Sorry For Whining

Ok, I had a pretty good thanksgiving. I took my guys to the nicest mess hall in Baghdad today. I grabbed a takeout plate and went back out and guarded our trucks so my guys could enjoy thanksgiving inside. They had the place crazy decorated. They dressed the soldiers doing headcount like pilgrims. They had ice sculptures and mounds and mounds of dessert. They had smoked turkey and prime rib. I had to grab another takeout plate to fit it all. After we ate, we headed back to our big base and went back to work. I got to talk to my wife, my girls, my mom and dad, and brother and sister-in-law. I miss everybody, but I am not as bummed out as I was yesterday. I can't wait to come home on leave in January. I didn't run tonight. I'm still too stuffed. I'm proud of my mom and dad, though. They both ran a 5K today. You go guys!

Happy Turkey Day!!!!

Well, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I'm glad that November blew by. My team has been so busy, but tomorrow is going to be tough. I miss my wife, I miss my son, I miss my daughters. It's easy to be idealistic and have a sense of duty without sacrifice, and although this is a small one compared to some, it still hurts and it still sucks. I am taking my team to the nicest mess hall in Baghdad tomorrow and giving them the rest of the day off, and I am going to do my best to stay positive for their sake. Sometimes, it really sucks to be incharge. What we are doing is important, and if I didn't do it, some other poor bastard would have to. I am proud of what I do, I just can't wait for it to be over. On a positive note, I will be back at my old room tomorrow and I will have internet, so I will try and call everybody. I also plan to go for a long run tomorrow night, after my food's settled of course. Peace, out!

My Midlife Crisis Only Lasted A Second

So I am talking with one of my soldiers yesterday. He is a 23 year old medic from Colorado near Gunnison. He's a really cool kid that has a lot of the same interests as me, snowboarding, mountain biking, etc. He is Stop-Lossed for this rotation which means he was supposed to get out of the Army by now, but because of Iraq the Army is involuntarily keeping him for five more months. I ask him what he plans on doing when he gets out of the Army, and I'm ready for my reinlistment speech about how bad the economy is and how "I don't know" is not a good enough reason to get out. Then he surprises me. He tells me that since he's been in the Army he has saved up about $30K and is going to live down in his uncle's cabin in Mexico for the next year and kayak, scuba, mountain bike and fish. I think wow, that is really cool. After a year in Iraq, why not take a year to just chill out. He's young and single and why shouldn't he do that. Looking back from where I am now, I realized, that I never did take a break when I was younger. Ever since I could remember, I had ambition and I was in a race to grow up as fast as I could. I worked all through High School, went strait into the military and college. Spent my summers preparing for my military career and I've been working my butt off ever since. I can't remember ever just taking a break. For a split second, I envied him and regretted never taking a semester off to just bum around, back pack across Europe or ride across the US on a motorcycle or mountain bike. Then, I realized that I was fine with that. In fact, I can't believe how good I have it. I have the most beautiful woman in the world as my wife. She gave me the most awesome son I could ever ask for. Everybody says he looks like me so He must be pretty good looking. I have two beautiful daughters that both have stolen my heart. I can't just take a year off to go down to Mexico, but I don't want to. My wife and I both enjoy adventures together and now we have a son to enjoy them with too. Instead of looking back at all the stuff I didn't do, I am looking forward to the time I can backpack with my daughters, take my son fishing, and take my wife to some exotic places to race and camp in the mountains. I might not have done anything like live in Mexico and surf for a year, but if I did it would have been over by now anyway, so what. I sit here in Iraq looking forward to when I can be with my family again and start our new adventures.

My Inspiration

I have been so busy this last week. I have basically twice the workload now. I have only been to the gym twice this week. My poor bike has been hanging up in my room untouched. When I did go to the gym, I only had time for cardio. I felt really guilty when I dropped my clothes at the laundry today and I had a weeks worth but only two sets of PTs instead of the usual 5 or 6. I haven’t given up hope, though. My wife just walked a 5K on Saturday with my son, Reilly. She would have run it, but he is too young for a jogging stroller and she didn't have anybody who could watch Reilly. He needs to be 6 months. She has been working out like a champ in addition to studying and taking care of my boy. She is truly my inspiration. If she can do it, I can pull myself up from my bootstraps and still hit the gym. I can't wait till we are back together and we can work out together. I have been on craigslist looking for jogging strollers and bicycle trailers for Reilly.

I did something really cool today. The Iraqi unit that I am working with delivered much needed school supplies to an all girls primary school today in our area. It was very nice. The little girls all were all formed up and they sang songs and then the National Police Commander I work with handed out backpacks with school supplies in them to orphans and low income students. It was a great mission. My team helped them plan the mission and we resourced it, but then they executed it. I would much rather do these missions then the search missions we do all the time. My Iraqi unit looked really good today and they had the Iraqi TV reporters there. That is what my team is there for; to help the Iraqi security forces become capable units.

It made me miss Lexi and Maddi today. It didn't help that there was this little girl that looked just like Maddi kept coming up and flirting with me this morning. She came up to me, waved, and said "Hello, mister" I had my sunglasses on and my full kit, so I probably looked really intimidating. I replied back to her "Sabah al hahr, habeebtee" Arabic for “good morning, sweetheart”, and then she ran off. She would keep looking back at me and would smile and wave. With all the crappy missions we have been doing lately, today really made up for it. I wrote previously about my experience here being a year in empathy. Well today, if I could have adopted all these girls I would have.

Biker Build-off Baghdad Style

I can't believe an Iraqi would throw this away! This is great stuff!

Ok, next year, Katie and I are moving to Fort Carson, Colorado in Colorado Springs. Maybe it's not the mountain bike capital of the world, but could be. So Katie and I want to do some serious mountain biking when we get there. A serious mountain bike is serious cash. To get a good mountain bike with all the quality bells and whistles you are going to spend about $3500 at the local bicycle shop. You could get the same quality bike at a fraction of the cost if you had countless hours to comb the internet and look at bargain deals on components and looked for second hand frames and wheels that still have some life in them. Of course you'd have to spend hours doing research on what components are the right ones to get and to get them cheap, you'd have to spend countless hours hoping to win them in an eBay auction or find a steal on craigslist. Most people don't have the time to build a $3500, full-suspension, disk-brake, Shimano XTR derailers, and carbon fibered seat posted all-mountain, mountain bike, BUT I DO! HELP ME JOHN KERRY, I'M STUCK IN IRAQ!!!

So there you have it, I've thrown my hat in the ring of the first "build a $3500 mountain bike for almost nothing" (I'm thinking for around $800-$1000) biker build-off. I invite anybody else to rise to the challenge and build a bike. I warn you, though, today on my cordon and knock mission with the Iraqis I found this awesome full suspension frame while searching for weapons in a trash pile. It cost me nothing so I've already saved $900 for what I'd have spent on a good frame. Watch out! I'm on a roll.

MTV Cribs Baghdad

Ok, I havn't blogged in a while, so I thought I should say something, and oh, boy, I'd like to start out by congratulating my brother-in-law and sister-in-law on their beautiful baby girl, Natalie Elizabeth Adams. She is awesome! I saw the video of her today. Way to go, Adams Family! I can't wait to see my new neice when I go on mid tour leave.

I havn't blogged, because I've been very busy. I can't talk about it, but I will just let you all know I barely had time to chat with Katie on the internet. I talked to my girls, and I was falling asleep while I was talking to them. It's been a long week. I ran 8 miles last Friday, and I was sore the next day. I didn't have time to workout Saturday or Sunday, but that was OK. I needed to rest. I did bike 5 miles last night, but it was dark, and I got tired of dodging tanks and MRAPs with my little headlamp, so I finished early. I woke up early this morning with the plan to ride 20 miles. Well, this FOB is big, but not on a bike. After the 5th or 6th time around the same route, I was bored out of my mind. You aren't aloud to run or bike with headphones here for obvious reasons (tanks driving all around), so it gets old quick. I looked down at my Garmin and it said I'd gone 15 miles. Good enough. I will probably run intervals and lift at the gym tomorrow.

I figured you all were wondering, so I added pictures of my room. Trust me, this is the penthouse suite compared to what I've been used to living in here in Iraq. I have my own room. I got a stocked fridge, microwave, TV, DVD player, and internet! In my room! Last two times I was here, you had to wait for hours in line at the internet cafe to just check your email. Now I can webcam with Katie and Reilly in my room. Awesome.

A lot of my guys got rid of the bunk bed in their room if they didn't have a roommate, but I kept mine. It helps keep the dust off of my bed and it is a great place to store my vest and helmet and stuff.

Here is where I like to spend my free time, when I'm not at the gym. I'm usually chatting away with Katie, calling the girls, or downloading itunes. My escape.

Here's a view from the other side of my room, you can see my bed and the door to my reality.

I keep pretty busy. It helps this year go by fast. Now you've seen my little fortress of solitude. It's not as grand as Superman's, but it is good enough for me. I'm living good. Like I said, I have internet, A/C, and all the Gatorade and Rip-its I can drink.

Hummer I Got You Beat!

So I'm reading the latest copy of Outside Magazine, and Hummer takes out a full page spread with this guy mountain biking in California. He is starting out at a trail head with his brand new H3T all geared up with bikes in the back and a full roof rack full of camping gear. I noticed the H3T is a little small though. What is up with that? Is gas getting expense back there? Is it not cool to drive a big SUV anymore? Thankfully, I don't have to worry about that. When I wanna hit some serious mountain bike trails, I just load up the 30,000 lb MRAP-CSUV (Mine Resistant Armored Personnel-Combat Sport Utility Vehicle) OK, I made the last part up, but this thing is dope! It is the perfect vehicle to get you to the best mountain biking the world has to offer, even if you have to fight your way there. When some environmentalist or insurgent tells you that you can't ride on a certain trail, "These are protected lands....boo-hoo" or "You're an infidel...waah-waah", you just aim the optional 50 caliber machine gun at them. Surprisingly they reconsider. It will get you to any trailhead and back, as long as it's close enough to the gas station. This thing doesn't get that good of gas mileage. Good thing, I don't pay for it. The underrated winch, police siren, and rhino mount come standard. The bike rack is optional. This baby rocks! It is the safest way to get to your favorite mountain biking spot imaginable. All you Hummer owners can stop crying now, these won't be available in the states for quite some time. But when they do, you won't be the coolest kids on the block anymore.

Okay, I'm Ready

I got a whole year over here, well really only 9 months left, to work on my goals I told the oldlady I would work on while I was over here; be able to do a half-ironman and run a marathon. I did sprint distance triathlons my inaugural season. I planned on doing Olympic lengths this year, but due to scheduling conflicts and my train-up for Iraq, I was only able to get one sprint distance race in. All the Olympic length races fell on weekends I was at a range shooting something or blowing it up. Which would you have done? Well I would have done the triathlon, but I'm in the Army so I don't have a choice of which live fire exercise I can miss. Anyway, I feel, except for the swimming, that I could do an Olympic now, so I told my beautiful wife that I was going to train the whole year for a half-ironman upon my return to the states. My buddy Kevin wants me to do the Vineman with him next year. I’m in, as long as I can do half. Just kidding, I think it is a half. Now that I am used to the operational tempo over here, I think I can squeeze in some long workouts and still get my job done. The truth is that it is not so freaking hot anymore, so I don't mind going out and running long or riding long. When it was 120 degrees, I was not too motivated. I have an 8 week training plan, but I have plenty of time and don't want to injure myself, so I will stretch it out to 16 weeks. That is about how long I have till I go home on leave. I won't do a race then of course, I will be on vacation, but I will be in a lot better shape. Then, I can get ready for the '09 season and be in half-iron man shape when I get home in June of next year. I haven't picked a race to debut in, but the Vineman maybe an option.

I biked 9.35 miles of intervals last night on my el cheapo mountain bike. It's really flat here, but the gravel is deep and hard to ride through in parts, and in the back area of the FOB are some "sweet jumps". It took me an hour, and I felt good. Tonight, I'm running on the treadmill for 40 minutes easy. I was going to run with one of my interpreters outside, but we have a really bad dust storm and my allergies are bad enough right now. So instead, I will “rock out with my ipod out” and look like a hamster for 40 minutes. Wish me luck.

The road to regularity is always laid with best intentions

Ok, so I took the day off yesterday from any physical training, because I wasn't feeling well. After throwing up before my patrol and then throwing up later in my Iraqi battalion commander's private bathroom, I decided to "Face out, take a knee, and drink water." That is Army jargon for taking a break. I didn't feel too guilty taking the day off because I hit it pretty hard all last week between running intervals on the treadmill, spinning for hours on the exercise bike, actually swimming at the embassy pool, and doing three different insane cross-fit workouts (these last crazy sessions actually made me throw-up, too). Doc, my team medic, gave me some meds for the nausia, but they made me extremely drowsy. I went to bed last night at 1800 (6pm) and woke-up this morning at 0600 (6am). I put in a full day of work and then planned on working out tonight. I wanted to take a nice long bike ride around the FOB (place where I live), but I got bogged down in paperwork and never made it before it got dark. You don't want to ride in the dark around here. Imagine getting hit by a car. That would hurt pretty bad getting hit by a car while you are on your bike. Now imagine getting run over by a tank. It probably would hurt just as bad, but now you and your bike are just a big pile of goo laying in the dirt. So needless to say, I didn't go riding tonight. I was going to run, but that weird feeling came back in my stomach from yesterday. Not as bad, mind you, but still there. So I grab my latest copy of Outside Magazine and head to the latrine taking yet another day off from training.

Ok, so you may not know, but 80% of the world does not use a toilet. They crap in a hole in the ground. Ok maybe not 80%, someone gave me that statistic but I think it may be a little inflated, but anyway, the point is a lot of people poop in a hole in the ground. I am not one to be ethnocentric and say that using porcelain and toilet paper is the best way to go number 2, but it is the way that I prefer to go. I keep an open mind, and I am respectful of other cultures so when I am with the Iraqis I use the hole. I bring a Gatorade bottle to put my baby wipes in, because I don't want to clog the hole in the ground. They use their hands and a pitcher of water to rinse. Again, I am not here to judge, and say one way is better than the other, I'm just describing what happens.

Now, I have my Outside Magazine under my arm and I am kind of in a hurry. Now I have two options. I can use the porta-john right outside my building down the hall, or I can walk a little further to the latrine trailer that is well lit, air conditioned and actually has industrialized nations style porcelain toilets in private stalls. Very nice. I choose the later. Lately, when I've been going to the toilet trailer I've noticed that the seats are all wet. I assumed that they were still wet from the cleaning contractors servicing the trailer. So I usually take a bunch of toilet paper and wipe off the clean toilet seat and then do my business. Well, tonight I'm sitting there reading a great article about this guy from New York trying to build a cabin with his friends in Argentina, when I hear the guy in the stall next to me do his business. I was like wow, somebody else isn't feeling good either. Maybe it's the mess hall food. Then, I start hearing all this splashing in the toilet bowl. Crazy splashing in the toilet bowl. I was thinking "what the heck is going on over there?" Then it came to me like a blinding flash of the obvious. I have third world nationals that live in the same building as me. The same people in the 80% that I described earlier. Do you ever have those significantly emotional events? Those events you only have a few times in your lifetime. Those moments where you are grossed out beyond anything imaginable. Tonight was one of those moments. WELCOME TO MY WORLD.

A year in empathy

So I don't consider myself political. I'm in the military and I will follow whatever commander-in-chief is elected. The last time I voted was in 1992, and I was immature and uneducated on government and international affairs. I voted for Ross Parot, because at the time I didn't like either of the other two candidates. Since then, I saw how futile my vote was and knew I was still a patriot and believed in my country, and it didn't matter who was president, I would still proudly serve my country. I was fine with being an instrument of government, not a mercenary, but a soldier, paid to protect my country's vital interests.Then I came to Iraq for the third time. I am an advisor for the Iraqi National Police (INP), and I work daily to help build their capability and improve the capacity of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF). I help them integrate with the local governance and try to influence them to develop their civil military relationships. I work on making them a legitimate police force responsible for providing security to the local populace. They are doing this, and they are doing it with almost nothing. Yet, they are gaining the trust of the people and marginalizing the terrorists that live among them. Right now, Iraq is a struggling democracy that is plagued with corruption and sectarian agendas, but yet at the same time there are true patriots that are non-secular. These individuals want a better Iraq for their children, and they want their friends and family to return to safe neighborhoods and have a normal life. I talk to frustrated Iraqis daily about how they are frustrated with their government. I talk to Sunnis who tell me how much better it was before the US invaded and removed Saddam from power. It was maybe better for them, but not everybody. I tell them that it took years for our constitution to finally be agreed upon, and it is still debated over today. Then I tell them that they have the right to vote now, and that they have a say in what direction their government should go. They say "I know, I risked my life at the polling station to be heard." Many Iraqis lost their lives at polling stations at the hands of insurgents trying to intimidate them and keep them from voting. Many more were beaten or their families where threatened because they were trying to give democracy a chance in their county.I have interpreters that are serving with US forces because they want to do their part to make their country, Iraq, better. These "terps" are unarmed and they risk certain death when they return home if their true occupation is discovered. They risk harm to their families as well, because "they are traitors" and work with the US forces. My own life may be at risk, but I don't have to worry about my family or my children being targeted because of my profession. These great heroes do. The National Police I work with are under the same threat. Many Shurta (Iraqi Policeman) have been assassinated because they worked for the Government of Iraq. This coming election, I am paying attention to the candidates, and I am paying attention to their positions on what is important to me. I am also aware that majority of Americans do not vote. I registered to vote this year and plan on voting absentee ballot this election. Who I vote for is not important to my point as much as the fact that this year I am voting. I am voting because many Americans gave their lives so that I could have this right. Many Iraqis are dying so that they can have this same right. So I have since changed my position on not voting, because I feel it is my duty as an American to participate in democracy.I know I said my blog would be about my workouts and training for my future triathlons, but I see how great America is and how great Iraq could be. I think that too many Americans take for granted the freedoms and the security that they enjoy. I am lucky that I was born an American and that my children were born American. If you ever thought that freedom was free, I challenge you to make it happen without a cost.

The first of many ramblings and incoherant thoughts

Ok, so I've never been into blogs before. Then I get deployed to Iraq, and I find out my wife has a blog and it's a beautiful insight into the woman she is. She just gave birth to my awesome son back in July, and already she is talking about half marathons and how mad she was that Hurricane Ike screwed up her first 5k since having Reilly. She's an animal. She is my inspiration though. I've been in the army for 16 years and I've always had to stay in shape, but it has always been a chore, a part of my job, and definately not a passion. I came home from work one day last year, and told her one of my buddies wanted me to start training for triathlons with him. Taking this as a "Gut Check" and a definate challenge to my manhood, I accepted. The whole time I'm thinking, "What the heck am I getting myself into? I'm about to embarrass the crap out of myself!" I can run, but swim in open water? I don’t own a road bike. What the heck am I doing?
I go home full of bravado, and I proclaim to my bride, “I’m going to start doing triathlons with the guys from work. Us men are going to brave flailing arms and legs in shark infested waters, then bike great incomprehensible distances racing at crazy speeds that insure certain death if you crash. Then, when I’m done with that, I gut it out on an excruciating long distance run.” I’m expecting her to say, “Oh, my brave and strong husband. You are so great for accepting such a perilous challenge and defying all odds to complete such a grand achievement!”
No, she says no such thing! Instead, she says, “Cool, I wanna do it!” What? Doesn’t she know what a triathlon is? Doesn’t she know I could die? Doesn’t she know it takes great athletic achievement and perseverance to accomplish such a quest? She says, “Cool, I wanna do it, too!” And that was it. We were both hooked. We trained together. We went on group rides, open water swim sessions, swim masters, and early morning interval workouts at the track. Working out and getting in shape was fun now. I looked forward to my workouts with my best friend.
My first triathlon was an Xterra Offroad Triathlon. I didn’t own a road bike, and I figured I was good at mountain biking and running. I could do this. I was the last guy out of the water. The lifeguards floated behind me the whole time and were asking me if I needed help. How embarrassing. I ran to the transition area on the beach and quickly got my bike. I got some confidence back when I was screaming past riders on the trail. This was my strength. I finished strong on the run and hurt pretty bad on the way in. When I finished, I asked the officials for the standings. They told me don’t worry about it you didn’t place. It didn’t matter, though, I finished my first triathlon and I was still alive.
My wife, Katie, had her first triathlon a few weeks after that. It was an all women’s triathlon. She was so awesome. I was so proud of her. She was pretty nervous, but she is a true athlete. Her competitive spirit kicked in and she finished strong. She was awesome. After that, we both did three triathlons together and she placed in every single one of them. She got some really cool stuff.
So after our final race last year, Katie got pregnant in October. I got deployment orders for Iraq. She started taking her training a lot easier. She quickly went to just swimming. Now that she has had Reilly though, she is back into the swing of things. She has been building her endurance up and when she’s not changing diapers, feeding, or catching up on some badly needed sleep, her sister is watching our son, so she can take our 70 lb ridgeback, Molly, for a run. Did I say my wife is awesome?
I’m in Baghdad, and I have been pretty busy. When I can find time, I still try to get my workouts in. Swimming is out of the question. I swam for the first time last week at the Embassy pool. The logistics of getting there was so difficult, I probably won’t do that again. The summers here are crazy hot. I had to get up at 0400 just to run before it got into the 100’s. You can’t run in the dust storms if you want to keep your lungs, so I’ve been forced to hit the treadmill often. I bought a German version of a Huffy to ride around the Forward Operating Base where I live. It is called a Fischer. Trust me, it is in no way a Garry Fischer. It does the job though. I installed clipless pedals, so I can use my shoes and get a pretty good workout. I have to do quite a few laps though to get any distance and that gets boring pretty quick. My rides are still a good escape from normal operations.
Well, if you read all this, I commend you. You sure do have a lot of time on your hands. In the future I promise to be more concise and work on brevity in my posts.