Three Things I Never Have to Do Again

[talonraid]

I have spent a great deal of time pondering the experiences of my barefoot life and I have compiled the top three things I never have to do while barefoot....ever again.

1) Agree to hold the leash while PilotRunner let's a chimpanzee have it's way with him. That's just gross and nobody should have to be barefoot around that kind of activity. Sorry, Pilot...I know we're bros, but the chimpanzee was over the line.

2) Go to the the Middle East. Actually, this one goes for being barefooted or in shoes. That place sucks regardless of your choice in footwear and I will be just fine if I never go back.

And, number 3) Run a 5k barefoot in subfreezing conditions, over gnarly chip and seal, that's covered in rock salt, ice and supercooled water.

My feet are on fuego right now. Obviously I'm not as hearty as some of the Northmen (and women) who run in these conditions all the time. My feet were numb in the beginning for maybe a mile. Then they warmed up and I felt the surface much better. I'm not sure if it was the cold, the salt, the chip and seal or maybe a supercombo, but my feet were definitely not prepared for today. The good news is I completed my first 5k since getting IT Band Syndrome. No problems with the knee!

 

[Chaserwilliams]

Hey, if appreciate it if you

Hey, if appreciate it if you left me and Pilot out of this....

 

[pilotrunner]

...Yeah, what he

...Yeah, what he said!

Meanie!

heh

 

[Abide]

Do you have a beard? It

Do you have a beard? It helps.

Glad to hear your IT problems are gone. Crossfit did it for me too.

 

[NotSoDoomedRunner]

How are you going to avoid

How are you going to avoid the Middle East? I actually kind of miss it. But would never want to go back. If that makes sense.

 

[talonraid]

I probably won't get to avoid

I probably won't get to avoid it unfortunately...it's kind of a race against the clock. I could retire, but I'm not sure I'm going to . That means I'll probably go back. There are so many trouble spots were my kinds of talents are in demand.

Iran and Syria top the list right now. My crystal ball says I'll be in Syria before the summer is up.

 

[talonraid]

OK, Back to the actual

OK,

Back to the actual barefoot running part of this otherwise ridiculous post.

Can you get some sort of chemical burn from the damned rock salt? My feet are sore as hell this morning. It feels like the bottoms are raw and irritated. I've had traininig runs that were longer than this with seamless recovery times.

It was probably an hour after the race before I was able to welcome my friends across the line then get back to the hotel to wash my feet. Or, maybe I'm a pansy....Chaser, this is where you chime in.

 

[bubba hotep]

Glad your racing again! You

Glad your racing again! You might actually be suffering from some mild frost bite, what was the temp?

 

[migangelo]

salt is a meat tenderizer.

salt is a meat tenderizer. your made of meat. 1 +1 =2. yes. don't run in salted roads.

 

[Blind Boy]

All I got out of this thread

All I got out of this thread is that Chase is a chimpanzee. Not that surprising, really. Anyway, rock salt and bare feet is a seriously bad combo.

 

[NickW]

I wouldn't mind going back to

I wouldn't mind going back to Afghanistan in the future to see the changes we made there. See how just being there impacted their culture and all. I would really love to go back to Kabul and see Kings Tomb in the daylight, I only saw it at night. Did get to go all throughout the catacombs there which was pretty cool. Most of all, I'd like to see some of the great people I met there in Ghazni and Khas Uruzgan.

 

[talonraid]

@Bubba:  I hadn't really

@Bubba: I hadn't really thought about frostbite. It was somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Plus or minus 4 degrees I suppose. There was ice on some of the puddles in the street and they had volunteers keeping runners away from the large sheets of ice. Oh, and thanks for the well wish. It's good to be able to run again.

@migangelo: Good to know. This running up North thing has been a learning experience for sure.

@Blind Boy: Chaser isn't a chimp...I was just holding his leash (read "the Gimp" from Pulp Fiction). The chimp was having his way with Pilot and was unfettered.

@Nick: Bless you dude, the world and the military need people like you who haven't given up hope for that area of the world. I would just as soon extinguish all life in most of the countries East of Jordan and West of India. In the least few years I am starting to understand why some of my older uncles who fought during WWII & Vietnam still get fidgety and angry around anyone from Japan or Vietnam. I'm not saying they're right, but I can understand why they are the way they are. I guess I'll soon be the old crusty retired guy at the "V" who endlessly bitches about the Middle East over my beer and twitches all night long while I'm trying to sleep.

 

[theshortwhiteguy]

I didn't know you and Pilot

I didn't know you and Pilot were into monkeying around too.

Geez, the things you learn about peeps on the internets these days.

 

[talonraid]

theshortwhiteguy wrote:I

I didn't know you and Pilot were into monkeying around too.

Geez, the things you learn about peeps on the internets these days.

Not me man! Pilot was ape curious. Just because I accidently watched one monkey show in South America one time for about 5 minutes does not mean I like that sort of thing.

Besides someone had to hold Chaser's leash or he would have been running around scaring the kids and flinging poo.

 

[NickW]

Talon, I've been out 6 1/2

Talon, I've been out 6 1/2 years and am still very nervous and skittish around middle eastern folks. Damn PTSD. Counselors say it will get better, and I'm working on it, but I don't know that I will ever shake it completely. School is hard now because there is a lot of middle eastern folks here and I feel like I'm always watching my back. I'm sure they are good folks, but I don't get close enough to find out most of the time. I'm sure you can relate. There was a 711 type store that I used to go in and I would speak a little Pashtun and Farsi with the clerk. Nice guy and he was always excited to see me and would talk my ear off.

I did meet some honest to goodness people over there and I truly believe a lot of them flip flop sides out of fear of the Talib and Al Quida. I was infantry and dealt with the general public on a daily basis over there. The people I had my misgivings with turned out to be the very ones shooting at us.

I think a lot of them are sick of having another countries military in their country. I would be if another country came over, broke into my home and tossed everything while searching for weapons. I hated doing my job over there and I could see exactly why folks would get upset at us. You just have to let yourself see their side of things. A lot of times we got bad intel and tossed innocent folks homes for nothing. That happened more often than not. Anyhow, I'll get off my soapbox. Thanks for your service, your part of the 1% that serves your country and that is something incredible and deserving of a lot more than we get.