Enjoying the weather

It is turning warm here in north Iraq; very warm. It was in the high 90s or low 100s yesterday.

I went for a run about 16:00, which is when I usually run. Being Saturday, I had planned to do my weekly long run, for about an hour. Just walking to chow and back resulted in me being a little out of breath and sticky with sweat, so I knew the run would be a warm one. I was sure to “camel up”, drink lots of water, in the hours before the run.,

I went with another guy with whom I run on Saturdays, and he ran out of steam after about 20 minutes, gasping for air like a landed trout. I peeled off and ran a longer route, but ended up running by him, about 30 minutes into the run. I wheezed up next to him, and we both walked the last few hundred yards back to our CHUs. I didn’t have the mental toughness to keep running past him, it was just too tempting to stop.

After I returned to my room, I sat for a while and caught my breath, but I felt a bit woozy. The heat definitely added a challenge to the run. It is mostly a matter of adjusting to the heat. I’ve run in the heat plenty of times, and the first few hot days of the season are good for acclimatization. Even so, I’ll probably start running in the morning.

It has been green here, but in the last week brown has been taking over. Martha Stewart of the FOB’s watermelons died when he was gone for a few days. The days are hazy, and the air feels thicker, pressing on you, more difficult to move through. Lots of colorful birds are migrating through, and insects are out in force. I’m told this won’t last. Once the heat really sets in, nothing moves.

Exiting the chow hall after lunch I asked a soldier "How're you doing?" "Pretty good", he replied, "just enjoying the weather." We both laughed, and plowed off through the thick gravel.