Back on the grid – sort of!

It has certainly been a while – hasn’t it?

 

I’m currently a few weeks into Officer Candidate School. I finished up Basic Combat Training a few weeks ago at Fort Jackson.

 

Basic Combat Training was an adventure, for sure, and a lesson in patience! Depedning on the perspective I choose, I can make it seem awesome, boring, easy, tough, or life-changing. For entertainment’s sake, we’ll stick with awesome.

 

But first, a performance recap:

 

APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) Score: 348 on the extended scale. 58 pushups, 98 situps and a 13:23 two mile run time. Highest score in my platoon!

That’s right – I ran two 6:42 miles back-to-back. I ran with Alpha group (the fast kids) during my time at BCT. I alternated between hanging in and feeling awesome, and falling out after the first 1.5 miles – on those days, I called myself “A minus” and considered it a victory to not get lapped! My speed definitely improved, and I managed to avoid injury. I’m no longer afraid to run hard on a regular basis, but I’m very glad I had a relatively solid running base entering BCT.

 

Some BCT highlights:

 

The grenade range. It was somewhat anti-climactic because you don’t actually get to watch the grenades you throw go off – you’re taking cover behind a thick concrete wall. But, I got to throw two live hand grenades, which is pretty awesome.

 

Advanced Rifle Marksmanship. This included using scopes, lazers and – my favorite part – night vision goggles. We also did some close contact drills, which involved shooting “controlled pairs” (a.k.a. Double tapping) targets at close range.

 

Urban Operations. We were trained on the proper techniques of breeching and clearing a room. It was super fun. It’s a lot like what you see SWAT teams and military personnel do on TV when they kick in the door and rush into the room. I was usually the door-kicker. It seemed complicated at first, because there is a lot that happens in a really short period of time, but as long as each team member understood their objective and performed it, it was actually pretty smooth and easy.

 

Field Training. We had three different field trianing events – the last one being 5 days long. At the last one, we got to execute a lot of the different things we had learned and work as a squad. My squad was great and we worked well together. We did drills that tested our ability to react to contact, react to snipers, identify IEDs, break contact, search and clear areas, and even treat/rescue injured friendly forces.

 

OCS is going well so far! It’s very competitive. We’re all ranked on a points scale, and the points count towards two things:

1. Branching. All of the Active Duty people are competing for their desired officer branches. As a National Guard member, I already have my branch, so this doesn’t matter to me.

2. Class standings. The top 20% will be considered Honor Graduates. This is what I’m shooting for.

We get scored on physical events, tests, leadership and field activities. So far, the physical events have been a huge factor in separating the top OCs. I’ve never been happier to be a runner. Seriously, if anyone out there is thinking about OCS, start running now. There isn’t much training time here to really improve run times. Our timed 3, 4, and 5 mile runs are in the first 5 weeks. When you’re with a bunch of smart people and they’re scoring 100s on their tests, your running can really give you a bump to the top of the class standings.

 

OCS comes with much more freedom than BCT. I’ve been off-post once for a volunteer event, and I’ve gotten to go to the gym on post – which contains a pool (YES! SWIMMING!), a rock wall, a few spin bikes, and the usual gym equipment. I’ll have to track down a few good spinning workouts… I’d be lying if I told you I hadn’t spend time on craigslist looking for a cheap bike to buy… but having to go everywhere with a battle buddy makes adventures like that seem unlikely.

 

So, what’s on the horizion?

 

First of all, kicking butt at OCS. LOTS of studying, additional running/exercise when my training allows – phsyically as well as what permissions I’m allowed through my cadre.

 

Second, working out a rough plan. I’ve got one school left after OCS, and I’m trying to work a tri schedule around drill weekends and school. I’m also still on contract with my job – and that is up in September. So, there’s a lot to consider, many different plans to be formed, and probably a large number of decisions to be made.

 

Third, get my butt back to Tucson and jump in with both feet – socially, with training, and with life in general. Things have been so restricted for me since January, and will continue to be through June. I’m itching to get back to the freedoms associated with real life, even it if means sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day again to facilitate my fun, or until some alternative can be put in place.

So, what have I missed??

Ragnar Relay Florida Keys 2013 Race Report

Well, despite every possible effort to foil my team’s start, every member of Ludicrous Speed showed up ready to run!

My first run was through the crappy section of Coral Gables. I started out way too fast because the sun still wasn’t up. The running route was through an interesting neighborhood – and because I was slightly afraid of getting lost – I ran HARD to keep up with the girl in front of me. I lost her anyway. I kept reminding myself that Carolyn (my sister, who ran that leg last year) had commented that it was through the ‘hood. So, if it was sketchy, I MUST be on the right path! I eventually found my way to the outskirts of the University of Miami campus that I knew would lead me to the end of my run. It was a great run, solid effort, and fun start to the weekend!

The second run was along a dirt path, down a road, and onto the gravel road next to a canal. I started in a light rain, which eventually let up. The humidity hit me HARD! My diaphragm was cramping because I was apparently breathing a little funny. Around mile 2 it cleared up, and I started to feel much better! I wanted the run to go on forever because the longer I ran, the better I felt.

My final run was the run I was waiting for – the Seven Mile Bridge! I ran about 2 miles before hitting the bridge. My run was slow, but really awesome. I was so happy to finally get to run this leg! I started in the dark, and the sun started peeking over the horizon when had about two miles remaining… so I got to see stars and the sunrise! The shoulder is narrow, and I was worried that passing trucks would scare me. As it turns out, the breeze left in their wake was the only relief from the warm, humid air, and I welcomed the passing of every large vehicle!

The exchanges and course support were much more strictly executed this year – I’m guessing the jump from 350 to 550 teams required it. Sometimes it was a bummer to not be allowed to stop where you wanted to, but the entire event went so smoothly that I cannot complain.

And, that’s the short version!

Ragnar Relay – Pre Race

I woke Wednesday morning to a text from my mother…

“Dad and I are both sick now. Best case, we fly down and don’t run. Unless we have a miraculous recovery I think we need to consider alternative plans.”

Well, crap. That’s not exactly good news.

So, I contacted my team. I told them that we might be down two runners. Within an hour, 8 of the 10 remaining teammates responded and offered to pick up some extra mileage! Plus, my brother, who is volunteering instead of running, said he’d take one or two short legs.

Nothing is better than having people that love running on my team!

By Thursday, both parents were on a plane and headed to Florida.

Our pre-run travels saw a lost wallet (found with no missing contents), lost ID (recovered), running clothes left on the plane (delivered to baggage office), missing reflective vests, and most of the team rocking some sort of illness. Later, we’d lose (and find) a cell phone and van keys (but those would not be found until I climbed in a dumpster)… and we’d lose some sanity and a little dignity that would never be recovered. But, one can live without them.

Van 1 BARELY made it to the race start on time. Van 2 went to pick up a van, but Enterprise screwed us over – apparently having a reservation doesn’t guarantee a vehicle. Avis rescued us, and Van 2 made it just in time to meet us at Exchange 6.

It’s a freaking miracle that all of that resulted in a near-flawless execution of a 197 mile relay race…

2012 in photos

January:

Entire family at the Florida Keys Ragnar Relay

Post-first-ever-marathon. 4:22.

February:

Dry Tortugas trip

March:

The move to AZ with Duke!

April:

Discovering awesome trail running in Tucson

May:

At the top of Mt Lemmon with the Fuji

June:

At Rev3 Quassy!

I enlisted!

July:

New rides, new friends, new adventures.

August:

Rev3 Maine

Ireland!

September:

My first Xterra

October:

Alburquerque Balloon Festival

Channeling Wonder Woman

November:

In VT with the family

December:

Snowboarding Tucson!

When I turn Type A…

This only happens a few times a year, if that.

My Type A take-over for the past few years has been the Florida Keys Ragnar Relay. For the first two years my family did it, I lived in Florida. This year, Ive still planned the entire event without being local. Airport pick-ups, rental vans, hotels, airport drop offs, and general logistics are up to me. I dont mind, really, as long as my team doesnt mind getting a 3 page spreadsheet including the budget, approximate run times based on pace, and airline arrivals and departures. I LOVE that when race weekend rolls around, everything is set and ready for execution.

Ive even gone all Type A while packing for certain events, like the time I climbed Kilimanjaro.

Now, I ship to Basic Combat Training and Officer Candidate School in one month. Ive found a variety of packing lists, and gotten conflicting verbal advice about what to bring from nearly every person Ive talked to. For Basic, heres a list from the Army, heres one from the National Guard, and heres yet another from the Army. Theyre all similar, but different. Knowing that the second I step into training, my bag will be dumped on the floor and the contents rooted through, Im a little stressed. Do I bring my running shoes? Do I bring 6 pairs of socks or 1? Shoe polish? I was told by a soldier who just came back from Basic to not worry about anything but the paperwork and a change of clothes and I can (and will be forced to) buy the rest there, including running shoes. A different soldier who also just returned said that his platoon was allowed use the running shoes they brought from home. But, the resounding advice is to pack as little as possible, because youll be issued/forced to purchase so much stuff.

Right after Basic, I head to OCS, which has a pretty extreme packing list. Lucky for me, my boyfriend will be coming to my BCT graduation and will be able to bring things Im leaving at home, like my cell phone and my laptop and a few other items like 3 pairs of non-uniform dress pants and shirts. But, as for the rest of the list, what will I be issued at BCT? Will that cover my OCS packing list? Will it be too much?

My packing list of BCT and the list of things Ill pack and leave for Patrick to bring between BCT and OCS are works in progress. I will post here what I end up bringing.

As far as phones go, Ive suspended my smartphone account with AT&T for the duration of BCT. No sense in paying for data while Im away. I ordered a phone from PlatunimTel, which will be loaded with $30 in credits. At $0.05/minute for talk, and $0.02 for text, it should be more than enough for the small amount that Ill see my phone in those 10 weeks. Plus, the total cost (phone + sim + minutes) is less than the cost of a month of my AT&T plan. Well worth it. If/when I get to use it, Im hoping that the no smartphone/no camera/no touchscreen/no data allow my battery to last quite a bit longer as well.

My focus right now: Paperwork. I want to make sure I personally have 5 copies of all required documents. The last thing I want is to show up prepared to go, and find out that they are missing a copy of my High School Diploma

Guard Update – I have a job!

After what seems like a lifetime of waiting – which was really only three weeks – I’ve been assigned my branch. I’ll be joining the Army Corps of Engineers.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to those of you that know I AM an engineer. But, to those of you who were aware of my preference list, you might notice that I got choice 4/5.

So, why was Engineering 4th on my list?

Simple. I had a meeting with a great Chief Warrant Officer who helps place Officers in the AZ Guard. He informed me that Engineering doesn’t offer leadership opportunities that are available in some other branches, thus making it potentially harder for promotion. So, I kept it on my list, but ranked it lower.

Am I happy?

While I’m not looking forward to 20 weeks at Fort Leonard Wood – which is about 140 miles southwest of St Louis, MO – that’s about the only part I’m NOT excited about.

I think I’m going to love it. My recent jobs as an engineer have left much to be desired, and I think this will help me to fall back in love with engineering, and get a better idea of what I’d like to be doing on a daily basis.

I won’t be going for quite some time. I will be commissioned at the end of Officer Candidate School, and will report to my unit in Florence, AZ in July. When I arrive there, we’ll be scheduling my BOLC – Basic Officer Leadership Course. Judging by current enrollment, I doubt I’ll be headed there in 2013.

BOLC is also a lot more like a job than like Basic. I won’t live in the Barracks, and I’ll get to go “home” at night and on the weekends – unless training is scheduled. I also get to bring some stuff with me (read: bicycle). Anyway, I will cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, the focus is on showing up at Basic healthy and prepared!

Buying thoughtful gifts for athletes:

The newbie runner:

-Race entries. Try to stick within their current fitness level, and make it something that they’ll be able to train for properly. Or, better yet, pick a race you can run together!

-Nice socks. When I started running, I thought spending more than about $3 on a pair of socks was silly. As the miles increased, I realized the importance of dry, comfortable, chafe-free feet. Worth every penny!

-Membership to a local running club

The newbie triathlete:

-Entry to a Rev3 Race – they made it super easy –just click here!

-Bike jersey featuring their favorite sports team / university / beer / state / anything they love.

-Yankz, Lock Laces, or other elastic shoelace

-Starter flat kit, multi-tool, spare tubes, or even a gift certificate to a basic bike maintenance clinic at a local bike shop

-Membership to a local triathlon club – I know that my yearly membership with Tucson Tri Girls has paid off big time in the form of events, clinics, raffles, training partners, and camaraderie.

The experienced triathlete:

-Entry to a Rev3 Race! Maybe for a tough course like Quassy, a new distance, or a fun long weekend trip!

-TriSwim products, including TriSlide! TriSlide is a great lube for those long workouts – and it’s more hygienic than rubbing the same stick of lube in your crotch, between your toes and under your arms. Really. TriSwim helps restore skin and hair after swimming.

-Sweatproof/Waterproof headphones, if they like to work out with music – or even a waterproof mp3 player! I use X-1’s Interval for swimming and running. It was nice to stop at showers along the beach and stick my head underneath to cool off without worrying about my iPod.

-Computer-based cycling programs for the bike trainer. I like TurboCrank – which is great for when I want to get engrossed in a movie – and Sufferfest or Spinervals – for when I want to feel more involved in the cycling workout.

-USAT, USAC or USMS Membership – depending on what they’re into this season.

The triathlete who’s going long next season:

-Nutrition! Find out their favorite by asking what they like to train with, or check out what will be offered on course at their next big event, and go with that.

-Sunscreen – the nice stuff – like Kinesys or Bullfrog

-Trial sized containers of Chamois Butt’r to stash in their saddle bag for those long rides.

The athlete who has everything:

-Sporthooks – especially if you’ve never seen their medals proudly on display

-Tri Bling – super awesome jewelry that’s subtle enough to not be ridiculous

-Gift cards for gear – TriSports, TheClymb and your local cycling or running stores are great places to start.

-Music or Audiobooks – Amazon, iTunes, Audible subscription, Pandora subscription…

-A weekend training session! It doesn’t have to be anything huge – maybe paid campground fees, mapped bike routes and trail runs, and a load of healthy food for the weekend. Or, plan something where they can ride the course for their big race this year!

…now, what did I miss? What would you add?

-From James: Race photos!

Riding the high…

I’m hoping I can ride the high of the last two weekends right through the week…

Last weekend was Superfrog – which became a 1.2 mile swim instead of a 70.3 mile race for me.

It was Chrissy’s first 70.3, and she ROCKED it!

I had an absolute blast on the swim – 6 foot waves and all! It was also a beautiful weekend just to be in a city I love.

The photo below is a GREAT shot of the waves from Slowtwitch photographer Timothy Carlson.

The following weekend was spent visiting friends in Albuquerque. I had a goal of learning how to spell Albuquerque before going there, and I’m happy to say that I nailed it!

We got into town around 2am on Saturday, and by noon, we were drinking at the beer festival! I snagged the rarest image – one of my boyfriend and I where we both actually look good. Maybe an afternoon of drinking is the optimum condition for us to be photogenic.

Our friend Mike came along, too. We were super excited to see big trees! Yes, trees. We don’t have many deciduous trees in Tucson, and we love trees. And beer.

We wrapped up our trip to the beer fest, headed to dinner, then out to a brewery. While getting ready to head out into the chilly air (at 5000+ feet, it’s much cooler there than in Tucson), Mija and I realized we had nearly matching Patagonia jackets. A photo shoot ensued.

4am came early, and we were awake again, and headed to the balloon festival! We were there in time for Dawn Patrols and the first launches.

The sun came up, and more and more balloons took off!

We hung around until 9 or 10am, and grabbed breakfast and naps before heading back to Tucson. Of course, no trip through the vast, empty desert with two engineers is complete without a stop at the aptly named Very Large Array… basically there are a bunch of these:

The Very Large Array, one of the world’s premier astronomical radio observatories, consists of 27 radio antennas (picture above) in a Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Agustin fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. Each antenna is 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter (yes, about the length of a swimming pool across the dish!!). The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the resolution of an antenna 36km (22 miles) across, with the sensitivity of a dish 130 meters (422 feet) in diameter. (adapted from
https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/vla
)

It was in A configuration when we saw it (there are A, B, C, and D). This means that each of the three arms stretched 13 miles from the center. Yup! A run from the center dish, around the 9dishes in that arm, and back, would be a marathon. Crazy.

This coming weekend, I work on Saturday (boo!), but Sunday is Tinfoilman! It’s a local sprint tri at the University of Arizona pool. I’ve got a few friends and a coaching client doing this as their FIRST tri, and I’m super-excited!!! Me? I’ll be trying to run Chrissy down after she beats me off the bike

Happy Training!

Tucson TriGirls -Tri Camp!

Last week, I decided to head over to Tucson Natural Medicine Center for an acupuncture treatment. TNMC is a Tucson Tri Girls sponsor, and I had won a free appointment. What better way to address my pain than give this a try? Especially because Jeremy Breach, who would be doing the treatment, came to a Tri Girls meeting to talk and he said that acupuncture is the best remedy for plantar fasciitis.

The treatment went really well, and I’ve had very little issues with my plantar fascia and tight calf since then. In fact, they also treated my right IT band – an ongoing issue for me – and it loosened it up to probably the best it has been in nearly two years. Awesome!

With the plantar fascia pain gone – which I suspected was a symptom of the real issue, not the issue itself – things have gotten interesting.

My knee has been swollen EVERY DAY. It’s not really causing me pain, but it has been incredibly stiff in the morning. I didn’t notice it at first because the pain was elsewhere, but now it is hard to miss. It almost feels like it did when I tore my meniscus in my right knee in college.

So, I’m headed back to the acupuncturist this week for a follow up, and I’ll talk to him about the next steps – which will likely be an MRI. Thankfully, I’m off of the cut-rate insurance plan that is impractical to use unless I’m dying, and I’ve got decent insurance through the Army National Guard.

Moving on…

On Saturday, I attended my first ever Tri Camp, put on by the amazing Tucson Tri Girls.

First up, we were in the pool at the University of Arizona Rec Center. We had a great swim practice put together by Kim Kovasala, and swim videotaping by Allan Phillips of Pike Athletics. Want to see me swim in my sweet Rev3 Shimmer Suit? Check it out here! Unfortunately, my knee had its own ideas of how the day should go, and if I cranked up my kick at all, it started to hurt. And flip turns with a deep bend in the knee were quite uncomfortable.

Up next was Running Drills with Tia Accetta. The knee cooperated through all kinds of fun drills. We learned a lot of things that will hopefully help to keep me free from injury once I get past this bump in the road!

Then it was back to the conference room for a bike maintenance seminar – it basically covered how to get yourself home in the event of a flat, a broken spoke, or another minor mechanical problem. It was super awesome, because people who hadn’t changed tubes before got hands-on experience under the supervision Ralph from Fairwheel Bikes.

We took a break for lunch and to watch swim videos. Allen said my stroke was “obviously good”. Haha. That was nice to hear!!

We were off to O2 Modern Fitness for an afternoon of workouts, education and FUN! I listened to Sergio talk about strength conditioning – and it was pretty eye opening. Basically, when people started associating body-building and weight-training with strength conditioning, things got out of hand! He taught us a few basic moves to get us ready to tackle the kind of conditioning that would be beneficial to triathletes.

Mike did an excellent Cycling Intervals class – he actually translated a swim workout to a bike workout. He broke it down into sets of 400’s, where each 100 translated to a minute of hard interval. It was so cool to see a workout translate from one sport to another, and definitely something I’ll have to try!

After that, I opted for a cycling gadgets talk. It was interesting to sort through all of the things you might read about speed/performance gains and hear it from someone who is fairly unbiased.

Finally, I hit up Sergio’s TRX and joint mobility class. We learned some moves that really work the joints, so that your body keeps them nice and lubed up.

It was a most excellent Saturday, topped off with an AMAZING dinner at one of the best places in Tucson!

Peak week? More like peak WEAK!

While Chrissy is crushing her final big workouts before Superfrog, I’m barely hitting half of my training volume and sleeping in one of these bad boys at night:

Sexy…

I thought I just tweaked my leg running at Xterra, but after a few days, it wasn’t getting better. The arch of my foot, the top of my calf, and my knee were all unhappy. Patrick poked my arch where his used to hurt while he battled plantar fasciitis early this year, and I nearly kicked him in the face because it hurt so bad.

So, I rested. Ok, I “rested”. I ran on Tuesday, and realized that running didn’t help. I swam on Wednesday, and realized that it was uncomfortable (though I did end up pulling 1000 meters to compensate). I biked on Thursday – easy – and still felt tight and generally uncomfortable.

Instead of peaking my run mileage this week – I ended up with a few days of light exercise, and a few days off.

This weekend was a drill weekend. The nice thing about it was rather than sit around and feel sorry for myself – I spent Saturday sitting around in training sessions all day.

Sunday was our PT test – and I ran the mile basically pain free. I posted my slowest time to date, but only by about 20 seconds and I wasn’t pushing myself. I was still over three minutes below the standard I need to meet to ship to Basic. After PT, we got to head to the Combatives class! We learned a few holds, a few ways to get out of them, a few arm bars, and a few choke-out moves. After practicing with a partner for a while, we split the room in half and had an all-out melee. It was awesome! I went for a girl that I knew would be a solid match for me, and after a struggle, I tapped out.

The REALLY nice thing about Combatives? LOTS of good, solid exercise – and ZERO time on my feet. I was very thankful for a few hours full of working out. I’m sore today in muscle groups I don’t usually use. My foot got an extra day of rest. I’m happy. Next drill weekend is Land Navigation. Sweet!

While Superfrog isn’t shaping up to be the race I wanted, it’s still going to be fun. The focus has shifted from sub-6 to starting/finishing healthy and mostly un-injured. I’m surprisingly ok with that. I had an absolutely amazing race at Rev3 Maine, and if that’s the best race of my season – so be it.

I’m testing the foot/calf/knee with a run today at Meet Me at Maynard’s. I will not be a hero. I will walk it in if I start to feel pain.

I’m 90% sure that I’m going for a relay at Rev3 Florida. Who wants to run or bike? I want to SWIM!

After that, focus will shift to running and strength training, so I show up for Basic ready to go!

What is your favorite strength training program or approach? Crossfit? Kettlebells? Weightlifting? TRX? A mix?