Many of you know that since I've returned to Kuwait, I have become a fitness instructor. Spin class (see http://www.spinning.com/) has been a great source of exercise for me three nights a week since April last year, and in November I was asked to lead the Saturday evening class.
For the uninitiated, spinning in and of itself sounds dull, maybe even a little effeminate. I was once in that camp, until I tried it -- then I got instantly hooked. It's an hour (or so) of intense cardio exercise, using the tension knob on the cycle machines to simulate sprints or hills, coupled with standing and sitting for various degrees of difficulty.
As with most instructor-led cardio classes, music is of utmost importance. Some use typical aerobics-caliber songs, while others pick what they like. Our main instructor here uses a lot of R&B, soul, and rap -- baby-makin' music, or as one fellow spinner puts it, "makin' love by the fire music." I prefer straight-up, fast-beat rock, and am always looking for new and obscure stuff. For my playlists, I pick stuff that I like and let the music kind of lead me.
For instance, one playlist I use has nothing but 80's remakes. Some of the songs are remixes (honest-to-goodness remakes are hard to come by, even on iTunes), but there is some pretty good stuff out there. I included "I Love Rock n' Roll" by Britney Spears, "It's My Life" by No Doubt, and "Holy Diver" by Killswitch Engage -- that one was given to me by my older son, so you can figure out how hard it is. This week's list is all genuine 80's songs, and I'm working on one playlist using nothing but Foo Fighters songs.
My personal training invovles running before and after spin class. I'm up to a total of 5.25 miles in less than 40 mintues. I usually run only on the treadmill, to save my knees, and I do 2 miles fast before spinning, then the rest after.
I've found that I get a huge rush out of leading the classes. It kind of reminds me of when I used to be a commander and I could lead the company on 4-mile runs on Fridays, setting the pace up front with my guidon-bearer right behind me. My first sergeant used to make me slow down for the weaker runners, but every once in a while I'd take off and see how I could challenge the stronger ones. Leading spin class, I set the pace -- but I don't have to slow down.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Another one of those days you never forget
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fulda, Germany -- almost exactly 15 years ago, when I was but a young pup in this man's Army, I sat outside the office of my Regimental Commander, Colonel William Wallace. I was about to meet with destiny; I was asking Col. Wallace for a letter of recommendation for the Army's Officer Candidate School.
I was nervous, and my Captain didn't help much. He was a helicopter pilot (UH-60's), and had been enlisted and a warrant officer before going to OCS himself. As we were waiting to see the Colonel, I asked him which was worse -- Basic Training, Warrant Officer Candidate School, or OCS? He said OCS was far worse, because boot camp and WOCS had rules, things the drill instructors couldn't do to you; OCS didn't have those kind of rules. He didn't elaborate, but it sure made me wonder why I wanted to become an officer.
The interview, what I remember of it, was short. Col. Wallace already knew me from the chapel service Lori and I attended, and I had once briefed him on the Electronic Warfare system I operated. What I remember most about that day was my euphoria as I floated across Downs Barracks with a signed recommendation letter in my hand.
I was elated because for the first time in my short career, someone recognized potential in me as a soldier. Up to that point in my life, it was my greatest professional accomplishment. I attended and completed OCS some four years later, and the rest is history.
Today, I ate breakfast with now General William Wallace (that's 4 stars). I've known for several days he was coming, made sure I knew his itinerary, and cleared my surprise visit with my boss. (They don't let just anybody show up to talk to Generals, you know.) He shook my hand before we sat down, then the Colonels all entertained him with diatribes about our world of Information Technology. I thought I saw some flashes of recognition in his eyes -- so I patiently waited to get a word in edgewise, and when he got up to go out, I finally introduced myself as someone who worked for him in Fulda.
He put his arm around my shoulder and told me he thought he recognized me, then asked a few genuine questions about what I do now. When I reminded him that he gave me the letter, he smiled and said, "I did? How'd that work out for ya?" (I was in uniform!) With his entourage in tow we strolled outside the chow hall and chatted about Fulda for a minute, then he was off to his next briefing. As I saluted, I told him it was good to see him again.
Last night, I related to Lori how during my one-year tour to Korea in 2001, my Brigade chaplain was the same man who was my Squadron chaplain all those years ago in Germany. One day at Camp Hovey, I was getting on a shuttle bus and there sat Chaplain Ahl and his wife, who had come to visit him. She immediately recognized me, and even remembered Lori and the boys -- even though we had had no contact for 9 years.
It's good to know that people remember.
I was nervous, and my Captain didn't help much. He was a helicopter pilot (UH-60's), and had been enlisted and a warrant officer before going to OCS himself. As we were waiting to see the Colonel, I asked him which was worse -- Basic Training, Warrant Officer Candidate School, or OCS? He said OCS was far worse, because boot camp and WOCS had rules, things the drill instructors couldn't do to you; OCS didn't have those kind of rules. He didn't elaborate, but it sure made me wonder why I wanted to become an officer.
The interview, what I remember of it, was short. Col. Wallace already knew me from the chapel service Lori and I attended, and I had once briefed him on the Electronic Warfare system I operated. What I remember most about that day was my euphoria as I floated across Downs Barracks with a signed recommendation letter in my hand.
I was elated because for the first time in my short career, someone recognized potential in me as a soldier. Up to that point in my life, it was my greatest professional accomplishment. I attended and completed OCS some four years later, and the rest is history.
Today, I ate breakfast with now General William Wallace (that's 4 stars). I've known for several days he was coming, made sure I knew his itinerary, and cleared my surprise visit with my boss. (They don't let just anybody show up to talk to Generals, you know.) He shook my hand before we sat down, then the Colonels all entertained him with diatribes about our world of Information Technology. I thought I saw some flashes of recognition in his eyes -- so I patiently waited to get a word in edgewise, and when he got up to go out, I finally introduced myself as someone who worked for him in Fulda.
He put his arm around my shoulder and told me he thought he recognized me, then asked a few genuine questions about what I do now. When I reminded him that he gave me the letter, he smiled and said, "I did? How'd that work out for ya?" (I was in uniform!) With his entourage in tow we strolled outside the chow hall and chatted about Fulda for a minute, then he was off to his next briefing. As I saluted, I told him it was good to see him again.
Last night, I related to Lori how during my one-year tour to Korea in 2001, my Brigade chaplain was the same man who was my Squadron chaplain all those years ago in Germany. One day at Camp Hovey, I was getting on a shuttle bus and there sat Chaplain Ahl and his wife, who had come to visit him. She immediately recognized me, and even remembered Lori and the boys -- even though we had had no contact for 9 years.
It's good to know that people remember.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Back in the Saddle
Now that I'm back into a manageable routine in Kuwait, my blog will be here from now on...can't really stand MySpace anymore, and I can access this page at work. [grin]
I haven't posted anything in quite a while...I've been busy, OK?
First, I had a wonderful vacation at home with Lori and the kids. 20 days went by way too quickly, of course, but I did get to spend a lot of quality time with them, see a few friends, and accomplish most of my honey-do list.
After returning to Kuwait in early January, I was sent to Qatar for a few days, then Bahrain for a week. Both trips were fabulous, and now I can say I've been there, done that, got the T-shirts (no, really). I won't go into too many details, but I will say that while Qatar imposes a 3-drink limit, Bahrain does not. We stayed in a 5-star hotel in Bahrain, ate like kings, and I celebrated my birthday there.
Speaking of saddles, January also brought my debut as the Saturday night cycling class instructor at Camp Arifjan. More on that later, but I must take the time here to complain that our pool is now closed for renovations, so my triathlon training is somewhat curtailed for the next several weeks. I was so mad that on Sunday, the last day the pool was open, I went and swam 4600 yards. That'll show 'em!
Lori and the kids are fine at home. Christian is preparing to swim in the Oklahoma State championships next weekend, in the 100-fly, 100-back, and 4 x 100 free relay. He's ranked in the top 10 in the 100-fly, so we're excited for him! He recently won all three events at the Conference chamionships as well. Dallas is getting ready for high school graduation, and our little Abbi is playing basketball.
I posted some recent pics under the "some cool pics" section to the right, and will get more on there soon.
I haven't posted anything in quite a while...I've been busy, OK?
First, I had a wonderful vacation at home with Lori and the kids. 20 days went by way too quickly, of course, but I did get to spend a lot of quality time with them, see a few friends, and accomplish most of my honey-do list.
After returning to Kuwait in early January, I was sent to Qatar for a few days, then Bahrain for a week. Both trips were fabulous, and now I can say I've been there, done that, got the T-shirts (no, really). I won't go into too many details, but I will say that while Qatar imposes a 3-drink limit, Bahrain does not. We stayed in a 5-star hotel in Bahrain, ate like kings, and I celebrated my birthday there.
Speaking of saddles, January also brought my debut as the Saturday night cycling class instructor at Camp Arifjan. More on that later, but I must take the time here to complain that our pool is now closed for renovations, so my triathlon training is somewhat curtailed for the next several weeks. I was so mad that on Sunday, the last day the pool was open, I went and swam 4600 yards. That'll show 'em!
Lori and the kids are fine at home. Christian is preparing to swim in the Oklahoma State championships next weekend, in the 100-fly, 100-back, and 4 x 100 free relay. He's ranked in the top 10 in the 100-fly, so we're excited for him! He recently won all three events at the Conference chamionships as well. Dallas is getting ready for high school graduation, and our little Abbi is playing basketball.
I posted some recent pics under the "some cool pics" section to the right, and will get more on there soon.
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