Pre-Race Emotions

So, the Chicago marathon is just days away... no more monthly or weekly countdowns... just six days! At this point, every runner is experiencing a wave of emotions. I thought I would share some of those that I am experiencing.

Excitement. I could not be more excited for this trip. I can't believe it is finally here! I am excited for those who will be there to cheer me on in Chicago, for those who have signed up for the runner updates through e-mail or text messaging and for those who will wait to hear the story when I return.

Nervous. Yes, a little, but who wouldn't be. Even the most elite run or the most carefree runner has some sort of nervousness at this point. Most runners are asking themselves if they trained enough or did they taper too much or not enough. The taper really is critical in the training process. Whereas the focus throughout the majority of training is to accrue mileage each week, the opposite happens for the taper -- sleep, rest, relax, hydrate, fuel -- those are the main components of the taper. For the most part, I am most nervous about staying healthy in the next few days. In the summer, I had no problems running in damp, cool weather. It's too close to race day for that and I worry about what it might trigger in me. I want to be physically healthy too -- rested and well-stretched muscles are key.

Proud. I posted an inspiration board at work for the marathon. Each "milestone" that I achieved - either a long run, race, or an incredible time - recieved a star on the board with the date, length and time of the run. Along the marathon route (map), I would also put a marker for each of those long runs. It's amazing to look at that mileage along and know that I accomplished each of those runs, along with many other shorter runs and walks (Thanks, Nan!). Prior to each run, I would pick a goal time. Intentionally, I set the bar "high". Some of them I was able to beat and others I would just miss by seconds or a few minutes. My longest training run was 22.1 miles. I had a goal time of 3:43:17 (yes, I even picked a random amount of seconds). It was 100% humidity when I ran and therefore, I was much slower than I wanted to run, but for 22.1 miles, I ran and still came through with a 3:53:15 finish, just under 10 minutes over my goal. In comparison to my first marathon, I am well on my way to a strong finish for this marathon.

Sad. This emotion comes in two different ways. I will openly admit that I am already having "withdrawl". Call me crazy, but I have come to enjoy those long runs. It's self-inspiring, knowing that eventually those long runs aren't dreaded, but accepted and anticipated in such a way that is hard to explain to the non-marathon training runner. Most importantly of course, not having Josh there will not be the same. I try to turn that into positive energy and remind myself of the inspiration he has given me to keep doing this day in and day out since March. I know he will be there in spirit and I just hope he's the wind blowing at my back that day!

As you can see, it is a wide range of emotions and a list of which will continue to grow and fluctuate as the marathon draws near, occurs and ends.

So, what is my goal? Quite honestly -- it is to finish and to enjoy the journey. I hemmed and hawed over sharing this, but I will. In regards to time, I am hoping (with fingers crossed) that I will be able to run this marathon an hour faster than my first... finishing at 4:38:16 or under! Yes, it took me 5:38:16 for the Marine Corps in 2006 and I am proud of it! It really would be a huge accomplishment to trim that much time from the run. Regardless though, I will hold my head high knowing that I did it! There are so many factors that play into running performance on race day and most of those won't be known until that day, when the race starts, or even during the race.

For anyone who would like to view the course... They have set-up a sped up video of the course with indicators of the various neighborhoods that we will run through along with a mileage tracker as the video progresses. It is from the 2006 Marathon, so the route may be slightly different, but it is pretty much the same, if I was the following the course map as I watched along. If you look closely in the first mile, at 0.7 miles, the light colored building on the right is the hotel we are staying at! The "blurs" of people on the sidelines show the aid stations throughout the course; however, they have increased the number of aid stations for this year! (YAY!) You can also view the map of the course.

As for the weather... low 60s and partly cloudy!! Perfect!

Deployable Entertainment featuring "This Old B-Hut"

First and foremost... He's Fine... You may see some news appearing at some point today or later this weekend, but I have heard from Josh both via e-mail and phone (at 4 a.m. this morning) and he is fine. That is the extent of what he could tell me.

And now onto the "Deployable Entertainment" portion of this post - This Old B-Hut! Josh sent me the following in an e-mail overnight. This Old B-Hut is a video on YouTube that was created by some very entertaining soldiers in Afghanistan. Some might think they had a little extra time or too much time on their hands, but as Josh says below, it is for real... those are his living conditions. The following is Josh's take on the video.

"I think they say they are from Nebraska, that would have been a few rotations before us. It is so funny. It was actually filmed at Camp Alamo right down the street, but we live in exactly the same hut, right down to the paint color, plastic windows, and the crappy a/c units. It is hilarious. I love the part about the linoelum. A b-hut is supposed to last 24 months and I am sure that most of the huts we live in have been around since 2002. So you can imagine how crappy ours is. haha. It is so funny. You have to watch it. Ilove the part about the wall lockers how they were offered to the afghanis and they refused them so they put them back in our huts. haha I would not be surprised if that was true. We finance all the building of all the ANP and ANA barracks and they are mcmansions compared to what we live in. haha. I have found about eight million places where we could cut costs and easily bail out the economy without further cost to us, and I would start with their mcmansions. haha."

Although it was the middle of the night, I had a nice conversation with Josh. As he mentioned on the phone and in an e-mail to me, "it is finally October and yet it still feels like we have so much longer to go. boo. It is like it is Thursday, close but not close enough."

So Long September

For the longest time, September was our goal. We just had to get to September. Well, September arrived and basically, it overstayed its welcome! Normally, with Josh in school, September flies by for us. Somehow, this September was painfully slow.

A couple of Josh's buddies were gone this month, so it made it extremely long for him. One in particular "gets it" just like Josh does. He has the same responsibility as Josh in the truck and sees the same things Josh sees - literally and figuratively. Thankfully, this soldier and another one who Josh enjoys returned this past weekend.

Things for me moved along, but considering the amount of activity I had going on, it dragged. Even with the arrival of the twins and all of the running, it seems like September was six weeks long.

We'll see what October brings . . .

Wise Old Uncle... Pretty Smart Aunt

Josh sent me the following e-mail this morning after some "deep thoughts" involving yesterday's arrival of TJ and Ella.

"Holy smokes, how many is that? Dominic, Jonathan, Hailey, Cassie, Francesca, Cody, TJ, Ella, plus one on the way. Nine all under five. That means starting in 2021, we start attending high school graduation parties like it is our job. Instead of publishing a guidebook on the amenities of the various maternity wards, we can publish a book on high school graduations. We can have features on the best place to park, average length of ceremonies, who has the best punch, which bleachers are the most comfortable and which you should bring a cushion to. haha. It is so weird because this whole crowd and future crowd members will learn about 9/11, but never have experienced it, they will ask us what it was like, where we were? We are living history and could possibly be interviewed as primary sources for school projects - ugh we are old. haha. Either a woman in the No.2 office or an African-American in the No. 1 office will not be groundbreaking and they will ask us what the big deal was. Their first cars might be hybrid/ethanol/electric hand me-downs from their parents. Can you imagine us plugging our car into the wall? They will do it, and they will not think twice about it. I can imagine them forgetting to plug it in, and calling each other for a ride to school, because the car is dead. "You forgot again!" "If you can not be responsible enough to plug it in, then maybe you are not ready for a car!" Haha. It would be the equivalent of us being teenagers and riding around on E, taking a chance that it wouldn't run out of gas. Who am I kidding? I would forget to plug it in. haha. Oh well... I love you to the moon and back a thousand times. See we are not that old. We weren't alive when they went to the moon. Except you were born after space shuttles left the earth and I was three when the first one went. So, that makes me the wise old uncle, and you not the as wise but still pretty smart aunt. haha."

Josh also called this morning and we chatted for a nice amount of time. I hadn't spoken to him in 19 days, so it was really exciting. Even better was that I had taken the day off to "recover" from yesterday's adventures. (I did manage to babysit all of the nieces and nephews on my side, along with visiting the newest ones yesterday!) Since I was off, I had more time to talk with him, and fewer interuptions.

He is doing well for the most part. Each day is frustrating. A lot of "broken promises"... still no day off. A lot of "rumor has it" that ends up just being rumors. He continues to keep everyone entertained and trys to make light of every situation. Several have asked him or commented "what are we going to do when we don't see you everyday?"

He said for the most part, this is the beginning of the end of their time there. We do not have any information on when they might be home. No one really knows, as we have heard a large range of time. From what we know, the replacements are "on schedule" so we will keep our fingers crossed.

For One Moment the Whole World...

... revolved around one boy, one girl!

Uncle Josh and Aunt Darci have been blessed with welcoming another nephew and niece into the world. Diane gave birth to the twins this morning!! She made it to 37 weeks in the pregnancy. She was due October 15 and at one point, we were wondering not about September, but a late August arrival. As Uncle Josh said, "I guess it is good that they have stayed inside and kept cooking. They will be nice little butterballs when they show up. haha."

Welcome to the world, TJ and Ella!!

Thomas Joseph (TJ) Pisciotti
September 24 at 4:00 a.m. * 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 20" long

(formerly known as Baby Boy/Baby A)

Antonella (Ella) Lisa Pisciotti
September 24 at 4:24 a.m. * 6 lbs. 12 oz. and 20" long

(formerly known as Baby Girl/Baby B)

We have a "4-4 record"... 4 nephews - 4 nieces . . . so far!

Another look at TJ...

... and Ella ...

Mom, Dad, Big Sister Francesca, and both babies are all doing very well, though very tired after a wee-hours delivery and a day full of visitors.

A Friday Laugh!

I received quite the e-mail from Josh this morning. It gave me a much needed laugh - the laugh out loud, pee your pants kind! I will share as much as I can, though unfortunately I can't share it all and therefore, it may not come across as funny to you. If you can picture anything about where they are living/their current situation/how loud the interior of the humvees are, you'll get a good sense of why it was so comical.

Our nephew Dominic was spending the night with my parents a few weeks ago and they put together a package to send to Josh. Dominic decided to add something special to it.

"I did get your mom's package with Dominic's rock. haha. It has been sitting on my little home shelf with the pictures and other things. haha. I meant to say something too about his name. You can pass it on that I am really impressed with his name - it starts with a capital letter and all the other letters are lower case. So many kids come from pre-school spelling their names all in caps. boo! And it goes from left to right - a stunning feat really. haha I guess the kids in killawog are lot smarter than the kids in c-town haha. Tell him i want a rock that says Forrest on it. haha. I don't want any toilet paper from Jonathan. haha." (Jonathan was successfully potty trained recently!)

And of course the wait continues for the Pisciotti twins to arrive...

"When is Diane going to have her babies? I am tired of waiting. I am just kidding. I told everyone that Franny was over three feet tall and everyone laughed at me. Winner winner chicken dinner. I get a prize. What do I get?"

Good thing Josh is in Afghanistan, otherwise Diane might be kicking him in the shins right now. There was a brief discussion on if Diane had them on September 17th what they might name them. Brian being a 7th grade Social Studies teacher thought that some connection to Constitution Day should be made.

"You can tell Brian the whole dining hall was decked out like it was the Fourth of July - streamers, banners, red white and blue table cloths, balloons, on and on. Someone was like what the hell is today? And without missing a beat, I said, 'It's constitution Day.' haha. Everyone was like geek! haha."

Where's the beets?!

"(Soldier across the hall) is back and now (another soldier) is in his room 24 hours a day and they play World of Warcraft - some computer game into the dead of night. Dwight (Schrut - aka the Beet Farmer) plays it on 'The Office'." (One of our favorite, if not very favorite shows).

The life of a driver...

"(New soldier) got to the truck, and he starts yelling at me... 'You guys are bullshit-this is bullshit. I am not a driver(like it is some dirty word). I already put in my time driving.' -blah blah. He has been here a week. I said listen you need to shut up. I have been driving for almost six months. I have driven almost six thousand miles in country, in this patched up piece of shit, so go to your truck and sit and spin.

"We lead out today because I was the only veteran driver, and the third truck driven by (soldier) completely went straight when two other trucks in front of him turned right. How hard is it? He says it is because the power steering went out. Uh... (soldier) is huge and my power steering has goes out too and I have made all the turns. He was not paying attention.

"And then (another soldier) went to (two higher-ups) after the mission and said I was horrible driver and that he couldn't keep up because I was setting too fast of a pace. The pace was 40 on a hardball on a Friday (in other words... their weekend + during ramadan + middle of the day= no traffic). So now later today, I cannot go more than 35. Why we were out, I blew two lines of something, so we had to go right to maintenance along with (soldier) and his "power steering" problem."

A window-licking good time...

"We had to go to (base) yesterday among a million other places, and Sgt. (Soldier) was like 'you, (Soldier 1) and (Soldier 2) will all ride with me. I am not sure who is going to do what, but one of you will be a window licker (= sitting in the back seat).'

"I never ever never get to window lick and I was like I would love to sit in the backseat.

"Sgt. (Soldier) said, 'fine, I will make (Soldier 2) drive and (Soldier 1) gun.' "

Later on, Josh wrote...

"I don't have a headset in the back, so its not like I can comment. As it was, after (base) we had to go to this other smaller american fob down the street from us, and I was the only one in the truck that knew the directions on how to get there. I was like are you guys serious? So, I had to shout the directions to (Soldier 2) from the backseat - that was humorous."

Working 7 days a week... Most people probably don't realize that other than Josh's leave, he has not had a single day off since he arrived in Afghanistan.

"Even today, they split up the missions so the new people could have some "down time". So (Soldier 2) had off in the am, and (Soldier 1) has off in the pm. Guess who has to do both? I guess I should be flattered."

"Today was supposed to be our scheduled day off -- haha -- that did not happen again for a combination of reasons: (someone) that doesn't give a crap + (another someone) with no testicular fortitude + (many people) running (acronym) = no days off ever. haha. Do you like all my math equations?"

And last, but not least...

"ps. no frost here, but big dust storm!"


In other news...

It's the 19th of the month!!! Eight months down!! For me, I am guessing that the next month will fly by, with the arrival of the twins and the marathon ahead for me. I hope that Josh can live vicariously through those moments with me. We were so excited for September to arrive and I constantly say, "Oh my, it's only September (insert any date)" This month has seemed to drag on.

All I have left to say is . . . TGIF!!

A Running Update - Part II

Our story has been included in this month's Monthly Countdown e-Newsletter for the Chicago Marathon. The whole story is not included, but it is referenced, along with fellow runner Bob's story and the link is provided. A majority of the runners sign-up for the newsletters and others will see it on the website. This is the second of three features that include in our story. Check back closer to the marathon for the third one!

A Running Update - Part I

Josh and I can both update everyone on our running. While in Afghanistan, Josh's Lt. organized a 9/11 Memorial 5k event. Due to missions, they were unable to attend the ceremony that was held on 9/11, so he was glad he had the opportunity to participate in the run. He said, "it was eerily quiet as everyone ran", and assumed that like him, most people were deep in thought.

Back home, my training continues for the Chicago Marathon. On Sunday (September 14), I spent the early morning hours putting in my longest training run... 22 miles. It took a little over 3 hours and 50 minutes, which considering the humidity, it was a decent time! It was a tough run, especially the last mile, but I kept at it. After this week's running, I will officially be through the bulk of the training, and will enter the rest and taper phase. My long runs will be reduced each week, as will my weekly mileage totals. It is exciting to think that I am finally at this point... the homestretch. 26 day to go!!

In other news, Josh received his new iPod shuffle. He sent this to me in a recent e-mail... "I have bought some music on itunes, but not knowing what is on the radio right now and the fact that the connection is so bad (when you go to play the sample of song it rebuffers the stream about every three seconds and you can never quite get it), you are buying blindly and I have made some horrible decisions. haha."

We heard about Josh's new group of kindergartners and they are a good group so far. Right now he has 18 students, but one will be leaving soon. Pending the arrival of any new students, he should return to a class of 17 -- a great number for the grade level!

Josh has recently become more vocal about things happening in Afghanistan and other events in the world. After "trying to figure it all out", he concluded with, "Oh well. I guess I really can not solve that problem today."

Pentagon 9/11 Memorial Dedicated Today

When we were visiting the Pentagon in July while Josh was home, our tour guide took us down to see the interior Pentagon Memorial that has been established. Today, the outdoor Pentagon 9/11 Memorial site was dedicated and will be open for public viewing beginning tonight. It was still under construction when we were visiting, but we were able to catch a glimpse of what it would look like. From the direction each person is facing to the timeline of of the victim's ages, the design is amazing and a true tribute to those who lost their lives and their loved ones. Here is a great article that was recently posted about this morning's ceremony. Here is the Washington Post's recent coverage, as well as the link to the virtual memorial on their site.

"Jake", who provided the tour of the Pentagon, sent me the following pictures today. Below, I included a portion of his e-mail that he sent.

"While the dedication was a remembrance of those who died here seven years ago, Josh and all the other men and women who serve our country were the subject of every speech given at the ceremony. We are so thankful and lucky for all of those who continue to fight for our freedom, both here and abroad.

"The dedication was a very nice--and indeed moving--event. I have attached a couple of pictures taken by one of the other gents in the office. I look forward to taking you through the site the next time you guys are in town for a visit.

"Please pass my very best to Josh. I cannot tell you how much I admire him, especially after Jen filled me in on his background and vocation. I know you are counting the days until his safe return, and I can only hope that it goes by quickly for you."

A New Hope...

"For Our World"

We need to stop, just stop, stop for a moment

before anybody says or does anything that may hurt anyone else.

We need be silent, just silent, silent for a moment

before we forever lose the blessing of songs that grow in our hearts.

We need to notice, just notice, notice for a moment

before the future slips away into ashes and dust of humility.

Stop, be silent and notice.

In so many ways, we are the same.

Our differences are unique treasures.

We have, we are a mosaic of gifts to nurture, to offer, to accept.

We need to be, just be, be for a moment

kind and gentle, innocent and trusting, like children or lambs,

never judging or vengeful, like the judging and vengeful.

And now let us pray, differently yet together,

before there is no earth, no life, no chance for peace.

"A New Hope"

I need a hope, a new hope, a hope

that reaches for the stars and that does not end in violence or war.

A hope that makes peace on our earth

and that does not create evil in the world.

A hope that finds cures for all diseases

and that does not make people hurt in their bodies,

in their hearts or most of all, in their spirits.

I need a hope, a new hope, a hope

that inspires me to live and to make all these things happen

so that the whole world can have a new hope, too.

The above poems were written by Mattie Stepanek at age 11. He wrote "For Our World", a prayer, on the evening of September 11, 2001.