Global War on Terrorism

Saturday

Chris woke me up at 7. I did not feel like getting up. But I got dressed and filled two water bottles with salt water. By 7:30 we were headed to the War on Terrorism Ruck and Run. It was just our annual run at Five-Mile. It was chilly but my jacket was enough even though I had shorts on.

We signed in and they gave us runner's numbers to wear. There was a tracker on each one. At 8 there was a welcome ceremony with speech by the colonel. Everyone stood around talking. Then at 8:30 the half-marathoners lined up and headed out to run. At 9 the 10K group assembled and headed out. I got tired of standing around and sat on a bench to stretch. But soon we 5K people were lining up.

The starting shot was at 9:30 and we headed out, most of us walking. Chris ended up ahead of me and I was behind with Karen. We chatted through the first mile. I stopped at the water station for water (as Chris had my water in his backpack). Then she paired up with her husband and Chris came back to shepherd me through Rattlesnake Gulch and other terrain features. I was fine on my own, but he was subtly keeping track of the guy behind us who didn't look so good.

However, as we neared the end, we saw Karen go down. Her husband helped her up, but she went down a few steps later. Someone called the golf cart who came to pick her up. Later I heard she got a ride in the ambulance. No sirens or anything.

As Chris and I got within 20 yards of the finish line, we sprinted the rest of the way. Chris with his longer legs could have come in ahead, but he must have held back so we could finish together. The finish line people rang cow bells and handed out medals. I called them participation prizes but Chris said they were more like mementos.

I checked out the breakfast burritos and Stirling nudged me toward the protein bars. He said he bought them just for me. I read the ingredients, then ate one. I also had a quarter of an orange from the bowl of orange quarters. Then I sat and talked to John for a long time. He has declared war on gophers too.

Finally I convinced Chris to take me home. He needed to be there when the last people came in, so he dropped me off at the post office and went back. I got the mail and walked home. I was astounded to see it was 12:30. I took off my shoes, then made and ate breakfast. I read e-mail and messages. Chris came home, then took a nap. I worked on my blog.

I got ready to go cleaning and Chris woke up from his nap. I told him I was going to the garden. And so I did. I turned the water back on to Kenzie's garden. I watered it. Mine did not need picking. Then I went to 75B and cleaned the bedrooms for 2 hours: windows, walls and closets, but not the floors.

When I got home, I had a bite to eat. Chris was taking a shower. I read e-mail and messages for awhile. I started looking at URU walkthrough videos. Michelle texted me, asking if I wanted to come over for a game night. So I put my tea in a bottle and took some evening supplements. I put some cheese squares in a baggie for her. Then I went over.

Casey was putting the game up. I talked to Isadora. Michelle showed me the new containers that everything in her cupboard now resided in. Rows of identical containers with handwritten labels. So neat and tidy.

When the game was up, I played what I could remember, then looked to my phone for the pic of notes. I played them too. Then I was on my own, trying different combinations.

When Michelle and Casey indicated they were tired, I turned off the game and thanked them. Casey carried empty dishes from Thursday out to my car. Then I went home. Chris was already in bed. I jotted notes for my blog, watched more URU videos and went to bed.