Leadership

My oldest son and his wife are leaving for Arizona tomorrow morning for a canyoneering/camping vacation. They plan to run in the NYC Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) in March 2011. Registration opens next week, so he asked me to register them. I’m really proud of them for doing this. I can't imagine myself running 1/4 of a mile, much less 13!

TB likes to lift weights and work out. He hasn’t kept up with it as much as he would like, so he plans to focus on it more while he’s deployed. Thinking about all this running and working out reminded me of what TB was doing exactly a year ago. He was in an EIB (Expert Infantry Badge) class. I always try to find out as much as I can about what he’s involved in, so when he told me he would be doing that, I researched it. From what I read and from what people told me, I learned it's a very difficult class! TB came so close, but didn’t quite make it. The foot march was the last thing they had to do. Even though he was out, he did the march anyway, so he could encourage four of his buddies. If I recall correctly, a foot march is 12 miles with a 35 pound ruck. I think you have to finish under 3 hours. He felt he could help the guys by setting the pace. He’s a “foot march monster” and once he’s in the zone there’s no stopping him. I wish I could remember his time. I know it was under 3 hours. Doing that for those guys was a real sign of leadership. He didn’t have to do it, but he knew it was one of his strengths and even though he was out, he did what he could to help the others succeed. Later he told me that when he’s doing something hard like that, he thinks about me and how he doesn’t want to let me down or disappoint me, even when it’s something I don’t even know he’s doing. That was a year ago and I hope it still holds true. I want him to be focused and strong, mentally, physically, and emotionally, throughout his deployment.