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!

Quick! What were the first words you spoke this morning?

On a typical day I probably wouldn’t remember - but here in Baghdad, what's typical? I realized yesterday that relative to the past couple of weeks the recent few mornings were quiet; quiet as in no thundering booms. To clarify most mornings seem to start with a couple of mortars, rockets VBIEDs or some thing going bump in the dawn. Part of the reason for the sleep deprivation I often allude to. This morning was starting out the same. I was in a semi-conscious state, beginning to wake on my own, when there was a sudden rumbling BOOM that shook the hooch. This was across the river but it was big and closer than usual. "Son-Of-A-Bitch!" These are my actual first words of the day. Spoken more in a frustrated annoyance than fear; actually – I was only startled because I was so abruptly awoken but other than that I was just frustrated with having my peaceful sleep disturbed by such non-sense. This was the beginning of an interesting day. We lost power for the first time during my stay here. By itself it's no big deal but the best part was Mr. BUA was in the middle of a haircut when the outage happened. You can imagine the humor in a half shaved head. What's even funnier is the grief he got from the barber when he returned for the second half of his head. "You've already been here today." The barber exclaimed, "Yeah – but I'd sort of like the rest of my haircut if that’s OK with you…" For me I enjoyed the half hour conversation I had with Mr. BUA and his half-shaved head. So as I say what's typical here in Baghdad?

Happy Valentines Day from Iraq

I've never been much for Valentine's Day… to commercial for me. But this year being so far from home I decided it was a good idea to send flowers to loved ones: Mother, Sister, Girlfriend(of course). It just seemed the right thing to do. And yesterday as I watched a report on CNN of a shop in Iraq selling red and white flowers, balloons, and gifts with the words Happy Valentine's Eid I thought... Hell - if it's good enough for them, then, it's good enough for me. With a name like Breedlove you know I have lots of love to share, so to all my friends, family, SL, Zetty, Pseudo GF, YeeJ, Mommy-PuppyNoses, Tiffy-pop, Amanda, Nancy, Kim, Capt KJ, Sue, Maris, BrendaG and every other lady in my life… Will Ya'll be my Valentines? ;-)

Happy Valentines Y'all! – May you be blessed with Love!

And it's the Calvary to the rescue…

Today I got some help. No - not the sort of psych help many of you think I need, although I may be a candidate. I have a new team mate. I am tasked with standing up a new branch for our division and for the past couple of weeks; it's been my Senior Officer, me, myself, and I. Today we became three. Together she and I set the priorities of our agenda. First order of business? Which day are we going to rotate taking off? (My new team mate is a one non-military contractor type. This is what she brings to the team.) See, my priorities are obviously in check I don’t need psych treatment. I guess she and others just think I need R&R.

Everyone keeps asking me "how's my morale?", or "when did I last sleep?", or "Wow! Do you always just look like crap?" hmmm… starting to get the subtle idea that perhaps I look a little worn. Funny thing is, ever since I received the tasked to build something (standing up a new branch) I've actually been internally energized – Mr. CRM has marching orders. (Joe you know the look.) I may look bleary eyed, out of sorts, and somewhat disheveled but I have a goal. Besides out here looks are overrated anyway. Maybe I've gotten used to going long intervals with little or no sleep or maybe I've finally returned to my old familiar insomniac stride. And maybe still I just got tired of looking at the days on my calendar going by WAY to slowly. Whatever it is I'm coming to terms with where I am and what I'm doing. (I'm also sure my battle buddies will inform me its week x and I'm still tracking to some type of predictable mental/physical pattern.) Regardless, it's great to have the additional energy of someone else (esp. a non-military profiteering type I can really identify with) to share the triumphs and pitfalls of planning and development. Wonder how long it will take before people start asking her "How's your morale?", "When did you last sleep?" "What's it like working with Hollywood?" etc…

Sometimes the simplest things make the biggest impact…

One of the most anticipated moments of the day is mail call. It’s great to receive letters or packages from home, especially when it's something you need and are expecting. It's even better when you're surprised by a huge package full of things you weren’t expecting at all and didn’t know you needed. Today I received just that sort of gift. Well - sort of - More like the entire office received this sort of gift. You see today the US Mail delivered a large extremely damaged box of gear from my co-workers at Warner Bros. (my civilian life) I'm not entirely sure all the contents made it to our destination since all four corners were ripped apart but enough made it to make a real difference. To be sure there was something I requested; a DVD player that plays Region 1 DVDs. What I didn’t anticipate was all the marketing swag and something even more special. (I'll get to that in a sec).
The swag (T-shirts, Caps, bobble heads, DVDs) was a tremendous hit with all my battle buddies. For a few minutes, morale in the office lifted as I passed out the goods. They forgot about the crap of the day and reminisced on films they saw or characters they love. For a short time the glitter of Hollywood sparkled here in Baghdad. For this I say THANK YOU! You even managed to get Mr. Serious Big Guy Airborne Infantry to smile and laugh just a bit - Hooah! (Trust me this is no trivial task) They love it ALL. And the DVDs? The best way to share with everyone is to open a small library so the folks here can get a little morale call in their hooch. My lesson for the day is how important our job back home is for the folks out here. Entertainment takes us away from this place even, if it's just for a couple of minutes or a couple of hours. Entertainment is VITAL! We Needed This! Never forget your contribution to members of the US Services.

Something more special - Along with all the swag, was a great surprise; something far more important to me. I received a bag full of little signed valentines, pictures and drawings from all my co-workers – correction - my extended family, my girlfriend and close friend Zetty. Now the regular letters I received from my sweet-heart and Zetty over the past couple of months mean a lot to me and they brighten my day. This is expected. This little bag of sweet nothings managed to choke me up. This was totally unexpected. Not only was it a subtle reminder of why I'm here but these simplest of things took me back to a life and home before Baghdad. It brought me, if only for a few minutes, close to all the folks who mean so much to me. I Needed This! Thank you is not enough - For this I truly have no words…