Ok, I have come to the conclusion that I will probably never get around to uploading all the pictures nice and neatly within the blog where they belong. I've just got too much living to do! So, if you're interested in pictures, click here to go to my shutterfly album from the trip.
Enjoy!!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Warrior Tours reunion in San Francisco
A reunion already? HECK YES! When you meet such high quality people, you take any opportunity to hang out with them. Let me back up a little.
about 2 weeks ago, we were all sitting around during a sandstorm in some far off place, talking about the San Francisco Marathon. Robi and Bart are the hosts of the race. Christian all of a sudden pipes up that he wants to do the marathon. We all stop and look at him for a sec. Had he ever done a marathon before? No. Had he done any training? No! OK! Zach decides he's going to run too! Bart commits to helping him with preparation (as much as you can prepare for a marathon on 12 days notice!) and of course, I jump on board to run with them. It's what I do!
Unfortunately Zach had a ton of things going on in Minneapolis, so he had to cancel early in the week, but as the days approached, Chris got more and more excited. I was sending him little tips all week and trying to get him pumped up. I was pretty excited myself.
We all arrived in San Francisco, and met up at the expo on Saturday. Robi had his daughters filming Chris as he picked up his packet and walked the expo. I turn into a drooling idiot when you point a camera at me, so I tried to stay out of the way, but I'm afraid I may have gotten some camera time. Chris brought his gal-pal Val. (sorry...couldn't resist!) She was an absolutely joy. So we tripped around the expo, then went our separate ways to rest for the night.
We met up around 7:30 to head to dinner. We went to a great sushi joint and had a delicious dinner. We even enjoyed a little sake. What the heck, right? Fantastic dinner, good laughs, and hit the sack early.
The San Francisco marathon starts at 5:30am. The hotel we were staying in was right next to the starting line. I could only have been closer if I'd have slept on a park bench. This was great because we didn't have to get up too much before the start, but with a 5:30 start time, we still needed to get up early. We met in the lobby at 4:30 and headed to the start. It was the usual teeming mass of nervous skinny people, stretching and warming up, standing in the porto potty line, saying goodbye to loved ones, eating, drinking or just being nervous. Chris had been cool as a cucumber the entire week, but did admit to feeling a little nervous excitement once we hit the start.
We went up to the announcer's platform where Robi had started his trademark race announcing. He introduced Chris and let everyone know what he was doing and where we had just come back from. Before we knew it, the first wave of Elites was off. We hung out for a few minutes as the super fast folks streamed past. As the end of the second wave trickled through, we decided to go ahead and get started. It was a strange and anti-climactic start, but there was no time like the present. Let's get this show on the road.
We were off. It was chilly and foggy. Perfect for running. We ran the first 5 miles or so, at which point I decided we should start a 5:1 run/walk. Chris is fit, so I had no doubt he would finish, and over short distance he's pretty fast (finished our 5K at Al Asad at a 6:30 pace!) but he hadn't run more than 10 miles in the past year (at an 8 minute mile pace), so I knew he'd have to take it easy to make the full 26. I also know that I hadn't really trained, and 5:1 was a method I knew would get me to the finish line. I told him he could run on ahead if he wanted, but he agreed to stick with me at least to the half.
Over the Golden Gate Bridge (so pretty) and into Golden Gate Park. Past the Buffalo (who knew?!) and we hit the half way point. We were feeling great and the time was FLYING! We were having a blast talking and joking around. I could tell that he was feeling strong and that the 1 minute walk breaks were making him a little antsy. I told him again that he could go on ahead if he wanted, to ensure that he got the most out of his race experience. He said he'd stay with me until there was 10 to go, then maybe he'd push ahead.
On we ran, telling bad jokes and talking about life in general. We hit 16 and we were both starting to feel a little fatigue. Nothing bad or unusual for having run 16 miles on no training, just starting to feel it a little. "want to run ahead?" I asked as I sipped my beer at the Hash House Harrier's aid station. The answer was no. He was having a good time, and wanted to save his legs/body for the Mt Rainier climb he had coming up in a few weeks. This was a smart decision, as there was still a long way to go. I was also thrilled to have a running companion for the rest of the race. We were having a great time.
So on we plodded, cursing the downhills (man they hurt!) and continuing our slow plod to the finish line. Chris had his iPhone hooked up to his earpiece, and was periodically calling Robi with updates from the course. Robi would patch him in to the PA system and broadcast their conversation to the public at the finish line. As we passed Giant's stadium we made our last call to let him know we were less than a mile away.
As we approached the finish line, we saw Bart standing there announcing race finishers. It was great to see Bart and he ran with us for the last few hundred feet. Rob was there announcing our finish and all the details about our Iraq adventure. What a great finish.
He'd done it, and we finished in 4:47, my 3rd fastest marathon time actually, for my 20th marathon. Not bad, and we had a great time. We celebrated with beer and meat and said our goodbyes. Val and Chris headed to the airport and I went to rest.
I met Robi, Gretchen and Domi (his daughters, who by the way are phenominal young ladies and who were a PLEASURE to have around) in the sky lounge at the top of the hotel for some drinks and snacks. We were all pretty beat from a long day, so we snacked and chatted and called it a night. A great end to a fantastic weekend.
about 2 weeks ago, we were all sitting around during a sandstorm in some far off place, talking about the San Francisco Marathon. Robi and Bart are the hosts of the race. Christian all of a sudden pipes up that he wants to do the marathon. We all stop and look at him for a sec. Had he ever done a marathon before? No. Had he done any training? No! OK! Zach decides he's going to run too! Bart commits to helping him with preparation (as much as you can prepare for a marathon on 12 days notice!) and of course, I jump on board to run with them. It's what I do!
Unfortunately Zach had a ton of things going on in Minneapolis, so he had to cancel early in the week, but as the days approached, Chris got more and more excited. I was sending him little tips all week and trying to get him pumped up. I was pretty excited myself.
We all arrived in San Francisco, and met up at the expo on Saturday. Robi had his daughters filming Chris as he picked up his packet and walked the expo. I turn into a drooling idiot when you point a camera at me, so I tried to stay out of the way, but I'm afraid I may have gotten some camera time. Chris brought his gal-pal Val. (sorry...couldn't resist!) She was an absolutely joy. So we tripped around the expo, then went our separate ways to rest for the night.
We met up around 7:30 to head to dinner. We went to a great sushi joint and had a delicious dinner. We even enjoyed a little sake. What the heck, right? Fantastic dinner, good laughs, and hit the sack early.
The San Francisco marathon starts at 5:30am. The hotel we were staying in was right next to the starting line. I could only have been closer if I'd have slept on a park bench. This was great because we didn't have to get up too much before the start, but with a 5:30 start time, we still needed to get up early. We met in the lobby at 4:30 and headed to the start. It was the usual teeming mass of nervous skinny people, stretching and warming up, standing in the porto potty line, saying goodbye to loved ones, eating, drinking or just being nervous. Chris had been cool as a cucumber the entire week, but did admit to feeling a little nervous excitement once we hit the start.
We went up to the announcer's platform where Robi had started his trademark race announcing. He introduced Chris and let everyone know what he was doing and where we had just come back from. Before we knew it, the first wave of Elites was off. We hung out for a few minutes as the super fast folks streamed past. As the end of the second wave trickled through, we decided to go ahead and get started. It was a strange and anti-climactic start, but there was no time like the present. Let's get this show on the road.
We were off. It was chilly and foggy. Perfect for running. We ran the first 5 miles or so, at which point I decided we should start a 5:1 run/walk. Chris is fit, so I had no doubt he would finish, and over short distance he's pretty fast (finished our 5K at Al Asad at a 6:30 pace!) but he hadn't run more than 10 miles in the past year (at an 8 minute mile pace), so I knew he'd have to take it easy to make the full 26. I also know that I hadn't really trained, and 5:1 was a method I knew would get me to the finish line. I told him he could run on ahead if he wanted, but he agreed to stick with me at least to the half.
Over the Golden Gate Bridge (so pretty) and into Golden Gate Park. Past the Buffalo (who knew?!) and we hit the half way point. We were feeling great and the time was FLYING! We were having a blast talking and joking around. I could tell that he was feeling strong and that the 1 minute walk breaks were making him a little antsy. I told him again that he could go on ahead if he wanted, to ensure that he got the most out of his race experience. He said he'd stay with me until there was 10 to go, then maybe he'd push ahead.
On we ran, telling bad jokes and talking about life in general. We hit 16 and we were both starting to feel a little fatigue. Nothing bad or unusual for having run 16 miles on no training, just starting to feel it a little. "want to run ahead?" I asked as I sipped my beer at the Hash House Harrier's aid station. The answer was no. He was having a good time, and wanted to save his legs/body for the Mt Rainier climb he had coming up in a few weeks. This was a smart decision, as there was still a long way to go. I was also thrilled to have a running companion for the rest of the race. We were having a great time.
So on we plodded, cursing the downhills (man they hurt!) and continuing our slow plod to the finish line. Chris had his iPhone hooked up to his earpiece, and was periodically calling Robi with updates from the course. Robi would patch him in to the PA system and broadcast their conversation to the public at the finish line. As we passed Giant's stadium we made our last call to let him know we were less than a mile away.
As we approached the finish line, we saw Bart standing there announcing race finishers. It was great to see Bart and he ran with us for the last few hundred feet. Rob was there announcing our finish and all the details about our Iraq adventure. What a great finish.
He'd done it, and we finished in 4:47, my 3rd fastest marathon time actually, for my 20th marathon. Not bad, and we had a great time. We celebrated with beer and meat and said our goodbyes. Val and Chris headed to the airport and I went to rest.
I met Robi, Gretchen and Domi (his daughters, who by the way are phenominal young ladies and who were a PLEASURE to have around) in the sky lounge at the top of the hotel for some drinks and snacks. We were all pretty beat from a long day, so we snacked and chatted and called it a night. A great end to a fantastic weekend.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
made it to Kuwait
We made it to Kuwait finally and luckily. Our original flight yesterday morning at 11was cancelled due to the sandstorm, and we were bumped from the 11pm flight as well as the 2am flight. The 7am finally took off as the sandstorm was rising again for the day. Apparently we were the last flight tot ake off, and one soldier even remarked that we shouldn't have taken off because the visibility was too poor, but we did and after a few fun maneuvers over Baghdad we landed safely in Kuwait. (they don't fly a regular flight pattern over some of the bigger cities. They don't do that stuff on commercial aircraft. It was was fun!). That means Catch Penny got stuck at Speicher. Have a scoop of Pralienes and Cream with caramel sauce for me guys! Sorry!!
Everyone is tired and was starving because we had to be up for each of those flight possibilities, and we didn't get much b-fast, so when we got to Arifjan we dumped our stuff and practically ran to the chow hall (which was about to close, but I think we would have run anyway! Quick silent lunch, a scoop of mint chocolate chip at Baskin Robbins (I'm going to miss the ice cream!) and back to my room until time to go. I needed a shower as I was covered in a fine layer of sand. The sand here is quite a bit grittier than in Iraq, and sticks to you better. People pay good money for exfoliation like that.
I got back to my room and had my first solid alone time in over a week, and the tears came. Tears for the soldiers, for the amazing friends I've made, for the things I've seen, both good and bad, the things I've learned about myself, and the excitement and fear of the inevitable big changes I'll now be making in my life. I think there was some exhaustion and possibly a little dehydration in there too. A well deserved and well needed cry! It's amazing how some things become crystal clear at some times.
Showered, dressed and packed and 15 minutes until we depart the last American military base in the middle east that I'll visit for a while. I have makeup on, and I did my hair. How weird! I look like a girl again.
Off to London where it's low 70s and rainy! That'll be a switch. I'm hoping to get all caught up with my blog on the plane tonight, so the rest of the trip will be chronicled. When I have a speedy internet connection, I'll be sure to attach pictures as well.
And you can guarantee I'll be having a pint with lunch tomorow!
Hugs
Anne
Everyone is tired and was starving because we had to be up for each of those flight possibilities, and we didn't get much b-fast, so when we got to Arifjan we dumped our stuff and practically ran to the chow hall (which was about to close, but I think we would have run anyway! Quick silent lunch, a scoop of mint chocolate chip at Baskin Robbins (I'm going to miss the ice cream!) and back to my room until time to go. I needed a shower as I was covered in a fine layer of sand. The sand here is quite a bit grittier than in Iraq, and sticks to you better. People pay good money for exfoliation like that.
I got back to my room and had my first solid alone time in over a week, and the tears came. Tears for the soldiers, for the amazing friends I've made, for the things I've seen, both good and bad, the things I've learned about myself, and the excitement and fear of the inevitable big changes I'll now be making in my life. I think there was some exhaustion and possibly a little dehydration in there too. A well deserved and well needed cry! It's amazing how some things become crystal clear at some times.
Showered, dressed and packed and 15 minutes until we depart the last American military base in the middle east that I'll visit for a while. I have makeup on, and I did my hair. How weird! I look like a girl again.
Off to London where it's low 70s and rainy! That'll be a switch. I'm hoping to get all caught up with my blog on the plane tonight, so the rest of the trip will be chronicled. When I have a speedy internet connection, I'll be sure to attach pictures as well.
And you can guarantee I'll be having a pint with lunch tomorow!
Hugs
Anne
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Hospital Visit (7/13/09)
I was honored to be allowed to go on a tour of the hospital. The night before, when we had been enjoying the Catch Penny concert, drinking near beer and laughing and joking around, all medical staff were at the hospital patching up 9 brave men who had been involved in an IED attack. The attack took place outside an Iraqi police station, and was apparently detonated by remote, meaning some coward sat at a safe distance away and pushed a button to blow up our boys when they passed. Fortunately the assessment was that it didn’t detonate properly, so instead of blowing up in the middle of the group, it exploded towards the end of the group, and didn’t blow up straight, but just in 1 direction, not totally towards our guys. That said, it did blow up and wounded 9 brave men who were on a foot patrol with the mission of helping the Iraqi people get back their land, their safety and their country. Attacks like this are apparently not that infrequent, and infiltration in the local police and military forces was common, either by bribe, or by threats. Saddam ruled his people by intimidation and force and violence, and the insurgents today have continued that tradition.
1 was an Iraqi interpreter who saw a possibility for a better life in his country, and was helping the American soldiers so he could eventually live in peace and safety without American troops patrolling their cities. He was injured the worst, and was in the ICU when we arrived. As I understand it, he was impaled by a coke can sized object in the hip/groin area. The biggest problem was, we could only provide him with the care that we could at that base. (4 other American soldiers had been operated on, stabilized and med-evaced within hours of the attack to be sent to Germany and them home to be cared for with the best and most modern facilities and techniques. They were all expected to make a full recovery) Under the treaty we have with Iraq, we are not allowed to transport him for more thorough care, and we could only hold him for 7 days. This man needed at least 2 months of medical care according to the doctor giving us the tour, so he would need to be transported to an Iraqi medical care facility BUT if he was put in a local facility, the insurgents would identify him as someone who was helping the Americans, and not only would his life be in danger, but that of his family as well. This poor man had a lot more than 2 months of recovery to worry about. There were 2 American soldiers at his bedside when we were there who had sustained very minor shrapnel wounds. You could see the fear, and stress in their eyes, partially from their own trauma, but also in sympathy for the situation of their friend, a man who bravely chose to help them despite considerable danger to himself and his family. It’s brave men like this who are going to allow the Iraqi nation to be successful and free and safe, and I hope there are many more who are inspired by his bravery and step forward to reclaim their country. It’s so hard though because there is such a culture of violence and intimidation and they live under a constant threat making it less likely for honest people to live a peaceful life.
You could see the shrapnel wounds on the faces of the 2 soldiers who were at the Iraqi’s bedside, burns about the side of a pencil eraser. They apparently had a few other wounds on their bodies, but were expected to return to their unit the next day.
We left those three men to their quiet conversation, and went into the care ward where the other 2 soldiers were. The first was quite drugged up, and was still in a bit of pain, but managed to have a great conversation with us just the same. He had sustained injuries on both of his ankles, one worse than the other. He was scheduled to med-evac out that night (The sandstorms were grounding most aircraft, but it was a relief to know that the med-evac still flew!) and go to Germany for more extensive surgery. From there they would determine whether he would be fit to return to his unit, or if he was headed home. You could see in this man’s eyes that all he wanted was to just go home, but of course his loyalty to his fellow troops kept him wanting to be here in Iraq, fighting alongside his brothers. He was really excited to talk to Sandy the Astronaut, and Frank the Olympian. He showed us his purple heart that the General himself had just moments before awarded to him right there in the hospital. Someone said “cool” and he said “not really!” He also showed us the nail that they had pulled out of his leg. Ew! We talked for a while then headed to the next bed.
This young man from Kansas was about as all-American as you can get. Blonde hair, big football build. You almost expected him to have a piece of wheat in his teeth. Really nice kid. He had been peppered all down one side with shrapnel. He was expected to recover right there in the medical center at Speicher and return to duty once his wounds were healed. He was apparently the one closest to the blast, and it was because of the malfunction of the explosive that he wasn’t the worst one injured. The blast apparently picked him up, tossed him 20 meters across the street and into the side of a building. He was battered and bruised, but overall ok and considered quite a hero because the doc and 2 of the soldiers there told us with pride that this young man was closest to the blast. It was like a badge of honor. I’m sure he wasn’t looking forward to returning to foot patrol. That would certainly make you more hesitant and stressed while trying to do your job.
We visited for a while, then soberly got back on the bus, talking about the bravery of these young men, how this truly was still a life conflict, and how we all hoped and prayed that no more of our young men would be involved in situations like this. But we all quietly knew that they would.
1 was an Iraqi interpreter who saw a possibility for a better life in his country, and was helping the American soldiers so he could eventually live in peace and safety without American troops patrolling their cities. He was injured the worst, and was in the ICU when we arrived. As I understand it, he was impaled by a coke can sized object in the hip/groin area. The biggest problem was, we could only provide him with the care that we could at that base. (4 other American soldiers had been operated on, stabilized and med-evaced within hours of the attack to be sent to Germany and them home to be cared for with the best and most modern facilities and techniques. They were all expected to make a full recovery) Under the treaty we have with Iraq, we are not allowed to transport him for more thorough care, and we could only hold him for 7 days. This man needed at least 2 months of medical care according to the doctor giving us the tour, so he would need to be transported to an Iraqi medical care facility BUT if he was put in a local facility, the insurgents would identify him as someone who was helping the Americans, and not only would his life be in danger, but that of his family as well. This poor man had a lot more than 2 months of recovery to worry about. There were 2 American soldiers at his bedside when we were there who had sustained very minor shrapnel wounds. You could see the fear, and stress in their eyes, partially from their own trauma, but also in sympathy for the situation of their friend, a man who bravely chose to help them despite considerable danger to himself and his family. It’s brave men like this who are going to allow the Iraqi nation to be successful and free and safe, and I hope there are many more who are inspired by his bravery and step forward to reclaim their country. It’s so hard though because there is such a culture of violence and intimidation and they live under a constant threat making it less likely for honest people to live a peaceful life.
You could see the shrapnel wounds on the faces of the 2 soldiers who were at the Iraqi’s bedside, burns about the side of a pencil eraser. They apparently had a few other wounds on their bodies, but were expected to return to their unit the next day.
We left those three men to their quiet conversation, and went into the care ward where the other 2 soldiers were. The first was quite drugged up, and was still in a bit of pain, but managed to have a great conversation with us just the same. He had sustained injuries on both of his ankles, one worse than the other. He was scheduled to med-evac out that night (The sandstorms were grounding most aircraft, but it was a relief to know that the med-evac still flew!) and go to Germany for more extensive surgery. From there they would determine whether he would be fit to return to his unit, or if he was headed home. You could see in this man’s eyes that all he wanted was to just go home, but of course his loyalty to his fellow troops kept him wanting to be here in Iraq, fighting alongside his brothers. He was really excited to talk to Sandy the Astronaut, and Frank the Olympian. He showed us his purple heart that the General himself had just moments before awarded to him right there in the hospital. Someone said “cool” and he said “not really!” He also showed us the nail that they had pulled out of his leg. Ew! We talked for a while then headed to the next bed.
This young man from Kansas was about as all-American as you can get. Blonde hair, big football build. You almost expected him to have a piece of wheat in his teeth. Really nice kid. He had been peppered all down one side with shrapnel. He was expected to recover right there in the medical center at Speicher and return to duty once his wounds were healed. He was apparently the one closest to the blast, and it was because of the malfunction of the explosive that he wasn’t the worst one injured. The blast apparently picked him up, tossed him 20 meters across the street and into the side of a building. He was battered and bruised, but overall ok and considered quite a hero because the doc and 2 of the soldiers there told us with pride that this young man was closest to the blast. It was like a badge of honor. I’m sure he wasn’t looking forward to returning to foot patrol. That would certainly make you more hesitant and stressed while trying to do your job.
We visited for a while, then soberly got back on the bus, talking about the bravery of these young men, how this truly was still a life conflict, and how we all hoped and prayed that no more of our young men would be involved in situations like this. But we all quietly knew that they would.
SCRUBBED! (7/13/09)
1:30 came WAY too fast, but I think I actually managed to get some sleep, which was unusual. The previous night I had spent the entire night awake reexamining my life, and most of the previous nights I hadn’t slept well either. Somehow I was hanging tough, and wasn’t dragging or tired in the least. Weird how adrenaline and excitement of adventure and interacting with amazing people really energizes me. I’ve also been continuing to try to eat well (aside from a few scoops of ice cream!) and making a concerted effort to drink plenty of water, so hopefully that was helping as well. We got to the MWR computer lab, only to find the mission had been scrubbed due to weather. BUMMER! Robi did a Q&A with Sandy anyway, and got some video of shout outs from troops. Very cool, but we were thrilled to be heading back home for a few more little winks before the race. The wind was still whooping up, and everyone was pretty negative about our ability to leave before Wednesday. I've settled into a "whatever will be will be" attitude. Nothing I can do about it!
Got a bit more sleep, then up for a 5am bus to the race site. It was pretty sandy, but we hadn't gotten any word that the race was off, so we headed over to the main gym. Sure enough, the race was scrubbed too, but there were still about 80 people in the gym, so Robi set up a series of stations. Frank was at the treadmills, Sandy was at one end of the gym answering questions, and Bart, Josh and I did some gait analysis at the other end. We were pretty busy and it was really fun to help the guys get the right shoes, and I was able to learn some things from Bart which was pretty great! Aside from that, hanging out with Bart is always fun. He's one of the funniest people on the planet. He has me rolling all the time. It's been such a pleasure taveling with him. So we did that until we got kicked out of the gym. Then we headed back to the villa. (did I tell you about our villa? SO FUN!) Everyone jaunted off to breakfast, but I decided to take the opportunity to sit this meal out and take a nap. I logged a good hour in the sack. Nicole was kind enough to bring me an apple.
The Schauf boys and I were talking about getting a workout, and DC had promised a Crossfit workout, so we waited around for him, but unfortunately we couldn't find him, and next thing we knew it was time for lunch. Off we went, singing "time to eat again" to the tune of "on the road again" After lunch we went over to the gym and Zach and Christian took me through a piece of one of their workouts. It was awesome. I would love to get in a routine of working out like that on a regular basis. I would have a SIC bod! We did mainly upper body to failure. I don't think I've ever worked out to failure. Being en endurance athlete, I've become accustomed to not pushing to the limit to be sure I have enough gas to finish the workout/race....probably to a fault. I could probably perform at a much higher level, but I'm always saving some. Well, not in this workout. Every time we finished a set, my arms would be shaking and hanging down useless. I was seriously concerned that I wouldn't be able to lift my arms the next day. We watched the UFC Brock fight from the other day. The one with that huge scary gross man from MN who was drooling and ranting after he beat that other nice man to a pulp. I was literally hiding behind Chris while we watched. It's scary that there's someone like that on the planet!
We headed back to the villa, I did my best to wash my hair and clean up with my rubber arms, then we headed to visit the hospital.
Got a bit more sleep, then up for a 5am bus to the race site. It was pretty sandy, but we hadn't gotten any word that the race was off, so we headed over to the main gym. Sure enough, the race was scrubbed too, but there were still about 80 people in the gym, so Robi set up a series of stations. Frank was at the treadmills, Sandy was at one end of the gym answering questions, and Bart, Josh and I did some gait analysis at the other end. We were pretty busy and it was really fun to help the guys get the right shoes, and I was able to learn some things from Bart which was pretty great! Aside from that, hanging out with Bart is always fun. He's one of the funniest people on the planet. He has me rolling all the time. It's been such a pleasure taveling with him. So we did that until we got kicked out of the gym. Then we headed back to the villa. (did I tell you about our villa? SO FUN!) Everyone jaunted off to breakfast, but I decided to take the opportunity to sit this meal out and take a nap. I logged a good hour in the sack. Nicole was kind enough to bring me an apple.
The Schauf boys and I were talking about getting a workout, and DC had promised a Crossfit workout, so we waited around for him, but unfortunately we couldn't find him, and next thing we knew it was time for lunch. Off we went, singing "time to eat again" to the tune of "on the road again" After lunch we went over to the gym and Zach and Christian took me through a piece of one of their workouts. It was awesome. I would love to get in a routine of working out like that on a regular basis. I would have a SIC bod! We did mainly upper body to failure. I don't think I've ever worked out to failure. Being en endurance athlete, I've become accustomed to not pushing to the limit to be sure I have enough gas to finish the workout/race....probably to a fault. I could probably perform at a much higher level, but I'm always saving some. Well, not in this workout. Every time we finished a set, my arms would be shaking and hanging down useless. I was seriously concerned that I wouldn't be able to lift my arms the next day. We watched the UFC Brock fight from the other day. The one with that huge scary gross man from MN who was drooling and ranting after he beat that other nice man to a pulp. I was literally hiding behind Chris while we watched. It's scary that there's someone like that on the planet!
We headed back to the villa, I did my best to wash my hair and clean up with my rubber arms, then we headed to visit the hospital.
Monday, July 13, 2009
RACE #3: Special Forces unit (7/12/09)
Another 4am wake up and a 6:00 race at Camp Bennett, a small compound inside the Speicher base. Speicher has about 20,000 soldiers and is quite expansive geographically. It’s not as MASH looking as Taji, but much more open and desert-y. The villa compound we’re in looks like somewhere in AZ. There are still MRAPs and other military stuff all over the place, but we haven’t seen the concentration of soldiers, so it doesn’t feel quite the same. So we got everything set up for a small race for the Special Forces troops and their support crew. There were about 18 guys there to run. They ran the .8 mile loop around their compound twice, making a 1.6 mile race. I chose to sit this one out so Josh could run and I could take pictures which was really fun! They parked an MRAP by the finish line, and we lined the finish chute with banners, and we put the UA and ESS banners on the cement barriers. It looked great and hopefully I got some great pictures. Josh had his shutter set on rapid fire, resulting in about 18 pictures every time I pushed it. (ok, maybe just 3-4, but still, there were a LOT of pictures!) Maybe I need to work on my gentleness! So after the race we had an awards ceremony, an honorary presentation to their commanding officers, and their Lt Col (who came in 1st in his age group by the way!) showed us his office with the memorial wall of their fellow special ops soldiers who were killed in action. They had a framed picture and description of each one on the wall. It was very touching and sad to think of these young, talented, patriotic, devoted men who died in this war. One was awarded the silver star for jumping on a grenade that was lobbed into the room he and 3 other soldiers were in. He dove on it to save the other troops, who walked away with minor injuries. Had he not done that, they all would have died. It was an amazing illustration of the bond these guys have with each other and their commitment to their duty. You could look in their faces and see the sadness at losing these fellow soldiers and great friends, and know that the memories would burn brightly for the rest of their lives.
We were about to miss breakfast, so we ran off and ate, then returned to Camp Bennett to help Robi clean up the race flags, banners and all that. We then headed to their MWR to get on the computers. Computer connectivity has been limited, and we’ve had a hard time finding places to plug in our computers to transmit pictures and stories. The NASA folks, Robi and the Sterns have made a considerable effort to find it because they need to get the story out to the media and to the troops who have spent time with us on our tours. Since I’m only updating friends and family, I decided to take a little time to rest rather than chase around an internet connection. It’s been nice to be off the grid a little.
Christian, Zach, Sandy and I had been talking about going to do a Crossfit workout, or some other kind of butt kicking workout at some point, and it was going to be after the computer time this morning. We were waiting for DC (badass muscular, Under Armour wearing special ops dude) to come take us back to housing and go workout. We waited and waited and waited. I got sick of surfing the internet (I’ve been keeping this blog on my laptop in free time, and couldn’t hook it up to the Ethernet cable, so I couldn’t update this blog. Sorry!) so I did a few pushups, did some quad chair sitting against the wall. I was getting antsy knowing that we probably weren’t going to have time to work out before lunch. Christian and I took a lap around the compound; the same .8 mile loop they did in the race this morning…..but at noon. Damn it was hot and it was starting to get windy.
We panted our way back to their break room and found DC. He and our bus driver had been there all the time. We rounded up our computer users and headed back to the villa. Quick shower (much needed!) and off to lunch. After lunch we had a little time to chill out, then it was time for the band to go get everything set up. I still wanted to get a workout in, and it turned out that the concert tonight was in the gym. Perfect! Just enough time to have a decent workout and get back for another shower, off to dinner then the concert. On the way to the gym, we noticed that it was considerably windier and the sand was getting all kicked up. In fact, visibility was very low, and rumblings of “no planes flying” and “red zone” were mentioned. The forecast was right, seems we were launching into another heavy sand storm. Fun!
The concert was great! Chris had arranged for 2 cases of non-alcoholic beer to be put on ice in the hall. Apparently at other shows, they’d had beer fights. It was pretty funny! This crowd was pretty subdued, probably due to the fact that it was in a huge gym with full lighting, so the atmosphere was not very rock-concert-y or conducive to letting loose and spraying beer all over the place. I did do my part by doing my first shotgun, pretty unsuccessfully, but still quite entertaining. The band invited me to come up on stage with them during their second set to sing with them which was really fun! Those guys are such great showmen, and their enthusiasm and comfort on stage makes their shows really fun to watch. Being on stage with them was a blast as well. Sandy and Frank did autographs after the show while Rick took race registrations for the next morning, and the Catch Penny guys gave out and signed CDs. They got their stuff all packed up, and we headed back to the villa.
NASA was supposed to launch a shuttle the night before, but it was postponed to the next day, so a bunch of us went over the the MWR to check the computers and see if the launch was going to happen. Robi was planning to video Sandy watching the launch online with some troops, which would be happening at 2:30am Iraq time. They checked NASA online and the launch was still a “go”, so we headed back to the house for a few hours of sleep. I really wanted to get some rest, but how often do you get to watch a shuttle launch with an astronaut?? Not often, so I decided to get up at 1:30 and go to the main MWR to watch the launch with them.
We were about to miss breakfast, so we ran off and ate, then returned to Camp Bennett to help Robi clean up the race flags, banners and all that. We then headed to their MWR to get on the computers. Computer connectivity has been limited, and we’ve had a hard time finding places to plug in our computers to transmit pictures and stories. The NASA folks, Robi and the Sterns have made a considerable effort to find it because they need to get the story out to the media and to the troops who have spent time with us on our tours. Since I’m only updating friends and family, I decided to take a little time to rest rather than chase around an internet connection. It’s been nice to be off the grid a little.
Christian, Zach, Sandy and I had been talking about going to do a Crossfit workout, or some other kind of butt kicking workout at some point, and it was going to be after the computer time this morning. We were waiting for DC (badass muscular, Under Armour wearing special ops dude) to come take us back to housing and go workout. We waited and waited and waited. I got sick of surfing the internet (I’ve been keeping this blog on my laptop in free time, and couldn’t hook it up to the Ethernet cable, so I couldn’t update this blog. Sorry!) so I did a few pushups, did some quad chair sitting against the wall. I was getting antsy knowing that we probably weren’t going to have time to work out before lunch. Christian and I took a lap around the compound; the same .8 mile loop they did in the race this morning…..but at noon. Damn it was hot and it was starting to get windy.
We panted our way back to their break room and found DC. He and our bus driver had been there all the time. We rounded up our computer users and headed back to the villa. Quick shower (much needed!) and off to lunch. After lunch we had a little time to chill out, then it was time for the band to go get everything set up. I still wanted to get a workout in, and it turned out that the concert tonight was in the gym. Perfect! Just enough time to have a decent workout and get back for another shower, off to dinner then the concert. On the way to the gym, we noticed that it was considerably windier and the sand was getting all kicked up. In fact, visibility was very low, and rumblings of “no planes flying” and “red zone” were mentioned. The forecast was right, seems we were launching into another heavy sand storm. Fun!
The concert was great! Chris had arranged for 2 cases of non-alcoholic beer to be put on ice in the hall. Apparently at other shows, they’d had beer fights. It was pretty funny! This crowd was pretty subdued, probably due to the fact that it was in a huge gym with full lighting, so the atmosphere was not very rock-concert-y or conducive to letting loose and spraying beer all over the place. I did do my part by doing my first shotgun, pretty unsuccessfully, but still quite entertaining. The band invited me to come up on stage with them during their second set to sing with them which was really fun! Those guys are such great showmen, and their enthusiasm and comfort on stage makes their shows really fun to watch. Being on stage with them was a blast as well. Sandy and Frank did autographs after the show while Rick took race registrations for the next morning, and the Catch Penny guys gave out and signed CDs. They got their stuff all packed up, and we headed back to the villa.
NASA was supposed to launch a shuttle the night before, but it was postponed to the next day, so a bunch of us went over the the MWR to check the computers and see if the launch was going to happen. Robi was planning to video Sandy watching the launch online with some troops, which would be happening at 2:30am Iraq time. They checked NASA online and the launch was still a “go”, so we headed back to the house for a few hours of sleep. I really wanted to get some rest, but how often do you get to watch a shuttle launch with an astronaut?? Not often, so I decided to get up at 1:30 and go to the main MWR to watch the launch with them.
DAY OF REST (7/11/09)
I woke up at 12:39. Perfect. I got dressed and went out to see who was stirring. A few people were up, but generally it was still quiet. People started to stir within a half hour and we hopped off to lunch.
The DFACs around here (dining facilities) are amazing. They’re huge and you have every choice of food you can think of. They had lobster the other night, and figuring it was a rare treat, I didn’t have one. Turns out they have lobster a lot! Darnnit! I should have had some!! This chow hall is no exception. Huge and decorated with sports jerseys and all sorts of patriotic decorations. There was even a huge Mt Rushmore and Statue of Liberty in there. Hilarious! After lunch we headed over here to the computer lab, and here we are.
It’s amazing how hard it is to let go of control and the need to have a schedule, or know what’s next. I’m sitting here at 4pm. I know there’s a BBQ at 6, but other than that, I don’t know when our next race is, where we’re going after this, how we’ll get there, or anything. I’m not even asking questions anymore, because either no one knows, or they know, but the plan changes dramatically moments later, so I’ve totally resigned myself to a “whatever!” attitude, and I’m starting to like it. The Catch Penny guys are so used to it! It apparently hasn’t been quite this loose on their tours, but there’s always an element of “wait and see what’s next” to being here. It really makes you live in the moment. Getting back to “real life” is going to be interesting.
There had been mention on the bus from the Chinook ride that we were here until Tuesday and that we would go to Kuwait from here. That didn’t sound right at all because this was only our 3rd base, and we were supposed to be hitting 7, so we thought it would be figured out, and maybe we’d just take smaller jumps to bases nearby. This was looking less and less like the case, and more and more like we would be here for the duration. This was kind of disappointing because we were finally getting to a point where we had these races all figured out, and we were settling in to the schedule, but it was also nice to know we were going to have a bit of a mellower schedule maybe. Again, we never know what’s really going to happen, but it looked like we would be staying here for a while.
We headed back to the house, changed clothes and went to a real TX BBQ. It was awesome. The first thing I noticed was the smell. It smelled just like a real BBQ. Someone said they flew in real Mesquite chips to smell like that. I don’t know if that’s true, but whatever it was, it smelled good. Steak, onion rings, corn on the cob, baked beans and near beer! It’s not that good, but it wouldn’t have been a BBQ without it. We chatted with a bunch of soldiers, Robi and the Catch Penny gang did a presentation and thanks, there was a bonfire, they flew the TX flag and there was even dancing. All the fixins of a real American BBQ. (apparently this was the BBQ they had scheduled for the 4th of July, but they had to cancel it because of the sandstorms. They had what the Iraqis called the worst sandstorm on written record last week. 9 days of no flights, and orange air due to all the suspended sand. The dining halls even ran out of vegetables and most other foods. They were eating canned green beans, spaghetti and chicken breasts. They were about to have to move into MREs, but thankfully the wind died down, and normal life continued right before we arrived. Thank goodness, but it wasn’t going to last.
I later talked to an environmental engineering contractor at the concert the next night, and he said that a lot of the major dust storms were new happenings due to environmental damage from the war. Tanks rolling over plants, causing it to due and the sand to become more loose. Chemical damage that killed the plant life. Bombs that killed it all. The wind starts to blow, and it just doesn’t stop. Sandy said that you could even see dust storms from space, often they would obscure the view of Iraq and Iran entirely!
After the BBQ we went back to the house, and we decided to head over to the MWR for a jam session that was supposed to be happening at 9. We got there around 9:45 and there was one lone guy playing a guitar, seeming to enjoy the private time he was getting (apparently it is in quite short supply around here!) We descended with 3 guitars (rented from the service desk) and they started playing. There wasn’t really a coordinated effort for a while. We did a song or 2, and decided to call it a night. We headed back and got to bed around midnight. (this house is like a fraternity house, or a dorm room, so we’ve spent a lot of time chatting and laughing around the house. A lot of the activity actually took place in my room (I have a table) which I thought was great considering I felt pretty selfish for having a single room when all 10 guys were sharing bunk beds in 1 room.) It was fun to have everyone hanging out in my room the whole time we were at Speicher.
The DFACs around here (dining facilities) are amazing. They’re huge and you have every choice of food you can think of. They had lobster the other night, and figuring it was a rare treat, I didn’t have one. Turns out they have lobster a lot! Darnnit! I should have had some!! This chow hall is no exception. Huge and decorated with sports jerseys and all sorts of patriotic decorations. There was even a huge Mt Rushmore and Statue of Liberty in there. Hilarious! After lunch we headed over here to the computer lab, and here we are.
It’s amazing how hard it is to let go of control and the need to have a schedule, or know what’s next. I’m sitting here at 4pm. I know there’s a BBQ at 6, but other than that, I don’t know when our next race is, where we’re going after this, how we’ll get there, or anything. I’m not even asking questions anymore, because either no one knows, or they know, but the plan changes dramatically moments later, so I’ve totally resigned myself to a “whatever!” attitude, and I’m starting to like it. The Catch Penny guys are so used to it! It apparently hasn’t been quite this loose on their tours, but there’s always an element of “wait and see what’s next” to being here. It really makes you live in the moment. Getting back to “real life” is going to be interesting.
There had been mention on the bus from the Chinook ride that we were here until Tuesday and that we would go to Kuwait from here. That didn’t sound right at all because this was only our 3rd base, and we were supposed to be hitting 7, so we thought it would be figured out, and maybe we’d just take smaller jumps to bases nearby. This was looking less and less like the case, and more and more like we would be here for the duration. This was kind of disappointing because we were finally getting to a point where we had these races all figured out, and we were settling in to the schedule, but it was also nice to know we were going to have a bit of a mellower schedule maybe. Again, we never know what’s really going to happen, but it looked like we would be staying here for a while.
We headed back to the house, changed clothes and went to a real TX BBQ. It was awesome. The first thing I noticed was the smell. It smelled just like a real BBQ. Someone said they flew in real Mesquite chips to smell like that. I don’t know if that’s true, but whatever it was, it smelled good. Steak, onion rings, corn on the cob, baked beans and near beer! It’s not that good, but it wouldn’t have been a BBQ without it. We chatted with a bunch of soldiers, Robi and the Catch Penny gang did a presentation and thanks, there was a bonfire, they flew the TX flag and there was even dancing. All the fixins of a real American BBQ. (apparently this was the BBQ they had scheduled for the 4th of July, but they had to cancel it because of the sandstorms. They had what the Iraqis called the worst sandstorm on written record last week. 9 days of no flights, and orange air due to all the suspended sand. The dining halls even ran out of vegetables and most other foods. They were eating canned green beans, spaghetti and chicken breasts. They were about to have to move into MREs, but thankfully the wind died down, and normal life continued right before we arrived. Thank goodness, but it wasn’t going to last.
I later talked to an environmental engineering contractor at the concert the next night, and he said that a lot of the major dust storms were new happenings due to environmental damage from the war. Tanks rolling over plants, causing it to due and the sand to become more loose. Chemical damage that killed the plant life. Bombs that killed it all. The wind starts to blow, and it just doesn’t stop. Sandy said that you could even see dust storms from space, often they would obscure the view of Iraq and Iran entirely!
After the BBQ we went back to the house, and we decided to head over to the MWR for a jam session that was supposed to be happening at 9. We got there around 9:45 and there was one lone guy playing a guitar, seeming to enjoy the private time he was getting (apparently it is in quite short supply around here!) We descended with 3 guitars (rented from the service desk) and they started playing. There wasn’t really a coordinated effort for a while. We did a song or 2, and decided to call it a night. We headed back and got to bed around midnight. (this house is like a fraternity house, or a dorm room, so we’ve spent a lot of time chatting and laughing around the house. A lot of the activity actually took place in my room (I have a table) which I thought was great considering I felt pretty selfish for having a single room when all 10 guys were sharing bunk beds in 1 room.) It was fun to have everyone hanging out in my room the whole time we were at Speicher.
2 soldiers from Sadar City
n the morning during setup, 2 guys in full utilities and boots wandered by the site, and Robi asked them if they planned to run with us. They didn’t know anything about it. They were 2 soldiers just back from 2 weeks leave headed back to their post later in the day. Their post was in Sadr City. Christian and Zach told us earlier how Sadar City was a particularly dangerous area, and the US agreed that if the trouble from Sadar City stayed out of Baghdad, the US would stay out of Sadr City. They also told us that one time, when transporting to a base in Baghdad, that their MRAP convoy had taken a wrong turn and ended up in Sadr City at which point they heard bullets pinging off the armoured exterior of the vehicle, so when they said they were based there, we immediately knew it was not a nice place to be. Later when we all showed up to finish setup, Robi told us about the boys, and how they planned to run in their uniform. I went over to talk to them, and they were great! One from Chicago, one from NY. Nice guys. Young. They couldn’t have been over 25 years old. They told me how since they June 30th pull out, there had been an escalation in violence. Our agreement with the Iraqi people was that there needed to be equal Iraqi Army soldiers to American soldiers patrolling the city if Americans would be patrolling. That conflicted with the Iraqi law that if Iraqi soldiers were seen patrolling with American soldiers (just in Sadr City? I’m not sure) they would immediately be arrested, so no Iraqi soldiers or police would patrol in Sadr City with them, leaving them to patrol the perimeter alone, and leaving the danger to increase in the city. They also talked about an increase in injuries, in fact, their commanding officer had just been involved in an IED attack and had lost both of his legs. They were very clearly frustrated, very angry, and saddened. They didn’t see a solution or the possibility for improvement and were clearly very frustrated by it., but most of all, you could see that they were scared, and not particularly excited about going back, other than to be with their unit and back up their buddies. They had 8 hour foot patrols in 120 degree heat and 65lbs of gear to look forward to, and an uncomfortable 1 hour “commute” on either end of that patrol from the base to the site. This is the kind of constant anxiety that some of our brave American troops live under, and the kind that leads to difficulty adapting back to “normal” life. These boys were clearly being affected by the stress, which makes tours like ours, and the concerts that Catch Penny does for the small FOBs so vitally important. Even to have 30 minutes where they can think about something else, forget that they could be shot at or blown up at any moment, and to know that someone came out to see them and entertain them and care about them. That’s really really important!
My heart went out to these guys when they told us how much it meant to them for us to be there. They said they often felt alone out there, and like no one was thinking about them. This was heart wrenching, and I assured them that they were in all of our thoughts and prayers, but I think just being there was the best thing we could do at that point.
So they ran a hot 2 miles in full uniform. The kid from Chicago placed in the top 10! He really cranked! I met up with them after and congratulated them. Sandy gave them each a signed NASA poster and they marveled at them. They both had always been fascinated with space and were thrilled to have met and talked to Sandy, and to have gotten her autograph. They even asked for one for their recently injured commander. They were very touched by this gesture. I also awarded them the Under Armour undeniable t-shirt s that I’d been giving out after the races. A signed Devon Hester t-shirt, and the young man from Chicago was thrilled. We poured the love and attention on them as we were all close to tears at their situation. It was a stark departure from the comfort and (relative) safety of Al Asad (i.e. Camp Cupcake) and an important reminder that we were in a war zone, and our brave American soldiers are in danger, and we need to support them, and love them and appreciate their situation.
Base #3: Late arrival (7/10/09)
We finally arrived at 3:15 and went in to the check in area. This Chinook ride was an endurance exercise in itself. We had to hand carry our luggage on, give it to the soldier on board, then get off and wait behind the Chinook while he loaded them up and strapped them into the area in the middle of the helo. Then we loaded up and squished in. Ben even had to sit in the front between the pilots. We were sharing with some other soldiers and contractors. Once we loaded up, it took forever to load up the band equipment. We couldn’t even bring the t-shirts, medals and other race equipment. The MWR folks were going to find another way for them to get to our next base. This was kind of a good sign that we weren’t going to end up with another early morning race, which was a relief. I would have happily been there, chipper and smiling and glad we were doing it because it is so important, but being allowed to get more than 4 hours sleep was going to pay off in spades in a few days! So once they loaded up the band’s stuff, we sat on the runway for a while (this has become a regular thing with the Chinook rides) then we took off. We were squished in, and I had luggage at my feet and my butt half off the canvas sling seat, so my cheeks were falling asleep and I was in pain and fidgety the whole ride. I think it was only about 45 minute flight before we stopped at Baghdad International Airport and dropped off some soldiers for camp Victory, but it felt like forever, and I had to apologize to Bart for being a ants in the pants mess the whole flight. So once the other soldiers got off, we spread out a little and took off again, for a quick flight to another location at that base. We always fly in pairs, so this was likely for someone with the other Chinook. Then we took off again, flew for a little while, then landed at a FARP to refuel. We had to get out and go stand behind a concrete t-wall, I assume in case something happened with the fuel and an explosion happened. The pilots and flight crew were still on board, as was Ben in the jump seat, so I guess it wasn’t that much of a concern! Ha ha. Anyway, this afforded us a much needed opportunity to jump in the porto-potty. You drink SO MUCH water around here to stay hydrated, which of course comes with the need to pee frequently so when you’re traveling, and you don’t know how long you’ll be sitting on the tarmac, or how long the flights will be, you take every single possible opportunity at a bathroom, even when it’s dark and hot and stinky and there might be a camel spider lurking in there! (the camel spider has become a very frequent source of hilarity for us! Google it. Seriously!)
We loaded back up, and took off again and finally landed at our final destination. We went into the check in area and sat down with a bunch of other people who looked like they had resigned and settled in until they were called and allowed to leave the area. Some people grabbed waters and snacks. It was about 3:30 and I was pretty sure we’d be there for a while. Then, suddenly, it was time to go! You really can’t predict anything around here. It’s been a constant exercise in flexibility and go-with-the-flow. Our ride had arrived, we loaded up the bus and were off. Zach and Christian and a few other guys stayed back to get our luggage and sort the band gear, and we went to check in to our rooms. I was lucky to get my own room. (The benefit of being the odd lone female where the other 2 females are already associated.) The guys had a huge bay of bunk beds, but at that point we were all so tired it didn’t really matter. We got to the house, and it’s an adorable little villa with 4 rooms. 3 with 2 beds and a table in them, and 1 with all the bunks. It has a yard, and a bathroom and you can go on the roof. Oh, and the everpresent fridge stocked to the gills with water and Gatorade. I have to say, there is water available EVERYWHERE! You seriously can’t drink enough, and we all constantly have water in our hands. It’s really impressive how they’ve made sure that there is fresh water available everywhere you go, and how much of an emphasis EVERYONE puts on checking up with everyone in a group to be sure they’re drinking. We’re in the SpaWar computer lab right now at the MWR (Morale and entertainment place….I don’t know what the W or the R stands for, but it’s the recreation and morale group area) and this is the first place where you’re not allowed to have water. (Electronic equipment….makes sense.)
We got to the house and I was ready to lay down and sleep in my clothes and shoes and no shower, but Zach and Chris and the guys were still inbound with the luggage, and I didn’t want them to get stuck unloading the truck by themselves, so we all congregated in the front lawn and laughed and joked as the sun came up. It was actually a really great time. Finally the guys arrived and we unloaded the truck, agreed on a 1pm bus to lunch and the house was then silent. I didn’t think I’d have any trouble sleeping, but didn’t want to chance it, so I downed a half an Ambian and it worked like a charm. I don’t even remember my head hitting the pillow.
Race #2, Taji (7/9/09)
Up at 5, and off to the races. This is a much more rough, dusty, brown military-y base than Al Asad. Well, they're all military-y, but this one was a little rougher, more like MASH with older buildings, closer together, more fence and more cluttery. The Pavilion where the race festivities were held were right near hotel so we walked over, and got set up. There were already lots of people there to run, all decked out in their grey ARMY t-shirts and navy shorts. I can't tell you how many times soldiers came up to me and asked for Under Armour to make their PT gear. The stuff they had was polyester, so it wicked moisture, but they were really thick and you could tell they were hot and uncomfortable. I believe we did bid on the PT unis, but the military chose the lower bidder. When I told them that, the soldiers all said they would gladly pay DOUBLE for good performance gear. It was worth it with all they PT, especially since there's really nothing else to do!
We got all the racers registered, helped people put on their D tags and get psyched for the race. There ended up being 150 runners. Good turn out. There was less of a breeze, and we started an hour later than we did at Al Asad, so it was considerably hotter. No second lap today. It was only a 2 mile run though, so it wasn't too bad. I ran with a soldier from Georgia. She'd been in country for about 4 months and was hoping to run the Army 10 miler in October. Also ran with a soldier from MS who was hilarious! I saw him a few other times while we were at Taji. After the race we all drnak ice cold water (Which as I said is very VERY easily available. We did the awards ceremony and broke everything down. We did some organizing to make our jobs at the next race easier then ran back to housing for a quick clean up before our 10:00 visit to the base commander. They awarded us challenge coins, we awarded them NASA stuff and Olympic stuff. Sandy, Frank Bart and Robi met with the base public affairs and a journalist who was planning to write a story about the tours. Rick and I hung out and had a great chat on the couch in the lobby while Josh worked on downloading and tagging pictures. Once they were done, we all headed for lunch.
With food in our bellies, Catch Penny headed to Camp Taji North to play a 1pm concert for the detention center staff while the race staff got to go somewhere where most visitors don't go; the FARP and the helo mechanics area. This is an area a bit away from most of the action on base, and the soldiers who work here have long shifts, so they're considerably cut off from the world. They were thrilled to see us and show us what they do. The FARP is the Forward Ammunition and Refuelling Post (or something like that). It's like a pit area on a race track, but with guns and rocket fuel. Planes can land here and quickly get refueled and reloaded. The whole process takes about 5 minutes. Pilots sometimes fly all day, so they have to reload quickly, but they're also able to go into the break room and grab some snacks and drinks or a bathroom break if they need it. The word FARP still makes me giggle (I'm so mature). I had just started getting used to the word FARP, and not snickering when it was said, then she started talking about flipping the FARP. That sent me over the edge. Come on....Flipping the FARP is funny! The actual concept is pretty mundane, but the phrase is hilarious! The FARP is a huge rectangular concrete pad with about 5 refueling stations. All the hoses and ammo are stationed to service the aircraft from a particular side. When the wind changes, the aircraft have to approach from the opposite direction, putting the refueling stuff on the wrong side, so they have to take about 90 minutes to flip the FARP so all the hoses and ammo can quickly reload the aircraft from the other side. Again, not a particularly funny concept, or a fun job (sometimes they have to do it several times a day, but Flipping the FARP is something I'll be smiling about for a long time! When we got there, an Apache was in the first bay. While we were there in the break room talking to the FARP technicians (Farpers?) 2 Blackhawks arrived, so we were able to watch a refueling. Then both the Blackhawks and the Apache took off, so that was pretty cool to see as well. The Apache pilot held up an American flag in his window for us on his take off. That was pretty cool.
Then we went to the 2 big hangers where they repair and do maintenance on the aircraft. Every 60 days they have to bring the aircraft in and take it completely apart, go through a thorough checklist of maintenance and repair items to be sure everything is in good working order. Then they reassemble, take for a test flight, and send them back to "the customer" (the unit who used the aircraft in the field. I thought it was interesting, but not surprising that they called them "the customer".) This whole process takes about 14 days, and is vital for safe flight and the safety of our pilots and everyone in their aircraft. Everyone there had a different job, and they were all very happy to tell us all about everything that they did. I got a tour of the supply area where they store the extra engines and helo blades (that was pretty cool) and all the spare parts. I got a tour of the mechanics area where they disassemble the copters. I'm surprised by the number of contractors. There are a lot of jobs that are contracted out to civilians through an agency to fulfill vital roles where the military is understaffed, so this mechanics area (and a lot of other areas around these bases) are a mix of digi camo uniformed soldiers and street clothed civilian contractors.
There was also an Apache helicopter there that we were allowed to sit in. A really nice female pilot took us through all the controls and what we were looking at as we were sitting there. The infared cameras were really neat. We had the headsets on and were talking through the mics. It was pretty cool to sit there. Great opportunity. I also talked to a Major for a while who gave me the whole scoop on the aircraft, how they work, what part is housed in each part of the bird, etc. (bird=aircraft) Again, everyone was really proud of their own area of expertise and very willling to tell you everything about it. I guess since they're pretty isolated in this area, and everyone they work with knows what they do, any visitor is a new opportunity to share their story, and enlighten! It's so much fun how easy it is to talk to everyone over here.
After that, we headed back to housing to rest, hit the internet, shower, and pack. Quick 6pm dinner, then at 7pm we loaded our luggage into the Bongo truck (fun little tiny pickup type truck that looked more like a go-cart truck.) we headed over to the pavillion where the concert was being held. (same as where the race was.) Nicole, Sandy and I worked hard to separate all the shirts into size specific boxes. They were all mixed up, and in huge black bins that we couldn't take with us. We did our organizing to the sounds of Catch Penny playing in the background which was pretty fun. We got all the boxes taped up and organized. This was going to make the next bunch of races much easier from an organizational standpoint. Once we had that all finished, we went out to the front to watching Catch Penny. This crowd was pretty into the show, which was fun. They were standing up by the stage dancing. The guys in the band do a great job getting people involved. If there are any troops who play the guitar, they'll invite them on stage for a song with them. They always get someone up at some point to play the cow bell with them (insert "more cowbell" joke here...believe me, we did!) and for the final song, they do Pink Houses ("Ain't that America, you and me, Ain't that America, something to see" That one.) and invite everyone up on stage to sing with them. It's really really fun and the audience has a great time. This was a relief because for the show they played this afternoon at the north area of the base, they had 1.....count it 1 person in the audience who only stayed for 1 song. After the show, the band packed up their gear (which they can do with lightning speed!) and we headed to the airfield to wait for our Chinook to take us to the next base. We got there around 10 with a scheduled departure of 10:50. We finally loaded on the Chinooks around midnight. We had fun chatting in the bus while we waited. At this point, there was no race scheduled for the next morning, which was a relief.
We got all the racers registered, helped people put on their D tags and get psyched for the race. There ended up being 150 runners. Good turn out. There was less of a breeze, and we started an hour later than we did at Al Asad, so it was considerably hotter. No second lap today. It was only a 2 mile run though, so it wasn't too bad. I ran with a soldier from Georgia. She'd been in country for about 4 months and was hoping to run the Army 10 miler in October. Also ran with a soldier from MS who was hilarious! I saw him a few other times while we were at Taji. After the race we all drnak ice cold water (Which as I said is very VERY easily available. We did the awards ceremony and broke everything down. We did some organizing to make our jobs at the next race easier then ran back to housing for a quick clean up before our 10:00 visit to the base commander. They awarded us challenge coins, we awarded them NASA stuff and Olympic stuff. Sandy, Frank Bart and Robi met with the base public affairs and a journalist who was planning to write a story about the tours. Rick and I hung out and had a great chat on the couch in the lobby while Josh worked on downloading and tagging pictures. Once they were done, we all headed for lunch.
With food in our bellies, Catch Penny headed to Camp Taji North to play a 1pm concert for the detention center staff while the race staff got to go somewhere where most visitors don't go; the FARP and the helo mechanics area. This is an area a bit away from most of the action on base, and the soldiers who work here have long shifts, so they're considerably cut off from the world. They were thrilled to see us and show us what they do. The FARP is the Forward Ammunition and Refuelling Post (or something like that). It's like a pit area on a race track, but with guns and rocket fuel. Planes can land here and quickly get refueled and reloaded. The whole process takes about 5 minutes. Pilots sometimes fly all day, so they have to reload quickly, but they're also able to go into the break room and grab some snacks and drinks or a bathroom break if they need it. The word FARP still makes me giggle (I'm so mature). I had just started getting used to the word FARP, and not snickering when it was said, then she started talking about flipping the FARP. That sent me over the edge. Come on....Flipping the FARP is funny! The actual concept is pretty mundane, but the phrase is hilarious! The FARP is a huge rectangular concrete pad with about 5 refueling stations. All the hoses and ammo are stationed to service the aircraft from a particular side. When the wind changes, the aircraft have to approach from the opposite direction, putting the refueling stuff on the wrong side, so they have to take about 90 minutes to flip the FARP so all the hoses and ammo can quickly reload the aircraft from the other side. Again, not a particularly funny concept, or a fun job (sometimes they have to do it several times a day, but Flipping the FARP is something I'll be smiling about for a long time! When we got there, an Apache was in the first bay. While we were there in the break room talking to the FARP technicians (Farpers?) 2 Blackhawks arrived, so we were able to watch a refueling. Then both the Blackhawks and the Apache took off, so that was pretty cool to see as well. The Apache pilot held up an American flag in his window for us on his take off. That was pretty cool.
Then we went to the 2 big hangers where they repair and do maintenance on the aircraft. Every 60 days they have to bring the aircraft in and take it completely apart, go through a thorough checklist of maintenance and repair items to be sure everything is in good working order. Then they reassemble, take for a test flight, and send them back to "the customer" (the unit who used the aircraft in the field. I thought it was interesting, but not surprising that they called them "the customer".) This whole process takes about 14 days, and is vital for safe flight and the safety of our pilots and everyone in their aircraft. Everyone there had a different job, and they were all very happy to tell us all about everything that they did. I got a tour of the supply area where they store the extra engines and helo blades (that was pretty cool) and all the spare parts. I got a tour of the mechanics area where they disassemble the copters. I'm surprised by the number of contractors. There are a lot of jobs that are contracted out to civilians through an agency to fulfill vital roles where the military is understaffed, so this mechanics area (and a lot of other areas around these bases) are a mix of digi camo uniformed soldiers and street clothed civilian contractors.
There was also an Apache helicopter there that we were allowed to sit in. A really nice female pilot took us through all the controls and what we were looking at as we were sitting there. The infared cameras were really neat. We had the headsets on and were talking through the mics. It was pretty cool to sit there. Great opportunity. I also talked to a Major for a while who gave me the whole scoop on the aircraft, how they work, what part is housed in each part of the bird, etc. (bird=aircraft) Again, everyone was really proud of their own area of expertise and very willling to tell you everything about it. I guess since they're pretty isolated in this area, and everyone they work with knows what they do, any visitor is a new opportunity to share their story, and enlighten! It's so much fun how easy it is to talk to everyone over here.
After that, we headed back to housing to rest, hit the internet, shower, and pack. Quick 6pm dinner, then at 7pm we loaded our luggage into the Bongo truck (fun little tiny pickup type truck that looked more like a go-cart truck.) we headed over to the pavillion where the concert was being held. (same as where the race was.) Nicole, Sandy and I worked hard to separate all the shirts into size specific boxes. They were all mixed up, and in huge black bins that we couldn't take with us. We did our organizing to the sounds of Catch Penny playing in the background which was pretty fun. We got all the boxes taped up and organized. This was going to make the next bunch of races much easier from an organizational standpoint. Once we had that all finished, we went out to the front to watching Catch Penny. This crowd was pretty into the show, which was fun. They were standing up by the stage dancing. The guys in the band do a great job getting people involved. If there are any troops who play the guitar, they'll invite them on stage for a song with them. They always get someone up at some point to play the cow bell with them (insert "more cowbell" joke here...believe me, we did!) and for the final song, they do Pink Houses ("Ain't that America, you and me, Ain't that America, something to see" That one.) and invite everyone up on stage to sing with them. It's really really fun and the audience has a great time. This was a relief because for the show they played this afternoon at the north area of the base, they had 1.....count it 1 person in the audience who only stayed for 1 song. After the show, the band packed up their gear (which they can do with lightning speed!) and we headed to the airfield to wait for our Chinook to take us to the next base. We got there around 10 with a scheduled departure of 10:50. We finally loaded on the Chinooks around midnight. We had fun chatting in the bus while we waited. At this point, there was no race scheduled for the next morning, which was a relief.
Al Asab day #2 (7/9/09)
It was about 8:45 by the time we got back to housing. Sandy wanted to go lift, I was ready for a shower and the plan was to have all luggage in the lobby by 10am to be palletized and ready for transport with all the band’s gear. Then we’d all meet at 11 and start our meet and greets. As we came in, Robi and Josh were headed over for breakfast, so I quick changed into pants and joined them, sweaty and gross, but hungry. We met up with Frank and Bart and the rest of the crew and ate some breakfast and visited quite a bit. Then it was time to head back and get ready.
9:30 and I was a bit hurried, but no problem. I’d blown out my hairdryer at the last base, so I didn’t need to worry about blow drying my hair, and had everything to the lobby in time, then had an hour to chill out and catch up on the blog. Most people still at The Lion’s Den were catching up on computer stuff. The rest of the group was packing/palletizing the gear. 11:15 we were all back and ready to leave to meet the base commander, See med-evac, the control room, meet the admin crew who set up all of our visits, and of course, eat lunch.
Our first stop was across the base to see the Med-Evac team and their specially outfitted backhawks. We went into their building, and congregated a cool make-shift coffee shop. It was similar in feel to the snack bar we hung out in yesterday in Kuwait. Couches, a TV, books, magazines and jokes on the wall. A great place to meet up and bond with your team. Cpt Spencer came in and introduced himself to each of us and thanked us for being here. Overwhelmingly, the troops have all been so gracious and thanked us in such a heartfelt way for coming out to see them and spend time with them. We on the run staff all agree that it’s almost embarrassing because it’s us that should be thanking them and grateful for allowing us to come out and see them.
They took us through their building and out back to see the Blackhawk that’s specially outfitted for Medical Evacuation. It was pretty neat to see a helicopter up close. We checked it out, sat inside, asked a bunch of questions and headed back inside.
Then we went to base commanders office for a brief on the base. We sat at a table that was made for him by his troops. It was nicely finished wood with all the emblems of the 4 branches of that base, They were hoping to put it in a military museum some day once they were out of this place. It was really cool! The commander went over the details of the base. Built in the 70s by a Yugoslavian, for thearmy for a long time. We took it over, but have preserved it and improved it so it’s in better shape when we’re ready to give it back. It was interesting to think about the fact that we were sitting in a building that was built for the Iraqis and used by the Iraqis. There’s a mosque on the base that they haven’t touched. They want to fix it up, but they fear that any work they would have to make improvements might be photographed and misconstrued as defacing, so the mosque is strictly off limits. They did tell us though that the Iraqis, when they come onto the base and into the building, can’t believe we haven’t destroyed it all, especially the mosque. An interesting difference in cultural and behavioral reactions to a takeover like that one.
We then went in and visited with a group of soldiers in charge of administrative things. They were the ones who arranged our flights and the details of our trip, so it was great to meet them and thank them.
Then we headed over to a very secure building. They knocked on the door, someone came to the door, then closed it and went away. We waited about 20 minutes, knocked again, and finally someone let us in. This was the command center, and very secure I guess. It was kind of liketrying to get in to the land of Oz! We went down the hall, around a few corners and into a huge room with lots of levels and TONS of big screens on the front wall, with desks facing it with tons of computers and people looking serious in headsets and computers. It was just like command center at NASA in Apollo 13! Very cool. We got a brief on what they do there (basically they watch everything and send out the data to those who need to know!) and then we broke off and mingled and chatted with the soldiers throughout the room. It was pretty cool! I talked to some chem specialists from Chicago (and talked about Bourbon Street Pat and Becky. They knew it!) then talked to some guys who were there to get permission for a mission. We talked triathlon, we talked soldier stuff and then it was time to go.
At this point, everyone was pretty tired, especially the band who hadn't had a moment's rest since....a long time ago! So we headed back to lodging, and most people laid down to sleep. A few of us went to the PX to pick up some stuff and do a little shopping. With that complete, we headed back to lodging again. Robi and Nicole stayed there to chill out and catch up on the computer. Ben and I were awake and asked Daniels to take us somewhere unique to Al Asab. He took us on the Ridgeline tour. Al Asab is in a valley, and in that valley is an oasis. We went up on the south ridge (we flew in on the north ridge) and looked down on the valley. THere was a green swath cut through the valley. There was a little river, and tons of green! There was practically a straight line that separated the green from the sand. Crazy! Apparently the ground is very fertile here, there just isn't any water, so in the area where there is water, it grows like crazy! Sadam had planted a date farm that apparently produced the best dates you can get. Pretty cool stuff. Daniels was a great tour guide. He took us to see a few of the Migs that were scattered throughout the desert. Ben and I posed with them. CHRISTMAS CARD!! We drove along the ridge fence, and checked out the watch towers. There are 2 fences. The rideline fence that we were looking at, and one a mile or so on the outside of that. This provided a very long buffer zone to keep the base safe. We drove back to lodging and it was about time to go.
We packed up and headed to the air field. Our flight had been moved from 10pm to 8pm, so we went to dinner at the airfield and then found out that we were going to be riding Chinooks! YAHOOO! Helicopter rides!! SO FUN! We put on our kevlar and loaded on the back of the helicopter. Going up those ramps into the back of the bird will NEVER get old! SO cool! We sat a lot, and it was loud, but it was really neat! There were 2 gunners on the front of the cargo/seating area and they looked very serious and mean. Later, as we were waiting on the Chinook for something (we didn't know at the time, but they were moving detainees at the area we were supposed to land on, and they didn't move as fast as they thought, so we were in a holding pattern.) While we were waiting, it was clear that one of the gunners was listening to music in his helmet because he was dancing. It was hilarious to see a big strong soldier in kevlar standing in front of a big huge gun wiggling around to Lady GaGa. (or whatever!) It was really funny!
We arrived around 9:30 and found out on the bus that we had a race at 7am the next morning, so we went to the race site to get things set up. It was a great area, right near our lodging around that they call Taji Mahal! There was a pavillion and a stage with picnic tables and lots of area to mingle. Perfect for the concert and the post race festivities. We finally got to bed at 12:30.
9:30 and I was a bit hurried, but no problem. I’d blown out my hairdryer at the last base, so I didn’t need to worry about blow drying my hair, and had everything to the lobby in time, then had an hour to chill out and catch up on the blog. Most people still at The Lion’s Den were catching up on computer stuff. The rest of the group was packing/palletizing the gear. 11:15 we were all back and ready to leave to meet the base commander, See med-evac, the control room, meet the admin crew who set up all of our visits, and of course, eat lunch.
Our first stop was across the base to see the Med-Evac team and their specially outfitted backhawks. We went into their building, and congregated a cool make-shift coffee shop. It was similar in feel to the snack bar we hung out in yesterday in Kuwait. Couches, a TV, books, magazines and jokes on the wall. A great place to meet up and bond with your team. Cpt Spencer came in and introduced himself to each of us and thanked us for being here. Overwhelmingly, the troops have all been so gracious and thanked us in such a heartfelt way for coming out to see them and spend time with them. We on the run staff all agree that it’s almost embarrassing because it’s us that should be thanking them and grateful for allowing us to come out and see them.
They took us through their building and out back to see the Blackhawk that’s specially outfitted for Medical Evacuation. It was pretty neat to see a helicopter up close. We checked it out, sat inside, asked a bunch of questions and headed back inside.
Then we went to base commanders office for a brief on the base. We sat at a table that was made for him by his troops. It was nicely finished wood with all the emblems of the 4 branches of that base, They were hoping to put it in a military museum some day once they were out of this place. It was really cool! The commander went over the details of the base. Built in the 70s by a Yugoslavian, for thearmy for a long time. We took it over, but have preserved it and improved it so it’s in better shape when we’re ready to give it back. It was interesting to think about the fact that we were sitting in a building that was built for the Iraqis and used by the Iraqis. There’s a mosque on the base that they haven’t touched. They want to fix it up, but they fear that any work they would have to make improvements might be photographed and misconstrued as defacing, so the mosque is strictly off limits. They did tell us though that the Iraqis, when they come onto the base and into the building, can’t believe we haven’t destroyed it all, especially the mosque. An interesting difference in cultural and behavioral reactions to a takeover like that one.
We then went in and visited with a group of soldiers in charge of administrative things. They were the ones who arranged our flights and the details of our trip, so it was great to meet them and thank them.
Then we headed over to a very secure building. They knocked on the door, someone came to the door, then closed it and went away. We waited about 20 minutes, knocked again, and finally someone let us in. This was the command center, and very secure I guess. It was kind of liketrying to get in to the land of Oz! We went down the hall, around a few corners and into a huge room with lots of levels and TONS of big screens on the front wall, with desks facing it with tons of computers and people looking serious in headsets and computers. It was just like command center at NASA in Apollo 13! Very cool. We got a brief on what they do there (basically they watch everything and send out the data to those who need to know!) and then we broke off and mingled and chatted with the soldiers throughout the room. It was pretty cool! I talked to some chem specialists from Chicago (and talked about Bourbon Street Pat and Becky. They knew it!) then talked to some guys who were there to get permission for a mission. We talked triathlon, we talked soldier stuff and then it was time to go.
At this point, everyone was pretty tired, especially the band who hadn't had a moment's rest since....a long time ago! So we headed back to lodging, and most people laid down to sleep. A few of us went to the PX to pick up some stuff and do a little shopping. With that complete, we headed back to lodging again. Robi and Nicole stayed there to chill out and catch up on the computer. Ben and I were awake and asked Daniels to take us somewhere unique to Al Asab. He took us on the Ridgeline tour. Al Asab is in a valley, and in that valley is an oasis. We went up on the south ridge (we flew in on the north ridge) and looked down on the valley. THere was a green swath cut through the valley. There was a little river, and tons of green! There was practically a straight line that separated the green from the sand. Crazy! Apparently the ground is very fertile here, there just isn't any water, so in the area where there is water, it grows like crazy! Sadam had planted a date farm that apparently produced the best dates you can get. Pretty cool stuff. Daniels was a great tour guide. He took us to see a few of the Migs that were scattered throughout the desert. Ben and I posed with them. CHRISTMAS CARD!! We drove along the ridge fence, and checked out the watch towers. There are 2 fences. The rideline fence that we were looking at, and one a mile or so on the outside of that. This provided a very long buffer zone to keep the base safe. We drove back to lodging and it was about time to go.
We packed up and headed to the air field. Our flight had been moved from 10pm to 8pm, so we went to dinner at the airfield and then found out that we were going to be riding Chinooks! YAHOOO! Helicopter rides!! SO FUN! We put on our kevlar and loaded on the back of the helicopter. Going up those ramps into the back of the bird will NEVER get old! SO cool! We sat a lot, and it was loud, but it was really neat! There were 2 gunners on the front of the cargo/seating area and they looked very serious and mean. Later, as we were waiting on the Chinook for something (we didn't know at the time, but they were moving detainees at the area we were supposed to land on, and they didn't move as fast as they thought, so we were in a holding pattern.) While we were waiting, it was clear that one of the gunners was listening to music in his helmet because he was dancing. It was hilarious to see a big strong soldier in kevlar standing in front of a big huge gun wiggling around to Lady GaGa. (or whatever!) It was really funny!
We arrived around 9:30 and found out on the bus that we had a race at 7am the next morning, so we went to the race site to get things set up. It was a great area, right near our lodging around that they call Taji Mahal! There was a pavillion and a stage with picnic tables and lots of area to mingle. Perfect for the concert and the post race festivities. We finally got to bed at 12:30.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Much needed day of rest
Hello friendly followers-
Quick catch up. We've been without easy internet access and without the time to spend on the not easy internet access so I've caught up this blog when I can. The ong and the short of it is we've been gong hard since we got here (aside from the 8 hours in the Kuwait airport) and not sleeping a lot. I've felt remarkably good (probably the good eating and exercise) and it's been absolutely amazing so far. We had quite an adventure n the Chinook last night, stopping and going and squeezing in for a 3-4 hour ride (which is a long time in a helicopter!) We didn't get to our "home" until about 4:30am, the sun was coming up and we had to wait for the truck with our luggage to get there to unload before we hit the rack. The good news is, we have no races or concerts today and no meet and greets so it's totally a day of rest. So we hung out in the yard of our villa and laughed and talked and watched the sun come up, finally unloaded our stuff and agreed on a 1pm lunch time departure and all racked out. I don't think anyone had ANY trouble sleeping!!
Here's the synopsis so far. I am continuing to do the blow-by-blow and when I can hook up my computer or a memory stick to the internet, I will post it here, but the basics are-
- the food is phenominal! We have been fed very well and the choices are amazing.
- Our lodgings have also been great! It ain't the Hilton, but it's darned close. They kept saying that if we went to camp Victory, we might get to stay in one of Saddam's palaces. Wild stuff. I keep waiting for them to show me my pup tent and my pile of dirt, which I would take willingly!
- The people I am traveling with are AWESOME! With absolutely no exception, every one of them is positive, cheerful, 100% on board for every twist and turn of the schedule and plan and 3000% on board with our mission of bringing these events and something new and interesting to what everyone is calling the Groundhog Day existance of life on these bases. It really is a pleasure and an honor to be having this experience with these 14 people.
- Everyone we have come in contact with has been so gracious and so thankful of us being here. It's humbling because we're the ones who feel thankful to be here, but it really drives home how important what Trovata is trying to do, bringing exciting and interactive experiences to the troops.
- I'm having a blast.
So big hugs to you all there. Know that we're being very well taken care of over here, and we have a BBQ tonight. I'm envisioning tiki torches, pig on the spit, Mai Tais, lais, and a hula show. I'm thinking it may be a little different than that, but based on previous expectations and actual experinces, it'll probbaly be better.
BRING IT ON!
Not sure when I'll be connected again, but I'll be sure to chime in when I am.
Signing off from Northern Iraq
Anne
Quick catch up. We've been without easy internet access and without the time to spend on the not easy internet access so I've caught up this blog when I can. The ong and the short of it is we've been gong hard since we got here (aside from the 8 hours in the Kuwait airport) and not sleeping a lot. I've felt remarkably good (probably the good eating and exercise) and it's been absolutely amazing so far. We had quite an adventure n the Chinook last night, stopping and going and squeezing in for a 3-4 hour ride (which is a long time in a helicopter!) We didn't get to our "home" until about 4:30am, the sun was coming up and we had to wait for the truck with our luggage to get there to unload before we hit the rack. The good news is, we have no races or concerts today and no meet and greets so it's totally a day of rest. So we hung out in the yard of our villa and laughed and talked and watched the sun come up, finally unloaded our stuff and agreed on a 1pm lunch time departure and all racked out. I don't think anyone had ANY trouble sleeping!!
Here's the synopsis so far. I am continuing to do the blow-by-blow and when I can hook up my computer or a memory stick to the internet, I will post it here, but the basics are-
- the food is phenominal! We have been fed very well and the choices are amazing.
- Our lodgings have also been great! It ain't the Hilton, but it's darned close. They kept saying that if we went to camp Victory, we might get to stay in one of Saddam's palaces. Wild stuff. I keep waiting for them to show me my pup tent and my pile of dirt, which I would take willingly!
- The people I am traveling with are AWESOME! With absolutely no exception, every one of them is positive, cheerful, 100% on board for every twist and turn of the schedule and plan and 3000% on board with our mission of bringing these events and something new and interesting to what everyone is calling the Groundhog Day existance of life on these bases. It really is a pleasure and an honor to be having this experience with these 14 people.
- Everyone we have come in contact with has been so gracious and so thankful of us being here. It's humbling because we're the ones who feel thankful to be here, but it really drives home how important what Trovata is trying to do, bringing exciting and interactive experiences to the troops.
- I'm having a blast.
So big hugs to you all there. Know that we're being very well taken care of over here, and we have a BBQ tonight. I'm envisioning tiki torches, pig on the spit, Mai Tais, lais, and a hula show. I'm thinking it may be a little different than that, but based on previous expectations and actual experinces, it'll probbaly be better.
BRING IT ON!
Not sure when I'll be connected again, but I'll be sure to chime in when I am.
Signing off from Northern Iraq
Anne
Friday, July 10, 2009
RACE DAY #1 (7.9.09)
Race time! 5am alarm, tried to hit snooze, but was too excited. Up and dress and head out to meet the crew and head over to race site. Robi and the Sterns had headed over earlier to finalize setup and get all the timing stuff squared away. Rick didn’t end up getting any sleep! The entire Catch Penny crew showed up for the race as well, and they were working on little sleep too. What troopers. By the time we arrived at 5:40 there were TONS of people in line. I walked around talking to people, thanking them for coming out and thanking them in general! I grabbed Josh by the arm and dragged him around taking pictures of me with runners in their Under Armour! There were a LOT! I even found 2 people with Under Armour shoes on. One in trainers and one in Illusions! The girl in Illusions sought me out! I was psyched. The race was a bit delayed, but it was remarkably not that late considering the number of people in line. We all got lined up and were off! Apparently this base has a 5K every 2-4 weeks. I met the girl who had won all of those 5Ks. She was with a man who I can only assume was her commanding officer and father-away-from-home! He was bragging proudly about how she’d won every women’s race they’d had since she got there, and she would be winning today! She was very sweet and very modest, said she hadn’t slept very well and wasn’t sure how she would do. (she won!) There was also word since the night before about some guy who could run a 15 min 5K. We were all very excited to see If there was such a phenom. (there was!) So off we ran. It was not very hot yet, and there was a nice breeze, making it almost cool. It was quite pleasant actually, and on we ran. I ran the first mile or so with Mark from Catch Penny. He was complaining about the effects of the cigarettes he smoked, but I could tell that he could have totally pushed on and run ahead. We stuck together for a while, then I got into a few conversations with some troops. We caught up with Krystina who we’d all become good friends with the night before. She was training for the half marathon in August, and was up to about 6 miles. We all agreed that we would do 2 laps together. As the race wore on, and the breeze quieted, and the sun rose, I started to think that wasn’t such a good idea, and maybe she’d have the same thought! I hoped! We ran with her for a while, then ran on. We came upon 4 guys laughing loudly at a corner in PT gear smoking cigarettes. I was amazed to see that they had race numbers on, and that they were stopping for a mid-race smoke. I hurled a joke at them, and ran on. They had 2 water stations set up. It was great! (and vital. Someone later told us they have about 0.5% humidity here. I believe it! It’s darned dry!! On we ran. I left Mark and ran backwards for a few meters, cheering for people, until the smokers caught up. They were young boisterous soldiers, yelling and laughing and making plans for a dramatic finish. (1 guy was going to carry the other in a show of solidarity!) Oh, I forgot to mention that Josh was taking pictures in the beginning, and was at the finish line shooting as well. He is now posting the pictures on line, and has software that will sort the pictures by race number so they’re searchable online and they can download them for free. SO COOL! That’s why the guys were planning their dramatic finish! So on we ran, and finally came upon the final stretch. I ran in with another female soldier I’d run with for a while, and let her finish on her own. I went and got water, hugged a few people who’d finished and generally mingled and chatted with people.
We were giving out race shirts from another marathon and the runners loved it! They didn’t care at all that they were from a different race (in Springfield, MO, which incidentally I had run!). They were also giving out medals from other races. I approached one group of 3 young runners and said “that’s a great looking fish medal you’ve got hanging around your neck.” He clutched it and replied “this fish medal is making me pretty happy right now ma’am.” That was cool It really struck home that we could have brought in a race and an Olympian to sign autographs and give training advice, but it really added an air of legitimacy to have the timing and race photos, medals and t-shirts. They can have a 5K race any old day, but to make it a real legit race, just like you’d have back home, really brought a new and very memorable experience to these troops. It’s different and extraordinarily valuable. They talked about how it’s like Groundhog day here. You do the same things with the same people day in and day out! Anything to break up the monotony helps. Now that a lot of the “action” in Iraq has cooled down, and the boredom is a serious issue that they’re dealing with and while a autograph signing by a group of cheerleaders, or a musical act or comedian is great, an interactive experience like this is really a huge thing, and Robi, Zach and Christian are really doing an amazing and innovative thing here. Zach and Christian are also planning to bring in a few X-games guys and a full skate board half pipe in for an exhibition. Sometimes they get guys who play an instrument to join them on stage when they’re playing, really making it personal for the guys at a concert. You know there’s going to be some soldier who’s a closet thrasher who will join the pro skaters and really make it fun. It’s very very important and awesome what they’re doing, and I really want to be involved.
So we gave out the awards, I brought some UA shirts signed by Devon Hester for a special UA Undeniable award, and I awarded those to our friend Kaz who’s training for the half, and a guy who I had convinced to register the night before, and who showed up! Good stuff. The crowd had thinned, all the awards were given out, and the festivities were all finished.
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH! Sandy came to me, we found Kaz and out we went for Loop #2! It was about 7:30 at this point, and warming considerably! We trudged through it. It was hot, but I couldn’t not go. It was 3 miles, to help a soldier training for her first half marathon in this shit. What kind of sissy would I be to not go. So I went, and didn’t complain. (but you can guarantee I took a big bottle of Gatorade! I am actually REALLY glad I went. Not only because I got in another 3 miles, and could say we ran the Iraqi 10K, but because Kaz is a super cool woman. She had a career in fabric technology and worked with the space program. She and Sandy got to chatting about the pieces of gear that Kaz had helped develop, and they were comparing notes. WHEN DOES THIS HAPPEN? You’re running along in Iraq with an Astronaut and a soldier who RANDOMLY worked on some of the gear that the astronaut used in space. I believe I’ve stepped into a time warp and holy crap is it cool! So we trudge along the last stretch of long boring road, and finally make the second to last turn. We make the final turn, and talk about how fast we’re going, and how great our final kick to the end is, as a trudge slowly to the speed bump that is now the only thing left of the finish line. What a great run! Grab some water and head back to The Lion’s Den for a shower.
We were giving out race shirts from another marathon and the runners loved it! They didn’t care at all that they were from a different race (in Springfield, MO, which incidentally I had run!). They were also giving out medals from other races. I approached one group of 3 young runners and said “that’s a great looking fish medal you’ve got hanging around your neck.” He clutched it and replied “this fish medal is making me pretty happy right now ma’am.” That was cool It really struck home that we could have brought in a race and an Olympian to sign autographs and give training advice, but it really added an air of legitimacy to have the timing and race photos, medals and t-shirts. They can have a 5K race any old day, but to make it a real legit race, just like you’d have back home, really brought a new and very memorable experience to these troops. It’s different and extraordinarily valuable. They talked about how it’s like Groundhog day here. You do the same things with the same people day in and day out! Anything to break up the monotony helps. Now that a lot of the “action” in Iraq has cooled down, and the boredom is a serious issue that they’re dealing with and while a autograph signing by a group of cheerleaders, or a musical act or comedian is great, an interactive experience like this is really a huge thing, and Robi, Zach and Christian are really doing an amazing and innovative thing here. Zach and Christian are also planning to bring in a few X-games guys and a full skate board half pipe in for an exhibition. Sometimes they get guys who play an instrument to join them on stage when they’re playing, really making it personal for the guys at a concert. You know there’s going to be some soldier who’s a closet thrasher who will join the pro skaters and really make it fun. It’s very very important and awesome what they’re doing, and I really want to be involved.
So we gave out the awards, I brought some UA shirts signed by Devon Hester for a special UA Undeniable award, and I awarded those to our friend Kaz who’s training for the half, and a guy who I had convinced to register the night before, and who showed up! Good stuff. The crowd had thinned, all the awards were given out, and the festivities were all finished.
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH! Sandy came to me, we found Kaz and out we went for Loop #2! It was about 7:30 at this point, and warming considerably! We trudged through it. It was hot, but I couldn’t not go. It was 3 miles, to help a soldier training for her first half marathon in this shit. What kind of sissy would I be to not go. So I went, and didn’t complain. (but you can guarantee I took a big bottle of Gatorade! I am actually REALLY glad I went. Not only because I got in another 3 miles, and could say we ran the Iraqi 10K, but because Kaz is a super cool woman. She had a career in fabric technology and worked with the space program. She and Sandy got to chatting about the pieces of gear that Kaz had helped develop, and they were comparing notes. WHEN DOES THIS HAPPEN? You’re running along in Iraq with an Astronaut and a soldier who RANDOMLY worked on some of the gear that the astronaut used in space. I believe I’ve stepped into a time warp and holy crap is it cool! So we trudge along the last stretch of long boring road, and finally make the second to last turn. We make the final turn, and talk about how fast we’re going, and how great our final kick to the end is, as a trudge slowly to the speed bump that is now the only thing left of the finish line. What a great run! Grab some water and head back to The Lion’s Den for a shower.
Base #1 Al Asad Marine Air Base, aka Camp Cupcake! (still 7.8.09)
Then the heat hit us! HOLY COW! In the blast of the plane, and the heat of the day and the blowing sand, we were finally getting the full desert summer experience and they weren’t kidding. It was brutal. Fortunately for us, the blowing sand was just from the plane moving, and not from the natural wind, so it calmed down as soon as the plane moved. We hopped in another shuttle, and got a great tour of the base. Sr Martin told us how the base was built on Saddam Houssain’s old military base, and he showed us the stadium here. Apparently he used to threaten the lives of the athletes and the families of the athletes who competed on the Iraqi Olympic soccer and track team, they if they didn’t win, he would kill them. The base was built to house 2000 Iraqi soldiers. They also had a very sophisticated fuel shut off system underground that if there was a fire anywhere on base, the fuel to that tank would shut off and route the fuel to all the other tanks all over the base. He also mentioned that we might see Mig fighter jets scattered all over the desert because Saddam found that if he scattered them, one bomb wouldn’t devastate the whole fleet! Now they’re just decoration! With a few additions and adjustments, this air base now houses 17,000 soldiers. Sr Martin is also a hard core runner, so he was thrilled to have Frank Shorter on board, was looking forward to the race tomorrow to run a sub 21 minute race. Pretty impressive. He was helping to organize a half marathon on this base in honor of a high ranking female soldier who was killed. That race is August 15, and again Bart and Robi jumped into action and are going to help him out with publicity and all that. GREAT stuff. He is also looking forward to running the Iraq satellite Marine Corps Marathon in October. He told us how they have a 5K here about every 3-4 weeks, and a lot of the people we talked to had run all of them since they’d been here. Very cool stuff. We were all very excited for this race because the estimates of runners were pretty high!
We went to The Lion’s Den (housing) and got our rooms. The guy had to share, but Sandy, Nicole and I all got our own rooms and they were NIIIIICE! Double the size…even triple that of the room in Kuwait…and a double bed! This place is PLUSH! Cpt Martin told us they call it Camp Cupcake because of all the amenities! Nicole and I commented that we kept expecting it to get worse, but getting better with every base? Our expectations are going to be out of whack!
We threw down our stuff and ran to the theatre to get the band set up. With the 8 hour delay at the airport in Kuwait, it gave the band about an hour and a half to set up before the show started at 7:30. We helped them all we could, got registration set up then jumped on the shuttle to head back to housing for a quick outfit change into our official Under Armour Warrior Tours uniform then back to the theatre for SHOW TIME! Josh and Rick had the registration all set up, we got the autograph cards and chairs for Bart. Sandy and Frank all set up. While we were setting up, we already had a line, so we were chatting with the troops a little, then once we were all set, we got things underway.
The guys and gals in line knew there were famous people at the end of the line, but hadn’t gotten the full word on who they were, so I worked the crowd. I walked around handing out registration forms, talking to the troops. Everyone is so darned friendly and happy to talk to you! When I’m working the crowd at an expo, I sometimes feel like I have a disease or really bad breath because no one wants to talk to me. Here, I can strike up a conversation with any of them, and it’s an intelligent conversation and they’re awesome! A few people asked if I was famous, and I joked, ten told them who the real celebs were. At this point, once we’d gotten a bunch of people registered, Catch Penny started playing and they ROCK! I can’t think of another band I’d like to hear 7 nights in a row! They were great. Unfortunately this particular base had hosted a whole bunch of shows lately, so while the race registration was booming, the audience in the theatre was pretty sad. A bummer of a way to start the tour for the band, but we were all pretty excited about the race. As the crowd in the lobby died down, the band took a break, and Robi took the stage to introduce us all to the audience. After a really nice intro, we went back into the lobby while Catch Penny did a meet and greet and handed out CDs. We finished up registration and the run staff were rushed off to catch a quick bite before the chow hall closed. Unfortunately Catch Penny hadn’t gotten anything other than chips, muffins and cookies since we arrived as they were so busy setting up in a hurry. They had just started their second set, so they’d have to wait till the midnight meal. (which was at 11….go figure!) We ate, talked a little about plans for the next morning, then half the crew went back to housing while Robi, Josh, Rick and I went back to the theatre to get everything set for the next morning. We set up the flags at the start/finish line, futzed around with a few more things and headed back to housing for some rest. I tried to get caught up on the blog, but gave myself a midnight deadline (need some sleep) and I couldn’t get the internet to work, so I typed a little and went to bed. Laid and relaxed and counted and breathed until 1:30 then suddenly the alarm went off. NICE! I slept and slept hard. Knock on wood, the time zone transition has been quite smooth. Probably the 8 hours relaxing in the airport in Kuwait helped!
We went to The Lion’s Den (housing) and got our rooms. The guy had to share, but Sandy, Nicole and I all got our own rooms and they were NIIIIICE! Double the size…even triple that of the room in Kuwait…and a double bed! This place is PLUSH! Cpt Martin told us they call it Camp Cupcake because of all the amenities! Nicole and I commented that we kept expecting it to get worse, but getting better with every base? Our expectations are going to be out of whack!
We threw down our stuff and ran to the theatre to get the band set up. With the 8 hour delay at the airport in Kuwait, it gave the band about an hour and a half to set up before the show started at 7:30. We helped them all we could, got registration set up then jumped on the shuttle to head back to housing for a quick outfit change into our official Under Armour Warrior Tours uniform then back to the theatre for SHOW TIME! Josh and Rick had the registration all set up, we got the autograph cards and chairs for Bart. Sandy and Frank all set up. While we were setting up, we already had a line, so we were chatting with the troops a little, then once we were all set, we got things underway.
The guys and gals in line knew there were famous people at the end of the line, but hadn’t gotten the full word on who they were, so I worked the crowd. I walked around handing out registration forms, talking to the troops. Everyone is so darned friendly and happy to talk to you! When I’m working the crowd at an expo, I sometimes feel like I have a disease or really bad breath because no one wants to talk to me. Here, I can strike up a conversation with any of them, and it’s an intelligent conversation and they’re awesome! A few people asked if I was famous, and I joked, ten told them who the real celebs were. At this point, once we’d gotten a bunch of people registered, Catch Penny started playing and they ROCK! I can’t think of another band I’d like to hear 7 nights in a row! They were great. Unfortunately this particular base had hosted a whole bunch of shows lately, so while the race registration was booming, the audience in the theatre was pretty sad. A bummer of a way to start the tour for the band, but we were all pretty excited about the race. As the crowd in the lobby died down, the band took a break, and Robi took the stage to introduce us all to the audience. After a really nice intro, we went back into the lobby while Catch Penny did a meet and greet and handed out CDs. We finished up registration and the run staff were rushed off to catch a quick bite before the chow hall closed. Unfortunately Catch Penny hadn’t gotten anything other than chips, muffins and cookies since we arrived as they were so busy setting up in a hurry. They had just started their second set, so they’d have to wait till the midnight meal. (which was at 11….go figure!) We ate, talked a little about plans for the next morning, then half the crew went back to housing while Robi, Josh, Rick and I went back to the theatre to get everything set for the next morning. We set up the flags at the start/finish line, futzed around with a few more things and headed back to housing for some rest. I tried to get caught up on the blog, but gave myself a midnight deadline (need some sleep) and I couldn’t get the internet to work, so I typed a little and went to bed. Laid and relaxed and counted and breathed until 1:30 then suddenly the alarm went off. NICE! I slept and slept hard. Knock on wood, the time zone transition has been quite smooth. Probably the 8 hours relaxing in the airport in Kuwait helped!
TRANSPORT TO BASE #1 (7/8/09)
So the plane finally came around 3ish I guess. We stopped paying attention. Went for lunch, then hung out in the waiting room until 1:30. Then a cute little girl from a nearby building came in and told us to come hang out with them.
(I think she and her fellow female soldier liked the band members!
A change of scenery was nice, and the “snack bar” where they were was WAY more interesting than the boring old waiting room with Pleasantville playing! So we played a little darts, watched them play Fight Club on X-Box, and chatted a ton. Took some pictures and hung out for an hour or so, then it was time to go.
We suited up in our Kevlar vests and helmets (boy those suckers are heavy!) and hopped on a bus to headed out to the C130 that would take us to our next base.
It’s a big plane, and I expected to be getting on through the ramp in the tail, I was disappointed that we got on from the side like a “regular” plane, BUT it was a super cool cargo carrying plane with seats along the side walls and lots of space in the middle. 
COOL! It was SO MILITARY! We’re taking pictures (after being sure it was ok) and Robi was getting posters signed, telling the crew who was on the plane and generally getting ready for flight. Then Robi comes and gives us the “come here” finger to me and Nicole and leads us up to the cockpit where we sit in the seats in the cockpit behind the pilots. NO WAY! That’s SOOOOO cool!
We’ve got the best view in the house. As we’re taxing around to take off, the flight commander guy (not the pilots, not sure that’s the right name for him) tells us we can take off our Kevlar and stand up and watch if we want! COOOOOOL!
Then he gives us a HEADSET so we can talk to the pilots once we take off. AWESOME! This just keeps getting better and better.
The pilots were really cool guys, Marines who had been there for 5 months, and were headed home in a month. We talked about how they lived in a bubble practically, with no cultural experience at all! Every single Marine I talk to has a very intelligent, well thought out opinion and thoughts about the war, the Iraqis and our position there. It’s very impressive.
Then, while Nicole is talking on the headset, she motions for me to get up there, and the co-pilot gets up and GIVES ME HIS SEAT! HOLY CRAP! I get to sit in a pilots seat! I promise not to touch anything, and the pilot tells me specifically which ones not to touch, and what they do. Cutting off fuel was a “don’t touch.” Yeah, got it! So we chat for a few minutes, and then the pilot says, “this is getting boring. Put your hands on the yolk.” Ok, I’m not sure if that’s how you spell it. It’s the handlebars of the aircraft. I know that’s not how you say it, but you get what I mean. The steer-er! He wants me to steer the C130 taking the whole running staff, the band and all of our gear, including 5 of America’s finest Marines. I object a little, but I’ve tried that before with Marines and it didn’t worth then either. (not convincing?) Next thing I know I’m being instructed to keep the dotted ball inside the solid ball in the heads up display in front of me, and he’s explaining about tilt and yaw and the artificial horizon (I hear it’s better than the REAL horizon!) and all that.
I’m flying this bird! He had the thusters and power and speed and all that on auto-pilot, and of course, his yolk was right there if I decided to do a barrel roll, but as far as I know, he didn’t use it. I was steering the thing…..for like 45 minutes!! We’re chatting about the Steelers and Pittsburgh and how Ed Tomlin (Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin’s brother) sit’s right next to me while I’m flying the plane. HOLY CRAP! That was just so cool!
So I landed the plane in….no, I didn’t! He joked about making me, and made me quite nervous, but thankfully the Marines flying out C130 had BRAINS and they didn’t let me. As we were talking (I was still driving) he said “so where are you going?” I said “I don’t know! I’m just keeping the dotted ball inside the solid ball!” and we laughed and joked a bit more, and he said “no really, where are you going this week” and I said “seriously, I have no idea!” We hadn’t been told yet! Plans are fluid. We knew that from the beginning, and according to Op Sec (Operational Security) they couldn’t tell us. So we followed orders (I kept the dotted ball inside the solid ball) and they took us where we needed to go.
And in the meantime, told us that we were way cooler than the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders who were here last week. I thought that was pretty cool!
So we finally arrived (I was safely back in my passengers seat behind the pilots), dropped our cargo (the bands gear and all of our luggage) and got to exit the C130 out of the back ramp of the aircraft! You know the big wide ramp that they always have mid-air flights on in the action movies?! Very cool! So that was the best flight I’d ever been on! It just kept getting better and better.
(I think she and her fellow female soldier liked the band members!
A change of scenery was nice, and the “snack bar” where they were was WAY more interesting than the boring old waiting room with Pleasantville playing! So we played a little darts, watched them play Fight Club on X-Box, and chatted a ton. Took some pictures and hung out for an hour or so, then it was time to go.
We suited up in our Kevlar vests and helmets (boy those suckers are heavy!) and hopped on a bus to headed out to the C130 that would take us to our next base. 
It’s a big plane, and I expected to be getting on through the ramp in the tail, I was disappointed that we got on from the side like a “regular” plane, BUT it was a super cool cargo carrying plane with seats along the side walls and lots of space in the middle. 
COOL! It was SO MILITARY! We’re taking pictures (after being sure it was ok) and Robi was getting posters signed, telling the crew who was on the plane and generally getting ready for flight. Then Robi comes and gives us the “come here” finger to me and Nicole and leads us up to the cockpit where we sit in the seats in the cockpit behind the pilots. NO WAY! That’s SOOOOO cool!
We’ve got the best view in the house. As we’re taxing around to take off, the flight commander guy (not the pilots, not sure that’s the right name for him) tells us we can take off our Kevlar and stand up and watch if we want! COOOOOOL!
Then he gives us a HEADSET so we can talk to the pilots once we take off. AWESOME! This just keeps getting better and better.The pilots were really cool guys, Marines who had been there for 5 months, and were headed home in a month. We talked about how they lived in a bubble practically, with no cultural experience at all! Every single Marine I talk to has a very intelligent, well thought out opinion and thoughts about the war, the Iraqis and our position there. It’s very impressive.
Then, while Nicole is talking on the headset, she motions for me to get up there, and the co-pilot gets up and GIVES ME HIS SEAT! HOLY CRAP! I get to sit in a pilots seat! I promise not to touch anything, and the pilot tells me specifically which ones not to touch, and what they do. Cutting off fuel was a “don’t touch.” Yeah, got it! So we chat for a few minutes, and then the pilot says, “this is getting boring. Put your hands on the yolk.” Ok, I’m not sure if that’s how you spell it. It’s the handlebars of the aircraft. I know that’s not how you say it, but you get what I mean. The steer-er! He wants me to steer the C130 taking the whole running staff, the band and all of our gear, including 5 of America’s finest Marines. I object a little, but I’ve tried that before with Marines and it didn’t worth then either. (not convincing?) Next thing I know I’m being instructed to keep the dotted ball inside the solid ball in the heads up display in front of me, and he’s explaining about tilt and yaw and the artificial horizon (I hear it’s better than the REAL horizon!) and all that.
I’m flying this bird! He had the thusters and power and speed and all that on auto-pilot, and of course, his yolk was right there if I decided to do a barrel roll, but as far as I know, he didn’t use it. I was steering the thing…..for like 45 minutes!! We’re chatting about the Steelers and Pittsburgh and how Ed Tomlin (Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin’s brother) sit’s right next to me while I’m flying the plane. HOLY CRAP! That was just so cool!So I landed the plane in….no, I didn’t! He joked about making me, and made me quite nervous, but thankfully the Marines flying out C130 had BRAINS and they didn’t let me. As we were talking (I was still driving) he said “so where are you going?” I said “I don’t know! I’m just keeping the dotted ball inside the solid ball!” and we laughed and joked a bit more, and he said “no really, where are you going this week” and I said “seriously, I have no idea!” We hadn’t been told yet! Plans are fluid. We knew that from the beginning, and according to Op Sec (Operational Security) they couldn’t tell us. So we followed orders (I kept the dotted ball inside the solid ball) and they took us where we needed to go.
And in the meantime, told us that we were way cooler than the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders who were here last week. I thought that was pretty cool!
So we finally arrived (I was safely back in my passengers seat behind the pilots), dropped our cargo (the bands gear and all of our luggage) and got to exit the C130 out of the back ramp of the aircraft! You know the big wide ramp that they always have mid-air flights on in the action movies?! Very cool! So that was the best flight I’d ever been on! It just kept getting better and better.
12:04pm, Kuwait airport/Marine Airbase waiting room: Waiting to go to Base #1 (7.8.09
I got up at 5am, after a pretty good night’s sleep considering the pre-race anxiety that I was going to miss the 2 alarms I set. I didn’t want to be the jerk who needed them to bang on the door at 5:30 when it was time to leave.
I got my first peek at Kuwait while heading to the bathroom. Tan. Everything is tan. The buildings, the vehicles, the facilities, the sand. Tan. Different shades of tan! So 5:30, I was down in the lobby and everyone else was there too. Good to go. We get the word that we’ll leave at 6:20 so we hop off for breakfast. Great buffet type meal with full breakfast, omelet’s, fruit, yogurt, pastries, juice, etc. We chat for a while and head back to the barracks, meet up with the group and load up the trucks. 
On the bus ride to the airport, we talked about camel spiders (Google it. Ug!) took pictures, laughed about the trip, got a few precautions from the people who’ve been here before (don’t drink the water…unless you want to lose a lot of weight on this trip!) and got excited for our flight to Iraq. 
We had a security escort which was pretty cool. They'd drive really close to us, and essentially block other drivers from driving next to us. Very high speed!
We arrived at the base around 7am and go sit in the waiting room. It’s getting warm out, but it’s still not bad….but it’s only 7am! We sit and wait. The word after about a half hour is that our plane is about a half hour away. Great! We all are chatting excitedly. Time passes. I’m not really paying attention to time, until suddenly it’s 9am…..and our plane is about a half hour away. Riiiiiight!
Then Cpt Jessie Stewart comes in and starts telling us about his experience in the war. He’s been home for 18 months since September 11, 2001. He’s an ironman triathlete, and is running a 100 miler on one of the bases in Iraq in honor of the 14 soldiers that were in his command that he lost in a certain devastating battle they fought and to raise money for a scholarship fund for their children. The Spartan 100 is the name of the run, and he’s already had $35,000 pledged to the fund with the goal of $100,000. He was really excited to meet Frank, but was also glad to meet Bart and Rob based on their contacts within the industry and what they can (and will) do for him and the project! He has a masters degree and is a very well spoken, very intelligent, very patriotic guy who had the 16 of us at full attention listening to his stories. Absolutely amazing guy, and a real REAL hero! He also worked with one of the Iraqi towns he was working in to get wheelchairs for the children and people with disabilities. When he couldn’t get the funding, he got the supplies and built them out of mountain bike tires and plastic lawn chairs. When a wheelchair company in the US found out about it, they called him and donated 120 super high speed wheel chairs, and had them delivered. As a result of this amazing work that he did, a local insurgent came up and identified himself as such, but said that he was so impressed with what the soldiers were doing for his community that his opinion of America was changing. The next day he tipped Cpt Stewart off to a IED on the road in the path of a high ranking military officer who was coming through that area the next day. This insurgent saved this officer’s life and probably that of more soldiers, all as a result of this soldiers push to make the community better. Amazing legacy, and such an amazing example to the thousands of Americans he comes into contact with. I’m so honored to have met him.So around 10, I’m starting to get hungry, and Zach comes in to inform us that our plane will be here at 3 and lunch is in an hour! Sure glad we got up at 5am, but that’s the name of the name of the game. Hurry up and wait! So we’ve all settled in, Rob, Bart, Sandy and Frank went to do a Runner’s World remote video taping, and I’m going to sit and watch Pleasantville. Oh, and it’s hot out there! 125ish? But honestly, it’s so dry, that it honestly doesn’t seem that bad, but I haven’t had to do anything in it for any period of time.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Travel day: July 6 and 7
3:45pm Kuwait time, Tuesday, July 7. Somewhere over Turkey.
We’re an hour and a half from landing in Kuwait right now, but let me back up. I had a nice lazy weekend of packing and preparation. Celebrated the 4th of July with a long hilly bike ride, singing “Proud to be an American” on some of the harder hills. (yes I sing on hills!) Then I went for a cookout with my friends Dan, Steve and Polly and the fireworks in Annapolis. Great time. Sunday I spent packing and finalizing details for the trip. By 5pm I was driving myself crazy thinking and re-thinking my packing, so I went to a movie. (“Up” is a really fun movie, highly recommended.)
Monday morning I slept through my workout, savoring the last moments in my bed for 2 weeks. I was starting to get a little nervous, and just wanted to get going. I worked a half day, then went for a run at Patapsco State Park with my good friend Laurie, savoring the last bits of green I’d see in a long time! Then it was time to finalize my packing and walk out the door. FINALLY! My aunt Alice in Washington DC was kind enough to agree to give me a ride to Dullles, so I took off for her house with plenty of time to spare. We met up, caught up, and departed for a celebratory beer and wings at Clyde’s before heading to Dulles.
Then off to Dulles to finally get this trip underway. They got me there with plenty of time to spare, and I met Rob outside the check in area as I had 4 pieces to check (Hey…I had to bring my red taffeta ball gown and all my glorious Jimmie Choo shoes…actually I was carrying the posters and autograph cards for the trip as they’d finished printing when it was too late to ship them. We got all checked in, and headed through security and to the Red Carpet Club to meet up with the rest of the group.
Rob and Frank had arrived 5 hours earlier from Denver on what they called the “cover your butt” flight. (meaning that it would take one hell of a catastrophic delay for them to miss the Kuwait flight.) So I chatted with Frank Shorter for a few minutes, then Bart, Sandy and Nicole arrived. It’s then that I realize even more that I’m in really great company! Very cool and very highly accomplished people. I’m thrilled to be on this trip.
:45 minutes to departure, and I pop off to grab a sandwich before we leave. I find a Wendy’s and grab a chicken sandwich and sit outside our gate, C12 to eat my sandwich, waiting for them to call my seating group. I don’t see any of our group around, but I figure they’re already on the plane. Then I hear them calling all rows for the flight to Montreal and I realize we’re at gate C2 not C12! HOLY CRAP! I get up and take off running to the RIGHT gate, laughing at my stupidity that I could have missed the frigging flight. Can you imagine? Who’s the idiot that brought the blonde. I look at my watch and we’re still 25 minutes from departure, so I’m probably fine, but sure darned glad that I realized before trying to board the wrong plane. “I’m sorry ma’am, this isn’t your aircraft!” So I saunter casually up to Bart, Sandy and Nicole, as if nothing is wrong. Everyone is still cueing for our flight, so I’m in great shape. That was a close one!
We spent a little time chatting, met Josh and Rick Stern, the timing guys and I took the chance to look around at the other people on our flight. (there are a LOT of people there.) What Robi said was right. They were mostly military contractors, and some active duty military.
Board ‘em up! We got on board, found our seats, I looked at the screen in the seat in front of me and saw “11:30 to destination”. Fshew! That’s less than the 14 hours that I thought it was going to be! I set my watch for Kuwait time so I can start to acclimate to “local” time. We took off, I popped a Unisom, hoping to get a good night’s sleep, and sat back and relaxed. They brought around drinks (OJ please, had a tickle in my throat this morning that I want to be sure is gone.) I read a little, then dinner (oops, I had a sandwich, but I’ll have the pasta please….which was very good) and I laid back in my chair with my earplugs in, a little nervous that the Unisom hadn’t…...next thing I know, we’re 1 ½ hours from landing! Wow! That wasn’t bad at all! I swear they pump something into the air on these long overnight international flights because it always seems that everyone’s asleep, then they stir at the same time. Must be something the flight attendants are immune to!
Anyway, here we are. I’m pretty nervous because it’s finally about to start! I’ve been talking about this an anticipating this and getting excited for this for weeks, and we’re finally about to be there. I couldn’t be traveling with a better group of people, and I’m so honored to be able to spend time with our troops, to thank them, and hug them, and talk and laugh with them. This is going to be one hell of an endurance exercise, but I’m going to do my darnedest to stay perky and cheerful through the whole trip, remembering that these soldiers live in this day in and day out, with the constant feeling of the danger that they face on a minute to minute basis, every day of every week while they’re here.
7:18pm, Kuwait airport
Well, we arrived, got our visas, turned in our swine flu forms, got our bags, gathered up and went through customs. Unfortunately our ride isn’t here, so we’re all kind of hanging out here in the airport, but I’ve gotta tell you, there’s plenty to do and look at!
KFC, Cinnabon, Starbucks, Caribou coffee, Harley Davidson Store, wait a sec…..2 Starbucks (typical!), The Body Shop, Claires Accessories all here in the airport. The people watching is unbelievable; everything from women in full burkah and veil to women in totally western apparel. People can smoke everywhere! We were standing in line for our visas, and a guy lit a cigarette. I couldn’t believe it! Men in traditional Arab robes, with their kids in a “Cars” t-shirt and crocs! The clash of the cultures!
10:30pm, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Building 149, room 328
A private room? This is better than summer camp! So our rides came, and we had a very official bunch of plain clothed military folks take us to the base. It was dark out by then, but you could still tell that it’s flat, and sandy out there! On the 45 minute drive from the airport to the base, we passed a bunch of oil refineries, some with fires at the top of the smoke stacks. David our driver told us that the lights at the refineries are strategically placed to make it look like a city (which it did) so if someone came in to bomb a refinery, it wouldn’t look like one. It struck me that it’s not uncommon in some places that you should have to design your facility with the plan of someone wanting to bomb it! Wow.
So we got to the base, got our rooms (our own rooms!) and all went in search of some dinner, but not before seeing literally a dozen people walk through in Under Armour! It feels like Baltimore! In the lobby of the barracks a few people were sitting watching the Michael Jackson memorial service on CNN. We talked to 2 young soldiers who are going home on Friday. They were very impressed to meet a real astronaut (Sandy just got back from 4 months on the Space Station!) and an Olympic Gold Medalist.
Few pictures and autographs and we left.
This base is a common place where soldiers heading home stop before leaving the middle east. They specifically designed it to help them get acclimated to home again. The PX is like a CVS on steroids (you can get a ham, and a big screen in the same place!) There’s Taco Bell, Baskin Robbins, Subway, a movie theatre, full gym, track, tennis courts, etc. Josh commented that it feels like a college campus! There was music playing near the pool, and people out and around. Not busy, but definitely there were people around. It’s about 95 degrees out but it’s very pleasant, I think because it’s dry. I’ll report about the heat some more tomorrow.
So we stopped at the PX, I took pictures of the Under Armour for Offutt (our military/tactical guy!), we got the last things we didn’t realize we needed (towels, hand cream, etc) and went for dinner.
4 of us had Taco Bell (crunchwrap supreme baby!), 2 had pizza and Frank went straight to dessert and got a banana split from Baskin Robbins! 
Smart man.
We sat around in the pavilion eating and chatting. Now it’s time for bed.
5:30am tomorrow morning in the lobby for a 6 hour flight in a C130 to somewhere in Iraq. We still don’t know where we’re going, but it’s going to be an adventure either way.
Good night!
We’re an hour and a half from landing in Kuwait right now, but let me back up. I had a nice lazy weekend of packing and preparation. Celebrated the 4th of July with a long hilly bike ride, singing “Proud to be an American” on some of the harder hills. (yes I sing on hills!) Then I went for a cookout with my friends Dan, Steve and Polly and the fireworks in Annapolis. Great time. Sunday I spent packing and finalizing details for the trip. By 5pm I was driving myself crazy thinking and re-thinking my packing, so I went to a movie. (“Up” is a really fun movie, highly recommended.)
Monday morning I slept through my workout, savoring the last moments in my bed for 2 weeks. I was starting to get a little nervous, and just wanted to get going. I worked a half day, then went for a run at Patapsco State Park with my good friend Laurie, savoring the last bits of green I’d see in a long time! Then it was time to finalize my packing and walk out the door. FINALLY! My aunt Alice in Washington DC was kind enough to agree to give me a ride to Dullles, so I took off for her house with plenty of time to spare. We met up, caught up, and departed for a celebratory beer and wings at Clyde’s before heading to Dulles.
Then off to Dulles to finally get this trip underway. They got me there with plenty of time to spare, and I met Rob outside the check in area as I had 4 pieces to check (Hey…I had to bring my red taffeta ball gown and all my glorious Jimmie Choo shoes…actually I was carrying the posters and autograph cards for the trip as they’d finished printing when it was too late to ship them. We got all checked in, and headed through security and to the Red Carpet Club to meet up with the rest of the group.
Rob and Frank had arrived 5 hours earlier from Denver on what they called the “cover your butt” flight. (meaning that it would take one hell of a catastrophic delay for them to miss the Kuwait flight.) So I chatted with Frank Shorter for a few minutes, then Bart, Sandy and Nicole arrived. It’s then that I realize even more that I’m in really great company! Very cool and very highly accomplished people. I’m thrilled to be on this trip.
:45 minutes to departure, and I pop off to grab a sandwich before we leave. I find a Wendy’s and grab a chicken sandwich and sit outside our gate, C12 to eat my sandwich, waiting for them to call my seating group. I don’t see any of our group around, but I figure they’re already on the plane. Then I hear them calling all rows for the flight to Montreal and I realize we’re at gate C2 not C12! HOLY CRAP! I get up and take off running to the RIGHT gate, laughing at my stupidity that I could have missed the frigging flight. Can you imagine? Who’s the idiot that brought the blonde. I look at my watch and we’re still 25 minutes from departure, so I’m probably fine, but sure darned glad that I realized before trying to board the wrong plane. “I’m sorry ma’am, this isn’t your aircraft!” So I saunter casually up to Bart, Sandy and Nicole, as if nothing is wrong. Everyone is still cueing for our flight, so I’m in great shape. That was a close one!
We spent a little time chatting, met Josh and Rick Stern, the timing guys and I took the chance to look around at the other people on our flight. (there are a LOT of people there.) What Robi said was right. They were mostly military contractors, and some active duty military.
Board ‘em up! We got on board, found our seats, I looked at the screen in the seat in front of me and saw “11:30 to destination”. Fshew! That’s less than the 14 hours that I thought it was going to be! I set my watch for Kuwait time so I can start to acclimate to “local” time. We took off, I popped a Unisom, hoping to get a good night’s sleep, and sat back and relaxed. They brought around drinks (OJ please, had a tickle in my throat this morning that I want to be sure is gone.) I read a little, then dinner (oops, I had a sandwich, but I’ll have the pasta please….which was very good) and I laid back in my chair with my earplugs in, a little nervous that the Unisom hadn’t…...next thing I know, we’re 1 ½ hours from landing! Wow! That wasn’t bad at all! I swear they pump something into the air on these long overnight international flights because it always seems that everyone’s asleep, then they stir at the same time. Must be something the flight attendants are immune to!
Anyway, here we are. I’m pretty nervous because it’s finally about to start! I’ve been talking about this an anticipating this and getting excited for this for weeks, and we’re finally about to be there. I couldn’t be traveling with a better group of people, and I’m so honored to be able to spend time with our troops, to thank them, and hug them, and talk and laugh with them. This is going to be one hell of an endurance exercise, but I’m going to do my darnedest to stay perky and cheerful through the whole trip, remembering that these soldiers live in this day in and day out, with the constant feeling of the danger that they face on a minute to minute basis, every day of every week while they’re here.
7:18pm, Kuwait airport
Well, we arrived, got our visas, turned in our swine flu forms, got our bags, gathered up and went through customs. Unfortunately our ride isn’t here, so we’re all kind of hanging out here in the airport, but I’ve gotta tell you, there’s plenty to do and look at!
KFC, Cinnabon, Starbucks, Caribou coffee, Harley Davidson Store, wait a sec…..2 Starbucks (typical!), The Body Shop, Claires Accessories all here in the airport. The people watching is unbelievable; everything from women in full burkah and veil to women in totally western apparel. People can smoke everywhere! We were standing in line for our visas, and a guy lit a cigarette. I couldn’t believe it! Men in traditional Arab robes, with their kids in a “Cars” t-shirt and crocs! The clash of the cultures!
10:30pm, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Building 149, room 328
A private room? This is better than summer camp! So our rides came, and we had a very official bunch of plain clothed military folks take us to the base. It was dark out by then, but you could still tell that it’s flat, and sandy out there! On the 45 minute drive from the airport to the base, we passed a bunch of oil refineries, some with fires at the top of the smoke stacks. David our driver told us that the lights at the refineries are strategically placed to make it look like a city (which it did) so if someone came in to bomb a refinery, it wouldn’t look like one. It struck me that it’s not uncommon in some places that you should have to design your facility with the plan of someone wanting to bomb it! Wow.
So we got to the base, got our rooms (our own rooms!) and all went in search of some dinner, but not before seeing literally a dozen people walk through in Under Armour! It feels like Baltimore! In the lobby of the barracks a few people were sitting watching the Michael Jackson memorial service on CNN. We talked to 2 young soldiers who are going home on Friday. They were very impressed to meet a real astronaut (Sandy just got back from 4 months on the Space Station!) and an Olympic Gold Medalist.
Few pictures and autographs and we left.
This base is a common place where soldiers heading home stop before leaving the middle east. They specifically designed it to help them get acclimated to home again. The PX is like a CVS on steroids (you can get a ham, and a big screen in the same place!) There’s Taco Bell, Baskin Robbins, Subway, a movie theatre, full gym, track, tennis courts, etc. Josh commented that it feels like a college campus! There was music playing near the pool, and people out and around. Not busy, but definitely there were people around. It’s about 95 degrees out but it’s very pleasant, I think because it’s dry. I’ll report about the heat some more tomorrow.
So we stopped at the PX, I took pictures of the Under Armour for Offutt (our military/tactical guy!), we got the last things we didn’t realize we needed (towels, hand cream, etc) and went for dinner.
4 of us had Taco Bell (crunchwrap supreme baby!), 2 had pizza and Frank went straight to dessert and got a banana split from Baskin Robbins! 
Smart man.We sat around in the pavilion eating and chatting. Now it’s time for bed.
5:30am tomorrow morning in the lobby for a 6 hour flight in a C130 to somewhere in Iraq. We still don’t know where we’re going, but it’s going to be an adventure either way.
Good night!
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