With one month of solid training under my belt, and only another 7 months to go, I can tell I will be where I want to be, well before my October deadline rolls around. With school midterms in my immediate future, last week, and this week won't be what the others have been. I took 3 days off of biking last week, but went to a 2 hour training session on one of those days, focusing on push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups. Here's the excel sheet for this past week. Not a ton of miles, but still a pretty good week of training. I really need to hit the trails and get some fresh air, I can only watch so much girls basketball before going crazy; trust me, I'm half way there...
NCLS, as I spoke about in last weeks blog, was going to be very interesting, and it truly was. I attended the Medal of Honor panel with Colonel Bud Day, Colonel Leo Thorsness, and Sergeant Sal Giunta. They spoke individually of their experiences in war. Colonel Day and Thorsness talking mostly about the POW camp they lived in together for 6 years in Vietnam, and only after hundreds upon hundreds of beatings and years of solitary confinement, they were able to go home. Sergeant Giunta spoke of a different war, and how he didn't earn the medal for himself, it was his fellow soldiers who lost their lives that earned the medal for their country. Giunta is quite a humble man, who I really enjoyed listening to. I also saw Colonel Day and Sergeant Giunta individually, and as they each spoke more into their stories, I agreed more and more with what they were saying. For them, receiving the Medal of Honor wasn't the best part of their Military careers, rather helping those around them and doing what they had been taught and learned from others, was the highlight.
I didn't see Dick Hoyt like I had hoped, as it turned out I accidentally went to the wrong lecture hall. Instead, I saw Chad Hennings, a 3x Super Bowl Champ, AFA grad, and an A-10 pilot. He has lived an interesting life, but hearing his 4 step plan to success was a bit excessive, and while I assume he didn't get paid a lot by the Academy to come out and speak, promoting his book to success over and over was a little much for me. One athlete I did enjoy listening to was Lopez Lomong, a Sudan native, who escaped a rebel camp, who eventually made it to the U.S. His story of overcoming diversity, while sounding cliche, was pretty impressive. He won two NCAA championships, and competed in the 2008 Bejing Olympics. He is now looking to make the finals and possibly podium in 2012, with his impressive 3:45 - 1500m time. Along with the professional athletes, I met and listened to Neil Amonson, a prior AF Special Tactics guy, who now lives the ultimate adventure lifestyle, with base jumping, extreme skiing, skiing with a parachute and everything in between. He lives the ultimate grown up-child life, doing what he wants, with no one to stop him. I'm half jealous...
Overall, this last week was pretty productive, with somewhat decent training, only 2 days of school, and 2 fun days of lectures. Hopefully I'll get out on the trails before long, the warm temps are really calling my name. Recognition is only 2 weeks away, with spring break just one week behind that, excitement is in the air.
I leave you with a picture of Sergeant Giunta and myself; I was mid sentence, that's why I have a weird smirk on my face. Take care everyone, I'll see you next week.
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