Some quotes from John at 25+ months that I have observed over the past couple of days during our time in Nebraska:
“Dat Queen” – means “that car” (All cars are called “Queen” after Lightning McQueen of “Cars” fame. “Cars” is by far his favorite movie. Before we left Hawaii, he had to watch it generally several times per day. I know, that is a lot of TV for a 2-year old.)
“Dat one” – “that one”
“Dat crib” – John uses the word crib for all beds, since he slept in a crib until we left Hawaii. Even the bed that his Mom and Dad sleep in, a queen-sized pillow top mattress box spring bed, is a “crib” according to John.
“Airpane” – (not a typo in the quotes, he has trouble with his “l’s” right now) airplane, probably his favorite thing in the world! He loves airports and when we see airplanes or helicopters (generally pronounced by John as “huck-uh”, but sometimes he says the longer approximation of the full word “helicopter” that he can produce when he puts a little more effort into it. I took him to the Strategic Air and Space Museum near Ashland, NE yesterday (see the link) and I heard this word so many times I lost count in the first 5 minutes as he scurried around the hangar floor pointing in all directions and exclaiming, of course, “Airpane, airpane Dada! See it, airpane! Touch it…” We had a great visit!
“Truck” – just what it says. There are a lot of tractor-trailer trucks on the interstate highways around Omaha and John loves it! He constantly points out all the trucks he sees as we zoom around town. “Truck! Truck! Right ‘dere, truck! Truck, Dada!”
[I]”Guana” – pronounced “gwa-NA” and referring not to an actual iguana, but instead a dinosaur (a small plastic version of the the T-Rex, which he unfortunately enjoys all too much hitting his cousins with). I enjoy hearing him say this word so much (just the way he says it, it’s so cute!) I ask for him to say it specifically! (not the hitting part, though – just the word)
We are discovering that 2 is a fun but frustrating age. He is starting to talk so much (we think his talking has surged in the past week we have been back because of his 5 cousins he has to play and interact with each day) and putting together some really long sentences (no matter we can’t pick out but half or less of the words!), it is really amazing to see and hear! But he is also having trouble understanding that it is not OK to hit and hurt his cousins (see the iguana entry above) and the household pets (sorry, Spikes the cat!). He’s on the “dawn patrol”, always wanting to get up much earlier than his Mom and Dad would like, and the first words he says every morning are “Eat!” (2-year olds are hungry!) and “Kids!” (as in, “I want to play with kids!” [his cousins]). What an enthusiastic and fun time for him! I sure enjoy watching him grow to be a big boy and seeing all the new capabilities and skills he continues to add at the “rapid rate!”
GJS
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
End of Tour in Hawaii Summary
It is customary in the military to write “after-action” reports following significant events, like when completing the prescribed period of time in a certain job or posting. I want to put something like that together for my latest tour in Hawaii. I am beginning this writing in Hawaii (15 June), but will be leaving along with the family later this evening and will complete it and post it while on leave in Nebraska. I am in a retrospective mood – what did this second tour in Hawaii bring? (The first tour was my enlisted time from 1996 – 1999 totaling 3 ½ years. If you add that to the 2 ½ years this time around, that makes 6 years of my life that I have lived in Hawaii – not bad!)
Bottom line: many, many blessings and good things! I leave Hawaii this time riding the crest of a wave of great accomplishments and merry from the bountiful harvest of accolades accrued over the course of years of hard work and dedication. I think that I went out at the top of my game, so to speak. It was a building process the whole time, and by the time I made it to the last six months of my assignment, I was definitely hitting on all cylinders! Let’s get past the generalities and start to look at some of the specifics. I like chronological order, and it will be in a mish-mash of professional and personal items as they come to mind.
***
-November 2005 – arrive in Hawaii with pregnant Barb; discover I will be heading to Iraq in just a couple of weeks
-Early December 2005 – ran the Honolulu Marathon, missing my goal finish time of 3 hours 30 minutes by less than 10 minutes (I'll get it eventually - I haven't given up!)
-December 2005 – Feb 2006 – service in al Anbar province, Iraq
-March 2006 – assigned my own platoon to command; turned to the task of building a coherent team of Marines to lead on a deployment in support of US national security objectives in the Asia-Pacific theater
-May 2006 – John is born and our lives are changed forever!; begin graduate school classes at Hawaii Pacific University seeking a masters degree in diplomacy and military history (unfortunately was only able to complete a single course, on the Korean War, during my time in Hawaii due to deployments and other schedule conflicts)
-June 2006 – completed my second Half-Ironman race (the first was the Pigman race in Palo, IA, ca. 2002), the Ironman Hawaii Honu 70.3
-October 2006 – run my highest Marine Corps physical fitness test (PFT) yet, scoring 298 of a possible 300 points (I’m still trying to get my first 300/300!)
-November 2006 – lead my platoon on a 5-month deployment to the Southern Philippines; John is not yet crawling (~6 months old at the time)
-April 2007 – bring my entire platoon home safe from the Philippines; John is now walking!
-May 2007 – John’s first birthday!; relinquish command of my platoon after 15 months
-July 2007 – receive new assignment as general’s Aide-de-Camp; Achilles tendinitis hampers my hoped-for post-deployment return to racing
-August 2007 – I see an announcement for the Olmsted Scholar Program on a Marine Corps website and decide to apply
-September 2007 – Olmsted application submitted with favorable endorsements from both my boss (one-star general) and his boss (three-star general)
-December 2007 – learn that I was selected by the Marine Corps as an Olmsted Scholar candidate; fly to Washington, D.C. to interview with Olmsted Foundation board of director members; 2007 ends with me having run exactly zero races of any type, the first year that has happened since I started running races in 2001
-March 2008 – learn that I was selected to be an Olmsted Scholar and that I am assigned to learn Mandarin Chinese and attend graduate school in Taiwan
-May 2008 – John’s second birthday (I miss the party due to a short-notice business trip to Guam) ; tour of duty as general’s aide comes to an end after 10 ½ months due to our impending move to Monterey for language school; complete the Honu Ironman Hawaii 70.3 for the second time (two Half-Ironman races in Hawaii – is that equivalent to running a full Ironman race? I know it isn’t – just teasing!); notified that I have been selected for promotion to the rank of captain and that I have been “career designated” (meaning essentially that I can continue to serve as an active duty Marine officer indefinitely until I choose to relinquish my commission or until retirement, assuming continued satisfactory job performance)
-June 2008 – Permanent Change of Station from Hawaii to Monterey, CA to begin language training (with a stop in Nebraska to see friends and family first - in progress right now!)
- [Pending] July 2008 – report in to the Defense Language Institute for instruction in Mandarin Chinese
***
As you can see, there has been a lot of good stuff, and that's just the summary version! Here’s to hoping that we can stay on a roll of good happenings for the foreseeable future!
GJS
Bottom line: many, many blessings and good things! I leave Hawaii this time riding the crest of a wave of great accomplishments and merry from the bountiful harvest of accolades accrued over the course of years of hard work and dedication. I think that I went out at the top of my game, so to speak. It was a building process the whole time, and by the time I made it to the last six months of my assignment, I was definitely hitting on all cylinders! Let’s get past the generalities and start to look at some of the specifics. I like chronological order, and it will be in a mish-mash of professional and personal items as they come to mind.
***
-November 2005 – arrive in Hawaii with pregnant Barb; discover I will be heading to Iraq in just a couple of weeks
-Early December 2005 – ran the Honolulu Marathon, missing my goal finish time of 3 hours 30 minutes by less than 10 minutes (I'll get it eventually - I haven't given up!)
-December 2005 – Feb 2006 – service in al Anbar province, Iraq
-March 2006 – assigned my own platoon to command; turned to the task of building a coherent team of Marines to lead on a deployment in support of US national security objectives in the Asia-Pacific theater
-May 2006 – John is born and our lives are changed forever!; begin graduate school classes at Hawaii Pacific University seeking a masters degree in diplomacy and military history (unfortunately was only able to complete a single course, on the Korean War, during my time in Hawaii due to deployments and other schedule conflicts)
-June 2006 – completed my second Half-Ironman race (the first was the Pigman race in Palo, IA, ca. 2002), the Ironman Hawaii Honu 70.3
-October 2006 – run my highest Marine Corps physical fitness test (PFT) yet, scoring 298 of a possible 300 points (I’m still trying to get my first 300/300!)
-November 2006 – lead my platoon on a 5-month deployment to the Southern Philippines; John is not yet crawling (~6 months old at the time)
-April 2007 – bring my entire platoon home safe from the Philippines; John is now walking!
-May 2007 – John’s first birthday!; relinquish command of my platoon after 15 months
-July 2007 – receive new assignment as general’s Aide-de-Camp; Achilles tendinitis hampers my hoped-for post-deployment return to racing
-August 2007 – I see an announcement for the Olmsted Scholar Program on a Marine Corps website and decide to apply
-September 2007 – Olmsted application submitted with favorable endorsements from both my boss (one-star general) and his boss (three-star general)
-December 2007 – learn that I was selected by the Marine Corps as an Olmsted Scholar candidate; fly to Washington, D.C. to interview with Olmsted Foundation board of director members; 2007 ends with me having run exactly zero races of any type, the first year that has happened since I started running races in 2001
-March 2008 – learn that I was selected to be an Olmsted Scholar and that I am assigned to learn Mandarin Chinese and attend graduate school in Taiwan
-May 2008 – John’s second birthday (I miss the party due to a short-notice business trip to Guam) ; tour of duty as general’s aide comes to an end after 10 ½ months due to our impending move to Monterey for language school; complete the Honu Ironman Hawaii 70.3 for the second time (two Half-Ironman races in Hawaii – is that equivalent to running a full Ironman race? I know it isn’t – just teasing!); notified that I have been selected for promotion to the rank of captain and that I have been “career designated” (meaning essentially that I can continue to serve as an active duty Marine officer indefinitely until I choose to relinquish my commission or until retirement, assuming continued satisfactory job performance)
-June 2008 – Permanent Change of Station from Hawaii to Monterey, CA to begin language training (with a stop in Nebraska to see friends and family first - in progress right now!)
- [Pending] July 2008 – report in to the Defense Language Institute for instruction in Mandarin Chinese
***
As you can see, there has been a lot of good stuff, and that's just the summary version! Here’s to hoping that we can stay on a roll of good happenings for the foreseeable future!
GJS
New Audiobook Listening Record
Since I will soon be beginning my study of the Chinese language, and in about a year heading to Taiwan, I have turned my reading / study focus towards learning more about the "neighborhood" that I will be residing in before too long. As such, today I managed to log over 3 1/2 hours of audiobook listening as I tooled about from Bellevue to Lincoln and back over the course of 12 or so hours. Today's book was "The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China, and What It Means for All of Us" (Unabridged) by Robyn Meredith, published in 2007. I am enjoying it so far. I just started listening to it today and the recording totals nearly 9 hours, so it will take a couple more days like today to finish it off. If I can do that over the next two days (quite possible, since I plan to go to Lincoln both days), that would be the fastest I have ever been able to get through an audiobook! Wish me luck!
GJS
GJS
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Race Day Photos
Maybe "post-race photos" would be a better title for this - all these are from after the race was over. There should be some "during race" pics available sometime soon from the folks who were out taking photos on the race course. The first five are from when I crossed the finish line to a short time afterwards when I was picking up my bike from where I left it during transition 2 (bike to run).
A bit later in the day, once Jay and I had made the hike back to our hotel (less than a mile from the host hotel, but it seemed like a long way having just run nearly 7 hours of race!), the following photos were taken:
The triathlete just arrived back at the hotel "base camp".
4 pictures above: family assistance with application of Aloe Vera gel to the triathlete's sunburnt skin.
We have lots more photos of other events from our trip to the Big Island and I hope to post some of them here very soon.
With much aloha,
Gary, Barb and John
A bit later in the day, once Jay and I had made the hike back to our hotel (less than a mile from the host hotel, but it seemed like a long way having just run nearly 7 hours of race!), the following photos were taken:
The triathlete just arrived back at the hotel "base camp".
4 pictures above: family assistance with application of Aloe Vera gel to the triathlete's sunburnt skin.
We have lots more photos of other events from our trip to the Big Island and I hope to post some of them here very soon.
With much aloha,
Gary, Barb and John
Monday, June 02, 2008
2008 Ironman 70.3 Hawaii
Well, I survived it! You can see the results here:
http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/honu70.3/?show=tracker&rid=147&year=2008
Just type my race bib number, 1074, or my last name in the "Athlete Search" box and it will pull up my results. If you want to see a "clunky" version of the official results to show context to my results (you can't really see the full range of data), you can go here:
http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/honu70.3/show=raceresults&year=2008&format=htm
Sometime soon, a more user-friendly version of the official results should be available here:
http://www.ironman703hawaii.com/results/index.php
If you use either the first or last web page to search, you can select the 2006 results for me in the same race and then compare between the two performances. What you will quickly draw from such a comparison is this: I am getting slower! Here's the analysis that goes along with that, though - my base and training in 2006 was far better than what I was able to put together this year. This year, I really did almost exclusively prepare for races by racing, probably not the best way to do things, but better than nothing. I was able to run and complete the Half Ironman race yesterday, after all!
Unfortunately, I am writing this nearly 24 hours after the event finished and some of the "lessons learned" have already evaporated. However, I will try to put some hard-earned wisdom together here for your reading pleasure.
1. Always wear sunscreen when you plan to spend around 7 hours out in the Hawaii summer sun.
2. It is more fun to do a race when you have "support humans" around to share in the experience (Barb and John and Jay were here this year, unlike 2006 when I was solo).
3. It is OK to not run continuously during the half marathon, particularly when you know that you training and preparation have not been what they should have been. Walk when you need to, take a look around, enjoy the beautiful scenery and the race experience!
4. Tri Bike Transfer, a service that ships your bike to and from your local bike shop to the race venue and back without taking it apart, is a great thing! I used it this year and will use it anytime I have the opportunity to do so at future races.
5. Nutrition / hydration on the bike have to be on the clock, i.e. take electrolyte tabs at 30 minutes, eat a gel on the hour, water and sports drink as needed throughout. This worked so well for me yesterday that I actually had to stop in the Port-a-John at T2 (bike to run) to relieve myself, the first time I have actually felt the need to do that during a longer race like this one.
6. The Fairmont Orchid, adjacent to the Mauni Lani resort (host of the race) is a beautiful hotel. We'll be back.
7. It takes many hours to get from Volcano National Park around the bottom of the Big Island up to the Kohala Coast. I almost didn't make it to the race site in time the day prior to get registered, turn in gear, etc. Next time, I will do all the pre-race logistics first thing, then spend some relaxed time sightseeing after that is all taken care of.
8. Liberal use of Body Glide (an anti-chafing agent) kept me chafe-free for the duration of the event (lesson learned from a couple of weeks back at the Honolulu Triathlon).
9. Aid stations are so plentiful and well-stocked on the run course that no gels or any other sort of nutritional products need to be carried on your person. I had a gel, some Clif Blocks, and electrolyte tabs with me that I did not touch. Next time I do this race, I will go without.
10. Through the use of nutrition / hydration on the clock (as in number 5 above) and a pacing strategy that downplayed any notion of trying to beat any arbitrary clock time, it became apparent to me that it would be possible (with more preparatory training than I was able to arrange for this time around) to double these distances and complete an Ironman-distance race. Clearly, it is not an impossible feat; thousands of folks achieve an Ironman finish each year. My cousin Mike has finished a number of Ironman races. I hope that in the next 3 years, while assigned to language school and graduate school, I will be able to assign a higher priority to training, remain injury-free, and put the things in place I need to to successfully complete an Ironman race someplace out around Taiwan. They have events that I know of in Japan, China (new this year, I think), Australia, New Zealand, Singapore (I think), and maybe others. I envision doing one / some of these races as "destination events" where the family and I will travel to one of these locations, I will do the race, and then we will do some sightseeing / touring, etc.
That's about all that comes to mind right now. I am tired and sore now but happy! This Half Ironman finish, my third, was probably the most fulfilling from the standpoint of coming across the finish line and not feeling completely "destroyed" (due in large part to the more realistic pacing strategy adopted this time, but nutrition and hydration also played their parts).
I should have a few photos to post once we are back home on Oahu (cable to link the camera to the computer is there).
GJS
http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/honu70.3/?show=tracker&rid=147&year=2008
Just type my race bib number, 1074, or my last name in the "Athlete Search" box and it will pull up my results. If you want to see a "clunky" version of the official results to show context to my results (you can't really see the full range of data), you can go here:
http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/honu70.3/show=raceresults&year=2008&format=htm
Sometime soon, a more user-friendly version of the official results should be available here:
http://www.ironman703hawaii.com/results/index.php
If you use either the first or last web page to search, you can select the 2006 results for me in the same race and then compare between the two performances. What you will quickly draw from such a comparison is this: I am getting slower! Here's the analysis that goes along with that, though - my base and training in 2006 was far better than what I was able to put together this year. This year, I really did almost exclusively prepare for races by racing, probably not the best way to do things, but better than nothing. I was able to run and complete the Half Ironman race yesterday, after all!
Unfortunately, I am writing this nearly 24 hours after the event finished and some of the "lessons learned" have already evaporated. However, I will try to put some hard-earned wisdom together here for your reading pleasure.
1. Always wear sunscreen when you plan to spend around 7 hours out in the Hawaii summer sun.
2. It is more fun to do a race when you have "support humans" around to share in the experience (Barb and John and Jay were here this year, unlike 2006 when I was solo).
3. It is OK to not run continuously during the half marathon, particularly when you know that you training and preparation have not been what they should have been. Walk when you need to, take a look around, enjoy the beautiful scenery and the race experience!
4. Tri Bike Transfer, a service that ships your bike to and from your local bike shop to the race venue and back without taking it apart, is a great thing! I used it this year and will use it anytime I have the opportunity to do so at future races.
5. Nutrition / hydration on the bike have to be on the clock, i.e. take electrolyte tabs at 30 minutes, eat a gel on the hour, water and sports drink as needed throughout. This worked so well for me yesterday that I actually had to stop in the Port-a-John at T2 (bike to run) to relieve myself, the first time I have actually felt the need to do that during a longer race like this one.
6. The Fairmont Orchid, adjacent to the Mauni Lani resort (host of the race) is a beautiful hotel. We'll be back.
7. It takes many hours to get from Volcano National Park around the bottom of the Big Island up to the Kohala Coast. I almost didn't make it to the race site in time the day prior to get registered, turn in gear, etc. Next time, I will do all the pre-race logistics first thing, then spend some relaxed time sightseeing after that is all taken care of.
8. Liberal use of Body Glide (an anti-chafing agent) kept me chafe-free for the duration of the event (lesson learned from a couple of weeks back at the Honolulu Triathlon).
9. Aid stations are so plentiful and well-stocked on the run course that no gels or any other sort of nutritional products need to be carried on your person. I had a gel, some Clif Blocks, and electrolyte tabs with me that I did not touch. Next time I do this race, I will go without.
10. Through the use of nutrition / hydration on the clock (as in number 5 above) and a pacing strategy that downplayed any notion of trying to beat any arbitrary clock time, it became apparent to me that it would be possible (with more preparatory training than I was able to arrange for this time around) to double these distances and complete an Ironman-distance race. Clearly, it is not an impossible feat; thousands of folks achieve an Ironman finish each year. My cousin Mike has finished a number of Ironman races. I hope that in the next 3 years, while assigned to language school and graduate school, I will be able to assign a higher priority to training, remain injury-free, and put the things in place I need to to successfully complete an Ironman race someplace out around Taiwan. They have events that I know of in Japan, China (new this year, I think), Australia, New Zealand, Singapore (I think), and maybe others. I envision doing one / some of these races as "destination events" where the family and I will travel to one of these locations, I will do the race, and then we will do some sightseeing / touring, etc.
That's about all that comes to mind right now. I am tired and sore now but happy! This Half Ironman finish, my third, was probably the most fulfilling from the standpoint of coming across the finish line and not feeling completely "destroyed" (due in large part to the more realistic pacing strategy adopted this time, but nutrition and hydration also played their parts).
I should have a few photos to post once we are back home on Oahu (cable to link the camera to the computer is there).
GJS
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