the long pants must add 20 pounds to my hips/butt. And we all just love the sound of the nylon rubbing together as we walk. But, they are comfortable, and we're easily recognizable as being Air Force.

Humor