Thursday, November 16, 2006

Achilles Tendonitis

Last week going into this week I was rather stupid and bumped up my running mileage too fast.  I ran 27 miles in four consecutive days starting Tuesday, with 12 of those miles occurring on Friday (in 2-3 runs that day), and then only taking one day off before running 6 more miles on Sunday. This past Monday I didn’t run, but that evening my right Achilles tendon started to hurt a bit.  I tried to ignore it and went for a 4.75 mile run Tuesday evening hoping that the pain would go away.  Although that may sound stupid, a few weeks ago (around the PT test time) my right hip was hurting when I walked/ran, but after a few days of it hurting I decided to run and push through the pain.  Mid-run the pain went away and hasn’t returned since.  I was hoping that would occur with the pain in my Achilles tendon.  No such luck.  Yesterday it still hurt when I walked and so I went to the PX and bought some bengay and some cushy insoles for my boots.  I also started taking some ibuprofen and the pain eased up a bit in the afternoon.  Last night I had planned to run approximately 8 miles, broken up into 8 min run/ 1 min walk segments. I started off slow for the first segment and the pain seemed to ease up a bit after a few min.  At 8 min I stopped to stretch, making sure to pay extra attention to the Achilles tendon.  After stretching for a few min I started running again, but found the pain worse than ever before.  Each time my right heel hit the ground I felt a stabbing pain in the tendon.  After less than a min I stopped running and tried walking, but it ended up being more of a limp.  I tried slowly jogging again, but the stabbing pain returned.  In the end I sadly went to the gym and did 40 min on the bike.  The pain is still there today, so I’ll probably head over to the medical clinic to see if they have any suggestions of exercises to do to help the tendon heal. 

Monday, November 13, 2006

It Is the Soldier

It Is the Soldier

It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

Poem by Charles Michael Province, U.S. Army

 

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Sunday, November 12, 2006

Peanut Butter

I am addicted to peanut butter.  I realized this today when for dinner I sat at my desk and used a little packet of peanut butter as a dip for my 94% fat free kettle corn.  I also love to eat both fresh fruit and dried fruit with peanut butter, with one of my favorite snacks/desserts being sliced bananas on a peanut butter covered graham cracker.   I am not sure why I have developed a taste for peanut butter, because although it has always been something I’ve tolerated, I can’t recall ever having a passion for the food.  Also, it is only actual peanut butter or peanuts that I have a taste for right now, not peanut butter flavored things such as cookies. I think I shall jot it down as a weird quirk of mine, ranking right up there with my love of gravy during BEAST, especially on a piece of bread, as well as my love of a rice-tuna-cottage cheese-Texas Pete combination for dinner during crew season.  Later on I’ve gone back and tried those foods and didn’t find them nearly as appetizing.  

 

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Less Than A Month

In less than a month from now I will be sitting in my new apartment in Texas enjoying the little luxuries of life such as:  seeing my familyJ; a fully stocked grocery store right down the road; the ability to drive my Jeep when and where I want; wearing my hair down with civilian clothes, earrings, and makeup; being able to cook my own healthy meals; no rifle to carry around all the time; no wondering if the latest boom was a controlled detonation or an indirect fire strike; weekends J; a place to live that has a real kitchen, indoor flush toilet and shower with hot water; a washing machine and dryer to use when I want/need; wearing contacts again (or maybe getting laser eye surgery); being many time zones closer to my family and friends; being able to spend time with my friends while wearing civilian clothes in a setting other than the DFAC; being able to go home in the evening and get away from the military world for a bit, or at least the majority of it;  clean drinking water from the tap; the ability to have an alcoholic drink if I want to, although I still don’t like the taste of alcohol very much; no longer wondering if this week might finally be a week where we don’t go on commo blackout; the ability to use the internet without having a time limit or waiting in line; a really cool cell phone (I have one picked out already that I want to get); being able to tithe right away; bookstores; going clothes shopping; not having to wear ballistic eye protection every time I go outside; baking from scratch with both a sink and even a dishwasher nearby; and finally, being home from Iraq!!!  

 

 

Monday, November 06, 2006

It's a Boy!

Congratulations to Meghan and Anthony on the birth of their son, Gavin James, on 03 October J 

He looks very cute in the picture of him on his birth announcement.