What is in your Bag????

What is in your Bag? 

     As the title of my Blog suggests I am kind of the out of place runner.  I do not carry all the cool gear with me when I go to a race.  I am usually bare bones when it comes to race day.    

     I train with just a Hammer Nutrition Bottle in my hand.  That is on most days.  If I am going less than 10 miles I might just have me.  That being said what I bring with me to a race is most likely what you have in your bags.  

     If the race or event is more than a few hours away I will drive there the night before get a hotel and relax.  Most times I will lay out my “stuff” for the morning.  If the hotel is close to the start/finish area I leave with just what I need to run.  If I have to drive a bit then the gear is in the car.  

MisFitrunner Essential Pack:

Hammer Nutrition (always with me)

Under Armour Eye Protection

X-1 Audio Momentum Earbuds and IPOD

Biofreeze

Garmin

It is all I essentially use,  What is in your bag?

The First MisFit Training Graduate

   

In 2010 I went on a whirlwind tour of the world.  I started my year in paradise of Thailand.  We were there for a vacation and rang in the New Year there.  

I then flew to Korea to finish my tour there, we traveled throughout the peninsula seeing many sights and making great friends and memories.  

In May we left Seoul and landed in Honolulu, Hi for a week of fun in the sun.  

We then landed back in the Mainland picked up our cars, and went to find a house in Tennessee.  Along the way we drove to NJ visited family and went to see the Mets play in the new stadium.  

I also had the opportunity to go out with many of my old friends, it was pretty cool.

The next few weeks were filled with intense training to go to a whole other part of the world.  I was heading to Afghanistan.  

My first couple months there were fast and furious.  Our friends there liked to keep us occupied and we stayed plenty busy.  I was the "new" Platoon Sergeant for the unit.  I was handed a mis matched group of warriors.  These were men and women that other PSGs did not want at the time.  Loving the challenge I took it on.  

I met some Awesome Soldiers during my time with the MisFits.  We fought together, sweat together and all but one of us made it back (RIP MB)

I had the honor of meeting a jack of all trades Soldier.  He was in the Maintenance section when I got there but then after some personnel moves he came over to the MisFits.  He hit the ground and we utilized his skills and hopefully gave him some more.

This is the Story of Raymone Byrd, Runner, Soldier, Music Man

My steps toward deciding to run happened in 3 phases.  As cliché' as it may sound they were the good ole crawl, walk, run phases.  

Crawl Phase:  During a 2010-2011 deployment I was challenged by my platoon Sergeant when he opened a platoon invitation to a daily morning run with him.  I announced that it would be ridiculous to run on a slightly injured ankle at 4 in the morning.  I woke up every morning wishing no one would be outside stretching waiting on us to run.  That wish never came true, but after 3 miles every day it became therapeutic for my ankle but gained a couple "war wounds" tripping and falling on the rocks a few times, hence the "crawl" phase.

Walk Phase:  When we returned home running became easier.  Not yet mentally but because I had gone from running in 3000 foot elevation to 500 foot elevation.  I was able to take advantage of that ease and continued to run with my platoon Sergeant.  My first race was The Navy 10 Nautical Mile Race on June 5 2011 finishing at 2:09:16.  Finishing that race placed a prodigious amount of confidence and pride in me.  After running 5K's and 10K's in between I had finally signed up for my first Half Marathon.  December 11 2011 I finished the Santa Hustle Smokies Half Marathon race in 2 hours flat.  I noticed progress and started to fall in love with the benefits of running. 

Running Phase:  Since my first half marathon I started to see everything in life in the eyes of running.  It's not about finishing first, its about pacing to the finish.  Running has shed 40 lbs of fat off of me over the last 2 years.  My running time gets faster each year, but no matter how fast or slow my running time is, my running time will always be my time to getaway, to feel great each day, and find peace of mind.  My next race is coming up on July 4th 2013.  "The Half on the 4th" Half Marathon here in Colorado Springs, CO.

I want to thank my running mentor and ex-platoon sergeant, MisFit Rich LaMonica for instilling such an amazing love for running into me.  Also thank you for inviting me to your famous "3 mile" runs that somehow always turned into a 6-8 mile run. lol.

MisFit out!

My favorite fuels:  Hammer Nutrition (Hammer Gel, Endurolytes Fizz, HEED Sports Drink) and Hammer Recoverite for recovery from my long runs.

Favorite Shoe:  Nike Free Run 1-3

Favorite Gadgets:  Garmin Forerunner 910XT, X-1 Momentum in Ear Weatherproof Headphones for some good tunes during some runs.  Facebook.com/X1Audio

Twitter.com/X1Audio

https://www.x-1.com

     It is not a hard job when you are working with good people.  MisFit Byrd was a great addition to the MisFit Platoon and ultimately has become a member of my family.  Raymone Byrd is a up and coming Leader in the Army and I am glad I have been able to spend a couple years with him.  

Haley's Team Running towards a cure

     Running is my passion, it is my fix when things are broken.  I run to escape reality, I run for fun.  I know a lot of runners feel the same way.  There are days when I run and wish I started to actually do this a long long time ago.  I would probably be in much better condition and have accomplished a lot more (in the world of races).   For all those wasted years I now push myself a little more.  I grab on to those around me and get them after it as well now.  

     Let me flash back now to a time when I was just a youngster.  I lived in Jersey City, NJ, right off of Journal Square.  This was the mass transit hub of the area.  You can get anywhere in the tri-state area starting right here. 

 

      My circle of friends at that young age included a dude named Kirk.  He would play hard with us all the time, always giving his all.  He would get winded before most of us.  We did not understand why this was, he was not a big guy very skinny actually.  He would also go away for about a week at a time sometimes longer.  We were too young to understand anything at that time.  When we got to High School and understood a bit more we knew what was ailing Kirk.  He had Cystic-Fibrosis.  We now had a name for his problems, but what the heck is Cystic Fibrosis we started asking him.  Well as young teens it was very confusing.  He however, had no trouble telling us what it was.

 

     Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that:

• clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections; and
• obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.

    In the 1950s, few children with cystic fibrosis lived to attend elementary school. Today, advances in research and medical treatments have further enhanced and extended life for children and adults with CF. Many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond.

     When Kirk was diagnosed with CF his parents were told he would not make it to his teens.  His family and he defied those odds.  He made the Dickinson High School Swim team.  Yes that is right a kid with a chronic disease affecting his lungs made the swim team, and excelled there.  He was also heading to the Hospital in New York more frequently as we went further in school.  He would go to St Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village, Manhattan.  We would jump on the train from the Square and go to the village to see him.  It was a tough time for him as he saw many friends who he spent a lot of time in the hospital with lose their fight to CF.  This was the first and only time I saw him get down on himself.  He was so out of it, we had to push him to make it to graduation.  

     Flash forward a bit to 2005.  I was stationed in Anniston, Al.  I was working with a good group of people.  As a Soldier you are used to being with a ton of other Soldiers all the time.  This job was the polar opposite of that.  There were 2 of us and a solid majority of civilian workers.  During this time I made friends and joined the Knights of Columbus.  I also began to run because I actually liked it.  This is when I joined my first running club The Anniston Runners (www.annistonrunners.com) .  I started going every week to local races and having fun.  One day my friend Randy asked me if I could help with a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis.  It was for his daughter Haley with the money going towards research at the University of Alabama Birmingham Children’s Hospital.  I helped that night and then asked him a question.  What about a 5K to raise funds?  It was a shot in the dark.  Neither of us had ever organized a race and my only experience was running in them.  Our learning curve would be steep.  I asked the ARC for help and Brooke Nelson jumped in with advice for us.   She was the voice of reason when we were about to jump in too deep.  We brainstormed and came up with a night race.  That was it we were set for a huge undertaking.  

 

     At that first fundraiser Haley was performing as part of her Karate Gym, showing off skills many of us dream we could possess.  Haley was diagnosed with CF at a very young age (18 Months) as well.  Through the care of the medical professionals and the research at UAB she has been able to lead a near normal childhood.  

     For many of the seven years we have put this race on, I have been unable to attend it.  I put in the work from behind the scenes as Randy, Brandi, Cal and the rest of Haley’s Team put the muscle work in.  Our team has grown each year, and we look forward to future growth.  The efforts so far have contributed to helping research at UAB and into awareness of CF.  

     Back to Kirk.  He went on to become an EMT in North Arlington, NJ.  He did this for many years.  He put everyone above him and was always looking for ways to bring us all back together.  In 2012 I deployed to Afghanistan again.  This time I went as a Combat Advisor.  On June 18^th after a long patrol my Combat Outpost was attacked by indirect fire, a total of six rounds hit our base.  We evacuated our wounded and gave care to local wounded then counted up our guys and conducted a review of our practices.  About 1 hour later we started taking rounds again.  This time I was the wounded.  Along with three other Soldiers we were evacuated to higher medical care.  I came out of surgery after 2130 that night and moved to a transient tent.  The next afternoon when I came out of the medicine induced comatose state I found out after 42 plus years Kirk had been taken from us.  Now I was injured and mad I did not get to say bye to him or have a last beer with him.  

     We were also one week from the 6^th installment of the Haley’s Team Twilight 5K.  We had to push forward with the race.  Randy, Brandi and Haley made a tribute to Kirk at the start of the race and it was a successful day.  

 

     This year as we are about three weeks away from the race we celebrate that Haley has Graduated High School.  This is a great accomplishment for a great young lady.  We are also starting a Kirk Hill Scholarship program this year with $500 going to a Student with CF ( details to follow).  

    We hope to have a large field this year and those in the future.  Visit us at www.haleysteam.com for registration and donation information.  

 

     As for me I still run and run a lot.  Due to my injury I still have not found the speed I once had, It will come back, I just have to keep up the work. 

Thanks For listening and I hope to see you on June 22^nd in Anniston, Alabama