See you in January

Today has been an emotional day, and it's not over yet. Mary and I ran our first race this morning, the 5 mile Run with the Roosters at Old Tucson Studios. I've run quite a few 5k races at bases around the world, but this was my first 'real' race (i.e. open to the public) and it was pretty exciting. I finished in just over 55 minutes. Not as fast as I would have liked, but it was a finish none the less. Of course, the real emotion will come this afternoon when I get on a plane headed for Afghanistan. This trip has been a long time coming, but you're never really ready. The bright side is that I will have plenty of time to run and work out, and will come back in great shape to run a marathon. We are scheduled for a six month rotation, but unfortunately our exact return date is open ended at this time. Hopefully the math will work out and 12 July + 6 Months = Home before 17 January, even if just barely! It will be close, but I have faith that I will see you all in Phoenix. Good luck to you all in your training and in any races you may run between now and then. Of course I will continue to read the blog and will post as often as I can. I promise to keep my head down, and if anyone messes with me I'll just give 'em the claw!