Ahhhhhh...change is in the air.
I managed my 14-mile "long run" late this morning...about 10 outside in a very dry 90 degrees before I decided to hit the treadmill in the nice and cool gym. I was still doing alright from the hydration standpoint, but my skin was starting to sizzle in the sun despite my use of sunscreen. Anyone who's balding or wears a part in their hair will understand that at some point you really want to get your head out of the sun. The Army isn't savvy enough to have athletic running caps for hot, sunny weather.
So funny story, I participated in an Easter Crossfit Competition at Camp Nathan Smith last weekend but I didn't know about it until the night before. Actually, I was at the aid station working on a profile for a patient (a profile is basically a recommendation from a medical provider to the command of a soldier...usually to limit something so a patient has the opportunity to heal - or to prevent further injury), when along came the company commander informing me that I was being requested to fill a female position on a crossfit team. The competition required teams consisting of 5 members, 1 of which had to be a female. Got to love it.
I actually declined because the competition was on Easter and I really wanted the day off. Apparently the team had a female that was "broken" and couldn't compete "all of a sudden." My commander seemed understanding of my answer, so I moved on. You may recall that Saturday nights are "movie night" at the clinic...so I'm sitting in my ghetto office chair with feet appropriately propped up for the occasion, when the Battalion Executive Officer walks in on the movie. Mind you it's about 9pm in the evening (I subscribe to the school of thought that you should generally be done with work by that time of day, but that's not Army policy). The Executive Officer (XO) is a pretty nice guy, but he basically stood there until I agreed to get up early in the next morning, convoy to the base hosting the competition, and help the team that needed a member. The whole story probably makes me sound like a lazy bum...but I actually do crossfit-type exercise several times a week. I just wanted to rest REALLY bad! The XO told me "I'm sure we can find you another easy day to make up for it soon." Eerie forecasting...
For some reason I only slept 3 hours that night. I woke up extremely tired, donned my gear and weapon, and headed to the convoy truck waiting for me. Inside I was given an over-sized tan tshirt with ANCOP and a muscular guy drawn on the back. When we got there I saw that the competition was being held outside and with the exception of the running portion (which was just laps around the compound), the competition was held ON TOP OF a septic system. And you could smell it. Really. A couple good things came from me being at CNS though...I finally got to meet our brigade commander (who's my senior rater) and I also saw Tom who was there on a crossfit team from 1/67 (they won). Tom is one of the Lieutenants that traveled with me to Afghanistan and is also an avid ultra-runner, so I at least had someone to talk to as my team waited about 2.5 hours before it was our turn to start. The competition itself was very easy...could have been more difficult but we had a slower runner on the team (and by slow runner I mean - jog, walk, jog, walk, etc). There was a running portion between each of the "events" (pull ups, wall balls, deadlifts, box jumps, etc) and the team had to stay together during the entire competition...so we were only as fast as our slowest runner. I had too much rest to say the least. I think our team finished in 5th place, which wasn't bad considering there were 30+ teams.
I tried getting in my Sunday long run once I got back to my FOB, but after 3 miles I started getting a headache and realized I'd been in the sun way too much already. So I stopped. I think the combination of fatigue, dehydration, and something I ate at the dining facility on Monday led to me breaking my "10-year no throw up" streak on Monday night. It started with chills, then a fever, headache, body aches, then vomiting. I didn't go to work on Tuesday (so the XO was right!) because I felt horrible...so I laid in bed all day and slept. I pushed through work on Wednesday and by Thursday was feeling pretty normal again.
It's a funny thing about overdoing it, because there was a guy on the FOB a few weeks ago that "overdid" it during a crossfit competition and gave himself rhabdomyolysis (google it). They had to evacuate him to Kandahar Airfield to be stabilized, they almost sent him home. I gave a class on crossfit safety to that unit soon after (and I go back tomorrow to teach the class to the other half of the unit). But out here, under the pressure of commanders and expectations of others, it is all too easy to overdo it. Shame shame.
Looks like my replacement will be here in a few days. Patient load slowed down for 2 days last week and I thought it was a sign of everyone getting ready to go home...but then it exploded yesterday and I'm booked through most of this week. Funny how I can't predict anything out here. But I'm getting a tiny break from the usual since I am moving out of my room and into a transient tent soon and I'm trying to get things set up for the new therapist to make her feel at home here.
I have some pretty stinky air left to breath (especially at Kandahar) as I transition home. But it's all going to be worth it...every last breath of dust and sewage.
I managed my 14-mile "long run" late this morning...about 10 outside in a very dry 90 degrees before I decided to hit the treadmill in the nice and cool gym. I was still doing alright from the hydration standpoint, but my skin was starting to sizzle in the sun despite my use of sunscreen. Anyone who's balding or wears a part in their hair will understand that at some point you really want to get your head out of the sun. The Army isn't savvy enough to have athletic running caps for hot, sunny weather.
So funny story, I participated in an Easter Crossfit Competition at Camp Nathan Smith last weekend but I didn't know about it until the night before. Actually, I was at the aid station working on a profile for a patient (a profile is basically a recommendation from a medical provider to the command of a soldier...usually to limit something so a patient has the opportunity to heal - or to prevent further injury), when along came the company commander informing me that I was being requested to fill a female position on a crossfit team. The competition required teams consisting of 5 members, 1 of which had to be a female. Got to love it.
I actually declined because the competition was on Easter and I really wanted the day off. Apparently the team had a female that was "broken" and couldn't compete "all of a sudden." My commander seemed understanding of my answer, so I moved on. You may recall that Saturday nights are "movie night" at the clinic...so I'm sitting in my ghetto office chair with feet appropriately propped up for the occasion, when the Battalion Executive Officer walks in on the movie. Mind you it's about 9pm in the evening (I subscribe to the school of thought that you should generally be done with work by that time of day, but that's not Army policy). The Executive Officer (XO) is a pretty nice guy, but he basically stood there until I agreed to get up early in the next morning, convoy to the base hosting the competition, and help the team that needed a member. The whole story probably makes me sound like a lazy bum...but I actually do crossfit-type exercise several times a week. I just wanted to rest REALLY bad! The XO told me "I'm sure we can find you another easy day to make up for it soon." Eerie forecasting...
For some reason I only slept 3 hours that night. I woke up extremely tired, donned my gear and weapon, and headed to the convoy truck waiting for me. Inside I was given an over-sized tan tshirt with ANCOP and a muscular guy drawn on the back. When we got there I saw that the competition was being held outside and with the exception of the running portion (which was just laps around the compound), the competition was held ON TOP OF a septic system. And you could smell it. Really. A couple good things came from me being at CNS though...I finally got to meet our brigade commander (who's my senior rater) and I also saw Tom who was there on a crossfit team from 1/67 (they won). Tom is one of the Lieutenants that traveled with me to Afghanistan and is also an avid ultra-runner, so I at least had someone to talk to as my team waited about 2.5 hours before it was our turn to start. The competition itself was very easy...could have been more difficult but we had a slower runner on the team (and by slow runner I mean - jog, walk, jog, walk, etc). There was a running portion between each of the "events" (pull ups, wall balls, deadlifts, box jumps, etc) and the team had to stay together during the entire competition...so we were only as fast as our slowest runner. I had too much rest to say the least. I think our team finished in 5th place, which wasn't bad considering there were 30+ teams.
I tried getting in my Sunday long run once I got back to my FOB, but after 3 miles I started getting a headache and realized I'd been in the sun way too much already. So I stopped. I think the combination of fatigue, dehydration, and something I ate at the dining facility on Monday led to me breaking my "10-year no throw up" streak on Monday night. It started with chills, then a fever, headache, body aches, then vomiting. I didn't go to work on Tuesday (so the XO was right!) because I felt horrible...so I laid in bed all day and slept. I pushed through work on Wednesday and by Thursday was feeling pretty normal again.
It's a funny thing about overdoing it, because there was a guy on the FOB a few weeks ago that "overdid" it during a crossfit competition and gave himself rhabdomyolysis (google it). They had to evacuate him to Kandahar Airfield to be stabilized, they almost sent him home. I gave a class on crossfit safety to that unit soon after (and I go back tomorrow to teach the class to the other half of the unit). But out here, under the pressure of commanders and expectations of others, it is all too easy to overdo it. Shame shame.
Looks like my replacement will be here in a few days. Patient load slowed down for 2 days last week and I thought it was a sign of everyone getting ready to go home...but then it exploded yesterday and I'm booked through most of this week. Funny how I can't predict anything out here. But I'm getting a tiny break from the usual since I am moving out of my room and into a transient tent soon and I'm trying to get things set up for the new therapist to make her feel at home here.
I have some pretty stinky air left to breath (especially at Kandahar) as I transition home. But it's all going to be worth it...every last breath of dust and sewage.
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