Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon

I ran the Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon in Nashville today! Finally, after what seems like a million miles of training. 

It poured in Nashville before the race. Like, we had to hide in a car wash to get out of the rain (we were not the only people in there). The race was postponed almost a half an hour to try to avoid having runners on the course during a storm. When it came time to actually run, it wasn't raining anymore, but I was already soaked. My poor shoes and socks were soaked. My worst fear was that the weather was going to do a typical Tennessee thing and rain really hard, then the sun would come out and immediately there would be oppressive humidity. But the sun never really came out. 

Thanks for doing me a solid, Sun. I appreciate it.

I'd say the first 7 miles were pretty easy. I kept a good 9-10 minute pace. Then I decided to grab a little cup of Gatorade and eat a Poweraid energy gel packet. That was probably my worst mistake. I got a horrible cramp in my left side that I couldn't shake the entire rest of the race. It slowed me down considerably. 

But I finished the race. I finished it slower than I had wanted to, but there were more hills in Nashville than I anticipated running up. I'm a slow poke up hills. 

I can't wait to do another one! But first up, I'm going to house this Burger King and take a loooong nap on the couch with some french bulldogs. 

Spring PT Test

I took my Spring physical fitness test yesterday. 

I have always been a bit worried about my push up score. Actually, I've ALWAYS been worried about my run score, but lately its been more about the push up score. 

Let me clarify, I am NEVER worried about passing. I could pass any day of the year someone asked me to take a PT test. However, I prefer to study for any test I take. And a few weeks before the scheduled bi-annual PT test, I amp up my push up and sit up performance to make sure I am ready. I work on the run at all times. 

Even though I truly enjoy running... apparently I enjoy running slow!

So my Spring scores are as follows:

What did I just see? Was that at least a 90% in all 3 events? Are you freaking kidding me!?!? That is the first time in my entire career I've done that! 90-90-90 qualifies you for the Physical Fitness Badge. You sew it on you PT uniform. 

I was hoping for a better run time, but I burned myself out doing sit ups (and it was raining, so I love to blame the weather). My push ups were more than I expected so I was really happy with that count. 

One of my Soldiers earned his PT Badge yesterday too. We joked that we are PT Patch Buddies now. The real joke is that only douchebags wear the patch on their uniform. Sorry if I offend anyone, but seriously, you know its stupid. This patch is like a giant neon sign that screams, "EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM ME!" No thanks, I'll pass on that. 

But earning it for the first time after 10 years of service was still a nice milestone to meet. 

Too Long Run

I decided it was time for another long run in preparation for the half marathon in April. So I picked a random spot in the back 40 of Ft Campbell to run. On my way to my chosen spot, I noticed a lot of Soldiers out training. One of the 101st Brigades is in the middle of a big field problem and it is running through the weekend. I didn't think it would be a problem, but as I was running along Jordan Springs Road, LMTVs kept speeding past me. In an effort to not die, I made the command decision to find a side road and change my route.

The first side road I came to was called Hellcat Road. I'm familiar with Hellcat Road because it was a land nav boundary road for one of my many EFMB attempts. I had forgotten how hilly it was, though. And it's a dirt and gravel road. Basically, Hellcat started to kick my ass. Hellcat turned into Oriental Road. And then into Destiny Trail. I almost met my destiny on that trail because the hills only got steeper. Destiny kicked my ass. By that point I was at 6 miles at lost in the woods. 

Eventually I saw a stop sign glimmer on the horizon. Civilization at last! Or, at least, a road sign so I could try to get my bearings on where I was. Palmyra Road? I'm familiar with it but nothing looked familiar. So I kept running. Running. Running. I was tired from the all the hills I had just trudged up. After a while I came to another intersection. It was Jordan Springs Road! Now I had a better idea of my location. But I ran into the problem of the LMTVs speeding past me again. Opting out of certain death, I ducked down another side road. This one was unnamed. I should have known better. 

I ran along this dirt and gravel road until I crested a hill and saw a rather large creek in my path. I had no choice but to take my socks and shoes off and wade across to the other side. The water was super cold. As I was putting my socks and shoes back on on the other side, I was thinking about how ridiculous this all was and finally checked my Run Keeper app to see my distance. 8.5 miles. And I had no idea how far from my car I was. I started to scour the GPS map on the app: searching for my start point in relation to my current location. Eventually I was able to trace my path back to my car. Although I couldn't tell exactly how far away I was, at least I had a known route to take to get back. 

I didn't have it in me to run anymore. 8.5 miles of hills was enough for me. So I started walking. Walking. Walking. I walked past a few really old cemeteries. That was pretty neat. I kept walking down this side road (that turned out to be named Ghost Corps Trail) and a stupid LMTV still barreled past me. What crappy luck! No place is safe when 101st is in the field!

Long story short, I ran 8.5 miles of hills today, walked an additional 3 miles of hills and almost got ran over multiple times by LMTVs. Great Saturday on Fort Campbell. 

Cats and Selfies

I was pretty hung over this morning, but I managed to drag my ass out of the house to go run. 6 miles. 6 pretty slow miles. But 6 miles non the less.

While I was on the way back to my car, a cat crossed my path. Except it wasn't just any cat. It was a BIG cat. Like, a 40 lb cat. It wasn't until it registered that it didn't have a tail that I realized I had just seen a bobcat. 

The bobcat had seen me too. Once it crossed the path and was in the cover of the trees again, it stopped, sat down and looked at me. 

Do you see him?

Look closer.

So I stopped and took a picture of it. Then I took a selfie because, like the rest of my generation, I'm a narcissist. A couple of dudes crested the hill as I was taking the selfie and I got really self conscious that they caught me taking a selfie. I started running again and didn't warn them that there was a really cool cat just a few feet away. 

Bad selfie. Don't care!

That was the first bobcat I've ever seen. But not the first time I've been busted taking a selfie. 

Run Trail

I took a 4 and a half mile run through the rain this morning on a trail through Fort Campbell that I have never explored before. It was really pretty, and there were a lot of rolling hills which made the run more challenging. 

Campbell has made a lot of improvements to running trails over the last year. There are more than when I first PCS'd here. They have been blacktopped, mile marker posts placed every quarter mile, benches and picnic tables are scattered around. There are dog clean up stations where you can get baggies in case your dog poos on the route. And garbage cans so you don't have to carry poo around with you. They even put in parking lots near "start points" on the trails so you have a reasonable place to leave your vehicle. 

I saw a bunch of deer in the woods today. Most of the Campbell deer give zero shits that you are there. They know when they are on main post, no one is going to shoot them. Smart little guys. 

I wish the trails had been like this sooner. I hope Fort Wainwright has a similar trail system set up for me to utilize in weather that doesn't include feet of snow. 

32!

Earlier this month I turned 32 years old (happy birthday to me). 32 is a most glorious age for me. I entered a new age bracket on the Army Physical Fitness Test. Now that I am in the 32-36 age group, the standard to achieve 100% in all three events has dropped significantly. This means, by not improving my physical capability at all, I will score higher on the test. What's not to like about that?

I took my Fall PT test this morning.

Although I actually did 3 fewer push-ups and 3 fewer sit-ups than my last PT test in May, I scored higher. Ahh, the glory of getting older. Seriously, who wouldn't love this!?

Unfortunately, I was shooting to score at least 90% in each event. I've never done that before. I though I would this time due to my old age. But those push-ups! 88% was all I could muster this morning. 2 push-ups. 2 measly stupid push-ups and I would have scored 90%! Grrr! 

I suppose I could retake it. A more likely scenario is I will bitch about it for 6 months and then when I take the Spring PT test, I will put more effort forward to prepare myself. 

Yay, 32!

Zero Day: Air Assault

Today was my zero day at Air Assault School. I was really nervous, I'm not going to lie. I've been working towards going to this school for nearly 3 months now and only recently have successfully navigated the obstacle course. So I showed up today, trying to be as positive as possible, but also not getting my hopes up. (I know better than most from previous EFMB failures that getting your hopes up and then failing miserably feels awful.)

But things went well for me today. I somehow managed to pass the obstacle course and didn't have to go back to my unit with my head hung in shame.

I ran my fastest 2 mile run to date-- 16:34! I went up the Confidence Climb faster than I ever have before. I killed the Weaver. I even got over that damn inclined wall on my first try.

 

I had to attempt the Tough One twice, though. The first time I was too worn out to get up the rope. I had just killed the afore mentioned Weaver and I was just worn out. So I was given a few minutes rest time and then I zipped up the rope without any problems. Thank Jesus.

Today was a good day.

 

But not so much for my legs. Look at all the obstacle course trophies I have on my legs! They really took a beating today. My arms don't look so hot either, but at least most of the bruising is camouflaged by my tattoos.

I have 10 more days of Air Assault, so I've only just begun. People say zero day is the hardest day. I guess I'll be finding out soon! I hope my luck keeps holding out.

Record PT Test

I'm not redeployed yet, but I'm pretty sure PT is a safe subject to talk about.

 

I took my biannual record PT test today. I wasn't really feeling it. You know what I mean, like I wasn't concerned that I would fail, or even totally bomb an event. I just didn't feel like doing it. When I did my first sit up, I knew I wasn't going to break any world records today. I definitely didn't break any land speed records on my 2 mile run. But I scraped by on a 271.

 

 

One of these days I'd like to score 90% in my run. Someday... when I'm in the next age group and the standard drops a little.

I won't be in that next age group until I'm 32. I'm in the worst possible age group right now. All the maximum reps and run times are the highest to score 100%. For some reason the Army is convinced Soldiers are in better shape at 27-31 than at 18 years of age. I've been in the Army for 8 years, which means the Army has abused by body for 8 years. I may be 30, but the wear and tear the Army has put on my body puts me right around 36!

People say there isn't a birthday to look forward to after you turn 21-- bullshit. If you're in the Army, 32 is a pretty important birthday!

MFO Half Marathon

I did my first (and probably last) half marathon this morning. That's 13.1 miles, in case you weren't tracking. That's a looooong run. Especially since I haven't run long distance like that since being stationed at Ft Bragg-- a decade ago.

I didn't do the run to compete against the other runners. I did the run to complete the run for myself. Check it off my bucket list. It took me 2 hours and 27 minutes of continuous running. Some laps faster than others but it averaged to 11.5 minute miles. Slow. But I don't care. I completed it and didn't die....

I didn't start wanting to die until around mile 10. It started getting hot and my arches in my feet were starting to ache. My hips were getting tight. I really wanted to walk. Really really. But I didn't, mostly because I wasn't sure if I could get my legs going again. I ran the whole time.

 

I'm very proud of myself because I am not a runner. I am not built for speed-- I am built for comfort. Like a luxury sedan, not a sports car. No, no sports edition here. Cruising only.

Norwegian Foot March

Me & Tracy before we began.

This morning I woke up at 0300 to draw my weapon and have my ruck sack weighed for the Norwegian Foot March. This is an 18.6 mile foot march with a 25lb pack. Now, I know what you're thinking... "You are a huge failure when it comes to road marching, why on Earth would you want to put yourself through this?" Well, although this is a true statement, I wanted to push myself to prove I can win.

 

And I won today.

 

I completed the 18.6 miles in 4 hours and 25 minutes. This time is within the parameters set for males in my age group. All my hard work, sacrifice, and long road marches on the weekends to prepare has paid off.

 

I'm very proud of myself. And of my battle buddy, Tracy. She put in a lot of hard work and hours with me.

 

We're going so fast we're blurry!

Trekking along...

The MEDCO crew who went out for the badge.

Although I don't ever want to do 18.6 miles ever again, I am going to continue to improve my 12 mile time. All I have to say is, EFMB you better watch your back when I get home. I'm going to pass that foot march next!

 

Sausage fingers.

The foot march took its toll on my body. As does every road march. My fingers were swollen sausages by the end. I got a blister on the side of my right big toe and my hips were screaming. But I wasn't nearly as crippled as I have been in the past.

 

When I crossed the finish line, everyone was standing on the sidelines cheering. It felt amazing. I've never experienced that before... usually I collapse just before the finish line and fail. Not this time.

 

The Norwegian Foot March Badge I can wear on my ASUs now.

I earned the bronze badge. If I do the Norwegian a total of 4 times, I'd qualify for the silver badge. And a total of 6 times for the gold badge. But I'm cool with the bronze.

October PT Test

I took my biannual PT test today, and let me tell ya, I was a little concerned about what I was going to score. First off, I completed a 20k last week and was still feeling pretty sore. Second off, I've been working in the Blanchfield Army Community Hospital (BACH) for the past week and a half. I've been working a combination of day and night hours in the ER and have not had a lot of time to prep myself for this PT test.

Let me explain prep. I stay in a general state of physical readiness at all times. And just before I know a PT test will happen, I start preparing my body to be tested: I do push-ups and sit ups like a crazy person for about a week before my test. That's all it takes to condition an OK body into a PT stud's body. Well, that's all it takes me to get a 90% or above in those events. The run is always iffy and really depends on the day and weather as to how I will score there.

So let me tell you about the weather today. It was cool. About 58 degrees; which is beautiful weather to run in. But it was also raining. Cold rain: the first cold rain of the Fall. I got to the 1 mile turn around point in 8 minutes. Which is totally awesome for a 30 year old chick! I thought for sure I'd finish my 2 miles in 16:30. Until I actually turned around and realized the wind was pounding in my face and all that icy rain was accompanying it.

I was much slower than I anticipated and crossed the 2 mile finish line in 17:15. I was so bummed out because that was 12 seconds slower than my run time in April's PT test. I was so worried I was going to lose promotion points in the PT category.

So I went to the locker room super bummed out and calculated my score:

 

 

After I saw the score, and realized I scored a 272 again, even with different scores in 2 of the events, I calmed down a little. I did not lose any promotion points. That's the first thing I was concerned about. The second thing I was concerned about was attaining 90% in each event. And I totally blew that.

 

Push ups: 93%

Sit ups: 92%

2 mile Run: 87%

 

I'm taking another PT test in a few weeks to try to improve my score. I need promotion points like it's going out of style. I need to be a Staff Sergeant ASAP.

Stinky

This morning we did an 8 mile road march for PT. Road marches are notoriously not my friend. But today I managed to finish in 1 hour and 51 minutes-- which is 9 minutes faster than the Air Assault standard. So that pleased me.

I brought a bag of Skittles with me and ate a few at each mile marker. I think that little bit of sugar kept me going as fast as I was. If I can keep improving my time like this maybe someday I'll actually get that EFMB I've been seeking. Or go to Air Assault school. 12 miles is still a lot to work up to.

 

I didn't plan ahead, however, and I didn't bring a clean dry pair of boots to wear the rest of the day. I had to put sweaty smelly boots on over my clean socks. I'm sitting in my car right now, and I can smell my boots. If I were a cartoon character, there would be green stink squiggly lines coming off my boots.

I hope other people don't smell them on accident today. That would be embarrassing.

NCO of the Year Competition

Somehow, I was roped into competing in the Battalion NCO of the Year Competition. I say somehow, but I know exactly how I got involved; my Command Sergeant Major volunteered me. Yes, I was voluntold.

This competition took place over 2 days. My competitors included 3 male NCOs and 2 female NCOs.

Yesterday, Day 1, we were given a written exam. It consisted of 70 questions. Not multiple choice: (which is the usual Army way) it was Q & A. The test included pretty obscure Army questions. I honestly left a lot of blanks blank.
 

Then we were taken to an urban land navigation course. We were to find 8 points and do a graded task at each point. I ended up walking approximately 15 miles between tasks. It took me 6 and a half hours. Yesterday was 82 degrees. I wanted to kill myself.
 

This is me wanting to die on Day 1.

Day 2 began this morning with a Combatives Tournament. I loathe combatives. Especially when you roll in poison ivy. I had 3 bouts, and managed to win 1. Immediately following combatives, we rucked up and did a 4.5 mile road march. We were warned we would cross a creek along the way. However, when I found the creek, it was actually a river due to all the rain we've gotten in the past week. Once I waded through the river, I set myself up to have wet socks and boots the rest of the day.

Hallelujah, the road march ended and I was able to sit. While sitting I was given a map and 8 more grid coordinates. The most awesome part about this was there were only 5 tasks... but you'd have to walk to all 8 points to ensure it was a point with a task, or just a dummy point that wasted your time. Really, this was not fun. Once again, 82 degrees.

My most hated part of Day 2, was when I stumbled upon my 2nd point. The task at my 2nd point was a PT test. After all the walking and rucking, the last thing in the world I wanted to do was run 2 miles. It took me 20 freaking minutes to run 2 miles! I scored a measly 212 points on the PT test! Immediately following the PT test, I was ushered to the oral board. Sweaty, out of breath and exhausted, somehow I scraped my way through oral board.

I finished the land navigation and tasks the second fastest out of the NCOs. It still took me 4 hours.
 

The winner of the competition will not be announced until Friday. That is two days away! I am not counting on winning, but I'm also not counting winning completely out. The Sergeant First Class who was running this event said all of our scores were very close, and this could really be any one's win.
 

So let's keep our fingers crossed I did well. I could really use a win (or even a second place), after all the losses I have endured at the EFMB.

April PT Test

I took my biannual PT test today. I scored better than I have in a long, long time. Like, since I was 19 and stationed at Fort Bragg.

 

I did 44 push ups in 2 minutes, 73 sit ups in 2 minutes and ran 2 miles in 17:03 minutes. My score was 272 out of a possible 300 points. That is awesome, right!?

 

I was really happy with my score so I calculated what it would take to earn 90 points in each event (90 points in each event earns you a Physical Fitness Badge, but most importantly, an Excellence bullet on your NCOER (which is a report card for an NCO)).

 

90 points in push ups... that's good!

 

93 points in sit ups... even better!

 

89 points in the run... are you freaking kidding me!?!?

 

I reminded myself 272 is still the highest score I have had in a very long time. Most certainly attributed to the PT enhancing surgery I had last summer. But then I got curious how far off from 90 points I really was. Once I calculated it, I no longer was proud of my 17:03 minute 2 mile run time. In order to earn 90 points in this event, I needed to run it in 17:00.

 

3 seconds. 3 lousy seconds!!

 

Next time, I'll see those 3 seconds and I'll raise them 10 seconds!!

Army Combatives

This is sexy Combatives hair-- after being punched repeatedly. :)

 

I volunteered to go to Army Combatives Level 1 this week. It teaches hand to hand combat. Now, if you know anything about me, this is shocking that I volunteered for this class.

 

If there were 2 things I could take out of the Army FOR GOOD, they would be 3 to 5 second rushes and combatives. I loathe those two things.

 

So why would you volunteer to go, you ask? Promotion points. Combatives level 1 is worth 4 points. I thought it would be nice to have 4 more points, so what the heck, I'll go.

 

I'm not going to lie. I've done some things in the Army that have taken every ounce of my strength,  my energy and my will to finish. I have "found my heart" on more than one occasion to push through something so physically awful that tears were close behind. This combatives class is the most physically straining and challenging thing I have ever done in the Army to date. Laugh if you want to, all you giant buff dudes who thought Combatives level 1 was a joke. I am no athlete. I never have claimed such a thing! So this was a big deal for me.

 

My body has been so sore from rolling, getting slapped, punched, being tossed around and doing drills that are otherwise out of the ordinary for me, that I have had to actually yell out while doing basic human movements to get through the pain. Just sitting on the toilet causes my legs so much pain that I don't even want to go. Every time I'd move in my sleep, I'd wake up; my body was in so much pain!

 

The whole time I was being physically torchered in this class, I was convinced this was not worth 4 promotion points and that I was a fool to believe this would be a quick way to earn 4 points. I am not a quitter, and I wanted to quit! 4 points just wasn't worth the physical pain I was going through!

 

I am a very passive person and have never been in a physical fight. Well, this week I found out what it feels like to be slapped across the face as hard as my opponent could. I learned what it's like to be choked out until I passed out. And I learned what it was like to take an uppercut and to be pounded repeatedly in my legs, body and head by gloved fists worn by a 310lb man.

 

ONE of my bruise clusters on my thigh.

 

I am so GLAD this week is over. I graduated successfully. And I got my measly 4 points. But mostly, I'm proud of myself for working through something so physically challenging and not quitting or being so weak that I had to quit. So really, the 4 points are a bonus to the confidence boost I received this week.

 

And I still hate Combatives.

No Smoking

Ok, ok! I won't smoke my pet! Picasso doesn't like physical activity anyway!!

Physical Abuse

I reported to my new unit yesterday. I was told that, although I am associated with the 86th Combat Support Hospital, I have nothing to do with the 86th Combat Support Hospital. Also, I found out that I am actually attached to a unit out of Fort Hood, Texas (not Fort Campbell) and we are chemical and natural disaster responders. My unit is a unit full of nothing but medics, yet, we do not have an aid station. We do not have Docs to work under. We do not do anything medical until we deploy. We'd deploy with zero real life experience. I know that's hard to grasp, but it's the Army we're talking about here; it doesn't have to make sense, you just execute.

I was placed in the Evacuation Platoon once again. I must have pissed someone off once upon a time.

The first thing my platoon sergeant said to me once we met was, "How's your PT score?" That fills fear in my heart. If that is his #1 concern about his new NCO coming to his platoon, he is very physically oriented. I am not what you would call an athlete, by any stretch of the imagination. I get by. I don't have the genes to excel with raw physical power. This dude is going to physically abuse my body every morning and call it training.

And I am scared.

Cold Weather PTs

It's supposed to snow this weekend.

Yuck.

I understand that there are places in this country where it has already snowed this winter, but for the area of Washington that I live in, this is too soon. Waaaaay too soon, if you ask me.

I'm not a fan of being cold. At all. In fact, I'm a huge baby about being cold. I'd rather be hot any day than freeze. It seems like everything the Army issues for cold weather was not actually tested in cold weather. Or maybe a big fat guy with lots of fat cells to insulate him was chosen to test the gear. But most likely it was a big fat guy testing it in Florida who also zero fashion sense. Clearly (as pictured below) the Army needs a visit from Clinton and Stacey from What Not To Wear.

Not only is it a hideous PT uniform, it's also not warm. And wearing shorts under those pants is a huge pain in the ass because the shorts ride up so it's like wearing a diaper made out of a wind breaker. The pants also run about 6 sizes too small so if you're not careful, they can turn into PT leggings-- which are never long enough no matter what size you get. The long sleeve t-shirt worn under the jacket is actually a turtle neck. Who wants to run in a turtle neck? Who wants to leave the house PERIOD in a turtle neck?

Winter PTs need some serious help.

NCO Run

I don't know why, but the Army thinks it's necessary to celebrate things by running. Thanksgiving? Let's run! Martin Luther King Jr Day? Let's run! 4 day weekend with no holiday significance? Let's run! It's Friday? Let's run!

So this morning we ran to celebrate the 43 brand new Non Commissioned Officers that were promoted down range in Iraq. Every NCO in the battalion got together (that was a whole lot of people, too) with our Command Sergeant Major and she took us on a run from Hell in honor of all of us newbies.

I understand the tradition. CSM Walter tried to pump us up and motivate us with a speech about how we are the backbone of the Army and nothing would get done without us. But personally, I do not like being physically exhausted by 0730 in the morning. I do not wish to celebrate an important career milestone that way. Sweating and wishing for sweet death does not equal a party for me. I felt no joy the entire run, until we stopped and I could finally catch my breath and put the flames out in my calves.

Don't get me wrong, I love my job and I love being a Non Commissioned Officer. But jeesh, can we for once just celebrate with beers?

NCO Of The Quarter; Part Deux

Holy crap, I almost died today. Let me give you a run down on the day's events.

The NCO of the Quarter competition began at 0400 this morning with a PT test. Push ups, sit ups and a 2 mile run. It was already so hot at 0400, that while I was running the second mile I had thoughts of closing my eyes and hoping I would fall off the side of the track into the drainage ditch and break my arm or leg to get out of continuing the run. I didn't, of course, because it's really hard to will yourself to hurt yourself.

Second on the list of horrors was to put on my 35+ pounds of protective gear and go qualify with my M4 rifle at the firing range. Lying on my belly in the sand with the sun cooking me from above is how I like to spend my breakfast hour instead of eating. Not only was it throwing 40 rounds downrange into paper targets, we did a stress shoot too. Doesn't that just sound fun? Our stress shoot was running down the firing lane to pick up a 9 round magazine, running back to the starting point to take a knee and load the weapon, then you walking back towards the targets while firing. Oh yeah, you only get 60 seconds to do this.

Next up was "Warrior Tasks": Loading and transmitting messages on an FBCB2, clearing and functions checks on a 50 caliber machine gun, M240 machine gun, M4 rifle and a M249 machine gun. It was coming up on noon by then, and what would be better than dealing with weapons that had been baking in 120 degree heat in the gravel than to deal with them while wearing the 35+ pounds of protective gear! For no purpose other than to "look hard core".

By lunch, when I finally got to drop my gear, I was soaked with sweat. So soaked that even the suede on my boots had sweat stains. I couldn't stop sweating and my skin was bright red. My stomach started to cramp and I was getting dizzy. I threw up water twice. Typical heat exhaustion. I had to get an IV and sit in the air conditioning for a while. I should have gotten to go home and take a nap and drink lots of water, but I still had the main event to attend: The Board.

Luckily, I was not alphabet fucked (stupid Williams for a last name) at the board and got to go first for a change. It went well. I was confident. I knew most of the answers. And my Battalion Command Sergeant Major is buddies with my Brigade Command Sergeant Major: it's always good to network with people in high places.

I do not know the outcome of the NCO of the Quarter competition yet. I don't think I won by any means because the heat was seriously effecting me all day. All I can take away from this experience is that this was my lame near death experience in a combat zone.