Running is life…

A couple of years ago I received a post card in the mail advertising the San Francisco Marathon… err Actually my old housemate Mommy Puppy Noses received a postcard in the mail… regardless it was one of those challenges in life I had yet to accomplish so as unceremoniously as that, I decided right there and then to run a marathon. (I suppose mail marketing does work.) It didn’t matter that I hated to run. There was a mountain and I was going to climb it. Literally - I didn’t really consider all the hills in San Francisco… (Well that’s another story) I needed to stay in shape for the Navy anyway so what the hell "San Francisco here I come." I completed that marathon and followed it up with a couple others. And what I took away from the many experiences is that the best way to see a city is by running through it. So the next challenge for me? I decided long before I made Boots on the Ground here I was going to run one of those mysterious Marathons I heard took place here in Iraq…

I woke up early this morning and went for a run… The AT&T Austin Marathon sponsored here in the IZ to be exact. Due to lack of time and free open and secured space I haven’t been conditioning for Marathons the way I do at home with long weekend runs. Instead I just weight lift and run on treadmills and (gasp) the elliptical (Yes Joe M I said the elliptical machine… this is what I have; this is what I use.) I had no real expectations for the run and I only wanted to finish and have the opportunity to see more of the IZ.

Now before every race I've run, the announcer gives the typical warnings for "stay hydrated," "Use your aid stations," "There will be water every 2.5 miles", "Don’t over exert", etc. But this is Baghdad. Of course it's gonna be different. Here we get "Be aware of indirect fire, Be especially aware of Direct Fire! – get small, get out of the way and find cover. Be aware of Kidnapping – Remember if in the event of an attempted kidnapping React, Resist at all cost, Run-away, Fight like hell! Oh and don’t forget we will have a couple of water stations but no aid stations so stay hydrated and don’t get hurt!" All I hear in my minds eye are those immortal words of Scooby Doo - "RUT ROH Shaggy!" What have I gotten myself into… Correction… My hooch mate Dave standing beside me says "Damn-it Hollywood, What have you gotten us into?" Did I mention I convinced him this was a good idea? Dave is great at the 5k runs but never ran more than 6 miles in one setting in his life. "No worries bro… This will be a great adventure." He gives me a look. On the first mile Dave wanted to run fast with the 5 mile “Bombs over Baghdad” runners but I heeled him back, knowing full and well he will need all that energy later on. We run past the notorious 215 Apartments and the new US Embassy under construction. We have to watch our footing from the pot-holes, rocket craters, mud, muck, the oncoming traffic (they didn’t stop traffic for us) and all the other hazards of a city in a combat zone. Next come Villas that have been turned into compounds complete with humming generators churning out electricity out on the sidewalks. Electricity and the power grid is something we in the states take for granted; However when they say Baghdad only gets 6 hours of power a day its sort of a misnomer. Everyone here supplies their own power. There's actually something liberating about that; living off the grid. I digress…

"Wow – That building is messed UP!" the hole of the JDAM is visible on top of the rest of the heap that was once an Administrative office. Later we run down the IZ section of what becomes Route Irish then back through the Crossed Swords. I avoid stepping on the helmets of the Iranian soldiers placed as speed bumps under the Sword entry; a tribute to the brutality of the Iraq-Iran war and a dishonor to the Iranian soldiers who died during that conflict. During the parade grounds I start to get my runners high – Dave starts to BONK! I motivate him as we pass the Tomb of the Unknown. I'm feeling really good and I want to run but I can't leave him behind. We still have some neighborhoods to go through. Turns out this may have been my best run ever. Not so for Dave. But I refused to leave him behind. The one lesson I've learned out here there is no room for self… Life in a combat zone is about the team. Like everything else out here I realize this race isn’t about me… It's about me and the trooper next to me; me and my shipmate. I don’t get my best time but I do get Dave across the finish a little worse for ware. And I'm OK with that. We finished a Marathon in a combat zone. Beside us few band of "crazy" brothers how many other folks can say that.

Post run note: I got the rest of the day off. I can say that run made me feel more human than I have felt in months. I am eager for another opportunity to run. Dave on the other hand… He is nursing the legs with "AspeCreme" and Ben-Gay! Welcome to marathons Bro!