Well, just like in Afghanistan, it has become like Ground Hog Day for me and my daily routine. Luckily, I have regular things to do to keep me occupied during each consecutive day. My days consist mainly of working out, reading, sleeping, eating, teaching, and, well...…… teaching! Not necessarily in that order. I am enjoying teaching the nurses, my corpsmen, and even some of the physicians as well. As I teach in my civilian job at both Maricopa Medical Center as well as in the Navy, it dovetails perfectly with my interests. It also helps to keep both me as well as the whole group busy and focused on our mission- to be ready at all times to take care of our men and women in harms way as well as any other patients that come to our hospital with significant injuries and/or illnesses. It is nice to have a mixture of both skills training as well as lectures going on.
Besides a significant amount of time dedicated to teaching and training, I spend a lot time as well working out- not just stay in shape, but to try to get in the shape I got in while in Afghanistan! While I don't know if I can achieve that (I AM almost 50 after all!), I will be making a valiant effort to do so, averaging about 5-6 hours a day. Combining reading (Kindle on my phone) while doing the elliptical 3 hours a day (before and after every meal) certainly helps, while allowing me to read a book or two per week. In addition, I add weight lifting, P90X weight training, P90X YogaX, P90X KenpoX, P90X XStretch, and a daily 4 mile run around the perimeter of the base. I missed my spin classes from home, so I showed up to take the spin class listed in the posted cardio gym schedule but was sadly disappointed to find out there was no such class. When I asked the gym manager from KBR what the deal was, she explained that the instructor for yoga and spin had gone to another base instead. At that point, she suggested that I teach the classes I wanted to participate in. Since my Navy colleagues were also asking about when I was going to do my YogaX as well, I reluctantly agreed to lead (not really teach) the YogaX. We project P90X YogaX off of my computer onto the white gym wall with the lights down low and a loud speaker and Tony Horton leads us all in YogaX. Since the projector version does not show up well in a picture, the one below is from my first class when we were all still trying to see in on my computer screen. At that point, I figured I might as well lead the spin classes if I wanted to add cycling to my workouts. I don't really "teach" the spin classes like a traditional spin instructor, but I do spin at the front, provide the music, and occasionally tell the class to stand up, sit down, and increase or decrease the resistance on the bike. Morgan suggested that I add a Hamilton spin mix to give everyone some history and culture along with their workout. Will let you know how that goes. I have also reached out to my favorite spin instructor from back home, Cheryl, to send me some more music so I don't bore my classes to death. So, now I am leading 6 hours of fitness classes a week on a voluntary basis. It helps to keep the Navy in good graces with KBR (the company who runs the gym, the dining facility or "DFAC" as well as the MWR/USO tent). They give us the ingredients for our pizza night, pancake breakfast, and other baked goods so I figure it is an even trade :)! More on our social agenda in another episode.
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