Lemoore or Afghanistan?

As you can see by the picture on the left I was pretty confused this past week. I couldn't figure out if I was in Afghanistan or Lemoore, CA? It was hella hot! Running during the day was definitely out, so I was getting up at 0445 to get a good run in, not good when I ended up staying late at work due to being on duty. Very long days. The strange thing is that today the high is 77 degrees, I was actually able to run at 2pm with no problems at all. Next Sunday is the Disneyland 1/2 marathon, really looking forward to that. My friend Mike is coming out from Virginia. We're going to see the Dodgers vs. the Giants on Friday at the stadium in Anaheim, CA, Saturday we are hitting the links somewhere to play the best golf of our lives (yeah right!), Sunday is the race and then Monday we are going to recover from the run and the hangover! This blog was part of a research project of a person in London. It was cool actually doing a phone interview with her. It's going to be nice to see her finished project, she had some interesting questions. I'll post some excerpts from the paper when I get a copy. Shayna's next competition is on 16 OCT. She'll be doing the bikini competition this time so she can work up to the figure competition again. I can officially say that I'm married to a bikini competitor! woohoo. Well that's about it for this week. I'll be posting the next article late next week due to being out of town. Take care.

Dave

Hello

It's been a good two weeks since the last post. I had the opportunity to be the department head for a week and I really enjoyed the challenge of keeping everything running smoothly, I feel that I did a pretty good job and that's satisfying! Now I'm back to being a regular staff OR nurse and that's a good thing also, nothing to worry about except taking care of the patient and making sure that everything is done safely and efficiently. 404 days left in the Navy as of today, hopefully it continues to fly by, I'm sure it will. Been in touch with Andria our realtor in Jacksonville, FL and it looks like we'll be in great shape when it comes time to buy a house out there, probably around June or so. The prices keep falling on the homes there, it's nice being on the other side of a crappy economy, at least we'll get a fantastic deal on a nice home. 2 weeks until the Disney 1/2 Marathon, I just finished a 10 mile run in 1hr 25min, so I think I'm ready. Not a whole lot of pains to speak of, just the norm, knees and back a little sore nothing major though. It's going to be a really nice weekend. I'm meeting up with an old friend, we both ran our first 1/2 marathon in Virginia Beach back in 2005, I can't believe 5 years have passed already! We are planning on going to the LA Dodger, SF Giants baseball game on Friday the 3rd of September, on Saturday hitting the golf course, Sunday we're running the race and then Monday recovering from the hangover! haha. Shayna is going to stay home, she really doesn't want to be surrounded by a bunch of runners when she is not able to participate herself, it's a bummer for her and I understand. Shayna really enjoyed her first competition experience and is hitting the gym twice as hard now for her next one in November. She looks fantastic! I'm very proud of her and am in awe of the dedication and focus that she possesses. Well that's about it for this post. I'll have a picture of something on the next one. Take care.
Dave

Fun Day

Let me explain the picture! I just finished winning a challenge through Nike+ called the Kandahar Kup and the helmet was the trophy. The sticker on the front of it is the Afghanistan campaign medal. Myself and 3 others that were deployed to Kandahar last year decided to have a race to see who could hit 500 miles first, or who ran the furthest in a year whichever came first. The 500 miles were completed in 9 months, not too bad. You should see the insane challenge I'm in now, same criteria just running with a bunch of insane runners. We started on 11 JUN, two runners are already at around 350 miles leaving the rest of us mere mortals in the dust! I golfed this morning and shot a 109, unfortunately that is my norm. I am going to get a new set of clubs in October, maybe that will do the trick. Shayna is going through one Hell of a week, being the week prior to her competition. She has to eat and drink very little to get the muscles to pop out for the stage on Saturday. I think she will do very well. That's about it for this week. Take care.
Dave

The Worst Drivers

Shayna and I went to Morgan Hill, CA yesterday for her 2 mile open water swim this morning. She did great for her first competition finishing in 1hr 5 min! Fantastic! On the way there and back I was thinking about the State with the worst drivers, from my perspective. I came down to California and Virginia in a tie for first. The closer you get to Los Angeles the further in first place California goes! I just want to say to all the drivers in California, the left lane is for PASSING and the right lane is for SLOW drivers, or ones doing the speed limit. It's really not that hard! Traffic problems in this State would decrease exponentially if people would just follow that simple rule. I'm really proud of Shayna and she looked like she had the "high" that you get from completing a goal. She finished in the middle of the pack of seasoned swimmers which is saying a lot about how she did for her first competition. Nothing much planned for this week and I have duty again next weekend, have I said how much I hate my current work situation lately? haha. It's going to get better in September/October when we gain 2 OR nurses, I can't wait. Well that's about it for this week. Take care.

Dave

Nothing New

I was going to post a picture of what I do during duty, basically just sitting on the couch watching movies and playing video games. Yep, 42 and still addicted to video games! haha. It makes time fly by. I'm sure that Shayna is bored to death when I have duty, which is every other day and every other weekend. It should get better in the September/October time frame, when we get one or two more OR nurses on the watch bill, thank you Lord! We'll have some more pics for you this weekend, Shayna has her 2 mile lake swim competition this weekend, she's fired up for it and I'm sure she'll do fine. Pretty much how I run, run to finish not win! haha. Well that's about it for this week, I'll have a better entry next weekend.
Dave

Sorry Netherlands and Golfing

Well I was rooting for the Dutch in the World Cup finale, the outcome was obviously not in my favor! Sorry guys. The Dutch played a much more physical game than Spain and I like that type of play. There's always next, well no, maybe the year after, well no again, okay there's always 4 years from now! haha. I think the US will take it then! haha.

Finally got to pick up the sticks and hit the fairways yesterday. What a good time. I shot a 106 which is terrible for most players but better than average for me, so overall a good day. Our tee-time was at 0850 and finished around 1230 or so, just when the heat was becoming unbearable. A lot of water and Gatorade kept me from passing out! I rode in the cart with Bob who used to work with us at the hospital before retiring from the Navy, it was nice being able to spend some time with him and catch up. Hopefully I'll be able to go out again soon. Next weekend is another duty weekend so no leaving and then the following weekend we'll be near San Jose for Shayna's swimming competition. It is called the "Catfish Crawl", basically a 2-mile lake swimming race. I'm sure she'll do great, and also post a lot of pics from her adventure. My next race is creeping up, 5 SEP. Can't wait to see my old friends Mike and Herb, should be another good time. Well that's about it for this week. My condolences go out to the Netherlands, keep your heads up!

Dave

One More Year

I can't download any pics right now since our router is down until Thursday, so I'm using the I-phone! Another year down, it is my birthday today (42), who knows how many more to go. By far the past couple of years have been my best and it's all due to Shayna. I'm in the best shape of my life, both physically and mentally! I was speaking with Mary, Shayna's mom, and I told her that I'm so thankful that I joined the Navy and finally married a fantastic wife, it doesn't get any better than that. The upcoming year will be filled with planning for the future. Maybe a child, maybe another deployment, maybe Shayna moving out to Jacksonville, FL early to start work, maybe buying a home early to take advantage of the low prices and interest rates, etc. Needless to say a lot of "maybes"! Through all of the crap I've been through with moving a lot and two, technically three, ex-wives I've learned that everything works out for the best. Shayna and I are really optimistic for the move back to Jax and I have a couple of hook-ups for jobs. Am I worried, of course, but I know that we are going to have a great life out there.
I have started a new running competition with some guys/gals at work and I'm getting my butt kicked! I have completed about 120 miles in the past couple of weeks and I'm still behind around 50 miles! These guys are beasts. My mileage has definitely increased which is going to help me for the upcoming 1/2 marathon in Disney on 5 SEP and the Army 10-miler in OCT in DC, but I am sore, I guess it has to do with celebrating another birthday! Well you take care and keep in touch.
I wanted to ask everyone to keep praying for the troops still deployed, I have several friends that are out there in danger, so keep the prayers coming because they worked for me!

Dave